North Kingstown Town Council Meeting - October 30, 2023
North Kingstown Town Council Meeting
Date: October 30, 2023 (Monday) at 7:00 PM
The Town Council met to address a consent agenda, public comments, a presentation on automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) systems, a review of the Wickford Art Festival location, reports from the Town Manager and Finance Director, and approvals of aquaculture expansion applications. The meeting included significant discussion on public notice for coastal projects and the future of the art festival.
Consent Calendar
- The Council approved items 5 through 7 and 9 through 11 by unanimous consent. These included:
- Receipt of donations ($3,189.88)
- Acceptance of a resignation from the Audit Committee
- Authorization for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding
- Approval of a contract renewal for WaterSmart Software Platform ($27,060.00)
- Ratification of three exhibition licenses (Pet Refuge bazaar, Show Me Reptiles expo, and Wickford Art Festival – the last item was removed from consent for discussion)
- Items 8 (ALPR systems) and 12 (Wickford Art Festival) were removed at the request of Council members for separate consideration.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Sarah Carter (Crowfield Road resident, speaking for ~40 neighbors) expressed concerns about lack of notice for proposed aquaculture expansions near Rome Point. She stated that residents learned of the expansion only via a flyer left in mailboxes. She requested future notification and opposed commercial activity directly in front of their residential beach. Council suggested she also contact state legislators.
- Jerry Grabowski (Georgia Avenue resident, former Wickford Art Association board member) spoke in favor of holding the Wickford Art Festival at Wilson Park, citing space for tents and safety. He also mentioned planned road construction (roundabout) that should not occur during summer or the town’s 350th anniversary. He offered to help promote the festival.
- Brett Mallory (public commenter) criticized the town’s bond issue, arguing that the school portion lacked cost breakdown and that costs would overrun based on other districts. He also questioned the operating costs of the proposed recreation center and noted empty storefronts on Post Road.
Discussion Items
- Item 8 – Flock ALPR Systems: Acting Police Chief John Urban and Captain Jeff St. Ange presented the proposal for six automatic license plate recognition cameras at a cost of $20,400 (one-year contract). The system captures license plates only (no facial recognition), stores data for 30 days, and has an audit trail. Examples of benefits included locating stolen vehicles, responding to Amber/Silver alerts, and exonerating innocent parties. Council members asked about privacy, crime levels in town, and potential uses for mental health crises. The Chief noted that Flock systems can reduce crime by up to 70-80% in urban areas, and that North Kingstown experiences frequent shoplifting and calls for missing at-risk individuals. After discussion, the Council voted unanimously to approve.
- Item 12 – Wickford Art Festival Location: Councilman Mandel argued for returning the festival to the village, citing complaints from merchants and the Baptist Church about decreased business and foot traffic. He stated that the festival has lost its unique character at Wilson Park. Festival Director Ainsley Daily presented data: 75% of surveyed artists prefer the park (based on 3 years of surveys); gross artist sales in 2021 were $220,000 more than in 2019 in the village, and in 2023 sales were $132,000 more. She said the festival is the Art Association’s sole fundraiser, generating about $50,000 annually, and that they are open to working with village businesses. Several council members noted the importance of both perspectives. A motion to continue the item to November 20, 2023 to allow the Art Association and Wickford Village Association to meet and report back passed on a roll call vote (4-1, with Councilor Page opposing).
- Town Manager Report (Item 13): Ralph Mollis reported on:
- Revolution Wind project: ongoing excavation and dredging; a potential archaeological burial ground has been discovered, with work stopped in that area and federal/state authorities notified.
- Learn 365 RI program: launched a web page; first youth programming includes free after-school enrichment; a meeting with the governor’s staff is scheduled.
- Hamilton Elementary traffic signal: RIDOT expects contractor to finish this week; signal will flash for 10 days before full activation.
- New Deputy Finance Director: Fung Chang hired from Warren, RI.
- Elm Grove Cemetery: Attorney Diane Izzo has restored nonprofit status, filed missing reports, established a new board; Town Manager will serve on the board.
- Summer camp 2023: 302 participants, 104 on waiting list; cost to budget $53,718 after revenue; staff shortage is the main constraint.
- Beach season: total cost $126,117, revenue $52,750, net cost $73,467.
- Groundwater Commission: meetings with expert Aaron Cohen to integrate responsibilities into the Conservation Commission; plan to be presented Nov 20.
- Route 4 traffic signals: meeting with RIDOT; long-term options under review.
- Upcoming meetings and Veterans Day events.
- Finance Director Report (Item 14): Debbie Bridgeon presented first quarter FY2024 budget report with revised format. Key notes: added net metering credits as revenue, increased interest income projections, and adjusted overtime projections for Fire and Dispatch. Audit is on schedule. Council discussed high percentages in certain line items (e.g., Assessors, Finance) due to revaluation transfers and termination payouts; those are offset by reserves.
