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MARCH 3, 2008 MIDDLETOWN TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

President Paul Roderiques called the meeting to order at 7:05pm. Councilman Edward Silveira Jr. was absent. Editor’s Note: Time is quoted from the wall clock. The wall clock is two minutes slow.

Four-item Consent Calendar

The Consent Calendar was adopted without comment or debate. Included in the Consent Calendar was the request of the Aquidneck Island National Police Parade to hold its annual event on Sunday, May 4, 2008.

Engineering Services Contract Awarded

The Council unanimously awarded an engineering services contract to Pare Engineering, Lincoln, RI. with hourly rates of $60/hour-$160/hour for various services. The work to be performed is in support of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Review for commercial development and major subdivisions and consequently all fees will be paid by the developer with no costs attributed to the Town.

Ocean View Drive Neighborhood

A recent subdivision granted for the Aquidneck Industrial Park has prompted the abutting neighborhood to ask the Council for a zoning ordinance change. The residents of the Ocean View Drive neighborhood and their lawyer asked the Council to reduce the maximum height in the Aquidneck Industrial Park from the current 40 foot limitation to a 30 foot limitation and allow a greater percentage of lot coverage to compensate for the reduced square footage. An attorney representing the owners of the subdivided Aquidneck Industrial Park land reminded the Council that it is the neighborhood that has intruded on the Industrial Park rather than the reverse since the Aquidneck Industrial Park was in existence before the residential neighborhood was created. The Council referred the matter to the Planning Board for its review and comments.

New Police Station Contract Awarded

The Council unanimously awarded a $6,874,500 contract to E.W. Burman, Inc. for the construction of the new police station. The project will be funded by a twenty-year $6 million bond which will be paid primarily from funds generated by the agreement with GMH. As a result, no additional tax dollars will be used for this project and the tax rate will not be impacted. It was noted that a Clerk of the Works will be on-site every day to monitor the construction project.

Fire Alarm Ordinance Revision

The Council unanimously received, on its first reading, a revision of the fire alarm ordinance primarily addressing false alarms and penalties. This ordinance likely will be adopted on its second reading at the next Council meeting.

Tattoo Ordinance Revision

The Council unanimously adopted, on its second reading, 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.)

Zoning Board and Building Permit Fees to Increase

The Council unanimously adopted, on its second reading, 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

Pump Station Beautification

Councilwoman Shirley Mello asked to enclose the sewer pump stations in the Town with “some sort of fencing, preferably greenery.” The Administration responded that the next Sewer Budget (FY09) will address this issue. President Roderiques suggested that, rather than spending money, perhaps the Town can obtain “free trees” from the Tree Commission or from various nurseries in the Town.

Paradise Avenue/Green End Avenue Intersection

Councilwoman Mello again asked the Council to consider fixing the Paradise Avenue/Green End Avenue intersection by installing a roundabout or decreasing the size of the intersection (see Middletown Newsletters 2/5/07 & 4/2/07.) Resident Antone Viveiros stated that there is less than one accident per year at this intersection and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The Council referred the matter to the Administration for a cost analysis and accident rate update.

Hotel Tax Reallocation Rejected

With a detailed analysis and supporting documentation, Councilman Louis DiPalma proposed a change in State law to reallocate the revenues generated by the hotel tax. Current law requires that 25% of the hotel tax be given to the local community where the hotel is located, 47% of the hotel tax be given to the regional tourism district, and the remainder to go to the State’s general fund. Councilman DiPalma was proposing that over the next four years the division of funds between the local community and the tourism district be equalized to 36% each at the end of the four year period. Members of the Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCCVB) spoke against the proposal stating that such reduction in revenue would significantly impact their marketing effort. Citing the current $2.8 million budget for NCCVB and the increasing revenues as new hotels are being built, Councilman DiPalma asked “When is enough, enough?” Attorney David Martland said the proposal was “short sighted” and suggested that the State legislature might keep any surplus funds for itself rather than give it to Middletown. Councilwoman M. Theresa Santos said “Once you sell the cow, you get no more milk.” President Roderiques said the proposal was “a good idea but in the long run might hurt us.” The resolution failed by a 1-5 vote with only Councilman DiPalma voting in the affirmative.

Proposed Charter Changes

Town Solicitor Francis Holbrook reported that the hard copy of the Charter that the Clerk’s office gave to the Charter Review Committee was indeed the proper version; however, the Charter Review Committee used an electronic version of the Charter gotten from the Library web site which was an incorrect version. The Council directed Solicitor Holbrook to meet with the Charter Review Committee to resolve any discrepancies. As to public participation in the process, President Roderiques stated that there will be Public Hearings on the proposed charter revisions before submission to the Secretary of State for inclusion in the November ballot. Resident Antone Viveiros again objected to the process whereby the Council will “pick and choose” which proposals to put on the ballot, rather than including ALL proposed changes of the Charter Review Committee on the November ballot.

Frank Lawrence Proposes Ballot Question on Illegal Immigrants

Resident Frank Lawrence asked the Council to support a November ballot question regarding granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, yes or no. Solicitor Holbrook stated that immigration is a federal issue and the Council has no basis for acting upon this matter. As to the notion of making the issue a non-binding question on the ballot, Councilman Robert Sylvia said that this would lead to many other ballot questions being proposed and “I don’t think it is the way to go.” The Council took no action on this matter.

Appointments

The Council unanimously made the following appointments:

Michael E. Allen – Police Pre-Employment/Employee Term of Service Agreement Committee
Lawrence B. Kestler - Police Pre-Employment/Employee Term of Service Agreement Committee
Art Weber – Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (Planning Board representative)
Jan Eckhart - Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (Planning Board representative)
Betty Jane Owen – Middletown Tree Commission (Planning Board representative)
Alphonsa A. Cook – Senior Citizens Center Board of Directors

PUBLIC FORUM SESSION

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

The Council recessed the regular meeting at 10:00pm in order to reconvene in Executive Session. As noted in the docket, the purpose of the Executive Session was “land acquisition and potential litigation.”

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