New Shoreham Town Council Meeting w/ RI Rep. Spears, RI Senator DiMario, and Town Lobbyists from Mayfourth

Town Hall, 16 Old Town Road

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

1:00 p.m.

 

Present: First Warden Keith Stover, Second Warden Nancy Dodge, Town Council members William McCombe, Margaret O’Neill and Tristan Payne.  Also present were Interim Town Manager Amy Land, via Zoom RI Senator Alana DiMario, RI Representative Tina Spears, Town Lobbyists Rick McAuliffe and Jeffrey Taylor and Town Solicitors James Callaghan and Nick Solitro.  Town Clerk Millicent Highet was present for the recording of minutes. 

 

First Warden Stover called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m.  He gave his compgraynts to Senator Alana DiMario and Representative Tina Spears and thanked them for their attention and commitment.

 

1.      Discuss and act on 2025 legislative agenda:

Town Lobbyist Rick McAuliffe reported the following regarding the RI General Assembly:

·         The legislation submission deadline has passed, although a Town bill can still be submitted by the legislators.

·         The funds from the CARES Act, Covid19 support, and the Inflation Reduction Act have been fully allocated, and resources are tighter this year without those funds.

·         Coastal communities have been meeting to discuss tourism impacts (water, wastewater infrastructure, law enforcement, road infrastructure, public health buildings and staffing) and how to fund the additional stresses from the impacts.

·         There are three bills in the legislature regarding adding the 5% hotel tax to short-term rentals.  The Governor’s bill proposes that all funds go to the state to combat homelessness.  The second bill would send the tax to the local communities to address tourism impacts.  The last bill would keep the tax allocation the same as the existing hotel tax.

 

a.       Local property tax relief

Interim Town Manager Land noted that New Shoreham’s request for enabling legislation has been submitted to allow property tax relief to be granted to homeowners that provide year-round housing. 

 

b.      Landing Fee

Ms. Land explained that the Town will be seeking a change to the landing fee legislation to adjust the amount of the fee to address inflation. 

 

c.       Hotel tax as it pertains to short-term rentals

The Council expressed their concern over the importance of bringing the tax money garnered from short-term rentals back to the Island.

 

d.      Housing initiative: Enabling legislation allowing a 2% tax on property sales on amounts over $900,000 to be maintained by the municipality, restricted to affordable housing

The housing initiative bill which allows a 2% tax on property sales on amounts over $900,000 will be supported by the lobbyists and the legislators.

 

e.       School funding

Ms. Land questioned how to approach school funding for New Shoreham over the long term and how a beneficial change can take place that supports and acknowledges the Town.  She noted that currently 2% of New Shoreham’s school funding comes from the state.  Senator DiMario and Representative Spears suggested trying to implement a funding floor.

 

The Council questioned the Department of Transportation’s promise of project funding and their lack of action over the past 10 years.  They noted that the RI DOT has agreed to build a salt shed and replace the highways garage.  The highways garage constitutes a safety issue, as it is on the verge of collapse.  Rick McAuliffe explained that the East Providence 195 bridge replacement is pulling money from all other projects.  A call with the Director of the DOT to address the issue was suggested.  Representative Spears stated that such a safety issue is also a legal issue and she suggested sending a legal letter addressing liability.

 

2.      Receive update from Senator DiMario and Representative Spears regarding the 2025 legislative session

Earlier in the meeting, Senator DiMario and Representative Spears reported the following regarding the legislative session:

·         Senator DiMario noted conversations are taking place regarding funding triage plans if state allocated federal dollars are no longer available.

·         The Department of Housing is overseeing a major reorganization of housing policy and governance. Senator DiMario stated she was focusing on equity in how the funds are allocated and directing money across the state, not just to the urban areas.

·         Senator DiMario sits on the Agricultural Committee in which they are addressing concerns over possible cuts to federal funding for clean air and clean water.

·         Representative Spears noted that there is a bill to amend state zoning to allow for dorm-style housing which may ease housing for seasonal works.

·         Ms. Spears noted that there are a lot of healthcare issues and efforts will be made to stabilize the healthcare system.

·         There is a bill in both houses regarding a ban on assault-style weapons.

·         An assessment of sea-level rise throughout Rhode Island will be completed which will include Block Island.

·         A bottle bill should emerge from the house and the senate to address the state’s plastic waste issue.

·         Representative Spears will be working to improve the inequities in RI Housing scoring criteria. 

·         Ms. Spears noted she has submitted a legislative grant for the Wood River Dental program which operates on Block Island.

 

Mr. Stover noted that the Block Island is typically an outlier when it comes to statewide challenges regarding Zoning and Planning relief and the Town does not fit a statewide model.

 

Mr. Payne moved to adjourn at 2:04 p.m.  The motion was seconded by Ms. Dodge and it carried.

            Ayes: 4 (Stover, Dodge, Payne, McCombe)               Nays: 0            Absent: 1 (O’Neill)

 

 

Millicent Highet, MMC

Town Clerk    

 

Date Approved: 4/7/2025