Town Manager Report for the week ending June 12, 2026
Parks and Recreation, Coventry Police, DPW, RIEMA, and all of our community partners are in full scale preparation mode for our 250 Celebration this year on June 20 which includes a parade that begins at 300pm at Paine Field, proceeds down Main St to South Main St, and concludes at St. John and Paul School. Right after the parade, the Summer Festival at Coventry High School begins at 400pm with food trucks and vendors spreads throughout the fields. At the soccer field we will have an interactive soccer demonstration with members of the New England Revolution as part of the FIFA World Cup activities in Providence and Boston. We thank the Coventry Soccer Association for coordinating this event.
There will be live band performances on the football field from 500-900pm and KIKI.fm will provide live broadcasting near the press box. There will be raffles and giveaways including 2 tickets to an Ed Sheeran concert. We will then have a firework display from 900-930pm to end the festival. We encourage all Town residents to come to the parade and support the many organizations taking part and then come by the high school to enjoy a fun night of food, music, and fireworks!!
On Tuesday I had a Board meeting of the RI League of Cities and Towns in which we received an update on all of the FIFA activities starting this week and a summary of the General Assembly session which ends today. Overall there weren’t many bills that the League was able to get over the finish line to benefit cities and towns in general, but more so prevented some bad bills that would adversely affect us all. Budget wise Coventry Schools received an increase from the state from what was originally projected which will help offset their large increase for healthcare costs.
We had our monthly Council meeting on Tuesday and got a lot accomplished. Council changed the Financial Security definition for all future construction projects eliminating Letters of Credit to more secure options. They also passed the new Comprehensive Plan that we have been working on for the past 3 years, and allowed gas stations to be built in the business park zone of Centre of NE. There was further research asked of the Planning Department when it comes to parameters for gas stations in other areas of Town. There was additional discussion on kennels and some changes to conditions at Briar Point Beach that were held for further discussion and continued until August.
Council has there next meeting on June 23 in which we will discuss the Johnsons Pond Development Plan and next steps.