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Votes at a glance: Charlestown Council approves event licenses, ARPA furniture purchase and housing resolution
Summary
At its March 24 meeting, the Charlestown Town Council approved multiple routine and substantive items, including two class F beverage licenses for public events, a furniture purchase funded by ARPA, continuation of a family-burial ordinance for further study, and a resolution supporting House Bill H5957 on low- and moderate-income housing.
The Charlestown Town Council took a series of formal actions at its March 24 meeting. The council recorded unanimous or near-unanimous votes on licenses, budget items and policy statements; one councilor recused on an event license.
Key actions and outcomes
1) Acceptance of thank-you card from fourth grade at Charlestown Elementary School — Approved unanimously. Motion to accept the card and include it in the minutes was made by Councilor Sarah and seconded by Councilor Maher; vote recorded as unanimous.
2) Consent agenda (items CAA through CAF) — Approved unanimously, 5–0.
3) Beverage license: Atlantis Rising International Sand Competition (Ninbrook Park, May 30–June 1, 2025) — Approved with modified service hours. The council amended the Saturday and Sunday service hours to 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Saturday) and 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Sunday in the application) during the hearing; final motion (with Saturday and Sunday set to 11:00 a.m. start times) passed unanimously, 5–0.
4) Beverage license: Charlestown Chamber of Commerce 40th Annual Seafood Festival (Niinnegar Park, Aug. 1–3, 2025) — Approved, subject to receipt of required paperwork. Councilor Maher recused from this discussion; the motion passed 4–0 with the recusal noted.
5) Continuation of public hearing on Ordinance amending Chapter 130 (family home burials) — The council voted 5–0 to continue the public hearing to Monday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m., and authorized the town administrator to consult the state medical examiner, Department of Health, funeral directors and other experts before that date.
6) Purchase of office furniture from WB Mason via the OMNIA Partners cooperative contract R191804 — Approved, not to exceed $26,813.84, using American Rescue Plan Act funds (budget line 43-0-0.51). Motion passed unanimously, 5–0.
7) Resolution in support of House Bill 2025 H5957 (act relating to towns and cities; low and moderate income housing) — Approved unanimously, 5–0. The council also voted to forward the resolution to the local delegation, the governor and the other 38 cities and towns.
8) Request from Verizon for a permanent wireless coverage pole at the park — Council voted to continue consideration pending further information and a definitive plan from Verizon and other stakeholders; motion to continue passed unanimously, 5–0.
9) Other procedural votes — The council sat as the beverage licensing board for license matters and recorded a 4–0 vote on a procedural adjournment where recusal was noted.
Where recorded votes were available, the transcript records unanimous approval for motions unless otherwise noted. Several motions were subject to receipt of required paperwork or further staff follow-up.
Full vote details and follow-ups are below.
