Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Actions Roundup topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Middletown council approves permits, licenses and municipal agreements; continues school senior event request
Summary
At its regular meeting the Town Council approved multiple routine licenses and agreements — including a liquor-license transfer, Friends of the Library MOU, special-event permits, an alarm registration fee ordinance and contracts for solid-waste services and an impact-fee study — and authorized staff to seek hotel-tax enabling legislation.
The Town Council approved a slate of routine but consequential items at the meeting, including licenses, special-event permits, municipal contracts and a procurement authorizing staff to seek state legislation to expand hotel-tax authority.
Key actions the council approved included: - Transfer of the Class BV liquor license for Qing Tao Chinese Restaurant (268 West Main Road) to new owners Li Yee Li and Lifeng Guo; motion carried by voice vote. - Approval of a memorandum of understanding with the Friends of the Library for the term July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 and authorization for the finance director to execute the MOU. - Ratification of the Council 94 union contract. - Motion to seal executive session minutes pursuant to Section 42-46-7 of the Rhode Island General Laws. - Granting multiple special-event permits, including Cars & Coffee events at Second Beach parking lot (six dates in 2025), Third Beach public yoga (Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 1–Sept. 30, 2025), Newport County YMCA outdoor swimming lessons (Tuesdays–Thursdays, Aug. 5–28, 2025), Small Wave Sauna mobile sauna (seasonal, beginning the Saturday after the beach closes) and the Aquidneck Community Table farmers market relocation to the Newport County YMCA site (May 3–Oct. 25, 2025). The council continued the request for the Middletown Public Schools Class of 2025 Third Beach senior night to a future meeting to allow the superintendent and applicant time to address logistics. - Adoption, on second reading, of an ordinance amending Town Code Title 9, chapter 91a regarding alarm registration fee changes. - A proclamation declaring May 4–10, 2025, as National Small Business Week in Middletown. - Approval of a two-year extension for solid-waste and recycling services with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation for FY2026–FY2027; the per-ton tip fee remains $63 and the town expects no immediate financial impact from contract terms discussed. - Authorization to contract with DTA (consultant) to update the town’s development impact fee schedule and fee study (a 3–4 month study was described by staff). - Authorization for the town administrator and solicitor to engage state legislators to seek enabling legislation to permit the Town Council to add up to two percentage points to the town’s hotel tax; town staff estimated roughly $1.65 million in current revenue per 1 percentage point in an upcoming budget projection and said enabling legislation would allow the council to determine any local increase.
Several of the items were brief and received unanimous “aye” voice votes. The transfer of the Qing Tao liquor license and the Friends of the Library MOU had brief public comment: Craig Sampson, representing the restaurant owners, told the council the business has operated for 28 years and the new owners plan to continue operations without menu changes.
Councilors routinely asked staff for clarifications: on the Small Wave Sauna permit, the council tied approval to an explicit Saturday-after-beach-close start date; on the YMCA swim lessons, the applicant must provide additional lifeguarding and insurance; and the Aquidneck Community Table said it had secured parking agreements and expects more foot traffic at the new site.
No contested roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript; most motions were carried by voice vote with “Aye.”
