Planning Board – Special Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, November 22, 2022 - 5:00 p.m.

Westerly Town Hall | Town Council Chambers

45 Broad Street, Westerly, RI 02891

 

A. CALL TO ORDER –

 

Mr. Hopkins called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.

 

B. ROLL CALL AND ATTENDANCE

 

 

Members present:           Chair Justin M. Hopkins, Vice Chair Richard W. Constantine, Andrew Delisio, Tabitha Harkin, Matthew O’Neil, and James Hall IV

 

Members absent: Auxiliary Member Karen Lentz Madison

 

Staff present:                   Assistant Solicitor for Planning & Zoning Atty. Scott Levesque, Principal Planner Alyse Oziolor, and Information Technology Technician Lanny Fuller

 

Mr. Hopkins said Planning Board members Joseph Montesano and Kevin Lowther officially resigned from the Board. Mr. Hopkins thanked them for their service. He added that former Board member James Hall IV has rejoined the Board and will be voting tonight. Another new member, Matthew O’Neil, was present at the meeting to participate but not vote. Town Council Liaison Phillip M. Overton was absent.

 

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

There were no minutes to approve.

 

D. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA –

Review, discussion, and possible action by the Planning Board on changes to the agenda, such as known continuances and the order in which items will be heard.

 

E. OLD BUSINESS

 

1. Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Presentation by the Town Manager and review and discussion by the Planning Board on the Capital Improvement Program.

 

            Present before the Board was Town Manager Shawn Lacey and Interim Director of Finance Cindy Kirchhoff. Ms. Oziolor reminded the Planning Board that its role is to determine consistency between the CIP and the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Lacey updated the Board that the Town Hall’s HVAC was proposed for improvements last year and estimated at $750,000, which was allocated from ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding. He said the job’s bid was awarded to a firm and the new estimated cost came in at $1.3 million to replace the system. The Town Council allocated the funds for this, he said. Mr. Lacey added that $350,000 is allocated for windows. The goal is to preserve the historic integrity of the building during the updates. There was extensive discussion on the details of the CIP and how the line items are prioritized. It was decided that the Planning Board will vote on a recommendation to send to the Town Manager’s office at the next scheduled meeting.

Paula Brouillette, a member of the Finance Board, spoke to the Planning Board on the importance of developing a more detailed capital plan. She said they should proceed with looking at a five to ten-year capital plan and they may need to begin with a technical review of all the Town-owned structures. She said there should be a line item in this year’s budget for this process. Ms. Brouillette said the Finance Bard wants a more complete picture of the Town’s capital needs going forward and how they will be funded. Mr. Hopkins agreed that when you develop capital plans, it allows for project management versus crisis management. Mr. Hall asked if the Finance Board needs more information for their discussions. Ms. Brouillette said an analysis of why a budget item is important is necessary for the Town to justify capital expenditures and not operate in crisis mode.

The Planning Board will continue this discussion at 5 p.m. on December 13.

 

2. Low-Impact Development (LID) Municipal Assessment Results University of Rhode Island (URI) student Hayden McDermott and NEMO Director Lorraine Joubert presentation on the Low-Impact Development (LID) Municipal Assessment Tool results for Westerly. Planning Board discussion of applying the tool to the current Westerly regulations to identify priorities for improvements in early 2023.

 

Hayden McDermott from the University of Rhode Island (URI) presented the details of the LID municipal assessment tool.  He shared that overall 48 percent of Westerly regulations did not meet low-impact development (LID) standards, which were similar results to other towns in the watershed area. It was said that the project review installation and maintenance were most compliant and two critical action areas were identified – reducing impervious cover and protecting existing vegetative cover. URI NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officers) Director Lorraine Joubert assisted Mr. McDermott in answering Board member questions and explaining the next steps in the process.  She said this project was SNEP (Southern New England Program) funded and a proactive measure for future development.

 

F. NEW BUSINESS

 

There was no new business to discuss.

 

G. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S REPORT

 

            There was no report shared.

 

H. ASSISTANT SOLICTOR FOR PLANNING AND ZONING’S REPORT

 

            There was no report shared.

 

I. ADJOURNMENT –

 

Mr. Hall made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:57 p.m. Ms. Harkin seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Stephanie J. LaSota

Minute Taker

 

Approved by vote of the Board on December 13, 2022