|
URI-Narragansett
Coalition
Building
a community of mutual respect
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday - February 15,
2005
7:00PM
Narragansett Town Hall
1.
Welcome
from Co-Chairs
Co-Chair Fran Cohen welcomed everyone to the first 2005
meeting of the Coalition.
Co-Chair Captain Smith also welcomed everyone and
introduced Paula Santos as the new Coalition Coordinator.
2.
Introduction
of new Coalition Coordinator
Paula thanked everyone for their confidence in her and
promised to provide the Coalition with the best of her
abilities. She provided her office number: 874-2583 and
e-mail: pmsantos@uri.edu
for members to reach her.
3.
Introduction
of new Moderator
She then introduced Jon Fredrickson as the meeting moderator
for the remaining of the semester.
Jon is a Senior IT major at URI and thanked the
Steering Committee for allowing him the opportunity to serve
as the moderator.
4.
Guest
Speaker - Robert Murray, AAA
Jon introduced Joe Meister, Coalition member, who introduced
guest speaker Robert Murray, Senior Vice President, Corporate
Affairs of AAA. Mr.
Murray spoke to the concerns of drinking and driving and the
initiatives AAA is taking.
A draft action plan on the “Development of a Priority
Issue on Drunk Driving” was handed out.
If further information is desired on AAA’s activities
regarding drunk driving, call their Public Affairs Department
at 868-2000 ext. 2122.
5.
Sub-Committee
Reports
·
Steering
Committee
Fran reported that the steering committee has been working on
vision, mission and operating structure for the steering
committee and the Coalition as a whole and that they have been
discussing the idea of a jointly-sponsored (all subcommittees)
“2005” project. All
chairs of their respective committee have been asked to
discuss this with their members and to report back to the
steering committee.
·
Communications
Chief Smith stated that the committee has an “identity
crisis.” It is
in the process of redefining its role and objectives staying
consistent with the vision/mission being developed by the
steering committee. Its
primary focus of developing effective communications among all
stakeholders will remain but it is looking at how it can
assist the Coalition to offer more effective resources to
participants who come to the Coalition meetings with concerns.
They want to play a more pro-active role in directing
concerned parties to the right resources.
Coalition meetings are not necessarily the place for
problem solving, but maybe, through the communications
committee, people can be directed to the right source which
will lead to problem resolution.
In addition, the subcommittee is discussing how it can
be a more effective “mouthpiece” for the Coalition, i.e.,
getting the word out to the public about the good work of the
Coalition.
·
The
Chief would like to see us engage the media as a partner in
the Coalition, not just a “reporter” of information.
·
With
the help of Paula and Jon, we will improve the Web site and
list serve.
·
On
a personal note, the Chief stated he would like to see more
student participation on all subcommittees and would like to
further discuss with the subcommittee, the idea of increased
student participation as a joint project of the Coalition.
·
Realtors/Neighborhood
Associations
Joe Robenhymer informed the members that:
a.
Discussion on the eviction for non-compliance was
tabled until the next meeting.
b.
The subcommittee is looking into multiple guests
staying weekends at rental houses.
Apparently there are some rentals where weekend guests
have exceeded 25 people.
c.
The Kent Washington Board of Realtors is sponsoring an
information session for realtors, homeowners and all
interested parties. It
is open to the public. The
tentative date is May 2 in the Council Chambers of the Town
Hall. (A
description of the event was on the back table.) There will be
a variety of topics and speakers from minimum housing
standards, to trash removal, to fire safety and more.
d.
The party list that has been provided to the
realtors has been helpful and used as a reference by landlords
looking to lease their property.
e.
Revisions to the model lease are still being made
and members are asked to bring their suggestions to the next
Coalition meeting or drop off suggestions to Joe's office at
any time.
·
Common
Ground
Nancy Devaney reported that the subcommittee has identified
environmental prevention strategies to reduce underage
drinking. These include:
a.
Responsible
Beverage Service (RBS)
(She informed the members that there
will be an upcoming training for
Narragansett taverns staff at the beginning of April.)
b.
Harm Reduction: DUI enforcement, designated
driver programs and alternative transportation
c. ID checking
d. Enforcement:
Party Patrol Detail and Cops-N-Shops.
The next step is to design implementation strategies.
·
Programming
Leslie
Williams informed the members that:
a.
The former SONARS program is being revamped and there
is an ongoing recruitment for the new Community Liaisons.
A copy of the job description is available at the back
table and is also on the URI website at www.uri.edu/alcohol/coalition.
b.
Police report updates and hot line calls are also
available for review on the back table as well as on the
website: www.uri.edu/alcohol/coalition.
c.
The Annual Spring Clean-up is scheduled for April 23rd.
More details to follow.
The Boy Scouts will be collaborating with the event.
d.
On Saturday, April 30th, a Spring Carnival
is tentatively scheduled from 10:00am-3:00pm as part of the
Tsunami relief effort. A free concert is planned for the evening.
Although URI is hosting this event on campus, this is
an event for all and the school hopes to attract participation
from the surrounding communities.
6.
Open
Forum
A.
Tony
Branca acknowledged the chief and his staff as doing an
outstanding job in the community.
He said the community likes to see the cars patrolling
the area and that we feel safer.
He also stated that he really believes the Coalition is
working. He’s
been involved for a long time and he believes that things are
getting done.
B.
Steering
Committee member Clarissa Nault shared that students are
actively researching and drafting proposals for alternative
forms of transportation in addition to those the Coalition has
already seen.
C.
Pat
Zito informed the Coalition that Nancy Devaney was a guest on
Arlene Violet’s show to discuss Sobriety Check Points.
Arlene was out sick and Ted Hahn replaced her. Mr. Hahn
is strongly opposed to check points as were most of the
callers. Chief Smith stated that check points is a dicey issue and
that it is not the be-all and end-all many hope it is. He offered that there is more hope in strengthening the
penalties for refusal to take a sobriety test when stopped for
suspicious driving. He
reiterated that an officer must suspect probable cause before
he/she can request the driver to take the test.
There is a bill on this issue pending now.
D.
Carol
Stuart expressed that being an activist pays off. She’s written letters, sent e-mails and made phone calls
(to politicians, etc.) to
express her views and she has seen results.
She encourages all who feel strongly on issues to
pursue them and eventually, something will happen.
7.
Closure
There being no further issues, the moderator closed the
meeting. Fran
reminded everyone that the next Coalition meeting is Tuesday,
March 22, 2005. This meeting was moved from its original date of March 15 due
to URI’s spring break.
She said Tom Dougan is back part time at URI and we
should be seeing him soon.
She announced that Dr. Mark Wood is the proud father of
a new baby girl. The
meeting ended with a round of applause for Jon and his good
work.
Respectfully submitted,
Paula Santos
Coalition Coordinator
|
