At Monday night's Town Council meeting, members appointed two residents to Town boards:

• Glen Skurka was appointed to the Sewer Assessment Board of Review to a term that expires on Nov. 30, 2014.

• Joyce Peretta was appointed to the Coventry Land Trust to a term that will expire on Nov. 22, 2016.

Contract Approvals

 As a prerequisite to closing on the purchase of the Beaudoin property, as required by the State of Rhode Island, the Council awarded a contract to DiPrete Engineering at a cost of $9.435 for a Class 1 survey.

A contract to Roch Appraisal Company was also approved at a cost of $2,750 for an appraisal on the property.

Fire Dispatch Recorder Purchase

The emergency purchase of a phone/radio recorder for the Town of Coventry Fire Dispatch Center was approved after the Town's information technology director tried to repair the current one unsuccessfully.

Hopkins Hill Fire Chief Frank Brown explained that the piece of equipment records 15 different radio and phone lines and plays a very important role at the dispatch center in regards to archiving emergency calls.

"The recorder is like having a stenographer at the center 24/7/365," said Brown. "We need to have these recordings to go back to, especially in the case of potential litigations. The calls are public records and can be requested, so they need to be accessible."

The $9,228 cost will be funded by the Town's joint radio fund that involves all four fire districts.

Mayoral Academy Tour

Council President Gary Cote explained that himself, along with Council Vice-President Kerry McGee, Town Manager Tom Hoover, Coventry Teachers' Alliance President Kelly Erinakes and School Superintendent Mike Convery would be visiting Mayor Dan Mckee at the Blackstone Valley Mayoral Academy in Cumberland on Tuesday morning to take a tour of the facility on a "fact finding mission."

"We would like to learn a bit more about mayoral academies and charter schools, so we are taking a tour," said Cote. "I hope we can come away with some valuable information - whether it be for or against, I don't know. Anything I can do to help the taxpayers of Coventry is worth looking into."

General Treasurer Meeting

Cote also explained that on Friday, Dec. 16, he will be meeting with RI General Treasurer Gina Raimondo to discuss some ideas to solve the unfunded pension liability problem in Coventry.

"We'll be looking for any taxpayer in the town of Coventry to put down their suggestions on paper or come before this Council," said Cote. "I've said it before, we do not have all the answers, we will take advice and opinions from anyone interested in helping this Council."

The next Town Council meeting will be held on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Town Hall.