City Council - Regular Meeting

And there's nothing confidential, so we'll just stay right here. We won't need to go into executive session. Mr. Solicitor.

Thank you, Mr. President. The sewer charge payment was based on a water break, and I think in a bathroom pipe. The Department of Public Works recommends approval of the abatement in the amount of $370, excuse me, $378.58. Motion to approve. Motion to approve by Councilman

Fogarty, did you do that? And also Councilman Lawson. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it. Thank you. Next item.

Proclamations and presentations. World Cup recognition. Council President Rodericks.

So this is just a quick verbal presentation tonight, something that I had pledged to do, and will explain my strange attire tonight, usually here in shirt and tie, but I had promised at the beginning of this summer of soccer, now being a baseball guy as I am, and of course, you gotta love softball, right girls? Follow soccer a little bit, especially with East Providence High School soccer and our middle schools. But I really got into it this summer, like I think all of us did. And what impressed me more than the games on the field were the... The attitudes everyone showed, everyone was so positive. We had visitors from around the world, right here in East Providence. I was fortunate one day, coffee in the morning, I think it was with a mayor's morning session in Riverside, and an army, several of them, came in. and we got talking and we said hello and talked about East Providence and Rhode Island and they were on their way to the Scotland's first game and they explained how they were gonna make a donation that week to the Hasbro Children's Hospital which is fairly close to all of us here and they donated $10,000. They also sent I think less than $100,000 to other places in the state I was visiting a friend at Rhode Island Hospital the next day, and I could hear a noise, and I looked down the window, and I could hear and see an army with the bagpipes, and there had to be 100 of them, and they were given a check to the hospital, which we've had many kids ill at Hasbro through the years, so I felt a connection there. They also came to the Good Night Lights, which is run by a former townie, once a townie, always a townie, so Steve Brosnahan, who does that, as you know, I'm sure, every week, shining lights up at Hasbro, and the Tottenham Army was there. So my allegiance, of course, is to the US team. Also feel close to the Portugal team and the Cape Verde team. But I had to give a shout out tonight to the Tartan Army and for all of the goodwill they brought to us. Thousands and thousands of them and no problems whatsoever. They took over the area. They took over the city of Boston. They're a small, small team. And I had a closeness because my son-in-law is from Scotland. So I promised him a shout-out tonight. So I wore this kilt, if you haven't seen it yet, and a Scottish cap in their honor.

Man of your word, brother.

It's a little breezy under here. I have to... Gonna make sure the air conditioning gets lowered, but I didn't mean to take up all that time, but I just thought that we should be neighborly and thank all of these visitors who've come here from other countries, and too bad U.S. didn't make it, but they got pretty far. So we appreciate all of the goodwill, and thank you all for putting up with that. Madam Clerk, next item.

Consent calendar for discussion and possible vote. A, council journal's regular meeting minutes, June 16th, 2026. Letters, new addresses, 156 Amarillo Street, East Providence, Rhode Island, 02915, map 508, block 01, parcel 006.10. Nine, Regent Drive, East Providence, Rhode Island, 02915, MAP 613, block 02, parcel 017.10. Cancellations and abatements, $6,647.24. Motion to approve as read. Second.

Motion by Councilwoman Souza to approve. Seconded by Councilman Fogarty. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it.

And without objection from the council, I'd like to move up a couple of items on the agenda. So page six, Roman numeral 11 for public hearing, second ordinances, and then followed by section D, number three, resolutions authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement.

Councilwoman Sousa moves. Is there a second?

Second.

without objection, so we will do that. And the reason why you're all here, I had a city sergeant was worried. He said, do I have to call in extra police here tonight? We got a big crowd. We only get about two people at our meetings. So I said, nah, I don't see any trouble out here. But seriously, this is for second passage. We've already approved once. And this city council has been working on all of our fields and recreation. And we've got a lot to do. We're not done yet. And we want to... be equal, of course, with girls and boys. I mean, I go back to probably the beginning of all of this. Bob Amaral, Amaral Field, was my first Little League coach. The other field next door was named after my dad. This was 1975. I was a young kid. And those two together, mostly Bob Amaral, girls softball on the map. Little League Baseball, believe it or not, did not allow girls to play at one point. So in the 70s or so, that changed. And Bob Amaral and others said, well, they need a field. So little by little, they built a field. But it's been sitting there for years. Both fields had no signs. So Mrs. Amaral paid for and had a sign installed, the city installed it. I paid for the sign for my dad's field and the city put that up. So bureaucracy, young people, you're going to learn, takes a while. They were putting lights up and I didn't know that. I went by one day and I saw the polls and I said, that's great. We've got a couple of fields with lights. Of course, our great new high school has lights. And we know how important it is to you. So we've put money aside. and i'll let others here in the council um comment on that and then ask if you have some spokespersons who want to come up i think you get the drift here this is not going to be a problem so we don't need everybody to come up and speak but This is America, and you certainly have the right to come up. We're flexible on that. So we're getting there. We're going to appropriate the money first, and we have to go out and get it done. You know, go out. We have bids. There's a whole legal process, and we're getting through that. Councilman Fogarty.

Yeah, so hello, everyone. I love the signs, ladies. So my daughter's going to be 40 this year, and we won the districts for Central, EP Central districts, back when she was a young lady playing softball and pitched, and she pitched for the high school. So I'm very proud to support the Lights. I'm also an umpire over 40 years for girls softball, college, high school. All right, I'm adding that in because I'm a good umpire. Mm-hmm. Very fair. Baseball, too. I did up to amateurs, oil cam boy and a couple of Red Sox. So I have quite the career involved in sports. Very dear to my heart. So I'm proud of you for coming out. I'm happy you all came out and I'm happy we all could give you some lights to play ball.

Umpire Fogarty, I have some glasses here. You might want to use them the next time you're out there. I saw your strike zone.

We'll let the girls judge that. I was asked to do run for the Little League tomorrow night, play for the girls, Little League, but I haven't accepted you.

Council Vice President Rigo.

We might shut Ferris Avenue down. But no, it's really great. that you're all here. And it's really fantastic that softball in East Providence is back from Rumford down to Riverside, because there was a point in time when it first started, it was really, it took off. A lot of state champions, New England champions, and then it dipped down. And softball, I was president once of Rumford Little League, and I coached my boys, and President, as I said. But girls softball is near and dear to my heart because when I came out of college, I wanted to coach. And the only thing that was available was a girls softball team. And the president at the time, Jack Kelly, I said, girl softball? He goes, you'll be good. You can teach them. Well, my greatest memories besides playing sports is girl softball. I was fortunate to coach three Rumford All-Star teams to go to the States, and one of them won the state championship. We went up to Salem, New Hampshire to represent Rhode Island. But I'm so happy because... I remember like 10 years ago or 12 years ago, you could see girls softball was leaving. AAU is taking it over, but it's great to see these numbers now and continue to grow. And with the lights, it will help. And this is the investment we have in youth sports in the city. And it's great that you're all playing.

Thank you, sir. COUNCILMAN LAWSON. I'M A PRODUCT OF RIVERSIDE LITTLE LEAGUE, AND NOW I'M IN A POSITION TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE FIELD, SO YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT EXPERIENCE. MY COACH, MR. MANTHONY, I'M CHOKING UP, HIS DAUGHTER, GRANDDAUGHTER, GRANDKIDS ARE HERE, SO TOWNIES LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER, SO LET'S DO THIS.

And Councilwoman Souza.

