[0:00] You guys are beating me to the punch.

[0:02] Hold on. You all set, Eric?

[0:05] >> Excellent. Good evening, everyone.

[0:06] Welcome to the Bristol Town Council

[0:08] meeting of June 3rd. If you could all

[0:10] rise for the pledge of allegiance.

[0:13] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:15] United States of America and to the

[0:17] republic for which it stands, one nation

[0:20] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:23] justice for all.

[0:25] >> Thanks everyone. Welcome, Madam Clerk.

[0:28] >> Mr. Chairman and members of the council.

[0:30] The first item of business is the

[0:31] consent agenda.

[0:32] >> Motion to approve the consent agenda.

[0:35] >> Motion made by Tim, seconded by Tony as

[0:38] stated. Any discussion?

[0:40] >> Hearing none. All in favor? I.

[0:41] >> Any opposed?

[0:42] >> Thank you.

[0:43] >> The next item on the agenda is the

[0:45] submission of minutes. We have the town

[0:46] council meeting minutes of May 13th as

[0:48] well as the executive session meeting

[0:50] minutes from May 13th.

[0:52] >> Motion to approve. Second.

[0:53] >> Motion made by Tim, seconded by Tony.

[0:55] Any discussion? Hearing none, all in

[0:58] favor? I

[0:59] >> any opposed

[1:00] >> you.

[1:01] >> The next item agenda is ordinance uh C1.

[1:04] This is ordinance 2026-6.

[1:06] This is amendment to the chapter 16

[1:08] motor vehicles and traffic section

[1:10] 16143, section 16152

[1:14] and section section 16345 and this is

[1:17] for parking regulations on Bird Street.

[1:20] >> Make a motion to approve it. Second.

[1:22] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim to

[1:25] approve. Discussion

[1:27] hearing. None. All in favor? I. Any

[1:29] opposed?

[1:30] >> Thank you.

[1:31] >> The next item on the agenda is C2. This

[1:33] is ordinance 2026-7.

[1:35] This is amendments to chapter 11,

[1:37] section 11-1 of the comprehensive

[1:39] schedule of fees. And this is for the

[1:41] zoning and planning related fee changes.

[1:43] This is second reading.

[1:45] >> Make a motion to approve it. Second.

[1:47] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim to

[1:50] approve these updated related fee

[1:52] charges. Any discussion? Hearing none.

[1:54] All in favor? I.

[1:55] >> Any opposed? Thank you.

[1:58] >> The next item is C3. This is ordinance

[2:00] 2026-8.

[2:02] This is amendment to chapter 16, motor

[2:04] vehicles and traffic section 16345.

[2:08] And this is to amend the parking on

[2:10] Bradford Street between Hope and

[2:11] Central. Second reading.

[2:13] >> Motion to approve. Second.

[2:15] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim to

[2:17] approve. Discussion. I'll take a quick

[2:20] moment just if it I always say this when

[2:22] we go through these very quickly. If it

[2:23] feels like we're going through them very

[2:24] quick, we are. Um these are all second

[2:27] readings. We've had discussion um and uh

[2:31] explanation on the first readings

[2:33] including this one which is updating

[2:35] Bradford Street. The signage and the uh

[2:39] ordinance will now coincide.

[2:41] >> Any other discussion? Hearing none. All

[2:44] in favor.

[2:45] >> Any opposed? Thank you.

[2:47] >> The next item on the agenda is D1. This

[2:49] is Nikki Tisa. This is for Bo Blue

[2:51] Boutique 433 Hope Street. This is a

[2:53] request for a sidewalk use license for a

[2:55] new location

[2:56] >> based on the positive recommendations.

[2:58] So, make a motion to approve.

[2:59] >> Second.

[3:00] >> Motion made by Tim, seconded by Tony.

[3:02] Any discussion?

[3:03] >> Hearing none. All in favor?

[3:04] >> I.

[3:05] >> Any opposed? Thank you.

[3:07] >> The next item on the agenda is D2. This

[3:09] is Harbor Master Marcili, chairman of

[3:11] the Harbor Festival Committee. This is a

[3:13] request for 1-day dancing and

[3:14] entertainment lessons at Rockwell Park

[3:16] for the 13th annual Harbor Festival to

[3:18] be held on August 15th from 1:00 p.m. to

[3:21] 8:00 p.m.

[3:22] >> Before we get a motion, can I have a

[3:24] motion to combine F1? Does that

[3:27] coincides

[3:27] >> F1 and D2?

[3:28] >> So move.

[3:29] >> Yes.

[3:30] >> Second.

[3:30] >> So we had a motion uh made by uh Tony,

[3:33] seconded by Tim to combine F1 to this

[3:37] current item, which is D2. Any

[3:40] discussion hearing? None. All in favor?

[3:42] >> I. Any opposed? Excellent. So, we we're

[3:45] moving forward to say yes to this. But

[3:47] the uh Madame Clerk, if you could read

[3:50] out F1.

[3:50] >> F1 is Harbor Master Marcili, chairman of

[3:52] the Harbor Festival Committee. This is a

[3:54] request to sell and you sell and serve

[3:56] alcohol at Rockwell Park on for the 13th

[3:59] annual Harbor Festival to be held on

[4:01] August 15th from 1 to 8:00 p.m.

[4:05] >> So, we just need a motion on We'll just

[4:07] get a motion for both, I would say.

[4:08] >> Yes, I I would say so. And I'm not sure

[4:11] should we really approve this.

[4:13] >> This is the 13th tier this is happening,

[4:16] >> you know. No, Greg, good job. We

[4:19] appreciate, you know, all the years that

[4:21] it's being uh held and obviously uh you

[4:25] know, it means a lot, you know, uh not

[4:27] just the uh the festival, but the

[4:29] blessing of the fleet as well. So, we we

[4:32] thank you for keep things moving along.

[4:35] >> Thank you.

[4:36] >> I'll second the motion. Motion made by

[4:38] Tony, seconded by Tim to approve both F1

[4:42] and D2 discussion.

[4:45] Mr. Harvester, would you like to take a

[4:47] moment to share with the public what

[4:48] this actually is?

[4:49] >> So, uh, August 15th, we'll be down at

[4:51] Rockwell Park. The blessing of the fleet

[4:53] will start at 1:00. Bring the boats

[4:55] down. They do a quick little pray

[4:57] through. Father Zena will be down to

[4:58] throw some holy water on us. And then

[5:01] we'll uh we'll have some fun festivities

[5:02] in the park as usual. stuff competition.

[5:04] Chowder, clam cakes, steaks, clam boils.

[5:08] Tickets will be on sale very soon.

[5:10] >> If one wants to buy tickets, and one

[5:12] really should. Yes. How would they do

[5:14] it?

[5:14] >> Well, you can come by the hardmasters

[5:16] office and then we'll have a bunch of uh

[5:18] posters app with some QR codes where

[5:20] they go right online and buy it or or

[5:21] offer a website.

[5:23] >> Excellent.

[5:23] >> Bristolfest.com. Don't confuse the one

[5:25] in England.

[5:26] >> And I believe there's two options.

[5:28] >> Two options. You can get the clam boil,

[5:30] little necks or uh steaks. Steaks are

[5:34] awesome. Hand cut ribeye.

[5:36] >> And there'll be watermelon and corn with

[5:38] it.

[5:39] >> There's always watermelon. You you

[5:40] forget watermelon one year. I mean these

[5:43] it drags on for 13. So

[5:47] >> hot dogs for the kids for free. So

[5:49] >> sorry, Greg. I had to bring it down. I

[5:51] know. You know,

[5:52] >> I made a mistake once,

[5:54] >> but you know, we won't let you live it

[5:56] down.

[5:57] >> Any other discussion from the council?

[5:58] and Greg Rain or Sean. It's August 15th,

[6:01] right? This is one nos.

[6:03] >> So, come right down. Yeah. All right.

[6:05] >> Well, we're looking forward to seeing

[6:06] everybody. Thank you.

[6:07] >> Hearing no other discussion. All in

[6:08] favor? I.

