Hello Friends & Neighbors,
I hope that this note finds you well and planning for a lovely Thanksgiving celebration with your family and/or friends. For all of my adult life, Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday -- and this year, I am grateful to get to take the day off and spend it cooking and relaxing with my husband Scott and our pets - Captain Ruggles, Zeni & Wasabi.
As always, there's a good deal happening in the City & in Ward 3, so I'll just jump right in.
This newsletter is also available on my website at:
Upcoming Meetings & Events:
Monday, November 25th at 6pm - Rochambeau Library: The Audubon Society of RI & Green Energy Consumers Alliance are hosting a Climate Action Organizing meeting. Come join the conversation on actions you'd like to see at the State & Local level and meet fellow community members.
City Council Finance Committee: Tuesday, November 26th at 5:30pm. This meeting will discuss reallocating unspent federal ARPA funds to assist with the funding gap for Providence Public Schools (more info on this below). All agendas for City meetings can be found on the Open Meetings Portal.
City Council Finance Hearing & Meeting, December 3rd at 5:30: There will be a public hearing on 3 proposed Tax Stabilization Agreements. See agenda here.
City Council Meeting: December 5th at 6pm. This is the last scheduled meeting of the year (though an additional special meeting may be scheduled to address timely issues).
Ward 3 Community Meeting - December 9th at 7pm - Vincent Brown Rec Center. Come join our last Ward 3 meeting of 2024 to hear community updates, share your thoughts, and interact with neighbors.
Special Committee on the Environment & Resiliency, December 11th at 5:30pm. This meeting will be held on the 3rd floor of City Hall and can also be viewed online. The Committee will be discussing an ordinance that I introduced to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers and also hear presentations by the RI Office of Energy Resources on their new leaf blower incentive program and City Departments of existing pilots to test electric equipment. (**This is not the public hearing on the leaf blower ordinance - more details below**).
Holiday Lighting at Lippitt Park - December 16th at 7pm! Come join me, the Friends of Lippitt Park, the Parks Department and so many of our neighbors in celebrating the festive time of year with a lighting celebration at Lippitt Park! Festive music, food & drinks provided.
Don't forget about the toy drive at Mount Hope Community Center - going on through December 16th!
Updates & Progress
Providence Public School Funding:
I know many Ward 3 residents have been closely following the funding situation with the schools. As I've shared before - this has been an incredibly difficult financial situation, and I am and have been supportive of ensuring our kids have the support they need to succeed. I have also been very insistent on the need for more transparency into the PPSD budgets -- I think this settlement is a great step forward in both regards. We will avert the threatened cuts to sports and RIPTA passes, and the City will avoid needing to cut programs in the libraries and Rec Centers, and PPSD has agreed to a third party audit of their finances.
Councilwoman Helen Anthony (Ward 2) had a really great explanation of the settlement agreement between PPSD and the City, which I recommend you read for the background (quoted below).
"On Friday, November 22 the City of Providence announced a settlement agreement with the RI Department of Education to increase funding for the Providence Public Schools. The agreement follows a Superior Court judgement requiring the city to provide additional funding, which could have ranged anywhere from $11M to $55M.
The agreement outlines the following payments by the city to the schools:
an additional $4M for fiscal year 2024 (which ended June 30, 2024)
an additional $11M for fiscal year 2025
a commitment to reach a total contribution for fiscal year 2026 of $147M (an $11.5M increase over current spending levels)
a commitment to a baseline of $147M for FY27"
To be clear, we are in the middle of a budget year, and the City does not just keep reserves of $10's of millions of dollars that it can tap into. The scale of the settlement has averted the need for a mid-year tax increase and some of the worst cuts to essential programs, but we will still be looking at some difficult funding decisions this fiscal year and going forward - which could include raising taxes in FY26.
On Tuesday, the Finance Committee will consider a proposal to reallocate all uncommitted federal ARPA funds ($4.5 million). The Mayor has also identified $3 million in energy credits that can be used, and $1 million in new PILOT funds can be allocated. There is also a hiring freeze effective immediately and a non-essential spending freeze in place. I will continue to provide updates and opportunities for comment as they become available.
Progress on North Main Street:
We have been making progress in the North Main Street Task Force - and I want to share it with you!
Lighting: Inadequate lighting has been a factor in many of the crashes along North Main Street. Working with the City Council's Director of Project Management Kyle Delgado and with the support from Council leadership, I was able to identify significant amounts of funding to address lighting issues. This is happening in a few phases:
Phase 1: Fixing immediate needs. We have worked with Public Property and the City's lighting vendor PRISM to fix many outages - and there are many more in the queue with RI Energy that need additional underground work.
We have also replaced or installed poles with new lighting at 7 locations in the last month. We have also added additional temporary flood lights to the intersection at North Main and Branch/Cypress, where there are regular crashes.
