City of Central Falls

City Council Meeting

Board of License Commissioners Meeting

Central Falls City Hall

580 Broad St., Central Falls, RI 02863

Monday, January 13, 2020

6:00 p.m.

 

Meeting Minutes

 

City Council President Maria Rivera called the meeting to order at 6:00pm

 

I.       Roll Call

Sonia Grace, City Clerk, conducted the roll call. Present were Council President Maria Rivera, Councilman Jonathon Acosta, Councilman Robert Ferri, Councilman Hugo Figueroa, Councilman Gus Silva, Councilman Franklin Solano, and Councilwoman Jessica Vega. Quorum was present.

 

II.     Pledge of Allegiance

Councilwoman Rivera lead the reciting of the pledge of allegiance

 

III.    Public Comment

No one from the public signed up for public comment.

Councilman Ferri: expressed his public condolences to the family Joseph P. Azar Jr., a former mailman in Central Falls.

Council President Rivera: thanked Chief Robert Bradley for the work of fire department during last week’s fire on Jenks Avenue.

 

IV.    Approval of Records- meeting minutes of December 9, 2019

Without objection the presentations listed in VI.E. and VI.F. were moved to before item V.

 

V.      Executive Communications

A.   Consideration of appointment, by Mayor James Diossa, of Emmanuel L. Lyte of 37 Washington St., Central Falls, VICE Rosemarie Canavan to the Central Falls Board of Canvassers and Registration; term to expire on January 13, 2023

 

B.   Consideration of appointment, by Mayor James Diossa, of Elizabeth F. Laramee, 57 Aetna St, VICE Nayrobi Almonte to the Central Falls Personnel Board; term to expire January 13, 2021.

 

C.   Department Financial reports: City Clerk, Code Enforcement, Fire: November & December 2019; Finance: July-November unaudited financial report, FY20 year-to-date Capital Expenditures; Police: October & November 2019

 

VI.    New Business

A.   City Council Sitting as Board of License Commissioners

1.    Consideration of petition of license

Class of License	Business Information
Hawker Renewal	RI Public Health Institute D/B/A Food on the Move 383 W. Fountain St., Suite 101, Providence, RI 02903
Motion to approve the license renewal was made by Councilman Ferri, seconded by Councilman Solano and Councilman Figueroa. Motion carried unanimously
Entertainment- Annual New	La 70 Bar and Grill, LLC D/B/A La 70 Bar and Grill 855 Broad St.
Motion to approve the entertainment license was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Acosta. Motion carried unanimously
Class C- Variety Transfer, New Owner	Paula Duarte Polanco D/B/A Mi Pueblo Market 635 Dexter St.
Class A- Restaurant New	Paula Duarte Polanco D/B/A Mi Pueblo Market 635 Dexter St.
Motion to approve, collectively, the licenses of Paula Duarte Polanco was made by Councilman Acosta, seconded Councilman Silva. Motion carried unanimously.

 

B.   Hearing, consideration and possible action regarding the following license and license holders: Ana D. Goncalves and Felix Semedo, D/B/A Vanderly Coffee Restaurante, 765 Broad St., Central Falls, RI 02863, Alcoholic Beverage Class B License (Victualling)- Alleged violation of State of Rhode, Department of Business Regulation, Division of Commercial Licensing, Commercial Licensing Regulation 8, Liquor Control Administration

Colonel Daniel Barzykowski, Chief of the Central Falls Police Department, presented the case against Vanderly Coffee Restaurante of two occurrences that took place on 12/29/19 and 01/02/20 when the business was open and served alcohol past official closing hours.

Police reports 20-8-OF and 19-1620-OF were entered into the record

Sonia Grace, City Clerk, presented a memo with of the licensing history with the City.

Ms. Ana Goncalves spoke on her behalf and presented a defense for the instances.

Matthew Jerzyk, City Solicitor, answered questions from the Council regarding the liquor license state and local laws

Motion to fine Vanderly Coffee $250 for violation of city ordinances was made by Councilman Solano, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Roll call vote: Councilman Acosta: no; Councilman Ferri: yes; Councilman Figueroa: no; Councilman Silva: no; Councilman Solano: yes; Councilwoman Vega: no; Council President Rivera: no. Motion failed 2-5.

Motion to require that business close at 12:00am on January 17, 18, 24 and 25 was made by Council President Rivera, seconded by Councilman Figueroa. Roll call vote: Councilman Acosta: yes; Councilman Ferri: yes; Councilman Figueroa: yes; Councilman Silva: yes; Councilman Solano: no; Councilwoman Vega: yes; Council President Rivera: yes.

 

C.   Hearing and consideration of the 2019-2020 Liquor License Renewal of Ana D. Goncalves and Felix Semedo, D/B/A Vanderly Coffee Restaurante, 765 Broad St., Central Falls, RI 02863, Alcoholic Beverage Class B License (Victualling)

Ms. Barbara Addison, Director of Finance, spoke about the business tax status. Mr. BobBattey, Tax Assessor, answered questions from the Council regarding the assessment of tangible taxes for Vanderly Coffee.

 

Councilman Figueroa stepped out of the meeting room.

 

Motion to approve the license renewal conditional on Vanderly Coffee adhering to the sanction imposed by the Council and satisfying the requirements set by the finance department was made by Councilman Acosta, seconded by Councilman Solano. Motion carried 6-0.

