Town Planner
Richmond’s Town Planner, Shaun Lacey, has resigned to accept an amazing new opportunity with the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command. We need to first offer him congratulations!! I’m so happy for him! Richmond will continue to benefit from his hard work for years to come. He will be missed for so many reasons! Thank you for your service to Richmond, Shaun!
Now, we have some very big shoes to fill. If you know anyone interested and qualified, please encourage them to apply.
Grant Opportunities
Council majority approved the participation in the Governor’s Learn 365 program. Town staff will be working in collaboration with the Chariho School District and the Arcadia YMCA to submit a grant application to bring additional learning opportunities to Richmond’s youth. The specific programs are unofficial at this time but we discussed programs to increase tutoring opportunities, after school STEM programs run by the YMCA, multigenerational teaching reading and writing lessons, support for Chariho’s Chill program or FAFSA support.
We also authorized the town planner to participate in RI Housing’s Municipal Technical Assistance Program. This will provide funding to evaluate the infrastructure capacity in Wyoming, along 138, to support current, planned and future development.
Aquifer Protection Overlay District
The purpose of these ordinances is to assist with economic development while protecting our water supply, balancing both of these is absolutely essential to the future of Richmond. The Planning Board has been carefully working on this for over a year. As you may recall, earlier in 2023 the Town Council and the Planning Board had a joint workshop to discuss the APOD amendments. The amendments were sent back to the Planning Board and they made additional changes. Now, the proposed amendments will be discussed at a Public Hearing on July 18th at 5pm.
Over the Summer Town Council meets only once a month. The next meetings will be on July 18 and August 15. In September, we will go back to every 1st and 3rd Tuesday.
Have a Great Summer!!
