City of Central Falls
City Council Meeting
Board of License Commissioners
Central Falls City Hall
580 Broad St. Central Falls, RI 02863
Monday, June 13, 2016
6:00 p.m.
Council President Bob Ferri called the meeting to order at 6:04pm in the Central Falls City Council Chambers.
1. Roll Call
City Clerk, Sonia Grace conducted the roll call. Present were Councilman Ferri, Councilman Figueroa, Councilwoman Fonseca, Councilwoman Racquier, Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel and Councilman Vaudreuil. Councilwoman Gonzalez was absent. Quorum was present.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Council President Ferri led the Pledge of Allegiance
3. Public Comment
Al Romanowicz, 303 Central St- spoke about the FY17 Budget, taxes, nuisance task force and absentee landlords
Michael Andrews, President of the Firefighters Union, Local 1485- spoke in support of Item #11: Ordinance Relating to “Amending Chapter 20, Fire Prevention, and Chapter 22, Law Enforcement”.
Joshua Giraldo, Chief of Staff- invited the public and Council for flag raising on Thursday, June 16 at 5:30pm for LGBTQ Pride.
Rob Sayre-McCord, Director of Parks & Recreation: announced the summer basketball league beginning June 18, Salsa night on June 24 and the summer food program on June 27.
4. Consideration of meeting minutes of:
a. May 9, 2016
b. May 12, 2016
c. May 18, 2016
d. May 23, 2016
e. May 31, 2016
Motion to table meeting minutes of May 9 was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motion carried.
Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel requested that meeting minutes of May 18 reflect that she was opposed to the transfer of funds to the Redevelopment Agency.
Motion to approve the meeting minutes of May 12, 18, 23 and 31 with the inclusion of request by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Racquier. Motion carried 5-0.
5. Consideration of appointment by Mayor James Diossa
Board of Canvassers and Registration
Tatiana Restrepo
67 Crossman St.
Central Falls, RI 02863
Term to expire Term to expire February 27, 2017
Motion to approve the appointment of Ms. Restrepo was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilman Figueroa. Motion carried 5-0.
6. Receipt of Department Financial Reports
a. City Clerk Department- Report for month of May 2016: Distribution Report
b. Department of Code Enforcement- Report for month of May 2016: Building Division Permits Issued, Complaints Report
c. Finance Department- April 2016 Revenue, May 2016 Expense, May 2016 Capital Improvement Fund
d. Police Department- Report for month of May 2016
Ms. Cynthia De Jesus answered questions from the Council regarding tax collections.
Motion to approve the receipts was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Racquier. Motion carried 5-0.
7. Consideration of Tax Abatements
a. Abatements Submitted by Tax Assessor
| Property Owner | Tax Year | Property Information |
| Baptista, Adilson J (tabled) | 2015 | MV: 1995 Toyota |
| Calzada, Jeanny (tabled) | 2015 | MV: 2007 Lexus |
| Escobar, Maria L | 2015 | MV: 2003 Honda Civic |
| Giraldo, Jamie | 2015 | MV: 1999 Int 400 |
| Lockley, Tarsha A (tabled) | 2015 | MV: 2008 Chev Imp |
| Soucy, Robert | 2015 | RE: @ 25 Pacific St; AP 1, Lot 76 |
| US Bank National Assoc. (tabled) | 2015 | PP: Leased Tangible Property-various locations |
b. Additions
| Property Owner | Tax Year | Property Information |
| Conde, Claudia M (tabled) | 2015 | MV: 2000 Chry Vov |
8. City Council sitting as the Board of License Commissioners
a. Hearing, consideration and possible action regarding the following licenses and license holders
Maduhkar Varshney
d/b/a 7-Eleven, Inc. Store # 35008
603 Hunt Street
Central Falls, RI 02863
Tobacco License
Mr. James Brian and Mr. Maduhkar Varshney spoke about the reasons why the store did not obtain the license.
Motion of no action was made by Councilwoman Racquier, seconded Councilwoman Fonseca. Motion carried 5-0.
b. Advertised Hearing and Consideration of transfer of Alcoholic Beverages Class B (Victualling) license from Germano Arruda D/B/A City Limits Sports Bar, 1270 Broad St., Central Falls to Francian Cruz, D/B/A El Gallo De Oro, 1270 Broad St., Central Falls.
Mr. Alex Chiulli, attorney for Ms. Cruz spoke about the process and explained that all necessary documents for the transfer have been submitted to the office of the City Clerk.
c. Consideration of Petition for License
|
| Class of License | Owner | Business Information |
| i. | Restaurant License New | Francina Cruz
| El Gallo De Oro 1270-1272 Broad Street
|
| ii. | Pool Table New | Francina Cruz
| El Gallo De Oro 1270-1272 Broad Street
|
| iii. | Jukebox New | Francina Cruz
| El Gallo De Oro 1270-1272 Broad Street
|
| iv. | Tobacco License New | Maduhkar Varshney | 7-Eleven, Inc Store #35008 603 Hunt Street |
| v. | Sidewalk Café License Renewal | Cristian Tabares | La Casona Restaurant Inc 768 Broad Street |
| vi. | Peddler License New | Robert S. Palagi | Palagi Brother’s Ice Cream LLC |
| vii.
