Preview of the Sept. 12 Town Council Meeting

Though the Main Event is the proposed wind energy ban, there’s lots on the undercard

By Will Collette

If you can't come in person,
catch it on Clerkbase

If you read Progressive Charlestown at all, you know that the Big Issue before the Town Council on Monday night is whether our town will become the first in the nation to completely ban wind energy in all sizes, shapes, forms, purposes and locations. 

And then there’s the Council’s September 7 vote to ban the Charlestown Town Committee from having a representative speak on its behalf. 

But, believe it or not, the Council has more than that on its plate for Monday.

Modest Actions on Wastewater. In addition to the wind energy ban (Ordinance 341), the Council will also give its first reading to Ordinance #342,  plus a resolution, from the Wastewater Commission. The Commission reported at the last Council meeting that it simply could not come up with an ordinance that would give most Charlestown residents access to cheaper, alternative technology when they have to replace cesspools or failed septic systems.

They tried, but failed, to provide alternatives to the $30,000 denitrification systems currently mandated by RIDEM. So instead, they are recommending a resolution which Charlestown, and hopefully all our coastal neighbors, will adopt calling on RIDEM to be more open-minded in allowing appropriate and effective alternatives. The resolution also calls for the General Assembly to impose a moratorium on RIDEM’s implementation of its hard-assed rules until it becomes more open-minded.

Ordinance 342 is pretty much the only ordinance the Commission could agree to present for Council adoption. This ordinance would reduce the allowable size of new septic tanks in Charlestown so that we conform to RIDEM regulations.

Much Needed Tax Break for Seniors. Ordinance 343 is a very nice piece of legislation that will increase the property tax exemption for low-income elderly Charlestown homeowners.  For homeowners 65 and older with incomes that are less than $30,000 but more than $20,000 a year, the tax credit would increase from the current $600 to $750. For seniors with incomes $20,000 or less, the credit would increase from $1000 to $1150. It will be interesting to see if some of the usual fiscal conservative critics rise to challenge this proposed ordinance.

Thank you, summer visitors

Trash Talk. Town Administrator Bill DiLibero plans to talk trash to the Council – his report contains two items that I think are inter-related: (1) the town’s lagging recycling profits – we recently received the lowest recycling profits check from the RI Resource Recovery Corporation of any city or town in the state and (2) the problem of part-time residents and others dumping their household trash in the trash bins at the town beaches. See my earlier posting for an alternative perspective on these issues. 

Smile – You’re Busted! Police Chief Jack Shippee will report on progress toward acquiring red light cameras – at no cost to the town – to bust people who run our string of Route One red lights. When Cathy and I lived in the Washington, DC area, we saw how red light cameras installed in DC and Montgomery County, MD changed bad drivers’ behavior. I am convinced this technology does save lives, generates revenues from dangerous traffic scofflaws and does not impinge on civil liberties – i.e. you do not have a Constitutional right to break the law and threaten other people’s lives.

What’s NOT on the agenda. The fight involving Councilor Lisa DiBello, Parks & Recreation Director Jay Primiano and Town Administrator Bill DiLibero over the town beach concessions is off the agenda. Councilor Marge Frank asked during the agenda meeting what happened to this issue, but DiLibero deflected the question saying that as far as he knew, it largely went away. For now. 

While Councilor Lisa DiBello’s legal action against the Town is on the agenda, sort of, in the form of an item regarding whether the town should pay for private lawyers to represent the present and former town officials DiBello is accusing, it was clear at the agenda meeting that there is nothing new to discuss and, given that it comes at the end, it probably won’t be discussed at all. 

Larry LeBlanc and Whalerock, the related lawsuits and the question of whether the town will buy LeBlanc’s land and relieve the Town’s never-ending migraine are not on the regular Council agenda, although these matters are on the Executive session agenda. 

And Jim Mageau and his various attention-getting attempts failed him this month, as he does not appear either on the Executive session or regular council agenda. 

Finally, I find it very calming to read our Town Clerk Amy Rose Weinreich’s reports to the Council.  Her reports don’t ever get discussed, but these reports chronicle life in our town in an interesting way.

For instance, Amy reports that Charlestown has yet to have anyone apply for a civil union license.

She also shows no new births recorded this year which is almost over, compared to 48 last year. Over the past ten years, Charlestown’s birth record has steadily dropped. In eight of those ten years, Charlestown deaths have outnumbered births.

We had four more housing foreclosures in August, the highest number in the year to date. That brings the 2011 total to 14, compared to 12 for all of last year. And we had one new business license issued last month.