Town lays out steps to implement van program; council favors rules over an ordinance

The Town Administrator reported on next steps to implement a council-approved van/bus policy, emphasizing operational details and compliance requirements. The administrator said the committee's work found no part of the policy unworthy of implementation and recommended immediate actions to ensure safe, equitable operations.

Key near-term tasks include clarifying eligibility for van use; ensuring compliance with provider conditions (RIPTA provided one of the vans and requires availability rules); conducting background checks and training for volunteer drivers; and implementing town recordkeeping for requests, trip mileage, drivers, fuel use and maintenance. The administrator said volunteer coordinators (referred to in the transcript as "the roaches") have organized rides to date and that town staff (including Jonathan) will migrate existing records to a town-managed server and research scheduling apps to replace the current voicemail system. "Jonathan will also work to migrate existing records over to that system," the administrator said.

Councilors discussed how to codify the policy. One councilor asked whether the policy should be an ordinance; the town solicitor advised against using an ordinance and recommended a rules-and-regulations document instead. Councilors accepted that guidance and agreed the approved policy will remain operative while staff drafts rules and regulations and consults with the social services director and volunteer coordinators. The council asked for periodic updates and agreed to receive a formal update at the first meeting in May.