Council Names Administrator Search Committee

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA

July 16th 2025

RICHMOND – At the Tuesday meeting, members of the Town Council voted on the members of the new Town Administrator Search/Hiring Committee. The committee will interview and recommend candidates, one of whom will replace Karen Pinch who is retiring.

A Send-off for Pinch

Before the council meeting, a reception honoring Pinch took place on the veranda of the Town Hall. All five members of the Town Council attended, along with town staff. Former council Presidents Mark Trimmer and Henry Oppenheimer, former EMA Director Joe Arsenault, Chief of Police Elwood Johnson, several town committee members and longtime resident Iva Lipton were on hand to thank Pinch for her decade of service to the town.

Former Town Administrator Rob Rock, who is currently the Rhode Island Deputy Secretary of State, presented Pinch with a state citation.

When the council meeting began, council President Samantha Wilcox, on behalf of the Town Council, presented Pinch with a proclamation thanking her for her service to the town. Pinch was also given a commemorative clock engraved with a message of gratitude from the town.

The Council Meeting:  Search Committee

Council members considered 10 applications for the Town Administrator Search/Hiring Committee. They also decided on the structure of the committee, which will have seven members: one Town Council member, two town staff, and four residents.

The council was quick to approve Jim Palmisciano as the council representative.

Councilor Dan Madnick nominated Police Chief Elwood Johnson, and council President Samantha Wilcox nominated Finance Director Danielle Andrews, both of whom the council voted to approve.

When the council got to the list of residents, Council Vice President Mark Reynolds made a motion, which the council approved, to appoint Bill Day, who has served the town for decades, in numerous capacities.

Palmisciano nominated Finance Board member, Laura Reiger, who was approved, with councilor Jeffrey Dinsmore opposed.

Dinsmore then made a motion to appoint Thomas Marron. No one seconded Dinsmore’s motion, so it did not go to a vote.

At this point in the discussion, councilors debated the size of the committee, considering five members, then six, then seven and eight before finally agreeing to seven.

“In going through this process, we’ve reached a point where we have at least one other person who is qualified,” Mark Reynolds said. “We may have two, but I think eight’s too many. We have to make a choice.”

Other resident applications under consideration were Helen Sheehan, Robin Woodmansee and Gary Parker. Woodmansee was approved, leaving the council to choose Sheehan or Parker.

Councilor Madnick said it was difficult to choose between the two candidates, and Dinsmore said he would approve either Sheehan or Parker.

The council then voted to increase the membership of the committee to seven, and with Reynolds, who had nominated Sheehan, opposed, the council voted to appoint Parker.

The seven committee members are:

Town Council: Jim Palmisciano

Staff: Elwood Johnson and Danielle Andrew

Residents:

Bill Day

Laura Rieger

Gary Parker

Robin Woodmansee

The Timeline

With Town Clerk Erin Liese serving as Interim Town Administrator, there is no urgent deadline to find Pinch’s replacement. Wilcox said Wednesday that she was hoping the committee would take the necessary time to find good candidates for the council to consider.

“As soon as we can, but also, take your time and make sure we have good applicants,” she said. “The town’s in good hands with the Interim.”

Wilcox also noted that the town charter requires the town to consider at least two applicants.

“I would expect that if we don’t get at least two, then we should send them back and have them do it again,” she said.

Other Business

Road Improvements

Dan Madnick briefed the council on a state initiative, the “State Transportation Improvement Plan,” or STIP, which could make possible badly needed improvements to Richmond’s roads.

Madnick and Reynolds met on June 7 with representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to bring attention to road issues in the area, particularly Route 138 in Wyoming.

Reynolds told the council that he and Madnick were hoping to find out whether the DOT had any plans to improve roads in Richmond.

“We recognize that the traffic in that area is heavy,” he said. “We recognize that the road is narrow. You can’t make even a right turn out of a lot of those parking lots without going over the center lone. So, it’s a very congested area, and so we just wanted to find out from DOT what if anything is happening there and get an idea of what the potential was for anything.”

Reynolds noted that the DOT is currently establishing its 10-year capital improvement plan.

“They said, ‘if you want a study of that stretch of road to determine what potentially could be done, a great way to do that would be to comment on the capital improvement plan, which is currently out for public comment,’” he said.

Madnick noted that investment by the state would be critical to improving the Route 138 corridor.

“The intent of the meeting was to determine if the state had any plans for alleviating the traffic concerns in that area, which was clear from the meeting that they did not,” he said Wednesday. “It is important that attention is brought to 138 in Wyoming to improve traffic flow, improve safety, and most importantly to accommodate future growth and demand. As I stated at the Town Council meeting, my experience on the planning board and knowledge of the development process has provided important insight into what steps are necessary for economic growth and development in Wyoming. Without state investment, there is a significant barrier to development, as the current traffic pattern will likely not handle additional volume and would be cost-prohibitive to a developer. It is important that anyone who supports additional development in Wyoming and presumably a larger commercial tax base support this request and provide a comment to the STIP. The more comments the state receives, the more likely it is that a project is approved.”

The state’s capital improvement plan can be accessed here:

Madnick said he was hoping residents, who have complained for years about Route 138 and how it is impeding business development in Wyoming, will comment, with either their own text or by copying and pasting the comment that Madnick has made available on his social media page:

https://www.facebook.com/madnick4rtc

It should be noted that there is a tight deadline: All comments must be received by the DOT by July 30 at 4 p.m.

Town Property Use Policy

Following the confusion surrounding the use of town property for this summer’s food truck events, the council has asked Town Solicitor Chris Zangari to draft an ordinance that would apply to all events taking place on town property.

Madnick said he had worked with Wilcox to research ordinances and policies in other towns and present those to the council.

“In my opinion, the Town should no longer operate on an ad-hoc basis when there is a request to utilize town-owned property,” he said in a written comment. “Following the initial PVD Food Truck discussions, it became clear to me that the Town must move away from arbitrary decision making including public decision making and establish a policy that ensures consistent and fair application of requirements for all applicants. This is imperative for the future of recreation activities in town, especially with the soon to be developed pavilion at 4 Richmond Townhouse Road. We need to take a proactive approach to running the town instead of reactive.”

Town Road Report

The council received an 18-page report from Department of Public Works Director Gary Robar on the conditions of several town roads, which roads should be prioritized for repairs and how extensive, and costly, the repairs would be.