The Town Council met on Monday, November 20, 2023, at 7:00 PM in Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting covered consent agenda items, a public hearing on license renewals, reports from the town manager, and extensive discussion on the Wickford Art Festival location, consolidation of the Groundwater Committee and Conservation Commission, and next steps for the failed bond projects. Multiple appointments to boards and commissions were also approved.
Good evening. Like to call this meeting to order. For Monday, November 20th, 2023. Welcome to the People's House of North Kingstown. We have four councils here. One counselor had a work-related emergency, and she will join us when that is resolved. She's actually in the building also. I'm sure many of you saw her. Pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws, 42-46-6C. Notice of this meeting has been posted in the Secretary Secretary of State's website and ask you that everyone to stand up and join me with a salute to the flag. Thank you. So we have a number of people signed up tonight. And so welcome. We have a little timer here. Yellow means you're you're nearing your end, and red means just please wrap it up. So if you so before I go to the public, I do want to make a couple comments. When did that what was the date of the Halloween? So congratulations to Haley and Kyle. And welcome the little baby daughter to our community. And so this sports season for the fall just ended on Sunday, and I do want to make a couple of recognition, and I hope you can bear with me. So I think that they should be commended, and I've told the superintendent that. And I know that uh he'll be honored at a luncheon. And Madam Clerk will do a citation for him, correct? Thank you. So let's go to uh the people signed up. Public comment. And the first person is Mia Thompson. Hello. Uh my name is Mia Thompson. I am an art educator at the North Kingstown High School. Thank you so much for having me this evening. I'm here today because I am concerned about the verbiage I have heard that the Wickford Art Association, a nonprofit organization, also known as the WAA is being pressured to move the location of its self-funded event, the Wickford Art Festival, an event they pay for and receive grants for to appease for profit businesses. It has been suggested that if the Wickford Art Festival does not return to its former location in town at the alliance of the WAA with local business communities would be severed. I would hope that we all know this could not be further from the truth. I think it is important for all of us to understand the intention of the festival first and foremost is to promote the arts and the artistic community to pay for the event itself and to leverage the income generated to fund scholarships for public school students of the arts. In addition to scholarship opportunities, students are given space to display their work in art galleries. This brings in families and dig dignitaries from all over the state and has put Wickford on the map for many out-of-town residents. The WAA also uses festival funds to organize and endorse programs within North Kingstown School Department at all levels. They provide artists and residents, professional learning opportunities for teachers, and gallery openings for students to celebrate National Youth Art Month. The WAA provides all of the outreach and PR for these events and in some cases helping to promote NK art programs to the Rhode Island Department of Education. This is amazing. And I do not know of any other nonprofit in the state that is currently working so hard to promote quality art education programs for students, teachers, and departments alike. The WAA is a powerful community member, without whom some of these programs would not be possible. It is imperative that the WAA maintain a robust outcome during the festival in order to maintain these programs and help support our students. We all have close ties to these merchants in Wickford Village, and your concerns about revenue on the whole are justified. However, for two days only, the decision to move the festival to the field is not only a decision based on safety, traffic, etc., but also with more space, more income potential exists for the WAA to expand its programs, foster growth and development of community programs, and a more permanent art support system among our schools. So I would strongly encourage those of you whom are requesting the WAA move back to town to please avoid the verbiage of the WAA not wanting to be a viable community member because they are choosing community outreach over the expansion uh community outreach and the expansion of community programs over businesses. I would encourage our community members and the town council to come together without favoritism or prejudice and support our students, our schools, and quality art education programs through the WAA for many years to come. Thank you. So thank you for allowing me to speak.