Council Advances Ninigret Park Cell Pole, Reshapes Farm Committee
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The council also updated the membership rules for the
Charlestown Agricultural Preservation Committee, approved a Charlestown Land
Trust cleanup at Ninigret Park on Saturday, Nov. 7, and passed its
consent agenda. Councilor Stephen Stokes was absent, so every vote was 4-0.
The meeting lasted roughly 17 minutes.
The meeting opened with a moment of silence for Libby Bray,
the town's assistant emergency management director, who the council president
said was in charge of the special needs registry.
Ninigret Park cell facility
The item concerned an agreement between the Town of
Charlestown and Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, to
install, operate and maintain a wireless communications facility at the park at
no installation or maintenance cost to the town, according to the agenda.
The council president said the matter "has been
percolating a while." The agreement was drafted as a lease, but the
president said that since the park's utilization plan was approved, the town is
now required to use concession agreements instead of leases.
Councilor Bonnie Van Slyke, who said she was not on the
council when the matter was discussed before, raised several questions. She
asked whether the National Park Service had been contacted, and said graves in
that area of the park had come up during the master plan. Van Slyke said the
spot is probably not in the 10-foot square, but the town should check. A
speaker responded that the spot has already been designated but that they could
check.
Van Slyke also pointed to language in the draft allowing
overhead utility wires. A speaker said that area of the park is wired
underground and that there would be no overhead wires. She also asked about
commercial liability insurance, and a speaker said they would check with the
trust.
Van Slyke asked why the equipment would go in the park
rather than on the tower at the police station. In response, a speaker said
portable units are typically brought in for large park events, that Verizon
service at the park is poor, and that a permanent facility would help public
safety services there. A speaker said the pole would be 40 feet or higher and
that there should be no lighting on it.
Councilor Craig Marr moved to authorize the town solicitor
to convert the document into a concession agreement and to address the overhead
wire language, inspection of any grave sites, and a provision for no permanent
lighting. Van Slyke seconded. Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero said he was
comfortable with the direction. The motion passed by voice vote, 4-0.
Agricultural committee membership
The agricultural committee had asked to go from four voting
members and two alternates to three voting members and two alternates. Council
President Deborah Carney said the town clerk found a resolution dated Nov. 10,
1997, the last time the matter was addressed, which called for three voting
members and no alternates.
On a 4-0 roll call, the council approved Marr's motion to
re-date that resolution and authorize the solicitor to draft language providing
for two alternate members. A council member said they had attended the
committee's meeting and "this is the way they wanted it to be."
In a second 4-0 vote, the council reaffirmed current
members' terms: Noel Rowe and Sue Barrett as full members through Jan. 31,
2027; Jane Durning through Jan. 31, 2029; and alternates Michael Merner through
Jan. 31, 2029, and John Barrett through Jan. 31, 2027. Carney said John Barrett
had been appointed as a full member though the committee listed him as an
alternate. Ruggiero said the clerk would send the committee a letter explaining
the changes.
Other business
The council approved, 4-0, the land trust's cleanup at
Ninigret Park on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with the group to
coordinate with the town administrator on bag pickup.
The consent agenda, a bundle of routine items approved in
one vote, passed 4-0 with no items removed. According to the agenda, it
included reclassifying a position in the town clerk's office, a gazebo for the
Ninigret Park dog park not to exceed $13,464, and a Board of Canvassers
alternate appointment. No one spoke during public comment.
What's next
The council's next regular meetings are Monday, Nov. 9, and
Monday, Dec. 14, both at 7 p.m. at Charlestown Town Hall Council Chambers.
Early in-person voting runs weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., ending at 4 p.m.
on Monday, Nov. 2. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday,
Nov. 3; voters can find their polling place on the Secretary of State's
website. A 250th anniversary time capsule burial is set for Dec. 14 at
Charlestown Town Hall.
This story was sourced from the complete transcript of
the meeting and carefully summarized with an LLM. While we make every effort to
ensure accuracy, the possibility of transcription errors could lead to
inaccuracies. How
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