Mayor comments on canopy controversy

Baldelli-Hunt says pet pavilion was moved because of impediments at original site

WOONSOCKET- In a flap that has at least one member ofthe City Council suggesting she should be impeached, Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt concedes it was a mistake to relocate a pet canopy to an unap

proved location without informing the panel, but she was just trying to be practical.

In an interview on radio station WNRI Wednesday, Baldelli-Hunt said the location where the council had instructed the administration to

build the canopy - adjacent to the Animal Control Facility - turned

out to be infeasible because of its proximity to the Woonsocket Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.

"I was informed through engineering and planning that there are galleys and vaults for the sewer plant that are located there," she said. 'That pavilion could not go in that location - they could not dig

down deep enough to put the pylons that they needed for t he construction ofthe pavilion."

The pavilion sat "for months" on the builder's property in Narragan

sett before Baldelli-Hunt approved its installation at River's Edge Park, on the opposite side of the Black

stone River from the animal shelter and about a quarter mile away by motor vehicle. The site was "the next best thing" because the state Department ofEnvironmental Management has approved the former municipal dump for construction of a dog park and the city is eying the conversion of a vacant concess ion

stand in the park as a replacement for the animal shelter at I 05 Cumberland Hill Road.

Led by Council woman Denise

Sierra, the council conceived the project in 20 18, with instructions

memorialized in legislation that it be built adjacent to the animal shelter. T he mayor allowed t hat she probably should have infonned the

council about the siting impediments for the pavilion and proposed

an amendment to the original instructions, which were contained

in a type of legislation known as a resolution.

"Should there have been a resolution that said we were to move t hi s pavilion that was supposed to be at the animal shelter to River 's Edge?"

Baldelli-Hunt said. "I guess so."

Baldelli-Hunt threw up her shoulders in frustration when she was asked how the legislative details of the changeover fell through the cracks, but she did suggest that

COVID- 19 was a factor. The struct ure was completed at the height of

the pandemic, armmd December 2020, at a time when boards and commissions were meeting remotely.

"The full intention was for the pavilion to installed at the animal

shelter,” the mayor said, adding that there was nothing malicious or “nefarious” about the administration’s decision to put it elsewhere.

On Monday, Councilwoman Sierra expressed outrage over the undisclosed relocation of the pavilion, however, accusing the mayor and at least two unnamed officials in the finance and purchasing divisions of a string of violations of the City Charter,

including malfeasance and willful failure to abide by duly approved legislation.

Since 2018, Sierra said, the council had passed a series of measures providing instructions to the administration to prepare or solicit bids for the pavilion at 105 Cumberland Hill Road, and she argued that the mayor violated every one of them. By erecting the facility at another location, she said, the administration had also violated the prohibition on procuring services in excess of $5,000 without competitive bidding.

She asked City Solicitor John DeSimone whether the mayor’s transgressions represent offenses for which she could be removed from office. DeSimone said he’d given her a lot to think about, but that he would provide an answer for the council.

Article 2 under Chapter 16 of the City Charter allows for the council to initiate proceedings for the removal of an elected official from office, and it actually uses the word impeachment. There are only six reasons permitted, however, including willful violation

of any provisions of the charter or ordinances; incompetency to perform the duties of office; substance abuse; willful neglect of duty; corrupt or willful malfeasance in office; and willful misconduct to the injury of public service.

Baldelli-Hunt declined to say whether she was surprised by Sierra’s reaction to the relocation of the pavilion.

“Am I surprised?” she said. “I think there are a lot of smart people in the city of Woonsocket and that they probably

see what I see.”

Follow Russ Olivo on Twitter @russolivo