[6:09] >> Any opposed? Thank you. Good luck.

[6:10] >> Good luck.

[6:11] >> Thank you,

[6:13] >> Mr. Chairman and members of the council.

[6:15] The next item on the agenda is Z3. This

[6:17] is David Harworth Fair and Square

[6:19] Pizzeria, 9 Gooding Avenue. This is a

[6:21] request for vetering license.

[6:26] » I think Benjamin here. He is

[6:28] >> excellent. Benjamin looks very familiar

[6:30] from Ricotti.

[6:31] >> Yes, that's right. Same actually.

[6:32] >> Yes. Excellent. Um before you speak, is there a motion to approve or?

[6:39] >> Yes, I'll make a motion to approve based

[6:40] on recommendations.

[6:41] >> Is there a second?

[6:42] >> Second.

[6:43] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim.

[6:46] Discussion. Benjamin, tell us what

[6:48] you're doing.

[6:48] >> Sure. Uh so we're opening a sourdough

[6:51] Detroit pizzeria in the old Domino's

[6:52] location.

[6:53] >> Put the mic up if you want. You

[6:54] >> sure? Uh so it's a sourdough Detroit

[6:56] pizzeria. um opening the old Domino's

[6:58] location right next to Ricottis. We'll

[6:59] be the only one in the entire state

[7:01] doing this. Uh our goal is to sell a

[7:03] really high-end artisan product at a

[7:05] very affordable price and we can do that

[7:07] by keeping a small menu and low

[7:08] overhead. So you notice we have no

[7:10] dining room is takeout only but um we

[7:12] think it's going to be something really

[7:14] great and we're opening uh June 13th.

[7:16] >> June 13th.

[7:17] >> Yes.

[7:18] >> Excellent.

[7:20] >> Typically we ask for samples, you know,

[7:24] to make sure the product is up to speed.

[7:26] I'm sure we can figure something.

[7:26] >> You have a lot of really good

[7:28] competition around town. So,

[7:29] >> yes, we we did run this pizza for about

[7:31] a year out of Ricottis every Friday. So,

[7:33] that's kind of what caused this to

[7:35] happen.

[7:36] >> Great. Good.

[7:37] >> From a lot of success, so I'm sure it'll

[7:39] continue.

[7:39] >> Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

[7:41] >> Any other discussion from the council?

[7:42] >> No, I just want to say thank you for

[7:43] staying in Bristol and and uh good luck.

[7:46] >> Thank you very much. We want to be there

[7:48] a long time.

[7:49] >> All in favor?

[7:50] >> Any opposed? Good luck. Good luck.

[7:52] >> Thank you very much everybody. Thank you

[7:53] for your time.

[7:54] The next item on the agenda is D4. This

[7:57] is Daniel Manchester for Bristol

[7:58] Historical Preservation Society. This is

[8:00] a request for mobile food establishment

[8:02] event permit for the annual flea and

[8:04] fair for August 8th from 9:00 a.m. to 4

[8:07] p.m.

[8:08] >> Based on the recommendations, I make a

[8:10] motion that we approve it. Second

[8:12] >> motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim to

[8:14] approve. Any discussion? Hearing none.

[8:16] All in favor?

[8:17] >> Any opposed?

[8:19] >> Thank you.

[8:20] >> The next item on the agenda is D5. This

[8:22] is arts in common for Porchfest 2026.

[8:24] This is a request for one-day dancing

[8:26] and entertainment license and street

[8:28] closure of a six block section of High

[8:30] Street from Wall-E to Biffield Streets

[8:32] on Sunday, September 20th from 2:30 to

[8:35] 6:30.

[8:37] >> Based on the recommendations, I make a

[8:39] motion. Do we approve it?

[8:41] >> Second.

[8:42] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim to

[8:44] approve. Any discussion?

[8:45] >> Uh, yes. just there's no one here but uh

[8:48] just making them aware of and I'm sure

[8:50] they it's never been an issue about the

[8:52] police and fire details and uh also the

[8:56] coordination with DPW about um you know

[8:59] blocking the streets you know so

[9:00] >> well said

[9:02] >> and also uh I think there's a rain date

[9:04] for September 27th so I don't know if we

[9:07] need to include that in the motion or

[9:08] not but

[9:09] >> yes

[9:10] >> okay

[9:11] >> any other discussion hearing none all in

[9:14] favor

[9:14] >> I Any opposed? Thank you.

[9:18] >> The next item on the agenda is D6. This

[9:20] is Char uh Charles Mcdana, Bristol 4th

[9:22] of July committee. This is a request for

[9:24] the mobile food truck establishment

[9:26] event permit for outdoor concert series

[9:28] at Independence Park. This is from June

[9:30] 21st through July 2nd from 4 p.m. to 10

[9:32] p.m.

[9:35] >> Based in the uh positive

[9:37] recommendations, I make a motion to

[9:39] approve it.

[9:40] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Mary.

[9:42] Any discussion? Uh Charles Chuck is not

[9:46] here. I had a question. I was looking

[9:48] through the uh sketch there and I didn't

[9:51] see where the Porter Johns were located.

[9:53] If does did somebody else notice that or

[9:56] you know where they uh they're located

[9:59] them?

[10:00] >> I am not aware of that. Yeah, I looked

[10:02] at the uh

[10:03] >> they're typically sketch and you know I

[10:06] know because things will be modified for

[10:08] the the food trucks to go along themes

[10:11] and then you know handicap parking into

[10:14] the uh the commercial fisherman area.

[10:17] So, I was just wondering, I mean, it's

[10:19] no big deal. You know,

[10:21] >> past years it had been against the dock

[10:24] area, which is now a new dock area,

[10:27] right?

[10:28] >> Um, would you like to make the motion so

[10:30] it includes clarity on that?

[10:31] >> Not really.

[10:32] >> No. No. Okay.

[10:33] >> I'll pass up on that. Okay.

[10:35] >> I'm sure you know I'll hold off on the

[10:38] other comment I was going to make.

[10:40] >> I didn't know where you were going. So,

[10:42] >> any other discussion?

[10:43] >> No, I was just happy to see there was a

[10:45] comprehensive security plan. uh for

[10:48] this. I mean, it's a major part of the

[10:50] Fourth of July celebration. So, uh I

[10:52] think it's a even though it's down near

[10:54] Independence Park, we had some

[10:55] hesitation in the past, it seems like

[10:57] it's been well thought out and um

[10:59] definitely in support.

[11:01] >> And to speak to Tim's point, included in

[11:04] our packet is a fact sheet for food

[11:07] truck safety. And that talks about

[11:09] things like placement of the trucks,

[11:10] which of course the police chief weighed

[11:12] in on and his department weighed in on

[11:14] uh and also um where uh generators go

[11:19] and LP containers such and so forth. So

[11:21] there was to Tim's point, it was well

[11:24] thought out, comprehensive.

[11:25] >> Yes.

[11:26] >> Any other discussion?

[11:28] >> Hearing none. All in favor? Any opposed?

[11:31] >> Thank you.

[11:32] >> The next item on the agenda is F2. This

[11:34] is Lena Aml, 192nd School Street. This

[11:37] is a request for accessible parking spot

[11:39] in the vicinity of the residence.

[11:42] >> Chief, your recommendation to the

[11:44] council was to deny um and the way I

[11:48] read it was because there is a uh the

[11:51] resident has um a driveway. Could you

[11:54] expand upon it a bit? I know we have it,

[11:56] but just for the public in the record.

[11:58] >> Yes, Captain Wney worked with DPW

[12:01] Director Pller and they determined that

[12:03] there was ample off- streetet parking um

[12:05] at that residence. That's the basis for

[12:07] the denial

[12:11] » council.

[12:12] >> Actually, I took it right. I mean, I

[12:14] trust their recommendations, but just

[12:16] out of curiosity, you know, because

[12:18] we've had a couple things on the

[12:20] handicap parking and in in the area and

[12:23] I was just very curious, so I took a

[12:25] ride, but I concur that there's ample

[12:28] space off street.

