The Town Council covers a variety of issues from extending the teachers' contract by a year to asking the Open Space & Fields Committee to come up with a future plan for Middletown's fields with all the proposed development in Town.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
MIDDLETOWN MEETING MATTERS
MIDDLETOWN TOWN COUNCIL
When: Monday night.
Where: Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road.
Absent: None.
Of note:
— Voted unanimously to approve a one-year rollover to the existing National Education Association Middletown teachers’ contract. Town officials applauded the move, saying they appreciated the willingness of NEA Middletown to work together with the Town.
“With a hopeful return to normalcy and the financial difficulties of late, we felt that a rollover with a small increase would be beneficial to all involved to move forward,” NEA Middletown President Lisa Wood said. “During our next negotiations, we would like to take into consideration teachers' hard work especially during COVID, realities like student mental health, and the economic realities of teachers’ lives including rising costs and small increases over many contracts.”
— Asked the Town’s Open Space & Fields Committee to look into the status of several fields that might be effected by proposed developments in the community at the recommendation of council Vice President Thomas Welch III. Among the fields the committee was asked to review included Pottsy Field and the tee ball fields at the former Oliphant School. “We need to think about this ahead of time,” Welch said.
— Approved extending the existing lease for East Bay Community Action Program for the Kennedy School until June 2023. The property is part of the Town’s public-private partnership to redevelop 600-740 West Main Road into a new mixed residential-commercial project, which went before the Planning Board for the first time last month.
— Learned from Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown the Town is waiting to learn the status of a Town grant to the state Department of Environmental Management for new pickleball courts before anything moves to the next step with proposed facility at Linden Park, 141 West Main Road.
Next meeting: Monday, May 16, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall.