Newport harbor master's building will be renamed. Why the city is honoring Tim Mills.

Savana Dunning, Newport Daily News
Updated ·2 min read

NEWPORT – The harbor master’s building in Perrotti Park will be renamed in honor of the late Timothy Mills, who served as Newport’s harbor master for nearly 20 years before his sudden death in 2020.

“This city is built by the civil servants who serve consistently for the city and it really is remarkable how much Newport is recognized for those great public servants that work throughout their entire careers as Tim did,” Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong said.

National Education Association of Rhode Island Local 840, the union that represents Newport’s municipal employees, made the request to the City Council, which then voted unanimously at its regular meeting on Aug. 24 to rename the building after Mills and install a plaque in his honor using funds supplied by NEARI Local 840.

The city of Newport is renaming the harbor master's building for former Harbor Master Tim Mills, who died in 2020.
The city of Newport is renaming the harbor master's building for former Harbor Master Tim Mills, who died in 2020.

NEARI Local 840 President Dan Titus thanked the council for their support in renaming the harbor master’s office after Mills, saying Mills was not just a member of the union, but also a member of the Newport community.

“He was loved by many, not just in the city of Newport, but by all the visitors that came here through Newport, through our harbor, the most beautiful harbor, in my opinion, in the world, and we were lucky to have him for that short while while he was here,” Titus said.

Mills served as Newport’s full-time harbor master starting in 2001, having served as a seasonal harbor master’s assistant from June 1995 through August 1999 beforehand. He also owned and operated Island Boat & Mooring Services in Newport Harbor before working in the harbor master’s office. He died unexpectedly on Dec. 10, 2020, in his home at the age of 58.

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The resolution was sponsored by Councilor David Carlin. Councilor Jeanne Marie Napolitano called Mills the “most quiet, unassuming person you would ever meet,” and extolled his hard work ethic.

“This is a well-deserved honor and I am so honored that we’re doing this,” Napolitano said. “He was a hard worker and he didn’t look for the praise, but he found it in everybody he worked with.”

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport harbor master's building will be renamed for Tim Mills