CITY OF EAST PROVIDENCE
RHODE ISLAND
JOURNAL OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
February 19, 2013
Council Chambers, City Hall, 145 Taunton Avenue, East Providence, RI 02914
7:00 P.M. Executive Session, Room 101
7:30 P.M. Open Session
The City Council of the City of East Providence will meet in Executive Session pursuant to RI General Laws § 42-46-5 (a) (2
A. New Claims
1. Christopher Laroux
All items under “CONSENT CALENDAR” are considered to be of a routine and noncontroversial nature by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a Council member so requests, in which event, the item will be removed from the “CONSENT CALENDAR” and will be considered in its normal sequence on the docket.
A. Letters
1. Coastal Resources Management February 2013 Calendar.
2. Smithfield Public Schools resolutions to the RI General Assembly to oppose any and all legislative proposals which would mandate expired teacher contracts must continue at the existing terms and conditions and opposing mandatory binding arbitration.
3. Letter of resignation from Jennifer Cavaco for the Carousel Commission.
4. Burrillville Town Council resolutions to the RI General Assembly to oppose any and all legislative proposals which would mandate expired teacher contracts must continue at the existing terms and conditions and opposing mandatory binding arbitration.
5. South Kingstown School Committee Resolution opposing legislation in favor of Binding Arbitration and Contract Continuation for Teachers.
6. South Kingstown School Committee Resolution in favor of State Legislation S49 and H5066 moving the teacher layoff notice deadline from March 1 to June 1.
7. South Kingstown School Committee Resolution in favor of the Technology Bond Initiative.
B. Alcoholic Beverage Class F
1. Vartan Gregorian School at Providence Country Day School, 660 Waterman Avenue (02914) Fundraiser on March 9, 2013, Nagibe Desrosiers.
2. St. Martha's Church, Pawtucket Avenue (02914), Italian/IrishNight on May 5, 2013, Maria R. Lacerdo.
3. St. Martha's Church, Pawtucket Avenue (02914), Portuguese Night on March 16, 2013, Maria R. Lacerdo.
4. Sacred Heart Church, 118 Taunton Avenue (02914), Father Peter DiTullio, Annual Soup Dinner, March 2, 2013.
C. Cancellation/Abatements
| Year | |
| 2006 | $351.70 |
| 2007 | $288.64 |
| 2008 | $36.36 |
| 2010 | $64.18 |
| 2011 | $210.10 |
| 2012 | $2,972.81 |
Total $3,923.79
D. Tax Board of Review - Abatements
Year Amount
2012 $31,764.71
Total $31,764.71
E. Council Journals
1. Regular Meeting February 5, 2013
2. Special Council Meeting February 11, 2013
A motion to approve the Consent Calendar is made by Assistant Mayor Rose, seconded by Councilwoman Capobianco and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
Barbara Bon - at the time the name was called Ms. Bon had left the meeting
A. Carl Torres, Chris DiCecco and James Miller of the Public Works Department, City of East Providence
Lt. Brian Poland and Fire Fighters William Poland, Joseph DaSilva, George Carvalho and Mathew Goodreau - East Providence Fire Department Commendations
Actions above and beyond their duty during NEMO Storm
(By Councilwoman Rossi)
The City Manager speaks acknowledging all the City employees in the emergency departments which worked 24-36 hours straight, away from their own families who were without power, stating that they gave up a lot to make sure the citizens of the City were safe.
Councilwoman Rossi presented the proclamations to the members of the Public Works Department and Fire Department who assisted in rescuing a lost teenage girl from the woods during the storm.
1. Affirmative Action Committee Re-Appointment (by Mayor Briden)
Cheryl Burrell, 1370 Pawtucket Avenue (02916)
A motion to approve the appointment is made by Councilwoman Capobianco, seconded by Assistant Mayor Rose and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
2. Affirmative Action Committee Re-Appointment (by Mayor Briden)
Jerome Spinola, 200 East Shore Circle (02915)
A motion to approve the appointment is made by Assistant Mayor Rose, seconded by Councilman Cunha and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
3. Affirmative Action Committee (by Mayor Briden)
Cheryl Gibbs, 810 Veterans Memorial Parkway (02914)
A motion to approve the appointment is made by Assistant Mayor Rose, seconded by Councilman Cunha and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
4. Affirmative Action Committee Re-Appointment (by Mayor Briden)
Anita Turner,190 Grosvenor Avenue (02914)
A motion to approve the appointment is made by Assistant Mayor Rose, seconded by Councilwoman Capobianco and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
5. Affirmative Action Committee Re-Appointment (by Mayor Briden)
Gaston Malloy, 384 Roger Williams Avenue (02916)
Mr. Malloy chose not to seek re-appointment.
