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 Monday, January 6, 2025, 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 Edwards V called the meeting to order with the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

3. ROLL CALL

Present

President John G. Edwards V	Vice President David J. Paull	Deborah G. Janick
Denise M. deMedeiros	Craig R. Committo	Blake B. Hayden
David Perry

Interim Town Administrator Jones, Solicitor Marcello, Clerk Chabot, and Deputy Clerk Veegh were also present.

 

BUSINESS BROUGHT BEFORE THE COUNCIL

Council President Edwards V read the items on the Consent Agenda.

 

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 License Renewals – Non-Advertised (December 1, 2024, to November 30, 2025)

        Holiday License Renewal

            1. American Dream Gas, 400 Main Road (ANN-23-92)

 

        Tobacco License Renewal

            1. American Dream Gas, 400 Main Road (ANN-23-92)

 

        Victualling License Renewals

            1. China Sea, 5 Main Road (ANN-23-29)

            2. Pine House Kitchen & Bar, 13 Crandall Road (ANN-23-108)

            3. Plouf Plouf Gastronomie, 2490 Main Road (ANN-23-99)

            4. Subway, 1289 Stafford Road (ANN-23-69)

 

B. Acknowledge Receipt of Reports

     1. Treasurer Saurette – November 2024 Budget and Revenue Reports

 

Councilor deMedeiros removed item 4-B

 

Councilor Janick motioned to approve the Consent Agenda items except for items 4-B. Seconded by Councilor deMedeiros, the motion passed unanimously.

 

Re: 4-B, Councilor deMedeiros called attention to several current unspent monies allocated to Boards and Commissions and Civic Appropriations. She suggested checking in with the groups on these. Councilor Committo questioned the unspent hydrant services item. The Interim Administrator offered to contact the departments to remind them of the unspent funds halfway through the budget cycle.

  

Councilor deMedeiros motioned to approve item 4-B. Seconded by Councilor Paull, the motion passed unanimously.

 

5. PUBLIC COMMENTS REGARDING A COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM OR OTHER TOWN BUSINESS

Joann Arruda asked to hold off on her comment until the agenda item was addressed.

 

Resident Amy McNamee questioned the destruction of the historic Lafayette House at 3118 Main Road, specifically asking how the home was missed as historic on a demolition permit, what the town was going to do about the town employee who had altered the application, and how this was going to be prevented in the future.  

 

Resident Fred Stachura commented that he was in dismay and discussed the willful demolition of the historic Lafayette House. He noted that he was a preservation professional who teaches historic preservation. He commented that he was “lied to” by a building clerk when he called with specific questions related to the matter, adding that the falsification of government documents was criminal by definition. He asked the Council what the consequences would be. He stated that he had been in thousands of historic houses during his career, and this house was, by far, not in the worst condition. He urged that the town needs historic district zoning, design guidelines, and other types of ordinances to protect our tangible heritage that belongs not only to the property owner but to the community.

 

Resident Philip Zachary also commented on the historic Lafayette House, mentioning that the optics of the issue looked very bad for the town. He continued onto another topic relative to the vacant town administrator position that he said had applied for, after learning that only one applicant had been received. He stated that no one had ever contacted him since he had applied, yet he saw in the paper the police chief was being named the interim administrator, likening it to more bad optics for the town.       

 

6. BOARD OF LICENSING– Discussion and possible votes, subject to meeting all legal requirements

Directions to view licensing applications: 1) Click on https://tivertonri.portal.opengov.com/search ,

2) Click Records and then type in the record number listed on the agenda, 3) Click on the highlighted record to view the application

 

NON ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR LICENSE RENEWALS - (December 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2025)

                A. Approval of Entertainment Licenses

                     1. Pine House Kitchen & Bar, 13 Crandall Road (ANN-23-108)

 

President Edwards V opened the public hearing. With no public comments, the public hearing was closed.

 

Councilor Paull motioned to approve the entertainment licenses for the Pine House Kitchen & Bar. Seconded by Councilor deMedeiros, the motion passed unanimously.

                B. Petroleum Storage License Renewals
                     1. American Dream Gas, 400 Main Road (ANN-23-92)

                     2. Tiverton Sun, 497 Main Road (ANN-23-114)

 

President Edwards V opened the public hearing. With no public comments, the public hearing was closed.

 

Councilor Paull motioned to approve the petroleum storage license renewals for the American Dream Gas and Tiverton Sun. Seconded by Councilor deMedeiros, the motion passed unanimously.

 

7. GENERAL BUSINESS

                A. Interim Town Administrator - Discussion and possible vote to advertise the open Building Official

                     position and approve funding to advertise

 

Councilor deMedeiros motioned to advertise the Building Official position and approve funding to advertise. Seconded by Councilor Hayden, the motion passed unanimously.

