Middletown council recesses open meeting for executive session on land acquisition

The Town of Middletown Council recessed its open meeting and moved into an executive session to discuss potential land acquisition under provisions of the Rhode Island General Laws.

Council President Paul M. Roderick read the executive-session notice and said, "Let me read into, we'll get started with executive session. I'll read that in and as you're aware, Tom is out tonight, and Dennis should be here in a few minutes." The council cited state open-meeting statutes governing executive sessions for land-acquisition discussions.

A motion "to recess open session and reconvene in executive session" was made, was seconded, and was approved by voice vote. When asked, "All in favor?" the meeting record shows the response, "Aye." The meeting then recessed to the closed session; no further details of the land-acquisition discussion were released in the public transcript.

The executive-session action was taken under the council's authority to discuss real-estate matters in closed session as provided by state law. The transcript records that at the time the session was read into, Council President Roderick noted that Vice President Thomas P. Welch III was out for the meeting and that Councilor Dennis B. Toronto expected to arrive shortly. The council had determined a quorum earlier in the meeting.

No motions, votes, or outcomes concerning a specific parcel, price, or negotiation terms were recorded in the public portion of the transcript. Any substantive decisions or directions given in the executive session were not included in the public record excerpt provided.