Providence Public Works Committee - Wednesday, October 8, 2025 - 5:30 P.M.
Roll Call and Swearing In
The meeting was called to order with a roll call, establishing a quorum with three members present and two absent. Following the roll call, the committee chairman had all attendees stand to be sworn in before giving testimony.
Item Number One - Waterman Street Easement
The committee discussed a petition requesting a permanent underground utility easement below a portion of Waterman Street. After confirming that the request was routine and had been reviewed by the appropriate departments, the committee voted to approve the motion.
Item Number Two - Trash and Refuse Ordinance Amendment
The committee reviewed an amendment to Chapter 12 of the Code of Ordinances regarding trash and refuse violations. The amendment provides the Department of Public Works with the authority and flexibility to remove trash containers from chronic violators after a notice period, and the motion to substitute passed.
Item Number Three - Rhode Island Energy Easement
The committee considered a resolution requesting an easement for Rhode Island Energy at the Igliozerex Center to install a utility pole and transformer. The representative from the Department of Public Property explained the redesign requirements, and the motion was approved.
Item Number Four - Traffic and Parking Signage Inspection Resolution
The committee debated a resolution directing the traffic engineering division and curbside management to inspect all city traffic and parking signage. Due to concerns from the Department of Public Works regarding staffing shortages and the massive scope of the project, the committee voted to continue the item to allow for further planning.
Speaker 0
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Sherman Oscar Vargas. Present. Vice Chairman, because Sanchez is absent. Present. Conservator Justin Royes is absent.
Speaker 0
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Vargas? Present. You have three present, two absent. You have done.
Speaker 1
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I I wanna wanna say thank you to everyone who came today to this special meeting that we have in COVID works. I say thanks for some. Thank you to the. In And your peace,
Speaker 2
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swear all of them.
Speaker 3
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Can everybody stand up? I wanna swear everybody in at the same time. Please raise your right hand. Do you swear under penalty and purity that the testimony that you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Speaker 1
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I agree. Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 0
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Martha, can you please please first item? Item number one, a patient from Samuel a Broadway Squire, Chase, Lutemberg, and Whitman, LLP, Long Park Road, Suite 300, Providence, Rhode Island 02903, requesting a permanent underground easement below a portion of Waterman Street.
Speaker 1
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Yeah. Welcome into that way. Can you display what we're looking for today.
Speaker 4
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Absolutely. Thank you very much, mister chairman and committee members. Let's just for the record. Again, my name is Samuel, by the way. I'm with firm chief of on behalf of the developer and project located on Playwood Avenue for requesting before you today a public utility infrastructure located in in Waterloo Street.
Speaker 4
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With your agenda items today, you have three main documents. The first is an easement from the developer team, which is known as one fifty nine Williams Associates LLC. They are the owners of the property where the development is occurring. That easement is a easement being rented to the, Narragansett Electric, which is a successor of interest to Rhode Island Energy's electrical infrastructure system. That easement runs from the developer to the utility company.
Speaker 4
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Behind that, you have a easement that running from the municipality to the developer. And behind that document, you have a plan, an engineering plan, showing the actual location of that easement. These are routine utility easements for the location of a transport transfer vault and a distribution system for the electrical utilities that will not only servicing the actual development itself, but in addition to the development, provides the ability to extend electrical utilities in that area to other properties located in the apartment near Warderman at Warderman Street throughout the entire area. This is the standard form utility. The easement that is drafted and developed by Rhode Island Energy or American Electric is one that has been used by this committee and this council to direct similar public utility easements.
Speaker 4
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Again, you know, I think within the rights or responsibilities being granted from the city to developer changes in any way from the developer to the route of energy. Simply, the route of energy cannot be granted an easement from the developer until the developer is granted an easement from the city of province. Have you answered any questions GA has regarding any of the documents or the concepts itself? Any
Speaker 2
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questions on? Not familiar with that means as she explained this about pretty much routine, and and we've done this before. I I don't really see any contradictions here, so I'm okay.
Speaker 1
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Thank you. Sounds good. Okay. Last question. Everything is all set from the placement perspective?
Speaker 2
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Yeah. We submitted the letter as typical. Okay. It was about a hundred and eighty four hours
Speaker 0
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Okay.
Speaker 1
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If this is the case, I don't have any question either. Need a motion to approve. So who? Okay. So motion approved by and second by.
Speaker 1
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All those opposed? None. Any abstentions? No. The motion passed.
Speaker 1
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Goodbye.
Speaker 4
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You can stay in the same Thank you very much. Thank you
Speaker 0
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Good. Can you please bring number two? Item number two. An ordinance amending chapter 12, health and sanitation, alcohol, purge, trash, and refuse of the court of ordinances of the city of Providence.
Speaker 1
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For number two, we have the home present. What is it? I need a motion to substitute these ordinance. Will be a little reassumination that we'll have my files in the record to come to well, if they wanna explain what it means and how it's going to be delivered and affecting not affecting working with.
Speaker 5
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Indeed. Thank you, chairman. I'm Aaron. I'm the deputy superstaff of policy, you know, the council. And I'm just gonna give a overview of some of the changes that are in well, complete changes that are in the subsequent fiscal 40.
