North Kingstown Town Council Meeting - December 11, 2023
North Kingstown Town Council Meeting - December 11, 2023
The North Kingstown Town Council convened on Monday, December 11, 2023, at 7:00 PM in the Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included a joint pre-budget consultation with the School Committee, routine business, reports from the Town Manager, and discussion on several town initiatives. The session lasted approximately two hours, covering a wide range of topics from schools and infrastructure to legal settlements and community events.
Consent Calendar
- The Council approved items 7 through 19 on the consent agenda unanimously, including: approval of minutes, acceptance of donations ($3,260), acceptance of a $20,000 Homeland Security Grant, award of bids for McGinn Park improvements ($774,530) and Wilson Park improvements ($851,042.52) funded by ARPA, license renewals (detective, holiday sales, refuse collector, victualling, dance, and amusement), and first readings of amendments to the Conservation Commission ordinance, short-term rental registration, and stop sign placement.
Public Comments & Testimony
- George Lundquist of North Kingstown spoke but his comments were not transcribed; he was recognized by the Council President.
- Noeline Thompson (5C Grassway, North Kingstown) expressed support for filling the school committee vacancy with a person who is not politically biased and who will help rebuild public trust, especially to advance a future middle school bond proposal. She strongly suggested the new member not be a social media personality or representative of special interests that oppose a new middle school.
- Ed Andrews (50 North Road) requested that the Council consider reissuing the bond issue for a new recreation center, noting that a higher voter turnout in the next election could yield a different outcome.
- Kathleen Garino (139 Summit View Lane) corrected a statement made at the previous town council meeting, asserting that the Groundwater Committee had never attempted to act as a watchdog or supervisor over the Water Department; she asked the record be corrected.
Discussion Items
- Joint Meeting with School Committee (Pre-Budget Consultation): Town Manager Ralph Mollis presented a conservative revenue projection for FY2025, estimating a 1.4% increase in total revenue and a goal of no tax increase. He highlighted North Kingstown’s historical 3%+ annual increase for schools and stressed the need for zero-based budgeting. Superintendent Dr. Duva presented a preliminary school budget for FY2025 with projected expenditures of $78,223,455 and an anticipated town appropriation of $61,676,649 (a 3.6% increase over FY2024). Enrollment is projected to decline 2% to 3,658 students, with impacts largely at the elementary level. Known cost drivers include contractual salary increases (2-3%), pension contributions (14.44% for ERSRI, 16.15% for MERS), health insurance (estimated 5.5% increase), and unfunded state mandates for maintenance of effort. Charter school tuitions are projected to increase by $84,048 to $1.6 million. The Superintendent noted the loss of ESSER funding and ongoing need for student supports. School Committee Chair emphasized that these numbers are preliminary and require further refinement.
- Invitation to Legislative Delegation: The Council and School Committee agreed to hold a joint meeting with the state legislative delegation on January 8, 2024, at 6:00 PM to discuss legislative priorities for the 2024 session. Key topics include extending the bond deadline for a new school project and securing additional state aid for education. The Town Clerk will provide priority topics to the delegation in advance.
- Town Manager's Report: Ralph Mollis provided updates on a range of projects: RIDOT’s Devil's Foot Road Bridge closure (spring-fall 2024); ongoing negotiations on Route 4 traffic signals; park improvements (Yorktown, Signal Rock, town beach accessibility); water bottle filling stations funded by Water Department and ARPA; recognition of the Town Clerk’s Office for a 32% voter turnout in the special election (over 2,000 early votes); PFAS lawsuit settlement details; and the upcoming Building Committee meeting on school facilities (December 13). He also noted that five mayors/managers will meet with House Speaker Joe Shekarchi on housing legislation.
- PFAS Lawsuit/Pending Settlement: Town Manager reported that the town is part of a national class-action settlement against DuPont for PFAS contamination. Estimated settlement: $4.2 million (less 30% contingency fee and plus a 10% early-joiner bonus). Funds will be paid out by 2025 with additional payments over seven years. No restrictions on use as long as PFAS requirements are met; funds will likely be directed to the Water Department.
- 350th Anniversary of the Town (Councilor McCoy): The Steering Committee has planned several events: kickoff on January 6, 2024 at 10:00 AM; monthly speaker series; a gala on April 24; a family day on September 14; and a parade on October 5. Logo designed; fundraising via donations through Historic Wickford (501c3).