[12:30] >> Okay. So based on the recommendations

[12:33] and the uh available off- streetet

[12:35] parking, I make a motion to deny.

[12:37] >> Second.

[12:38] >> Motion made by Tim, seconded by Tony as

[12:40] stated. Any discussion?

[12:42] >> Hearing none. All in favor?

[12:44] >> I.

[12:44] >> Any opposed? Thank you,

[12:46] >> Mr. Chairman and members of the council.

[12:48] The next item on the agenda is G1. This

[12:50] is the Bristol Christmas Festival. This

[12:52] is for one year expired term set to

[12:54] expire February 2026. So we have the

[12:56] recommendation from the chairwoman Tanya

[12:59] Kerrion for the Christmas festival 2026.

[13:02] >> Uh based on the recommendation of the

[13:04] chair I make a recommend I mean I

[13:07] recommend we approve it.

[13:09] >> Second motion made by Tony seconded by

[13:12] Mary as stated. Any discussion hearing?

[13:15] None. All in favor.

[13:16] >> Any opposed? Thank you.

[13:19] >> The next item on the agenda is G2. This

[13:21] is the historic district commission. And

[13:22] this is for one three-year unexpired

[13:24] member position set to expire July 2027.

[13:27] And we have Michael Olaflin with

[13:29] interest in re um resignation. And then

[13:32] we have Robert Paige who is the first

[13:35] alternate with interest in being

[13:36] elevated and Robert Chimera um who is

[13:39] the second alternate with interest in

[13:41] being elevated. I make a motion that we

[13:44] approve the uh resignation and uh I was

[13:48] reading through Melissa's notes and uh I

[13:50] think she really covers the thank you uh

[13:52] already through the the communication

[13:55] with him. Um and I also included a

[13:59] motion to elevate Robert Page.

[14:03] >> You'd be elevating both plates. I think

[14:06] there's only one position on the uh

[14:08] >> No, I mean one

[14:10] up to the alternate and the second

[14:11] alternate up to the first alternate and

[14:13] then

[14:13] >> and we advertise right

[14:16] yes

[14:16] >> you are very right.

[14:18] >> That's exactly what I said. Thank you.

[14:21] >> Is there a second?

[14:22] >> Second.

[14:22] >> All right. So the motion made by Tony,

[14:24] seconded by Mary was to um move Robert

[14:29] Page to the full position which is being

[14:32] vacated by Michael Olaflin and to then

[14:35] move Robert Camaro to the first

[14:37] alternate position. Any discussion

[14:39] >> and advertise

[14:39] >> and to advertise for

[14:40] >> and to advertise. Thank you for that.

[14:42] >> Thank you.

[14:42] >> Uh and to advertise. Any other

[14:44] discussion?

[14:45] >> Hearing none. All in favor? I. Any

[14:47] opposed?

[14:48] >> Thank you. And this is the end of the

[14:51] boards and commissions.

[14:53] >> It is.

[14:56] >> Is he the assumptive, Mr. Chairman?

[14:57] >> Yeah. Yes. We This council always says

[15:01] thank you to the boards and commissions.

[15:03] Um and

[15:06] there are some meetings that are

[15:07] particularly difficult. There are some

[15:09] meetings that are particularly easy. Um

[15:11] but all of those meetings means that um

[15:13] the men and women who live in this

[15:16] community take time away from their

[15:17] family and friends to serve this

[15:19] community and this council recognizes

[15:22] that. This town recognizes that by

[15:24] saying thank you. Thank you.

[15:27] >> The next item on the agenda is I1. This

[15:30] is CLA with the presentation of the

[15:33] fiscal year 2025 annual fis financial

[15:36] statements.

[15:38] >> The moment of the meeting we've all been

[15:39] waiting for. Oh boy. Yeah. No pressure

[15:42] at all though.

[15:44] >> Welcome.

[15:45] >> Thank you.

[15:46] >> Floor's yours.

[15:47] >> Um, so do you all have my slide deck or

[15:50] >> We received it from the clerk. Yes. So,

[15:54] and I think Erica, do you have that that

[15:56] we're able to put it up on the TVs?

[16:03] » Our truly capable. Uh, Eric is going to

[16:06] get that up on There it is right there.

[16:07] >> Gota love it when it works.

[16:09] >> Yes.

[16:10] every other year.

[16:11] >> That's fun when it doesn't work, right?

[16:13] So,

[16:14] >> so my name is Steve Gross. I'm a audit

[16:16] principal at CLA. I'm tasked with

[16:19] overseeing and ultimately signing off on

[16:20] the engagement. Um, I'll just do a brief

[16:24] overview. So, when we move on to the

[16:26] next slide, it's just a legal disclaimer

[16:29] so we can move on from that. So, I'm

[16:32] going to be covering four things. the

[16:34] audit scope, financial highlights,

[16:37] required communications and then some

[16:39] questions afterwards.

[16:42] Um so

[16:44] our engagement is essentially we do

[16:46] three different tasks uh for the town.

[16:49] We first report on the engagement under

[16:52] generally accepted auditing standards.

[16:54] This is your basic financial statement.

[16:56] So this is your balance sheet, the P&L

[16:59] and everything that's encompassed within

[17:01] there. For that uh for that financial

[17:04] statement, we issued a unmodified or

[17:06] clean opinion. This is the highest rated

[17:08] opinion that you can get. Um the second

[17:11] report is under generally accepted

[17:13] government auditing standards. This is

[17:15] also commonly known as your yellow

[17:17] bucket report. It provides a report on

[17:19] internal controls over financial

[17:20] reporting, compliance with laws, grants,

[17:23] and regulations.

[17:25] um we only had one finding related to

[17:26] that which was a significant deficiency

[17:29] on internal controls over that financial

[17:31] reporting. This just relates to a bunch

[17:34] of cleanup items that we had from prior

[17:36] year audits that me and the finance

[17:38] director kind of work together with to

[17:41] resolve in the current year. So I don't

[17:43] expect this finding to be carried going

[17:45] forward. So this kind of just a one-year

[17:48] finding as we just need to clean up a

[17:50] bunch of stuff. Um and then the third

[17:53] item is uniform guidance. This is also

[17:55] commonly known as the federal single

[17:56] audit. So this is all your federal

[17:58] grants that's received through the town.

[18:00] ARPA CWG are the are the main ones and

[18:04] we had no instances of non-compliance

[18:06] related to those grant uh compliance.

[18:10] Moving on, uh this is a highlevel view

[18:13] of your governmentwide financial

[18:15] statements. So the first column is

[18:18] essentially all the talents activities

[18:20] minus sore activity and your pension

[18:23] activity and then that business type is

[18:26] just your sore activity since you have

[18:27] no other enterprise funds. Um there was

[18:30] some increases in the assets and the

[18:32] liabilities. These increases relate to

[18:35] the issuance of the bonds in fiscal year

[18:38] 25 and the incre and then the purchasing

[18:41] and the capitalizing of those assets.

[18:46] And then moving on to the next page.

[18:51] Uh this is your governmental fund

[18:54] balances on essentially your P&L for

[18:57] your general fund and then all of your

[18:58] other funds that aren't related to store

[19:00] fund or your pension plan pension bank.

[19:03] As you can see near the bottom, uh you

[19:07] got 219,000 in uh in excess over

[19:12] revenues over expenditures, which means

[19:15] that you had brought in more money than

[19:17] you spent. So that's always a good

[19:19] thing. So that added to your fund

[19:20] balance. Um, you could also see that

[19:23] with your other funds as well, which

[19:25] also increased $737,000,

[19:29] which in total was just shy of a million

[19:32] dollars of increase in fund balance.

[19:38] Moving on, this is just a representation

[19:41] of the general fund and the fund

[19:42] balance. This is kind of what uh a lot

[19:44] of the bond rating agencies look at is

[19:47] your fund balance. So, I kind of just do

[19:50] a little blurb on that. Um, essentially

[19:52] what they look at is your assigned and

[19:54] unassigned. Essentially, that's what is

[19:56] considered your rainy day fund. Um, in

[19:59] fiscal year 25 that was around $10.1

[20:02] million.

