by Billy Kepner | Apr 19, 2018 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-1, Ward-14
Councilman Seth Yurdin’s resolution to establish the Special Commission to Study Affordable Housing in Providence was passed by the full council at tonight’s City Council meeting.
“Adequate housing is a human right. And key to that is affordable housing. Affordable housing is critical for the well-being of adults, families and children, and it helps make our neighborhoods better places to live,” stated Councilman Seth Yurdin, Ward One. “Bringing together a commission of experts and stakeholders to advise our community on how to tackle this crisis will hopefully help address this serious issue.”
Yurdin was joined by the full council in co-sponsoring the resolution.
City Council President David Salvatore stated, “Just this week I met two amazing women; both were once homeless, but through different pathways they found a place to call home. Although they are no longer homeless, each shared their concerns about the rising cost of housing and their fears of returning to the streets.”
Salvatore added, “We are reaching a critical point in the struggle for adequate and affordable housing in Providence. I feel strongly that by bringing together this group of housing experts we will be able to find solutions to some of the most pressing housing challenges that we are facing today.”
Affordability, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is when housing costs for a family do not exceed 30 percent of their household income. In 2014 the National Housing Conference reported that nearly one-quarter of renters in the Providence metro area spent at least half of their income on housing – which makes them severely “housing cost burdened,” and means they have less disposable income to spend on basic needs. Additionally, the need for affordable housing continues to grow, while stock is diminishing. It’s projected that Rhode Island will need between 34,000 to 40,000 NEW housing units over the next 10 years to keep pace with the demand. Yet, despite this growing need for housing, Rhode Island had the lowest per capita spending on housing in New England in both 2015 and 2016.
Affordable housing can allow households more resources to pay for healthcare and healthy food, and high-quality housing limits exposure to environmental toxins such as lead.
The Special Commission to Study Affordable Housing will be composed of:
- Brenda Clement, Director, Housing WorksRI
- Barbara Fields, Executive Director, Rhode Island Housing
- Sally Hersey, President, Greater Providence Board of Realtors
- Melina Lodge, Executive Director, Housing Network of Rhode Island
- John Marcantonio, Executive Director, Rhode Island Builders Association
- Melissa Sanzaro, Executive Director, Providence Housing Authority
- Michael Tondra, Executive Director, Rhode Island Office of Housing & Community Development
The special commission will issue a report with findings and recommendations to the full City Council by November 1, 2018.
by Billy Kepner | Apr 19, 2018 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-5
Tonight, I introduced a resolution in support of Senator Miller and Representative Carol Hagan McEntee’s Plastic Waste Reduction Act that has been introduced in the General Assembly. Reducing our dependence on single-use plastic bags is vital to keeping our oceans safe, and our landfills free of single-use bags that are only used for 12 minutes, but last 1000 years.
Single-use plastic bags are not just destroying the environment, but they also cost the cities across the great state of Rhode Island millions annually in recycling contamination fees, and other financial burdens. The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation sees nearly 60 tons of plastic bags in their facility every year. These are just some of the reasons why I’m supporting Senator Miller and Representative Thomas Winfield’s bill and why I introduced legislation to ban single-use plastic bags in Providence.
After much discussion with my colleagues on the City Council, Mayor Elorza, and meetings with stakeholders, and community groups I will be reintroducing the ordinance in the near future. Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but it’s important.
– Jo-Ann Ryan, Majority Whip, Providence City Council
by Michael Florio | Apr 18, 2018 | Community Engagement, Council News, Press Release, Ward-10, Ward-11, Ward-6
The Providence City Council helped secure a location in South Providence for a carnival for children and families of that neighborhood and beyond. Family-owned Rockwell Amusements’ midway will be located between Point and Eddy Streets from April 27 to May 6.
City Councilors Michael Correia, Mary Kay Harris, and Luis A. Aponte worked with Lifespan and Rhode Island Hospital to secure a location for the carnival on a piece of hospital property located across the street from Lifespan’s Coro Center.
“As City Councilors, we know that events like carnivals are not always something that our community members can access,” stated Councilman Michael Correia (Ward 6). “We’re thrilled to be able to help find a location for this event with support from our community partner Rhode Island Hospital.”