Thank you. So I just want to thank obviously everybody for coming out today, parents, coaches, and of course our athletes. It's pretty amazing to see a turnout like this. I think it's important that you young ladies recognize at a young age that your voice is important and it should be heard. and you shouldn't sit back quietly, right? Make a difference. And it starts with coming up in front of those who are decision makers and being strong and confident in your ask and doing it. And I see there's a ton of wonderful signs. I'd love for you guys to all raise them up so we can take a good look at all the signs that you guys have made because you've put a lot of hard work into it. So definitely want to see some of those. Great. Don't be scared. Confident. Bring them up. Bring them up. I wanna thank the council as we have been doing over the last several years and several councils allocating funds to support recreation throughout our city and public space. And it's something that we all feel very passionate about and will continue to do. So thank you for being here in support of that. We will continue to do that to make East Providence a fun experience for all our residents that are here in the city, thank you.

And before any vote, this is a public hearing, so we'll open it up for some comments. And my last comment would be to the young people, young women in the room, remember when you hear, and you will hear this, there will be a couple people in the city that are gonna say, why are they spending a lot of money on lights for a ball field. I didn't have lights when I played. You're going to hear that from a couple of people. And the answer is that's what makes us a strong community. The summer of soccer is an example. Businesses made a lot of money. People were happy. They were out. We had the mayor's block party had the entire street cordoned off with no trouble. The next morning I drove around because I thought I'd see trash and I know I'd be getting complaints and I wanted to check. You never knew there were a few thousand people there the night before. It was all cleaned up, city workers, everybody pulled in together. So sports makes a better society. We don't all have to be athletes, we don't all have to be very good at it, but we can support it And that's the answer you can give people when they tell you, why are we spending that money? And for the parents that are here, this isn't affecting the tax rate. There's a capital funds account that gets put aside year in and year after for infrastructure repairs and other things like this. So don't let anyone tell you that it's gonna cost Yeah, everything costs money, but it's not a taxable item in the budget. Okay, so our city clerk will read the title of this, and then we'll open it up for public hearing. Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Public hearings, ordinance for second and or final passes for discussion and possible vote. Number one, ordinance of the City Council of the City of East Providence appropriating $340,035 for Pierce Softball Field improvements. Summary, this ordinance is to allocate monies from unallocated capital budget funds for improvements at Pierce Softball Field introduced by Council President Rodericks.

I might add to that, this is not just lights. I know I see a couple people have talked to me about the trouble with parking and next to the bar that's there and the land and it's uneven and cars. There's going to be, I won't read it all, I'll go through a little bit of it, construction of a paved parking area, pedestrian walkways, installation of a new wood guardrail along the newly installed pavement and roadway surrounding the softball field, enhancing field visibility. So there's more than just putting up a couple of light poles. There'll be a lot of work done there. And this council will get on the mayor to do it as quick as possible. And I might say he's been aboard from day one with this project. Councils, mayors, don't always see eye to eye on everything. On this, we do. we all want to get this done for you. So with that, I'll open it up to a public hearing, and if, I know there was a sign up list, but don't worry about that. If there's someone here that would like to speak, you come up to this podium, and by law, you do have to give your name and address for the record. I kind of thought we'd see you. So push that button, make sure the light is on, and just name and address for the record.

Richard Hogan. Yes. 105 Park Drive, Riverside.

Welcome. Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Proceed.

Good afternoon, President and members of the East Providence Town Council. My name is Richard Hogan, and I serve as the President of East Providence Central Little League. I want to begin by thanking you for this opportunity and for considering the installation of lights at Amarillo Softball Field. For the past five years, I've served on the league's board and witnessed firsthand the positive transformation of the Pairs Complex. From the addition of batting cages, concession stand lighting, to field improvements at Rodericks, including field lighting, and the new compost bathrooms, the city's ongoing support has been invaluable. We are also grateful for the newly completed Kent Complex, which provides our youngest players with excellent playgrounds and amenities before and after games or practices. Each season, our league serves 200 to 250 players and provides financial aid to approximately 20 to 30 families, supported by nearly 80 dedicated volunteers. East Providence Central Little League exemplifies what youth sports should be, a vibrant community of local players helping children build friendships, develop responsibility, and enjoy athletic competition. Today, I respectfully ask for your continued support by approving lighting for our softball players at Amaral Field. When we relaunched softball, the program was virtually nonexistent in East Providence. Starting from scratch under Central, we successfully grown it to nearly match the size of our baseball program. The softball community has long drawn players and families from across Rumford, Riverside, and Central, fostering strong collaboration and shared volunteer support from the very beginning. This inclusive spirit reflects a broader and promising trend. The future of Little League in East Providence is one of growth in numbers, especially in the girls' division, and continued connection across our neighborhoods. We have intentionally branded ourselves as representing all of East Providence, updating our jerseys and logo to emphasize the city over any single subdivision. This approach has enabled us to host numerous tournaments that drawn families from Providence to Newport, bringing visitors and economic activity directly into our community, all while having East Providence being at the front. Despite these successes, the lack of field lighting creates significant and unfair challenges that affect only our softball programs. Without lights, we must start games earlier, and with the increasing risk of weather-related cancellations, it cuts our season short year after year. This is amplified every fall as games can only safely play three to four innings, turning interest away from a great community sport. Our junior and senior division, middle school girls from Montner Riverside, is comprised of players from all three areas, and we are the only league currently hosting games for these girls. They must play double-headers every Saturday because weekday games cannot be completed after dark. Rain outs and last-minute cancellations often cannot be rescheduled, limiting total games played. This season, despite these obstacles, that same group of girls advanced to the regional Little League All-Stars and will represent not only East Providence but all of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Many of these young athletes and their families have shared how meaningful this achievement is, yet it was nearly derailed by limiting playing opportunities. Parents have had to rearrange family schedules, cancel personal plans, and travel to other cities just to become eligible, as Little League requires numerous games. East Providence was recently selected to host the All-Star Tournament for States, another honor that brings families from across Rhode Island to our complex and showcases our facilities to the entire state. Yet due to insufficient lighting, the number of games we could host was cut in half, and Pawtucket assumed the primary hosting role, directly impacting local visibility and economic benefits. By approving this improvement, you would not only help retain current families and attract new ones to East Providence, but also invest in the long-term health, confidence, and success of our daughters, right here in a top-tier community facility. The Pierce Complex already sets a high standard for the district. Adding lighting for the girls would complete the vision and make it a true destination for families. Thank you for your time and consideration. I'm happy to leave my contact information for any questions you may have, and greatly appreciate your support for the girls. Thank you.

Thank you for those comments. Welcome, just name and address.

Good evening, my name's Christina O'Reilly, 116 Ferris Ave in Rumford. Thank you, Council President Rodericks and members of the council for allowing us to go on record about the why. As you said, having it memorialized why we make these improvements is important for the taxpayers to understand as well. I'm a Rumford resident, a five-year, East Providence softball parent, and this year the head coach of the junior-senior softball team. I grew up playing Rumford Little League softball myself in the 80s and 90s when we had enough teams to sustain a full regular season entirely within the city. By 2016, when my daughter, who's now 14, was ready to play, that pathway had disappeared. So my daughter Abby started off in baseball until the combined East Providence softball league emerged in the 2021-22 year. She's still happily playing with several of those original teammates in Little League, along with having played three years for Martin and hoping to move on to play for the high school next year. Today, we've built back seven thriving teams in Central. We're successfully creating a community where older girls are starting to mentor the younger ones. Abby has volunteered her time working with younger girls in coach pitch and minors, and she umpires at the newly established minors level in Rumford. Keeping teenagers engaged in the junior-senior level is vital to sustaining softball's growth. That's where that lack of lighting impacts us, as Rich Hogan mentioned. Amaral is home to all seven of our Central Little League teams, plus the Martin Middle School team. That's eight teams competing for a single field, with ours strictly capped by the early spring sunsets. Because my 13 to 15-year-old players compete against teams across the East Bay, travel and school team schedules make weekday evenings impossible without lights by contrast my 12 year old son plays baseball for rumford where weeknight games easily start at 7 pm after school ball is over under the lights and i know central does the same those evening baseball games become major community events especially on a friday night lights game for softball The lack of lights means rainy Saturdays force us into a scheduling crisis, leaving us scrambling to complete bare-bones seasons. It's frustrating for players, parents, and coaches alike. If we had lights on Amaral, our older girls could easily practice or play from 7 to 9 p.m., leaving the earlier daylight hours for the youngest divisions. Ironically, Amaral is already surrounded by the very posts holding the lighting for the rest of the complex.

