Town Manager Report for the week ending May 8, 2026
On Tuesday we had our quarterly EMA meeting led by Chief Witt and former Chief Heise who invited two partner organizations to make presentations. We had Gil Woodside from RIEMA whose title is Operations Support Branch Chief. Gil is the point person for anything communications for RIEMA and has worked closely with the Town and the Fire Districts especially on the new Howard Hill Tower update which is to enhance communications in Western Coventry from the previous site at Waterman Hill Rd. I want to thank Lee Bessette form Coventry PD/EMA for all of his hard work and dedication on this project.
We also had members of the R.I. Army National Guard Readiness Center based out of Read Schoolhouse Rd give a presentation on what their capabilities are and how they can be an asset when it comes to a myriad of situations that both our police and fire districts run into from chemical spills, to suspicious activity/weapons, to communication support. They have offered and we will be utilizing their resources as a force multiplier in time of need.
On Wednesday we had our final budget meeting and it was passed by the Council unanimously after a brief presentation and a few questions. The main points of the budget is that it will increase the tax levy by 3.28% (the maximum is 4%) and with that we are adding two full time police officers, a full time IT assistant, a part time code enforcement inspector, and two receptionists at the Community Learning Center. We are continuing to make our actuarial determined contributions for the pensions, are spending $1.2m to continue our road paving program, and continue to invest in our capital projects both at the schools (through the $25m bond) and for the Town.
We currently are still looking for a resident of District 5 to be appointed to the Council for the remainder of the term (November). If anyone is interested in the full 2-year seat upcoming this is a great opportunity to see what is involved in which you do not need to get signatures or raise any funds. To apply please submit a letter of interest and resume to the Town Clerk to be vetted and appointed by the Council.
I met with staff for an update on the Woodland Pump Station project/grant that we have for $726k to design, engineer, and construct. Everything is on schedule to be completed by the end of the year. Also, some site work has been started at the Coventry Crossings project at the intersection of Harckney Hill Rd and Nooseneck Hill Rd. They are allowed at this point to conduct such work as they continue to prepare their final plan to be presented to the Planning Commission later this year.