Speaker 5
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And it's, you know, amending the section twelve sixty three and specifically subsection e, and I'm just gonna go into the changes. I'm not necessarily verbatim, but also conceptually. So these amendments, provide that if a chronic violator has not made violations, the city may provide written notice of the intent to remove the list containers, providing fourteen days for violators to remit the pain. And upon expiration of that fourteen day notice period, the city may remove all issued containers from said dwelling until all payments are made, including removal and redelivery post. The cost assessed for removal and redelivery shall be set by the Department of Public Works and published on their website.
Speaker 5
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And then additionally, following the first mailed notice, the Department of Public Works may, in the case of subsequent violations, remove containers without any additional notice. And then lastly, the city may also summon chronic violators to municipal court, but not as a substitute for the penalties that are specified in the section. And that concludes overall the changes in how to organize.
Speaker 1
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Thank you.
Speaker 5
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Of course.
Speaker 1
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Well, these these ordinance, again, like, fine sponsor. You know, these are manual. The reason is why we've been having a lot of issues in the city. The people, they don't file the the orders to take the trash cards inside the property. They left it on the sidewalk where people are the professional walking, handicaps, and they have to jump in the street.
Speaker 1
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We will share it in a. It's a little message that we have. That's why we do need some amendment for the property owners who basically doesn't care about the sick. And and that's why we work on this. We also call the director of public or Patricia Pointe to to explain how this is gonna be affected because she's the director of of this department.
Speaker 1
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Well
Speaker 3
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Thank you. Thank you, councilman Vargas, chair of Vargas. We don't object to the to the amended this piece of legislation. I think I think the intentions are very good because, as you know, the the violations don't really have a lot of teeth, and this kind of gives them a little bit of teeth, a way to for people to kind of pay attention to those violations when they get them. I appreciate the discretion that's given to the Department of Public Works to try to work with the constituent where we can.
Speaker 3
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So maybe there's extenuating circumstances that we can try to work with them on, and so it's not an automatic thing. I like I like the way that it's drafted that we can give notice. And then, you know, that that notice period gives us an opportunity to work with that that constituent. And if the constituent persists and and we're not making any progress, then we do have that option in our discretion to pull the balance. And so we are in the
Speaker 1
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Right. Thank you.
Speaker 2
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But I just want I'm better on. Yeah. So thank you for amending it to add flexibility to the department in case in case of choice that we wanna proceed and make it more effective. Property owners are not our end. They cover 68 of our budget.
Speaker 2
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So I think that any initiatives that we think should be guided, and there was a conversation, there was a warning, and it shows embracing their investment in our city. So I was like, I've had full support of the changes that we made here, but it's not. So you didn't do what I was saying. I'm gonna give you a ticket. If you don't pay that, I'm gonna remove your thoughts.
Speaker 2
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So it's kinda like opens it up to wait dialogue so that I'm gonna. Thank you.
Speaker 1
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Thank you. Wanna acknowledge councilor
Speaker 6
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Espenald was saying. And, you know, when I read this ordinance, in fact, similar challenges exist in my neighborhood. And working with DPW in the past, there was a situation. This just the example I'm gonna provide speaks to why flexibility is so necessary, is that there were a few homes on Admiral Street where there's no they in order for the the residents to get into their house, there's a huge climb of stairs. And so to expect, residents of of addresses like that to kind of lug their trash bin up those stairs, especially during winter months, I think it it would be very, it would be unreasonable ask, of that.
Speaker 6
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And so there's a a few addresses like that where there's this, I guess, like, unspoken agreement between DVW and those addresses that as long as they can put those barrels on the sidewalk in a in a organized manner, then then most neighbors in the area kind of appreciate that. So, yeah, I I appreciate the flexibility and and examples like that speak to to why this is necessary. So thank you. Any follow-up?
Speaker 1
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No? Thank you very much, If you know that we understand that case, that you will be able to hold the the trash bag, the final steps of the surgeon. Yeah. Then they could allow when they bring it down with back in two weeks. Yeah.
Speaker 2
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Yes. So Yeah. The knowledge that Yeah.
Speaker 1
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Only when they understand the motion. So there's nothing else. Am I getting to play a motion to solve? As manager. Sorry.
Speaker 1
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So. Second. So it's All those opposed? Any objection? Motion passes.
Speaker 1
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Thank you, director. Thank you, Alan. Madam, can you please bring number two?
Speaker 0
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Item number three. Resolution requesting an easement on behalf of the Narrow Dancer Electric Company, a domestic activity currently doing business as Rhode Island Energy over, under, and across a portion of city found located on access to this flat 111 Lot 92675 Bladefe Street.
Speaker 1
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Thank you very much. Who are having in? How you doing?
Speaker 7
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Good. This is Taylor Urbain representing the Department of Public Property. This is the Igliozerex Center. We've met recently. Again, things we last met and had approved of the previous easement, Rhode Island Energy went to install pole as the next step in a transformer installation and ran into an obstacle at the original location of the pole.
Speaker 7
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So they needed to do a redesign and put the pole onto the property itself, which requires a new case left.
Speaker 1
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Alright. Thank you very much. And it's gonna be far away
Speaker 7
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from this location from six seventy five? No. It's it's within the property line of 675 in the front. We have also obtained it's only marinades, but that's