OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

North Kingstown Town Council Meeting - February 10, 2025

Town CouncilMonday, February 10, 2025
BodyNorth Kingstown, Rhode Island
SessionTown Council
DateMonday, February 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:31:58

Transcript — Verbatim
8:33

Welcome to the People's House in North Kingstown for a town council meeting Monday, February tenth, twenty twenty-five.

8:49

And I'd ask everyone to stand and join for a salute to the flag.

8:53

Thank you.

8:57

So the flag of the United States.

9:03

Undergard.

9:13

We have uh two items for special business that we're going to start off with.

9:18

And the first is uh presentation by the Asset Management Commission.

9:22

Uh the the proposed capital improvement plan for twenty twenty-six through twenty thirty.

9:29

And Mr.

9:29

James Halley is a chair of that committee and he is going to uh present us with a PowerPoint presentation that has been previously distributed to the town council.

9:38

Mr.

9:38

Halley.

9:39

Thank you.

9:40

All of you have um I think uh copies of this, so I'll try not to uh spend a lot of time on it.

9:50

But um we worked on this in the committee, there's eight people on the committee, and actually most of them are here for me tonight.

10:01

Jim, can you make sure you speak into the money?

10:03

Uh we met from November until uh just uh the 30th uh and we talked with the different and we talked with the different departments uh on this uh so we got input from a lot of people, including the town manager and the finance director.

10:22

Uh prior to this on 2023, there was a bond issue for a new middle school safety complex and a recenter that did not pass.

10:34

However, there was on 24 there was a bond issue, two bond issues that passed, one for the public safety complex and station one, and one for school facilities upgrade.

10:48

Uh there we we have uh for the town, we have four funding sources the enterprise fund, non-enterprise fund, school revolving fund projects, and school unfunded projects.

11:04

Uh all eight members of the committee submitted priority rankings, one being the lowest priority, five being the high highest priority.

11:14

Uh 40 would be the highest possible score.

11:21

The high things for the enterprise fund were the well three replacement water, the water condition assessment, and the golf course irrigation pond and the Poplar Point water main planning.

11:37

Those were were for enterprise funds.

11:40

Enterprise funds are uh for people in the audience that don't know our uh self-funded departments.

11:48

They're departments who uh basically make money and spend their own money, so the money doesn't come out of the regular budget.

11:59

It's a it's included in the regular budget, but it doesn't come out of that.

12:04

Uh out of the non-enterprise funds, we had road road maintenance was the highest, and that was for ranked third highest overall, municipal office building, and tied for third were the HVAC system for the expansion and upgrade of library, air handling, air exchange facilities improvements, senior center uh improvements, and beach wall.

12:34

Uh for the school revolving fund, Davisville Middle School was the highest, and then uh management systems for all of the schools were next.

12:46

The um highest project uh was the North Kingstown High School enhanced interlocking interlock school vegetable in order to provide for safety for the school.

13:00

Uh and then the uh electrical room ventilation and the Hamilton elementary playground drainage.

13:08

These were the department request.

13:14

Note that this does does not include the bond funding.

13:21

And these are the department requests by funding source, general fund enterprise authorized bond, unauthorized bonds, grants, and unallocated.

13:34

The school department requests they had six projects in the revolving fund project, and they had 14 unfunded projects.

13:59

And these were their unfunded projects.

14:07

And they did not have uh uh money connected to any of them.

14:15

These were our recommended projects by fiscal year.

14:31

And these are our project recommended projects by funds.

14:46

And these are our rankings for the school projects, and our rankings for the unfunded projects, school projects.

15:01

Our recommendations, number one, were that we have a present clear funding plan in the plans in the budget, that the asset perfection protection funds be embedded in the budgets of each department, so that it's clear to everyone that that we are spending money on our on keeping our assets up to date, that we find additional sources of revenue.

15:33

Some of that's being done already in terms of the way that the fire department funds replacement of their uh fire engines through the um money that's paid by insurance companies for rescues.

15:49

Uh that we continue to clearly identify projects funded by fiscal year 2000 in fiscal year 2026, and that we annually publish a five-year plan for projects and show the funding for those projects.

16:07

We also are recommending that uh work order software be purchased so that we can track we've already the town's already done an assessment of all of the um things that need to be done in terms of uh protection of assets for the town.

16:24

We have a nice book that's very thick that has a lot of stuff in it.

16:29

Uh but we'd like to get work order software um to be able to keep up to date the information that's in that book.

16:41

Uh we'd also like to seek additional opportunities for grant funding, a grant writer, third-party consultant, community collaboration in the development of grants, uh maybe a grant commission.

17:00

And we'd like to thank uh Adam White, Allie Sparks, Chris Kinder, and Rebecca Ritten, Ralph Motless, Deb Brigham, and Ken Duva, our towns department heads, and most important, the group from the Asset Management Committee who are listed here.

17:24

If you guys could stand up, please.

17:38

This is an important job.

