RVIA Meeting Minutes
May 12, 2012

15 River Vue Avenue

Attendance: Nancy Striuli, Frank Ferri, Helen Fontes, Sandra Corrente, Kevin Eisemann, Adriana Gomez, Brian Hebert, Dana Monks, Catherine Monks, David Woisard, Linda Hagstrom, Janet Shuster, Stephanie Van Patten, Rae-Scott Skinner, Lori Daiello, Tricia Amirault, Brenda Smith, and Bill Sears

Guests: Officer Dan Maggiacomo, Kevin Sullivan

RVIA President, Nancy Striuli, called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.

Crime Watch:
Officer Dan Maggiacomo introduced himself to the members as the new community officer assigned to our area. He said that overall police activity in our neighborhood has been pretty quiet. Before he went through his report he asked if anyone had any questions or concerns. Several questions were raised by members:

  1. What can be done about the abandoned car at 99 Mill Cove Road? The car has no plates but it is registered and has been in the same spot for over 6 months. Officer Maggiacomo said that he will look into this matter and the car technically can be towed away since it does not have plates.
  2. The owners of 75 Whipple are concerned with the amount of police activity on their street and they are wondering what it is about. The officer responded saying that it is mostly older kids hanging out on the beach and walking in the neighborhood but he will keep an eye on this street in particular.
  3. Someone has been shooting off fireworks very early in the morning. The latest was at 4:30 am on Mother’s Day. Is there anything that can be done? Officer Maggiacomo said to just keep calling the police to make them aware. The more calls from an area the more likely the area will be patrolled/watched.
  4. A homeowner on Mill Cove has constructed a \”pen\” for his garbage containers extremely close to the road where he keeps his bins even on non-garbage collection days. Officer Maggiacomo will look into whether this is a violation.
  5. What can be done about 4 wheelers/go carts? Mostly kids in their early teens. Just keep calling.
  6. Neighbors have noticed high school kids getting cigarettes from local convenience stores. They suspect the stores are selling to minors. Officer Maggiacomo will pass this along to the Tobacco Unit within the department.
  7. Outdoor fires or burning things? There is no burning allowed in the city unless it is contained. If you see this, please call the police. Next Officer Maggiacomo went through his police log from our neighborhood and surrounding areas.

129 Lippitt Avenue – call for disturbing the peace. This is not new to this home. The house is rented out to kids and there are different people in and out all the time. There is also lots of trash around the house. He will keep an eye on this residence.

Burglary report on Lighthouse Lane

Larceny reported on Leland and Longmeadow. Suspect is a known criminal. He drives a 2002 black Ford truck with license plate 47957. He does not live in this neighborhood. If you see his truck please call the police.

Larceny reports from Draper, Congress, and Park of tires being stolen, 156 River Vue Avenue – Trash cans stolen.

Suspicious Activity on Cady Ave.; Copper Theft on Point Ave.; 99 River Vue – malicious damage – plants stolen<; 100 Whipple – juvenile offenses; Point Ave. – stolen tree.

Officer Maggiacomo also stated that if the police are not getting calls, they will assume that it is quiet and everything is ok. They record how many calls are received from an area in order to determine how many officers are needed for that area. He also stated that the city trash bins are extremely expensive and people are always stealing them. He said that it is a good idea to record the serial #s from the bins and keep them somewhere in the home. He also stated that it is a good idea to chain them together with a lock to deter people from stealing them. To contact Officer Maggiacomo you can call the Community Police line at 401.468.4375 or email him at Daniel.maggiacomo@warwickri.com.

Block Grants: Kevin Sullivan from the Housing and Community Development Office of the City of Warwick spoke to members regarding our HUD Block Grant. Several years ago, the Riverview neighborhood was given a block grant in excess of $190,000 from HUD. Over the years we have been using that money to complete projects within the neighborhood such as the park at the end of Lippitt Avenue, planting trees throughout the neighborhood, building a seawall at Lippitt, etc. The next projects on the list were new street signs and a new trash bin for Lippitt Park. The amount of funds remaining was around $17,000.

Unfortunately, because of the 2000 census, Riverview became ineligible for any new HUD grants. Kevin recently received word from the federal government that too much time has passed at the Riverview grant needs to be closed out and the money needs to be reprogrammed to another community that is eligible for HUD grants – because we are no longer eligible for the money, a new project cannot be created for us. However, because the street signs and trash bin projects are on the to do list, these projects will move forward.

One of our concerns was that we were hoping to use the remaining money to fix the erosion at the end of Cady Avenue that has caused a dangerous ditch on the pathway toward the beach making it difficult for people to access the beach. Because this is city property and becoming a hazard, Kevin has agreed to talk to the Department of Public Works (DPW) to see what can be done to fill the ditch and or control the erosion.

Once the new street signs are installed< we have asked the city if we could have or purchase the old signs to auction off at the Block Party in September as a fundraiser for the association. Kevin will follow up with DPW about our request.

The documents from the website regarding our HUD Block Grant and our priority list of projects to be completed with that money will be retired now that we no longer have it. Information will also be incorporate the minutes of this meeting on the website to inform other members about the situation. Kevin Eisemann suggested applying to the Champlin Foundation for a grant if we were to come up with a new project for the neighborhood such as raking the beach or planting eelgrass to stop erosion.

Treasurer’s Report and Membership Updates:
Trish Amirault, We currently have $950 in our checking account and $33, 500 in our investment account. The membership drive brought in 16 new members and many members have paid ahead. We should consider this very successful!< To date we have 104 families on our roster – 73 paid, 31 unpaid.

Upcoming Events:
June 16 ~ Lippitt Park clean-up ~ 8:30 – 10:30 am
July 1 ~ 4th of July Parade
July 14 ~ Beach clean-up with Save the Bay
Aug. 27 ~ Association meeting ~ 7:00 pm

Other Business:
New member, Brian Hebert, asked why the flag was continuously flown without a light or not taken down each night and raised each morning. Frank gave him the history around the flag and how we decided to have it up all the time instead of no flag because it was becoming difficult to take care of it daily. Brian has offered to volunteer to care for the flag and Frank will send an email looking for other volunteers to perhaps get a schedule going. Frank has also suggested buying a solar light to shine on the flag if we are unable to lower and raise it daily.

Bill Sears let us know that he takes care of the trash bin and doggie bin at Lippitt Park every 2 weeks and will continue to supply the doggie bags as well.

Next meeting – Monday, August 27 at 7:00 pm – 15 River Vue

Respectfully Submitted,
Stephanie Van Patten, RVIA Vice President