SK Council Reviews Rules Of Decorum

After several months of bickering between council members and the public, the Town Council outlined its rules of etiquette to help foster respect in the future.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN - In the wake of two months of etiquette and ethics complaints, the South Kingstown Town Council reviewed its rules of decorum at Monday’s meeting, looking to strengthen a relationship of respect with the public. Following a March 21 letter from resident Jonathan Daly Labelle, the council instated certain procedures that will foster an environment of respectful discourse in council chambers. “This issue takes on heightened urgency given the Democratic Town Committee chair’s inappropriate remarks and innuendos against a Town Council member and our well-respected town manager, as well as his accosting me in the audience, after his being called out for his poor behavior by our officials at the microphone,” said Labelle in this…

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Chamber Rescinds Tax Exemption Request

After a negative public backlash from the Town Council's Jan. 23 decision to grant a $7,000 tax exemption to the Southern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, the organization has withdrawn its request.

The Southern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce withdrew its request for the $7,000 tax abatement granted by the Town Council in January, citing the negative debate around the issue. In a March 7 statement by Clay Johnson, chairman to the chamber’s board of directors, to the Town Council, Johnson rescinded the tax abatement request but asked the council to amend its budget to reflect a $7,000 fund transfer instead. “We recognize you face many difficult budgetary decisions,” the statement reads. “However, we believe that your contribution to the Southern Rhode Island Chamber will be returned to the town of South Kingstown many times over in the form of jobs and increased tax revenue.” Since the chamber built its headquarters at 230 Old Tower …

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SK Shoots For Zero Increase In Tax Rate

The town manager presented the proposed budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year in a special work session on Monday night. Taxpayers could see no increase in the tax rate, pending the decision on legislation concerning motor vehicle tax valuation.

Property owners will not see an increase in taxes next year as long as long as revenue sources hold steady, officials announced on Monday night as town staff presented the proposed budget for fiscal year 2012-13. According to Town Manager Stephen Alfred, the real estate and property tax roll will increase by $7.3 million while the motor vehicle tax roll will increase by $10.1 million in the next year. These increases will net an additional $289,260, or 44 percent more than the current roll’s worth, making up for projected revenue losses in the 2012-13 year, and allowing the property tax rate to remain stagnant at $14.51 per thousand dollars of assessed value. “This is a conservative estimate at this time,” said Alfred. “The adjustments …

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Council, EDC Look To Grow SK Businesses

The Town Council and the town Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday to vet a tax stabilization and exemption program that could help grow business in South Kingstown.

Business advocates renegotiated the town's tax stabilization and exemption program in a special work session with the Town Council on Wednesday night, creating an opportunity for smaller expansion and relocation projects to capitalize on the incentive to grow business in South Kingstown. A 2007 ordinance — designed in an economy with more commercial development and job security — was drafted to attract large-scale commercial and industrial development to the area. Although the ordinance provided a clause for small-scale projects beneficial to the town, a tax incentive was made available to development projects in excess of $5 million that demonstrated a proven benefit to South Kingstown — like job creation or added tangible and real …

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Council Extends Ban on LED Signs

For the sixth time since August 2010 the Town Council extended a ban — this time indefinitely — that prohibits LED signs in the commercial highway district.

The Town Council voted Monday to eliminate the sunset clause on a townwide ban on electronic message board signs in order to hold a series of forums to gauge public opinion. This is the sixth time the council pushed out a decision to regulate signs with light-emitting diode (LED) technology since the ban was implemented in August 2010. “We have taken out the sunset clause ad that will allow the Planning Board to do its due diligence in reviewing our entire sign ordinance inclusive of the LED portion,” said Carol Hagan McEntee, council vice president. “And [it should] send recommendations and include a minimum standard that would allow LEDs.” Council President Ella Whaley said over next six months to one year the Planning Board would …

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Matunuck Oyster Bar Wins Liquor License Expansion

The Matunuck Oyster Bar will add 40 seats to its service area this summer after gaining unanimous approval by the Town Council on Monday.

On the brink of its fourth season, the Matunuck Oyster Bar will add 40 seats to its liquor service area this summer, the Town Council unanimously decided on Monday. The Succotash Road restaurant owned by Perry Raso, an oysterman, has seen huge success since it opened in 2009. Patrons, he said, flock to the East Matunuck restaurant to take in the scenic views and indulge on its dishes of the freshest seafood catches. The popularity has created huge lines of guests waiting to be accomodated. Raso said serving alcohol in the 40-seat waiting area will give customers a picnic bench to wait on and a cold summer cocktail to sip on while they brave the one-to-two-hour wait times that are typical on peak-season summer nights. The restaurant already…

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Five Things You Need To Know Today

5 Things: Love, Liquor And Labor

Five things to know today in SK, Feb. 13, 2012

1. Show some love. Gear up for Valentine's Day tomorrow and give your kids a creative outlet to share their love with friends and classmates. Kids of all ages are invited to the Drop-In Valentine Craft at the Robert Beverly Hale Library, 2601 Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Hwy, Wakefield, to show their Valentine creativity today at 1 p.m. 2. The Town Council will meet today at 7:30 p.m. The council will hold a public hearing on an application by the Matunuck Oyster Bar to expand its liquor-service area to include an outdoor patio and an additional 40 seats. The council will also hear several communications from residents about its Jan. 23 decision to grant the Southern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce tax-exempt status for one year. A work …

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Council Looks Toward SK's Future

Council members brainstormed for South Kingstown's future in a goal-setting session on Tuesday at the Town Hall.

  Town Council members laid out ideas to make South Kingstown a more “business-friendly” community during a goal-setting session on Tuesday night. A round table discussion generated 13 long-term goals that Town Council members hope will hope them protect residents and lay the groundwork to stimulate the local economy and start attracting businesses. “Sometimes people tell me that as a town we’re looked at as business unfriendly,” said Ella Whaley, council president. Council members rebuked the local months-long permitting process, calling it a deterrent for commercial ventures. “We need to plan in advance to make this a more business-friendly place because this is one of the things that we are always accused of – that we’re not business …

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Farmer T

12:06 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012

Ms. McEntee, thank you for your clarification on the Garden City issue. I'm curious to know more about the Town Councils' goals for economic development. I believe that we are all aware of the declines in the "economy" and the pressures it has placed on local businesses over the last several years, the need for more jobs, etc.. Specifically, what are the goals that the Town Council has in place …   more ›

Split Council Oks Tax Exemption For Chamber

In a week of wins for the Southern Rhode Island Chamber, the Town Council approved a single-year property tax exemption for the organization's Wakefield office on Monday night.

 Council chambers were charged with emotion at Monday’s meeting as the Town Council voted in a split decision to enter into a one-year tax abatement agreement with the Southern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce. In the 3-2 decision where councilwomen Kathleen A. Fogarty and Mary S. Eddy voted against, the Town Council authorized the town manager to grant the chamber’s Nov. 28 request for a property tax exemption for its office on Old Tower Hill Road. “We work hard to expand the commercial tax base and skilled employment,” said Joseph J. Iacoi, executive director to the chamber. “Our request is a revenue neutral proposal.” “Perhaps this year it is a revenue neutral request,” said Deborah Bergner, resident, rebuffing the chamber’s request. “…

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