6. Affirmative Action Committee Re-Appointment (by Mayor Briden)
William Fontes, 95 Hazard Avenue (02914)
A motion to approve the appointment is made by Councilwoman Capobianco, seconded by Assistant Mayor Rose and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
7. Affirmative Action Committee (by Mayor Briden)
Nadine Lima, 3 Ledgewood Blvd. Apt. C-63, Dartmouth MA 02747
A motion to approve the appointment is made by Councilman Cunha, seconded by Assistant Mayor Rose and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
Mayor Briden swears in the newly appointed members of the Affirmative Action Commission.
8. Carousel Commission (by Councilwoman Rossi)
Casondra Bevilacqua, 29 Woodbine Street (02915)
A motion to approve the appointment is made by Assistant Mayor Rose, seconded by Councilman Cunha and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
A.City Managers Report (by City Manager Peter Graczykowski)
1. Budget Commission Activity Update
The City Manager made an announcement regarding a free Shred-A-Thon event in the City Hall parking lot on March 6th from 12pm-2pm.
The City Manager updated the Council on the Budget Commission Activities:
-cash flow
-retention of All Day K
-personnel requests - Purchasing Agent position, System Technician, Treasurer all are part of the reorganization of the Finance Department
- expenditures under and over $25,000
- purchase of used ambulance until the new ambulance is completed this was possible due to exceeded revenue from rescue billing
- EPPD vehicle approvals for a 5 year period replacing 60 vehicles
- approved RFP for carpentry repairs for the Carousel
- real estate settlement for 78 Anthony Street
- appraisal of Exxon Mobile real estate for tax purposes
- Streaming of Council and School Committee Meetings was held for more information but will return for the February 28th Budget Commission Meeting
- update regarding the Street Light Management Program
- first reading of tentative agreements with EPPMTEA, Stealworkers, Teachers, Educational Secretaries and Teacher Assistants, including a universal healthcare plan which will generate 10% savings in the budget with post employment benefits no longer having the long stretches of health insurance and will instead be one year for family and two years for individual, also they are still in discussions with fire fighters and custodians, all the contracts will be read again for a vote at the February 28th Budget Commission Meeting
- the next Budget Commission Meeting is February 28th at 3PM in room 306
The City Manager reported the City's budget is balanced for this fiscal year and once the collective bargaining agreements are complete this will help to balance the 5 year budget.
2. Departmental Activity Update
The City Manager provided a synopsis of the various department reports.
3. Storm Nemo After Operations Report
The City Manager provided background on the storm noting it was a blizzard of historic proportions. He summarized the report given to Council as part of the packet. He highlighted the following areas:
- thanking City workers
- getting to calls for help as quickly as they could
- clearing the major arteries first
- dealing with equipment which is meant to handle up to 1 foot of snow only
- City Emergency Management Team including Wayne Barnes coordinating ground level efforts
- DPW crew was crucial in managing the storm cleanup and making sure the rescue vehicles were able to get to the hospitals as the State had not plowed or were behind the snow levels on major arteries such as the Wampanoag Trail, DPW had to travel plowing in front of rescues to bring emergency life threatening residents to the hospital this assistance to emergency vehicles happened dozens of times in and out of the City, each time this occurred these workers were pulled from local locations in City where they were plowing
The City Manager offered the following areas were the City should focus to improve emergency management abilities:
- finalization of Reverse 911
- establish additional City groups via Connect Ed
- additional redundancies in the phone system
- additional backup to the servers for access to internet and email
- preparations ahead of time for a community warming center perhaps working with the RI Red Cross to become a site for the area
- update and utilize a storm emergency plan
- more outside service vendors secured for large storms
- use the larger equipment first instead of saving these for backup
- more 4 wheel drive vehicles for police and fire
- transition from radio system to narrow band
- GPS tracking system for DPW
- a more functional emergency operations center less fragmentation
- more sidewalk cleanup enforcement so schools can open
- adopting an ordinance which would ban snow removal to the roadway as this impedes the City operations and it is not fair to others
- identify the essential emergency personnel for a permanent structure
The Director of Public Works spoke regarding the DPWs current UHF system. There is a lot of background noise often picking up other areas such as Martha's Vineyard and the City needs to move to Narrow Banding the cost of this upgrade is about $40,000 this would include all radios and the central radio system.
