Council OKs ‘framework‘ for sidewalk replacement program

Homeowners would be eligible for reimbursement under new guidelines

Daniel Kittredge
Posted 2/25/15

An ordinance laying out the framework for a new sidewalk replacement program received the City Council’s backing on Monday, although more work lies ahead before the initiative comes to …

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Council OKs ‘framework‘ for sidewalk replacement program

Homeowners would be eligible for reimbursement under new guidelines

Posted

An ordinance laying out the framework for a new sidewalk replacement program received the City Council’s backing on Monday, although more work lies ahead before the initiative comes to fruition.

Under the “Sidewalk Reconstruction Cost Share Program,” eligible homeowners in the city would be able to receive partial reimbursement for the replacement of existing sidewalks, with priority given to those along school routes or heavily trafficked by pedestrians.

Homeowners would hire a contractor and be responsible for the entire cost, with reimbursement based on a set per-square-foot rate and subject to the availability of funding. All projects would be subject to permitting.

Ward 1 Councilman Steve Stycos said the reimbursement rate would be set by the council and based on recommendations from the public works director. He described the parameters of the program, as approved on Monday, as a starting point, given that funding will also be an issue.

Citywide Councilman Michael Farina, who applauded Stycos for his work on the ordinance, echoed that point.

“This is a framework for us to build a program,” he said.

Ward 4 Councilman Mario Aceto also spoke highly of the initiative, referencing the elimination of the city’s previous “50/50” sidewalk replacement program as an example of the “taxpayers [having] to do everything on their own” as a result of the city’s fiscal constraints in recent years.

He and Ward 6 Councilman Michael Favicchio broached the idea of including curbing repairs in the program, given that their wards have few sidewalks that would qualify. Ultimately, council members opted to delay any amendment to that effect, and to instead pursue the issue of curbs separately.

Elsewhere on Monday’s agenda, the council approved a three-year contract between the Cranston Public Schools and its secretaries.

The deal was negotiated between the Cranston School Committee and Rhode Island Council 94, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, which represents the 61 secretaries of Local 2044.

With a cumulative three-year cost increase of approximately $282,000, the deal includes 2-percent pay increases for the final two years, and rolls the Good Friday holiday and longevity payments into the hourly pay rate. It represents a significant turnaround for the secretaries from the prior contract, which included a number of concessions.

Several council members had, during a Finance Committee meeting earlier this month, been critical of that prior contract, and questioned what resulted in the turnaround under the new terms.

School Committee Chairwoman Janice Ruggieri, referencing the “strained” relationship between school and municipal officials in recent years, said she had found the comments “concerning.” She noted that school committee members were not able to attend the finance meeting, given that snow had forced the postponement of a school budget meeting to the same evening.

“We’re really looking forward to kind of getting rid of all that,” she said regarding the past tension.

Ruggieri said the committee would welcome, and has invited, council members to sit in on its contract talks. She spoke of her wish to ensure a “dialogue” between school and municipal officials remains open.

Ruggieri also defended the committee’s handling of the contract, saying it has worked to balance a focus on fiscal responsibility with the needs of staff and students.

Labor negotiations, she said, are “not quick, they’re not easy … this contract was no different.”

Farina said the council members “want to move forward, too,” although he did reiterate his previously stated concerns regarding the turnaround in the secretaries contract.

“One year later … we’re reversing course,” he said.

Citywide Councilman Richard Santamaria acknowledged the tension that has existed between school and municipal officials, but cited a recent joint effort on a solar panel project as a move in the right direction.

“We’re moving forward and we’re working together … This is a good thing for the city,” he said.

Additionally on Monday, the council was informed that talks between the administration of Mayor Allan Fung and International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 301 are heading to arbitration.

The union has been without a new contract since 2012. The finance committee in November 2013 rejected a proposed agreement, and any further progress was stalled in the subsequent months following the emergence of the so-called “Ticketgate” flap and its fallout. Talks between the administration and the union had resumed in the fall.

Deputy City Solicitor Evan Kirshenbaum told council members the arbitration is scheduled for mid-June.

Council members have in recent weeks raised questions regarding the administration’s employment and assignment of special legal counsel on various labor matters, including the police contract talks.

Aceto on Monday also requested a more detailed briefing on how the recent talks with the union unfolded, and what led to the decision to head to arbitration. He cautioned that arbitration “could affect us adversely.”

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