ROW SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING

Tuesday, March 11, 2025; 5:00 p.m.

Administration Building; Conference Room A
One Capitol Hill; Providence, RI

MINUTES

 

Subcommittee Members Present
Raymond Coia, Chair
Ronald Gagnon
Patricia Reynolds

Staff Present
Jeffrey Willis, Executive Director
Laura Miguel, Deputy Director
Anthony DeSisto, Legal Counsel
Mark Hartmann, Legal Counsel Asst

 

Chair Coia called meeting to order at 5:15 p.m.

1. Approval of Minutes for February 11, 2025

Motion: Mr. Gagnon
Second: Ms. Reynolds
Motion was carried on unanimous voice vote.

2. Staff Report

None.

3. Status and Update Presentation:

• Status Update
• Hearing of Pending Motions

Attorney DeSisto asked that the Motion to Stay be addressed first.

Attorney Farside addressed the Council on the following:

• Motion to Stay filed with ROW Subcommittee by Weekapaug Fire District (WFD) because of a recent decision from Superior Court denying a Motion to Dismiss – improper filing.
• Motion to Dismiss properly filed in Washington County Superior court
• Filing is due to evidence on ownership of property at SAE.
• Court case and Subcommittee hearings would be duplicative
• Asked for stay in Subcommittee proceeding so Superior Court could make decision.
• Judge Raspallo indicated he would move the case quickly.

Attorney Boots addressed the Subcommittee stating:

• Attorney General’s office wanted to be able to submit an objection to the Motion to Stay filed by WFD on Thursday, March 6, 2025; asking for time to properly respond.
• Attorney General’s office objects to other motions being held in abeyance as it gives fact to the Motion to Stay prior to decision to grant Motion to Stay.

Attorney DeSisto confirmed that the WFD’s Motion to Stay was submitted on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

Attorney Rubin addressed the Subcommittee stating:

• Joins with the Attorney General’s Office

Atty O’Toole addressed the Subcommittee stating:

• The Town needed more time to respond properly to Motion to Stay
• The Town’s response to answer Superior Court case is not due until April.

Atty DeSisto stated that should time be given for response to Motion to Stay a schedule for response would be set.

Ms. Reynolds motioned to allow the other parties in the matter to have time to respond to the motion to stay with a timeframe of two weeks from this date and to set the matter down for the next available ROW meeting date.

Motion seconded by Mr. Gagnon

Chair called Roll Call vote
Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Motion passed.

Reschedule date 2nd Tuesday in April – April 8th

Mr. Willis stated that the agenda could contain all three open ROW matters on the same meeting.

Mr. Langseth asked that his subject come before Spring Avenue Extension

The public would be allowed to briefly address the motion to stay at the next hearing Mr. Rubin stated that it was important to go forward with other motions.

Mr. Gagnon motioned for the rescheduling of the Spring Avenue Extension matter for Tuesday, April 8th at 4:00.
Ms. Reynolds seconded.

Chair called Roll Call vote
Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Motion passed.

Attorney Farside addressed the Council regarding the Motion to strike testimony of Sue Cornacchia:

• Hold the motion to strike in abeyance until the Motion to Stay is decided.
• Reason: motion to strike is regarding a 12-part report working on behalf of Attorney
  Rubin as it is the WFDs opinion that the 12-part report is improperly before the
  Subcommittee and should be stricken from the record.
• Should Attorney Rubin be made to pursue other avenues for the documents to be
  submitted to the Subcommittee?
• Motion to strike can be heard on April 8th due to the submittal of Motion to Stay.

Attorney Rubin asked the Council to hear the matter as he will not be available at the next meeting. As for the Motion to Stay, Attorney Rubin stated that he did not see this Subcommittee abdicating to Public Access.

Attorney Farside stated that Attorney Rubin’s schedule should not drive the subcommittee and that the Court filing had a piece of it that the Subcommittee could not continue along the lines of trying to associate Spring Avenue Extension as a Public ROW.

