TOWN OF NORTH SMITHFIELD
May 18th,
2018 Edition
Message from Town Administrator
Gary Ezovski

Without a doubt the recent announcement that US News had identified North Smithfield High School as a silver medalist in its 2018 edition of the country’s Best High Schools was happy news. To be identified as among the top five high schools in the state is a great achievement. Congratulations to the administration and faculty of North Smithfield High.  Most importantly, congratulations and thanks to the students in our high school who obviously are taking their role seriously every day. No matter how much is invested by the community and staff, it is ultimately the student who earns the grades and benefits from the effort. Well done! Very well done! For anyone who needs to see a demonstration of the kind of things the students at North Smithfield High can accomplish, I encourage a look at the photos available from the spring concert just this week.   https://photos.app.goo.gl/8TAxA1koHAEuDY6Y8  
Once again I will say, people working together accomplish great things. 

Near the same time the success of our high school was announced, a North Smithfield school related matter made the front page of the Providence Journal, and it wasn’t good news. For me personally, the photo and descriptions of the physical condition of Halliwell School was simply embarrassing. As most know, our school department, my administration and the town council, are diligently working through the process needed to close Halliwell. In fact, the Stage II application for the work to be funded by the bond passed in 2014 was approved this week by the Department of Education. An RFP for design and construction management services is in review by people who are determined to get an addition built at NSES and some important renovations done at NSHS efficiently and at great quality. Those improvements will result in the closure of Halliwell. I have no doubt they will succeed. The issue for further thought is to ask how we got to where we are. 

Our location, waterways, blend of developed and undeveloped land, and our overall financial health make North Smithfield a great place to live and work. How we manage our affairs ultimately makes a big difference. We clearly have capacity to perform at the highest level. We need to find prudent ways to have infrastructure that can match that performance. We are not a rich community, but whether the metric is household income, family income or per capita income we are not poor by any stretch. Our schools, roadways, parks, major equipment, water systems and public buildings are important. They all require investment. The budget committee and my administration have been working on the budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year. In an election year, the politically prudent thing to offer would be a budget plan that resulted in no tax increase. My objective is to be prudent absent the political. As you will see, our going forward approach will be putting us on more of a pay as you go path at the same time that we work to manage cost and handle our problems because hiding from issues or underfunding those issues doesn’t make them go away. It puts them on the front page of the Providence Journal.
 

All Town Hall Offices will be closed on Monday, May 28th in observance of Memorial Day! Thank you to all who have served and are serving our country.

The Memorial Day Parade is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. kick off at Brigido's parking lot. More information on the Parade to come in next week's newsletter.

A Big Thank You goes out to BJ's Wholesale Club in Uxbridge, Massachusetts for their generous regular donations of dog food, cat food, and pet supplies to the North Smithfield Animal Shelter. We are proud of the care we provide our animals, and the supplies they give are an essential component of maintaining the quality conditions. Their continued generosity is truly appreciated and has a positive impact on the operations of the shelter.
We have to move forward with updating the Town’s Comprehensive Plan so the time to offer opinion must close.  The Town’s Comprehensive Plan community survey will be removed from the website on Monday, May 21 st . The survey was first placed up onto the website on March 21 st  providing us with 2 months of data collection.   As a reminder, please know the existing 2006 comprehensive plan can be found on the Planning Department’s page of the  town website  along with the draft 2018 comprehensive plan. In addition to the website, until next Monday, hard copy surveys can be found at the Town library and within each of the Town Hall buildings.


Thomas J. Kravitz
Planning Dept.
Town of North Smithfield
PO Box 248
1 Main Street
North Smithfield, RI 02876
401-767-2200-312
Congratulations to National Marker Company located in North Smithfield. They were recently awarded 2018 Best Places to Work in Rhode Island by Providence Business News & Best Companies Group. Below is a message from Brooke Trombetti, Marketing Specialist at NMC.