- School Committee Resignation: Jennifer Hoskins resigned from the School Committee. Council accepted the resignation unanimously. Several community members submitted letters of intent or endorsements for the vacancy, including Megan Riley (endorsed by multiple residents).
- Committee Appointments: Max Reynolds appointed to the Information Technology Advisory Committee (Alternate At-Large Member, term to March 1, 2026). Nancy Sherman appointed to the Wickford Advisory Committee (Wickford Village Resident, term to October 1, 2026).
- Correspondence: Emails from constituents were summarized, including topics on the Wickford Art Festival, flag requests, Police Department response, Groundwater Committee, school committee vacancy, and noise from leaf blowers.
Key Outcomes
- Approved Consent Agenda (items 7-19) unanimously.
- Accepted the resignation of School Committee member Jennifer Hoskins (motion carried unanimously).
- Appointed Max Reynolds to the IT Advisory Committee (unanimous).
- Appointed Nancy Sherman to the Wickford Advisory Committee (unanimous).
- Agreed to hold a joint meeting with the state legislative delegation on January 8, 2024 at 6:00 PM.
- Received reports on PFAS settlement (estimated $4.2 million) and will continue to monitor distribution.
- Directed the Town Manager to present an updated ARPA spending plan in early 2024.
- Heard preliminary FY2025 budget projections from the School Committee; further budget presentations expected in January/February.
- Meeting adjourned without opposition.
Meeting Transcript
General Laws 42-46-6C. Notice of this meeting is a post on the Secretary of State's website. I'd ask that we all stand and salute the flag. Congratulations. Thank you, everybody. At the end of every sports season, I uh try to um comment and compliment our teams on their accomplishments. Um for the high school teams rather. But uh there are other accomplishments our kids do that we're also very proud of. Um I've been in touch with the high school, and I've been told that 37 students accept were accepted into the All State Music Ensembles, which I think is really impressive. Six uh students were ranked three in the state, five students ranked uh second in the state, and another five students were ranked number uh first in the state. So I think that's great news. Good job uh school committee. I know Mr. Case, you have a background in music, so uh maybe they follow they followed your lead. So anyways, uh moving on. We have three people who signed up for public comment. Uh the first person is George Lundquist. If you could go over there so the people at home would hear you, we ask you to keep your comments three minutes, and uh we have a little timer here that uh uh President Pro Tem uh Page monitors. So if you can say name and address and uh and make your comments for the court comment uh you're welcome, sir. Next is Nolene Thompson. Ms. Thompson. Is this on? It is, we can hear you. Um may want to push it down a little bit for yourself. There you go. Yeah. Um my name is Noeline Thompson, 5C Grassway, North Kingstown. Um there's a fairly long list of qualifications for the ideal person to replace Jenny Hoskins on the North Kingstown School Committee. Um I'd like to suggest two that I think are really critical. Not that the others aren't important, but you'll probably hear about them and they're probably obvious. But there are two that matter to me. The first is that I think uh we need someone who doesn't represent a particular side or political bias. The current school committee is already populated by some very strong and sometimes divergent thinking people. School committee meetings already seem stressful enough. This group would benefit from a new member who would listen to different sides of an issue, keep bringing discussions back to the values and mission of the group, and work to help the group hear and really learn from each other. The second criteria is someone who is genuinely concerned about the success of the school committee itself. After all this town and the school department has been through over the past few years, because of the athletic department scandal and the failed bond initiative of this past fall. The school committee itself, I think needs to rebuild and establish credibility with the town. I believe developing the right set of plans and successfully getting a bond passed to build a new middle school will help this to happen. So the new school committee member, I believe, needs to be able to establish trust and a decent working relationship with the existing school committee and genuinely want to help the committee succeed with the next bond proposal. So I'm strongly suggesting that the new member not be a social media personality or representative of some particular special interest group, especially one that has already taken a strong public stance against a new middle school. Politics are going to get into high gear soon enough with the upcoming election next year. Until then, I think it would be wonderful if the current school committee were able to focus on the crucial issues already facing them and not have to spend the majority of its time dealing with people who are there to build up their social media presence and work on their own political agenda. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Ed, in perfect timing. Mr. Anne Andrews.
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