 

                B. Interim Town Administrator - Discussion and possible vote to advertise the Director of Public Works

                     Position and approve funding to advertise

 

Councilor Paull motioned to advertise the Director of Public Works position and approve funding to advertise. Seconded by Councilor Committo, the motion passed unanimously.

 

                C. Discussion and possible vote to request applications received by the Personnel Board for all Town

                     Administrator applicants

 

Personnel Board Vice Chair Joanne Arruda addressed the Council, noting that she was not speaking for the Personnel Board. She relayed that over 20 years ago when she was on the council, a similar request to supply the council with remaining resumés that didn't get forwarded for consideration was reviewed by three separate solicitors, where each rendered decisions that said resumés reviewed but not put forward for actual interviews, must remain confidential.

 

Councilor deMedeiros stated that she had been involved in hiring three different Town Administrators, where the council presidents and vice presidents were present for the opening of all applications were able to read each. She said the Personnel Board then selected those for interviews. She said unlike department head positions, the Council is the hiring authority for the Administrator and should have access to all applications. She said although she trusted the Personnel Board, without access to the six applications, she thought the optics looked horrible and questioned the hesitation to put forth the remaining applications. She mentioned that the Solicitor had written an opinion and that he believed that the Council could look at the applications.   

 

Councilor Perry asked Ms. Arruda if all remaining applicants got letters stating why they were not called for interviews. She replied that she was not sure and that she would discuss further with the Chair. He noted that he had previously been on the Personnel Board for 12 years and had full confidence in the Personnel Board. 

 

Councilor Committo also noted his faith in the Personnel Board, yet noted that he was aware this wasn’t the first time candidates have not been notified about not moving on in the process, which he called unprofessional and needed to be addressed.

 

Councilor Janick prefaced by saying with disrespect to the Interim Administrator who had been doing a “great job,” she commented that Mr. Zachary could not have said it better. Though she trusted the Personnel Board, it was the Council that needed to make the decision, and she needs to know that they have looked at all applicants, so they can make an informed decision.  She added that she does a lot of interviewing in her job, and sometimes what's on paper is not the best fit, and that sometimes you need to meet the person to get a feel for what they can bring to the table.

 

Councilor Paull said he echoed what Councilor Committo said, and although did not want to undermine the Personnel Board, agreed, that the optics did not look great.

 

Councilor Edwards V, stated he appreciated the Solicitor's opinion which essentially shows that the Charter is gray when it comes to the Administrator position, adding that the Charter Review Commission should look at that process and solidify it. He advised that he had contacted the town’s labor attorney who raised serious concerns as it related to the process. He said the point of the Personnel Board is to keep the Town Administrator hiring positions and the Town Council at arm’s length, citing potential issues with Equal Opportunity Employment. He stated he believed there could be potential hiring issues if the applicants were suddenly unsealed, and if there was a motion made to request this, he would be voting no. 

 

Solicitor Marcello confirmed that at the request of the Personal Board, he rendered a written opinion on December 18, 2024, which would be made public. He explained that the previous solicitor opinions, referenced by Ms. Arruda, had to do with appointments of department heads by the Town Administrator and the request for the council to see the resumes of people who applied for those positions. He added while he agreed with those opinions, the difference was that the Council is the appointing authority under the Charter, and it was his opinion, that the appointing authority has the legal authority to review any and all resumes that are submitted either through the Personnel Board or directly to them.

 

Councilor Hayden stated that based on the opinion of the town solicitor, he did believe we the Council should have access to the resumés.

 

Councilor Hayden motioned to unseal the redacted records for the Council to view, made available by the Town Clerk. Seconded by Councilor deMedeiros, the motion passed 4-3, with Councilors Edwards V, Paull, and Perry opposed.

 

After the vote, it was decided that the Council must complete a review of the resumes by January 27, 2025.

 

8. EXECUTIVE SESSION

                A. Interim Town Administrator - RIGL 42-46-5(a)(5) – Discussion and possible vote on the disposition of

                     publicly held property in the Tiverton Industrial Park

 

Councilor Edwards V motioned to enter into Executive Session for agenda item 8-A. Seconded by Councilor Hayden, the motion passed 5-2, with Councilors Janick and deMedeiros opposed.

 

For the record, Councilor deMedeiros stated that she will not be present at this executive session, and I will not go into the executive session with Mr. Long. She feels it needs to be public so the whole community hears exactly what is going on. Councilor Janick seconded that and stated would not be going into executive session.

 

The council entered a closed executive session at approximately 7:59 p.m.

 

The Council returned to open session at approximately 9:51 p.m.

 

Councilor Paull motioned to seal the minutes of Executive Session. Councilor Hayden seconded the motion.

The motion unanimously passed.

 

Solicitor Marcello reported discussion only, no votes taken.

 

9. ADJOURNMENT

Councilor Paull motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Hayden seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 9:52 p.m.

 

A True Copy.

 

 

ATTEST______________________________________

                        Joan B. Chabot, CMC    Town Clerk