I.       CALL TO ORDER

7:00 PM Meeting called to order on December 1, 2010 at Council Chambers, City of East Providence, East Providence, RI.

II.     INVOCATION

Delivered by Reverend Douglas Spina, Pastor of Saint Martha's Church

III.    Posting of the Colors

East Providence Police Honor Guard

IV.     National Anthem

Katie J. Kleyla, Council-elect Ward I and Brad and Matthew Kleyla

V.      Oath of Engagement to Council-elect

Oath of Engagement is administered by The Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger Chief Justice (Ret.) Rhode Island Supreme Court

Katie J. Kleyla - Ward I

Bruce Rogers - Ward II

Thomas Rose - Ward III

Michael D. DiGioia - Ward IV

William Conley - At-Large

VI.     Oath of Engagement to School Committee-elect

Oath of Engagement is administered by The Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger Chief Justice (Ret.) Rhode Island Supreme Court

Charles S. Tsonos - Ward I

Stephen Furtado - Ward II

Ryan Tellier - Ward III

Chrissy Rossi - Ward IV

Luisa Abatecola - At-Large

VII.   Organization of the City Council

1.   Motion To:         Election of Mayor and Oath of Engagement

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Councilman Conley lists three reasons why he cannot support the election of Councilman Rogers to the position of Mayor: 

1. Councilman Roger's position on open government and a statement he made to the Providence Journal during his last term as Mayor as well the actions taken at that time which in turn caused the City to be sued by the Attorney General's Office. 

2. Orchestration of actions regarding Councilman Rogers and a quote from the East Providence Post that he and then Councilman Coogan orchestrated the run for Ward II Council as well as the orchestration Councilman Rogers demonstrated during this transition.

3. Regarding respect for the law,  Councilman Rogers has an issue with the rule of law dating back three decades and two states and that there are three active arrest warrants concerning multiple bad check charges.

Councilman DiGioia concurs.

The roll call vote is taken. 

Oath of Engagement is administered by The Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger Chief Justice (Ret.) Rhode Island Supreme Court

2.   Mayor Rogers calls for a moment of silence regarding the passing of Councilman Conley’s mother Mary.

3.   Mayor Rogers reads his prepared remarks.

The remarks focus on moving the City forward and working together to make the City of East Providence an All American City once again.

4.   Motion To:         Election of Assistant Mayor and Oath of Engagement

VIII.  Election and Appointment of Other City Officials

1.   Mayor Rogers requests a preliminary resolution to remove the City Manager for the purposes of job performance.

Councilman Conley calls a point of order and this is seconded by Councilman DiGioia. Councilman Conley objects due to the fact that this item was not posted on the docket and states there are necessary steps to take if in fact the Council wants to remove the City Manager.

Councilman DiGioia concurs stating this is a clear violation of the open meetings law.

Assistant Solicitor Robert Craven concurs and suggests the Mayor place this item on the next scheduled Council meeting if they would like to pursue removal. 

Assistant Solicitor Craven is also called to testify specifically on the posting of the regularly scheduled appointments and he states he has researched the issue and has spoken with the Attorney General's Office and appointments made which are regular appointments as scheduled at inaugurations do not have to be specifically named.  He cites various cases.  Councilman Conley disagrees and also sites cases. 

Assistant Solicitor Craven lets Councilman Conley know that the most recent ruling from the Attorney General's office deals specifically with this issue and is from 2007 and the regular appointments made tonight are legal. 

Mayor Rogers withdraws the resolution dealing specifically with the City Manager. 

Mayor Rogers calls for nominations for an interim City Manager. 

Councilman Conley calls a point of order and Councilman DiGioia seconds.

Assistant Solicitor Craven concurs and the Mayor withdraws the call for nominations. 

2.   Motion To:         Appointment of City Clerk

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for City Clerk and Kim Casci is nominated.

Upon a roll call vote Councilman Conley objects restating the previous reason that these items were not listed individually on the docket and that he will not be able to participate in the remainder of the meeting.

Councilman DiGioia concurs stating he feels this is legally wrong. 

Mayor Rogers calls Assistant Solicitor Craven back up to testify and he asks if it is legal to proceed and Assistant Solicitor Craven states that it is as these are typical appointments made every two years by the Council.

Upon the call for the vote for City Clerk both Councilmen Conley and DiGioia exit the meeting. 

The Oath of Office is delivered to the Clerk by Mayor Rogers.  

3.   Motion To:         Appointment of City Solicitor

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for City Solicitor and Orlando Andreoni is nominated.

The Oath of Office is administered by Mayor Rogers. 

4.   Motion To:         Appointment of Assistant City Solicitors

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for Assistant Solicitors and Robert Craven and Gina DiCenso are nominated. 

Oath of Office is administered Councilman Rose.

5.   Motion To:         Appointment of Probate Judge

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for the appointment of Probate Judge and Christine Engustian is nominated. 

Oath of Office is administered by Councilman Rose. 

6.   Motion To:         Appointment of Municipal Court Judge

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for Municipal Court Judge and Harry W. Asquith, Jr. is nominated.

Oath of Office is administered by Councilwoman Kleyla.   

7.   Motion To:         Appointment of City Sergeants

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for the appointment of City Sergeant and Jason Medeiros and William Abbood are nominated. 

Oath of Office is administered by Mayor Rogers.

8.   Motion To:         Appointment of Municipal Court Bailiff

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for Municipal Court Bailiff and John Medeiros is nominated. 

Oath of Office is administered by Mayor Rogers. 

9.   Motion To:         Appointment of Officer of the Municipal Court

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for the Officer of the Municipal Court and Joseph Connors is nominated.

Oath of Office is administered by Councilwoman Kleyla. 

10.      Motion To:    Appointment of Harbormaster

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for the appointment of Harbormaster and Bruce Dufresne is nominated. 

The Harbormaster is not present and the Mayor instructs the City Clerk to swear Bruce Dufresne in at a later time. 

11.      Motion To:    Appointment of the Sealers of Weights and Measures

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for the Sealers of Weights and Measures and Peter Bedrosian and Manuel Ferreira are nominated.

Oath of Office is administered by Mayor Rogers.

12.      Motion To:    Appointment of Council Liaison to the School Committee

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

Nominations are made for the Council Liaison to the School Committee and Councilwoman Kleyla is nominated. 

IX.     Council Meeting Dates 2010-2011

1.   Motion To:         A motion is made that the City Council will meet at 7:30 PM in the Council Chamber, City Hall on the following dates in 2010-2011.

COMMENTS - Current Meeting:

December 7 & 21 2010

January 4 & 18

February 1 & 15

March 1 & 15

April 5 & 19

May 3 & 17

June 7 & 21

July 19

August 16

September 6 & 20

October 4 & 18

November 1 & 15

December 6 & 20

Following this vote Mayor Rogers declares the Council portion of the meeting finished and invites all to attend the reception at the East Providence Senior Center, immediately following the School Committee organizational meeting.  The Mayor then invites the School Committee to come forward for their organization. 

X.      ADJOURNMENT

1.   Motion To:         A motion to adjourn is made by School Committee member Furtado and seconded by School Committee member Abatecola and it is unanimous.

Approved By Council:  December 21, 2010

Attest:  _______________

                        City Clerk