City calendars aren`t in mail...yet

By John Howell
Posted 12/29/16

By JOHN HOWELL Few things - not even taxes - can mobilize Warwick citizens like the annual Warwick calendar. Print the wrong month in it, as happened several years ago, and the vendor is required to mail out 30,000 corrections for the month of July.

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City calendars aren`t in mail...yet

Posted

Few things – not even taxes – can mobilize Warwick citizens like the annual Warwick calendar.

Print the wrong month in it, as happened several years ago, and the vendor is required to mail out 30,000 corrections for the month of July. Decide that tens of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars can be saved by not printing and mailing a calendar and from the calls you would think the populace is going to march on City Hall with torches. That idea was hastily dropped, albeit it was February before the calendar was in the mail.

Now, the City Hall switchboard is lighting up again with calendar calls. This time there is a calendar, but because of bindery problems it hasn’t been stapled and won’t get into homes until after the New Year. And what has chief of staff and director of Public Works David Picozzi even more perturbed is that the printer can’t say when it will reach residents.

Meanwhile, Picozzi said Tuesday, the city is getting about 100 calls a day about the whereabouts of the calendar.

“We get more calls on that than anything, even a tax increase,” Picozzi said.

The calendar was conceived as a means of promoting recycling collections and informing residents what were blue and green bin collection weeks. On blue weeks, crews collected glass and cans. Green weeks were for paper and cardboard. Now all recyclables are collected simultaneously and separation isn’t required. The calendar evolved into a trove of information about city departments and the services they provided along with contacts and community events. Photos of local events, such as Gaspee Days and locations, taken by residents fill its pages. The first city calendar was produced in 2002.

This year’s calendar is no exception. Its cover sports a photo of Conimicut Light with the sun rising behind it and the shoal visible at low tide snaking toward the horizon.

Christopher Beneduce in the recycling division, who has overseen production of the calendar since it started, started making calls to the printer in early December. When he was told it might be a week to 10 days before they were in the mail, he wasn’t happy, “but I could live with that.”

The week turned into two weeks. The problem is that the collated pages are jamming in the binder and the result has been that only a third of the 30,000 run are ready for mailing, Picozzi explained. He would prefer to mail the calendar in a single lot, but may have to settle on partial mailings.

AP Navitus of Rumford has the job. At $37,000 it was the low bidder on the job. Of the total, Picozzi said $11,000 in postage has been paid and the balance is being withheld until the job is completed.

Would Picozzi consider making the calendars available for pickup at City Hall and other locations?

“No way.” He says there would be traffic jams to get them. “I want them in the mail,” he said.

Comments

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  • Justanidiot

    i thought that mayer corrente was going to stop this kind of wasteful spending.

    Friday, December 30, 2016 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear Justanidiot,

    Two things .

    First, although I received 13,278 votes, I lost the election. I was hoping someone would have told you by now. I am proud to report that I refused all political action committee donations insisting on being the candidate that is accountable "only to the taxpayers".

    My opponent accepted 237 PAC checks. 237! He will now be "influenced" by 237 political action committees. That is the only reason the donate. I would have been able to do what is in the best interest of the "taxpayers that are paying the tab". But, don't worry. 2018 is around the corner, and I have a base of 13,278 strong and dedicated supporters.

    Second, I kind of approve of this one. Warwick doesn't do enough to promote our city and these calendars are a definite step in the right direction. I would also like to see Christmas lights at City Hall, "Welcome To Warwick" signs and magazines and an all out campaign to promote our greatest attraction, our beaches. Visitors become home buyers which increases total tax revenue and reduces the taxes needed for each one of us.

    Thanks for thinking of me though. Always great to read your comments. Maybe "mayer" Avedisian will too.

    Happy New Year to all.

    Rick Corrente

    Friday, December 30, 2016 Report this

  • patientman

    I view it as a waste of money. A good compromise would be to only make them available for pick up. First come first serve until they run out. In the first year print as many as the last year of delivery. Follow it up by only printing as many as were picked up the last year. people who want them can still get them and people like me won't have to throw them in the recycling bin.

    Tuesday, January 3, 2017 Report this

  • patientman

    I view it as a waste of money. A good compromise would be to only make them available for pick up. First come first serve until they run out. In the first year print as many as the last year of delivery. Follow it up by only printing as many as were picked up the last year. people who want them can still get them and people like me won't have to throw them in the recycling bin.

    Tuesday, January 3, 2017 Report this