In fact, not lost on many of us for years now.

A 2022 study by the Women's Sports Foundation shows that age 14 is a pivotal time when many girls drop out of their sports. They drop out at a rate two times that of boys. When teenage girls sign up, they want to play, they want to build skills, and they want to stay active. We owe it to them to provide equity and access and ensure their facilities are on a par with that of their baseball peers. Thank you for your time, your consideration, and your support.

Thank you. Welcome.

Thank you. Jonathan McGowan, 120 Howland Ave. I really want to thank everyone on this Council for the history lesson prior to this part of the session it's it's really important for us to kind of have that. foundation to what this whole thing and where it started from so thank you for that and girls it's incredible to see everybody here in the softball Community represented. This is for you. This is for you, so it's great to see, thank you. Good evening, honorable members of East Providence City Council Administration. My name is Jonathan McGowan and I proudly serve as Coach John and Vice President of East Providence Central Little League. I'm here tonight in support of funding for infrastructure improvements at Amaral Field. For the past three years, I've had the privilege of serving alongside incredible volunteers, working to create opportunities for the young people of East Providence through softball and baseball. Before I ask for your support this evening, I first want to sincerely thank this council, Mayor De Silva, and the city for the investments you have already made. Whether it's improvements to our parks and playgrounds, new splash pads, enhancements at Kent Field, batting cages, a remarkable high school complex, those projects have strengthened East Providence and demonstrated that the city believes in investing in its people and its future. Tonight, I respectfully ask you to continue that commitment. While tonight's vote is about infrastructure, I truly believe it is about something much bigger. It's about the community we want to be. Just steps from Pierce Memorial Stadium sits Amaral Field, the place where generations of young girls have learned teamwork, resilience, confidence, and leadership. Yet today, the facility no longer reflects the quality of athletes who proudly represent our city. Our parking lot floods and is difficult to navigate. Our dugouts are aging and lack the safety and comfort our players deserve. Unlike our baseball fields, we have no field lighting, limiting practices and games once school begins and daylight fades. Facilities matter. Children notice when adults invest in them. Families notice when their community values them. Visitors notice the pride a city takes in its youth. Quality facilities send a powerful message. Field lighting would transform what we can offer. It would allow working families to attend practices, reduce scheduling challenges, and create more opportunities throughout the spring and fall. Improved parking, dugouts, and walkways make Amaral safer and more welcoming for every child, parent, grandparent, volunteer, and visitor. Softball is no longer just a spring sport. Through clinics, camps, winter training, and year-round practices, participation continues to grow. In just one year, our softball program grew from 76 players on five teams to nearly 100 players on seven teams, while adding two coach pitch division teams, servicing our youngest athletes. Together with Riverside and Rumford Little Leagues, we have built a strong softball community that now trains together and proudly represents East Providence in statewide competition. These improvements will not only support today's players, it will position East Providence to expand programming and create opportunities for athletes at every ability level for generations to come. Our volunteers will continue fundraising, coaching, organizing events, and mentoring young athletes. I promise you that. But projects of this size cannot be accomplished through raffles, sponsorships, or volunteer labor alone. This is where the partnership between dedicated volunteers and city leadership can create something truly lasting. Tonight, you have the opportunity to invest not only in a softball field, but in the next generation of East Providence, and I thank you for doing that and considering it. I respectfully ask for your support. Let's light up Amaral.

Thank you.

She can sit in the chair there, she will. I don't blame you.

My name's Allison Butler, 69 Plymouth Road, East Providence.

Thank you for letting us come here tonight.

Girls, it's amazing that you guys all showed up. We have the best softball community, as you can see. So give a round of applause, guys. I serve as a player agent for East Providence Central Little League. The girls on the two teams I coach call me Coach Ally. I am a proud lifelong townie, as is my husband. We live right here in EP raising our six kids. Yeah, you heard that right, six. and we have five girls, two of them are already playing, and hopefully the next three will follow in their footsteps.

So a few more children, you could have the butler team.

I think six is a good number.

John will help out coaching.

Yeah, we need to get John in coaching. He's the team doctor. Yes. But yeah, I'm obviously speaking tonight in favor of the lights. As we know, I think most people know here that Pierce Field is a staple in East Providence. I received my high school diploma there. I bring my kids to the splash pad there. I personally think it has one of the best firework shows around. The football field, basketball courts, and baseball fields all are in great shape and are equipped with lights. They look fantastic, but our softball field has been left behind. More than ever, this is the best time to bring the softball field up to par at Pierce Field. Softball is absolutely exploding in EP, as you can see. I've only been here for three years. And we've added a bunch of different divisions. We have our coach pitch division. Hey girls, you want to stand up, my coach pitch girls? Stand up, pink socks. We have three minors teams this year. Do my minors want to stand up? Fundamentals, Matus, and Feast and Pedal. We had one majors team this year. If I have any major girls here, you want to stand up? Yes. And of course, we have our juniors and seniors division this year. Any juniors, seniors? Yes. And we have so many great parents and volunteers. This wouldn't be possible without all of them. So not only do we have growing numbers, but our skill level is improving. We host winter clinics at the ATC. which you're very familiar with. And we try to keep it very reasonable for parents so that way everyone can afford this. And then not only that, we offer a lot of summer opportunity. So as you know, our minors 10U All-Star team is undefeated in their pool play. So if they could stand up. My minors All-Star stand up. These girls have worked extremely hard in the hot weather. Coach John doesn't go easy on them. And they're doing awesome in representing East Providence, and we're very proud of them. And then we have our junior seniors team. who struggled to get in games during the season because of lighting, some lighting, scheduling issues. But they ended up getting enough games to be able to compete in All-Stars. And now they are going to Pennsylvania to represent East Providence and our state in the national tournament. So girls, can you stand up? And Coach Christine, Christina, can you stand up? That is an amazing opportunity for you guys and I'm so happy for you. Sorry. But as you can see, these girls are working really hard and we really appreciate this opportunity for lights for our field. So thank you for your time tonight and let's light up Amaral.

Thank you. Very well said, and don't forget the positive feeling that we have. We're here tonight talking about working together and getting our city in better shape. There are some other communities tonight having meetings on how they're going to cut sports, how they're going to shut down a municipal pool, how they're going to raise taxes a lot So far, so good. In East Providence, we're not doing that. And we're gonna continue. That doesn't mean there can be some tough decisions. Once in a while, we'll face it. Is there anyone else who'd like to speak? Is there any players, players wanna represent your group and come up and say anything, give you the opportunity to? You guys are loud enough on the field. There has to be somebody. But going once, going twice.

Told.

Well, at least let's do this. Would every Little Leaguer just stand? Thank you. Thank you all, I will close the public hearing. I know that Bob Ramroll is smiling somewhere down on what will happen to his field, and at this time I'll turn to the council. Councilwoman, did you want to proceed with the motion?