[20:03] Um usually uh rating agencies as well as

[20:08] the auditor general for the state around

[20:10] recommends having a percentage around 15

[20:14] to 20% of your fund balance should be

[20:17] reserved for rainy day just because you

[20:20] don't know what's going to happen

[20:21] tomorrow or the next day. So it's always

[20:23] good to have that reserve in there. And

[20:25] it also helps your bond rating, right?

[20:27] So when you have a higher bond rating

[20:29] that means you the cost to borrow is

[20:31] less. So um so that's what this is kind

[20:35] of breaking out and if you look at the

[20:37] last three years you can see that fund

[20:39] bounce gradually increasing which means

[20:41] you're um having a little bit more in

[20:44] that rainy day bond.

[20:48] Moving on to the next one. This is just

[20:50] a highle view of your shore enterprise

[20:52] fund. Um, this had a negative change in

[20:55] net position of $555,000,

[20:59] but overall since you still have $23

[21:01] million in fund balance, um, that fund

[21:04] still seems to be pretty healthy. So,

[21:07] Steve,

[21:08] >> just stopping there for a second. So, we

[21:10] saw a decrease there, but that was on

[21:13] council action taken so we could do uh,

[21:15] we'll call it capital improvements,

[21:17] >> right? Yeah, you can see that through

[21:19] the transfer thou $575,000.

[21:22] That's kind of what that council action

[21:24] is. So essentially you're just eating

[21:25] into some of that that position. So

[21:28] >> thank you. Please.

[21:30] >> All right. Moving on to the next slide.

[21:33] This is just your fund deficits. Uh

[21:35] essentially all these are those

[21:37] aggregate remaining funds that aren't

[21:39] part of the general fund. Um it

[21:41] accumulates to around $1 million. This

[21:44] could just be timing issues. So, if you

[21:46] have a grant that's outstanding that

[21:48] hasn't been collected yet, you might be

[21:50] showing a negative fund balance until

[21:52] that grant gets collected in the in the

[21:54] following fiscal year, or you're waiting

[21:57] for bond money to come through to

[21:59] essentially offset that uh that uh

[22:04] excess expenditure.

[22:09] Moving on, this is a highle view of all

[22:12] of your debt. So on the top section,

[22:15] it's your governmental activities. Um

[22:18] there was the addition of the $2.8

[22:21] million bond in fiscal year 25, but that

[22:25] was pretty much offset by the debt

[22:26] service. So overall the debt service

[22:28] decreased. Your net pension liability,

[22:31] which is all those state plans that uh

[22:34] the town holds since uh as well as your

[22:37] police pension plan that showed a

[22:40] decrease. So that went from $13 million

[22:44] to $10.7 million. So that's just driven

[22:48] by actuarial assumptions as well as how

[22:50] your performance did on your investments

[22:53] held in the pension

[22:55] uh plans. And then for the business type

[22:57] activities, there was that $2 million

[22:59] loan that was issued through the Rhode

[23:02] Island Infrastructure Bank. And then

[23:04] that was just offset by current year

[23:05] debt service on the remaining

[23:07] outstanding debt that year.

[23:11] Moving on, this is just a highle view of

[23:15] your budget to actual. Um, as you can

[23:18] see near the bottom, there was 800,000

[23:21] that was appropriated for fund balance,

[23:23] which wasn't needed this year as you

[23:25] still had a uh a surplus during the year

[23:28] of $376,000.

[23:31] So just means that uh each department is

[23:35] moning monitoring their expenditures and

[23:38] not going over uh what they were

[23:41] budgeted and allocated for by the town

[23:43] council.

[23:49] Now going back to the federal single

[23:50] audit, this is the uniform guidance. Um

[23:53] so we tested two programs. It was ARPA

[23:56] and CDBG

[23:57] uh that represented around 2.25 25

[24:01] million. So essentially we tested about

[24:05] 66% of uh the total federal awards of

[24:09] 3.84%

[24:11] and like I mentioned before there was no

[24:13] compliance findings and we're going to

[24:15] look to issue a unmodified opinion on

[24:17] those uh on grant compliance.

[24:19] >> Yes, if I may on the ARPA there are okay

[24:23] is that that is is there a balance at

[24:26] this point or is we cleaned out? So we we do have a small balance left. We

[24:32] need to spend the money by December 26

[24:35] in order if we don't forfeit the funds,

[24:37] but trust me, we can use the money in

[24:40] our projects we have all over the town.

[24:42] >> So I took that as we'll spend the money.

[24:43] >> We would.

[24:44] >> So there's a small amount.

[24:46] >> Oh, okay.

[24:47] >> My recommendation would be to spend the

[24:49] money by 12:30.

[24:50] >> Yeah,

[24:52] >> we'll follow that.

[24:55] >> And then uh required communications.

[24:57] This is uh communications by us your

[24:59] auditors to you the council who's in

[25:01] charge of governance. Uh there was only

[25:04] one uh Gazby that we implemented during

[25:09] fiscal year 25 which relates to

[25:11] compensated absences. Uh there was two

[25:14] significant estimates that were part of

[25:16] our audit. Both the net pension

[25:17] liability and the net oped liability

[25:19] which in your case is actually a net op

[25:21] asset. um there's a lot of actuarial

[25:24] assumptions that underly those numbers

[25:26] that s that relate to you know making

[25:29] projections of mort mortality as well as

[25:32] investment return on your uh pension

[25:35] plan and OKA plans. So based on those

[25:38] estimates they can shift a little bit

[25:40] and those balances can obviously

[25:42] fluctuate a lot because of those

[25:44] assumptions.

[25:46] uh we considered none of our the

[25:48] disclosures sensitive to the financial

[25:51] statements. We had no we encountered no

[25:54] difficulties in performing the audit.

[25:58] Moving on to the next page. There was no

[26:00] uncorrected misstatements.

[26:02] We did have some restatements that I

[26:04] mentioned earlier. These were all a

[26:05] bunch of cleanup items that occurred

[26:07] this year which we won't expect going

[26:09] forward. Um, one was related to the

[26:13] Gatsby 87 leases which were there was a

[26:15] bunch of less sour transactions that

[26:17] needed to be reported to the general

[26:19] fund which they have since been

[26:21] reported. Um, this applied both to the

[26:24] governmental activities as well as the

[26:25] general fund. There was also a

[26:28] correction of the capital assets just to

[26:30] agree to the underlying uh schedules

[26:33] that were provided by the finance

[26:35] director. uh there was the removal of

[26:37] the sore portion of the net OPEC asset

[26:41] that was being double counted on both

[26:42] the governmental and the business type

[26:45] activity financial statements. So we

[26:47] essentially just pulled that activity

[26:49] out and now it's just standing on the

[26:51] sore fund. Um then we removed the double

[26:55] counting of bond funds. So essentially

[26:58] there was some adjustments made by the

[26:59] previous auditor where they essentially

[27:02] just double counted the money that was

[27:04] being held by Round Infrastructure Bank.

[27:06] So all we did was just remove that

[27:07] double counting on the governmentwide on

[27:10] the fund level which is what the town

[27:12] manages. There was no double counting.

[27:14] So this was just storing the 34 entries

[27:17] to the governmentwide financials. And

[27:19] then we adjusted the bond premiums as

[27:22] well, which is also one of those 34

[27:24] entries that the previous auditor uh is

[27:27] responsible for plugging at the end of

[27:28] the day. For the business type, we only

[27:31] had two corrections which was also

[27:33] related to the capital assets. Uh they

[27:36] didn't agree to the underlying ledgers

[27:38] provided by the town. So we just

[27:39] adjusted those balances to what the town

[27:42] had on record. And then there was a

[27:44] capital fund that it was held that's on

[27:48] the books for the town which wasn't

[27:50] included in previous audits. So we added

[27:52] that fund. It's related to the sore

[27:54] enterprise capital.

[27:56] >> Did any of those corrections have any

[27:58] impact on the budget?

[28:01] It it would not no adjustments need to

[28:04] be made to the budget though. Right.

