Leaders chosen for Tiverton Town Council

Robert Coulter is the new president and Justin Katz is vice president of the Tiverton Town Council, which met for the first time Monday night and will convene again Thursday night at 7 at Town Hall to finish what was a hefty first meeting agenda.

TIVERTON — Robert Coulter is the new president and Justin Katz is vice president of the Tiverton Town Council, which met for the first time Monday night and will convene again Thursday night at 7 at Town Hall to finish what was a hefty first meeting agenda.

The future of the town planner position is one of the items the council will explore Thursday during an executive session with Town Planner William Compton, whose six-month probationary period ends in a week. Katz, who made the request for the closed-door hearing, noted that the position has been “controversial” over the years.

Future council meetings will end by 10 p.m., Coulter said a couple of times before Monday's meeting finally adjourned at 10:35 p.m. so the council could reconvene in executive session on a potential litigation item.

Coulter and Katz were voted into their leadership positions Monday on votes of 4-0, with three abstentions. Coulter, along with Denise deMedeiros and Patricia Hilton, abstained from the vote to appoint him president, and Katz, along with deMedeiros and Hilton, abstained from the vote to appoint him vice president. Voting in favor of Coulter were Donna Cook, Nancy Driggs, Katz and Joseph Perry. Voting in favor of Katz were Coulter, Cook, Driggs and Perry.

The new council was sworn in by Rep. John "Jay" Edwards, whose son, John Edwards V, was one of the four outgoing council members.

Edwards V said a few words before the new council was seated. He urged the new council to “consider all the constituents in town and not just a handful” when making decisions, and to also “take care” of town employees.

Outgoing council member Randy Lebeau said he hopes the changes that will come with the new council “are what people want.”

Joan Chabot, a councilwoman for four terms, said she approached every meeting over the years “with a deep sense of responsibility to the town."

"It’s a huge responsibility,” she said of being a member of the council. Chabot said she worked with some “amazing” people, and now that she has some extra time, she plans to raise chickens.

It was a privilege serving, Councilwoman Christine Ryan said. She was the only one not to seek re-election, but said she plans to serve the town again in some capacity.

New Councilwoman Nancy Driggs said she hopes “to fulfill your expectations.”

Cook, also new to the council, thanked voters for supporting items that were important to the Tiverton Taxpayers Association, which now has a majority on the council. “The governance of the town will be well taken care of,” she said.

Katz, who is serving on the council for the first time, thanked the residents who voted for him and said to those who didn’t that he hopes to convince them the new council will do the right thing.

“We’ll see what we can do to make things work a little more smoothly,” he said.

“We’re here to work for you,” said Coulter, who has served on the council in the past.

DeMedeiros, who was elected to a fourth term, said her hope is to do “good things, like we did the last two years,” when she was council president. Perry had nominated her for vice president, but she declined the nomination.

Hilton, who is beginning her second term, said being a council member is “an incredible opportunity and responsibility.”

Perry, who also is beginning his second term, said he hopes the new council does “great things for the town and taxpayers.”