Newport City Council continues to keep their council meetings “short and sweet”.
A few more than a dozen people were on hand Wednesday night for City Council’s 20-minute meeting, here’s a quick recap.
All 7 special event licenses were approved unanimously with a small amendment to #7, the Newport Night Run. Councilor Leonard asked that it be approved pending that Newport Police Department has approved it and deemed it safe. B, C, D, E, F, G, & H were all received/approved unanimously.
License and Permits application were approved for #2, #3, #4 and #5. There was a change to #4 where the owner of the property changed the hours for the entertainment license from 11 am to 1 am to 11 am to 11 pm. Councilor Leonard introduced an amendment to add “have all doors and windows closed” to the application. That failed to get a second and died on the floor. The application was approved unanimously (with the change to hours).
#6, #7 and #8 were approved unanimously. Maureen Cronin spoke #8 and shared Open Space Commission’s support of the resolution.
#9 drew the most excitement of the night. In relation to the change in allotment of the moorings in Newport, a Middletown and Newport resident spoke on the batter. One stating that she was a Newport resident and has been on the waiting list for a mooring for quite some time, she believes Newport residents should get first shot at all moorings that open up. Mayor Winthrop clarified that the resolution was to go from a 3:1 (Newport to non-resident) ratio to a 8:1 (Newport to non-resident) ratio. She again made her point and Mayor Winthrop clarified that if she was referring to the headling in the Newport Daily News about this, it “was erroneous”. A Newport Daily News headline earlier this week that stated “Nonresidents may get a chance at Newport Harbor moorings.”
The other person to speak on the topic was a Middletown resident who has been on the waiting list for several years, he believes it’s unfair for folks who have been on the list to be pushed further down the list because of what he called a “mismanaged system”. Mayor Winthrop clarified that the system has been managed well.
The resolution was approved unanimously with no further discussion.
The Board of Licence Commissioners approved #1 unanimously, before adjourning and meeting for a private special session.
