March's first Town Council meeting, on Monday, March13, has a long list of topics that should prove interesting to watch.
As usual, Monday's meeting will start at 7 pm in the town hall council chambers. The agenda and backup materials can be seen here.
The Council will be filling positions on important Commissions and Committees where there are more applicants than available positions:
Up to 7 positions on the Charter Revision Committee from among 10 applicants. Information and the applications starting here.
Two positions on the Ordinance Revision Ad Hoc Committee from among 5 applicants. Information and the applications starting here.
Two positions on the Parks and Recreation Commission from among 5 applicants. Information and the applications starting here. Note that the Council has requested an updated Ninigret Park Master Plan, an important document for the Town's future, from the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Up to 9 positions on the Town Administrator Search Ad Hoc Committee from among 15 applicants. Information and the applications starting here.
Here are some other notable topics from the agenda:
The new Town financial auditor, Marcum LLP, will present the audit for the year ending June 30, 2022. The complete audit report is included in the meeting packet starting here. A section discussing material weaknesses noted by the auditors, along with responses by the town, starts here.
The Westerly Sun recently reported (here) on a "tri-town subcommittee" to discuss "unfunded mandates and other areas of mutual interest" regarding the Chariho School District. (The Sun issued a correction to the original article, to say that "Charlestown Town Council President Deb Carney did not participate in the tri-town subcommittee preliminary meetings." The Town Council is scheduled to discuss this on Monday. Background here.
The Council may approve two Ninigret Park Food Truck Nights for May 4 and June 29, 2023. Application here. They hope to have 10 to 18 food trucks on site for each event.
The Council discussed a bill for an additional $30,410 from our financial auditors at the February 13 Council meeting. One more bill has since arrived, for another $28,495.71. That total of almost $59,000 is in addition to the $69,500 originally quoted as the "all-inclusive maximum price" in the bid documentation. All of the information is available starting here and will likely be a subject of intense discussion.
The three month trial of not having agenda-setting meetings is complete so the Council will consider extending that or making it permanent. (explained here)
There are two important announcements on the agenda:
The second Council meeting in March will be on March 27 at 7 pm.
The Chariho School District Financial Referendum will be held on Tuesday, April 4, from 8 am until 8 pm. All voting will be in the Town Hall Council Chambers.
As usual public attendance in person in town hall is allowed. The session will be offered as a live stream to view through WebEx as described in the agenda. People watching online will not be able to comment or ask questions. The video of the session should be available for viewing at your leisure sometime on Tuesday on the meetings page. It will be down the page in the Past Meetings section.