Newport City Council Meeting on Henderson Home Future, March 12, 2026
Newport City Council Meeting on Henderson Home Future, March 12, 2026
Introductory paragraph summarizing the overall meeting: The Newport City Council convened on March 12, 2026, to discuss the future of the Henderson Home at 14 Clarke Street, a historic boarding house for elderly men. The Henderson Home Commission presented three options for the property's future: 1) retain and renovate the current building with significant city financial support; 2) sell the property and purchase a more modern replacement; or 3) transfer the program to a community agency like Church Community Housing. The discussion highlighted severe capital and operating funding shortfalls, high liability risks from the aging and non-compliant 1776 building, and the need for council guidance on a viable path forward.
Discussion Items
- The Henderson Home Commission reported that the building needs major capital improvements, including upgraded electrical, a fire alarm system, joist repairs, and an elevator (estimated at $800,000–$1,000,000). The trust corpus is approximately $1.7 million, generating only $65,000 annually in operating funds, which is insufficient. The commission also noted they lack funds for day-to-day maintenance emergencies.
- The commission recommended option 1: continue operating at 14 Clarke Street as a city program, requiring additional annual funding of $35,000, a larger trust principal for higher disbursements, capital improvements over two years, and engaging the city's Department of Resilience and Sustainability for grant management.
- City Solicitor Chris indicated that changing the trust's purpose or using trust funds for capital improvements would require a friendly suit in Superior Court. Options 2 (sell and buy another property) and 3 (transfer to a nonprofit) would also likely need court approval.
- Liability concerns were raised: the 1776 building has narrow stairs, lacks ADA compliance, and is grandfathered from modern fire and life safety codes. The commission noted they now personally pay for directors and officers insurance due to fear of personal lawsuits. The city solicitor warned that a serious accident could lead to negligence claims.
- The commission confirmed all current residents have lived in Newport for over five years, there is no waitlist, and one room is vacant. One resident has been there since age 9 and now is elderly.
- Councilors expressed interest in exploring further: meeting with Church Community Housing to understand their capacity; assessing potential replacement properties (e.g., on Mill Street, Elliott Street); and consulting with the Edward King House about possible partnerships.
- The city's facility director noted that the building has cooperative, ongoing relationships with the fire and building inspection departments.
Key Outcomes
- The council directed the Henderson Home Commission to explore alternative options more deeply within a 6-month timeframe, including meetings with Church Community Housing and evaluating potential replacement properties.
- A deadline of approximately one year was suggested for a final decision on the property's future.
- The city solicitor indicated that council could approve a lump sum from the trust for urgent capital repairs (e.g., the gutter issue) without significantly impacting the annual operating disbursement because of a rolling 12-quarter averaging method. The commission was advised to request a specific amount for the gutter repair at a future council meeting.
- No formal vote was taken; the council provided guidance to continue investigating options and return with a report in about six months.
Meeting Transcript
That's uninqualating it in city window. So it's one that's going to build how we chose to do it. So only yeah, it's kind of building a later we can about that. But it's kind of a little different than all the other ones we have. And since and since we took over this this commission, we have had a lot of help. We've we've reached out to the city, and we've had um Milan pull up Darlene used to do the lawn herself. She was in her seventy years old, and she was out there doing the lawn. We have we have we have um not abated. I thought abated meant that you um that you painted over it, but that's it's that's not we enclosed it in most places, and um get a little bit more to do, but not most most of it's done. I think this the downstairs floor is all done. Maybe yeah, um so we need our electrical upgraded. We don't have the price the price on the fire alarm system yet. We're working on that. Um we had um Rob Henry came in with a few people and they checked it out and then they came to us and said the one of the things we we we should do is we didn't put doors in some of the hallways so that the smoke the smoke um doesn't go up and down. So we we're already done one of the doors, we're working on it, and it happened to be probably the door that it was originally there, and we got we have one more to do. Um so we'll we get we that got that going, and we've had some help from what's Gary's last name? Gary Michael is volunteered as services, so he's come and helped us a little bit, and then I know Bill does a lot of the work. You do any of the work? He does a lot of the work. Um, and I think Mary helps sometimes. I I tend not to do the work. I just all right. Somebody's got a point out. I just smile a lot. Um but um one of the things that when David came by, David's last name is what is it? Yeah, Dave Janishar facilities director. I just always get his name wrong. He he thought we should lift up building and then we'd have to recalibrate it and all this, but we found a easier way, but we still don't have the whole the price on that one. Well, it says 31,000. Yeah. Um, I wanted to put a I would love to put an elevator in because if you've ever seen 1770 stairs, I have to hold on to the railings to go up and down them. Um, and um that but that would that's long time down the road because once we get the joists fixed, then we have to recalibrate the whole building because you can't put a we probably have to put it in the the outside, and if we put it on the outside, then we have to come back to um the historical uh group again and and make see if they'll let us do it because we are we are we have come back here like the windows that we we have to do them that way and um the painting I don't I don't think we have to, but it makes sense. Um anything else on that page. Oh, encapsulation, that was the word I was thinking of. I always thought abatement was the word um funding challenges. So funding additional 35,000 dollars in annual operation expenses would get us through the year, however, that's not the way the grant work the uh trust works. Uh evaluating the about the part another part-time assistant house manager, so that she's not there all the time. Um maintenance projects, not not the big ones, not the capital improvements, but the day-to-day ones, emergencies. We don't have any money for that anymore. Um so we we've talked about options with um Colin, and I'm not I I wasn't at the last meeting, so I'm not sure who else was there. But we see three options. One is that we fixed this place up, and Jean Marie knows it's in the she came at perfect location. She thought it was great. The guys were going in and out, they could walk anywhere. Um but that was one that we would keep it, and we we would need help with that. The other option is that we sell that and buy something that's already in good shape. And we did find a few places like that. You know, there was one on Elliott Street, there was uh one on Mill Street, and they were probably the same amount of money, but they were also in in okay shape. You know, one of the one of the places we looked at that's not available, uh, has had has an elevator in it. Um, and it's also a little off the off the beaten path.
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