At Thursday’s Providence City Council meeting, the city passed several resolutions on gun measures, removing all notices posted on poles and training recreation department employees on sexual assault and child abuse.
The council passed Councilman John Igliozzi’s resolution to have the city’s Police Department issue fines for posting notices on telephone poles in Providence and the Department of Public Works remove any notices. Councilman David Salvatore told The Herald excess signage is already a violation according to a city ordinance, but the city’s new resolution allows them to enforce the ordinance.
Igliozzi said that this resolution is protecting the quality of life and will encourage community members to respect their neighborhood. “We need to instill the sense of ownership,” Igliozzi said. He also drew attention to the fact that people outside Providence are responsible for the proliferation of signs and advertisements, and they get away with what they are doing.
Echoing Igliozzi’s opinion on the importance of enforcing the excess signage ordinance, Councilman Nicholas Narducci said it is very easy to find the people who post signs since they have phone numbers and addresses on their notices, but the city did not want to take responsibility to enforce it.
The council also passed four resolutions introduced by Salvatore supporting congressional gun measures. These resolutions include the “Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act” and the re-establishment of the Federal Assault Weapon Ban. Salvatore said that these are common sense gun measures that were introduced in Congress in light of recent mass shootings in the country. “It is important for the city council to take a stand,” Salvatore told The Herald. “We have a moral obligation to take a position.”
The council also passed a resolution that will require employees from the Recreation Department to go through sexual assault and child abuse training from the Department of Children, Youth and Families, which was introduced by councilman Luis Aponte.
The city passed resolution recognizing the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, also introduced by Salvatore. The resolution was co-sponsored by the whole council.