Phase 2: PRISM has worked with their consultant Evari to model and understand the specific lighting needs across the corridor. We have ordered specific types of new light fixtures as well as pedestrian-level lighting for areas of the corridor - which can be installed in the spring when construction season begins again.
Road Safety Assessment Improvements: Earlier this year, in partnership with the Task Force, RIDOT conducted a Road Safety Assessment of North Main Street. I really value the collaborative relationship I have developed with RIDOT and appreciate the resources and time they've dedicated to this effort. At the November meeting, Task Force member and RIDOT Traffic Engineer Sean Raymond presented an update on implementation so far.
You can read their powerpoint here, but highlights include:
"Leading Pedestrian Interval" at crosswalks across the whole corridor. This means that when a person walking hits the button to cross, they are given additional time to begin crossing before any traffic lights change. This increases visibility and safety.
Exclusive Pedestrian Phase signals at key intersections (already at Rochambeau, coming soon to Olney). This means that no cars have the right of way while pedestrians are crossing - to increase safety at particularly challenging intersections.
No Turn Right on Red signage at intersections across the corridor.
Coming soon: Speed Limit signage across the corridor to address persistent confusion on the speed limit.
Coming soon: Additional striping and signage at crosswalks.
Coming soon: Additional Safety Improvements to the Doyle intersection
More updates coming soon - but as promised, I am taking action!
Roadwork by Utilities Ordinance:
I have heard from many Ward 3 residents who have had an issue during or after Rhode Island Energy has opened up the roads to do upgrades on their gas system. (Specific shout out to Burlington Street residents for your persistence in getting your road fixed!). I have heard from folks who received less than 24 hours notice before road closures that kept them from leaving their driveways to get to work, folks who had equipment left on their front yards or porches, one neighbor who had a gas leak get into their home, neighbors who had to wait over a year for their road to be repaved only for the repavement to cover over the storm drains, and more.
After spending time understanding the current requirements and processes, I introduced an ordinance on Thursday that sets up a new, more transparent process that the utility would need to follow in non-emergency situations. It would do a few things:
Requires a plan to be submitted to the Department of Public Works with specific timelines and justifications.
Requires that this plan be discussed at a public meeting where public comment is taken.
Requires that the plan is approved by the City Council before permits can be issued for non-emergency work.
Fines for non-compliance.
This ordinance was referred to the Special Committee on Environment and Resiliency, which I chair. I will welcome your input as this moves through the committee process, and will keep you in the loop when it is scheduled for a public hearing.
Leafblower Restrictions Ordinance:
This past Thursday, I also introduced an ordinance to restrict the future use of gas powered leaf blowers. I know that many people have diverse thoughts on leaf blowers. Gas-powered leaf blowers are a significant source of localized air pollution, carbon emissions, and noise. However, I am not trying to penalize small business owners who have recently invested in equipment.
A special shout to to Julianna Elton, who is a student at the University of Vermont. Julianna is interning with me this semester through Run on Climate, an organization of Councilors from across the country who care about climate change! Julianna did research and talked with other cities and towns to understand how their programs have worked (or not...), so we can learn from their experiences.
The proposed legislation includes:
A phase-out during most of time of the year by 2028*
A phase-out by City Departments and Contractors by 2028
A full phase out of gas powered equipment by 2033
Fines for noncompliance
The 2033 date was timed to align with the State's Renewable Energy Standard. 2033 is the year when the utilities are required to procure 100% of our electricity from clean, renewable sources. Aligning the switch to electric with that date was intended to give contractors lead time to switch to new equipment and also ensure that the electric leaf blowers are being powered by clean electricity.
We will be discussing this and hearing about the State's new electric leaf blower incentive program at the Special Committee on Environment and Resiliency on December 11th at 5:30. This is not the public hearing - which will be scheduled after the New Year. Public comment is always welcome by emailing the Clerk at CityClerk@providenceri.gov. You are also always welcome to share your comments directly with me. I'm looking forward to working collaborative with my colleagues on Council and also members of the public to find the best path forward on this work!
General Updates:
Do you have questions about Parking Minimums? Wondering why they were relaxed in the Comprehensive Plan? I did this short video to explain it! Check it out!
Infrastructure Upgrade at Rochambeau Library: For anyone who has used the side entrance of the Rochambeau Library and tripped on the uneven curbing - I recently worked with the Library and our Project Management staff to fix this! This was a particularly unsafe area where many folks had fallen and hurt themselves, and we acted quickly to find a little funding and create a safer design.
Social Media update: I have recently moved from Twitter (X) to BlueSky. My BlueSky handle is: @sueanderbois.bsky.social Find me there! I continue to be on Facebook as well: https://www.facebook.com/SueAnderBois
Thank you all so much! It is truly an honor to represent you on the City Council. As we wrap up the year, my next newsletter will be a 2024 "Year in Review" to summarize the work I've done on Council over the last twelve months -- and a call to request your input for what a successful 2025 looks like.
With Gratitude,
Sue AnderBois
Deputy Majority Whip
Providence City Council
Comments