Yep, I can make a motion to approve the ordinance as read.

Second.

Motion is made by Councilwoman Souza, seconded unanimously by the rest of us. I want to see the person who votes against this, but all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Now, there is part two to this. This is a civics lesson. So, Madam Clerk, if you would read the next part to this equation.

Resolution authorizing the mayor of East Province to proceed with this project for improvements to his softball field, including entering into a contract with Musco Lighting and other vendors introduced by Council President Rodericks.

Yes, and introduced by me, of course, with consultation and support of each of us up here. So, Councilman Sousa, is that a motion?

Motion to approve.

Seconded by all of us. All in favor? Aye. It's now a done deal. I want to really thank you all. Going out to public meetings is not fun. It's not something a lot of people like to do. The weather isn't great. But this is the best audience we've had in a long time. We're going to be here until about midnight. You're all welcome to stay. Bob, can we get a picture? Sure. If players, parents, everyone want to come up for a group picture, just stand in the front here and face the back.

Good to see you, brother.

All right, my man.

My pleasure. Her dad was my Little League coach.

Thank you.

So as the Little Leaguers leave, we'll resume the meeting. Madam Clerk, if you would continue.

Licenses for discussion and possible vote. A, non-public hearing, one-day entertainment license, Monroe Car Show, July 26, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., one-day entertainment license, live band and a DJ, Holy Ghost Brotherhood Mariners, July 24th through the 26th, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. One day licensed block party food truck event at University Orthopedics, 92626, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. One day special event, alcohol license, Rhode Island Day of Portugal at Bold Point Park, August 1st, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. One day special event, alcoholic license, Rhodey Food Truck, Bold Point Park, 8, 7 through 9, 5, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. One Day Special Event, Alcoholic License, Holy Ghost Brotherhood Marinance, July 24th through the 26th, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. New Business, Victiculing, Naeem Salem, East Providence Fuel, 69 Thornton Avenue, East Providence. One day entertainment license for a socket event, read-in only, was June 27th, 1 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. One day entertainment license, a live band and a barbecue, read-in only, on July 24th, 6 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. And a one-day special event, live music, read-in only. Birthday party, 73 Burton Avenue, June 20th, 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Is there a motion to bundle? Councilman Lawson moves to bundle items one to 10. Seconded by Councilwoman Sousa. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it.

Motion to approve.

Motion Councilwoman Sousa to approve the items one to 10. Second?

Second.

Second by Councilman Fogarty. All in favor? Aye. The ayes have it. Thank you. Next item.

Public hearing, type of license, additional hours, 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Naeem Salem, East Providence Fuel, 69 Torton Avenue, East Providence.

And this is to deliver fuel, so this is if somebody, middle of the night, goes out, correct?

I'm not sure. Okay, I was going to ask the applicants present, please just name and address for the record and...

Nicholas Lambros, I'm the attorney for the applicant, 100 Midway Road, Suite 16, Cranston, Rhode Island, 02920. I have the owners of the business here. They can elaborate and explain a little more about their experience and what they're planning to do.

Okay, welcome.

This is Mr. Salem. Okay.

I didn't know.

Salem, how are you? I started in the gas station business. My uncle gas station, he owned five of them, so I was managing all five for him during the summertime when I was in school and after convenience store, pizza places, in the car industry, I'm the general manager of a car dealership. I went to school, went Texaco, before Texaco. So I became a Texaco dealer as well. So a lot of experience in that aspect of it. We just, because we were right off the highway and the gas station, we provide service to the people as well. So we want to make sure during that time the gas station is open A lot of time I travel to Canada and there's nothing worse than being stuck with no gas at the end of the night. Would you remember?

Yes, so this is just for the council. This is in. No, so this gentleman is the new owners of the current ExxonMobil, Exxon gas station on Tawantinav coming off the highway, the off-ramp. in front of the Gilmore's flower shop. So that was for sale, and these are our new owners. Congratulations on your purchase. So the new business name will change to East Providence Fuels, is that correct? Okay, and it's gonna be essentially a 24 hour, the way it's operating now, it holds its own, right? Yeah, but you have to come before the council, correct. Good, all right, thank you, welcome to the city.

Yep, thank you. Any questions from the council? Is there a motion? It's a public hearing. We'll close this part of the hearing. Is there anyone here that wishes to speak for or against this?

You're just going to be, at these hours, you're just going to be selling gas. The repair part is not going to, yeah, I just want to, for the record, so the neighbors don't, you know.

Absolutely.

Okay.

So during the 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be for sale of fuel only. I think there's a little.

And there's a convenient.

So excluding repairs during those.

Is there anyone here that would like to speak for or against this hearing? None. I'll close the public hearing. It was your pleasure.

Make a motion to approve.

Councilwoman Sousa makes a motion to approve.

With the exclusion of the repair portion being closed.

So when are you going to buy Gabe out of Seekonk? Is that going to be a next step?

It's all one package.

You're buying all three. He finally decided to retire. I can't give him a hard time anymore.

That was a second by Councilman Fogarty. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Good luck, continued good luck.

Yeah, good luck.

Thank you for waiting.

Good luck, thank you very much.

You might want to sponsor a little league team. You see all the people that were here. Yeah, thank you, next item.

Communications, Julie Garrett, US Small Business Administration, Disaster Loan Programs for Small Businesses and Nonprofits with Economic Losses from the February Blizzard.

Hi, welcome, just naming address or organization for the record.

This is Monica Miles. My colleague Julie Garrett had an emergency and had to return home this evening. Wanted to tell you about the US Small Business Administration's low interest rate disaster loans that are available. They're actually available throughout the state of Rhode Island. They're for businesses and most private nonprofit organizations that sustained an economic injury as a result of the snowstorm that happened back on February 22nd through the 24th. If any business owner or private nonprofit organization believes that they are unable to, that they've sustained an economic injury such as, of course, a decrease in their income, perhaps customers that weren't coming through because of the storm, Roads were closed, utilities might have been off, their supplies were not delivered, various things could happen, and they've noticed a decrease in their revenue. And as a direct result of that happening, they're not able to pay all of their ordinary and necessary bills. They can apply to the U.S. Small Business Administration for a low interest rate economic injury disaster loan. There doesn't need to be any kind of damage to their business or nonprofit property in order to apply for the loan. It's the economic part that is involved. The deadline to apply for the loan is not until March 10th of 2027. Any applicant can apply online at the SBA's website. The interest rate for the loan for a business is 4%. And for a qualified nonprofit organization, it's 3.625%. There's no application fee, no interest accrues during the first year of the loan, and the first payment is not due on the loan for a year from the date when they receive the first loan fund. The loan can go up to as much as $2 million. And of course, it's based upon what that particular business is or nonprofit information shows that they need in order to be able to maintain the business. People who are interested in getting more information, they can call the SBA at 1-800-659-2955. And they can go on our website as well, which is https://lending.sba.gov. And we also have an easier website as well, sba.gov. That's what I have. But so, and if they have any questions, they can contact the SBA. The type of information they'll need to apply is their government issued ID and the EIN number for their business as well. A most recent federal income tax return, they'll most likely be asked to produce additional income tax returns if their business has been open for more than a year. their contact information a lot of people might make some moves around and they might not have the accurate contact information so we just encourage them to remember that and then their financial information to see how much their revenue tended to be how much their expenses are so that the SBA can estimate how much they can afford in terms of a loan they don't have to if they apply for the loan in decide that they don't want it after all, or the SBA suggests a larger loan amount than what they want to take, they don't have to take it. They can reduce it or not take it at all.

yeah great thank you for the information any questions or appreciate it and we'll make sure that the phone number and websites here at city hall thank you for coming out just one question thank you for uh providing

great information for the businesses and non-profits. What is the term of the loan?

