City Council, November 20, 2018

 

 

A regular session of the Pawtucket City Council is held Tuesday, November 20, 2018, at 7:15 p.m., in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 137 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI.

 

Present – President Moran; Councilors Araujo, Barry, Mercer, Tetreault, Vitali, and Wildenhain.

 

Absent – Councilors Kallman and Rudd.

 

President Moran presides.

 

The reading of the records of the November 7, 2018 City Council and Finance Committee meetings are dispensed with and the records are APPROVED as prepared by the Clerk.

 

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Mercer, seconded by Councilor Barry, the *Consent Agenda is APPROVED, on a unanimous voice vote.

 

*THE FOLLOWING COMMUNICATIONS ARE READ AND ORDERED FILED:

 

A.              617      Communication from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, to Council President David P. Moran. (Environmental Assessment)

           

B.              7          Various Forms and Statements from RI Infrastructure Bank.

           

C.              614      Communication from Eric J. Earls, P.E. Director of Public Works, to Richard J. Goldstein, MMC, City Clerk. (RIDOT Property Acquisition – 872 Newport Avenue)

           

D.                          Communication from William T. Jarvis, President, Conrad-Jarvis, Corp. to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council. (Requesting to Modify a Shipping/Receiving Dock at 217 Conant Street) TO BE REFERRED TO THE CITY PROPERTY COMMITTEE

           

E.                           THE FOLLOWING CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES AGAINST THE CITY TO BE REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON CLAIMS AND PENDING SUITS:

Jonathan Acosta - $420.47

Steven Cohen - $950.29

Kathleen Forant - $700.00+

Frank Hazard and Brenda Wallace Lester – No Amount Specified

Kristen Henderson by Robert J. Levine, Esq. – No Amount Specified

Lateesha Rainey by Charles J. Vucci, Esq. - $100,000.00

           

 

 

THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR WILDENHAIN.

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Wildenhain, seconded by Councilor Barry, the agenda is amended to include the following communication on a unanimous voice vote:

 

Communication from Joseph A. Keough, Jr., Esq., representing the Pawtucket Water Supply Board, to Richard J. Goldstein, MMC, City Clerk.  (Purchase of parcel in the Abbott Run Watershed on Clover Court, Cumberland – AP23 L114)

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Wildenhain, seconded by Councilor Barry, the following communication is READ AND ORDERED FILED and REFERRED TO THE CITY PROPERTY COMMITTEE on a unanimous voice vote:

 

Communication from Joseph A. Keough, Jr., Esq., representing the Pawtucket Water Supply Board, to Richard J. Goldstein, MMC, City Clerk.  (Purchase of parcel in the Abbott Run Watershed on Clover Court, Cumberland – AP23 L114)

 

 

Communication from His Honor, Mayor Donald R. Grebien, to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council, submitting the following appointment as a member of the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency, FOR CONFIRMATION:

 

PAWTUCKET REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY

 

589   Howard S. Abramson, 10 Exchange Court, Pawtucket, RI 02860.  Term expires September 11, 2019. (To fill the unexpired term of Roger Lemoie), is READ AND ORDERED FILED.

 

The following appointment is CONFIRMED on a roll call vote, as follows:

 

AYES – President Moran, Councilors Araujo, Barry, Mercer, Tetreault, Vitali and Wildenhain.

 

NOES – 0.

PAWTUCKET REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY

 

Howard S. Abramson, 10 Exchange Court, Pawtucket, RI 02860.  Term expires September 11, 2019. (To fill the unexpired term of Roger Lemoie)

 

 

 

THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR MERCER.

