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Sunday, April 7, 2013

Town Council agenda is scrambled

Here’s the real version
By Will Collette

This month’s Town Council agenda is scrambled almost beyond recognition. Each month, the Council holds a special meeting ahead of its regular meeting to decide the actual order of business. That's what they did on April 3rd. I don’t ever recall a time when the Council followed its actual agenda without substantial alternation.

This month’s actual agenda is a lot more scrambled than usual and bears little resemblance to the posted agenda or the one on the stacks of papers available to the public before the meeting starts. Those printed official agendas are really a waste of a lot of paper.

As an on-going public service, Progressive Charlestown unscrambles the agenda and sets it up to reflect the actual order of business. I’ve also added my own commentary in red for context and much needed snark.

Here’s the actual agenda for the Council Meeting, Monday, April 8:

The regular monthly meeting of the Charlestown Town Council will be held on April 8, 2013 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 10a, 7a, 9a, 12, 7c, 8b, 15c, 15d, 18a and 18f to be heard next on the agenda

10.    COUNCIL SITTING AS BEVERAGE LICENSING BOARD

a.   Public hearing and potential action regarding an application received from the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce for the Charlestown Seafood Festival for a Class F Liquor License for the 29th Annual Charlestown Chamber of Commerce Seafood Festival to be held at Ninigret Park on August 2-alcohol served 12:00 pm until 10:00 pm, August 3-alcohol served 11:00 am until 10:00 pm, August 4-alcohol served 11:00 am until 9:00 pm

7.      UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a.   Discussion and potential action regarding Church Woods and Shannock Cottages financing and RI Housing update  NOTE: these projects are having funding problems and may die. Hopefully they won’t, but funding is tough to get under present political circumstances.

9.      PUBLIC HEARINGS

a.   Public hearing and potential action regarding the 2013 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Activity Ranking.


12.    CONSENT AGENDA All items marked with “CA” are to be considered consent agenda  That means that all of these items will be approved as a bloc without discussion or debate.
Motion to accept approve and place on file the following as the consent agenda: 8a, 11a, 11b, 13a, 13b, 16a, 16b, 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d, 18b, 18c, 18d and 18e

8.      NEW BUSINESS
“CA” a. Discussion and potential action regarding the waiver of §158-34 of the Code of the Town of Charlestown for the Northeast Skim Tour skim boarding event at Charlestown Town Beach on June 30, 2013 (Rain date: July 1, 2013), at the request of the Parks and Recreation Commission

11.    LICENSES AND PERMITS
“CA” a.  Approval of the following events at Ninigret Park
with a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission, subject to review of contracts by the Town Solicitor, receipt of all applicable paperwork and insurance and that all event details are satisfactorily met by the Parks and Recreation Director:
1.      Seafood Festival
Park Reservation: July 28 – August 7, 2013
Camping: 200 maximum campers (RV’s)
Insurance: $2 million general liability; $2 million liquor liability; $5 million amusement liability; $5 million pyrotechnics
Fireworks: No charge for parking during fireworks
Fee: $9,000
2.      Rhythm and Roots
Park Reservation: 9/24/13 – 9/5/13
Camping: yes
Insurance: $2 million general liability; $2 million liquor liability
Fee: $9000
3.      Chariho Youth Soccer
Park Reservation:
            Spring Games: Saturdays and Sundays from April 6, 2013 – July 2, 2013
            Spring practice: Monday – Thursday from March 10, 2013 – June 30, 2013
            Fall games: Saturdays and Sundays, August 20, 2013 – November 4, 2013
            Fall practice: Tuesdays and Thursday, August 6, 2013 – November 2, 2013
Camping: no
Insurance: $2 million general liability with RI Youth Soccer Association
Fee: Waived in exchange for field maintenance
Park Reservation: May 5, 2013
Camping: No
Insurance: $1 million general liability
Fee: Waived (Non-Profit)
“CA” b. Application for a Peddler’s License for Luca’s Coffee and Ice Cream, subject to receipt of all required Local approvals and State licenses


13.    MINUTES AND REPORTS

“CA” a. Town Council Minutes:
February 25, 2013 (Executive and Regular); March 6, 2013; March 11, 2013 (Executive and Regular); March 20, 2013

“CA” b. Reports:
·         Building Official – March 2013 Permits were issued for $818,646 worth of work, but none of it for new construction;
·         Planner – March 2013 No report included on Clerkbase;
·         Police Chief – February, March 2013 Calls have been rising steadily so far this year;
·         Public Works Director – February 2013 This winter’s storms took its toll on supplies and equipment (and presumably the workers);
·         Town Clerk – March 2013 No report included on Clerkbase;
·         Treasurer – February 2013 Charlestown has more than $10 million in the bank;
·         Wastewater Manager – March 2013 Important piece of information – the loan fund to help residents pay for new wastewater systems is currently EMPTY.

