Town Manager Report for the week ending January 23, 2026
On Tuesday the Technical Review Committee met in Council Chambers to discuss several projects that the Planning Department and Planning Commission have on their upcoming docket. Representatives from DPW, Police, Engineering, Planning, and the Fire Districts were all present to provide their comments.
We had our monthly meeting with the Pandemic Recovery Office on our Community Learning Center project. They advised that 3 smaller centers have opened so far with several others at the 90% completion level including ours. The last of the new bathrooms are under construction and the café to be run by Project Friends is getting its cabinetry and final touches. We have other vendors like the painter, electrician, and carpet installer addressing some punch list items. Staff is diligently polishing all of the 30k square feet of floors and working on some other smaller projects.
The Finance Committee and Special Council meetings for Wednesday were cancelled due to lack of a quorum. The Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday January 27 at 500 to review the Teachers (CTA) and School-related Personnel (SRP) proposal and backup documentation. Both contracts will be on the agenda for a vote during the regular monthly meeting the same night at 600. The only item on the Special Council meeting- to appoint one Planning Commission member- will be added to the January 27 regular monthly Council meeting.
On Wednesday Director Civetti and I met with Superintendent Cowart and Director DeVerna to discuss the upcoming Finance Committee agenda and contract vote. They will be in attendance to answer any question the Committee or Council have. We also began to discuss the school budget for 2026-2027.
Director Robillard and I finalized the documents for the acquisition of the three buses from RIPTA that will be used at the Senior Center and at the new Community Center when it opens. We are grateful to RIPTA for their generosity and partnership.
Tuesday’s Council meeting will include brief presentations from all Town Directors on their vision for the upcoming budget year (except for Planning who presented last week). This will give the Council and the public insight to what priorities each department is working on and any additional staff or resources they are seeking.
The Town is prepping for the upcoming winter storm. The Library will be closed on Sunday and Town Hall will be open on Monday. There will be no sanitation Monday.