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North Smithfield council creates Hallowell Multigenerational Building Committee, dissolves two advisory panels and makes appointments
Summary
The North Smithfield Town Council voted to establish the Hallowell Multigenerational Building Committee (HMBC), dissolve two predecessor advisory groups and appoint voting members and alternates. Councilors discussed membership, funding gaps and a future go/no‑go review before construction work advances.
The North Smithfield Town Council voted to adopt a resolution establishing the Hallowell Multigenerational Building Committee and to dissolve two advisory groups that had guided early work on the Hallowell project.
The committee will advise the council on planning for a multigenerational building at the Hallowell site and will include both community members and professional staff, councilors said during the meeting. The council also approved nominations to fill the committee’s voting seats and alternates.
Councilors said the committee is intended to move the project from initial planning toward an RFP for a consultant while preserving multiple points at which elected officials can halt or scale the project if funding falls short. Town officials said they expect to continue pursuing grant sources to close an outstanding funding gap and to set a formal “go/no‑go” checkpoint during design and budget review.
The resolution clarifies committee membership. As discussed in the meeting, the HMBC will have five voting members (including one sitting councilor), two alternates who vote only in the absence of a regular voting member, and three professional staff members who serve on the body without a vote. Councilors asked the town solicitor and administrator to correct two clerical items in the draft resolution (language on a line referencing a written recommendation and an acronym correction) before finalizing the record.
Councilors also moved to dissolve the Hallowell Review Committee (HRC) and the Multi Generational Advisory Committee (MAC), saying those groups had completed their work and that the HMBC will lead the next phase.
At the meeting the council appointed the following to voting seats on the HMBC: Jeff Porter; Linda Thiebaud (chair, Multi‑Generational Committee); Scott Savigny; and Joanne Paulus. The council also named Councilor David Punchak as the required council voting member. The council appointed Robert Najarian as first alternate and John Tadiglione as second alternate.
Town officials reiterated that some earlier commitments of grant funds are restricted by source. A councilor noted that one of the previously discussed appropriations — $1,000,000 — is designated for outdoor recreation site work and “can’t be used on the building,” though it still contributes to the total project site budget. The administrator said Congressional appropriations and other large grant prospects remain under active pursuit; councilors said they expect the committee and administration to present ongoing budget status updates.
The council also asked the administration to schedule a presentation on asset management and to bring a visual grants summary to a future meeting so members can track grant applications and the project budget before the HMBC advances to an RFP for design services.
The resolution and the appointments passed on roll call votes.
