Sometimes our town council meetings are better than even the best reality TV.
In the News
The Green Infrastructure Center will be giving a presentation about the town’s tree canopy coverage and heat reduction measures at the library on May 28th
Who should have to fix our sidewalks: the town or the state?
Human remains found at Watch Hill
The Matunuck Oyster Bar may be a total loss after a fire
A letter to the editor by yours truly about using veterans as political props
I’ve updated my spreadsheet tracking how our senators are voting on the Trump administration cabinet members
Town Council
May 19 (agenda)
PRESENTATIONS
Maintenance work needed on our water towers. The town doesn’t have the expertise required for this work; the presentation was given by a potential contractor.
Updates on the Tower Street community center project: not many, building is still being prepped for demo due to the volume of asbestos found. Sorry? In what used to be a school building?
FORT ROAD LITIGATION
I can’t find the source of the Facebook post that got the coastal access advocates super spooked. For legal purposes: ALLEGEDLY, Councilor LaPietra leaked details for a potential settlement to none other than… former town councilor Robert Lombardo, who then shared this information publicly. (Councilor Healy seemed like she wasn’t prepared or wanted to disclose this information, but Councilor LaPietra essentially outed himself as the person she was referring to, then proceeded to agitate her so much about it that she vented her suspicions in frustration.) As a result, there was an enormous turnout of folks who showed up to the meeting, all wearing white in solidarity.
At first, I thought their appearance and attitude was a little disproportionate to the matter at hand, but after several folks spoke at the podium, I think they were right to be concerned. They asked some great questions: will the public know if the town plans on settling with the WHFD? Would they know the details of that settlement in advance? Will the public have any say on whether the settlement or its details are appropriate and aligned with our values? What happens if the town wants to settle but the public wants them to keep fighting, even if it’s a costly and drawn-out battle?
And I’ll be honest: I’m not even sure where the town council or the town solicitor stand on this anymore. Many councilors insisted that they were not voting on anything in executive session, but people rightly pointed out that the minutes to executive sessions were sealed and unavailable to the public. Councilor LaPietra, to his credit, has been pushing hard for more transparency on this legal matter in particular, though Solicitor Conley said that it was important to maintain attorney-client privilege since the matter was ongoing (the client being the town council), and public discussion of legal strategy compromises the town’s position.
I will be really curious to listen in on the local grapevine to see what others make of all of this. If you have a particular opinion, DM me on Instagram to share it. (If this newsletter gets popular enough, someday I’ll be able to embed fun stuff like polls.)
School Committee
May 21 (agenda)
Presentation on policies and response protocols to incidences of school bullying
Executive session regarding negotiations with the WTA and Local 808
Vote to non-renew some teaching contracts
First reading of the K-8 promotion and retention policy
Other Boards and Committees
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