The Newport City Council will meet on Wednesday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 43 Broadway, with an agenda that includes infrastructure contracts, beach concessions, board appointments, and a number of upcoming special events.
Among the most significant items, the council will consider awarding contracts for the expansion of Ann Street Pier as well as construction oversight and administrative services for the project. The council will also take up a $25,000 grant from the Rhode Island Historic Preservation & Heritage Commission to study the Naval Hospital site and its associated buildings.
On the beach front, several Easton’s Beach contracts are on the agenda, including awards for watersports concessions, umbrella and chair concessions, and mobile food and beverage service, as well as the exercise of an option year for construction equipment and operators at the beach.
The council will receive the proposed fiscal year 2027 operating budget and order it advertised for a public hearing at a special council meeting on May 6.
Other action items include Ocean Avenue seawall repair professional services, a road improvement program contract, and an ordinance revision related to parking on William Street.
The council will also consider a resolution exploring the possibility of the city legally maintaining the Jonathan Easton Cemetery.
A number of special events on the consent calendar offer a glimpse of the spring and summer ahead, including the Audrain Newport Daffodil Parade on April 12, Newport In Bloom’s Daffy Trolley Rides on April 18 and 26, a Newport String Project concert at Rough Point on May 2, Trinity Episcopal Church’s Annual Strawberry Festival on June 13 and the Newport Historical Society’s Opening Weekend for the Center for Black History on June 19-21. Food Truck Friday Newport at 293 J.T. Connell Highway is also on the agenda, with dates running from May through August.
The council will consider a new victualing license for Playa Bowls at 201 Goddard Row and a renewal for The Pantry Café & Provisions at 111 Bellevue Ave., formerly known as Brack’s Café. The 2026 Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week, set for October 1-4 at various locations, is also on the agenda, including a request to close Bellevue Avenue between Memorial Boulevard and East Bowery Street and the addition of a Supercar Parade on October 1.
The council will also vote on a large slate of appointments, including members of the newly formed Comprehensive Plan Advisory Commission, the Standing Charter Review Commission and the Miantonomi Memorial Park Advisory Commission.
Following the regular council meeting, the council will convene as the Board of License Commissioners to consider liquor licenses and an application from Hotel Viking to expand its licensed premises to include a portable bar on the patio and expanded service into Spa Fjor.
The full docket is available at clerkshq.com.