4. Police Recruitment Standards
Human Resource Director Waterbury spoke and explained in the ordinances where the requirements appear.
There was discussion from Council on whether or not the ordinance should be changed and the requirement for an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice be altered.
Chief Tavares spoke stating most departments do have a 60 credit minimum.
The City Manager stated that he would provide for the next Council meeting an update on the process, a summary of basic requirements as well as to take a look at occupational websites in terms of enumerating tasks and skill sets for a particular job as suggested by Mayor Briden.
5. Budget Commission Staff Billing Detail
The City Manager stated the Council has a copy of a letter dated January 15th which includes a breakdown of charges. The charges from December 22, 2011 thru June 30, 2012 are not as detailed as the one which follows which is July 1, 2012 thru October 31, 2012. The City should receive the additional breakdown shortly and the payment for the invoice which contains the detail on it has been made.
Assistant Mayor Rose asked why the item didn't come before the Council to approve since it was over $100,000.
The City Manager stated that currently there is a Budget Commission so they have approved it.
6. Public Safety Pension Plan ARC
The City Manager reported that they still do not have the most recent evaluation report.
Councilwoman Rossi stated that she can't overstate how important it is that we are now funding our ARC at 100% as our employees don't have the option and that the City has stepped up and this is a great thing.
7. Bentley Street Lot Capping Costs
Director of Public Works Coutu gave the history of the lot and explained the capping options including the options of raised beds for a community garden or greenhouse.
Councilwoman Rossi asked if there were other sites in the City which wouldn't have this contamination.
The City Manager stated there would be a report back to the Council regarding options for a community garden or greenhouse location at the next Council meeting.
8. Riverside Square Development Cleanup Timeline
Planning Director Jeanne Boyle spoke regarding the time line and Council was given a report in their packet. The timeline consists of 13 steps from February 2013 thru January 2014. The start date is March 2013 when the fence will go up by the demolition contractor then people will start to see the buildings come down.
9. LED Street Light Proposal
The City Manager reported that Director Coutu reached out to the vendor who presented at the previous meeting and has begun to identify some of the City owned light fixtures. As for the street lighting program, the City can't put LED lights in the National Grid fixtures at this time.
Councilman Cunha asked how the City can become independent from National Grid.
The City Manager stated it's a long term project, to be able to buy the lights from National Grid with an initial capital investment and we are working to allocate resources to maintain the lights, once the tariff exists, we would purchase the fixtures and then we would put in our lights. At present time no municipality in Rhode Island can do this though many are interested. There will be a report back to Council regarding City owned light fixtures which might benefit from LED lights.
10. Quality of Life Issues Hotline Proposal
The City Manager reported that the City has a system right now very similar to the one being requested however the City can improve on what there is now. People wishing to file a complaint should contact the Building Inspector's Office at 435-7722 this would include issues such as trash on properties or mismanaged properties. People can leave a message after hours. There is someone in the office who speaks Portuguese. The complaint can be anonymous and the City will advertise this information. The City Manager stated he will direct the Director of Public Works to work with the Building Inspector to get this information out to the public. There is a computer tracking system which the Council can receive updates from on via an activity report.
B.Reports of Other City Officials
1. Claims Committee Report (by City Solicitor Timothy Chapman)
A motion to approve the Claims Committee Report is made by Assistant Mayor Rose, seconded by Councilman Cunha and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
2. School Committee Update (by School Committee Member Tony Ferreira)
School Committee Member Tony Ferreira reported on the following items:
-announced that on the first of the month there will be a meet and greet for the superintendent
- during storms the City and Schools need to continue to work together to clear snow from school properties
- all buildings should be completed so schools can open instead of some receiving more clearing than others
- the City should have a copy of all school building blue prints
Councilwoman Rossi asked if any numbers were in on how much it was going to cost to re-fit Waddington School to take in the new students due to the proposed closing of Oldham School.
School Committee Member Ferreira reported the numbers were not in yet.
The Dunkin' Donuts Scholarship Fund was discussed it is a $1000 scholarship for an EPHS student.
C. Council Members
1. City's Website (by Mayor Briden)
Mayor Briden stated that he has been looking at the websites of other municipalities and non profits to see their ideas. He would like the City to have clear and well defined objectives to use our website to facilitate economic development. While our website is very professional the objectives are not clear. A carousel could be used to promote economic development such as welcoming new business. He will be reporting back on this in the near future.
