By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — In a move that was hailed as a compromise, the City Council has approved second passage of an amended noise ordinance that would place an 11 p.m. time limit on amplified sound at outdoor feasts and festivals on Fridays, Saturdays, and the days before holidays.

Going forward, the City Council will consider the 11 p.m. limit on a case-by-case basis as it applies to each entertainment license applicant and in the event of any problems, can set an earlier cut-off the next time the offending organization applies for a license.
Numerous members of several of the city’s Portuguese cultural organizations attended the City Council meeting on Wednesday and applauded after the decision was made.  Several board members singled out David Andrade, the president of the Portuguese American Citizens Committee, for being a strong advocate for compromise on the noise issue.
In other matters, a resolution authorizing the filing of an application for the 2010 Community Development Block Grant program for the upcoming year was tabled for two weeks after Councilors Jean Philippe Barros and Albert Vitali Jr. requested further time to study the approved project requests.
Barros and Vitali questioned city Planning Director Michael Cassidy at length about the annual process involved in obtaining the grants. Barros requested to see the entire list of applicants who had applied for the block grants that will be awarded by the federal government this fall. He also said he wanted to question Mayor James Doyle about the criteria that was used by the mayor’s administration to make the final decisions.
The council also approved first passage of a new three-year contract for members of the Police Department. The contract establishes a new pay plan for the period from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2012.
Additionally, the council approved second passage of numerous bonds to pay for capital improvements projects that had been approved by voters in the last election, and gave second passage to an ordinance to entitle Memorial Hospital “hospital zone” parking to Rhode Island Avenue.
During the public input session of the meeting, School Committeeman Joseph Knight had addressed the council to ask for their help in obtaining legal clarification over whether or not School Committee members are indemnified from lawsuits if they don’t achieve a balanced budget by June 30. He noted that the way current legislation reads, the School Committee is legally bound to not overspend the current fiscal year’s budget and is forbidden from operating at a deficit or its members could potentially be held accountable or sued personally.
Knight, saying he was speaking on his own behalf as a school board member and not for the rest of the School Committee, said he would not have voted to support the Caruolo action if he knew he could be personally indemnified on the budget matter. He said that while he still feels he was elected to find ways to adequately fund the schools with the budget that is provided by the city, he came to realize that “as School Committee members, our hands are pretty well tied.”
Knight said that he felt he had to protect his family from the possibility of any such legal action in the wake of the school budget deficit, so therefore went along with the rest of the committee members on the Caruolo action.“I am extremely distressed by this and seek help from the council,” Knight stated.
Council members agreed to seek an opinion from the city solicitor’s office on the matter of indemnification for the School Committee members.