[28:06] >> There was no adjustments to the budget

[28:08] related to any of these restatements.

[28:10] Essentially what would happens is how

[28:12] you budget it, we would just adjust it

[28:14] through the budget to gap

[28:16] reconciliation. So it had no effect on

[28:19] the budget as a whole.

[28:20] >> Gotcha.

[28:21] >> It's just essentially gap cleanup.

[28:26] >> Um lastly, we had no disagreements with

[28:29] management.

[28:32] Uh we were not aware of management

[28:34] consulting any other independent

[28:36] accountants during our audit.

[28:39] uh there was no significant issues

[28:41] discussed with management prior to the

[28:42] engagement. There was no significant

[28:44] findings or issues that were discussed

[28:46] for the subject of correspondence with

[28:49] management there on other than was

[28:51] already mentioned before. uh there was

[28:53] no other audit findings or issues and

[28:56] then there was two other things that

[28:57] were added to the audit financial

[28:59] statements that of the RSI which

[29:01] includes your budget pension and OKAP

[29:04] schedules and then the stat information

[29:06] which is your tax collector schedule

[29:10] and with that is there any questions

[29:12] that the town answered

[29:14] >> yeah um I call and team I want to thank

[29:18] you you know obviously the town's on

[29:21] good financial footing and we appreciate

[29:24] you keeping an eye on everything. Um, I

[29:26] had a question on the Gatsby 101. If you

[29:29] could just sort of explain what that

[29:31] means. I didn't I don't really

[29:32] understand it.

[29:33] >> Sure.

[29:34] >> And um, two, the uh, fund deficit that

[29:37] you mentioned that was a million plus.

[29:38] It's due to timing of some kind of

[29:41] something coming in if that is that

[29:43] going to be addressed.

[29:44] >> Okay. So, I'll handle question one. So,

[29:47] question one is Gatsby 101. So that

[29:50] relates to compensated absence. So in

[29:53] the past uh compensated absences was

[29:55] calculated as an approval. So it's like

[29:57] all right if the town was ceased

[29:59] operations as of 6:30, how much would

[30:02] the town owe all of its employees? And

[30:05] essentially that's how the calculation

[30:06] was until this year. And what changed

[30:10] was is what isn't paid anymore. So what

[30:13] is acred by the employee but isn't paid

[30:16] out by by the town at the time of

[30:18] termination. So let's look at sick time

[30:21] for example. Say that sick time is only

[30:25] paid out 50% when you terminate from the

[30:28] city either through retirement or the

[30:30] employee leaves. Right?

[30:32] >> Um on the old way you just say all right

[30:35] they had 20 hours they get 50 50% of it.

[30:39] They get paid out 10 hours. Now we're

[30:41] looking at the other 50% which is what

[30:43] doesn't get paid out. And what we do is

[30:46] we look at historical information and

[30:48] see how much of that time we expect that

[30:50] employee to use prior to their ter

[30:52] termination. So all we're doing is

[30:55] trying to figure out of the 10 of the 10

[30:58] hours they're not going to get anymore.

[31:00] Um how much do we expect them to use by

[31:03] the time they they leave either through

[31:05] termination or through retirement. So if

[31:08] we expect them to use 20% of their time,

[31:10] we now acrew two more additional days on

[31:13] top of the 10 days that you're already

[31:15] going to pay out via cash and that's

[31:18] what we now acrew.

[31:20] >> Okay. So it's a projection.

[31:21] >> It's essentially a it's an estimate.

[31:23] Yeah.

[31:23] >> An estimate. Yeah.

[31:24] >> Yes.

[31:25] >> Okay. Thank you.

[31:26] >> And then the second item, I don't know

[31:28] if Carl wants to touch on that subject.

[31:31] >> Sure. I can address that. So the

[31:33] negative fund balances in some of the

[31:35] accounts are reimbursements and trans

[31:38] for instance we get reimbursed as you

[31:41] notice as you know we're doing a lot of

[31:43] RIP financing now and the difference

[31:46] between a ribbon and a go bond the go

[31:49] bond we get the money all up front and

[31:52] RIP financing it's it's draw down so we

[31:56] expend the money out of the general fund

[31:59] then we have to get reimbursed by RIP

[32:01] for the money. So that's that's

[32:03] basically how it works. And some of the

[32:06] funds we wait we're waiting for the

[32:08] money back from RIP such as the grants,

[32:11] all the all the RIP financing grants. I

[32:14] know Ed does a lot of them with the

[32:15] trees in uh Independence Park where they

[32:19] do a yearly report. They they we upload

[32:22] it to RIB. RIB reimbures us for all of

[32:25] those all of those funds. And a lot of

[32:28] the other funds that are showing

[32:30] negative are reimbursed by the state as

[32:32] well, which some come came back in FY26.

[32:36] We saw that clear up 25's negatives.

[32:39] What I did was and I want to send to the

[32:41] council tomorrow. I have it prepared is

[32:44] every single one of the negatives.

[32:46] You're going to see how it's going to be

[32:48] resolved as far as if it was resolved

[32:50] already reimbured by 26 and how we're

[32:52] going to resolve. There's still some

[32:54] small ones out there which could be

[32:56] clean up from years ago wheelchair

[32:59] grants for is one of them. It's small

[33:01] amount of money that probably the amount

[33:04] should come from to make up the

[33:05] difference could come from the general

[33:06] fund. You're thinking like $800 or

[33:09] something to that effect. So any of the

[33:10] big ones it's accounted for basically by

[33:13] reimbursement from different sources uh

[33:16] state RIP and other and other agencies.

[33:19] So, um there's a few of them that we

[33:22] need clean up on and research on because

[33:24] some of them are carried over from like

[33:26] 21 22. They just continue to roll over

[33:29] because of the funds just continue to

[33:31] roll year after year. So, um yeah, that

[33:35] just needs some we need to be clear.

[33:37] >> That deficit money keeps rolling over

[33:39] from year after year or is that at some

[33:41] point we just we just just close it out?

[33:44] >> Okay, we just close it out.

[33:46] >> Close it out. Got it.

[33:48] >> Thanks, Cole. Yeah, Mr. Chairman, I'll

[33:50] just say um

[33:52] >> thanks Carl. I think that what we've

[33:54] heard today demonstrates that this

[33:56] council and the administration and the

[33:59] staff that we have behind all of this,

[34:03] we're good stewards of taxpayer money

[34:05] and that like even when we did use that

[34:09] fund balance, what was it? $2 million. I

[34:11] think Mr. Chairman, you just said that

[34:12] while he was uh talking about that,

[34:14] that's for a major capital project. We

[34:16] weren't using $2 million on a one-time

[34:19] expenditure or anything like that. It

[34:21] was a $2 million expenditure for

[34:24] something that was going to last about

[34:25] 15 to 25 years, and that was road

[34:27] maintenance. So, it's something that

[34:30] when we're spending today, it's going to

[34:32] benefit future future taxpayers.

[34:36] >> See, there's a reason why you don't need

[34:38] to worry about when I make those

[34:40] motions, you know.

[34:43] Not

[34:45] no but in all truth uh you know really I

[34:48] have to concur with the uh our my

[34:52] colleagues you know that uh we are we

[34:54] are in a very good position you know

[34:56] when we hear the news about Krenston

[34:59] well other municipalities let's not

[35:02] mention too many of those even in

[35:04] Massachusetts you know you sit there and

[35:06] you go hm we're not too bad after all

[35:10] for as much as people sometimes complain

[35:12] you know we are doing a very good job

[35:15] overall. We being good stewards all

[35:17] around, you know, not just the council,

[35:19] but uh obviously the staff. You folks do

[35:21] a good job keeping the books, you know,

[35:23] for the town and obviously the oversight

[35:26] by the administrator as well.

