Fung: No plans for new order on masks

Mayor Allan Fung on Monday said he has no plans at this point to take additional action on the local level related to Gov. Gina Raimondo’s new executive order regarding the wearing of cloth-based nose and mouth coverings in places of business.

Gov. Gina Raimondo’s new order, which took effect Saturday, requires virtually all of the state’s employees and shoppers to wear masks as a means of limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Businesses are required to provide the coverings for workers. Exemptions are provided for children 2 or younger and those who cannot wear a mask due to medical concerns.

During her daily briefing on Sunday, the governor said inspectors from the Department of Business Regulation conducted spot checks at approximately 200 Rhode Island businesses over the weekend and found “terrific compliance” – although she said a number of drive-thru customers were observed without masks.

“Right now, to be crystal clear, every Rhode Islander is ordered to wear a cloth face covering, covering your nose and your mouth, every time you’re in any retail operation,” the governor said Sunday.

She added: “What I haven’t said, yet, is that the stores can throw you out if you’re a customer who doesn’t have a mask on.”

Following the governor’s order, East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva issued an executive order for his community allowing for businesses to turn away customers if they are not wearing a face covering. The same exemptions apply.

The governor on Sunday said mayors and community leaders are “free to have a more stringent set of guidelines,” and she left the door open to revisit the terms of her order.

Asked if he has considered similar action as his East Providence counterpart, Fung said: “At the present time, I don’t have any plans on issuing an executive order allowing stores to turn patrons away who are not wearing a mask. I along with my team have been performing compliance checks at various critical businesses, like restaurants, markets and the box stores, and have witnessed people complying with the governor’s mandates. Thus, there does not appear to be a need in Cranston to go that route at this time.”

New testing sites eyed

State officials in recent days have spoken at length about the disparities that have been on display during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly among minority communities and those who may face language or transportation barriers to treatment and testing.

On Sunday, Raimondo announced that a new testing site is being set up at Robert L. Bailey IV Elementary School in Providence. That location – developed in partnership with the Providence Community Health Center – was chosen because it is centrally situated within the capital city, the governor said, and it will allow drive-thru or walk-up testing by appointment.

Fung previously told the Herald he has asked state officials to pursue new COVID-19 testing sites to help reach underserved members of the Cranston community.

On Monday, he said those talks remain ongoing.

“We are continuing to work with the state on an alternative site in Cranston to expand testing,” he said. “We are partnering with CCAP, who plans on expanding hours at their location in the Arlington section of Cranston as well as setting up a new site in the Edgewood area of the city. But these will not be walk-up sites.”

Council set to meet virtually

The City Council is set to proceed with a virtual meeting on April 27, although specifics regarding how the proceedings will take place remained unclear as the Herald went to press on Tuesday.

Council President Michael Farina said the agenda would be based on the business that had been scheduled for consideration during the body’s March meeting – which was canceled as the current crisis escalated – but that the “goal is still to only approve necessary business.” The city remains under a state of emergency, granting expanded authority to the mayor in some matters that would typically go before the council.

Farina said both the Zoom and WebEx video conferencing platforms were being considered for the April 27 meeting, and that details were to be finalized during a meeting including the city clerk’s office on Tuesday.

Several local boards and committees – including the Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Review and School Committee – have held remote sessions since the onset of the crisis.

Sign spending criticized

Ahead of Tuesday night’s virtual Board of Contract and Purchase meeting – which occurred after the Herald went to press – Citywide Councilman Steve Stycos, a Democratic candidate for mayor, issued a weekend statement criticizing a handful of bid waiver authorizations that appear on the docket for the proceedings.

Stycos singled out three items – a $4,150 award to Fenca America for dugout roofs at Brayton Park, a $2,700 award to Deluca’s Landscaping for exterior power washing at the Pastore Youth Center, and a $23,067 award to Perma-Line Corp. of New England for stop sign supplies. The first two items are associated with the Parks and Recreation Department, while the sign supplies expense falls under the Department of Public Works.

“Our city is facing a severe budget crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic,“ Stycos said in a statement. “We need to restrict spending to essential items until we grasp what our financial future is. State aid to Cranston may be cut, our city pension fund’s assets have certainly dropped with the stock market decline and our tax revenues are likely to fall dramatically.”

He added: “We must take care of every taxpayer dollar. I urge the Board of Contract and Purchase to reject that $30,000 in spending, and carefully examine other bid orders. In a couple of months we will be searching for money to keep our schools operating.”

On Monday, Fung said the dugout roof and power washing expenses “should not have been placed … on the agenda” because they were not authorized under his executive order barring non-essential spending during the current crisis. Both would be removed from the agenda, he said.

The mayor defended the funding for the signage supplies, however, saying they are “needed for the city’s sign replacement program that was initiated years ago.”

“This purchase does not come out of the operating budget, but from our neighborhood infrastructure bond fund,” the mayor said. “When this project was initially proposed it was supposed to be part of our capital program and utilizing a third-party contractor. At the request of that past [City Council], we agreed to complete this using city labor on an ongoing basis. With less traffic on the road due to the stay-at-home order, this is the best time for the city to perform infrastructure projects like this and even road-paving on less congested roadways.”

During a follow-up phone call, Stycos said he was glad the parks and recreation items would be removed from the BOCAP agenda.

“That’s good and I hope [Fung] stays on top of things in the futurue to be consistent with his executive order,” he said.

Stycos said the mayor’s response regarding the signage was “more or less accurate,” but he questioned the use of bond funding for the supplies, saying it will cost taxpayers interest and should be first approved by the council.

“I don’t think we should be borrowing money for stop signs,” he said, adding: “I just think bad financial times are coming and we have to look at every expenditure.”