Providence City Council Meeting | February 5th, 2026

Well as councilwoman Anthony joined as well as another council representative. Yet he identified through that task force actions that we need to take as a city and options that we have to move forward. Some of those options will involve potentially creating new fees and revenue streams to deal with the stormwater issue. And we will work together in partnership with the administration to explore what those what those options are and and come together as a council to work on those together. And that's what is shared in this resolution.

I hope you all can read the stormwater report that the stormwater task force put out. It was a really complete report. There's also, like, a one page summary if you don't wanna read a whole report, you guys. And Priscilla de la Cruz is happy to come to any of our ward meetings and describe what was in there, describe the process, some of the recommendations, and really is looking forward to working with all of us in our communities. This is a huge problem, and the this council and this city have a real opportunity to be a leader in identifying solutions and helping to prevent this going forward.

Our residents are already paying for this. We have residents across the city who are paying and businesses who are paying to have their basements pumped out, who are dealing with the loss of of revenue, of products, of my own basement's been flooded. I've lost substantial amounts of things and had to pay for repairs. This is happening across the city, in every single one of our wards. And really really looking for some proactive solutions and ways that we can prevent this and adapt to it as opposed to just dealing with it as during the onslaught.

So I look forward to working with all of you over the next couple months on a more permanent resolution ordinance to deal with this, but hope to engage with you on this resolution and the process going forward. So thank you. And thank you to Councilwoman Davidson for cosponsoring and being such a strong advocate on this as well.

Thank you, Councilor. Further discussion on item 11? Councilwoman Davidson. Yes.

I just rise to echo what counselor Anderbois said, to thank everybody who has put this into place. As counselor Anderbois outlined, we're all facing the impacts of stormwater. We don't even know what's coming. So the opportunity that Providence has to be proactive, to create a revenue stream, and to solve a problem, what an amazing opportunity. So I also look forward to working with all of you.

I'm very passionate about this issue, and if you ever wanna talk about storm water, better have I'll buy you a cup of coffee and we'll talk for a long time. So I'm very honored and very pleased to be involved with this. It's an exciting moment for Providence. It's gonna be a lot of work. It's gonna be a lot of work at all of our halves to communicate this clearly to the people of Providence, but I'm excited for the opportunity and grateful for the stormwater task force and everybody who has set this into motion.

Thank you, counselor. Further discussion? Item 11, councilwoman Peterson.

Hello.

Hi. Thank you. I just wanted to thank you, councilwoman Andrew Bois, for spearheading this here on our agenda, but also, to director De La Cruz, who's a Board 14 resident. I just wanna, in the task force that put all of this together, in Ward 14, we see these effects on a larger scale. If anybody knows where Ward 14 is, that Branch Avenue Plaza where you saw people kind of rowing in their canoes, that was that was us.

And so this is extremely important in our neighborhood, and my whole goal is to really educate my neighbors about how important this is and how we're gonna be able to help. So I really appreciate and applaud the efforts to do this, and I look forward to doing all of those discussions in my neighborhood. Thank you.

Thank you. Counselors, further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? Aye.

Any opposed? Any abstentions? The motion passes. Madam clerk, please refer item 11 to the special committee on environment and resiliency. So noted.

Item 12.

Madam president.

Majority leader.

Motion to waive the reading of item 12 and pass on a voice vote.

Second, madam president.

We have a motion

and a second. Any discussion on item 12? Hearing none. Madam clerk, please open the vote.

The vote is open. The vote is now closed.

You have 13 ayes and two absent. The motion carries. The matter is approved. Item 13.

Madam president. Majority leader. Motion to weigh the reader of item 13 through 15.

Second, madam president.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion on items 13 and or fifth through 15? Councilwoman Peterson.

Thank you. Clerk, if I could ask you to please read into please read number 15 for us.

I think I have the right one. Whereas the snowstorm occurring on January 2026 deposited 17 inches and more of snow in Providence and in the surrounding area, marking the greatest accumulation of snow in a single two day period since 2022 as determined by the National Weather Service. And whereas such heavy snowfall obstructed roads, driveways, and sidewalks across the length and breadth of the city, compounding perilous cold and hindering travel by vehicle and by foot, And whereas the Department of Public Works, asserting that Providence is snow ready, has nevertheless been characterized by residents as having a delayed and ineffective response to the storm, notably in the clearance of snow from sidewalks and from roads. And whereas such abundant and abiding concern amid constituents with the response to the city with the response of the city to the storm prompts frank and unwavering inquiry into what occurred during the storm and into what may be garnered for improved preparedness, especially as the city operates under a presumably shared understanding of climate change and its uncertainties as articulated in the current enacted enacted comprehensive plan, as well as in city ordinances and policies. And whereas, the Department of Public Works formed under section one zero zero two of the Homeworld Charter of 1980 is required to perform snow removal among the functions and responsibilities as may be assigned to the department from time to time.

And whereas, amid the concerns shown by the residents of Providence toward the preparedness of the city for adverse weather events, the Providence City Council wishes to develop, am I doing good? Okay. Wishes, where was I? That's okay. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the efforts made by the Department of Public Works to contend with the storm of January twenty fifth and twenty sixth, and its attendant effects.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Providence City Council insist that the Department of Public Works diligently and rapidly prepare a report detailing the parameters developed for the management of the storm occurring on January 2026, including the timing and contract length for associated vendors and subsequent actions taken in the storm preparation and management. And be it further resolved that the report must also clearly state the number of personnel that were activated and during the storm, and on each and every subsequent day engaged in storm control. And be it further resolved that in the interest of clarity and accountability, the report must also contain the department storm preparedness plan in place before the storm of January 2026 occurred. And be it further resolved that upon passage, copies of this resolution be transmitted to the office of mayor Brett P. Smiley, to the director of public works Patricia a Coyne Fague, and to the department of public works.