[35:30] >> Mary,

[35:31] >> no interest. I think it's like we're

[35:33] always in very good shape and um I thank

[35:36] everyone that keeps a good eye on

[35:38] everything, it makes it so much easier, I I've worked in a

[35:42] community that can't keep track of their

[35:44] accounting for the last three years and

[35:47] it's a disaster. So, it's very wonderful

[35:50] to see that we are not anywhere near

[35:52] that situation and that we have a good

[35:55] handle on our financial situation and

[35:58] that we're able to take advantage of of

[36:00] situations that come up that may require

[36:02] funding because we have, you know, our

[36:04] fund balances, we have money in the

[36:06] bank, so to speak. And um I'm very proud

[36:09] of like our community and that we're

[36:11] able to for many many years have a very

[36:14] good financial report and that we're

[36:17] financially sound. So thank I think

[36:19] everyone that is involved that

[36:22] >> I will finish by saying wanted to add

[36:25] something.

[36:25] >> Yes. If I may just you know from one of

[36:28] the colleagues for 40 years here with

[36:30] the town government uh that means a lot

[36:33] you know on that statement.

[36:34] >> Agreed. Agreed. So I my colleagues

[36:38] covered it real quick.

[36:40] We had no management letter. No

[36:43] management letter is an outstanding

[36:45] achievement. And I'll take a moment to

[36:48] again say thank you Carl your department

[36:50] Lan the efforts and energies that go

[36:53] into this. Um Carl and the

[36:57] administrator, in fact, I should have

[36:59] said that earlier and the clerk did

[37:01] remind me at the beginning of the

[37:02] meeting that um Steve Contenti is not

[37:05] here this evening because he's at the

[37:07] high school giving out awards on behalf

[37:09] of the town.

[37:10] >> Um so he is there doing important work

[37:13] as we're doing important work here.

[37:15] Steve, thank you for your um run through

[37:18] of the work that you did. Um so the no

[37:21] management letter I keep coming back to

[37:22] that because that is that is clearly

[37:25] saying that good work is being done

[37:26] here. Um and um you our new auditing

[37:31] firm did an outstanding job. We had a

[37:34] lot of changes over the last year

[37:36] including new accounting software which

[37:38] is a tremendous change. If anybody's

[37:41] gone through any kind of software change

[37:43] at their employer we all know how

[37:46] difficult it is. It is not fun. So that

[37:49] in and of itself is an outstanding um

[37:52] the change from uh the improvements that

[37:54] we're seeing with your firm we very much

[37:57] appreciate.

[37:57] >> Thank you so much.

[37:58] >> Um the fund balance going up is is is a

[38:02] phenomenal uh next step and it's always

[38:05] we're doing a good job with that which

[38:07] speaks to no structural deficit here.

[38:10] We're not building uh to

[38:12] >> to bring it down. So so many good things

[38:14] here. Um I just wanted to say again

[38:17] thank you. Um I know my colleagues and I

[38:20] work very hard on this. We are

[38:22] ultimately responsible for it but like

[38:24] we talked about there's nothing that

[38:26] anyone can do alone. So outstanding job

[38:28] to all of you.

[38:29] >> Um help me with uh are we accepting this

[38:32] report? It I don't know the motion

[38:34] necessary.

[38:35] >> It would be to accept the financial

[38:36] statements as presented.

[38:38] >> So moved. Second.

[38:39] >> Motion made by Tim, seconded by Tony as

[38:42] stated. Is there any other discussion

[38:44] hearing? None. All in favor? I. Any

[38:46] opposed?

[38:47] >> Thank you.

[38:49] so much.

[38:50] >> Yep.

[38:52] >> Mr. Chairman, members of the council,

[38:53] the next item on the agenda is I2. This

[38:55] is tax assessum and this is the

[38:57] resolution for 2026 of the town of

[39:00] Bristol authorizing the assessment of

[39:01] valuations and levy of taxes, sewer

[39:04] service fees, and sewer assessments.

[39:06] >> Hi, Chris.

[39:07] >> Good evening.

[39:08] >> Quick uh rundown as we do this every

[39:11] year, please.

[39:12] >> Okay. So I think this is more just a a

[39:14] rubber stamp on the budget that was

[39:15] already approved. Um nothing not much

[39:19] has changed since then. Um so the the

[39:22] levy is basically you know staying

[39:24] intact to what you approved in the uh 53

[39:28] 624 724.

[39:30] Um the tax rate for our homestead tax

[39:34] rate is projected at 9.939

[39:39] or or $9 uh 94 per thousand and our

[39:44] nonhomestead rate will be at 10.986

[39:50] roughly you know $10.99

[39:52] per thousand. Right. Right in line with

[39:55] what was

[39:56] >> It's a little bit less than what we had

[39:57] figured.

[39:58] >> About a penny less on each,

[40:00] >> but it is less than Chris. Can you say

[40:01] it out loud for me?

[40:05] » That's the question. Is it less?

[40:09] >> It's the little things, Chris.

[40:12] >> Take what you can get.

[40:13] >> It really is.

[40:13] >> Any questions from the council?

[40:15] >> Uh, can you repeat those numbers again,

[40:17] please? Was 9.39.

[40:19] >> Yeah. So, the homestead is um 9.939.

[40:23] >> Oh, 939. Okay.

[40:26] >> And the nonhomestead and commercial is

[40:30] 10.986.

[40:32] >> Thank you.

[40:34] >> Going in the right direction.

[40:35] >> So, if there's no questions from the

[40:37] council, we just need a motion to adopt

[40:38] the resolution.

[40:39] >> So, move.

[40:40] >> Yeah. Move to adopt the resolution.

[40:42] >> All right. So, I

[40:43] >> second.

[40:44] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim as

[40:46] stated. Any discussion? Hearing none.

[40:49] All in favor? I.

[40:50] >> Any opposed?

[40:51] >> Thank you. Thank you, Chris.

[40:52] >> Thank you, Chris.

[40:54] >> The next item on the agenda is I3. This

[40:56] is Chris Rooney, forestry manager with

[40:58] Rhode Island Energy, requesting the

[41:00] council's consideration for Rhode Island

[41:02] Energy to administer tree growth

[41:04] regulators on specific trees throughout

[41:06] the town of Bristol.

[41:07] >> Welcome, Chris.

[41:08] >> Good evening.

[41:09] Um so Rhode Island Energy

[41:12] with um approval and awareness of the

[41:15] PUC is starting to use tree growth

[41:18] regulators. And what a tree growth

[41:20] regulator does is it directs growth

[41:23] instead of growing back into the wire

[41:25] zone. It takes some of that energy and

[41:27] stores it into the tree into the trunk

[41:29] of the tree and helps the root system.

[41:32] So, what it does is for us as a utility

[41:35] when when we prune a tree, it wants to

[41:37] grow back into the space that we just

[41:39] trimmed out. This slows that growth down

[41:42] and then makes the next trip into town

[41:44] where we have to we don't have to take

[41:46] as much of the tree out and we don't

[41:48] have to use as many police details, lock

[41:50] up the road for a lot of work, that type

[41:52] of stuff. So, it's essentially an effort

[41:54] to reduce future work. The plus about

[41:57] the tree growth regulators is that it

[41:58] provides some beneficial uh health

[42:00] characteristics to the tree. So the tree

[42:03] becomes more insect and disease

[42:05] resistant and um just provides it a

[42:07] little bit more strength to handle the

[42:09] day-to-day. You know, it's not a

[42:11] vitamin, but it it's close and it's um

[42:14] it's been pretty well established over

[42:16] the years and used in various areas in

[42:19] Rhode Island. We've used it uh Rhode

[42:20] Island Energy has used it in Newport,

[42:23] Providence. We just did the uh east

[42:24] side. We've done it on DOT owned trees.

[42:28] So before we went and explored using it

[42:30] in Bristol, we approached the uh town

[42:32] administrator about a month ago, had a

[42:35] nice meeting with them, informed them of

[42:36] what we were thinking about. Um he uh

[42:39] also gave it to the conservation

[42:41] commission to look over and and study

[42:44] and um both of them I think provided

[42:46] findings to you all and and the the

[42:48] biggest part with this is the

[42:50] transparency. Rhode Island Energy is not

[42:52] trying to pull anything over. We're just

[42:54] trying to be, you know, this is what the

[42:55] benefits are to this program. It is a

[42:57] new uh effort that we are doing compared

[42:59] to National Grid. We tried it with

[43:02] National Grid. I was um I've been in

[43:04] this position 20 years. So, I've trimmed

[43:06] Bristol multiple times um as the

[43:09] forestry manager and this is a this is a

[43:10] tool in our toolbox to help help the

[43:13] situation get better.