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Mercer, seconded by Councilor Barry, the agenda is amended to include the following, on a unanimous voice vote:

 

Communication from Jeanne Boyle, Director of Commerce, and Susan Mara, Director of Planning, to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council.  (Downtown Action Items)

 

AN ORDINANCE IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 410 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PAWTUCKET, 1996, ENTITLED “ZONING” (Change in the Table of Use Regulations Pertaining to the Commercial Downtown District)

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Mercer, seconded by Councilor Barry, the following are LAID ON THE TABLE AND REFERRED TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE AND A PUBLIC HEARING IS SET FOR DECEMBER 5, 2018, on unanimous voice vote:

 

Communication from Jeanne Boyle, Director of Commerce, and Susan Mara, Director of Planning, to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council.  (Downtown Action Items)

 

AN ORDINANCE IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 410 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PAWTUCKET, 1996, ENTITLED “ZONING” (Change in the Table of Use Regulations Pertaining to the Commercial Downtown District)

 

 

Communication from His Honor, Mayor Donald R. Grebien, to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council, submitting the following appointment as a member of the Riverfront Commission, FOR CONFIRMATION:

 

RIVERFRONT COMMISSION

 

589   Juan Pablo Barrera, 44 Burgess Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02861. Term expires June 2, 2019, is READ AND ORDERED FILED.

 

The following appointment is CONFIRMED on a roll call vote, as follows:

 

AYES – President Moran, Councilors Araujo, Barry, Mercer, Tetreault, Vitali and Wildenhain.

 

NOES – 0.

RIVERFRONT COMMISSION

 

Juan Pablo Barrera, 44 Burgess Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02861. Term expires June 2, 2019.

 

 

 

Communication from His Honor, Mayor Donald R. Grebien, to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council, submitting the following reappointment as a member of the Advisory Commission on Arts and Culture, FOR CONFIRMATION:

 

ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ARTS AND CULTURE

 

589   Mimo Gordon Riley, 75 Montgomery Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860.  Term expires the first Monday in October 2021, is READ AND ORDERED FILED.

 

The following reappointment is CONFIRMED on a roll call vote, as follows:

 

AYES – President Moran, Councilors Araujo, Barry, Mercer, Tetreault, Vitali and Wildenhain.

 

NOES – 0.

ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ARTS AND CULTURE

 

Mimo Gordon Riley, 75 Montgomery Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860.  Term expires the first Monday in October 2021.

 

 

 

THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR VITALI.

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Vitali, seconded by Councilors Barry and Araujo, the agenda is amended to include the following, on a unanimous voice vote:

 

028   City of Pawtucket Road Map for Homeless Liaison, prepared by Thomas E. Hodge.

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Vitali, seconded by Councilors Barry and Araujo, the following is READ AND ORDERED FILED on a unanimous voice vote:

 

City of Pawtucket Road Map for Homeless Liaison, prepared by Thomas E. Hodge.

 

 

Communication from His Honor, Mayor Donald R. Grebien, to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council, submitting the following reappointment as a member of the Advisory Commission on Arts and Culture, FOR CONFIRMATION:

 

ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ARTS AND CULTURE

 

589   Jan Brodie, P.O., Box 196, Mattapoisett, MA 02739.  Term expires the first Monday in October 2021, is READ AND ORDERED FILED.

 

The following reappointment is CONFIRMED on a roll call vote, as follows:

 

AYES – President Moran, Councilors Araujo, Barry, Mercer, Tetreault, Vitali and Wildenhain.

 

NOES – 0.

ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ARTS AND CULTURE

 

Jan Brodie, P.O., Box 196, Mattapoisett, MA 02739.  Term expires the first Monday in October 2021.

 

 

 

The following resolution is READ and PASSED on a roll call vote, as follows:

 

AYES – President Moran, Councilors Araujo, Barry, Mercer, Tetreault, Vitali and Wildenhain.

 

NOES – 0.

 

588   RESOLUTION CHANGING THE DATE AND TIME OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND BOARD OF LICENSE COMMISSIONERS MEETINGS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 19, 2018 TO DECEMBER 17, 2018, AT 5:30 P.M.

