Mar. 2, 2026 - Regular Meeting

Middletown

Minutes · March 2, 2026

THIS MEETING CAN BE HEARD IN ITS ENTIRETY ON THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN WEBSITE WWW.MIDDLETOWNRI.COM OR THE DVD IS AVAILABLE AT THE MIDDLETOWN LIBRARY.

At a Regular Meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Middletown, RI at the Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road, Middletown, RI in person on Monday, March 2, 2026 at 5:00 P.M.

Members Present:

Council President Paul M. Rodrigues, Presiding

Vice President Thomas P. Welch, III

Councillor Peter D. Connerton, Sr.

Councillor Christopher M. Logan

Councillor Charles R. Roberts

Councillor Barbara A. VonVillas

Absent:

Councillor Dennis B. Turano

Assistant Town Solicitor Michael Monti was present.

POSTED – FEBRUARY 25, 2025

REGULAR MEETING MARCH 2, 2026

TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN, RHODE ISLAND

The following items of business, having been filed with the Town Clerk under the Rules of the Council, will come before the Council at a regular meeting to be held on Monday, March 2, 2026; 5:00 P.M. Executive Session; Presentations Immediately following Executive Session: 6:30 P.M. Regular Meeting at the Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road, Middletown, Rhode Island. Said meeting will be conducted in person. Virtual access will also be provided by telephone conference call/ webinar and members of the public may access and listen to the meeting in real-time by calling 1-877-853-5257 (Toll Free) or 1-888-475-4499 (Toll Free) and entering Meeting ID: 839 8421 3705 or on the web at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83984213705 **however, virtual access is being provided only as a convenience and is not an official "location" where access to the meeting is guaranteed. Being physically present at the meeting is the only way to guarantee complete access to the meeting, as the meeting will not be paused or rescheduled if the virtual access fails. **

If you choose to join the meeting by zoom or telephone, Council Rules allow for the Public to speak only during the Public Forum and Public Hearings. If calling in by telephone, pressing 9 raises your hand and pressing 6 will unmute.

The items listed on the Consent portion of the agenda are to be considered routine by the Town Council and will ordinarily be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Council, or a member of the public so requests and the Town Council President permits, in which event the item will be removed from Consent Agenda consideration and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. All items on this agenda, with the exception of the Public Forum Session, may be considered, discussed, and voted upon in executive session and/or open session.

Pursuant to RIGL §42-46-6(b). Notice – “Nothing contained herein shall prevent a public body, other than a school committee, from adding additional items to the agenda by majority vote of the members. Such additional items shall be for informational purposes only and may not be voted on except where necessary to address an unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action to protect the public or to refer the matter to an appropriate committee or to another body or official.”

Any person not a member of the Council, desiring to address the Council concerning a matter on the docket of the Council, not the subject of a Public Hearing, shall submit a written request to the Town Clerk stating the matter upon which he desires to speak. Persons are permitted to address the Council for a period not to exceed five (5) minutes.

The Middletown Town Council follows the codification of present-day general parliamentary law as articulated in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised 10 th edition (2000), together with whatever rules of order the Council has adopted for its own governance. The motion to reconsider is one of the motions that can bring a question again before an assembly, and is designed to bring back for further consideration a motion which has already been voted on:

If, in the same session that a motion has been voted on, but no later than the same day or the next day on which a business meeting is held, new information or a changed situation makes it appear that a different result might reflect the true will of the assembly, a member who voted with the prevailing side can, by moving to ** Reconsider** [RONR (10

propose that the question shall come before the assembly again as if it had not previously been considered. (From Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief, Robert, Evans et al., De Capo Press, 2004)

There were no reconsiderations.

1. Executive Session - Pursuant to provisions of RIGL, Sections 42-46-2, 42-46-4 and 42-46-5 (a), (2) Collective Bargaining (IAFF) and (5) Land Acquisition (West Main Road).

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to recess open session and reconvene in executive session at 5:02 p.m.

Vice President Welch recused himself from action on Collective Bargaining (IAFF) and left the session at 5:03 p.m.

Vice President Welch returned to executive session at 5:16 p.m.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to recess executive session and reconvene in open session at 5:20 p.m.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to seal the executive session minutes pursuant to Section 42-46-7. RIGL

2. Communication of Emily Sullivan, Middletown BPAC Chair, re: E-Bike Safety and Awareness Campaign Presentation to the Town Council.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to receive said communication and begin said presentation.

BPAC Chair Emily Sullivan presented a PowerPoint presentation regarding the E-Bike Safety and Awareness Campaign, which is on file in the Office of the Town Clerk.

