For your convenience,
the actual order of business
 |
| These agendas are SOOOOO confusing |
By Will Collette
This is part of a new service we are providing to
Charlestown residents who either attend Town Council meetings or watch the
video on Clerkbase. Most newcomers to Council meetings find themselves baffled
early on in each session, because the actual order of business never follows the sequence laid out in
the printed and on-line versions of the agenda.
That’s because the Council changes the order of business for
the convenience of guests who are attending because of a specific agenda item.
They get the courtesy of having their item of interest heard earlier in the
agenda.
There are also a number of “Consent Agenda” items on the
agenda. These are generally non-controversial items where Council members agree
to simply vote to accept them as a bloc without discussion or debate.
Check Progressive Charlestown through the weekend and on Monday for more detail on some of the more controversial issues.
Here is how the Monday night Council agenda will actually take place. (Click here for a
printer-friendly version).
The regular monthly meeting of the
Charlestown Town Council will be held on August 20, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the
Charlestown Town Hall, 4540 South County Trail, Charlestown,
RI. The proposed agenda is
as follows:
1. CALL TO ORDER, Moment of Silence,
Pledge of Allegiance
2. ROLL CALL
Motion to move
items 5a, 9a, 10a, 12, 16a, 16b and 18g to be heard next on the agenda.
5. PERSONS WISHING TO BE HEARD
a. Chris Fox, Executive Director, Pawcatuck/Wood
River Watershed – Steps taken to clear the Pawcatuck River in Charlestown for
recreation river kayaking and boating. NOTE: the Council is NOT extending this same
courtesy of an early hearing to Frank Glista who will be heard later in the
agenda.
9. PUBLIC HEARINGS
Public hearing and potential action on Ordinance #352 amending Chapter 27 Municipal Court,
chapter 74 Alcoholic Beverages, Chapter 86 Boats & Waterways, Chapter 93
Numbering of Building, Chapter 152 Noise, Chapter 155 Nuisance, Chapter 158
Parks, Beaches & Recreation Areas, Chapter 162 Peace & Good Order and
Chapter 206 Vehicles and Traffic. The Gist: this ordinance details the jurisdiction of
Charlestown’s recently created municipal court over certain sections of the
town’s Code of Ordinances.
10. COUNCIL
SITTING AS BEVERAGE LICENSING BOARD
a. Application received from the
Charlestown Historical Society for a Class F Beverage License for a fundraising event for premises located at 5000 South
County Trail on August 25, 2012 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., subject to receipt
of all required paperwork and stipulations and rules and regulations as
required by the Liquor Control Administration and the Town Council.
12. CONSENT
AGENDA All items marked with “CA” are to be
considered consent agenda NONE of these items
will be actually discussed. They will be approved as a bloc.
Motion to accept approve and place
on file the following as the consent agenda: 13a, 13b, 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d, 18b,
18c, 18d, 18e, and 18f
13. MINUTES AND REPORTS
“CA” b. Reports: Building Official – July 2012; Chief of Police – July 2012; Public Works Director - June 2012, July 2012; Town Clerk -
July 2012; Treasurer - May 2012, June 2012
17. APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS
“CA” c. Appointment of Michael Roy to
the Coastal Pond Management Commission, term to expire in March 2014, with a
recommendation from the Commission.
“CA” d. Appointment of Christopher C. Lyman as Traffic Constable, term to expire
in January 2013, as requested by Lt. Michael Paliotta, Acting Chief of Police.
18. FISCAL MATTERS
“CA” b. Authorization for the Acting Town
Administrator to release the Road Maintenance Bond for Oak Hollow Lane in the amount of $4,800.00 to Evelyn
J. Smith, Treasurer of J. F. Smith Builders, Inc. with memorandum from the
Director of Public Works and the Town Planner.
“CA” c. Recommendation from Matthew J.
Dowling, Wastewater Manager of Fuss and O’Neil to implement the conceptual
design, preliminary design, permitting and engineering work for the Elimination of Directed Stormwater Dischargeinto Green Hill Pond for
an amount not to exceed $35,000 through the State of Rhode Island’s Master
Price Agreement as budgeted in FY2013, with funding to come from line item
01.990.9957 and authorization for the Acting Town Administrator to execute the
contract.
“CA” d. Request from Kenneth J. Swain, Tax
Assessor/IT Coordinator for approval to accept the copier proposal from Konica Minolta for a BIZHUB C654
copier at an approximate cost of $730.00 per month, with funding to come from
line item 490.4970 as budgeted, and authorization for the Acting Town
Administrator to sign all necessary documentation.