2. Policies and Procedures (by Assistant Mayor Rose)
Assistant Mayor Rose deferred this item to the next meeting.
3. Police and Fire Pension Fund - Funding the ARC (by Councilwoman Rossi)
Councilwoman Rossi stated this item had been discussed already.
4. Budget Commission (by Councilwoman Rossi)
Councilwoman Rossi stated this item had been discussed already.
5. Food Pantries (by Councilwoman Rossi)
Councilwoman Rossi stated she has been working with Dennis Roy of EPCAP and took a tour of the food pantry there and of other sites in EP which all service people in need in the City. Councilwoman Rossi asked for approval from the Council to post these food pantry locations on the City's website. There were no objections.
6. Emergency Preparations and Actions (by Councilwoman Rossi)
Councilwoman Rossi stated this item had been discussed already.
7. Welcoming a Business to the City (by Councilwoman Capobianco)
Councilwoman Capobianco welcomed Tockwotton to the City. She and other Council members toured the facility and it is beautiful. They also attended the grand opening.
D. Introduction of Ordinances
1. An ordinance pertaining to 2 hour parking on a section of Taunton Avenue.
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 18-310 entitled “Same--30 minutes” of Article X entitled “Stopping, Standing and Parking” of Chapter 18 entitled “Vehicles and Traffic” is amended by deleting therefrom the following:
Taunton Avenue (south side) from Russell Avenue to Broadway between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. except Sundays and holidays
SECTION II. Section 18-312 entitled “Same--120 minutes” of Article X entitled “Stopping, Standing and Parking” of Chapter 18 entitled “Vehicles and Traffic” is amended by adding thereto the following:
Taunton Avenue (south side) from Russell Avenue to Broadway between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. except Sundays and holidays
SECTION III. This ordinance shall take effect upon second passage and all ordinances and parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Requested by: Director of Public Works
Director Coutu explained that the two ordinances on the docket would accomplish a 6 hour zone from John St to Russell St for the businesses which had issues and leaves the remaining portions of Taunton Avenue at 2 hours. The 30 minute section will return to 2 hours so that it is consistent.
A motion to approve the ordinance for first passage is made by Councilwoman Rossi, seconded by Councilman Cunha and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
2. An ordinance pertaining to 6 hour parking on a portion of Taunton Avenue.
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. Sec. 18-312 entitled “Same—120 minutes” of Article X entitled “Stopping, Standing and Parking” of Chapter 18 entitled “Vehicles and Traffic” is amended by deleting therefrom the following:
Taunton Avenue (both sides) from Walnut Street to Russell Avenue between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., except Sundays and holidays
SECTION II. Sec. 18-312 entitled “Same—120 minutes” of Article X entitled “Stopping, Standing and Parking” of Chapter 18 entitled “Vehicles and Traffic” is amended by adding thereto the following:
Taunton Avenue (north side) from Walnut Street to John Street between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., except Sundays and holidays.
Taunton Avenue (south side) from Walnut Street to Grosvenor Avenue between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., except Sundays and holidays.
SECTION III. Article X entitled “Stopping, Standing and Parking” of Chapter 18 entitled “Vehicles and Traffic” is amended by adding thereto the following:
Sec. 18-316. Parking time limitations–360 minutes.
Taunton Avenue (north side) from John Street to Russell Avenue between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., except Sundays and holidays
SECTION IV. This ordinance shall take effect upon second passage and all ordinances and parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Requested by: Councilwoman Rossi
A motion to approve the ordinance for first passage is made by Councilwoman Rossi, seconded by Councilwoman Capobianco and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
E. Communications
1. Jon White, Eident Sports Marketing, 10 Dorrance Street, Suite 650, Providence (02903) requesting to address the Council regarding the 6th Annual Cox Sports Marathon, Sunday May 12, 2013.
Speaking on behalf of Mr. White is Antoine Kotran.
Mr. Kotran explained this is the 6th annual marathon which travels through East Providence mostly via the East Bay Bike Path. They expect 1300 runners. The proceeds will once again benefit charity.
A motion to approve the road closures for the road race is made by Assistant Mayor Rose, seconded by Councilwoman Capobianco and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
A motion to adjourn is made by Councilwoman Rossi, seconded by Assistant Mayor Rose and on a roll call vote it is unanimous.
Approved by Council: March 5, 2013
Attest: ________________________
City Clerk