Town council approves fee changes, school name change and several routine items

The North Kingstown Town Council approved a set of routine motions on Sept. 8, including a building-permit fee schedule amendment and a school name change, and confirmed multiple appointments.

Building-permit fee schedule: The council opened and closed a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the fee schedule and then voted to adopt the amended building permit fee ordinance after no one from the public signed up to speak. The council president called for a motion to pass the proposed amended ordinance; the motion was seconded and the council approved it by voice vote.

Davisville Academy renaming: The council opened and closed a public hearing on a request from the North Kingstown School Committee to rename Davisville Academy. No members of the public testified. The council voted to rename Davisville Academy to "Davisville Academy and Early Learning Center." The motion passed by voice vote.

Consent agenda and appointments: The council approved the consent agenda, including items 7, 8 and 10 through 26. The council confirmed multiple appointments: James Tavaros was appointed second alternate to the Building Code Board of Appeals; Susan Keller was appointed second alternate to the Zoning Board Review; Carrie Kolb was appointed to the Worker Advisory Committee; and the council approved several library board appointments and reappointments (names recorded in the meeting record). All appointments were approved by voice vote.

Fire department maintenance vehicle: The council approved purchase of a replacement maintenance utility vehicle to replace a 1987 Chevrolet pickup used by the fire department. Fire Chief John Leonard Cree said the replacement will come from the Rescue Billing Fund and described the existing vehicle as “at the end of its life.” The council approved the purchase by voice vote.

Other routine business: The council accepted a donation from North Kingstown-Wickford Little League for a new scoreboard at Wilson Park field 1 and proceeded through several administrative items. No controversial roll-call votes or recorded tallies were taken at the meeting; outcomes were recorded by voice vote as “the ayes have it.”

Ending: Council members asked staff for follow-up information on several items, and managers said they would return with additional details at future meetings when needed.