Oh, yes. Thanks for asking. It's 30 years. That's what the term is for most of the loans, a 30-year time period. If they want to pay it sooner than the 30 years, they can do that as well. There's no penalty for that.

And the 4% is locked for the 30 years?

Yes, it is. It doesn't change.

Not bad, a good rate compared to what the banks are offering today.

All right, thank you very much.

Thanks again. Next item.

Robert Yuske, fire ordinance requiring 30 feet away from any structure.

Mr. Yuske present.

Couldn't make it maybe. I'll reach out to him. He's a Riverside resident that he wants to have a backyard fire, but he's too close for the ordinance and the fire department shut him down. Okay. I'll reach out to him.

He was here earlier. He signed off.

Okay. Maybe he left. Thanks. Next item.

Council members, number one, fiscal year 27, East Providence Council budget request, Councilman Lawson.

So I just put this on for all of us as we're getting ready to start the budget season. If there's any things that you all like to propose, I know in discussion with some of you all and stuff, I think it's highly appropriate we add to DPW, somebody that specializes in rodent and pest control. Cranston, Warwick, they have dedicated staff for that with all the development we have going on. I think it'd be very appropriate. I don't think it's fair to tell the citizens, sorry, you gotta pay for the rat infestation because we just started digging up next door. Obviously Oldham, it's a city-owned building. I went by today, you got fences. rotting down shutting down that we'd be sending minimal housing out if it was somebody else's property um you know every week we're doing unallocated capital i think it's appropriate we put some money towards that building the school side we got to look at some of these positions i think some of these teachers need to be teaching more having department heads only teaching one class I don't think that's appropriate. But I wanted to get this conversation out. I don't know if you guys have been in touch with the administration on things that you think are appropriate for the budget. So I put this up there. I know Frank's always hopping on infrastructure and stuff. So I figured I'd just put this out there for us if there's stuff that anybody thinks that they want the administration to consider for this year's budget.

Pretty soon we'll be starting that. I have set up, we don't have a date yet, but the new superintendent of schools and I will sit down and we'll start talking about this stuff. Yep, thank you. Next.

Number two, discussion with the administration on parking for Crescent Park events this year. Councilman Lawson.

So, Andre, with the construction, it's going to cut back on parking. We have at least three festivals, the Louvre, Rhode Island Folk Festival. We got the Indy Fest. People are going to need a place to park. And I think it's highly appropriate that the city work with Tracy and these event holders to work out a plan. We have old him. In the past, when I did the LOOF, we would have the shuttle vans come so people can park down the street. Kind of like if you were to sit at Wickford, you don't park right up there. You park a little bit out and you get shuttled down. I also think it's appropriate that Carousel Drive and Bullocks Point, we have local traffic only, no event parking, and we put up a sawhorse like at the end of where the Crescent Park land ends. We don't want to see these neighborhoods overrun. And we could also reach out to the property managers of Shores up the road to see if on the days of these major festivals, they'd be willing to let us use the back parking lot and we could work with the event organizers on the shuttles and stuff. andre i just want to bring this to your attention um i have rich who's here with the rhode island um folk festival if you want to talk with him as well um but this is a major concern of the people organizing these events we used to park where the construction is now so we lost a lot of parking so i just want to be proactive um i believe the luff is august's first week 8th maybe, and then folks festival is right behind it. So I just wanted to bring this to your attention, Andre, and hopefully the city, we can be proactive, taking care of parking for these events. Thank you. Yes. Councilwoman.

Thank you. So Councilman Lawson, thank you for bringing this up at the meeting today. I think you make a lot of valid points. Not only do the residents of East Providence and Riverside attend these great events in the summer, it also draws in a lot of residents throughout the state that come and enjoy these events. So it is a statewide event, even though it's hosted in our city. My question would be, Andre, maybe you could have the answer to it. During our block party for the soccer game, the city offered shuttle from Pierce Field for parking on a continuous basis for people to park, and I don't remember that coming before the council, so I think that was an administrative... task that was organized. So I would ask that if we could do it for a block party event for the city to enjoy, we certainly can accommodate that type of a request for ongoing that we've had in Riverside because of the construction. So I don't think it's a big ask to have that service provided since we've already done it once for the community. So not sure what the protocol would be since, you know.

Yeah, I mean, we don't have the authority to order city staff to do anything. So it absolutely has to come from the mayor's office. But that's why I'm up here making this request in public because other communities do it. Wakefield, it can be done. And I didn't even think of PS being in a parking as well.

But I'm just, well, it doesn't have to be, obviously.

No, but whatever works.

To Riverside, but if we did it, my point was if we did it for that event, that block party, there's no reason why we can't accommodate other events throughout the city that might have just as much, you know, activity that would require that type of assistance. Thank you.

Thank you.

For bringing that up.

I think you have the next item too.

Explanation from administration on who pushed for the traffic redesign on Willard Avenue and why the redesign was necessary. Councilman Lawson.

So this is besides trying to build a building in the woods between the terrace and Crescent Park is another one of the big things I hear about. Andre, can you tell us who decided we needed these road diets? Because that's what's causing the problem. The road diets are causing the shop merges, and then the signage that I guess they're finally tweaking things out. People are frustrated. They're upset. Can you give them an explanation of who wanted this? because we can't think of it and we're getting mixed things residents are saying they're reaching out to the administration that's saying is d.o.t i got an email from a state rep that she said i talked to d.o.t they said it's ep that asked for it so why do we have these diets and who pushed for them all right hi councilman and members of the city council uh thank you for bringing this

item up. I also wanted to touch base on the items you previously discussed. We'll take that back to the team and we'll discuss. So the administration Push for the traffic redesign on Willett Ave after a resident identified a flaw in the original layout and several members of the community have come up to us with complaints about the yield sign layout. But the new configuration meets all traffic engineering standards and is much safer than what was there before. It encourages drivers coming off the straightaway on Willett Ave and Crescent View Ave to pay closer attention and slow down. And we have received many complaints about the previous roundabout because it was confusing and caused a neck strain for many drivers. So engineers from RIDOT reviewed the yield configuration and found that it was not adequate. to date there have been no major accidents at locations since the change went in. And residents offered this suggestion, but the engineers gave the final approval for it. And I will be also speaking more about this on the mayor communication side because this happened between the last council meeting and this council meeting when it was implemented.

If you're on the topic, you can just go right into it now if you'd like. If you prefer to wait, that's fine. Yeah, mine as well.

So as I noted earlier, I mean just now, that the administration supported the engineers to look at this traffic redesign on Willet Ave. And the new configuration does meet all the traffic engineering standards and is much safer, reduces confusion, and encourages drivers to slow down and stay attentive on the coming off the straightaway. we remain in regular contact with ryda on this project and we'll continue to share any information as it comes in as soon as it comes in but so far the early results have been very positive so we do the road diets are what's causing the problem because you're coming up from crescent view and then all of a sudden they want you to merge over quick why they're coming like this the road diets are not safe

And I don't know who these engineers are, but they're not living in Riverside. So I will bring that back to the residents, and they are very upset. Please let the mayor know they are not happy, and they feel like they're being ignored by the administration, that you guys won't even consider removing the road diets. We've been driving that way for decades, you know, and speed's an issue all throughout the city. So I'm just passing along from the residents how frustrated they are. Okay? The solution would be get rid of the diets, go back to two lanes each side. That way you don't have the quick mergers.

