| | CITY OF EAST PROVIDENCE RHODE ISLAND JOURNAL OF REGULAR MEETING MARCH 5, 2008 | |
The City Council meets in the Council Chambers on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 and Assistant Mayor Bruce DiTraglia calls the meeting to order at 7:35 P.M.
The invocation is read by Councilwoman Perry and the Salute to the Flag is led by Councilman Silva.
Kim Bourque from Merandi Reporting is present to record the proceedings of the public hearing.
| Present: | Bruce DiTraglia | ) | Assistant Mayor |
| | Robert E. Cusack | ) | Council Members |
| | Valerie A. Perry | ) | |
| | Bryan P. Silva | ) | |
| | | | |
| | Richard M. Brown | ) | City Manager |
| | Timothy J. Chapman | ) | Assistant City Solicitor |
| | Virginia B. Nunes | ) | City Clerk |
Mayor Isadore S. Ramos and William J. Conley, Jr. were not present.
CONSENT CALENDAR
APPROVAL OF COUNCIL JOURNALS
February 19, 2008 Regular Meeting
On motion of Councilwoman Perry, seconded by Councilman Silva, and on a roll call vote, it is unanimously voted to defer the Consent Calendar. It is noted for the record that Mayor Ramos is absent.
Assistant Mayor DiTraglia stated the Mayor is out of the Country.
APPOINTMENTS
WARD ONE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER (by Councilman Cusack)
Anthony A. Carcieri
42 Bridgham Farm Road (02916)
Councilman Cusack states that Mr. Carcieri is present to answer questions the Council may have.
Councilman Silva asks Councilman Cusack if he picked a committee to interview him.
Councilman Cusack stated he solicited interest here the night we received the resignation of Eileen Lovett. He says he asked for input and made some calls and talked to quite a few people.
Councilman Silva states that he has a problem with this appointment because a couple of months ago, Mr. Cusack put him through the wringer on how Mr. Silva was picking a candidate. He says he thinks the process should be the same this time around, and the fact that the Mayor is not here adds to his concern.
Councilman Cusack states that he spoke to the Mayor about his absence and gave the Mayor the name of his candidate. The Mayor told him to go ahead with the appointment and make the decision, that he did not have a problem with that.
Councilman Silva states that he has not had a chance to question the candidate and because the Mayor is not here, it should be deferred until the Mayor is present. Councilman Cusack states once again that the Mayor urged him to go forward and that the candidate is here to answer questions if the Council Members have any.
Councilman Silva states that a public interview is not on the docket, and asks Councilman Cusack if he asked anyone from Ward 1 to interview this person. Councilman Cusack replied that the Ward 1 area does not have the responsibility to confirm the nominee – the Council does.
Councilman Silva states that he is not prepared with his questions because he did not know he would have the opportunity to question the nominee today. He asks that the process be fair and is followed in the same way that his nomination was handled.
Councilwoman Perry states that this is the Council’s responsibility, and she did not recall anyone requesting that a committee was needed to conduct the interview. She suggests that the Council move forward and question Mr. Carcieri tonight.
Assistant Mayor DiTraglia states that this is a major position and the school department is at a $3.2 million dollar deficit and growing. He says we have serious problems within and it is not a job for just anyone to get into. He says that he does not know Mr. Carcieri and if he is questioned tonight, there may be someone who has questions that is not present tonight. He also says he thinks there should be more candidates for the position.
Councilman Cusack states that Eileen Lovett was the only candidate for the seat she served for two years, and when she ran for re-election, she was unopposed.
Mr. Chapman states it’s my understanding that there would have to be a motion to allow the candidate to come forward to be questioned, but that would have to be for discussion purposes only. We have to follow the open meetings act and this was not put on the docket so you would not be able to vote on that candidate tonight.
Councilwoman Perry states in fairness to Mr. Carcieri, she does not want to prolong this any longer, as it looks like a stalemate tonight. She asks that the appointment be deferred to the next meeting, when there will be a full Council sitting. She also says that she does not think it necessary for public questions, as this is a Council appointment and it should be the Council that should be asking the questions.
