WATER AND SEWER RATES:
Most of the Council voted to approve the latest water and sewer rates and to begin to rectify the situation of past actions that were brought to the attention of the Council over the years by the Treasurer. The Mayor is going to open up further discussions with the Council regarding setting a equalizing flat rate for water and sewer as the meters are being installed, and then to monitor the metered rates once all are installed to compare to the possible flat rate determined and make a decision as to what the appropriate rates should be. This discussion will be placed on a future agenda. As of October 30, 2024, the Superintendent of Streets has informed the Mayor that 1025 meters have been installed throughout the city.
DRAMATIC RUMORS DISPELLED – ONCE AGAIN:
Gardner Park — The Mayor has seen false statements posted on Facebook regarding Gardner Park and inappropriately attacking the City’s Zoning Administrator. The Mayor is also aware of misinformation being shared about Gardner Park and permits to members of the public. It is clear that those sharing the information have no idea what the role the Zoning Administrator actually plays. It is not the Zoning Administrator, Frank Cheney’s duty to tell the City when to apply for permits; that is the City Administration’s or the project manager/engineer’s responsibility. The Zoning Administrator issues permits based on applications filed by others. While the Zoning Administrator can help people fill out applications the Zoning Administrator cannot and should not file them for the city. The zoning Administrator’s job is to determine if an application is complete and then to either grant it, deny it, or refer it to the DRB. The DRB should not be having ex parte communications with the city on these matters. The Zoning Administrator should not be filing applications for anyone.
The Chronicle — apparently provided misinformation by its “source.” In its article the reporter states that the former City Manager was deprived of access to the building and his computer on November 6. The former City Manager who was put on administrative leave that was not a disciplinary action and was informed that he was to report to work as specifically directed. Instead, the former City Manager ignored the directive and chose not to show up. Chronicle reporters, please verify the facts with more reliable sources before printing.
WELCOME TO EAST MAIN STREET:
I was honored to participate in the ribbon cutting on East Main Street on Saturday to welcome DaCosta Jewelers. Building up our City with new businesses and services and products: welcome! I look forward to interviewing them and more of our stores on the “Walk With the Mayor” episode coming up with NEKTV.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND CLEANING UP:
A huge thank you to our IT Contractor for all his services. An added thank you to Council President Chris Vachon for volunteering to work with the Mayor to update the City’s website and clean up postings and to work together on a better look for our website. The Mayor’s Department Head Meetings are focusing on policies and procedures updates as well as the upcoming budget. Due to the months of unopened and undistributed mail, including certified mail, unanswered phone calls and unanswered emails under the domain of the city manager’s office, the Mayor has attended to all of these. (Thank you to all of the residents who reached out to the Mayor and offered to assist. What a great community we have!). It should be noted that the Mayor has and is addressing potential consequences due to the failure to have delivered to the Mayor and appropriate Council members certain communications. The Mayor has addressed this situation with the appropriate authorities and is eager to report that all is moving forward cooperatively. In addition, it should be noted that certain claims brought by Attorney Bjurling and Council member Charbaneau regarding elected officials and professionals have been dismissed by the recipients of those claims. It is easy for some to take the “shoot the messenger approach,” but that is all right. I am your Mayor, and I will keep you as informed as I am able, regardless of whether the message is uncovering unpleasant findings as we put better policies, procedures and controls in place. Newport is the Council’s priority!
HOLIDAY SEASON:
Please check the Fire Department and the Recreation Department and Police Department websites for upcoming seasonal events. A huge shout out to our Fire Department. They are working hard to not only keep our City safe, but the team in charge now is working with the Mayor to work on a responsible and much needed budget for our fantastic Fire Department. Kudos to Mike Brown, Recreation Director, for getting our City ready for the holiday season. Watch for more info on his great work on our Festivities. I for one, am looking forward to Thanksgiving and the arrival of Santa Claus. See you in Newport at these fun times where we will be together as a community.
NEWPORT CITY MASTER PLAN UPDATE:
It is time to move Newport from that “drive through” city to that “DRIVE TO City.” On the Agenda for this Monday is the Newport City Master Plan Update. The Council voted to partner with Newport Downtown Development to prepare the plan. It is exciting times for Newport. Let’s not lose focus. Cleaning up the City operations is time-consuming, but it is necessary to move our City forward. And that is what we are doing—good things for Newport. And we are involving YOU—the citizens of Newport. Your voice is important and as your Mayor, I along with my fellow Council members, are Listening! This Monday’s Council meeting is at the Gateway at 6:00 PM. See you there! Let’s have PRODUCTIVE Community Comment at this upcoming Council meeting and all meetings going forward.
Remember, my Mayor’s hours are on Monday mornings from 9-11:00 AM open and on Wednesday’s by appointment. I cannot thank our citizens enough for your attendance and important discussions. Thank you for your confidence, — Your Mayor, Linda Joy Sullivan