So are you saying that the road diet is different from the yield stuff? The road diet is caused by the yield.

Right, so if they did away with going straight, you wouldn't need the yield sign. So if you're coming up...

But there has to be some yielding when you have kind of a roundabout.

Right, but where town pizza is. You got cars coming this way. You used to go there, and then it'd be two lanes. They cut this lane, so now two cars now have to cut it, and that's where... Everybody's getting frustrated, so the solution is get rid of the diets. But these engineers, the ones that probably took care of the Washington Bridge, they know better, right?

I have utmost confidence in the drivers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that navigate our streets, that they'll be able to understand the new yield signs. It was unneeded. And the top three complaints that we get in the city speeding is one of the number one complaints I get. So this has helped with that.

And that's why we asked to put speed bumps down to temporarily.

Mayor Mrakas, You know speed bumps also caused damage to vehicles and at a speed influences as well, so, and they also make a noise when you go over them so those some of the considerations okay i'll bring that back to the public all right let's go to the next item, thank you, Councilman.

Number four, veterans hero banners update. Councilwoman Souza.

Thank you so much. So it has been quite some time since there was any communication regarding these veteran hero banners. I know that the initiation of this came from our veterans committee and was brought to the city and the city administration has through their Andrea who is the contact person or coordinator for our veterans in the city has been working I'm sure very hard at this project and I know that they have been a great interest in hundreds of or at least a hundred Persons have purchased banners. My ask is, since I'm not getting a response through any emails or phone calls, could you provide an update as to when these banners will be erect and if we have a due date? Because my understanding was I thought it would have been ready and up for the fourth celebration, but it clearly has not.

As a win Thank you, I have an update for you here the banners have been ordered and printer shipping them to dp w we received 108 orders in total. We're still waiting on payment for 22 of the banners. Everyone who has not been paid has already been contacted, and those banners will be held until the payment is received by the city. Once the banners arrive, our DPW will hang them between Roger Williams Ave, Bullocks Point Ave, and Pawtucket Ave, and they'll stay up through Veterans Day and come down for the winter and go back up in the spring. So we do expect them to be installed before the end of August. And we were waiting on payment and confirmation from several people. We only ordered the banners that were confirmed and paid for in advance. And adding the rest later, the reason for the delay is that the bulk order pricing that we got was due to the bulk order. We needed to make a bulk order before we placed it. So that's why we had to wait on the payments. So that's part of the delay.

So can you just repeat the streets that they're going to be installed on? Roger Williams Ave, Bulks Point Ave, and Pawtucket Ave. Can you identify where Pawtucket Ave goes from Rumford to Riverside?

I can send that over to you after the meeting.

Just because some of the options didn't include, there was Warren Ave and Taunton Ave? There were options for people to put their flags up, but I didn't hear that mentioned. So are we not doing it on those? Has that been taken off the table?

I will double check with the team and get back to you. If you call me tomorrow or email me, we can review that.

All right, so if I email or call you tomorrow, we can have a more detailed discussion.

I could get more details, yeah.

And then you said that we have not received those banners, or did we receive it this past week?

We've received 108 orders in total, and we're still waiting on payment on 22, and they will be up by August.

So if I can interrupt you, so that means 86 have paid for them, right?

Yeah.

So can those go up while we're waiting for the 22 that haven't paid?

Those are being shipped out to DPW currently.

Okay, so the whole group will come in together, okay.

So DPW has not received any of the banners? I just want to make it very clear.

I mean, I gave my update. We'll double check on the more specifics.

I think one of the issues here, if I'm understanding and running a business, we did the right thing. People had to pay for it. And when you got to X amount, whatever the quote is from the printing company, that's when they were generated. You're not going to do five at a time. Five here, 10 here. So I think I'm hearing that is one of the issues. But if you can update us, it would be good, because I know I have people in my ward that did it. But I can see the point as far as with printing companies. And that, you know, when you do your initial you're locked in. So you might have had to wait for 50 or 60 to get the right price to get it going.

So I think that with also cash and check is just very slow. Since then, since we started this process, we've actually been able to come up with a new way of payments moving forward that would be digital and online. So hopefully we don't have that kind of delay in the future.

Yeah, I'm just concerned that if these 20-odd decide not to or prolong it longer, it's not fair to those who have already purchased. You know, there must be a minimum that we had to purchase because no one knew how many would be interested, right?

We did have a lot of interest, yes.

Right, but nobody could predict the number that would be interested. Exactly, yeah. So there must be a number that we can start in production. Okay, I'll reach out tomorrow for a better update. Thank you.

Okay, next item.

Number five, pedestrian crosswalk Warren Avenue, Councilwoman Souza.

Thank you. So again, just following up on the two crosswalks on Warren Avenue, one that is adjacent to Lyons Avenue and the other that is adjacent to 7th Street.

So the DPW is working on this right now, including the crosswalk signal. I have to reach out to Dan and get more of a current timeline on that. The details that were in the docket, if you just want to follow up with me tomorrow, I can reach out to Dan and get some more information on that.

So it's just the same questions I've been asking probably for six months. What's the issue with getting those crosswalks up and walking, up and working? Is it something that we've, I know the one on Broadway across from the fire station probably took nine months to order one part that was missing, that was needed to be replaced before that crosswalk, that pedestrian light could work. So is it because there's a structural issue that they're not working? Do we need to replace the whole thing? Is it because we need to work with the state? Is that apparatus belong to the state?

There's most likely a long technical issue that I don't have the ability to give you right now, but I will check with Dan and we'll get that information over to you.

Tomorrow.

I can reach out to him tomorrow, yes.

Just because this is, again, it's been since the school year. So I appreciate you saying that you're going to get back to me and talk to Dan, but when are we going to have an answer? And the answer is not just for me, right? It's for the public. We have children who their parents had reached out because that's a bus stop in that area. The kids are crossing that busy road and not having a functioning crosswalk during the school year. Now we're in the middle of the summer. Primarily, we have a pretty soon they'll be back to school again, and we're going to still not have a functioning crosswalk that I've asked numerous times not to you specifically. So I'll give you grace on that. But to this administration of not having it taken care of. I mean, these are safety issues. And, you know, we spend money on this safer walking and, you know, bikes. And how are we supposed to move the city forward with pedestrian walkways and bike paths if we can't even get our current infrastructure working for what we already have before we build new things?

We'll definitely address this.

I appreciate you bringing this to our attention, Councilwoman. I'm happy to talk about it later this week.

All right, we'll put this back on the docket if it's not answered. If you could just make a side note for that. Thank you.

Next item.

Request speed monitoring on Burgess Avenue from Juniper to Parkway, Councilwoman Souza.

Thank you, so as been mentioned already, speeding in the city is always a concern and an ongoing challenge for neighborhoods and major thoroughways throughout the city. More recently, a resident had reached out regarding Burgess Ave, which is a very long street in the center of the city, and on that street, there's only one stop sign throughout that whole street and it's definitely used as a cut through from that neighborhood to get to the parkway or from the parkway to get to Warren Avenue. So I had reached out already to the DPW director and asked if we could look at that street as a whole and maybe there are a couple of locations that would warrant a stop sign to force people to stop, slow down, before moving on to the next section to get through, because it does border, obviously, our elementary school. The response from our director was that stop signs aren't, calming measure for traffic or speeding that other measures may be used. So I ask today if we can look into and report back what suggestive calming measures other than police patrolling we could use. Obviously the first thing that comes to mind, and I certainly don't know what our inventory's like, but the flashing speed sign is probably a good start to get on that road so that people can visibly see how fast they're going in that area. And then any other recommendations that we can use would be greatly appreciated.

