Environment, arts, transit also in line

Randall Rosenbaum, executive director for the R.I. State Council on the Arts, says a $35 million “creative and culture economy bond” request voters will be asked to approve on Election Day will more than pay for itself in new jobs and general economic and cultural stimulation.
The bond issue would provide about $23 million for capital-improvement projects for nine arts organizations in Rhode Island, allow for nearly $7 million in matching grants to nonprofit arts groups that lease or own their own performance space, and provide another $5 million for state preservation grant programs, according to information from the secretary of state’s office.
Rosenbaum says the capital funding in particular would help stimulate the economy as people are employed to do the work. In the long-term, the funding spent on renovations and fire-code updates would free up the arts-organization budgets, leading to growth in programming. It all adds up to a revitalized state economy, he said.
“The return on investment is great even if you just look at the dollars and cents,” he said. “If you go out to a performance in any of the communities, the restaurants are filled; people have hired babysitters; they go out for a drink afterward. And if you can put more money into programs, you have a greater variety and you have more people making a living at the arts in the state.”
The arts funding voters will be asked to approve Nov. 4 is one of four statewide bond questions on the ballot. The others include: $125 million for improvements to the University of Rhode Island’s College of Engineering; $35 million for mass-transit-hub infrastructure; and $53 million for clean water, open space and healthy communities.
The bonds are numbered as four separate questions: the higher education bond is question 4; arts is No. 5, mass transit is No. 6 and clean water is No. 7.
According to House and Senate spokesmen, no testimony surfaced at General Assembly hearings in opposition to the bond referenda. The arts council has launched a Web page, www.yeson5ri.com, which defines that economic impact of the bond issue, officially listed on the ballot as Question No. 5. It reads:
“The nine organizations named in the bond alone account for nearly $200 million in annual economic activity and more than 1,900 jobs in Rhode Island. During the life of the bond, the improvements made to the facilities will create 612 temporary jobs and 568 permanent jobs,” according to the site.
The arts organizations that would benefit from capital upgrades that include fire-code updates are the Trinity Repertory Company, Newport Performing Arts Center, United Theater/Westerly Land Trust, Stadium Theater Conservatory, 2nd Story Theater and WaterFire Providence. The other three, whose work does not involve fire-code upgrades, are the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Chorus of Westerly and AS220, Rosenbaum said.
The arts council is holding informational workshops, including one held on Sept. 22 in Westerly, on the ballot question. Others are scheduled for Sept. 29 in Pawtucket; Oct. 6 in Warren; Oct. 27 in Newport and Nov. 3 in Providence.
• Michael Lewis, director of the R.I. Department of Transportation, says that the $35 million voters are being asked to approve for mass-transit funding is a vital way to ensure that evolving projects are positioned to get matching federal or private dollars.
“Having money available from the state would then be there to leverage other funds, whether they be private funds or through competitive grants,” Lewis said. “We are in a better negotiating position if we have money we can bring to the table. When they score grant applications, they are looking for how much money states are willing to commit.”
Providence is trying to rework Kennedy Plaza not just as a transit hub but as a civic center, Lewis explained. The state also hopes to create an intermodal train-station facility adjacent to and incorporated into the existing Amtrak station, which is the 14th busiest in the country, but is “tired and bursting at the seams,” Lewis said. The facility would be used by R.I. Public Transit Austhority bus service, rail, taxi and other modes of transport, he added.
“With expanded transit locations, we believe that’s an opportunity to spur [economic] development,” Lewis said.
• Janet Coit, director of the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, said the $53 million for everything from brownfield remediation to improvements to Roger Williams Park Zoo is sorely needed, and waiting lists, particularly for clean-water projects, are long.
“We have over a billion dollars in unmet need, so this is [addressing] everything from the combined-sewer-overflow tunnels to upgrading wastewater-treatment facilities and other projects that treat stormwater,” she said. “Communities are well aware of these funds, they’re in the queue, but they’re often very large, expensive projects and so many people are competing for a limited pool of funds.”
Historically, voters have not hesitated to support bond issues from DEM, she added.
The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce has endorsed all four bond issues, while Grow Smart Rhode Island has formally backed all but the URI bond.
“We’ve taken no position on the college [bond],” said Grow Smart Executive Director Scott Wolf. “It’s not as closely linked to our key priorities but it’s something we feel positive about.”
As part of the Move Rhode Island Forward Coalition, Grow Smart Rhode Island is helping coordinate grassroots outreach, such as radio advertising and billboards, for the mass-transit-hub bond, said Wolf. More information is available at www.yeson6ri.com.
Likewise, Jeff Taylor of the May 4th Group in Providence is spearheading a campaign to promote the environmental-bond issue, which began with a Sept. 22 kickoff and is gearing up for more events. More information is available at www.voteyeson7.org. •

No posts to display