It is hard to believe that it was only one month ago that the city council torpedoed the proposed Wheeler Project to bring their headquarters downtown because, in the interim, so much happened.

Last week, at the Economic and Community Development meeting, the council received a dressing down from several commissioners who felt the council trashed their work when they voted against the Wheeler project. And then, of course, there was the ice storm, the snow, the test kits being handed out, then not, then handed out. And if that was not enough, a meeting at City Hall was zoombombed by a racist spewing racial slurs and vulgarities.

With that as the backstory, Tuesday, the city council returned to what some city hall watchers called the “scene of the crimes.”

Going into last night’s meeting, one could not help but ask, “what’s next?”

However, Tuesday’s meeting, coupled with the highly organized and well-received distribution of home covid test kits Saturday morning, saw a return to normalcy for Bristol’s municipal government. And with no hot button issues on the agenda, there was nothing to distract Tuesday’s proceedings. Thus, the council received some much-needed momentum.

Shakeup on the Economic Development Board

With no fanfare and little explanation from Mayor Jeff Caggiano other than “scheduling changes and us getting our feet wet,” the Mayor removed City Councilor Cheryl Thibeault from the Economic and Community Development Board. He replaced her with Sebastian Panioto, the city councilor from District 1.

Charter Revision

A Charter Revision Committee was appointed. Among the items the committee is charged to consider are a four-year term for the office of Mayor and minority representation within the city council. The four-year term for Mayor was evaluated with the previous charter committee, but they ran out of time, and the issue became ensnarled within the question of the legality of term limits raised by the previous administration.

Cannabis

Due to changes in state law allowing the use of recreational marijuana and possible changes to Bristol’s city ordinances regarding its use and or restrictions in city parks and properties, the council unanimously voted to set a public hearing regarding the matter. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

Proposed Pay Raises for Deputy Registrars of Voters

Councilwoman Thibeault put forth a motion for a wage increase for the two deputy registrars of voters from $13 an hour to $18 an hour, with the raises being retroactive to November 1, 2021.

“A lot of our poll workers recently had increases in their salaries. And this brought these two individuals more in line with the hourly rate that those workers also earned. These positions have to be certified. They put a lot of training in, and to lose these people would cost the city far more in training dollars to bring a new staff. Overall when we looked at the number of hours they put in over the year, we’re really talking a budget impact of $1,500,” she advised.

The council voted unanimously to approve the motion, and the matter was referred to the Board of Finance.

Musical Chairs

The councilors seating arrangements found themselves altered from December. Cheryl Thibeault and Andrew Howe remained embedded with Mayor Jeff Caggiano to his immediate right and left, respectively, but they switched sides. Jacqueline Olsen and Sebastian Panioto changed seats while Jolene Lusitani and Susan Tyler did not move.

Potpourri

Despite the frigid weather conditions, the meeting was well attended.

The meeting adjourned near 8:05 PM.