STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, COUNTY OF NEWPORT

The Town Council of the Town of Tiverton, County, and State aforesaid held a Special Council Meeting on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at 7:00 PM at the Tiverton Town Hall, 343 Highland Road

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

Council President deMedeiros called the meeting to order with the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

3. ROLL CALL

Present

President Denise M. deMedeiros	Vice President Michael S. Burk	John G. Edwards V
Jay P. Edwards	David J. Paull	Deborah G. Janick
Dennis J. Milbourne

Solicitor Marcello, Administrator Cotta, Clerk Chabot, and Deputy Clerk Veegh were also present.

 

4. CONSENT AGENDA

All items listed within the Consent Agenda are to be considered routine by 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 for separate consideration later on the agenda.

 

A. Approval of Bay Street Moratorium Extension to December 31, 2024

 

Councilor Burk motioned to approve the Bay Street Moratorium Extension to December 31, 2024. Seconded by Councilor Edwards V, the motion passed unanimously.

 

5. PUBLIC COMMENTS

Library Director Damiani announced several upcoming library events that included Smokey the Bear Birthday Bash on Saturday, August 10, and the Basket Swamp Preserve Community Hike hosted with the Tiverton Land Trust on Wednesday, August 14. She noted the library was chosen out of 1,300 applications to be one of 50 sites across the country to receive a free NASA Moon Tree sapling from NASA and the National Forest Service. She explained the seed the tree grew from had flown around the moon in 2022.

 

Richard St. Pierre from 143 Warren Ave. expressed frustration over an unanswered letter he had sent the councilors about excessive tractor-trailer truck traffic on his street. He voiced serious concerns about potential safety issues, speeding, and lack of stop signs and enforcement. Councilor Paull, noting his upcoming agenda item re: Warren Avenue signs, stated he would request new signs at the ends of the roads facing north and south to prevent truck traffic. Chief Jones explained that the rate of growth is contributing to traffic issues. He noted that local businesses in the area using Warren Ave. have been warned to cease. New radar units were being purchased and a speed counter would be used to gather data to determine the timing on problem areas.    

 

Mary Kilmer of 90 Warren Avenue, agreed with Mr. St. Pierre’s traffic complaints, yet expressed concern that a new stop sign might cause a challenge backing out of her driveway. 

 

6. PUBLIC HEARINGS (ADVERTISED) – Discussion and possible votes

                A. Approval of proposed Charter Amendment and corresponding Ballot Question for possible elector

     approval at the November 5, 2024, general election. The amendment will provide for a modification

     to Article XI SCHOOL DEPARTMENT by adding a new section 1103 which will require monthly school

     department financial reports to the Town Administrator and Town Council related to the annual

     operating budget, capital budget, and revenues. 

 

Council President deMedeiros opened the public hearing. No one presented to speak, and the hearing was closed.

Councilor Edwards explained his proposed charter amendment was based on several difficult budget cycles to ensure transparency for the community.

Councilor Burk said the proposed charter change does not allow for flexibility as best practices change and urged the council to vote it down.

Councilor Edwards stated he believed the school financial reporting requirement needs to be in the charter, likening it to the similar charter requirement for the Town Administrator to prepare and deliver financial reporting. 

Councilor Janick agreed with Councilor Burk that the requirement should not be in the charter, and called the wording vague and the requirement might pigeonhole us if best practices change in the future. She agreed with School Committee Chair Farnworth’s suggestion to form a combined finance committee.   

Councilor deMedeiros, agreeing with the proposed financial requirement, stated that financial information was often difficult to obtain and that this would be the only way we could make this clearer for all to understand and for the taxpayers to know where their money is going.

Councilor Paull said he fully supported the proposal, adding that any type of transparency is good government.

Councilor Edwards V motioned to approve the proposed Charter Amendment and corresponding Ballot Question for possible elector approval at the November 5, 2024, general election. Seconded by Councilor Edwards. The motion passed 4-3, with Councilors Janick, Burk and Milbourne opposed.

 

7. GENERAL BUSINESS

A. Council President deMedeiros – Discussion and possible vote on the distribution of Casino Gaming

     Capital Fund

Administrator Cotta referenced a memo from Treasurer Saurette summarizing revenues received from 2021 through 2024, along with a packet of requests. He stated the FY23 monies with reimbursements from USDA and a recommendation of returning $72,000 of unspent funds into the fund, would leave $3,190,911 to be allocated.  Council President deMedeiros noted that funds for streetlights, the fire ladder truck, and purchasing a fire pumper had previously been committed.

Councilor Paull commented that account totals were unclear and questioned unused allocated funds going back to 2021. Administrator Cotta briefed the council on the status of some of the unspent or unused funds in question.

 

Councilor Edwards V motioned to unallocate the Surplus and unspent dollars that were previously allocated for the software and for the 2021-2022 Surplus that was unspent back into the pot of money so they're not tied over to a project. Seconded by Councilor Burk, the motion passed unanimously.

The councilors reviewed the requested capital items and fund balances.