BPAC Vice Chair Kendall Tucker Holmes was also present to answer Council inquiries.

Discussion centered around partnering with the Police Department to present findings of E-Bike Safety to the Middletown Schools, issuing headlights to E-Bike riders on the main roads, offering E-Bike Awareness campaigns in multiple languages and BPAC attending Town events to promote bicycle safety.

3. Memorandum of Town Planner thru Town Administrator, re: Development Impact Fees Studies and Ordinance Amendments (Town Code Ch. 150).

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to receive said memorandum and begin said presentation.

Town Planner Ronald Wolanski reviewed the memorandum above.

Richard Ruiz, Jr., representing DTA, presented a PowerPoint presentation – Development Impact Study, which is on file in the Office of the Town Clerk.

Discussion centered around the Town Council decides if there will be Impact Fees charged, including the amounts of the fees; Lower and Moderate-income housing are exempt from Impact Fees, ADU’s are not exempt from Impact Fees, the Impact Fees and Study shows the maximum amount that the Town can charge, but the Town does not have to charge the maximum amount, amendments to the Impact Fee ordinance are not being addressed this evening and the concern that increasing impact fees could detour future development.

Lawerence Frank, Middletown, addressed the Council noting that his concerns were addressed within the presentation, explaining he hopes fees will be reduced in the future to help with housing.

Terri Flynn, Middletown, addressed the Council suggesting impact fees be set on a case-by-case basis. Ms. Flynn noted support for impact fees.

Discussion centered around that there are eight to ten other communities in Rhode Island that charge impact fees.

On motion of Council President Rodrigues, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to recess this meeting at 6:24 p.m.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to reconvene this meeting at 6:30 p.m.

4. Communication of Superintendent of Schools, re: Middletown Public Schools - MOA Amendment #1.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to receive said communication.

Justin Bernard, Senior Project Manager, Project Management Services, Colliers Project Leaders, reviewed the communication above and budget information attached to the communication.

Discussion centered around the status of the current construction project and budget, the blizzard may impact the contingency fund, proposed renovation costs for Forest Avenue School, reimbursement for renovation costs for Forest Avenue School would be 55% instead of 35% and Forest Avenue School was part of the bond questions.

Town Administrator Shawn Brown reviewed the following Debt Analysis – Estimated School Construction graph, entered here

Terri Flynn, Middletown, addressed the Council noting concern that the voters only approved a 190-million-dollar bond and bond interest should be used to pay down the bond debt. Mrs. Flynn explained that there are other projects in Town that need attention and urged the Town Council to reject the Forest Avenue project until total budget numbers for the project are received.

5. (Continued from February 17, 2026, Regular Meeting)

Resolution of the Council, re: Approval to award change order number eight in the amount of five hundred thirty thousand seven hundred five dollars and zero cents ($530,705.00) for supplemental services for Forest Avenue Elementary School, to HMFH/DBVW Architects, funding for

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, to pass said resolution.

Discussion centered around Forest Avenue School was part of Phase I and Phase II of the RIDE applications, the resolution is just for architectural services to provide an estimated construction cost, and the project will have to be approved by the Town Council.

Audrey Macleod Pfeiffer, Middletown, addressed the Council inquiring if the contingency fund is in an interest-bearing account.

Town Administrator Shawn Brown, addressing Ms. Pfieffer, noted the contingency fund is in an interest-bearing account.

A vote was taken.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to pass said resolution.

Items #22 and #23 were acted on at this time.

6. Pursuant to Rule 25 of the Rules of the Council, Citizens may address the town on one (1) subject only, said subject of substantive Town business, neither discussed during the regular meeting nor related to personnel or job performance. Citizens may speak for no longer than five (5) minutes and must submit a public participation form to the Council Clerk prior to the start of the meeting. All items discussed during this session will not be voted upon.

Lawrence Frank, Middletown, read the following into the record.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to act as a Board of License Commission.

7. Application of Newport National Golf Club, Inc. dba Newport National Golf Club, 425 Mitchell’s Lane for a BV Liquor License for the 2025-2026 Licensing year, for use at the same premises. (Requires Advertising for Public Hearing and notice to abutters to be held on April 6, 2026)

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to receive said application, notify abutters and advertise for a public hearing to be held on April 6, 2026.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to reconvene as a Town Council

8. Communication of Tax Assessor, re: Cancellation of Taxes for certain Middletown residents.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to receive said communication.

9. Resolution of the Council, re: Cancellation of Taxes for certain Middletown residents.

On motion of Vice President Welch, duly seconded, it was voted unanimously to pass said resolution.

10. License of Burial, re: Shawn Legein, Section 56, Graves 42 & 43.