Town Manager Report for the week ending April 17, 2026
On Tuesday we had a very productive RI League of Cities and Towns Board meeting to discuss all of the pending legislation at the General Assembly and the bills’ status. Important to us is the sidewalk legislation in which the League is asking RIDOT to take on the maintenance and care of the sidewalks along state roads. Currently that responsibility lies with the Town. We also had the legislation regarding the counting of LMI units that we discussed in Executive Session on Tuesday. Also, we had a guest presentation from RI Energy explaining the breakdown of the bills and how there is not much that they have control of. The General Assembly has a big footprint on what is required towards renewable energy sources that ties RI Energy’s hands.
On Saturday May 2 Parks and Recreation is sponsoring Springtime in New England- a trip to the largest U-pick tulip farm in NE. It includes a visit to an 18th century artist’s home, lunch at the Coast Guard House in Narragansett, and a stop for homemade ice cream. The price includes all attractions, lunch, and transportation. The bus leaves from the Guy Lefebvre Community Center at 10am and returns around 5pm. It’s $115 for residents and $120 for on-residents with a minimum of 20 people and maximum of 27. Please call for more info or visit Coventryrecreation.com.
We met on Wednesday with our contractors Fuss and O’Neill, Brito Construction, the school department, and KCWA to review how the first couple of weeks of construction went after the winter break. We also discussed how the detour was working out in which we have had a few kinks. Construction is currently on schedule with the anticipated completion being late June/early July for the work and then 6-8 weeks after that to pave Tiogue Ave, Reservoir, Rd and the school property. A decision has been made to keep the detour up until the end of the construction period instead of reopening the road next week when they will be on the school property to create consistency for the public. We have been meeting frequently with the school to keep the communication open.
On Thursday we celebrated and recognized Coventry High School for being named a Special Olympics National Unified Champion for the 2nd time. Governor McKee and Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green were keynote speakers and were joined in the celebration by Senator Raptakis, Representative Earl Read, Council Vice President Brown, School Vice Chair Ana Isabel Dos Reis-Couto and members of the Coventry Police Department. We congratulate Superintendent Cowart and Principal Macomber for their leadership. This national recognition highlights schools that lead the way in Unified sports, inclusion, and whole school engagement. Congratulations!!