Town Manager Report for the week ending August 14, 2026
Tonight, our Coventry Parks and Recreation Summer Entertainment Concert series continues at 600pm with the Billy Shears Band playing at the Town Hall Annex until 730pm. Bring a chair and enjoy the great weather and music!!
On Wednesday we had our monthly meeting on the Coventry High School Sewer project which is nearing its completion. C. Brito, the contractor, is currently finishing up the work on the high school property for the concession building and also replacing the sidewalks that were disturbed on Reservoir Ave during the lateral tie in process. There is still some punch list items to be addressed on August 24 along with some further testing of the line, but we are anticipating completion of the construction part of the project by the end of the month. The last piece of the project is final paving and that will not be completed until October. The KCWA portion of the project has been completed. There will be some minor detouring as they complete the project, but it will be the least amount of disruption as possible as the new school year begins and teachers are coming in to prepare. Our engineer, Fuss and O’Neill, has obtained the pre-treatment permit from West Warwick so we have completed all of the necessary paperwork. Once the system is up and running DPW and School staff will decommission the existing septic storage tank and remove the affiliated equipment.
Also, on Wednesday the R.I. League of Cities and Towns in conjunction with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services hosted a training in Cranston on the implications of House Resolution-1 (HR-1) which makes changes to qualifications for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Healthsource R.I. These changes have already begun and will continue over the next 2 years. If anyone has any questions regarding any of these programs they can email Human Services Director Bob Robillard at rrobillard@coventryri.gov.
We had a call with the Governor’s Office on Thursday and discussed several of the initiatives that most of the municipalities are taking part in whether it’s the Community Learning Center grant, the Community Library grant for those who aren’t part of the Learning Center grant (we are), and the Municipal Road Program in which all the funding ends on December 31, 2026. Coventry received $4.9m for its Community Learning Center and $400k for its Pave It Forward Program this year touching every district with newly paved roadways for those roads most in need and minor sidewalk repair.