| Personal Service Transfer – New Owner | Raquel Hernandez | Raquel’s Beauty Salon 746 Broad Street |
| viii. | Peddler License New | Georgina Sarpeng | Farm Fresh Rhode Island Garfield Street Park |
| ix. | Personal Service New (tabled 4/11/16) | Luis Daniel | Daniel’s Barbershop 120 Chestnut Street
|
| x. | Per Diem Entertainment New | Kenneth Hazard | Iron Fist Gym 280 Rand Street |
i. Motion to approve the applications for Pool Table, Restaurant and Jukebox for Francina Cruz was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motion carried 5-0.
iv. Motion to approve the application of 7-Eleven was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motin carried 5-0.
v. Motion to approve the renewal application of La Casona Restaurant was made by
vi. Motion to approve the application of Palagi was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motion carried.
vii. Motion to approve the application of Raquel’s Beauty Salon was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motion 5-0.
viii. Motion to approve the application of Farm Fresh RI was made by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel, seconded by Councilwoman Racquier. Motion carried 5-0.
ix. Motion to approve the application of Daniel’s Barbershop was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motion carried 5-0.
x. Motion to table the application of Iron Fist Gym was made by Councilwoman Fonseca. Motion carried 5-0.
d. Consideration of Petition for extended hours
i. Zia Masoud
d/b/a Crown Fried Chicken LLC
830 Broad Street
Central Falls, RI 02863
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
Mr. Masoud was present to speak about his request. Motion to deny the motion of Crown Fried Chicken was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motion carried 5-0.
ii. Francisco J. Almeraya
EMFA Entertainment & Guatemala Association
Higginson Ave Sports Complex
3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Mr. Almeraya was present to speak about the request.
Colonel Mendonca, Chief of the Police Department and Chief Bob Bradley of the Fire Department spoke in support of this application and answered questions from the Council.
Motion to approve the application with the hours of 2pm-9pm, with the end of music at 8:30pm was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilman Figueroa. Motion carried 5-0.
e. Consideration of F1 license application
Gabriel Martinez
Colombian – American Cultural Society
Higginson Ave Sports Complex
Central Falls, RI 02863
12:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Motion to approve the petition of the Colombian-American Cultural Society was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilman Figueroa. Motion carried 5-0.
f. Consideration of License Renewals
| Class of License | Owner | Business Name |
| Peddler | Serafim Cordeiro | Cordeiro Fish |
| Peddler | Donald W. Klemanchuck | Don's Frozen Lemonade & Ice Cream |
| Peddler | Luis Rodriguez | Luis Hot Dog |
| Peddler | Alejandro Arteaga | Palagis Ice Cream |
| Peddler | Alejandro Arteaga | Palagis Ice Cream |
| Second Hand | Jose Castro | A&J Furniture |
| Second Hand | Joseph Borges | B & L Sales |
| Second Hand | Sonny Polanco | Chiqui Auto Sales & Muffler |
| Second Hand | Aaron Tetrault | Fall River Pawnbrokers |
| Second Hand | Carlos Correia | Holiday Auto |
| Second Hand | Raymond D'alessio Jr | Hub's Auto Sale |
| Second Hand | Artin Bedrosian | K B Motors |
| Second Hand | Michael Gaffin | Kitchen Guys |
| Second Hand | Mario Hernandez | M & G Auto Repair |
| Second Hand | Jose C Mendes | M & J Auto Sales And Body |
| Second Hand | Luis Mejia | Mejia's Appliances |
| Second Hand | Peter Holden | New To You Too |
| Second Hand | Richard G Aubin | Quality Auto Repair |
| Second Hand | Frederick T Lewicki | Ted's Auto Sales |
| Second Hand | Sister Alberic Martin | The Warde-Robe |
Motion to approve the license renewals was made by Councilwoman Fonseca, seconded by Councilwoman Racquier. Motion carried 5-0.
9. Petition by Eugene Monteiro from the Providence County Wrestling Club requesting waiver of Special Use Permit Application Fee.
Mr. Eugene Monteiro and Mr. Tom Ausley. spoke about the program and explained the benefit of moving the program from Providence to Central Falls, where most of the wrestlers live. Both are coaches at the Central Falls High School.
Mr. Monteiro and Mr. Ausley answered questions from the Council.
Motion to approve the petition was made by Councilwoman Racquier, seconded by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel. Motion carried 5-0.
10. Ordinance Relating to The Central Falls Redevelopment Agency, Redevelopment Area, and Redevelopment Plan” –Public Hearing (Figueroa, by request)
Motion to continue the public hearing until July 11, 2016 was made by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel, seconded by Councilwoman Racquier. Motion carried 5-0.
11. Ordinance Relating to “Amending Chapter 20, Fire Prevention, and Chapter 22, Law Enforcement” – Introduction (Ferri)
Introduced
12. Resolution in support of the Green Economy Bond (Ferri )
Motion to approve Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel, seconded by Councilwoman Racquier. Motion carried 5-0.
13. Hearing and/or Consideration of Claims
a. Executive Session pursuant to R.I.G.L § 42-46-5 (a)(2), pertaining to litigation or work sessions pertaining to litigation.
i. Lakisha Hazard, for an undisclosed amount, for alleged personal injuries sustained on or about August 3, 2013 in the City of Central Falls.
b. Possible Consideration of Claim (a)(i)
Motion to refer the claim of Lakisha Hazard to the RI Interlocal Trust was made by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel, seconded by Councilwoman Racquier. Motion carried 5-0.
14. Good & Welfare from City Councilors updates, announcements, reports from councilors in regards to community liaisons and events
15. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was made by Councilwoman Ristaino-Siegel, seconded by Councilman Figueroa. Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm.
Approved July 11, 2016