Town Council: Lacrosse, Pensions, Public Records and More

Monday's Town Council meeting began with a proclamation read by Councilman Kerri McGee and presented to Father Michael Kelley of St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church recognizing the seventy–fifth anniversary of the parish and its contributions to the community.

CHS Lacrosse

Ralph Izzi, Coventry Lacrosse Association Founder and Director and Coventry HS boys lacrosse coordinator, traced the growth and popularity of the sport of lacrosse in the Town of Coventry. “We have had state championships at many youth levels and in our first year as a high school boys varsity program, we set many records for wins and success for a first-year program. We’ve grown from 12 kids from Coventry who had to travel out of town to play to over 200 kids with anticipated growth of 50 more by spring of 2013.”

“Now is the time to embrace the sport and make some appropriate field space available for the sport,” noted Izzi. “We could make our town a showcase for the state.”

School Pension Plan

Council members voted to delay the response by the Town of Coventry on the Coventry Teachers Association/School Related Personnel (CTASRP) Pension Plan. “I’d like it referred back to me so we can deliberate in an administrative session for further review,” said Town Manager Tom Hoover. 

Public Record Requests

Procedures were adopted for obtaining public records and a form that the Town of Coventry will use in conformance with recent amendments to the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) pursuant to Rhode Island General Law 38-2-3(d).

Additional Business

• An application for a sewer tie in at Cozy Grill, 473 Tiogue Avenue was approved.

• Acting as Liquor Licensing Authority, the Town Council, ina show-cause hearing, decided to officially revoke the Class ‘B’ liquor license for Black Stallion, LLC, 17 Sandy Bottom Road. Arguments by Attorney Fred Volpe on behalf of MMV Realty, LLC, owner of the property, showed the company was officially evicted in court action last April. Black Stallion owners have also not responded to town requests for surrendering the license since the eviction notice was issued.

• A resolution to authorizing the purchase of six Motorola XTS 1500 800MHz portable radios, a bank charger, additional batteries and portable microphones for the Emergency Operations Center was approved at a cost of $11,706.66, provided by an Emergency Management Performance Grant.

• The committee authorizing a renewed Power Supply Service Agreement with Direct Energy for a period of one (1) year at a lower price. “I would like us to negotiate at the current rate of 6.82 cents per kilowatt hour and that would save the town 0.12 cents per kilowatt hour,” said Hoover. No projections were available on how much money could be saved.

• After a closed-door Executive Session, council members agreed to proceed in litigation under RIGL 42-46-5(2) relative to two cases against the town, Pawtuxet River Authority vs. Town of Coventry and Jerast Realty, LLC vs. Town of Coventry.