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PAWTUCKET CITY COUNCIL
RECREATION COMMITTEE
CITY PROPERTY COMMITTEE
AUGUST 26, 2025
A joint meeting of the City Council Recreation Committee and City Property Committee was held Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 5:34 p.m., in the Temporary City Council Office, Room 204, 2nd floor, 100 Freight Street, Pawtucket, RI.
Present on behalf of the Recreation Committee – Councilor Moran, Chair; Councilors Gregor and Moreno.
Absent – 0.
Present on behalf of the City Property Committee – Councilors Araujo and Moreno.
Absent – Councilor Stachowiak, Chair.
Councilor Araujo presided.
Also present were Christopher Crawley, Acting Public Works Director; Luke McLaughlin, Recreation Director; David Farrell, Chair, Pawtucket Parks Commission; Mary Healey, Daniel Imbracsio, and William Goodwin, Jr., Pawtucket Parks Commission; and Major Robert Pickett and Captain David Dolan, Pawtucket Police.
The Committee conducted a public input period, at which there were no speakers.
The Committee took up the following:
Continuation of the discussion with the Pawtucket Parks Commission regarding concerns at Slater Park & Sunset Park (continued from November 8, 2023 and July 22, 2024).
Ms. Healey stated the four biggest issues in Slater Park are speeding, people living in the park, alcohol consumption and vandalism.
Major Pickett stated that currently there are no patrols in Slater Park. He will start scheduling officers there. For the past month they have had the speed trailers there.
Mr. Crawley stated that they have put in speed humps, repainted the striping for crosswalks and the speed signs, and have put boulders on the edge of the grass to stop illegal parking.
Mr. Farrell stated that these steps helped in the beginning, but the speeding has gotten worse again after a few months.
Major Pickett noted that the problem is manning. They have done 156 checks in Slater Park since May.
Mr. Imbracsio believes that the location of the officers is key. There was an officer standing behind the tennis courts who couldn’t be seen. That wasn’t helpful. There is a speeding problem by the carousel and the parks office, especially in the early morning (between 6 – 7 am), when people are in the park walking their dogs.
Recreation Committee
City Property Committee
August 26, 2025
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Mr. Farrell would like to receive quarterly police reports regarding speeding in the park.
Councilor Araujo asked that if the parks commission receives any reports that they forward copies to the city council.
Mr. Crawley noted that they have installed two speed table crosswalks in the park.
Mr. Imbracsio asked about using speed cameras in the park. When it was noted that the speed cameras are not allowed in the parks, he thought it might be a deterrent even if they are only sending pictures of the speeding cars to the owners without assessing a fine.
Major Pickett will look to put in more patrols.
Councilor Gregor asked about placing unmanned police cars in the park to get people to slow down.
Mr. Farrell noted that the evenings are also a bad time for speeding, especially when people are cutting through the park to get home after getting out of work.
Major Pickett stated that they are supposed to have 66 police officers who work patrol, but they only have 51 now.
Ms. Healey stated that she goes through the park on Monday mornings picking up empty liquor bottles. People must be there late on Sunday nights.
Councilor Araujo suggested the possibility of charging refundable deposits that are not refunded to those parties who do not clean up their area.
Mr. Crawley stated that it’s a problem to enforce that at each public area.
Mr. Imbracsio stated and other members of the parks commission agreed that the parks department staff does a great job keeping Slater Park clean.
The police officers were asked about bike patrols.
Captain Dolan stated that there are currently no bike patrols.
Councilor Gregor asked about reinstating them.
Mr. Imbracsio stated that they are effective and the public appreciates them.
Mr. Runge discussed his work assisting the unhoused in the city, including those living in city parks. He stated that he is working with several housing agencies and the RI Department of Housing. There are currently six unhoused people in Slater Park. There was one in Sunset Park, but he is no longer there. He is working to find housing for all of them.
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City Property Committee
August 26, 2025
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Mr. Runge agreed to attend a future meeting of the Pawtucket Parks Commission to let all of the members know of his work with the unhoused.
Regarding Sunset Park, Ms. Healy noted that there is a plan in place for the park.
The Parks Commission members discussed having another meeting in the spring.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:38 p.m.
Richard J. Goldstein, MMC, Clerk
Pawtucket City Council