Councilwoman, I have a suggestion for you, and you've served here the longest of all of us. But in my four years on this council, two police chiefs have been very cooperative. They have the mechanism to go out there, and they almost look like the garage door open. As they put them up, they monitor the traffic. It will tell you for a week's time. Chief Francis Coney was great. Chief Raposa's been unbelievable. I utilize this all the time up in my ward. It's been very successful as far as what they have to do. That should be where you start, and then you have a basis to go to the DPW director. The report that this gives you will tell you that there's 700 cars went down the street in a week's time. It will tell you the average speed going north, the average speed going south. That's where you should reach out to first if there's a traffic issue with there. The traffic division's been unbelievable. On top of that, afterwards, I was driving in the neighborhood and I saw one of the police officers waiting on the side of the road after they had just done the study because they knew it was an issue. Our police department is valuable and chief reposer. is an advocate of, you know, controlling the speeds in the neighborhood. And also the new police cars that I asked, you know, and I'll say it again, and I asked for it, and it got put into those cars where there's the radar, and all of a sudden, one of the social media butterflies comes out and says, Rigo's setting up speed traps. We can't win. So our police cars have utilization to have the speeds both ways. But again, I got one of the wannabe journalisms on one of the Facebook pages. My wife shows it to me. She says, oh, watch out for speed traps in Rumford. People in my ward loved it. Of course, this person doesn't live there, but that's where you should start off with is with the police chief, and he'll definitely help you in the traffic division.

Thank you, Council Vice President, for your comments. So as indicated on the docket, requesting speed monitoring for Burgess Ave from Warren Ave to Veterans Memorial Parkway. If you could pass that along, please, to the chief, because I can't directly ask him to do that personally. So if the administration can do that, I'd greatly appreciate it.

To the Vice President's point, I believe a traffic study would probably be the best course here, so I will reach out to the chief and request the traffic study be conducted.

Thank you.

Okay, next item.

Number seven, street light adjustment for better lighting in neighborhoods. Councilwoman Souza.

Thank you. So I don't think this is specific just to the center of the city. I think there might have been suggestions throughout other parts of East Providence, but we do have very dark-lighted areas in communities. and uh you know people are out sunset is a lot later since we have longer days towards the evening so the areas are dark some areas darker than others i know when uh the council allocated funds to repurchase to purchase all new lighting throughout the city there is the ability to dim and brighten um so if we could um i can get you get street names um to you andre and if you could pass that along to DPW and see if we can brighten up some of the areas in which pedestrians are using to walk or with like near parks especially at night because people you know even though parks are closed there are sidewalks you know along the parks that people used to get home or to walk their animals and they're very dark and so it does pause a safety issue or concern especially when there's been recent reportings of coyotes throughout some neighborhoods. It's nice to be able to see those things ahead of time.

Thank you, Councilman. So the streetlights are programmed to increase in brightness as the evening gets later. We set the levels to balance safety without avoiding light pollution, and we have to also manage energy costs. But yes, if you could give me some specific locations where there's some lighting concerns, we can take a look at that for sure. We also need to consider the standards for bulb life, so we don't want to burn out bulbs either and the brighter the lights, the faster the burnout and the higher the cost so that's sort of what goes into the formula when when balancing the light brightness.

yeah I think some of the the reasons why there might be is obviously we're in full bloom of trees, so the trees kind of cover the lighting which it would have been brighter or shown more lighting to the sidewalks. If the trees, but we love our trees, so we don't want to get rid of our trees, but I think it does make sense to in some areas and i'll provide you with those streets in the Community, so thank you.

Number eight, adequate trash reciprocals at public parks and bus stops. Councilwoman Souza.

Thank you. So there was a park, a couple of parks that I have reached out to regarding adding some trash cans. I noticed that at the Martello Park that they did add one to the dog park. It was missing trash cans at that park, and so there was a pile of trash. dog bags there from people using the dog park. So I thank DPW for dropping off a trash bin there, but they could use another trash bin for the park area itself, again, to avoid excessive littering And then the bus stops, I know at one point down Twenton Avenue and Warren Avenue, we did have trash cans in certain areas, and then we did have them near bus stops, and those probably for eight years have been removed, and I think it was said that it was a labor issue, like it didn't have enough people working to do all the things that needed to be done, so they kind of took that out because it was taking up too much space. manpower. But I think it's important, especially at the bus stops, if people are sitting there waiting to use the bus stop, that there's at least something there for them to throw trash instead of throwing it at the bus stop and then, you know, the bus stop belongs, is the responsibility of RIPTA and I've never seen RIPTA really come out and clean or pick up the trash at the bus stops. So I don't want to put that on to the city of having the responsibility to have to clean our bus stops. So yeah, if we could, you know, maybe RIPTA wants or could put or work with the city to put some type of trash bin at their bus stops to accommodate that. i mean we probably have a bigger problem with the structures of the bus stops and them needing to be repaired more than having a trash bin there but i think it's important to have enough trash bins at the parks throughout the city i mean i don't know how the parks at the rest of the city are if there's enough um trash bins there but um i did reach out and they did at least do one at that park so

Thank you, Councilwoman, for bringing this to our attention. RIPTA is responsible for those bus stops. Under their new CEO, they've been very proactive. So if you want to let me know which bus stops in particular are looking to have issues or any issues or trash, please let me know. And we do, first and foremost, have a... carry in carry out policy aligned with the state policy in terms of dog waste or trash and people it's their responsibility to carry and carry out and. We have 44 parks, so we also need to balance, where we have the capacity to add more receptacles. uh where in some unfortunately some places where we've added trash receptacles uh people end up dropping all sorts of trash from their car and or even muffler pieces or alternators and do oil changes so um we we need to balance personal responsibility as well as adding additional trash receptacles in the high traffic parks and there are 44 of them so we just want to balance those

big belly ones at kimberly and rock work fantastic i mean and the fields utilize seven days a week and there's sometimes you know on saturdays there's games starting at nine going all the way till five at night and thank god for the big bellies because before that they were uh it was an issue even with eight trash uh recycled bins and everything but That's been a blessing. I mean, knock on wood, it didn't break this year like last year. So they definitely, if we can get more grants to get more big bellies and along the parks, it would be great if Keith and the planning department could come up and get us more grants on that. It would be an asset to everybody in the city.

Thank you all. Next item.

Public hearings, ordinance for second and or final passes for discussion and possible vote. Number two, an ordinance and amendment of Chapter 16, Taxation, Revised Ordinance of the City of East Providence, Rhode Island, 1988, as amended, entitled Article 5, Tax Stabilization for Qualified Businesses, is hereby amended by adding the following. Article 5, tax stabilization for qualified businesses and accessory dwelling units, ADU. Summary, new section 16-69, section the purpose of this amendment is to provide for limited tax stabilization for eligible accessory dwelling unit within the city and to encourage their construction. Introduced by Council Vice President Rigo.

So this is a public hearing, second passage. We did have a monthly discussion, the first passage, before we open it to the public. Council Vice President, do you have anything new to add?

Thank you, Mr. President. So for those who might be watching the meeting and didn't watch the last meeting, this is for, you have to be the owner of the property, So you have to be on record with the city, which means you have the Homestead Act. If the property is sold during that stabilization period, that is lost. And again it is only for residents who have the homestead act not for businesses not for private again not for a flipper who might have a couple of houses and looking to flip and add things on it does not work that way. So again, I just wanted to address that issue that wasn't there. This is the way of helping with the housing crisis in the city, the state, without having to build on land that we want to keep the city as green as possible. It works two ways. This is for existing property. Again, I move passage. Thank you.

