This is an update regarding the flooding situation as it is affecting Ward 1 and other areas of the City that I know of. The flood waters persist in the Pawtuxet Industrial Park and Bellows Street areas. Residents and businsess affected by the are urged to report the damage through the 211 phone system or by contacting the City directly. There is also a federal disaster link which has been brought to my attention and that is http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=50717. The Parkway has a significant depression, marked by cones,, and DPW will be inspected with the State DOT in order to resolve this concerns. Trash collection is happening as planned and delays are to be expected. Large trash related to property damage is also being planned for pick-up and DPW has a large dumpster at their site for self-disposal. Lastly, and significantly, the Sewer Treatment plan has experienced significant flooding and is slowly working its way back to a low level of operation. Pump stations at Bellows street and in Gaspee have been effected. The pump station at Gaspee is working at capacity and residents throughtout the system are being asked to conserve water and to flush as little as possible. We are receiving assistance with this situation but it will take time. Feel free to contact me with concerns 941-9399.

Just a brief update on the happenings in City and in Ward 1. We are in the midst of preparing to respond to a decrease in revenue sharing from the state. At this point it is not clear as to the depth of such a cut, but discussions are underway to deal with the budget changes. I have responded to many calls with ideas, suggestions and concerns regardingthe budget and city expenditures. On a Ward 1 level, Gaspee residents have begun to form a Civic Association and I remain avaiblable to support them in whatever way possible. This is a good compliment to the stronf neighborhood associations that exist in our community already. I receive consistent updates from Colonel McCartney regrarding the safety of our neighborhoods. He informs me that things to look out for are thefts from automobiles and scams that attempt to take advantge of older people in our neighborhoods - these appear to be city wide concerns and all of us should make sure to check in now and again on our older neighbors.

One issue that has come up with the council on several occassions concerns the condition of our streets, particularly as it relates to potholes. These cause damage to cars and can be dangerous in many different ways. If you see a pothole on a city street, please report it the Department of Public Works.

Lastly, a major concern persists regarding the sewer project underway in Governor Francis. I have been speaking daily with members of the Warwick Sewer Authority regarding related issues and will continue to work on ways to manage the costs of this project and offset costs to residents in the long run. This is not an easy issue and carries many complexities, but bottom line is that the people of Ward 1 need to be treated in a fair and equitable fashion.

As always, you can contct me with questions or concerns. 401 941-9399 or saco13@verizon.net

Respectfully
Steven Colantuono
Councilman - Ward 1

There are several updates since the last entry. These include: 1. the continued efforts on the part of the Gaspee Day Committee to rasie funds for the annual line striping; 2. the continued efforts of Wyman School to raise funds for the annual historic walk; and 3. discussions regarding the formation of a Gaspee neighborhood association.

These topics are all of great interest in and to our community and I would appreciate any feedback regarding any of these topics or anyy other topic that you may be concerned with.

As many of you may know, the Mayor has negotiated contracts with the three city employee unions (Fire, Police, & Municipal). These agreements include provisions for concesssions from the unions during the period ending in July of 2009, these concessions were reported to be done on a voluntary basis as all three unions worked n this with the Mayor. Beyond this each union negotiated a new three year contract. The Mayor's positon is that the immediate concessions save the city nearly 2 million dollars while the three year contracts save the city an additional amount in the area of 8 million dollars. It is my understanding that this also includes reductions for non-union city employees during these time periods. These agreements are now coming before the City Council for ratification on Friday (2/27/09) at a special council meeting at 6:00 pm. The details of these contracts have been discussed in both the Beacon and the ProJo. If you have feedback or comments for me - please feel free to call 941-9399 or e-mail me saco13@verizon.net. Thank you.