Councilor Janick motioned to take $925,000 out of the casino money to buy the pumper. Seconded by Councilor Edwards, the motion passed unanimously. 

Councilor Edwards V motioned to approve the streetlights to be paid off. Seconded by Councilor Edwards, the motion passed unanimously. 

Councilor Edwards V motioned to approve the ladder truck to be paid off. Seconded by Councilor Edwards, the motion passed unanimously

School Committee Chair Farnworth and Superintendent Sanchioni reviewed the school departments’ requests. Dr. Sanchioni noted that all the priority items were part of the 5-year capital plan approved by RIDE for reimbursement at a minimum of 35%. He explained the requests that included gym dividers, vestibule security systems, doorknob replacements, locker room air purification systems, and door replacements totaling $952,000.

Councilor Edwards expressed concern over $640,000 over expenditure in 2023, asking if that gap would be closed by reimbursements from RIDE or the school budget. Discussion continued over where and how previous allocations were spent as well as the timing of the reimbursements. Councilor Janick questioned the specific project details and whether grants were included. Councilor Burk said it would be important to understand the process did not work and that by ordinance, the Council after consultation with the administrator and school superintendent, shall review and approve by resolution, any withdrawal of funds from that Capital Improvement account for the schools. Administrator Cotta noted a technical problem whereas reimbursements aren’t granted until project completion.

Councilor Edwards expressed the importance of not adding new projects before it was clear we are current on existing projects. Ms. Farnworth stated there was a thorough monthly accounting on the locker room project and she did not anticipate going over the $2.1 million budget. Councilor Edwards stated that the RIDE reimbursement may not be received until 2025. Councilor deMedeiros stated current projects should be paid for before any new allocations.

Superintendent Sanchioni requested that at minimum, the three school door replacements totaling $255,000 be considered, as they were important security items.   

Councilor Edwards V motioned to encumber funds for Pocasset School's front door, Middle School doors 2 and 5, and the front, cafeteria, and back doors at Ranger for $255,000.00 as requested. Seconded by Councilor Paull, the motion passed unanimously.

It was agreed to hold any further allocations until the Treasurer can verify the accounting. 

 

B. Councilor Paull – Discussion and possible vote regarding Warren Avenue stop signs

 

As the item was previously discussed under Public Comments, Councilor Paull had nothing further.

C. Councilor Paull – Discussion and possible vote regarding Dog Park parking

Councilor Paull explained the dog park parking area was not completed as requested, and posed a safety issue with the current configuration. The original plan was to do away with the triangular space which would allow approximately 23 spots. As the DPW Director was not present for comment, Administrator Cotta agreed to look into the matter.

 

D. Councilor Paull – Discussion and possible vote regarding Department of Public Works staffing

 

Councilor Paull noted the current staff of 7 was inadequate to handle the DPW workload, and contract staffing allows for 10. He suggested adding a couple of extra laborers for efficiency. Administrator Cotta explained that although there were 10 positions in the contract, the extra 2 were tied to the landfill. He stated that it was never his intention to add the extra positions, and stated this discussion should not be held in open session.

  

E. Councilor Paull – Discussion and possible vote regarding Grinnell’s Beach overflow lot

 

Councilor Paull suggested the Gadsby Road grass area could be utilized for additional beach overflow parking for residents. Administrator Cotta responded noting competing issues related to the Harbor Commission dinghy dock slots and questioned how an additional parking lot would be monitored. He would have the DPW Director review and the item could be discussed at a future meeting.

 

At the Solicitor’s request: 

Councilor Burk motioned to amend the executive session agenda to include an item for discussion only for an update on BCP Properties, LLC v. Town of Tiverton (NC 2024-0146). Seconded by Councilor Edwards V, the motion passed unanimously.

 

8. EXECUTIVE SESSION - The Town Council may vote to go into executive session in accordance with the RI Open Meetings Act to discuss and or act upon the following items:

                A. Town Solicitor – RIGL 42-46-5(a)(2) Litigation:  Highland Ridge Farm, LLC v. Town of Tiverton, et al.

                      (NC 2024-0310) update

 

                Added item: Town Solicitor – RIGL 42-46-5(a)(2) Litigation:  BCP Properties, LLC v. Town of Tiverton
                                       (NC 2024-0146)  update

 

Councilor Edwards V motioned to enter into Executive Session for agenda item 8A and added item BCP Properties. Councilor Burk seconded the motion, the motion passed unanimously.

 

The council entered a closed executive session at approximately 9:00 p.m.

 

9. RECONVENE in OPEN SESSION and Sealing of Executive Session Minutes

The Council returned to open session at approximately 9:32 p.m.

 

Councilor Burk motioned to seal the minutes of the Executive Session. Councilor Edwards seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Solicitor Marcello reported that agenda items 8A and 8B were discussed only, and no votes were taken.

 

10. ADJOURNMENT

Councilor Burk motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Edwards seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 9:33 p.m.

 

A True Copy.

 

 

ATTEST______________________________________

                        Joan B. Chabot, Town Clerk