No Council Action on court or ordinance codification

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA

October 2nd 2024

Editors Note:

The Meet the Candidates forums will take place tonight at 5:30 and 6:15 p.m.

The first forum will be with candidates for the Chariho School Committee and the second forum will focus on Town Council candidates.

The forums will be moderated by the League of Women Voters of South County and will take place in the Council Chambers. 

The overflow crowd will be able to livestream the forums in the second floor conference room.

The forums will also be available online on Zoom:

Zoom Meeting ID: 960 4000 2335 https://zoom.us/j/96040002335

and YouTube:

YouTube Link https://www.youtube.com/@richmondtowncouncil4066/streams

Council Story:

RICHMOND – Members of the Town Council discussed but took no action on two items at Tuesday’s meeting: the establishment of a municipal court and the codification of town ordinances.

Municipal Court

Council President Mark Trimmer requested an update on the plan to establish a municipal court.

Town Administrator Karen Pinch said the initiative was on hold until a new council is elected.

“At this time, the staff is waiting for a new council to be seated to make sure there is sufficient support for our municipal court,” she said.

Councilor Michael Colasante submitted a report, written several years ago by former Town Solicitor Karen Ellsworth, advising the council against creating a municipal court.

Democratic Town Committee Chair Chris Kona reminded the council that Richmond voters had approved the creation of a municipal court in a 2022 referendum.

“I would just like to remind the council that this was a referendum that ran in 2022 that was approved 561 residents of Richmond,” he said. “So, it’s not just the council that is trying to push this. This is something that the town has voted on in a referendum, and has elected to try to push forward.”

Codifying Town Ordinances

Councilor Samantha Wilcox proposed the allocation of $25,000 to $30,000 of American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA funds to hire an outside firm to assess the town’s planning and zoning ordinances.

“The Economic Development Commission last year did a presentation to council, and this was one of their recommendations,” she said. “From what I recall, I don’t know if we formally voted, but I do recall a pretty good consensus among council that we wanted to do it.”

Wilcox said she had not pursued the initiative because of the many housing bills approved by state legislators, but she noted

that the ordinances “could use a review and a fresh set of eyes.”

Wilcox made a motion to approve an RFP.

Colasante said he had put the same proposal on a council meeting agenda in 2023.

“I had brought to the council proposals of general code ordinance revisions from Charlestown and another town that I gave the council, and I had this on the agenda, because I could see the validity about reviewing our ordinances, and my proposal was to use ARPA money to pay for the ordinance reviews,” he said. “So, I’m glad to see you’re up to snuff on this now, that you see the complexity of things that have changed and the validity of having to go and review our ordinances.”

Town Clerk Erin Liese said the scope of the review would be determined by the cost and the timeframe, and noted that in her previous position with another town, the process had taken about a year and a half.

Wilcox said the funds she had proposed using for the RFP had been the same amount presented in the EDC report and suggested the town wait to see the proposals.

Councilor Helen Sheehan asked whether there were specific ordinances in need of review.

Liese replied that an outside company would review all town ordinances.

“The company would look at our entire set of ordinances,” she said, adding that the company would then determine whether the town’s ordinances were compatible with state regulations.

Liese also told the council that the document cited by Colasante would not be relevant to Richmond’s codification process because it pertained to other towns.

“Our rules and regulations don’t align with Hopkinton or Charlestown,” she said.

Trimmer proposed holding a workshop, but Liese and Pinch raised the issue of timing.

Pinch noted that the RFP would have to be out for a few weeks and added that the process would be “a heavy lift between now and the end of December.”

Council Vice President Richard Nassaney asked Liese if she had an idea of how much the codification might cost.

“The only way you’re truly codifying the ordinance is to look at ordinances 1 through 17 completely,” she said. “When I was in West Greenwich, we had nothing digital and nothing was codified and we did land and zoning and everything at the same time, and that’s about 10 years ago. I believe the total finished cost, just on the codification portion, was about $68,000.”

The council did not take action on the proposed RFP.

Other Business

Karen Pinch received council approval to award the bid for parking improvements at the Saila Preserve to Solitro Property Solutions. The winning bid of $120,120 will include the construction of a small parking area, a timber stairway, several boardwalks and the clearing of a pathway.

ARPA Funds

Pinch presented an update on the town’s ARPA funds and the reallocations of some of the federal money, totaling approximately $241,000, which can now be used for other projects.

“All the money has to be obligated by the end of this calendar year” she said.

Pinch suggested the council come up with some simpler projects that can be bid out before the end of the year, but in the meantime, she said she had gone out to bid for three projects: painting the interior of the Town Hall, replacing the Town Hall roof, and power washing and staining the deck, also at the Town Hall. The bids are due in a week.

Council Designates Mediation Representatives

When council members emerged from Executive Session, Trimmer made a motion to designate two councilors, Colasante and Wilcox, to represent the town in the court ordered mediation of several appeals, in Rhode Island Superior Court. The Preserve at Boulder Hills is challenging property tax assessments for the years 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Trimmer said the council as a whole would be voting on the issue.

“That’s why I chose the broadest spectrum of people,” Trimmer said. “I want a full picture, and the whole council is going to have to vote on this, not just two people.”