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Council creates Myantonome Memorial Park advisory commission and appoints initial members
Summary
Council voted to establish the Myantonome Memorial Park Advisory Commission, appoint initial members drawn largely from the prior state commission, and reserve organizational seats for conservation and veterans groups to preserve the park's open-space deed restrictions.
The council approved a resolution creating the Myantonome Memorial Park Advisory Commission to advise on preservation, restoration and management of the park and on-site war memorial. The resolution names seven initial Newport resident appointees (Beverly A. Sanchez, Robert Cornett, James Dring, Roy Loth, Richard Haggis, Ann Marie Johnson and Robert Walker) and provides for additional organizational seats, including the Newport Tree Conservancy, the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the Newport Historical Society and the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 406.
Chuck Owlett, representing the Newport Open Space Partnership and a drafter of the resolution, told the council the change mirrors enabling legislation and is intended to ensure voting participation by community organizations. "We wanted to create a seamless transition where we're basically taking a committee that works outside of the city rubric and bring it into the city rubric," Owlett said. Council members asked about member terms, why some seats are voting rather than liaison positions, and whether the state commission needs decommissioning; staff and advocates said the city can create an advisory commission without first decommissioning the state body and that membership will rotate over time.
