MAYOR’S UPDATE—NOTHING BUT POSITIVE, GOOD NEWS!
Well Newport, we are lucky. Our City Employees are working for you! Police Chief Travis Bingham has been attending meetings with Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council regarding Fair and Impartial state mandated policies. The Police Chief has advised that there will be more speed enforcement with the spring-like conditions and speed cart will be put out. Many constituents have reached out regarding speeding concerns and signage.
Well our Police Chief is on it and this was also addressed at the April 15 Council Meeting. Your safety is our priority. And let’s hear it for our Fire Department — our Interim Chief Kevin Lacoss has advised that we now have 4 new Firefighters who all went through the interview and background check process. And let’s give our firefighters a huge thank you for staffing the Fire Department station to prepare for the afternoon of the eclipse. And what a phenomenal job they did.
Our Planning & Zoning Administrator, Frank Cheney, has been working hard with the increased building permits coming in for the anticipated spring construction season. And new additions to the Development Review Board and Planning Commission have occurred – welcome Jay Walsh to both the DRB and the Planning Commission; Welcome Andrew Touchette to the DRB and Laurie Grimm to the DRB. Thank you for stepping up! Send in your letters of interest to the Mayor and the City Manager if you would like to be considered for one of the Boards or Commissions. There are still openings.
And now for some fun too — Director Mike Brown of Parks and Recreations has a list of upcoming events and key dates for you to remember:
• Campground opens – April 26
• Harbor opens – May 3
• Green-up Day – May 4 (Green-up Day bags are available for pick up in the Recreation Department
• Office at City Hall
• Boat crane/fuel docks large boats in – May 10
• City wide yard sale – May 25-26
•Memorial Day Ceremony – May 27
The City’s Director of Public Works, Thomas Bernier reports that he has been holding weekly safety meetings with his staff and that spring cleanup has begun of sidewalks, roads and all facilities. And a huge shout out to the Public Works Crew for cleaning up Prouty Beach and Gardner Park for the amazing Eclipse event where Newport opened its City to all.
The City Manager and the Mayor and the Council have been diligently focusing on Fraud, Waste and Abuse matters and doing the deep dives into the City’s financials. Thank you to the Treasurer for his assistance with this. The Document Retention Policy has now been adopted by the Council and additional policies will be discussed at the future Council meetings. Thank you to our City Attorneys for their good work on these complex policies.
The Mayor and the City Manager had a meeting with the Governor to discuss ideas for Newport. Thank you, Governor and your administration, for always being available and open to assist Newport. Please also note that the City Council meetings will now begin at 6:00 P.M. instead of 6:30 P.M. Join us. Your Council members are working diligently to move Newport forward for the benefit of our residents. By attending yourself it will be clear to see what good is actually happening by the hard work of your City Council. Better to see it for yourself then rely upon “hearsay” or misguided reporting. Your elected officials seriously care and are fixing and updating policies to move Newport economically forward.
And a special shout out to Council member Clark Curtis for accepting the appointment as Newport City’s Constable! Make sure to come to my Mayor’s hours every Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9-11:00 AM at the Council room. Our hardworking City Manager joins me and we are there for you—this is your time to discuss issues with us. Watch my “from the desk of the Mayor” NEKTV weekly show as well for updates in Newport.
Thank you for your confidence, Your Mayor, Linda Joy Sullivan
