The East Providence City Council met on September 16, 2025, to address a range of topics including honorific street designations, school facility funding, a proposed chicken ordinance, police vehicle purchases, and the submission of the fiscal year 2025-2026 municipal budget. The meeting included public testimony, discussion on revenue projections, and votes on salary increases for the council and mayor.
Members of the council, I will uh change the order a little bit as we normally do for courtesy. At this point, we would go to uh some of our resolutions. We go to page six in the agenda items uh number one and two. And I would ask uh if the councilwoman wants to uh introduce the resolution uh number one when you get organized there and you get it. This is a resolution to honor our sister city Villa Franca du Camp, recognizing Grove Avenue as Ville Franco du Camp Avenue. Um as many may remember or recall last year, um the council um approved us being uniting with Villa Franco du Camp in the island of St. Michael Azores as a sister city. That's our second sister city um in the Azores. Um the first being uh um with many of our residents with many of our residents um in the city being descendants and immigrants from uh Villa Franco du Camp, um, building on our relationship with that um town and city is really important not only to our residents but also to our economic growth in our city, state, and in our nation. Um we had the opportunity uh um myself and the mayor of going out with the president of the Villa Franco du Camp, um Villa Franco du Camp of Um East Providence, going to the Azores. I just happen to be there on vacation as I do annually to see my family and was joined joined the mayor to um have a placard uh dedicated to the city of East Providence. So in their main rotary, there is a beautiful uh placor that uh honors the city of East Providence made with homemade tiles by that village. So I'm just gonna read um the proclamation. I mean, I'm sorry, the um the resolution into the record. Whereas the Portuguese American community within the city of East Providence has maintained a close relationship with the country of Portugal, and whereas many Portuguese immigrants within the city of East Providence originated from the village of Vila Franco do Campu, located in the San Miguel Islands of the Azores off the coast of Portugal, and whereas a significant amount of the East Providence residents from Vila Franca, those immigrants come to the city from every um everything in East Providence and has to offer and have brought with them their traditions, cultures, and many of their worth ethics. And whereas Vila Franco offers its thousands of tourists that visit each year Great Beaches, its inlets, Senora de Page, and famous custard Quejades de Villa Dufranc, um, which are imported from the villa to Canada, Bermuda, and the United States. Local pay bakeries in the city also have them, so please check them out. They're delicious. Um we therefore um have become sister cities with East Providence on October 2024 to strengthen those relationships uh between the city of East Providence and the village of Vila Franco du Camp. Um so where it is the City of East Providence and the village of Villa Franco du Camp are committed to developing tourism, exchanging business practices, and creating opportunities for people to learn and experience the culture in a long-term relationship. Um we do hereby um in conjunction with the office of the mayor, proclaim Grove Avenue as Villa Franco du Camp Avenue in recognition of this partnership with our sister city. Thank you, Councilwoman. That's a motion by Councilwoman Susan. Second, seconded by Councilman Lawson. Any council discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Yeah, I have it. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you. And there will be a later date as to when we will have that ceremony putting the street sign up. Thank you. And for clarification, whenever these uh street designations are made, uh the legal street name remains, you know, Grove Avenue, and then this is a uh conjunctionary thing with with it, and it's an honorary designation. So no one has to worry about changing mailing addresses or anything. Uh Madam Clerk, could you read uh the heading for number two? Number two, resolution to honor Avelino Chappie Rose by recognizing Calton Avenue as Evelino Chappie Rose Way, introduced by Council President Roderics. Thank you, Madam Clerk. So Miss Mr. Rose, uh known affectionately by uh much of the community as as Chappie, was uh quite an individual. Um is quite an individual, reaching um 102, is it? No. 101 years of age. And along with uh Mayor DeSilver, uh, I visited with um Chappie Rose and a lot of his family and friends, many who are here tonight, and he was uh quite quite alert and quite aware of what was going on, and he is a member of the community who is known by many as uh sort of the the mayor of that community, uh, going way, way back as much as chasing the kids around who he thought weren't behaving well, and he'd go after them and straighten them out, uh, usually verbally, but they wouldn't challenge him. Um, they still don't challenge him, and and he uh he is every bit as vibrant these these days. Um he's um struggling a bit, you know. You can imagine when you reach a hundred and one years of life, um you you slow down a bit. And so he's he's still sharp, he's still slowed down, but the neighborhood uh and much of his providence that knew him rose up and said, This is a man we want to honor while he can understand it and and know what we're doing. And he was um very, very happy at the presentation uh the mayor made, and I was able to join with him. So I will read um much of this.