POSTED MARCH 30, 2022
REGULAR MEETING APRIL 4, 2022
TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN, RHODE ISLAND
The following items of business, having been filed with the Town Clerk under the Rules of the Council, will come before the Council at a regular meeting to be held on Monday, April 4, 2022 at 6:00 P.M. Executive Session; 6:30 P.M. Regular Meeting at the Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road, Middletown, Rhode Island. Said meeting will be conducted in person, by telephone conference call/ webinar, in accordance with Executive Order 22-01 issued by Governor McKee on January 6, 2022, extended to March 31, 2022, which modifies certain provisions of the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) and the Access to Public Records Act (“APRA”) as part of the State’s emergency response to COVID-19. Members of the public may access and listen to the meeting in real-time by calling 1-877-853-5257 (Toll Free) or 1-888-475-4499 (Toll Free) and entering Meeting ID: 826 0579 5459 or on the web at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82605795459.
If you chose to join the meeting by zoom or telephone, Council Rules allow for the Public to speak only during the Public Fourm and Public Hearings. If calling in by telephone, pressing *9 raises your hand and pressing *6 will unmute.
The items listed on the Consent portion of the agenda are to be considered routine by the Town Council and will ordinarily be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Council, or a member of the public so requests and the Town Council President permits, in which event the item will be removed from Consent Agenda consideration and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. All items on this agenda, with the exception of the Public Forum Session, may be considered, discussed, and voted upon in executive session and/or open session.
Pursuant to RIGL §42-46-6(b). Notice – “Nothing contained herein shall prevent a public body, other than a school committee, from adding additional items to the agenda by majority vote of the members. Such additional items shall be for informational purposes only and may not be voted on except where necessary to address an unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action to protect the public or to refer the matter to an appropriate committee or to another body or official.”
Any person not a member of the Council, desiring to address the Council concerning a matter on the docket of the Council, not the subject of a Public Hearing, shall submit a written request to the Town Clerk stating the matter upon which he desires to speak. Persons are permitted to address the Council for a period not to exceed five (5) minutes.
The Middletown Town Council follows the codification of present-day general parliamentary law as articulated in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised 10th edition (2000), together with whatever rules of order the Council has adopted for its own governance. The motion to reconsider is one of the motions that can bring a question again before an assembly, and is designed to bring back for further consideration a motion which has already been voted on:
If, in the same session that a motion has been voted on, but no later than the same day or the next day on which a business meeting is held, new information or a changed situation makes it appear that a different result might reflect the true will of the assembly, a member who voted with the prevailing side can, by moving to Reconsider [RONR (10th ed.), p. 304-321] the vote, propose that the question shall come before the assembly again as if it had not previously been considered. (From Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief, Robert, Evans et al., De Capo Press, 2004)
1. Executive Session - Pursuant to provisions of RIGL, Sections 42-46-2, 42-46-4 and 42-46-5 (a), (5) Land Acquisition, (5) Land Acquisition, (5) Lease (JFK School), (1) Collective Bargaining, (2) Potential Litigation - review, discussion and/or potential action and/or vote in executive session and/or open session.
2. Presentation by Jeffrey Heath, PhD, Principal, Middletown High School, re: Ensuring Success For All Students: Emphasizing Career Education & Exploration at Middletown High School.
3. Pursuant to Rule 25 of the Rules of the Council, Citizens may address the town on one (1) subject only, said subject of substantive Town business, neither discussed during the regular meeting nor related to personnel or job performance. Citizens may speak for no longer than five (5) minutes and must submit a public participation form to the Council Clerk prior to the start of the meeting. All items discussed during this session will not be voted upon.
4. Application of FLATWAVES, LLC d/b/a The Food Shack, 499 East Main Road, for a Class BV Alcoholic Beverage License, for use at the same premises. (Requires advertising and notification to abutters for a future public hearing) – (Current license for this premises has not been issued and was surrendered back to the Town by CCE Development, LLC)
5. Memorandum of Councillor Turano, re: Update Request – Project Updates.
6. Approval of Minutes, Regular Meeting, March 21, 2022.
7. Resolution of the Council, re: Recognizing Arbor Day, April 29, 2022, in the community.
8. Petition of National Grid & Verizon New England, Inc., re: Sachuest Drive, National Grid proposed to install new pole 10-50 and relocate pole 10, 24ft West for the installation of electric facilities to a proposed 5 lot subdivision known as Saltwood Farm. (Council action to forward to the Roads & Utilities Advisory Committee for review and recommendation.)
