FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 712-2221 or msheley@middletownri.com
MIDDLETOWN MEETING MATTERS
Middletown Town Council
When: Monday night.
Where: Town Hall, 350 East Main Road.
Absent: Barbara A. VonVillas.
Of note, the council:
- Met for the first time in person since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country in March 2019. Leading the meeting, council Vice President Paul M. Rodrigues said it was nice to see his colleagues in person and be back in the council chambers again.
- Voted against proposals to expand the mooring field off Third Beach and increase the fees for the Second Beach Family Campground. The council also agreed to expand the campground season to May 1 through Oct. 12 and look into funding improvements to the Sachuest Point Road facility.
- Held interviews with candidates Paul Croce, Betty Jane Owen and Stephen Huttler for vacancies on the town’s volunteer Planning Board. Council members agreed to make the appointments at the next session on April 19.
- Referred a proposal to amend the town’s future land use plan for several neighborhoods back to the Planning Board for additional review after neighbors expressed a number of concerns.
- Approved several large-scale events – on May 22, Sept. 12 and Oct. 10 – using area roadways, the first of their kind in town since COVID-19. While council members said they wanted to be cautious about the reopening of Middletown, the events were socially distanced and using other health protocols. Councilman Dennis Turano asked to make sure each event picked up after itself and didn’t cause litter issues.
- Heard from members of Middletowners Understanding Short-Term Rentals (MUSTERS) about the issues created by non-owner occupied short-term rentals in town. The group said the town needed to do more to regulate such operations, which they said were essentially businesses in a residential zones that had a high-cost on the community.
Next meeting: Monday, April 19.