Councilman Cusack states there seems to be some interest in other nominees, but he has no others. He says that if others want to come into his Ward to make nominations, he would like his nomination to be listed first on the next docket.
On motion of Councilwoman Perry, seconded by Councilman Cusack, and on a roll call vote, it is unanimously voted to defer to the next meeting. It is noted for the record that Mayor Ramos is absent.
LICENSING COMMISSIONERS RESUME SITTING AS CITY COUNCIL
PUBLIC HEARINGS
ORDINANCES – FINAL PASSAGE (Given First Passage February 19, 2008 Advertised – Prov. Journal –February 22, 2008.)
The following is an ordinance amendment regarding 1 hour parking restriction at South Blossom Street (east side) from 35 feet south of Warren Avenue for a distance of 60 feet between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., except Sundays and holidays.
AN ORDINANCE IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 18 OF THE REVISED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF EAST PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, 1998, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED “VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC”
SECTION I. Section 18-311 entitled “Same--60 minutes” of Article X entitled “Stopping, Standing and Parking” of Chapter 18 entitled “Vehicles and Traffic” is amended by adding thereto the following: South Blossom Street (east side) from 35 feet south of Warren Avenue for a distance of 60 feet between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., except Sundays and holidays.
(Requested by: Director of Public Works)
On motion of Councilwoman Perry, seconded by Councilman Silva, and on a roll call vote, it is unanimously voted to dispense with the reading of the ordinance. It is noted for the record that Mayor Ramos is absent.
Joseph Braga, 17 Juniper Hill Drive, Coventry (02816) was sworn in by City Solicitor.
Attorney Rui Alves, 37 Sockanossett Crossroad, Cranston (02920) is sworn in by City Solicitor.
Mr. Braga passes out pictures of the road, and Assistant Mayor DiTraglia asks to make this part of the record. Councilman Silva moves to accept.
Mr. Braga states that he originally asked for 90 feet, but it looks like it will be a little less than his request. He also asks where the 35 feet begins. He says that there is already a No Parking sign to the corner that goes at least 15 to 20 feet. He asks if that is included as part of the 35 feet from Warren, and if it starts at the stop sign to go in, or does it go 35 feet from the corner and then go 65 feet in?
Assistant Mayor DiTraglia asks if this would interfere with the tenement house.
Mr. Braga states that these cars are not from the tenement houses. He says his business has been there for 19 years, and he has never had a problem until the last six months. He says that if this was going to impact the neighborhood or other business in the neighborhood, he would never ask for this.
Mr. Brown states Mr. Coutu looked at the issue and he came up with a solution. He recommends that the Council affirm the recommendation made by the Public Works Director and the City will monitor what is going on there and determine if that deals with the problem or we still have additional concerns.
Discussion continues on the parking situation. Mr. Braga states that the cars that are parking there belong to employees of Dunkin Donuts, which lost parking spaces after the renovations and drive thru were put there
Mr. Brown states that if the ordinance is approved tonight, public works can post the signs and this will be enforced immediately, but if it is deferred, this goes on for another two weeks. Mr. Braga states that he does not have a problem with the ordinance being passed tonight, and if he feels it is still a problem, will come back and ask for an additional 10, 20 or 30 feet.
Attorney Alves states that because they don’t know where the lines are, this may be a mute point.
On motion of Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilwoman Perry and on a roll-call vote, it is unanimously voted to approve. It is noted for the record that Mayor Ramos is absent.
CONTINUED BUSINESS
HIGHWAY ABANDONMENT – CEDAR AVENUE FROM BLUFF STREET WESTWARD TO NARRAGANSETT BAY
Mr. Brown states the Council directed him and City Solicitor Conley to come up with some alternatives so that the property might be able to remain open but relieve the City of some of the maintenance and some of the responsibilities. He says that they are still in the process of identifying responsible parties that may step into that role.