- Aquaculture Applications (Items 15 & 16): Council considered CRMC applications for 3.8-acre (Saltbox Sea Farm) and 1.72-acre (Graham Watson) expansions near Rome Point. Council President Mancini expressed concern that residents learn of these only via flyers, not through official channels. He indicated the Council likely has no substantive objection but wanted to address public notification issues. Council agreed to have the solicitor draft a letter to the state delegation about due process concerns. Both applications were approved unanimously.
- Item 17 – 2024 Meeting Schedule: Approved unanimously.
- Item 18 – Correspondence: Councilman McCoy listed items received, including correspondence on short-term rentals, aquaculture, and the art festival.
Key Outcomes
- Approved sole-source purchase of 6 Flock ALPR systems (Item 8) – unanimous vote.
- Continued Item 12 (Wickford Art Festival exhibition license) to November 20, 2023, with directive for the Art Association and Village Association to meet and report back (4-1 vote).
- Approved both CRMC aquaculture expansions (Items 15 and 16) – unanimous votes.
- Approved 2024 Town Council meeting schedule (Item 17) – unanimous.
- Directed staff to draft a letter to state legislators regarding public notification deficiencies for coastal permit applications.
- Town Manager will present a plan for groundwater commission responsibilities on November 20.
- Next regular meeting tentatively November 20, 2023.
Meeting Transcript
Madam Clerk, I have seven o'clock. Do you have seven o'clock? Seven o'clock. Good evening, and welcome to the people's house in North Kingstown I'd like to call this meeting to order. Uh pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws 42-46-6C. Notices meeting has been posted on the Secretary of State's website. I'd like to uh join us with a salute to the flag, but afterwards I'd ask that we take a moment of silence in memory of Sarah Roach. Um just learned of her passing. She lives in town on Anquatucket Road, has two daughters and uh family lives in town. Um it's very, very sad. Obviously, uh uh keeping your thoughts and prayers, all the folks in um in the Gaza Strip, uh both Palestinian and Israeli and quite frankly foreigners who are um who have passed. So thank you. Anyways. Undergone as well. Thank you, everybody. Uh item four on our agenda is public comment. Uh so far we have three people who have signed up. The first person is Sarah Carter. So Sarah, if you can go over there, there's the microphone and uh state your name and address for the record. And we ask you keep your comments to three minutes. Um good evening, everybody. My name is Sarah Carter. I live at 195 Crowfield in Saunderstown, which is just a little bit north of the uh Jamestown Bridge. And I live in a community of uh seven homes and adjacent to it uh called Crowfield, and an adj and our next uh north northward community is called Plantation Lane. And we are uh uh uh we own the land down to the beach. And um I'm coming I came here today because uh there was a flyer left in my mailbox about the oyster farms that are being that exist uh off of the Rome Point conservation land. And um I now know because I spoke with the gentleman from the coastal resources, I understand better what was uh the flyer was relating to, and I understand that there's going to be there's a proposed additions to these oyster farms, but they're within the perimeter of what we already see. So the concern that uh I'm here to talk to you about and um I speak with the uh permission of my my fellow neighbors, it's a big family compound, so we all know each other very, very well, and um I can produce a document with um names, addresses, and uh try to get the ones from plantation lane as well if that's useful to the council. But basically we have two concerns. One is that we never received any notice until this flyer was stuck in our mailboxes about the additions to the oyster farms. And from my my home, I can see the oyster farms and out on the bay. So we wanted to speak to you about hoping to be able to have notice of anything further out on the water, oyster farming or some other kind of uh commercial endeavors that might take place off of our beach so that we would have an opportunity to respond. We just felt that we got lucky that this flyer was stuck in the mailbox. Um the second thing that we're concerned about is having a commercial a commercial uh endeavor off of directly in front if it were to expand directly in front of our beach, our moorings. Um, and uh that that we're a residential community and we hope to not have commercial activity directly in front of our homes. So that's what I wanted to get on the record with you folks in the council and hope that this is something that we could uh have notice and hopefully not have additions to right in our front yard. Thank you. Thank you. Um how many residents do you estimate you're speaking for? On Crowfield Road, there are seven homes, which probably represents about well, with the children and everything, 40 people. So this will be an agenda item uh it's later on our agenda. Uh you may want to also reach out to uh Senator DiMario and Representative Craven. Uh express your concerns to them. Okay. Okay. Um Senator Mario in particular, she has a pretty lengthy coastline for she represents a pretty so I think this would impact uh a number of her constituents, and I would think that she would have a real interest in this. And she's they're both very responsive. So thank you very much. And I thank you for the folks who responded to me when I reached out to you. Thank you very much.
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