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FEBRUARY 19, 2008 MIDDLETOWN TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

After speaking to someone in the audience, President Paul Roderiques called the meeting to order at 7:03pm. Councilwoman Shirley Mello was absent.

Twelve-item Consent Calendar

The Consent Calendar was adopted without comment or debate.

Commendation for Girls Volleyball Team

In a mild show of irritation that the Girls Volleyball Team was again not in attendance to receive its commendation, Councilwoman M. Theresa Santos made a motion that this item be continued until such time that the Town Clerk is notified as to the availability of team members to attend. The Council unanimously adopted this motion.

Commendation for Joseph Polnaszek

President Roderiques read a resolution commending the work of Joseph Polnaszek as an intern assistant to the Town Solicitor on a number of Town projects. Mr. Polnaszek is leaving Middletown to pursue a career as a United States Naval Officer. In addition to the proclamation, President Roderiques presented Mr. Polnaszek with a Town Tile.

Holiday License Granted

The Council unanimously granted a Holiday License to Gateway Barber Shop, 857 West Main Road.

Special Event Permit Granted

The Council unanimously granted a special event permit to Special Olympics Rhode Island to conduct an ocean plunge at Atlantic Beach Club on March 9, 2008. The event is expected to draw 300 people and 150-200 motor vehicles.

Small Cities Community Development Block Grant

The first of two Public Hearings was held for the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Town Planner Ron Wolanski explained that the CDBG is a federally funded program administered by the State to assist Low and Moderate Income families in which Middletown is eligible for grants in an amount not to exceed $250,000. Last year Middletown received a $140,000 grant and many of the same non-profit agencies are again asking Middletown to apply this year – Church Community Housing, Boys & Girls Club, Child & Family Services, and Community Housing Board. The second public hearing will be held on March 17 and the Council will finalize its grant application at this time.

Pavement Management Plan

Town Engineer Warren Hall explained that the final draft of the Pavement Management Plan is currently being reviewed by the Administrator and the Road & Utilities Committee (see Middletown Newsletter 1/22/08). An exact date as to when the document will be ready for Council review is not known at this time. This project and resulting document was accomplished solely in-house and provides an inventory of all Town roads and their condition as by an objective and repeatable rating system.

Tattoo Ordinance Revision

Town Solicitor Francis Holbrook submitted a revised ordinance regulating Fortunetellers and Tattoos which updates Middletown’s ordinance to comply with current state law and Department of Health regulation (see Middletown Newsletter 1/7/08.) The Council received the new ordinance on its first reading and likely will adopt it upon its second reading at the next Council meeting.

Zoning Board and Building Permit Fees to Increase

Building/Zoning Official Jack Kane explained that recent cost increases for stenographer services and advertizing fees warrants an increase in the permit fees that Middletown charges. Toward that end, the Council unanimously received on its first reading and likely will adopt upon its second reading at the next Council meeting, an ordinance to increase the Zoning Board and Building Permit fees as follows:

Variance/Special Use/Appeal – residential Old fee: $100 New fee: $150
Variance/Special Use/Appeal – commercial Old fee: $125 New fee: $225
Zoning Certificate Old fee: $0 New fee: $50
Certificate of Occupancy Old fee: $0 New fee: $50

Proposed Charter Changes

After meeting ten times in the last eleven months, the Charter Review Committee has submitted a report to the Council suggesting five possible charter revisions: (1) Four year terms (2) Staggered elections (3) A recall provision (4) Term limits and (5) Dropping of political affiliations. It was noted that no participation from residents occurred during any of the ten meetings and it was discovered that there exists three different versions of the Town Charter. Solicitor Holbrook was directed to review the matter of different charter versions and verify that the version 2003 S8 used by the Charter Review Committee was indeed the proper version of the Town Charter. In order to place any charter revision questions on the November ballot, the finalized questions must be submitted to the Secretary of State by August requiring the Council to complete its work by July. The Council likely will meet soon with the Charter Review Committee and then hold Public Hearings on this matter.

PUBLIC FORUM SESSION

No one requested to address the Council during the public forum session.

The Council adjourned at 8:04pm.

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