Council approves water director appointment, various contracts and grants; authorizes youth intervention contract
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Summary
In a single session on Sept. 23 the council confirmed Alan Austin as director of water supply, awarded a $219,288 well construction contract, ratified waterfront change orders, authorized a youth-intervention consulting agreement with Alex Snow (using opioid-settlement funds), approved a bond reduction correction, and moved into executive session on personnel, litigation and real estate.
The North Kingstown Town Council on Sept. 23 enacted multiple routine and discretionary items, including an appointment, contract awards and approvals of project change orders.
Appointment: The council granted advice and consent to the town manager’s nomination of Alan Austin to serve as director of the Department of Water Supply. The manager said Austin has served as deputy director and interim director since July 2024 and highlighted his licensing, work on a lead service-line inventory and familiarity with PFAS rules and litigation. Alan Austin addressed the council and thanked staff: “I really appreciate it.” The motion to confirm was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.
Procurement and change orders: Councilors approved awarding the construction contract for Well No. 3 R for $219,288 after staff said the bid was within the engineer’s estimate despite only one bid being received. The council ratified change orders 1 and 2 for the Wickford Waterfront cofferdam redesign after staff and a consultant described a cost increase in the range of roughly $40,000 above earlier estimates; the council scheduled further detail for the Oct. 7 meeting.
Youth intervention contract: The council authorized the town to enter an independent contractor agreement with Alex Snow, described by the manager as a youth intervention specialist who will provide consulting services to juvenile detectives, school personnel and affiliated agencies. The manager said funds for that work will come from approximately $451,000 in opioid-settlement funds the town has available. Snow will provide measurable deliverables and will not be a full-time municipal employee.
Bond correction and other routine items: The council approved a modification to a previously listed bond reduction, changing the reduction amount from $63,673 to $42,195 (instead of the item’s originally listed $21,478). The council also adopted the consent agenda after removing several items for separate discussion.
Manager and other reports: In his manager’s report Ralph updated the council on the Revolution Wind onshore work, a municipal parking-lot streetscape project with outreach for merchants, and a successful Family Day event tied to the town’s 350th anniversary. He also announced the town is a participant in a $15 million federal/state EV-charging grant application that would allocate roughly 11% of the funds to North Kingstown for an initial phase of 22 chargers at 11 locations in town.
Executive session: The council voted to enter executive session under applicable Rhode Island law to consider personnel matters (town manager evaluation), PFAS litigation and a real-estate matter on Devil’s Foot Road and later moved to seal the executive session minutes.
The council’s actions were adopted by voice votes during the Sept. 23 meeting; staff committed to providing additional documentation on waterfront costs, procurement solicitations and the youth-intervention contract at upcoming meetings.