 

D.  Consideration of Tax Abatement submitted by Tax Assessor

Property Owner	Tax Year	Property Information
Anand, Amit & Marisa	2019	RE: 41 Cleveland Street
Bermudez, Roberto C	2019	RE: 31-33 Ayr Street
Cardec, Juan D	2019	RE: 34 Rand Street
Luis, Maria G	2019	RE: 180 Cottage Street
Osko, John & Diane	2018	RE: 80 School Street
Rocha, Nelcy A	2017	MV: Toyota UTS Reg: 468750

 

Motion to approve the abatements was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Motion carried 7-0.

 

E.   Presentation by Dr. Stephanie Downey Toledo, Interim Superintendent of the Central Falls School District on standardized test scores and district initiatives

Dr. Downey Toledo presented the results of the RICAS test scores in Central Falls and answered questions about academic strategies and interventions.

Dr. Downey Toledo also spoke about the FY20 and FY21 budgets, provided an overview of the budget deficit and the strategies to address it.

 

F.   Presentation by Toby Ayer, Executive Director of RI Community for Justice, Larome Myrick, Executive Director of Juvenile Corrections, DCYF, and Jessica Vega, Chair of the Central Falls Juvenile Hearing Board on the RI Urban Core Juvenile Hearing Boards Pilot Project

Councilwoman Vega, Ms. Ayer and Mr. Myrick spoke about the pilot program, the work of the Central Falls Juvenile Hearing Board and the work it does to impact the lives of youth who come into contact with the police system.

 

G.  Hearing and/or Consideration of Claims

1.    Executive Session pursuant to R.I.G.L § 42-46-5 (a)(2), pertaining to litigation or work sessions pertaining to litigation

 

2.   Claim by Tadeusz Pniewski for alleged damage to personal property on December 3, 2019 (pot hole claim)

Motion to approve the claim of Tadeusz Pniewski was made by Councilman Acosta, seconded by Councilman Figueroa. Motion carried 7-0.

 

H.  Consideration of Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Central Falls and the Central Falls Firefighters, Local 1485, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO re: Firefighter Rotation

Motion to approve the Memorandum of Agreement was made by Councilman Ferri, seconded by Councilwoman Vega. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Silva recused from the voting.

 

I.    Consideration of Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Central Falls and the Central Falls Firefighters, Local 1485, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO re: Transfer to MERS

Motion to approve the Memorandum of Agreement was made by Councilman Silva seconded by Councilman Solano and Councilman Ferri. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Silva recused from voting.

 

J.   Consideration of Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Central Falls and the Central Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #2 re: Transfer to MERS

Motion to approve the Memorandum of Agreement was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Solano and Councilman Ferri. Motion carried unanimously.

 

K.   Consideration of Appointment of Tree Warden: Matthew C. Largess, Re-appointment; term to expire January 1, 2021

Motion to approve the appointment of Matthew Largess was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilwoman Vega. Motion carried unanimously.

 

VII.   Schedule of Bills- Hearing and/or consideration

A.   Ordinance amending Chapter 12, "Businesses," Article I "In General," by creating Sec. 12-10. - Retail Plastic Bag Reduction, SUB-A (Solano)- Second Reading

Public Hearing: no one signed up to speak

Matthew Jerzyk, City Solicitor, explained the changes proposed in the Sub-A.

Motion to substitute the ordinance with the Substitute A was made by Councilman Ferri, seconded by Councilwoman Vega. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion to approve the ordinance as amended was made by Councilman Ferri, seconded by Councilman Ferri, seconded by Councilwoman Vega and Councilman Solano. Roll call vote: Councilman Acosta: yes; Councilman Ferri: yes; Councilman Figueroa: yes; Councilman Silva: yes; Councilman Solano: yes; Councilwoman Vega: yes; Council President Rivera: yes. Motion carried unanimously.

 

B.   Ordinance amending Chapter 22, “Law Enforcement,” by amending Sec. 22-125. “Payments by responsible party” (Solano)- Second Reading

Public Hearing: no one signed up to speak

Motion to approve the ordinance was made by Councilwoman Vega, seconded by Councilman Solano. Roll call vote: Councilman Acosta: yes; Councilman Ferri: yes; Councilman Figueroa: yes; Councilman Silva: yes; Councilman Solano: yes; Councilwoman Vega: yes; Council President Rivera: yes. Motion carried unanimously.

 

C.   Resolution to Accept the Transfer of 1304 High Street, Central Falls, RI from the Central Falls Redevelopment Agency to City of Central Falls (Figueroa)

Motion to approve the resolution was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Solano and Councilman Figueroa. Motion carried unanimously.

 

VIII. Continued Business

A.   City Council Sitting as Board of License Commissioners

i.    Consideration of petition of license

Class of License	Business Information
Private Detective New (tabled 12/9/19)	James W. Smith III 195 McGregor Street, Manchester, NH 03102

 

Motion to approve the application of Mr. James Smith III was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilwoman Vega. Motion carried unanimously.

 

IX.    Adjournment

Motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by the whole Council. Meeting adjourned at 9:03pm.

 

 

 

Sonia Grace

City Clerk

 

Approved February 10, 2020