"Our company was just awarded with 2018 Best Places to Work in Rhode Island by Providence Business News & Best Companies Group. This is the second year in a row that we’ve won this award. This is also the second award that we have won this year. The other award being Green Manufacturer of the Year!

This statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in RI, benefiting the state's economy, workforce, and businesses. This award means so much to us because it’s OUR employees who truly believe that this is one of the best places to work in RI. We really pride ourselves on sponsoring, helping, and being a part of our community. We continue to be involved in the community. We just participated in the Autism Project’s Annual Walk this past April and raised over $26,000. On May 22, we are hosting a RI Blood Center blood drive from 10AM-2PM.

We continue to try to be a well-known and outstanding company within and for our community".


For more information on the Best Places to Work in Rhode Island program, visit www.BestPlacesToWorkRI.com . 

The Town of North Smithfield has hired Northeast Revaluation Group LLC to conduct a statistical update to bring all real estate in town to fair market value effective December 31,2018 for the July 2019 tax roll. The process is mandatory according to RIGL 44-5-11.6. The law requires these statistical updates every 3 years and a full revaluation every 9 years.

Throughout the project Northeast Revaluation’s staff will be in neighborhoods throughout the town. The company will attempt to physically visit, measure and inspect properties that sold over the last 2 years, which helps in the analysis of determining fair market value. They also will be visiting any properties that have unfinished construction or have taken out building permits recently. All employees are required to carry identification and have their vehicles on file with the assessor’s office and police department. The process will last over the next several months and be completed in the spring of 2019. If there are questions or concerns contact the Assessor, Sarah Frew, 401-767-2200 ext 323 or Northeast Revaluation Group directly at 401-737-0300. Thank you for your patience throughout the process.


UPCOMING EVENTS

Join Cooperative Real Estate Professionals for our Third Annual Shred Event on Saturday, May 19 at the Slatersville Navigant Credit Union branch from noon to 3 p.m.!

We will have a special gift for you!

Donations can be made to the North Smithfield Animal Shelter.
We looking forward to seeing you!
Feel free to contact us with any questions at (401) 766-2244. 
Attention Members of the North Smithfield High School Class of 1968!


The reunion committee has planned our 50 th class reunion to be held on June 9, 2018, at the Village Haven in North Smithfield. If you are a member of that class and have not been notified, please contact one of the following committee members so that they can send you the specific details. Please include your email address, mailing address, and phone number.

Ivy Booth, ibooth@cox.net
June Couture, couture4@aol.com
Doreen Ezovski, dmezovski@gmail.com
Christine Plume, gplume@cox.net
Carol Stevenin, cstev17191@verizon.net


TRACK AND FIELD FAMILY FUN NIGHT
At the High School Athletic Complex, under the lights.
FRIDAY MAY 18, 2018
7-9pm
Come join us for a night of family fun. There will be races, track events, music, and light healthy snacks.
Fun for all ages!
Registration begins @ 5:30pm
Events begin @ 7:00pm
Open to all North Smithfield residents
Children must be accompanied by a parent(s)

Free event

For details, go to www.nsaa.us.com
George Nasuti Novans Pride 5K
Monday, May 28th, 2018
Start Time: 8:30 am
TIME TO PREPARE &
SAVE THE DATE
SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018
RAIN DATE: SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 2018

It's time to start decluttering and get ready for our annual North Smithfield Town Wide Yard Sale, benefiting the NS Food Pantry.
 
Residents can participate by holding an individual or multi-family yard sale at their homes. When they register with the Town Clerk, their location will be listed on the Town Web Site and in publicity, so that interested shoppers will have their location.
  
Residents who want to take part must go to the Clerk's office at the Town Annex at 575 Smithfield Road to obtain a yard sale permit for $5.00. Residents are encouraged to make a contribution to the town's Food Pantry at the same time. Yard sale addresses will be listed for permits obtained before Noon on Friday, May 25th, 2018. 
If anyone has feedback on how to improve the upcoming event, please contact Town Hall at 767-2200, ext. 301.
Stay tuned for more information.