9. Communication of Dorothea A. Baernthaler, President, Friends of the Library, with enclosure, re: Friends of the Middletown Public Library, Inc. – Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – Friends Book Store.
10. Applications from the following named persons, firms and corporations for RENEWAL of Mobile Food Establishment Licenses, for the 2022-2023 licensing year:
Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle: (Limit 10 per year, currently 6 issued)
Longade, LLC d/b/a Del’s Lemonade- 729 West Main Road
Longade, LLC d/b/a Del’s Lemonade- 729 West Main Road
Longade, LLC d/b/a Del’s Lemonade- 729 West Main Road
Non-Self Propelled Cart: (Limit 7 per year, currently 1 issued)
Longade, LLC d/b/a Del’s Lemonade- 729 West Main Road
Longade, LLC d/b/a Del’s Lemonade- 729 West Main Road
11. Applications from the following named persons, firms and corporations for RENEWAL of Holiday Sales Licenses, for the 2022-2023 licensing year:
Beebe & Family, Inc.- 7-Eleven Food Stores- 726 Aquidneck Avenue
Keystone Novelties Distributor, LLC/Keystone Fireworks- 741 West Main Road
Shaw’s Supermarket, Inc. #7442/192/Shaw’s Supermarket-71 East Main Road
12. License of Burial, re: Thomas Day and Mary Day – Section 54, Graves 41 and 42.
13. Communication of Theresa M. Silveira Spengler Chair, Middletown School Committee, re: The Middletown Public Schools’ general operating fund is projecting an expenditure deficit of $1,259,000 for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
14. Communication of Lt. Corey A. Huck, Newport Police Department, Chairman, AINPP, re: Request for waiver of all detail fees for the Aquidneck Island Police Parade.
15. Application for Special Event Permit from Lt. Corey A. Huck, on behalf of the Aquidneck Island National Police Parade Committee, for the Aquidneck Island Annual Police Parade beginning on West Main Road Two Mile Corner to the One Mile Corner into Newport (Broadway) to be held on Sunday, May 1, 2022 beginning at 8:30 am.
(Parade Committee respectfully requests all fees to be waived)
16. Application for Special Event Permit from St. Columba’s Chapel, 55 Vaucluse Avenue for St. Columba’s Annual Garden Party, to be held on Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
17. Applications four (4) Special Event Permits from Rejects Beer Co., 124 Aquidneck Avenue, 1) Summer Kick Off, Pig Roast & Fish Fry, Island Theme Free event for the neighborhood to be held on Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 2) End of Summer BBQ, Free event with BBQ and Beers to be held on Sunday, August 21, 2022, from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 3) Simmons Farms Collaboration Local Event, Indoor Music, Diego’s Taco Cart outside, to be held on Sunday, September 25, 2022, from1:00 pm to 7:00 pm. 4) Oktoberfest, Fall Beer Release, to be held on Saturday, October 1, 2022, and Sunday, October 2, 2022, from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm.
18. Application for Special Event Permit from On Your Left Racing for a Newport Triathlon, Triathlon – Swim, Bike, Run Event - Second Beach on Sunday, September 11, 2022, from 7:00 am to Noon.
19. Application for Special Event Permit from Gray Matter Marketing, Amica Newport Marathon, Marathon – throughout Newport and Middletown, starting and ending at Easton’s Beach, Newport, to be held on Sunday, October 9, 2022, from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm.
20. Application for Special Event Permit from Dale Bradley for Camp-O-Rama- Weekend Camping at the Beach, Sachuest Beach Parking Lot, beginning Wednesday, September 14th and ending on Sunday, September 18, 2022.
21. Application from Special Event Permit from The Norman Bird Sanctuary for a Harvest Fair, Old-fashioned country fair with games, food, crafters, music and family entertainment to be held Saturday, October 1, 2022 and Sunday, October 2, 2022 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. (Applicant requests all fees to be waived)
22. Public Hearing (Advertised; Abutters Notified)
Public Hearing Remains Open.
