Council President Peter S. Mancini has called a meeting of the Council as a Whole to receive a report by the Independent Review Board, which was appointed by the Council in January to determine what went wrong during the December 13, 2007 snowstorm. The review board will present its findings and recommendations to the committee on Tuesday, May 27th, at 6:00 p.m.
In its resolution of January 28, 2008, the Council sought an independent review of events relating to the December storm so that the City could obtain “guidance and actionable policy recommendation.” According to Mancini, the three-member board, chaired by Michael S. Van Leesten, held formal interviews with 15 officials responsible for storm responses, took testimony from concerned members of the public, and spoke informally with City Council members who attended its meetings. Additionally, the panel took field trips to the City’s Public Safety Complex on Dean Street, the Communications Center on West Exchange Street, and the Providence Emergency Management’s evolving communications center on Charles Street.
The 33-page final report, entitled Vital Lessons, includes a narrative of what happened during the storm, as well as 37 specific recommendations that range from mapping storm “choke points,” to the process for declaring a state of emergency and stiffer fines for landlords who fail to clear sidewalks after snowstorms. Further details and key recommendations will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting.
Van Leesten has held key posts in Providence over the last 40 years and is currently president of the Van Leesten Group, LLC. Other members include vice chairperson H. Philip West, Jr., retired director of Common Cause Rhode Island, and Susan R. DeRita, former Providence School Board member and the director of development and communications for St. Mary’s Home for Children. Gerald M. Carbone, a former Providence Journal reporter, drafted the board’s report.
