TOWN OF WEST WARWICK RHODE ISLAND 1170 Main Street West Warwick, RI  02893 (401) 822-9200 www.westwarwickri.org

 

WEST WARWICK TOWN COUNCIL

Regular Town Council Meeting

Town Council Chambers

March 17, 2026

6:00 P.M.

(Or immediately following previous meeting)

 

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YOUTUBE LINK (VIEW ONLY):  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGK1k6co83ptCoD6hYWSMxA

 

AGENDA WITH ATTACHMENTS CAN BE VIEWED AT:  https://clerkshq.com/westwarwick-ri

 

M I N U T E S

 

*Please Note: Any matter listed on this agenda may be acted upon by the Town Council*

 

A.         Meeting called to order by the Town Council President at 6:05 P.M.

 

B.         Prayer led by Council

 

A moment of silence was observed in honor of Michael Murphy, father of former School Committee member Sean Murphy and the brother of former Speaker of the House Billy Murphy.

 

C.         Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

 

D.         Roll Call taken by Town Clerk           

Councilman Mark Dennison - Present

Councilman Jason Licciardi - Present

Councilman Jason Messier - Present

Council Vice President Maribeth Williamson - Present

Council President David Gosselin – Present

 

E.         Quorum on Record Declared by Town Clerk

 

F.         Presentation of the FY2025 Audit

 

Stephen Gross, of Clifton, Larson, Allen, presented the FY2025 audit.  No action was taken.

 

G.        Consent Agenda

01     Approval of the Minutes of the March 3, 2026 Town Council Meeting

02     Approval of the Minutes of the March 10, 2026 Special Town Council Meeting

 

MOTION made by M. Williamson, seconded by J. Messier for approval of the Consent Agenda.

                                    All Ayes

           

H.        Ordinances

01     Second Reading of Ordinance Amending Chapter 14 – Police - Article III – Juvenile Hearing Board - Sections 14-67 through 14-72

 

MOTION made by M. Williamson, seconded by J. Messier for approval of Ordinance Amending Chapter 14 – Police - Article III – Juvenile Hearing Board - Sections 14-67 through 14-72.

 

Paul Ventura, of 46 Atwood Street, is Chair of the Juvenile Hearing Board.  He states that the Board has no objection to the amendment. 

 

Council members discussed the ordinance, explaining that the changes were intended to allow flexibility in appointments and to correct outdated or unclear language.

 

ROLL CALL VOTE:

J. Licciardi – Yes

M. Dennison – Yes

J. Messier – Yes

M. Williamson – Yes

D. Gosselin – Yes

 

MOTION PASSES

 

I.          New Business

01     School Building Committee Update

 

Manager Knott provided an update on the ongoing school construction and improvement projects.  Ahlborg Construction has been awarded the bid for Construction Manager at Risk for Maisie Quinn and Horgan School projects.  Ahlborg Construction will also be the general contractor for the Payan Street project.   The Town Manager and  Finance Director are working on an interim funding source for the Payan Street project pending the formal bond drawdown.  

 

02     February 2026 Finance Report

 

K. Benoit, Finance Director, reports the following:

 

Current year tax collections total $53,668,961.25 which is 77.72% of the budget for current year taxes. To date, three quarters have been collected. The next quarter is due April 15th.

Prior year tax collections total $626,935.28 which is 54.24% of the budget. This line has been adjusted by

$318,093 for the 60-day rule that was accrued back to Fiscal Year 2025. That adjustment represents

collections from July and August 2025. I expect this line to increase more as we get closer to the tax sale.

Overall, the revenues are at 73.07%, which is 6.4% higher than anticipated 6 months into the fiscal year. This is mainly attributed to strong tax collections, higher than expected Finance, Building and Town Clerk revenues and the receipt of the Distressed Communities and Tangible State Aid payments in full for the year. Expenditures are trending under budget at 67%. This is on target for what is expected 6 months into the fiscal year. Most of the operating departments are running on target or slightly below budget. While public safety and public works are currently trending within the expected 67% but they are projected to come in largely over budget due to the numerous snowstorms and the blizzard. We have begun discussion with FEMA in hopes of recovering a portion of costs incurred during the February Blizzard. The Civic Center has current operating expenditures of $521,585.03 and operating revenues of $574,286.51. The majority of summer camp revenue is collected prior to camp starting on 6/16 but the bulk of the expenditures for summer camp appear after 7/1. The bank balance as of 3/12/2026 is $8,544,986.53 We earned an additional $7,309.71 in interest on the $3,000,000 invested in the interest-bearing sweep account with Citizen’s bank for the month of February bringing the balance to 3,395,092.95.

 

03     Request from the Tax Assessment Board of Review for Tax Abatements in the amount of $14,751.27

 

MOTION made by M. Williamson, seconded by J. Messier to move this item off the table.  All Ayes

 

MOTION made by M. Williamson, seconded by J. Messier for approval of Request from the Tax Assessment Board of Review for Tax Abatements in the amount of $14,751.27.                All Ayes

 

J.          Upcoming Appointments

01     Sewer Use Board of Review – Appointment to fill a vacancy as an alternate member for three-year term

02     Sewer Use Board of Review – Appointment to fill a vacancy as a regular member for three-year term

03     Tax Assessment Board of Review -Appointment to fill a vacancy for three-year term

04     Recreation Committee – Appointment to fill vacancy for three-year term

05     Pawtuxet River Authority – Appointment to fill vacancy for three-year term

06     Tax Assessment Board of Review  (2)– Appointment or Re-Appointment for a three-year term

07     West Warwick Library Board of Trustees – Appointment or Re-Appointment for a three-year term

 

K.         Upcoming Town Council Meetings and Events

March 28, 2026 – Easter Egg Hunt

March 31, 2026 – Budget Public Hearing

April 7, 2026 – Budget Public Hearing

April 7, 2026 – Regular Town Council Meeting

 

L.         Public Forum

Tom Oates, of 6 Colonial Way, thanks the Council for their support and expressed appreciation for well wishes received during his recovery and retirement from the Juvenile Hearing Board. 

 

M.       Adjournment 

 

MOTION made by J. Messier, seconded by J. Licciardi to adjourn the meeting 6:44 P.M.                 All Ayes

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah S. Rapose, MMC

Town Clerk