No.   1:   CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: 

The Special Meeting of the Exeter Town

Council was called to order at 6:35 p.m., on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Council Chambers,

Exeter  Clerk’s Office, 675 Ten Rod Road, Exeter, Rhode Island.

No.   2:   PUBLIC COMMENT:

Rosamond Fisher:  Are there plans for the new building?  Mr. Patterson:  Council will be discussing plans under Agenda Item No. 3.  Ms. Fisher:  So, I can talk then?  Mr. Patterson:  No.  Public can talk now.  Ms. Fisher:  I have questions.  Council must have plans for the money?  Mr. Patterson:  No.

Council has estimates.  Ms. Fisher:  The new building is small.  Move the library to the new building.  Add on to the Library and make it a Town Hall.

Brian Sampson:  How can we make comments if we do not know what is going on?  It makes no sense

to put comments in the beginning.  We need to have questions answered and we need to know what is going on before we can comment.  It would make much more sense to have the comments as you go

along.  Mr. Patterson:  Tonight’s meeting is for the Council to discuss what our next option is.  Listen

to the dialogue, what our plan is.  We do not know which direction we are going.  Mr. Sampson:  So, unless the Public speaks at the beginning, it has no say.  We are only listening.  Mr. Patterson:  Correct.

Mr. Sampson:  That is absolutely ridiculous.

Luis Torrado:   Agreed with Mr. Sampson.  Tonight’s procedure makes no sense.

Marybeth Cournoyer:  At the Financial Town Meeting, there was a proposal for a substantial amount

of money.  It was her understanding, at the time, that that money would be used to only fund making the new building house all of the Town Hall.  Council needs to back up.  It has come to everyone’s attention that there are other ideas on the table.  Look at the entirety of need.  Some of the staff does not have offices.  One option was to expand the Clerk’s Office Building.  There are departments that need to be

in close proximity to each other.  Others do not.  Put them at the new building and still use it as a Town Hall.  What was the bid?  What is that expansion?  What does it look like?  Does it make sense?  Would like to hear about it and find out if it is cost effective and ADA compliant.  Before getting the money,

take a step back.  What is going to meet the needs of the Town?  Council is representing the Town. 

It would be helpful if the Town has a full understanding of what the options are, so that in the end it is something that meets both Council’s and the Residents’ needs. Council should look at all the options.

Asa Davis:  The Exeter Clerk’s Office cannot be expanded.  The building is already too big for the lot size and violates zoning.  A non-conforming use cannot be expanded per the zoning ordinances.  At the Financial Town Meeting, it was said that use of the new building was prohibited by the Department of

Health.  That is not right.  The Department of Health does not have jurisdiction to tell the Town whether

it can use a building or not.  It has jurisdiction over whether a well can be used as a public water source

or it can tell you that bottled water should be brought in and drinking water from the taps should be prohibited.  A lot of money has been spent on the building and we are not using it.  A prudent financial decision would be to use it for what we can in the condition that it is in before spending a lot of money and possibly changing or modifying it.  Put the departments over there that can be moved.  Use it as a Town asset and not the current liability it is, generating expenses for no value whatsoever to the Town.

Mr.  Ellis:  Agreed that comments from the Public should be handled differently tonight.

No.   3:   TOWN PROPERTY:  742 TEN ROD ROAD (“FUTURE TOWN HALL”):  FUTURE PLAN, OWNERSHIP, ARCHITECTURAL AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES, BID AND CONTRACT STATUS, OCCUPANCY, RENOVATIONS, AND FINANCING:

Council is at a stalemate, until it decides what the next steps will be, either, obtain the bond funding

that was defeated at Financial Town Meeting or decide a plan to relocate some of the departments. 

The building is not turnkey.  A needs assessment needs to be obtained, then a plan and drawings. 

There is American Recovery Funds, $479,000.00 (has to be spent on that building by December 2026) and New Town Hall Fund (Capital Fund), $152,000, or $631,000.  Since the bond proposal was defeated, Mr. Ellis agrees it is time to look what can be done in the space with the ARPA and New Town Hall funds.  Treat it like an annex. 

MOTION made by Mr. Ellis to rescind the award previously granted to Azzinaro Architects and that Council consider moving forward in another direction; seconded by Ms. DeFrancesco.

Discussion:  Mr. Patterson and Mr. Findlay also suggest using the building as an annex and the $631,000 to build it out.  The building needs interior work.  Mr. Patterson suggested the Board of Canvassers, Building Planning and Zoning, Tax Assessor and Collector, and Treasurer move to the new building, which would free up those spaces in the current building for Social Services and Emergency Management.  Because we do not have the funding, Mr. Ellis’ motion would free up the

Town from that bid award commitment. 

Back to the Motion:  Voted unanimously in the affirmative.

MOTION made by Ms. Allen to move ahead with an annex; seconded by Mr. Ellis.

Discussion:  Ms. DeFrancesco thought Council had decided a year ago.  The resolution

at Financial Town Meeting that approved purchasing the building as a town hall.  The

motion should be amended. 

MOTION by Ms. Allen to amend the motion, move ahead with a town hall; seconded

by Mr. Ellis; and voted unanimously in the affirmative.

Back to the original Motion as amended:  Voted unanimously in the affirmative.

The next step is for a needs assessment. Perhaps do it in house, have a URI student do it, get a cost estimate, use the MPA, or put out an RFP.  Need to decide who is relocating to the new building, how many departments the building can hold, which department should move in the best interests of the Town.  Need to know what every department needs.  Need square footage and number of people.  Will need an architect for the design.  Ms. DeFrancesco recalled that when Council first bought the building, a year and a half ago, it was decided to move the Board of Canvassers, Building Planning Zoning, Social Services, and Emergency Management, that Tax Assessor and Collector, Treasurer, and Clerk stay together in this building.  Mr. Ellis noted that he and Ms. Allen had met with the staff regarding their needs shortly after the building was bought.  Ms. Allen would like to move the Board of Canvassers as soon as possible in order to avoid disrupting day-to-day business for elections in the Clerk’s Office.  Mr. Findlay will provide Council information to help make its decision.  Mr. Morrissey inquired:  Why did this project stall?

MOTION made by Mr. Patterson to direct Council Assistant Kenneth Findlay to start doing

the leg work for a needs assessment; seconded by Mr. Morrissey.

Discussion:  Ms. DeFrancesco asked when?  She wished to put a date on it.  Mr. Findlay will give

an update at the August Regular Meeting.  Mr. Ellis noted that Council has a report from IT Director James Angi regarding IT needs. 

Back to the Motion:  Voted unanimously in the affirmative.

Mr. Ellis read Tax Assessor Kerri Petrarca’s and Social Service Director Jessica DeMartino’s

memos indicating their departments’ needs.  Ms. Petrarca needs as much space as she presently has. 

Ms. DeMartino needs a fully-equipped office that is handicapped acceptable, storage space, and a

space for programs.

Mr. Davis suggested getting Town Planner William DePasquale involved.  He has experience in capital planning.  Mr. Ellis and Ms. DeFrancesco could not agree more.  They have had many conversations

with Mr. DePasquale about the new building.

Ms. Cournoyer:  Why did Council have an architect do plans to expand the Clerk’s Office Building,

if zoning was not going to permit it?  Mr. Patterson:  It is one person’s opinion that zoning would

not permit it. 

No.   4:   ADJOURNMENT:

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

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:  August 4, 2025