Thank you very much, madam clerk, and thank you for the opportunity to speak, madam president. These remarks are not about blaming the men and women of DPW. They showed up. They followed direction, and they worked within the parameters set for them. This is actually about the leadership, the planning, and the decision making at the administrative level.

The city's response to the most recent snowstorm was absolutely not acceptable, And the data confirms what residents have experienced on the ground. My data is as of Tuesday because there was a lot of data coming from this morning, at least in my ward. But as of Tuesday, there were 366 snow related service requests logged through 311, Along with a 128 additional complaints received through calls, emails, and the council's contact us page. That clear that this was not an isolated frustration. It was a systemic failure.

The real world consequences of that failure were serious. Students were forced to walk to school in the street because side works weren't clear. The aftermath of plowing made conditions worse for many residents, particularly our elderly neighbors and those who are incapacitated, who were left blocked in by snowbanks and ice. Those were predictable outcomes of poor coordination, not unavoidable consequences of a storm. Most troubling, we learned most troubling, excuse me, we learned that an ambulance was unable to access the door of the door of two young women who had been shot in Smith Hill.

That is not political. That is not rhetorical. That is a failure to deliver basic emergency services to constituents in the city. When emergency responders cannot reach residents in crisis because of snow response decisions, the system has failed. The committee meeting on Tuesday revealed another critical truth.

Many of the decisions that shaped this response weren't really made by the people on the front lines. Those doing the physical work were not determining priorities, routes, or deployment, and the inspection of work was actually quite subpar. Based on that meeting, those choices were made higher up, and that account that accountability must live there. As a sponsor of this resolution to require a formal report, I wanna be clear about the intent. This report is being requested now so that the DPW committee can review it carefully and make informed recommendations as we approach budget season.

If resources, staffing, contracts, or operational authority are misaligned, we need that documented and addressed before the next snowstorm, not after it. At this point, it is clear that we need to take the the bull by the horns, and this council must remind this administration that we will execute our oversight responsibilities accordingly. We have been far too lenient in the face of consistent rhetoric from the top layer that does not match the residents' lived experience. The first failure was the failure to communicate once problems became evident. Silence and delay compounded an already poor response.

What followed was a cascading breakdown that affected every single ward. And while accountability must be placed where decisions were made, the reality is that the consequences are shared by all of us. Every single constituent in this city can point to a concern, an issue, or a complaint that resulted from this response. Residents do not expect perfection. What they do expect is competence, transparency, and urgency when things go wrong.

This response did not meet any of those standards. This council expects clear answers, measurable changes, and a plan that ensures safe streets, accessible sidewalks, and emergency access for every neighborhood moving forward. Our residents deserve better, and it is our responsibility to make sure that they get it. Thank you.

Thank you, counselor. Further discussion on item 15? Hearing none. All in favor?

Council

president.

Oh, yes. Councilwoman Ryan.

I I have to rise. Councilwoman Harris and I, when we were elected back in 2014, sworn in in 2015, we saw more snow in the city of Providence than I hope we ever see again.

It was a deluge storm after storm hitting our city on basically shutting it down. It was bad. We had a snowstorm the other day. Was it bad? Sure it was.

It was a lot of snow. It's funny because I was talking to a person that worked back on the twenty fifteen storms and they said that they had peace they felt that they had PTSD from the drama of it. What I saw in my ward were neighbors helping neighbors, shoveling out businesses, helping our seniors to shovel the front sidewalks. I didn't have a complete and total breakdown that's being reported on. And I have to say that beating up DPW, I don't think is a positive way to approach a snowstorm.

Times have changed since 2015. We had a big snowstorm. We had a lot of snow. Snow melts. I think it's incumbent upon us, yes, to study what happened.

To study the storm. Can we do better? Think that's a good effort. However, we also have to recognize that I think this storm was challenged by a number of things. And I know that it was in my ward wherein our residents, our neighbors didn't move their cars.

My colleagues enacted legislation, this body enacted legislation creating places for people to park. Permitted cars were provided parking locations. And a lot of my neighbors offered their driveways and extra businesses offered their lots to help our neighbors get the cars off the road. Quite honestly, the number of permitted cars that we had slowed down, permitted overnight parking, slowed down the plowing. From what I understand, we had 300 cars towed.

We had probably the same ticketed. That took time. And the nature of the storm was such that it was so fast and so furious that on time was really important. So the time that was lost in trying to get those cars off the road, the overnight parkers or the people that refused to move their cars. Many of them are out there right now still covered in snow.

Slowed down and hampered the plows. Neighbors were complaining about a single pass. Well when time is of the essence and they're slowed down, they do the best they can to get to every street. So yes, we should study it. But as my colleague entered this session with a lovely prayer about being kind and and respectful I think that's a good message.

That we need to understand that it was a brutal storm. It came very, very fast. And the DPW was out for hours and hours and hours. We can study it. We can probably try to figure out what went wrong.