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Newport commissioners approve ordinances, property moratoriums and equipment purchases
Summary
On Aug. 18 the Newport Board of Commissioners approved three property assessment moratoriums on the consent agenda, four ordinances on second reading, purchase orders for an ambulance and a pickup truck, and several administrative updates in unanimous roll-call votes.
The Newport Board of Commissioners on Aug. 18 approved a slate of ordinances, consent agenda items and equipment purchases in unanimous roll-call votes.
What passed: The consent agenda included three property assessment moratoriums (for properties on the 300 block of West Eleventh, the 1000 block of Grama Street and the 600 block of Linden), surplus property disposals and related housekeeping items. Commissioners also approved second readings of four ordinances that update the city code and regulations: - Ordinance No. 6: A supplement to the City of Newport Code of Ordinances to add ordinances adopted in 2024 to the official code. - Ordinance No. 10: Creation of Chapter 103 establishing guidelines for approval, placement and design of murals in the city. - Ordinance No. 11: Amendment to Section 99.99 clarifying the penalty for violations of the rental dwelling license to align ordinance text with documentation on misdemeanor class. - Ordinance No. 12: Amendment to Section 37.073(c)(3) clarifying annual occupational license fees to explicitly include contractors and subcontractors.
The board also approved: Commissioner’s Order No. 54, authorizing a purchase order for one 2025 Medix Mobile ambulance to replace a 2015 Horton unit; and Commissioner’s Order No. 58, authorizing a purchase order for a 2026 Chevrolet 1-ton pickup truck for Public Works (to be outfitted for year-round work including a salt spreader and plow attachments).
Vote tallies: Each item listed above passed on unanimous roll-call votes. The recorded roll-call responses for the items that concluded with a roll call included "Yes" from Vice Mayor Smith Morrow; Commissioner Ken Recton; Commissioner Sutherland; Commissioner Radomanski; and Mayor Thomas L. Cadulli Jr.
Why it matters: The property assessment moratoriums allow owners to freeze city-assessed value for up to five years while completing qualifying rehabilitations; the mural ordinance establishes a new municipal review process and a mural committee to address public art on the flood wall and elsewhere; the rental-license and occupational-fee amendments are codifying clarifications identified during internal review. The ambulance purchase replaces an older response unit to keep three ambulances available (two in active service and one reserve). The pickup replaces a planned larger dump-truck purchase after operational review recommended a multipurpose one-ton model.
Context and next steps: City staff said surplus property will be appraised before disposal via online auction or other means. For the ambulance and truck orders, staff described fleet management practices: the ambulance will leave the department with a 2022, 2018 and new 2025 in rotation; the pickup will be placed into the fleet for year-round use and converted to snow-removal configuration as needed. The mural ordinance was reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission and will reconstitute a mural committee to coordinate panels on the flood wall.
Ending: All measures were approved without recorded opposition; staff and commissioners said they will continue to provide detailed plans and documentation, especially for capital purchases and public-art installations.