 

 

THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS TO THE ORDINANCE ENTITLED “AN ORDINANCE IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTERS 1810, 1845, 1853, 1899, 1933, 2007, 2037, 2114, 2262, 2496, 2511, 2547 AND 2864 OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PAWTUCKET, APPROVING AMENDMENT NO. 15 TO THE PAWTUCKET REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, ENTITLED THE “DOWNTOWN GATEWAY PROJECT” are POSTPONED AND A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE AMENDMENTS IS SET FOR DECEMBER 5, 2018, ON A UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE:

 

Amend the following Sections, as follows:

 

SECTION 4.  On August 28, 2018, the Amendment was approved by a 4-0 vote of the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency (“PRA”) by Resolution No. 3106 entitled “Resolution of the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency Approving Pawtucket Redevelopment Plan, Amendment No. 15, Entitled ‘Downtown Gateway Project,’ which is Subject to Final Approval by the City of Pawtucket City Council” (“PRA Resolution No. 3016 3106”).  On October 30, 2018, a revised version of the Amendment was approved by a 4-0 vote of the PRA by Resolution No. 3108 entitled “Resolution of the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency Approving Pawtucket Redevelopment Plan, Amendment No. 15, Entitled ‘Downtown Gateway Project,’ which is Subject to Final Approval by the City of Pawtucket City Council” (“PRA Resolution No. 3108”).

 

SECTION 6.  The centerpiece of the Amendment will be the financing, construction and development of a recreational facility on the land where the Apex building currently stands (the “Centerpiece Recreational Facility”).

 

SECTION 7. and SECTION 8

Delete the word “recreational” in both sections.  

recreational

 

SECTION 9.  The Amendment provides that the Centerpiece Facility may be redeveloped by the current owner.  However, at some point, it may become necessary for PRA to acquire the properties either through a consensual sale or through eminent domain. The State and the City are currently working in unison, with a sense of mission, to determine the optimal Centerpiece Recreational Facility to meet these redevelopment goals.

 

 

SECTION 10. When In the event that the State and the City identify and decide upon the an optimal Centerpiece Recreational Facility to ignite the redevelopment of the Downtown and the Riverway…

 

SECTION 16.  Based on, among other factors, (i) the information and data provided in the Amendment, (ii) the “blight opinions” annexed to the Amendment, (iv) the testimony of witnesses at the October 10 November 7, 2018 Pawtucket City Council hearing, and (v) other documents presented to the Pawtucket City Council at the October 10 November 7, 2018 hearing, the Pawtucket City Council hereby finds that the Properties constitute a “blighted and substandard area” pursuant to R.I Gen. Laws § 45-31-8(3) and require clearance, replanning, redevelopment, rehabilitation, or improvement or any combination thereof.

 

SECTION 27.   A hearing on this Ordinance took place on October 10 November 7, 2018 at which the Pawtucket City Council considered, among other things, the Amendment, the report of the City Planning Commission, PRA Resolution No.3106 3108, and the testimony of witnesses.

 

 

THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE IS POSTPONED ON A UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE:

 

AN ORDINANCE IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTERS 1810, 1845, 1853, 1899, 1933, 2007, 2037, 2114, 2262, 2496, 2511, 2547 AND 2864 OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PAWTUCKET, APPROVING AMENDMENT NO. 15 TO THE PAWTUCKET REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, ENTITLED THE “DOWNTOWN GATEWAY PROJECT” AS AMENDED.

 

 

 

UPON RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE IS READ FOR THE FIRST TIME AND PASSED ON A ROLL CALL VOTE, AS FOLLOWS:

 

AYES – President Moran, Councilors Araujo, Barry, Mercer, Tetreault, Vitali and Wildenhain.

 

NOES – 0.

 

AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REPLACING THE SCHEDULE OF PAY RATES FOR CLASSIFIED NON-UNION EMPLOYEES IN SECTION §88-12 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PAWTUCKET, 1996 (HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANT)

 

 

 

Upon motion made by Councilor Barry, seconded by Councilor Wildenhain, the meeting is adjourned at 7:45 p.m. in memory of former RI First Lady Sue Carcieri.