Council Prepares for Municipal Court

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA

August 20th 2025

RICHMOND – Town Council members moved forward on several issues at Tuesday’s meeting. The town will begin the process of hiring a judge for the new municipal court, three roads will receive badly needed repairs, and town departments will be restructured.

Municipal Court

Councilors discussed the process of hiring a municipal court judge. The council approved the establishment of a municipal court during a public hearing at the May 8, 2024, Town Council meeting.

Council President Samantha Wilcox said she wanted the council to be part of the interview process. Council Vice President Mark Reynolds proposed having town staff interview all the candidates and then send the names of the top three applicants to the council for members to interview.

“If we get more than three, then the staff, including the solicitor, will review them and present to council three names that they think should be interviewed by the council,” he said. “If we don’t like any of the three, we can say ‘no, we don’t like these three, go back.’”

Road Work

Interim Town Administrator Erin Liese presented the proposed priorities for road work, as identified by Department of Public Works Director Gary Robar.

“The Town of Richmond has received $132,509 for a [state] match towards our projects in Fiscal Year 2025-26,” Liese said. “We have available roughly $551,519, knowing that our last road restore project, which is being completed now in the Pinehurst development, should that come under-budget, we’ll have a little bit more funding. Should it come over-budget, that $551,000 will come down a little bit.”

The three priority projects are the Wilbur Hill area, which is projected to cost $450,000, Old Mountain Road, which will cost about $154,000 and Pine Hill Road, which will be chip sealed.

Liese said the Pine Hill chip sealing would cost considerably less than a full re-paving, which would be necessary if the maintenance were to be deferred.

“You’ll see that total asphalt, to redo that type of road, if it did not get repaired is the $600,000 - $700,000 mark and that’s today, not five years from now, and so, to chip seal it, we’re at $218,000.”

Liese said the town had an opportunity to take advantage of the state’s master price agreement, or MPA, which offers more competitive pricing.

The town has $551,000 allocated in the budget and the state is expected to award funding of about $133,000.

Reynolds made a motion to submit an application to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation for the three projects.

Town Hall Changes

Liese asked the council to consider several changes to the office configuration at the Town Hall.

“Due to vacancies and office vacancies, it is an opportunity to rearrange the structure that more aligns with other municipalities, as we move the Tax Assessor to the first floor, next to the Tax Collector,” she explained. “For several years, since I’ve been here, I’ve witnessed confusion. Many people don’t understand if the person they need to see is the Tax Assessor or Collector.”

Liese recommended that the Tax Assessor move into the office vacated by former Town Administrator, Karen Pinch.

“We’re also going to have the Finance Clerk move downstairs as well, and this will provide an opportunity for cross-training,” she said.

The goal, Liese added, is to make the Town Hall space more efficient, with the services most often requested by residents located on the main floor.

Another proposal, Liese told the council, is to reconfigure the main entrance to the building, installing a new, handicap-accessible front door.

The council also approved the restructuring of the building, planning and zoning departments, and appointed Josh Jordan Building and Zoning Director.

Economic Development

Economic Development Commission Chair Gary Parker reported on the recent activities of the EDC, which include an upcoming visit, in October, from a representative of the federal Small Business Administration and membership in the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce.

Parker said the benefits of membership include the availability of physical equipment that the town can borrow, as well as expertise in event planning.

“When Human Services wishes to have a large event, or if the EDC wishes to have a large event, for no extra charge, the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce will walk us through that gate,” he said.

Other Business

Council members also agreed to consider a proposal to take an inventory of town assets and determine what can be auctioned or discarded.

The council will consider a review process for the new Town Administrator and begin looking at the procedures used in other towns.

Councilor Jim Palmisciano, who leads the Town Administrator Search Committee, provided a timeline of the search process.

“The tentative timeline, the final candidates, we should have those to the council probably by the second council meeting in October, which is the 21st,” he said.  That’s subject to change, of course, depending on how many applications we get, how quick the process goes.”

Executive Session

Town Planner Talia Jalette was on the agenda of the executive session that followed the regular council meeting.

Councilors do not disclose what takes place during the session, however it appears that Jalette, who was hired in 2023, had requested the meeting, which was not a performance review, and that the discussion had been productive.