[43:14] >> Chris, I don't want to end I I don't

[43:16] want to go negative, but you talked

[43:18] about the positive. Is there what are

[43:20] the negatives? Are there negatives?

[43:22] They're at cost.

[43:24] >> So, this won't hurt the tree.

[43:26] >> No.

[43:27] >> Um, it's not going to hurt the

[43:28] surrounding ground. It's not going to

[43:30] affect, for example, like a well or

[43:32] something like that.

[43:33] >> Nope.

[43:34] >> Wildlife. I was going to ask the same

[43:36] question. Wildlife.

[43:37] >> The The only thing it would affect is if

[43:39] somebody put flowers around the tree

[43:41] that we were going to treat where that

[43:43] those flowers would would uptake that

[43:45] stuff and slow the growth of the the

[43:47] >> So, they'd be stronger flowers. Well,

[43:49] they they would be significantly small.

[43:54] >> So that's So and it since you've brought

[43:57] that up, is there a radius that it

[44:00] affects?

[44:01] >> Um it all depends on the strength of the

[44:03] tree. So there's certain trees in

[44:04] Bristol that are uh lynen trees. Yeah.

[44:07] >> So right now we have crews on ferry

[44:09] road. Um unfortunately

[44:12] lynen trees want to become a hedge. So

[44:15] for every cut you make, another sprout

[44:17] comes back and it is a very difficult um

[44:20] place to trim. This would hopefully help

[44:22] our workers four years from now not have

[44:24] to take as much and they can stay

[44:26] further back from the wires and also

[44:27] prevent um you know help us prevent

[44:30] outages better. Okay. Council,

[44:34] >> I was looking through the pictures that

[44:36] were provided to us and one of them to

[44:38] your point about the the tree, it sort

[44:41] of redirects the energy of the tree to

[44:43] the roots. And it was interesting

[44:46] because to your point, you know, storms

[44:48] and all of that, if the trees are

[44:50] growing stronger, well, there it is. The

[44:52] reduction in damage and uh, you know,

[44:55] all the things that we have to deal with

[44:57] currently presently. So, yeah. Thank

[45:00] you. For

[45:00] >> for full transparency, what we intend to

[45:03] do is provide a list to the tree warden

[45:04] so he knows where we're going to be. So

[45:06] if there's any questions, comments, he

[45:08] has any concerns, he'll know exactly

[45:09] before we treat those trees. Um the

[45:12] trees on Hope Street and uh High Street,

[45:15] which are state, it will be the same

[45:16] thing. We will provide a list to the

[45:18] state of the trees we intend to treat.

[45:19] We'll get a permit from them so there's

[45:21] full transparency and there's there's no

[45:23] surprises.

[45:23] >> So what is the um information? So this

[45:27] is completely non-toxic to the

[45:30] environment.

[45:30] >> It it's there is a little bit just like

[45:33] fertilizer is or a tide pod. It's very

[45:35] low impact.

[45:37] >> So what is it that it would potentially

[45:39] hurt like no

[45:40] >> insects, bees,

[45:42] >> it wouldn't have it wouldn't affect any um environmental like insects or

[45:46] bees or anything like that. It's not a

[45:48] pesticide. It falls into a weird

[45:50] category as a tree growth regulator. So,

[45:52] it's not a it's not a fertilizer, but

[45:54] it's also not a a a herbicide or an

[45:56] insecttoide. So, it's not it's not

[45:58] stopping anything from growing. It's

[45:59] just making the tree grow smaller.

[46:02] >> So, is it um that will it in any way

[46:05] weaken the trees?

[46:06] >> No.

[46:08] cuz I just I just personally found out

[46:10] that a hurricane like um you know like

[46:14] the the deductible is like 40ome

[46:16] thousand you know on my house if a town

[46:19] tree if a tree fell on it but um I am a

[46:23] little concerned about the toxicity or

[46:25] anything like that because I am also

[46:28] concerned I I have to say it I know

[46:30] there's probably not any options but the

[46:32] V-shaped trees do not really look like a

[46:35] tree canopy you know that we're well

[46:37] known for. Um, and people come through

[46:40] and see like a, you know, a place that

[46:43] gets awards for its treeline streets. I

[46:46] mean, it's constantly I don't know if

[46:47] there's any other way to make them less

[46:49] obvious of a wishbone or not. But

[46:51] >> so, and that's the bright spot is that

[46:53] hopefully if this works, I'm taking half

[46:55] of the V out compared to the full V

[46:57] where it would be four years from now.

[46:59] So, the the tree wants to grow back and

[47:01] fill in exactly where we pruned. So our

[47:04] cycle in Bristol, we're not we've never

[47:06] really gone back further than we've

[47:08] traditionally gone back. So the cuts

[47:10] that you're seeing now are where we've

[47:12] cut to in the past. So it's just like

[47:13] mowing the lawn. You got to go back

[47:15] every four years. Um this hopes to

[47:18] reduce the amount that we have to take

[47:20] out every year, every time we come back.

[47:22] So that that's the hopes and dreams of

[47:23] this.

[47:25] >> All right. Thank you.

[47:26] >> And the tree boarding would have a list

[47:27] of what trees oversee. So we would have

[47:30] a record of what trees were treated and

[47:32] versus what ones were not.

[47:34] >> Yes, sir. Okay. As a matter of fact, in

[47:36] the city of Providence and Newport, we

[47:38] put this into their tree inventory

[47:39] system so they know what trees we

[47:41] treated and on what date. So we want

[47:43] full transparency.

[47:45] >> I must tell you the way that you

[47:47] explained it and how you're explaining

[47:49] it, how you uh want to make sure that

[47:52] you keep saying full transparency and I

[47:56] love it. I it's I'm I'm I don't mind

[47:59] saying I'm a little concerned because

[48:01] this is new and different and slowing

[48:04] down natural growth does make you kind

[48:06] of question but um you have a Purdue

[48:10] University study in front of us. We have

[48:12] our um conservation commission giving it

[48:15] a thumbs up. Um everything that we would

[48:18] normally go to, not Purdue but studies

[48:20] and we could go to Purdue I guess,

[48:23] right? Um but our conservation

[48:25] commission on a on a a situation like

[48:27] we're getting thumbs up and your

[48:29] explanation and what seems to be a great

[48:31] benefit makes sense. So um m

[48:34] >> Mr. Chairman, I I'll just reinforce a

[48:37] lot of what you were saying here is that

[48:39] >> just having the support for the from the

[48:41] conservation commission on this was very

[48:44] important for me and uh the these

[48:46] resources I think were provided by the

[48:48] conservation commission. I think that

[48:50] they actually went through all of these

[48:52] resources and read them, summarized

[48:55] them, interpreted them, and made some

[48:58] sort of decision on the basis of that

[49:00] and knowing about who we know serves on

[49:03] that conservation commission. I have a

[49:05] lot of confidence in the report or in

[49:07] their recommendation here.

[49:10] So, we need in my uh and please disagree

[49:14] u but we need a motion to approve the

[49:18] plan in front of us from the forestry

[49:21] manager of Rhode Island Energy.

[49:23] >> So, move.

[49:25] >> I'll second based on the

[49:26] recommendations.

[49:27] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim as

[49:29] stated. Any discussion?

[49:32] >> Hearing none. All in favor? Any opposed?

[49:34] Thank you. Thank you, Chris. Thank you

[49:36] very much.

[49:36] >> Thank you,

[49:39] >> Mr. Chairman and members of the council.

[49:41] The next item on the agenda are the

[49:42] bids. The first bid is J1. This is bid

[49:46] 1087. This is for the townwide heating

[49:49] ventilation air conditioning repair

[49:51] maintenance contract. We had the bid

[49:53] openings today at noon. We received two

[49:55] bids for that. We have the um automatic

[49:58] temperature control incount of 51,880

[50:02] and we also have the Ardent Engineering

[50:04] in the amount of 58,676.

