City of Central Falls

City Council Meeting

Board of License Commissioners Meeting

Central Falls City Hall

580 Broad St., Central Falls, RI 02863

Thursday, March 12, 2020

6:00 p.m.

 

Minutes

 

City Council President Maria Rivera called the meeting to order at 6:05pm

 

I.       Roll Call

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

 

II.     Pledge of Allegiance

Councilwoman Rivera led the reciting of the pledge of allegiance.

 

III.    Public Comment

No one signed up for public comment

 

IV.    Approval of Records- meeting minutes of February 10 and March 2, 2020

Motion to approve the meeting minutes of February 10 was made by Councilman Solano, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion to approve the meeting minutes March 2, 2020 was made by Councilman Ferri, seconded by Councilwoman Vega. Councilman Silva abstained. Motion carried unanimously.

 

V.      Executive Communications

A.   Department Financial reports- City Clerk, Fire, Police: January & February 2020; Code Enforcement: January 2020; Finance: FY20 year-to date (unaudited) through February 29, 2020  

Received

 

B.   Consideration of appointments, by Mayor James Diossa, to the Participatory Budgeting Committee:

                                                        i.            Progreso Latino-Rossis Melendez

                                                      ii.            Central Falls Housing Authority- Bridgette Duquette

                                                    iii.            Central Falls School District- Superintendent Stephanie Downey-Toledo, Jay Midwood

                                                     iv.            Central Falls Panthers- DJ Tavares

                                                       v.            RI League of Charter Schools- Angelo Garcia

                                                     vi.            Central Falls Business Owner- Christian Tabares

                                                  vii.            Central Falls Business Owner- Sergio Tabares

                                                viii.            Central Falls Homeowner- Maria Christina Betancur

                                                    ix.            Central Falls Homeowner- Kevin Kazarian

                                                       x.            Fuerza Laboral- Heiny Maldonado (or representative)

Motion to approve the appointments to the Participatory Budgeting Committee collectively, excluding Christian Tabares was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Motion carried unanimously.

 

Motion to approve the appointment of Christian Tabares was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Motion carried unanimously.

 

C.   Consideration of appointment, by Mayor James Diossa, to the Juvenile Hearing Board of Andres D. Flores Contrera, of 100 Hadwin St, VICE Rafael Peguero with a term to expire March 12, 2023

Motion to approve the appointment to the Juvenile Hearing Board was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Solano. Motion carried unanimously.

 

VI.    New Business

A.   City Council Sitting as Board of License Commissioners 

1.    Consideration of petition of license

Class of License	Business Information
Laundry Transfer (New Owner)	Jeff Laundry, Inc. d/b/a Dexter Laundromat 1 336 Dexter St.
Entertainment- Per Diem New	Rockwell Amusement & Promotions, Inc. 10 Red Oak Drive, Johnston, RI Carnival: May 6-10, 2020

 

Motion to approve the license application was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Ferri and Councilman Solano. Motion carried unanimously.

 

Motion to table the application of Rockwell Amusement due to COVID-19 concerns and the uncertainty regarding public events, was made by Councilman Acosta, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Motion carried unanimously.

 

2.   Consideration of petition by Iglesia Pentecostal Alimentando Las Almas, of 22 Olneyville Square, Providence, RI, for permission to conduct religious service at Jenks Park on June 13, 2020, 12:00pm-6:00pm

Motion to table the application due to COVID-19 concerns and the uncertainty regarding public events, was made by Councilman Acosta, seconded by Councilman Solano. Motion carried unanimously.

 

3.   Advertised hearing and consideration of petition for Alcoholic Beverage Class B (Victualling) license by El Paso, LLC d/b/a El Paso Restaurant, 1252 Broad St., Central Falls, RI

Motion to approve the application by EL Paso LLC was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilwoman Vega. Motion carried unanimously.

 

B.   Consideration of Tax Abatement submitted by Tax Assessor  

Property Owner	Tax Year	Property Information
Vanderly Coffee Restaurant	2019	PP: 765 Broad Street
Rivera, Carlos M	2013	MV: 2001 FRH
Rivera, Carlos M	2014	MV: 2001 FRH

Motion to approve the abatements was made by Councilman Solano, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Motion carried unanimously.

 

C.   Presentation by Jamie Rhodes, Rhode Island Regulatory Lead, of Good Energy, regarding the City of Central Falls Energy Aggregation Plan

Thom Deller, Director of Planning and Economic Development, introduced the topic of presentation and provided an overview of the work done to date.

Jamie Rhodes of Good Energy reviewed the City’s’ draft plan. Mr. Rhodes answered questions from the Council regarding resident protections and estimated savings.

 

D.  Update by the Department of Planning and Economic Development regarding road re-pavement projects in the City of Central Falls

Thom Deller, Director of Planning and Economic Development, spoke about planned re-pavement of city streets and answered questions from the Council.

 

E.   Election (Renewal) of Special Constable pursuant to RIGL 45-16-8 of Robert DiMartino, 351 Princess Ave., Cranston, RI

Motion to approve the application of Robert DiMartino was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Solano. Motion carried unanimously.

 

F.   Consideration of Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Central Falls and Rhode Island Council 94, AFSCME, Local 1627, re: assignment of work to non-union employees

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

 

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

Council did not enter executive session

 

2.   Claim by of Yokalis D. Paulino for alleged injuries suffered on January 16, 2018

Motion to refer the claim to the RI Interlocal Risk Management Trust was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Ferri and Councilman Solano. Motion carried unanimously.

 

3.   Claim by Jessica Beaton for alleged injuries suffered on February 2, 2020

Motion to refer the claim to the RI Interlocal Risk Management Trust was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilman Ferri, Councilman Solano and Councilwoman Vega. Motion carried unanimously.

 

VII.   Schedule of Bills- Hearing and/or consideration  

A.   Ordinance amending  Appendix A,  Zoning of the Code of Ordinance Article X, Definitions by (a) deleting the numbering of the definitions and arranging in alphabetical order and (b) adding the definition for Formula Business; Article IX , Administration, Enforcement and Relief by adding subsection: Special use permit for a Formula Business; Amending Section 304, Table 1, Use Regulations by adding to 5.0 Trade Use Number 59 – Formula Business SUB-A(Rivera)- First Reading

 

Public Hearing: no one signed up to speak

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

 

B.   Ordinance amending FY20 Annual Operating Budget Ordinance-General Fund, SUB- A – Second Reading (Rivera)

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

 

C.   Resolution supporting S-2170 and H-7055 and Ending the Exploitative practice of Payday Lending (Acosta)

Motion to approve the resolution was made by Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilwoman Vega.

Councilman Acosta spoke on this topic and provided an overview of the resolution. Motion carried unanimously.

 

D.  Resolution supporting Safe and Affordable Housing in Rhode Island as included in Articles 5 and 12 of H-7171 as well as S-2134 and H-7594 (Rivera)

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

 

E.   Resolution ensuring that every Rhode Islander is counted in the 2020 Census “One Voice, One Message, One Outcome” (Rivera)

Motion to approve the resolution was made by Councilman Solano, seconded by Councilwoman Vega. Motion carried unanimously.

 

VIII. Continued Business

None

 

IX.    Adjournment

Motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Solano, seconded by Councilman Ferri. Meeting adjourned at 7:27pm.

 

 

To view an electronic version of the agenda with supporting documentation, minutes and video, click on link: https://clerkshq.com/default.ashx?clientsite=centralfalls-ri

 

 

Sonia Grace

City Clerk

 

Approved July 13, 2020