---SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS---

●The following subcommittees met prior to the steering committee: 

Common Ground (Chair:  Nancy Devaney)

Realtors/Neighborhood Association (Co-Chairs:  Eileen Desforges and Joe Robenhymer)

Programming (Chair: Leslie Williams)

Communications (Chair:  Tom Dougan)

●The steering committee convened at 7pm.

---REPORT BY JUDGE DECUBELLIS---

●Judge DeCubellis, a municipal court judge in Narragansett, spoke with the coalition about the judicial system in Narragansett.  He stated that defendants meet with prosecutors prior to entering his courtroom.  At that time, they can either plead not guilty (and the case would be seen in court) or can plead guilty (and the prosecutor will set forth a recommendation).  Judge DeCubellis looks at three main factors when accepting recommendations from prosecutors: the strength of the case, whether there has been prior contact with the violator, and whether or not the ordinance would hold up in court.  Judge DeCubellis stated that some of Narragansett’s ordinances could be deemed unconstitutional in a court of law, and that if defendants took the ordinance to court, some of Narragansett’s ordinances would need to be thrown out.  Judge DeCubellis said that the success of the community service and fines that are assigned to offenders can be determined by looking at rehabilitation (whether or not there are repeat offenders) and deterrence (whether or not the number of violations have decreased).  He felt that Narragansett’s current system, while not perfect, seems to be working based on these two measures.

---SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS---

Communication Committee

●Gary Krajewski, a student at URI, has been hired by Common Ground to work on the coalition’s website.  He will be linking the coalition website with the town website. 

●Tom Dougan reported that he is now receiving faxes from the Narragansett Police on Monday mornings, allowing for quicker responses to weekend problems. 

●The Communications Committee will also be working on creating a regular column in the Cigar listing Narragansett-URI coalition activities/issues.

●Carol Stuart requested that the Cigar let students know that white bags will be dropped off on October 30^th for the Boy Scout Food Drive.  Pickup of non-perishable food items will be on the following Saturday.

Programming Committee

●Leslie Williams will serve as the new chair of the Programming Committee.  She was recently hired by URI as the Director of Judicial Affairs.

●The Programming Committee reported that they had revised their mission statement.

●The committee will be holding a food drive closer to Christmas.  They are hoping to make the drive into a competition between various Neighborhood Associations. 

●Leslie Williams announced that the SONARS will be thinking about their new structure this fall, and will begin recruitment in the spring.

●URI’s Department of Student Life is working on developing a weekend culture for students, and are working to create fun and safe on-campus activities. 

●Leslie Williams said that Judicial Affairs at URI is keeping track of police reports and actions taken by URI to respond to them.  She will be distributing this information to the Neighborhood Associations.   

Realtor/Neighborhood Association Committee

●The Realtor/Neighborhood Association is working on condensing the ordinances. During their subcommittee meeting, they met with Judge DeCubellis to discuss Narragansett ordinances and learn more about Narragansett’s judicial system.

Common Ground

●Common Ground also met with Judge DeCubellis during their subcommittee meeting to hear more about the Narragansett judicial system.

●Common Ground established membership and decided on who will be a voting member and how to become a voting member.

●Nancy reminded the coalition that on October 26^th at 6:30 in the Narragansett Town Hall, Dr. Robert Saltz will be coming to educate committee members on Responsible Beverage Service.   

Steering Committee Business

●President Carothers has reserved December 14 and February 15 as possible times to come and meet with coalition members.  The Steering Committee will meet to decide on the format and date. 

●Tom Dougan reported that he would like to re-examine the goals and objectives of the coalition.  Tom said he will start by gathering the goals of each subcommittee.  He will be contacting subcommittee leaders later this month for a list of their key goals and objectives. 

●The Steering Committee has requested a moderator, whose sole responsibility will be to follow the agenda and run the meeting.  Contact Tom Dougan (Tdougan@uri.edu) if you are not a member of the steering committee and are interested in serving as moderator. 

Additional comments/concerns raised during the steering committee meeting

●Joe Meister requested that the coalition buy a digital camera for the building inspector’s office, so they can file pictures of violations like trash, etc.  Nancy Devaney will follow up with that office.

●URI administration expressed concern over the Red Sox-Yankees series this weekend, because this series last year resulted in some destructive behavior on campus.  URI administration is already working with a group of students, campus police, and local police to keep celebrations from escalating into destructive behaviors.

●The next Narragansett Coalition Steering Committee Meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 16^th at 7:00 in the large center hall of the Narragansett Town Hall.  

●Common Ground and the Programming Committee will meet prior to the Steering Committee at 6:00 in the Narragansett Town Hall.  The Communications Committee and the Realtor/Neighborhood Association Committee will also meet in the Narragansett Town Hall prior to the Steering Committee meeting, but will convene at 6:30.