16.    COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS

“CA” a. Memo from Jay Primiano, Director of Parks and Recreation, containing summer employee recommendations

“CA” b. Letter received from Ocean State Work Camp


17.    APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

“CA” a. Appointment of Donna Chambers to the Chariho Funding ad hoc Subcommittee No Clerkbase documents for Chambers – I guess she’s no longer required to apply or provide supporting documents to back up her claims that she is an educational expert. Being a CCA acolyte is good enough

“CA” b. Appointment of Dennis E. Evans as Traffic Constables as recommended by the Chief of Police, term to expire January 2014

“CA” c. Acceptance of the resignation of Suzanne Ferrio from the Affordable Housing Commission with regret

“CA” d. Appointment of Ryan J. Campbell to the Parks and Recreation Commission, term to expire in January 2015

18.    FISCAL MATTERS
“CA” b. Award of the bid for Electrical Installation at the Pump House, Charlestown Town Beach to Nolin Electric, Inc. in the amount of $5,662.00 ($4,246.50 to be reimbursed by FEMA and $1,415.50 to be expended from the Facilities Maintenance Fund) and authorization for the Town Administrator to execute any contract documents
“CA” c. Award of the bid for the sale of Portable Toilet Trailer Systems to Thomas W. Burdick in the amount of $1,750.00
“CA” d. Approval for reimbursement to Dolores & Bruce Tirri for an amount not to exceed $500.00 for repairs to an outside shower damages by a downed tree located on Town property during Superstorm Sandy
This map re-sizes RI cities and towns based on
their actual population. See if you can find
Charlestown. Then try to imagine how much
clout Tom Gentz has at the State House
“CA” e. Award of the bid for the Management Information Systems contract for the Charlestown Police Department to DMY, LLC in the amount of $125.00 per hour to be expended from the computer maintenance budget line item, with the option to renew at the same rate for FY13/14 and authorization for the Town Administrator to execute any contract documents

7.      UNFINISHED BUSINESS
c.   Discussion and potential action regarding the prioritization of changes to LMIH law as communicated through the Affordable Housing Commission. Town Council boss Tom Gentz and his CCA Party colleagues think Charlestown can lead a rural revolt to overturn the state’s affordable housing law. Except the support from Rhode Island’s rural towns is pretty tepid. The only RI town anyway near Charlestown in its anti-affordable housing fervor is Barrington.


18.    FISCAL MATTERS

a.   Approval of Beach fees as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission:
Season Passes:                                           
Resident/Taxpayer Beach Sticker:               $45
Resident/Taxpayer Beach Sticker – Senior: $25
Non Resident (Blue Shutters Only):                        $90
Non Resident (Blue Shutters Only) – Senior:         $50
Cottage Passes:                                           $400
Daily Entrance Fee:                      
         Charlestown Beach    
                     Weekday:                                $15
                     Weekend/Holidays:                $20
         Blue Shutters Beach
                     Weekday:                                $15
                     Weekend/Holidays:                $20

f.    Adoption of a tentative 2013-2014 Budget for presentation at the Budget Public Hearing on May 6, 2013 (per Charter C-81)


3.      PUBLIC COMMENT for items not on the Agenda


4.      COUNCIL COMMENTS


5.      PERSONS WISHING TO BE HEARD

a.   Kim Zito - Request from Chariho Youth Soccer for an agreement with the Town for the use of fields at Ninigret Park


6.      ADMINISTRATOR, SOLICITOR, COMMISSION REPORTS




7.      UNFINISHED BUSINESS

b.   Discussion and potential action regarding the formation of a Chariho Act Subcommittee

d.   Discussion and potential action regarding the affirmation of the March 11, 2013 Town Council vote to appoint Donna Chambers (no Clerkbase documents provided for this meeting – click here to see Chambers’ very sketchy application, along with the more extensive applicants from the two more qualified applicants Chambers competed against at last month’s meeting) to the Chariho Regional District School Committee 

Crocodile Dan Slattery thinks the "Australian Ballot" is perfectly
compatible with Open Meetings Act
Click here to read about the Open Meetings Act complaint brought against the Council for violating the state Open Meetings Act when it used a secret (called an “Australian Ballot” by Crocodile Dan Slattery) to pick CCA acolyte Chambers for this position.

According to the discussion at the April 3 agenda meeting, Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero told the Council to re-do the vote. Clearly he understood that secret ballots at open Council meetings are illegal. This IS NOT an actual re-do, but as advertised in the official agenda, it is an AFFIRMATION of an illegal vote already taken, NOT a do-over.

NOTE, however, by the time the Council reaches this point in the actual order of business, Chambers will have already been appointed (see item 17.a. in the consent agenda, above) to the Chariho funding subcommittee. While that’s different than the School Committee, it’s still tacky.


8.      NEW BUSINESS

b.   Discussion and potential action regarding drafting an amendment to the Town Ordinance regarding the prohibition of smoking at the Town’s Beaches and Parks



14.    ANNOUNCEMENTS

a.   Board and Commission vacancies

NOTE: I will be very surprised if the Council gets this far before its 10 PM curfew.


15.    ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS

a.   Discussion and potential action regarding a resolution opposing Contract Continuation Legislation (S-365, S-777 and H-5699) Charlestown’s resolution would oppose a pending bill aimed at PREVENTING teacher strikes by allowing existing contracts to stay in place until new ones are put in their place. The resolution before the Council is a “screw you” resolution to teachers.

b.   Discussion and potential action regarding a resolution supporting Mutual Aid Agreements between the Charlestown and Richmond Police Departments

c.   Introduction and first reading of Ordinance #355 amending Chapter 192, Taxation, Article V. Tax Relief for Disabled Persons, to be advertised for public hearing on May 13, 2013

d.   Introduction and first reading of Ordinance #356 amending Chapter 192, Taxation, Article IA. Additional Elderly Low Income Tax Benefit Programs to be advertised for public hearing on May 13, 2013.  NOTE: these two property tax credit ordinances are primarily procedural tweaks of existing law. They are among the several tax exemption programs Charlestown already has on the books. Click here to read more about the others.

e.   Discussion and potential action regarding the support of H5636 – “Joint Resolution Making an Appropriation of $258,866 for Cranston and $158,290 for Chariho in the Fiscal Year 2013-2014



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