An Ordinance of the Town of Middletown (Second Reading)
An Ordinance in Revision to the Comprehensive Community Plan.
The future land use plan, map L-4, of the Land Use element of the Middletown Comprehensive Community Plan is amended to bring consistency between the Future Land Use Plan and the Town’s Zoning Map for selected parcels fronting on Toni-Lynn Terrace and Reservoir Road, Subject parcels are identified on attached map. (Planning Board recommendation on file)
23. (Public Hearing Advertised; Abutters Notified)
Public Hearing Remains Open.
An Ordinance of the Town of Middletown (Second Reading)
An Ordinance in Amendment to the Town Code of the Town of Middletown, Title XV Land Use, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, is amending the Zoning Map to change the zoning district designations for certain properties fronting on Toni-Lynn Terrace and Reservoir Road. Subject parcels are identified on attached map. (Planning Board recommendation on file)
24. Public Hearing (Advertised; Abutters Notified)
Public Hearing Remains Open.
An Ordinance of the Town of Middletown (Second Reading)
An Ordinance in Revision to the Comprehensive Community Plan.
The future land use plan, map L-4 of the Land Use element of the Middletown Comprehensive Community Plan is amended to bring consistency between the Future Land Use Plan and the Town’s Zoning Map for selected parcels fronting on Aquidneck Avenue, Browns Lane, Carriage Trail, Dexter Street, East Main Road, Fairway Drive, Goldenrod Drive, Green End Avenue, Johnson Terrace, Loring Street, Meadow Lane, Mitchell’s Lane, Morrison Avenue, Oakwood Road, Prospect Avenue, Ridgewood Road, River Run Road, Turner Road, Wayside Avenue, Wintergreen Drive, Wood Terrace and Wyatt Road. Subject parcels are identified on attached map. (Planning Board recommendation on file)
25. An Ordinance of the Town of Middletown (Second Reading)
An Ordinance in Amendment to the Town Code of the Town of Middletown, Title IX General Regulations, Chapter 94 Streets, Sidewalks and public Places, is amended by adding a new Section 94.07 Esplanade Sidewalks.
26. Email communication of Vladimir Storozinsky, re: Requesting the Town to raise the Ukrainian flag on any of town’s buildings to simply send the message “We stand with Ukraine” and condemn Russian aggression.
27. Communication of Nicole H. B. Barnard, Attorney / Senior Staff Representative, AFSCME Rhode Island Council 94, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, North Providence, RI, re: Request that some of the American Rescue Act funds go to the R.I. Council 94, Local 1823 members.( Members work in the Facilities and Maintenance Department at the Middletown Public Schools.)
28. Communication of Nicholas Coogan Chairman, Open Space & Fields Committee, re: Request to present recommendations for possible sites for Futsal courts in Middletown.
29. At the request of Council President Rodrigues, re: Email communication of David Travers request support for the Gaudet Boys Baseball and Girls Softball Teams.
30. Memorandum of Councillor VonVillas, re: Impact and recovery of Covid-19 pandemic on library services.
31. Memorandum of Vice President Welch, re: Proposed 2022 Ballot Question – Term Limits – Amends Article II, The Town Council, § 202. Qualifications of members; vacancy occurs if member becomes disqualified.
32. Memorandum of Councill Flynn, re: Update Request ARPA PROJECTS.
33. Memorandum of Town Planner, re: 2022 RIDEM Open Space Acquisition Grant Award.
34. Resolution of the Council, re: Authorizing the Town Administrator to accept the grant and execute all necessary agreements and provide required documentation to RIDEM, and authorizes the Town Council President to execute the required conservation easement, and allocates town matching funds in the amount of $200,000 from an Open Space Bond.
35. Communication of Tax Assessor, re: Cancellation of Taxes for certain Middletown residents.
36. Resolution of the Council, re: Cancellation of Taxes for certain Middletown residents.
Wendy J.W. Marshall, CMC
Town Clerk
This meeting location is accessible to the handicapped. Individuals requiring interpreter services for the hearing-impaired should notify the Town Clerk’s Office at 847-0009 not less than 48 hours before this meeting.
Posted on March 30, 2022, at Middletown Town Hall, Middletown Public Library, Middletown Web Site and Secretary of State Web Site.