17:40

Um, and I tried to make these this presentation relatively short.

17:45

Are there any questions?

17:47

Well, first uh I want to thank you and the members of the committee clearly spent a lot of time doing this.

17:52

And uh I think the council uh really appreciates your time and effort and your commitment to our community.

17:59

So thank you very much, and thank everyone on the committee for their for their time and effort on this.

18:04

Um before we uh the council asking questions, Ralph, do you have any uh thing you want to add?

18:12

I'll be very brief.

18:13

Just I want to also join the council in thanking the asset management commission.

18:16

We enjoyed coming before you this year.

18:18

Thank you for bringing all the department heads and working with them to put together this plan.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Energy Conservation██████████████████████22%
Transportation Safety██████████████████18%
Public Safety███████████11%
Capital Improvement Planning█████████9%
Procedural████████8%
Public Comment████████8%
Public Engagement██████6%
Public Works███3%
Personnel Matters███3%
Summary of Proceedings

North Kingstown Town Council Meeting - February 10, 2025

The Town Council met on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 7:00 PM in Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting covered capital improvement planning, traffic calming measures, community electricity aggregation, and various routine approvals. Key actions included adopting the Capital Improvement Plan for FY2026-2030, authorizing exploration of automated traffic enforcement, launching a community aggregation program, and approving several grants and contracts.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved items 7 through 9, 11 through 16, 18, and 20 through 24 en bloc. Items 10, 17, and 19 were pulled for separate discussion.
  • Item 10: Award of bid for Ryan Park Trails Rehabilitation, Phase 1 to Warner Irrigation, LLC for $90,875. Chelsea Dumas-Gibbs (Recreation Director) explained the project includes ADA-compliant trail improvements, signage, a cross-country loop, and stone dust pathways. Approved.
  • Item 17: Acceptance of a $300,000 RIDEM/CRMC OSCAR grant for design of the Town Beach Seawall Revetment Project. Approved.
  • Item 19: Authorization to retain DBVW Architects and Architects Design Group for architectural and engineering services for the Public Safety Complex and new Fire Station, funded by the voter-approved bond. Approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Kim Greenberg and Joyce Fennell requested safety improvements (crossing flags, signage) at the Brown and Phillips intersection. Council President Mancini committed to working with DOT and the Police Department.
  • Diane Izzo (Asset Management Commission) supported the pavement management software purchase (Item 14) and urged adoption of houseboat legislation (Item 27).
  • Ricky Thompson and Bob O'Neill opposed the mandatory opt-out structure of the Community Aggregation program, preferring an opt-in approach. Council explained state law requires opt-out.
  • Kathleen Garino questioned the difference between municipal aggregation and private door-to-door energy offers, seeking clearer explanation for residents.
  • Meg Kerr (Planning Commission member) urged the council to frame the comprehensive plan within state law and expressed concern about financial pressure on young families.
  • Rick Sellers and Bill Flynn strongly supported the aggregation program, citing climate benefits and bulk purchasing advantages.
  • Joe Texera opposed aggregation due to minimal savings and raised concerns about elderly tax exemptions and high delivery costs.
  • Bob Vandersleis thanked officials for their efforts in educating the public.
  • A resident submitted nine pages of signatures opposing the Wickford roundabout; Council noted the decision had already been made.

Discussion Items

  • Asset Management Commission Presentation (Item 4): Chair James Halley presented the FY2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan. Priority projects included road maintenance, well replacement, water condition assessment, and school facility upgrades. Recommendations included embedding asset protection funds in department budgets, seeking a grant writer, and purchasing work order software. Town Manager Ralph Mollis acknowledged the challenge of funding but emphasized the plan's role in budgeting. Council filed the report.
  • Traffic Calming Presentation (Item 5): Police Chief John Urban and a Captain presented data: traffic contacts rose from 5,000 (2023) to 7,100 (2024), a 42% increase. Citations increased from 2,500 to 3,200. The Captain recommended automated speed enforcement in school zones (Anaquatucket and School Street showed 77% speeding at 11+ mph over limit) and red-light cameras at Quonset. No upfront cost to the town; vendor would take a percentage of $50 fines. Council consensus was to authorize staff to explore vendors and return with contracts for public comment.
  • Community Aggregation Program (Item 26): Representatives from Good Energy presented the PUC-approved plan. The default opt-out option would include slightly more renewable energy and is expected to save 5-6% compared to Rhode Island Energy. A cheaper option (no extra renewables) could save 8-10%. Opt-out rates in other towns are 10-15%. The program would launch in June 2025 with education starting in April. Council approved the resolution to join the buying group via a roll call vote (5-0).
  • Houseboat Legislation Resolution (Item 27): Council passed a resolution supporting state bill H5190, which aims to define and regulate houseboats, to accompany municipal legislation at the General Assembly. Approved unanimously.
  • Water Main Extension for Namcook Road (Item 28): Attorney Peter Ruggiero requested a water main extension for redevelopment of Heritage House (two new buildings, 56 units, 20% affordable). The original condition required installation within 24 months. Ruggiero argued the permitting process could take 18 months to 2 years, plus construction. Council approved an amendment: the deadline runs from Planning Commission final approval, with a status report due at 24 months and potential extension to 48 months. Approved.