“CA” e. Award of the Ninigret Park Cleaning bid to Mark H. Russo for the cleaning
of the two restrooms at Ninigret Park four times per week at a cost of $40.00
per cleaning at a total weekly cost of $160.00 and a total cost of $3,520.00,
with a per diem cost for emergency cleaning at $30.00 per building if
necessary, from August 21, 2012 – November 5, 2012 and April 15, 2013 – June
30, 2013, as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Director and authorization
for the Acting Town Administrator to execute the contract.
16. COMMUNICATIONS
AND PETITIONS
a. Memo from Parks and Recreation
Director regarding Chariho Football use of Puchalski Field 2012
season
b. Memo from Ashley V. Hahn, Town
Planner, on behalf of the Planning Commission, regarding the revision of the Comprehensive Plan The Gist: Town
Planning Ashley Hahn says Statewide Planning recommends only doing a 5-year
update and NOT the full-blown new plan as favored by Planning Commissar Ruth
Platner. My prediction: Platner will try to do a new plan with minimal
involvement from anyone not aligned with the CCA.
18. FISCAL MATTERS
Residents booking court: $6 per
hour for singles
Residents booking court: $8 per 1½
hours for doubles play
Add $2 for non-resident making
reservations
(Signage will be posted showing the
rental for players to eliminate court conflicts.)
(All
non-reserved play is first come, first served, with 1 hour max play when groups
are waiting to play and 1½ hours for doubles when there are others waiting to
play.)
3. PUBLIC COMMENT for items not on the
Agenda
4. COUNCIL COMMENTS NOT NOTED: Which Council member will take their turn to
denounce Progressive Charlestown. We haven’t heard from Dan Slattery yet.
5. PERSONS WISHING TO BE HEARD
6. ADMINISTRATOR, SOLICITOR, COMMISSION
REPORTS
b. Town Solicitor
7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Discussion and potential action
regarding a charge to the Affordable Housing Advisory Review Committee The Gist: this appears to be an attempt by CCA Town Council
Boss Tom Gentz to revitalize his attempt to kill affordable housing in
Charlestown once and for all.
b. Discussion and potential action
regarding a charge to the Town Administrator Ad Hoc Search Committee The Gist: Another
Gentz item that lays out the process for picking a replacement for former Town
Administrator Bill DiLibero who was the victim of character assassination by
Gentz and the CCA in their “Kill Bill” campaign.
c. Discussion and potential action
regarding the purchase of iPads for
Town Commissions Why should the Planning Commission be the only ones to rack
up big Angry Birds scores?
8. NEW BUSINESS
a. Discussion and potential action
regarding Open Space and Conservation Easement process for future purchases The Gist: Gentz
wants to set up some process involving the Charlestown Land Trust and others to
try to learn from the Y-Gate Scandal and try to avoid making the same mistakes.
b. Discussion and potential action
regarding a curfew for minors
11. LICENSES AND PERMITS - None
14. ANNOUNCEMENTS - None
15. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND
PROCLAMATIONS
a. Introduction and first reading of Ordinance #353 amending Chapter 155 Nuisances,
Article III Dark Sky Lighting, Section 18 General Standards. The Gist: despite
having no scientific basis for setting 15 feet as the maximum height for
commercial lighting, the Planning Commission insists on maintaining that height
unless a certified lighting expert paid for by the applicant but hired by the town
says otherwise. Planning just can’t help trying one last time to stick it to
Charlestown businesses. NOTE: several notable examples of dark-sky compliance
new installations (e.g. Charlestown Wine & Spirits) exceed 15 feet.
18. FISCAL MATTERS
a. Request from Michael Paliotta,
Acting Chief of Police for approval of the purchase of ten (10) DataLux TracerMobile Data Systems, from Datalux as a
sole source vendor based on the requirements of the Town Purchasing Manual,
Section V. Special Procurements, A. Exclusive Service/Sole Source Vendor, 1.
The vendor has a proprietary claim on the desired goods or service resulting
from a patent or licensed agreement, for direct connectivity to existing
computer connections, as approved by the Acting Town
Administrator and authorization for the Acting Town Administrator to sign a
contract with DataLux,
in the amount of $45,600
with funding for a three year lease with the first payment from line item
01.990.9973.
19. LEGAL MATTERS - None
20. ADJOURNMENT
The
public is welcome to any meeting of the Town Council. If communication
assistance (readers/interpreters/captions) is needed or any other accommodation
to ensure equal participation, please call 711-364-1240 at least three (3)
business days prior to the meeting.