Minutes

Semi-Monthly Meeting — Full Council — Tuesday, April 23, 2024; 6:00 p.m.
Administration Building, Conference Room A, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI

 

In accordance with notice to member of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, a meeting was held on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. located at the Administration Building, Conference Room A, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI.

Members Present
Raymond Coia, Chair
Ronald Gagnon, DEM
Don Gomez
Katherine Hall
Stephen Izzi
Kevin Flynn
Joseph Russolino

Excused:
Patricia Reynolds

Staff Present
Jeffrey Willis, Executive Director
Laura Miguel, Deputy Director
Anthony DeSisto, Legal Counsel
Mark Hartmann, Asst Legal Counsel
Ryan Moore, IT
Cynthia Tangney, Court Reporter

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chair Coia called the meeting to order at 6:13 p.m.

2. Review/Action of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting – Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Chair Coia called for a motion regarding the minutes for the Tuesday, April 9, 2024 Semi-monthly Meeting.

Motion: Mr. Flynn
Second: Mr. Gomez

Motion carried on unanimous vote.

3. Subcommittee Reports

Mr. Willis updated the Council:

ROW Subcommittee met and was given a status update on the Spring Avenue Extension matter in Westerly. The Subcommittee approved a 5th Proposed Revised Schedule with a date certain of June 15th for all parties to provide the Agreed Upon Statement of Facts.

4. Staff Reports

Mr. Willis reported to the Council:

• Partnering with RIDEM/Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in the Town of Westerly
  and through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law we are able to purchase a piece of property in Winnapaug area which will become open space.
• CRMC, RIDEM and RI Infrastructure Bank have been granted the opportunity to competitively award 4
  million dollars in grants to municipalities for shoreline resistance projects. Mr. Willis clarified that the process was geared towards adaptation and resilience projects that protect or enhance coastal or riverine habitats to address the impact of climate change, but it's limited to projects on public lands.
• CRMC ROW Outreach effort for perpendicular ROWs to the shore in which CRMC will provide Signs and Markers for the ROWs and will place QR codes on ROW placards which will lead you to the CRMC website and the ROW where you are located.
• When meeting with the House Finance Committee, we were asked what the CRMC was doing with the Washington Bridge project. Mr. Willis stated that we were working with RIDOT and letting them know that we are ready to work with them on the permit process. Mr. Willis also stated that the CRMC website will have the status of the permit review process for this project updated frequently at the request of the House Finance Committee.

5. Coastal Education Series: Structural Health Monitoring Programs of Operational Offshore Wind facilities in the United States.

Mr. Willis introduced Dr. Baxter and explained that the important research on the structural health of wind farms began with the Block Island Wind Farm CRMC Assent requirement and has been gaining speed. Mr. Willis stated that the project includes a group effort involving CRMC’s staff member David Ciochetto.

Presentation on the structural health of wind farms by: Dr. Christopher Baxter, University of Rhode Island, based on work from CRMC, URI, Tufts Univ, and NGI.

7. ADJOURN

Motion to adjourn:

Motion: Mr. Russolino
Second: Ms. Hall

Motion to adjourn approved on a unanimous voice vote. The meeting was adjourned 6:50 pm.

 

Minutes respectfully submitted,

Lisa A. Turner
Recording Secretary