Key Outcomes

  • Filed the Capital Improvement Plan for FY2026-2030.
  • Authorized the Town Manager to solicit vendors for automated traffic enforcement; vendor options and contracts will return to council with public input.
  • Adopted resolution launching Community Electricity Aggregation program (roll call 5-0).
  • Passed resolution supporting Houseboat Legislation (H5190).
  • Approved water main extension for Namcook Road development with extended timeline.
  • All consent agenda items approved as presented.
  • The next meeting will include town manager's budget presentation on March 10, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the People's House in North Kingstown for a town council meeting Monday, February tenth, twenty twenty-five. And I'd ask everyone to stand and join for a salute to the flag. Thank you. So the flag of the United States. Undergard. We have uh two items for special business that we're going to start off with. And the first is uh presentation by the Asset Management Commission. Uh the the proposed capital improvement plan for twenty twenty-six through twenty thirty. And Mr. James Halley is a chair of that committee and he is going to uh present us with a PowerPoint presentation that has been previously distributed to the town council. Mr. Halley. Thank you. All of you have um I think uh copies of this, so I'll try not to uh spend a lot of time on it. But um we worked on this in the committee, there's eight people on the committee, and actually most of them are here for me tonight. Jim, can you make sure you speak into the money? Uh we met from November until uh just uh the 30th uh and we talked with the different and we talked with the different departments uh on this uh so we got input from a lot of people, including the town manager and the finance director. Uh prior to this on 2023, there was a bond issue for a new middle school safety complex and a recenter that did not pass. However, there was on 24 there was a bond issue, two bond issues that passed, one for the public safety complex and station one, and one for school facilities upgrade. Uh there we we have uh for the town, we have four funding sources the enterprise fund, non-enterprise fund, school revolving fund projects, and school unfunded projects. Uh all eight members of the committee submitted priority rankings, one being the lowest priority, five being the high highest priority. Uh 40 would be the highest possible score. The high things for the enterprise fund were the well three replacement water, the water condition assessment, and the golf course irrigation pond and the Poplar Point water main planning. Those were were for enterprise funds. Enterprise funds are uh for people in the audience that don't know our uh self-funded departments. They're departments who uh basically make money and spend their own money, so the money doesn't come out of the regular budget. It's a it's included in the regular budget, but it doesn't come out of that. Uh out of the non-enterprise funds, we had road road maintenance was the highest, and that was for ranked third highest overall, municipal office building, and tied for third were the HVAC system for the expansion and upgrade of library, air handling, air exchange facilities improvements, senior center uh improvements, and beach wall. Uh for the school revolving fund, Davisville Middle School was the highest, and then uh management systems for all of the schools were next. The um highest project uh was the North Kingstown High School enhanced interlocking interlock school vegetable in order to provide for safety for the school. Uh and then the uh electrical room ventilation and the Hamilton elementary playground drainage. These were the department request. Note that this does does not include the bond funding. And these are the department requests by funding source, general fund enterprise authorized bond, unauthorized bonds, grants, and unallocated. The school department requests they had six projects in the revolving fund project, and they had 14 unfunded projects. And these were their unfunded projects. And they did not have uh uh money connected to any of them. These were our recommended projects by fiscal year. And these are our project recommended projects by funds. And these are our rankings for the school projects, and our rankings for the unfunded projects, school projects. Our recommendations, number one, were that we have a present clear funding plan in the plans in the budget, that the asset perfection protection funds be embedded in the budgets of each department, so that it's clear to everyone that that we are spending money on our on keeping our assets up to date, that we find additional sources of revenue. Some of that's being done already in terms of the way that the fire department funds replacement of their uh fire engines through the um money that's paid by insurance companies for rescues. Uh that we continue to clearly identify projects funded by fiscal year 2000 in fiscal year 2026, and that we annually publish a five-year plan for projects and show the funding for those projects. We also are recommending that uh work order software be purchased so that we can track we've already the town's already done an assessment of all of the um things that need to be done in terms of uh protection of assets for the town. We have a nice book that's very thick that has a lot of stuff in it. Uh but we'd like to get work order software um to be able to keep up to date the information that's in that book. Uh we'd also like to seek additional opportunities for grant funding, a grant writer, third-party consultant, community collaboration in the development of grants, uh maybe a grant commission. And we'd like to thank uh Adam White, Allie Sparks, Chris Kinder, and Rebecca Ritten, Ralph Motless, Deb Brigham, and Ken Duva, our towns department heads, and most important, the group from the Asset Management Committee who are listed here. If you guys could stand up, please. This is an important job.

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