Attorney Boots addressed the Subcommittee:

• Think it has been decided to argue this motion tonight.
• Attorney’s prepared to argue.
• Holding the motion in abeyance is premature as the Motion to Stay has not been decided.

Attorney O’Toole addressed the Subcommittee:

• If Attorney O’Toole is ready to argue the motion, he should be able to
• There would be no prejudice to the WFD.

Attorney DeSisto asked what the substantive objection is.

Attorney Farside stated that the information submitted by Susan Cornacchia does not qualify as an expert report under RI Law.

Attorney Rubin stated:

• Experts often testify to lay facts, but he does feel it qualifies as expert reports by a researcher and archivist.
• Lay witnesses are allowed to prepare summaries of the lay observations. Wouldn’t eliminate the introduction of the evidence.
• May need to redact conclusionary comments.
• Reports can come in as lay summaries. Lay witnesses are allowed some leeway on some opinion matters

Attorney Farside countered:

• Motion to strike expert reports and exclude from evidence.
• Proffered expertise is an archivist
• Nothing that she submitted was based on what an archivist should bring to this matter.

Attorney DeSisto advised the Subcommittee that because there is an absence of a Matter to Stay from Superior Court, there is no reason why the Subcommittee could not hear the motion to strike.

Ms. Reynolds motioned to deny the request to Stay the Motion to Strike Sue Cornacchia’s testimony.

Mr. Gagnon seconded the motion.

Chair called Roll Call vote
Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Motion passed.

Mr. Farside made his case by stating:

• Ms. Cornacchia was an archivist which is a gatherer of documents intended for use byothers.
• Ms. Cornacchia is not an independent witness in this matter.
• Ms. Cornacchia does not have formal education in land surveyance, cartography or land use.
• Compiled documents are annotated by Ms. Cornacchia, which is not what an archivist does. Annotations of documents can pollute the documents
• Ms. Cornacchia is extremely biased, which is unbecoming of an expert; not an impartial expert. RI Superior court stated that an expert cannot be vehemently against a matter and offer expert testimony on the matter.
• Admitted that her work was intended to be used by others.
• Mr. Rubin needs to submit materials such as this through the appropriate avenue. And not be shoehorning by a so-called expert witness.

No questions for Attorney Farside.

Attorney Rubin countered with:

This is all very abstract

What we have here is the report that was done by their expert the rustologist, their
witness that is a material scientist – a metallurgist—expert rendered

Attorney Farside stated the metallurgist is not a point before the Subcommittee.

Attorney Rubin stated that the report by Ms. Cornacchia will be presented as expert
and lay materials and will be submitted in a light manner.

An archivist can offer testimony on what they found and authenticity of document.

Attorney Rubin confirmed for Chair Coia that Ms. Cornacchia would be called to testify before the Subcommittee.

Attorney DeSisto proffered that the Subcommittee could deny the motion and let the matter play out when Ms. Cornacchia comes before the Subcommittee. Attorney DeSisto added that by denying the motion, the Subcommittee is not accepting Ms. Cornacchia as an expert Witness.

Mr. Gagnon motioned to the deny the Motion to Strike Sue Cornacchia’s testimony with prejudice.

Ms. Reynolds seconded the motion.

Chair called Roll Call vote
Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Motion passed.

Atty Boots – RI AG’s office re: Motion to Quash WFD deposition of a Representative of the Attorney General’s office.

Ms. Boots stated that the APRA does not have a decision as of yet – Judge Raspallo indicated he would be finished sometime this month.

Set down for the April 8th meeting.

Ms. Reynold motioned to continue the deliberation on the Motion to Quash until the April 8th meeting.

Ms. Gagnon Seconded the motion.

Chair called roll call vote:
Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Ms. Reynold’s motion carried.

5. Adjournment:

Motion: Mr. Gagnon
Second: Ms. Reynolds
Motion carried on unanimous voice vote.

Meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

 

Submitted by:
Lisa A. Turner

 

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