Okay, before that, it is a public hearing. So any other council comments or anyone here tonight, wishes to speak for or against this? Seeing no, no one. I'll close the public hearing. Any other council comments? There is a motion on the floor by Council Vice President Rigo.

I second the motion.

Seconded by Councilwoman Souza. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Nay. And the motion passes four to one. Thank you all.

Thank you fellow council people for supporting us. This will definitely help. the over 55 and also some younger families being able to afford houses as well as help keep their parents close by to them instead of going to an assisted living place. It's a great thing. Thank you again for your support.

Thank you. Next item.

New business, Mayor Communications, Director of Policy and Constituent Services, Andre Herrera.

Good evening members of the city council. Welcome again. Thank you for having me. Uh, we're going to start off with item one appointment reappointment requiring council confirmation. The appointment of Jennifer Griffith to the juvenile hearing board for a three year term effective July 7th, 2026 to July 6th, 2029.

This is a wonderful appointment. Is there a motion? Motion to approve. Motion, Councilman Sousa, seconded by Council Vice President Rigaud and Councilman Fogarty. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it, four to zero. Councilman Lawson, I just step away for a second.

And next, number two, we have appointment reappointment not requiring Council confirmation. There are none. And three items for announcement or discussion update on will it have traffic traffic pattern and the latest information from ride dot I provided that earlier and update on the highly successful soccer in the city block party held on Saturday June 27 wanted to. say what a wonderful event that was. The Soccer in the City block party was a great success. The community really turned out in strong numbers for a full day of soccer, family activities, and local celebration. It was exactly the kind of positive, well-organized event we want to see more of in East Providence. And that's some of the feedback we heard from residents. And I want to thank everyone who helped organize that and the volunteers and all the families who came out. We want to build on this momentum for future events. And we'll let you know if there's a good another reason to celebrate. Please let us know and we'll continue the party. Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah, it went very well.

Next, we have a proclamation honoring human resources director Dr. Robert Perry as he leaves City Hall to become the new superintendent of the East Providence School Department. Dr. Perry will be sorely missed here in the city. He actually stopped by earlier in this council meeting because he wanted to thank you all for your amazing work.

Thank you.

Yes, Dr. Perry was here earlier and we appreciated him stopping by and we'll be seeing him shortly in his new role. Continue.

Thank you, Council President. Next, we have a proclamation recognizing July 5th as Cape Verdean Independence Day in the City of East Providence. Next, we have a proclamation recognizing July as Disability Pride Month in the City of East Providence. Next, we have a proclamation recognizing July 25th as Puerto Rico Constitution Day in the City of East Providence. And lastly, we have a proclamation recognizing July 28th as Peruvian Independence Day in the City of East Providence. Thank you all, counselors.

And just to add to the celebrations we've had, I think that the Fourth of July The concert and fireworks were excellent once again. I saw many, many people there and to a person they were, They were happy with it. And I think one of the best comments was from a young person who had been away for a while and was visiting. And she said, you know, there was just such a nice feeling. There wasn't any heavy emotions. conversations, you know, in a political way, or obviously there was the politics in a good sense, people walking around saying hello, shaking hands, doing things, but it was all done in a light, positive manner, and there was no trouble that I recall. I see in the news the next day some other neighboring cities did have some difficulties. That always happens when you get big crowds, but we... really didn't have that unless there was something that happened I didn't hear about yet. So congratulations to the Recreation Department. Becky Chase did a wonderful job. Mayor's staff, council did what we could. We provided some funding for more of the fireworks and traffic seemed to move out in the end and it was a good celebration. So thank you. Next item.

Can you put me down as a yes for Jen Griffin's confirmation?

Sorry about that. Yeah, so that the records show that Councilman Lawson, so that vote would be unanimous, 5-0 for Jennifer Griffin.

D, resolution for discussion and possible vote. Number one, resolution authorizing the Mayor of East Providence to enter into a contract with Red Oak Remodeling in the amount of $482,545 for the installation of exterior placement windows throughout City Hall, introduced by Council President Rodericks.

So again, second passage discussed at length at the first passage and just some necessary work continuing to keep our public buildings in good shape.

Move passage. Second.

Councilwoman Souza moves passage, seconded by the entire council. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it. Next item.

Number two, resolution authorizing the granting of an easement to the Narragansett Electric Company, land situated on the southerly side of Mercer Street, designated at Lot 1, Map 17, Block 22, for the purpose to provide power to the East Providence Police Substation at Pierce Field, introduced by Council President Roderick.

Again, discussed at length prior, and this goes back to our original plan when we've increased the activities at Pierce Stadium. I was there the other night watching my grandson playing in the city rec department basketball. Every square inch of that stadium was being used, the football field, the basketball courts, the splash pad was in full gear. And the idea of a police substation was, I think, a good idea that we've all kind of agreed will help to keep the condition of that complex. So this, in order to do that, we have to get an easement here with a little bit of the electric utility that's in the area, but we've already appropriated a go-ahead for this, so this will help facilitate that. And where on Mercer is this? at Pierce Stadium. It's sort of in the parking lot area. You'll see a little area with trees. Mercer? Well, Mercer's the street that... Oh, I always think of down by Bold Point. No, yeah, right. This is like... No, I'm absolutely in favor of this. You Riverside kids, you know, you got to get your Mercer streets.

We got Crescent View, I mean, Crescent View, Willett, and Bullets Point. That's all we need to know.

Mm-hmm. But seriously, thank you for that. Councilwoman Sousa moves passage, seconded by Councilman Fogarty, Councilman Lawson, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it.

Number four, resolution authorizing the mayor to purchase furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the East Providence Community Center from W.B. Mason in the amount of $172,539.75. funds were previously allocated, APA funds, Congressional Directed Spending in the Rhode Island American Rescue Plan Act, Coronavirus Capital Projects Funds, CPF grant funds. Introduce Council Vice President Rigo.

Yes, Council Vice President.

Thank you. Again, this is money that we've already allocated when we authorized the Recreation Community Center being built So this is just asking for the as Andy wrote down everything that was from WB Mason all the equipment It's to go a little bit more. It's to go into the fixtures and all the equipment tables chairs as well as the exercise equipment and for that amount of $172,539, I move passage. Can I make a question?

Yes, question Councilwoman Souza.

Just so I can clarify in my own mind, so we already, this is part of the funds that already went, and we're just saying we're taking a PO just for WB Mason, okay.

And all the equipment and everything, so this is just using.

It's a PO for that vendor.

Absolutely, yep.

That money's allocated, there should be no more that we move towards that pile.

No, yeah, this is just taking that. Out of that pile to give to a certain vendor.

They give a $16 million total from all the sources. Yeah, okay.

So just so to be clear, this money was previously allocated, but this was not part of the maximum guaranteed price from the contractor. This is other monies, and because the contract is above $50,000, when I say other monies, it was part of the entire contract. maximum guaranteed price, but because this furniture was not part of that, you allocated monies for a maximum guaranteed price of whatever that number was. It's still part of the same money, but it's outside of that scope, and that's why we're approving it. Again, it's part of the community center, absolutely, but the funding source is there, but it's not part of the maximum guaranteed price. This is just people, right? And the reason why we're doing this now is because we obviously need to get that in an opening by October, so we want to get the order in so we can get the furniture by October and all the equipment so it's operational, substantially complete by October 30th.

Okay. Madam Clerk, did you get the motion and second on that?

First motion from Regal, I didn't get, second. All right, second by Councilwoman Souza.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed?

The ayes have it, thank you. Next item.

Adjournment. Adjournment. Motion to adjourn.

Motion to adjourn. Councilwoman Souza, seconded by the