EAST PROVIDENCE — The first virtual meeting of the City Council due to restrictions imposed on gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly did not go without a hitch, but the body was still able to address necessary business the evening of Tuesday, April 7.

The most pressing of the agenda items was a request for an emergency extension of Mayor Bob DaSilva’s executive powers and approval of the city’s a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 569 amending existing contract language pertaining to the work schedule of East Providence Police detectives. Both items were approved without opposition.

The extension of the mayor’s powers, which were set to expire on April 17, allows that authority to continue through May 8, matching those of the state executive. Earlier in the day April 7, Gov. Gina Raimondo signed an order extending her oversight through the same May date.

The amended contract for EPPD detectives changes their schedule from a rotating sequence of working four days then having two off to one of Monday-Friday each week.

Ward 1 member and Council President Bobby Britto, Solicitor Michael Marcello and City Clerk Samantha Burnett were present in the council chambers at City Hall. Mr. Britto conducted the proceedings from the lectern while Mr. Marcello and Ms. Burnett sat on the dais, each spread out well more than the six-foot, social distancing requirements and below the maximum number for gatherings of no more than five people.

Councilors Nate Cahoon, Bob Rodericks and Ricardo Mourato took part in the meeting via the internet. Mr. Britto explained the absence of Councilor Anna Sousa understandably was related to her job as a nurse at Rhode Island Hospital.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Britto said the meeting was being held to conduct “essential business” and that the body would not take any action on matters requiring a public hearing. He added, there was “nothing on this docket for comment.” That was due in part to technical difficulties, which hindered attempts to offer residents the ability to speak.

In closing, Mr. Britto, while recognizing the efforts of staff to get the meeting up and running under the extreme circumstances, thanked residents for their understanding of the situation and asked for their continued adherence to health-related directives during the crisis.

“Just so everyone knows, this isn’t as simple as having a meeting on your (computer) desktop or anything you might be doing at work. This is an opportunity to fold in the Open Meetings Act and get the public involved, keep the public apprised of what we’re doing,” Mr. Cahoon added of the technical challenges incurred during the meeting. “So, what you’re looking at is version 1.0. They’ll be version 2.0 at the next meeting and hopefully there won’t be too many more after that.”

CDBG program
The council also heard a brief presentation on the 2020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program by department director David Bachrach.

Mr. Bachrach informed the council the total monies made available to East Providence through the federal Housing and Urban Development department (HUD) for Fiscal Year 2020 was $762,169 while the requests made locally were slightly over $1 million.

Asked as well about an unexpected influx of federal dollars to the Community Development office during the coronavirus crisis, Mr. Bachrach told the council some $440,000 is potentially available to the city through the recently passed COVID-19 response act, but those monies are strictly for use in support of entities affected by the pandemic.

10-Mile River project
The council approved a resolution sponsored by Mr. Britto providing easements on city-owned property to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for the reconfiguring of the fish ladder on the 10-Mile River at the Hunts Mills Dam in Rumford.
The effort is an attempt to adjust the flow of the ladder while preventing the pooling of migrating river fish and eel in spots. The work is able to be done under the current circumstances and there is no city funds involved in the project.

Ordinances
The council voted to table the following ordinances requiring public hearings until its next meeting slated for May 5:

• An ordinance under “Zoning,” which would amend current mandates around short-term rental of properties
• Another of the ordinances delayed pertained to “Administration,” intended to set up a new timeline for annual submission of the fiscal year budget by the mayor’s office.
• Two other ordinances dealt with parking issues at and around Juniper Street and Lyon Avenue.
• The last of the ordinances tabled was self-explanatory, a request by Ms. Sousa to appropriate $75,000 from the current Capital expenditures budget towards the continued renovation of “Townie Freedom Park” at Jones Pond adjacent to Pierce Stadium.