This Week in Your! Woonsocket City Council. Audits .. Homelessness Committee .. The No Diggity Bus, Oh My!

After weeks of being pilloried by a horrified public, Woonsocket’s Beauchamp Administration appears to be coming to the stark realization that, in fact, Winter happens … and with that, the recurring nightmare that is the level of homelessness in Woonsocket demands some form of humanitarian solution while longer term, permanent solutions to the Housing Crisis are crafted.  The final indignity? 5 Degree Windchills that saw homeless advocates scrambling to feed/house folks living in cars & tents, in the absence of any City response whatsoever.

Up on this week’s agenda? An update on the City Audit, the failure to complete by the Beauchamp Regime has led to the removal of bond coverage by major ratings agencies, effectively putting the kibosh on the ability of the City of Woonsocket to borrow money.

Next up? The reestablishment of the City Council City Homelessness Committee. Under City Charter, standing committees must be repopulated at the time of a newly elected City Council. Under City Council Chair Gendron, the reconstituted Committee will be Chaired by City Council Vice Chair Sierra, relegating embattled V. Gonzalez to also-ran status. Given the No Diggity Bus Fiasco, many wondered if she would even have a presence on the committee.

And then, there is the question of the No Diggity Bus itself. A resolution (see below) has been proffered, authorizing the City of Woonsocket to enter into a short term agreement, ending February 28, 2025, with Community Care Alliance, to operate the much-reviled bus, at no expense to the City. Unsaid? Unknown? The cost to Woonsocket of rehabilitating the bus, to conform with not only the basic operational needs of the vehicle (An Alleged Failed Heating System), but, given the spotlight on the Fire Safety demands of the Rhode Island Fire Marshall RE: The Pallet Homes, the ability to meet the requirements of a Certificate of Occupancy. Finally, who bore the costs of getting the No Diggity Bus, well, on the road. (That was a joke. Even though a significant cost of the acquisition of the bus was, well, the bus itself … Under the resolution, the bus will never operate as an actual bus. You figure it out. Your Reporter certainly can’t) Under City Charter guidelines, costs in excess of $5,000 must be approved, AND sent to bid. Did this happen? Or will we treated to a redux of the infamous Flock Camera Debate, where City Officials debated in open session about how to structure the payments to avoid the 5K Bogie. (Or was that Cranston, in another edition of City Councils Gone Wild?)

Inquiring minds want to know.

As is the practice at Woonsocket City Council “Special Meetings”, there will be no public comment. The next “Regular” Woonsocket City Council Meeting will be held on January 13, 2025

City Council Meeting Agenda: December 30, 2024