No. 1 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:

Council led the Public in the Pledge of Allegiance.

No. 2 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL:

The Special Meeting of the Exeter Town Council was called to order at 6:35 p.m., on Monday, September 23, 2024, in Council Chambers, Exeter Clerk’s Office, 675 Ten Rod Road, Exeter, Rhode Island.

Roll Call: Daniel W. Patterson Yes

Michael A. Lefebvre Yes

Diane Bampton Allen Yes

Olivia DeFrancesco Yes

Calvin A. Ellis Yes

Also Present: Kenneth J. Sylvia, Esq., Town Solicitor

Lynn M. Hawkins, Town Clerk

Kenneth G. Findlay, Council Assistant

No. 3 ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS ACT (“APRA”) REQUESTS AND PROCESS:

Mr. Ellis: The number of APRA requests to the Town that are impacting the work of the Town Clerk and other staff members is concerning. There is significant frustration. The requests are more involved than they should be. Council should address this.

Mr. Lefebvre: It is not only the types of requests. It is the volume of requests, which is significantly impacting the staff and has been going on for a long time. It is obvious to Council and to the staff. The requests are voluminous in themselves. Council should add someone to relieve the pressure from everyone else, so “everyone can breathe a little easier.” It is going to cost the town money, but we are up against all kinds of expenses from this that we did not

intend. It continues to grow and grow. There is no end in sight. It is time. It is tortuous to

the staff. Maybe if somebody whose job it is to do APRA requests, it will not be so bad.

Employees are number one and come first. If we do not take care of the employees, we cannot take care of the Public. The employees are disgruntled, unhappy, and under pressure. There is no question. We do not want that. It is a serious matter that has to be addressed in order that there are not compounding problems.

MOTION made by Mr. Ellis that the Town engage an APRA Officer on a temporary basis; seconded by Ms. DeFrancesco.

Discussion: Funding is not appropriated but there is the discrepancy fund. This is an emergency situation. A position is not being created. It is intended that this will be a temporary position, until the APRA requests settle down. The person in this position will develop knowledge of

all departments and aspects of Town government and could turn out to be a valuable asset to

the Town.

Discussion ensued regarding how APRA requests are submitted, received, and processed,

what responding to an APRA request involves, how other cities and towns handle APRA requests, and new, proposed APRA legislation.

Back to the Motion: Withdrawn. Second withdrawn.

MOTION made by Mr. Ellis to consider posting for an APRA Officer at Council’s next

Regular Meeting on October 7, 2024; seconded by Mr. Lefebvre; and voted unanimously

in the affirmative.

The matter of posting for an APRA Officer will be made New Business on Council’s October Regular Meeting. The Clerk will provide Council with a copy of the budget. The Clerk and Attorney Sylvia will work on language for posting.

No. 4 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: NEW TOWN HALL FACILITY,

742 TEN ROD ROAD, RENOVATION AND REPURPOSING, SCHEMATIC

DESIGN SERVICES (INCLUDING SITE ASSESSMENT, BUILDING DESIGN OPTIONS, NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW, RECOMMENDATIONS

TO TOWN COUNCIL AS TO AVAILABLE FUNDING SOURCES AND FINAL APPROVALS) AND FULL ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING SERVICES INCLUDING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES:

Council had approved going out for bid previously, but, at the time, it was a different

discussion. Since then, new information has arisen. The Request for Proposals will

be for the above.

MOTION made by Mr. Patterson to post Request for Proposals as posted

for the New Town Hall Facility; seconded by Ms. DeFrancesco.

Discussion: The selected proposal will be paid for with American Recovery Funds,

will cover these services up to construction, and will provide construction management

services. The person hired will be accountable to move this project forward.

Back to the Motion: Voted unanimously in the affirmative.

No. 5 ADJOURNMENT:

MOTION made by Mr. Patterson to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Lefebvre;

and voted unanimously in the affirmative.

The Special Meeting was adjourned at 7:14 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynn M. Hawkins, CMC

Exeter Town Clerk

Approved: October 7, 2024