NEW BUSINESS
REPORTS OF OTHER CITY OFFICIALS
CLAIMS COMMITTEE (by Timothy J. Chapman – Assistant City Solicitor)
Mr. Chapman presents Claims Report from February 19, 2008:
| George Coutoulakis Claim No. 08-011 | Approve the claim in the amount of $977.15 |
| Stephanie Grassley Claim No. 08-010 | Deny the claim |
| Carroll Venable Claim No. 08-008 | Approve the claim in the amount of $860.0 |
On motion of Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilwoman Perry and on a roll-call vote, it is unanimously voted to approve. It is noted for the record that Mayor Ramos is absent.
INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES (If given First Passage, can be referred to the next regular Council Meeting to be held on March 18, 2008 for a public hearing and consideration of final passage).
The following is an ordinance amendment regarding mandatory recycling.
AN ORDINANCE IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 6 OF THE REVISED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF EAST PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, 1998, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED “GARBAGE AND REFUSE.”
SECTION I. Article IV entitled “Recyclables” of Chapter 6 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of East Providence, Rhode Island, 1998, as amended, entitled “Garbage and Refuse” is amended by adding thereto the following:
Sec. 6-46. Mandatory Recycling
(a) Any person who generates municipal solid waste or accepts responsibility for collecting, storing, or disposing of municipal solid waste shall segregate their solid waste.
(b) The City reserves the right to deny collection of municipal solid waste from any household that shall not comply with segregated recycling regulations and/or shall not set out for collection recyclable containers with required segregated materials therein.
(Requested by: Director of Public Works)
On motion of Councilwoman Perry, seconded by Councilman Silva, and on a roll call vote, it is unanimously voted to dispense with the reading of the ordinance. It is noted for the record that Mayor Ramos is absent.
The City Manager explains the ordinance. He states that in order to have trash picked up; residents must put out recycling bins. He says the Resource Recovery Agency is pressuring municipalities to increase recycling efforts, due to the limited resources at the landfill. He says it also cuts down on the City’s tipping fees, when trash is recycled. Also, the City receives a payment for the recycling efforts. This ordinance is designed to make the Municipal solid waste collection more efficient
Mr. Brown also states that statistics from other communities that have similar ordinances have seen dramatic increases in the recycling rate. He says that the City pays $37 per ton to dispose waste in the State’s landfill. Although it is not a big money item, whatever can be recycled will improve our cost and help with the deficit.
On motion of Councilman Silva, seconded by Councilwoman Perry, it is unanimously voted to approve. It is noted for the record that Mayor Ramos is absent.
COMMUNICATIONS
Tom Riley, 3620 Pawtucket Avenue (02915) is sworn in by City Solicitor.
Mr. Riley hands to the Council copies of Chapter 17 of the State’s General Laws pertaining to elections. Mr. Riley proceeds to read the laws. Mr. Riley complains about problems with the Clerk of the Canvassing Office, saying that she does not comply with his requests. He says that none of the minutes have been filed with the Secretary of State for the last two years, and asks that the City Council demand performance to comply with State law.
Councilman DiTraglia states that Mr. Riley’s request to have the meetings at a certain time is happening. He also says that Mr. Riley has not taken his complaints about alleged broken laws by the Canvassing Authority to the Board of Elections. Mr. Riley replies that the Board of Elections does not have the authority. Councilman Di Traglia states that they indeed do and says the Board of Elections would contact our Legal Counsel and then the City Council. He tells that he is wasting paper and the taxpayers’ money by having these reports printed.
Leah Niederman, 29 Bay View Avenue (02915) was sworn in by City Solicitor.
Ms. Niedeman states that she has been following this, and when it was announced that there would be four polling places, she called the Board of Election and the Attorney General’s office to inquire if there was state law that required advertisement of polling places in some time period certain for an Election. She says she was told that the norm for advertisement was seven days minimum prior to the Elections, but the City had no advertisement. She says that Mrs. Callahan said she did a press release. Ms. Niederman states that this is not an advertisement; the paper determines when a press release is printed.
She goes on to say that as a citizen, she is embarrassed that this Council is allowing this board to misbehave. She says that if the board members cannot get along, the Council should un-appoint the present board members and appoint a new board that will work together.
On motion of Councilwoman Perry, seconded by Councilman Silva, the meeting adjourns at 9:45 p.m.
Attest:
_________________________________
Virginia B. Nunes
City Clerk
Approved: April 15, 2008