[50:07] >> I make a motion we refer to the town

[50:09] administrator to act in the best

[50:11] interest of the DO. Second motion made

[50:13] by Tony, seconded by Tim as stated. Any

[50:15] discussion hearing? None. All in favor?

[50:18] >> I. Any opposed? Thank you.

[50:20] >> The next item on the agenda is bid 1088.

[50:23] This is for the townwide landscaping

[50:25] contract. We also had the bid today at

[50:27] 12:00. We received one bid opening for

[50:30] that and that's from Dave Pont's

[50:31] Landscaping Services and it was um a

[50:34] three-year contract with year 1 at

[50:36] 334,730,

[50:39] year 2 at 346,445

[50:43] in year 3 at 358,751.

[50:48] » I make a motion to refer to the D

[50:50] administrator to act in the best

[50:51] interest of the DO. Second.

[50:53] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Mary.

[50:55] Any discussion?

[50:57] >> Hearing none. All in favor? I. Any

[50:59] opposed?

[51:00] >> Thank you.

[51:01] >> The next item on the agenda is I3. This

[51:03] is bid number 1089. This is the curbside

[51:06] collection of residential yard waste. We

[51:08] did also have the uh bid opening today

[51:10] at noon. We received one um bid from

[51:15] Mega MTG disposal

[51:18] and it's broken down in a three-year

[51:20] contract and a 5-year contract. The

[51:22] three-year base bid service only was a

[51:25] total bid amount of 100 I'm sorry,

[51:27] 1,841,400.

[51:31] And you'll see it broken back into

[51:32] three-year segments. each um indicates

[51:35] the um disposal at the Rhode Island

[51:38] Resource Recovery Center and the other

[51:40] one at the town compost facility and

[51:42] they both mimic each other for each

[51:44] year. And then we also had the 5-year

[51:46] base bid for service only with the total

[51:50] base bid of the 5-year at 2,737500,000.

[51:54] And this also has the one toy year five

[51:57] um disposals at the RIRC and the town

[52:00] facility both mimicking each other.

[52:02] Um I have a question. Does this come

[52:05] close to what we had anticipated or had

[52:08] projected uh when we received the the uh

[52:11] the proposal through the budget?

[52:13] >> I believe it's a lot. It's a little bit

[52:14] higher.

[52:15] >> It's a little higher than expect that

[52:16] would been happening in our header room.

[52:19] >> Okay. Based on I make a recommend I mean

[52:23] uh yes recommendation to refer to the D

[52:25] administrator to act in the best

[52:27] interest of the D.

[52:30] >> Second.

[52:30] >> Motion made by Tony. Seconded by Tim as

[52:32] stated. Any discussion? Hearing none.

[52:35] All in favor? I.

[52:36] >> Any opposed? You.

[52:38] >> And the next item on the agenda is J4.

[52:40] This is bid number 1090. This is the

[52:42] 2627 Tree Planting Landscaping Service.

[52:45] We had the bid opening today at noon and

[52:48] we had

[52:49] six bids for that one. The first bid was

[52:52] from HG Landscaping Services LLC in the

[52:55] amount of $380 per tree. We have the

[52:58] Coastal Companies with the bid amount of

[53:01] $53,542

[53:03] per tree. We had Landscaping Services,

[53:06] Inc. in the amount of $387 per tree. We

[53:10] had M Landscaping Inc. in the amount of

[53:12] $350 per tree. We had Regal Tree and

[53:16] Shrub Experts LLC and this was in the

[53:19] amount of $660 per tree. And the last

[53:21] one was from Northeastern Tree Services

[53:24] in the amount of 520 per tree.

[53:27] I make a motion to refer to the town

[53:29] administrator to act in the best

[53:31] interest of the town.

[53:33] >> Second

[53:33] >> motion made by Tony, seconded by Tim as

[53:35] stated. Any discussion?

[53:37] >> Just how it varies the amounts, you

[53:39] know, from uh the lowest to the highest,

[53:42] you know, but the administrator will

[53:45] read through that.

[53:46] >> Any other discussion? Hearing none. All

[53:48] in favor?

[53:50] >> Any opposed? Andy, can I Oh, I'm sorry.

[53:54] Can I add that? And now that agenda

[53:56] item.

[53:57] >> Yeah.

[53:58] >> Okay. Um I'd like to just place an

[54:00] agenda item. Uh just uh extending our

[54:03] sympathies to Joan Doyle Roth. If I

[54:05] could add that to the agenda.

[54:08] >> Is there a second?

[54:08] >> Second.

[54:09] >> Motion made by Mary, seconded by Tim.

[54:12] All in favor?

[54:13] >> I.

[54:13] >> Any opposed? Mary?

[54:15] >> Um yes. I just wanted to take a moment

[54:17] to extend um our sympathies on behalf of

[54:20] the town and our our my colleagues here.

[54:23] Um, for those of you, many of you know

[54:24] Joan Joan Doyle Roth. She passed away on

[54:27] Memorial Day, I believe it was. And she

[54:29] was 99, close to 100. Her birthday would

[54:32] be in October. And for those of us who

[54:35] knew knew Joan, she's an absolute

[54:36] treasure of our community. And if you

[54:39] didn't know Joan, she's a treasure, an

[54:41] icon, an enthusiastic supporter of all

[54:44] things of her of her beloved Bristol.

[54:47] Um, she was very involved with so many

[54:49] things like she was a music teacher. she

[54:51] if you've ever been to the many moves of

[54:53] Christmas concert or the concerts on the

[54:54] common which she helped start um

[54:57] anything like that Joan would have been

[54:59] you know right in the middle of it and

[55:02] um she also was on the original

[55:04] committee I won't go through her whole

[55:06] list because there's a lot um very very

[55:08] involved the Rotary um club in Bristol

[55:11] as was her aunt who played the um piano

[55:15] there every week um and uh one of the

[55:18] original um committee members first to

[55:21] save Lynen Place in the late 1980s. She

[55:24] was just an absolute jewel and knew

[55:26] everything about Bristol and Bristol

[55:28] history and loved sharing it. Often

[55:30] called on to be like a little tour guide

[55:33] if there's a bus tour in Bristol. Kind

[55:35] of got brought into that, knew

[55:37] everything about it and she certainly

[55:38] will be be missed. And I just wanted to

[55:40] extend our sincere um condolences to her

[55:44] daughters uh Joanna and to Kathy uh um

[55:47] Katie.

[55:49] >> If I may, if I may add to that, um when

[55:52] I became administrator in Little Compton

[55:54] and they found out I was from Bristol,

[55:56] one of the things people would ask is,

[55:58] "Do you know John Roth?"

[55:59] >> Yes.

[56:00] >> I go, "Do I know Joan Roth?" Oh, yes. Uh

[56:03] she was a teacher actually in Little

[56:05] Compton, a music teacher in Little

[56:07] Compton for quite a few years as well.

[56:09] She left quite an impact in the

[56:10] community. I can tell you that.

[56:13] >> Yeah.

[56:13] >> Mary Tony, well said. I love the the

[56:16] word treasure. I think that was well

[56:18] said.

[56:18] >> Thank you.

[56:19] Mr. Chairman, for letting me

[56:20] bring that up.

[56:20] >> Of course, Andy.

[56:23] >> Yes. I would ask for a motion to go into

[56:26] executive session under Rhode Island

[56:28] General Laws section 42-46-5A2

[56:33] pertaining to litigation.

[56:36] um regarding the case 1 col 26-

[56:42] CV-0000150-MS-PAS

[56:49] town of Bristol versus Transportation

[56:51] Security Administration at all.

[56:55] >> Council move second.

[56:57] >> Motion made by Tony, seconded by Mary.

[57:00] Any discussion? We were going into

[57:03] executive session now. We will end our

[57:05] meeting in public but the video will

[57:08] stop now. So good night. Thank you.

Bristol RI Town Council Meeting - Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Transcript