WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Airport Corporation established the Study Resource Committee, allowing for cooperation between members of the public and the Airport Corporation on planning airport expansions; and

WHEREAS, This partnership between the authority and the public is essential, with each side being able to gain valuable information from the other; and

WHEREAS, Twelve community representatives, believing they had been afforded neither power nor true consideration in the planning process, staged a walk-out as a statement of protest, saying that at the same time they were not offering their resignations; and

WHEREAS, These community representatives were later expelled by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, with Executive Director Michael Cheston stating that the Study Resources Committee would go on with or without community members, thus leaving out the voices of the largest group to be immediately affected by airport expansion; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby respectfully requests the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, Mayor Avedisian, and the Warwick City Council rescind the expulsion of the twelve community members who withdrew their active participation until the Rhode Island Airport Corporation begins to give consideration to their concerns in order to make the expansion process safe; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, the Honorable Mayor Scott Avedisian, the Warwick City Council, and Concerned Airport Neighborhoods.