“Rhode Island Hospital is happy to work with the Providence City Council to secure a location for the carnival in the neighborhood we share with so many residents and businesses of South Providence. My hope is that the children and families in our surrounding communities have a safe and enjoyable time,” said Margaret M. Van Bree, MHA, DrPH, president of Rhode Island Hospital.
Lifespan will also provide free parking to carnival patrons at the Coro Center garage, and a surface lot at 139 Point St. Street parking will also be available on one side of Hospital and Globe streets.
Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris (Ward 11) shared that “we’re grateful to Lifespan for their commitment to community and for providing a location for the carnival and also offering free parking during the event.”
City councilors will be distributing bracelets to community groups in South Providence for free carnival rides.
“I want to thank our partners at Lifespan for their willingness to work with us and Rockwell Amusements in order to make this festival possible on the Southside of the city,” said Councilman Luis A. Aponte (Ward 10). “The festival will bring together families from around our community and city, and I’m grateful to Rockwell for providing free admission for many of our young people who would not otherwise be able to attend.”
Carnival hours will be from 5-10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1-10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
by Michael Florio | Apr 10, 2018 | Council News, Press Release
The Providence City Clerk’s Department has launched a new online service, in conjunction with RI.gov, that simplifies the process of how new business tradenames are managed, searched and tracked by the City and its constituents. However, the new system does not yet allow for online tradename registration, and businesses will still be required to register their tradename in the City Clerk’s office.
“Making business easier in Providence is a top priority for the City Council,” stated City Council President David A. Salvatore. “Under my leadership, the Council wants to ensure that Providence is a transparent and welcoming place to do business, and I believe the new Tradename Service is a step in that direction.”
The service replaces an antiquated system that struggled to facilitate over 50,000 tradenames registered in the City, with more than 450 new tradenames being registered annually. In addition to an improvement over features that the old system provided, the Tradename Service now offers city clerks with better user management and improved reporting tools.
“Our department is excited to take full advantage of the efficiencies offered by the new Tradename Service,” said Lori Hagen, Providence City Clerk. “We believe that this service will provide a transparent and positive end-to-end user experience.”
The service is not only beneficial to Providence clerks. For the first time, entrepreneurs can now visit https://www.ri.gov/app/providence/tradename to browse all existing registered tradenames in the capital city to ensure that their new business name is unique.
“Many times, prospective applicants come to register a business name, only to discover that a similar name already exists in the city,” Hagen said. “With access to this information beforehand, applicants will be able to more effectively differentiate themselves from other businesses.”
The Tradename Service was developed at no cost to taxpayers in partnership with the state’s digital government services provider, Rhode Island Interactive. The service is part of the popular suite of online services currently available through RI.gov (https://www.RI.gov).
About the City Clerk
The City Clerk operates under auspices of the City Council and is the official repository for all ordinances, resolutions and official documents related to the government of the City of Providence and responsible for the authenticity of all legal documents. In addition, the City Clerk collects and presents to the City Council all petitions concerning abandonments and easements, personal injury and automobile or property damage, as well as certificates of Assumed Business Name and Going Out of Business.
About RI.gov
RI.gov is Rhode Island’s homepage and official Website (www.ri.gov), a collaborative effort between the state of Rhode Island and Rhode Island Interactive. The RI.gov site and services are developed and maintained by Rhode Island Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the eGovernment firm NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV).
About NIC
Founded in 1992, NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) is celebrating 25 years as the nation’s premier provider of innovative digital government solutions and secure payment processing, which help make government interactions more accessible for everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies has developed a library of more than 12,000 digital government services for more than 4,500 federal, state, and local government agencies. Among these solutions is the ground-breaking digital government personal assistant, Gov2Go, delivering citizens personalized reminders and a single access point for government interactions. More information is available at www.egov.com.
by Michael Florio | Mar 15, 2018 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-5
Tonight, City Council Majority Whip Jo-Ann Ryan’s (Ward 5) ordinance that calls for a reduction of single-use plastic bags and encourages the use of reusable checkout bags at retail establishments throughout the City has passed its second and final vote. This ordinance addresses significant environmental and economic concerns facing the City and is modeled after those successfully passed in other municipalities and is most similar to the one recently passed in Boston.
Ryan, the lead sponsor of the ordinance said, “I’m excited to begin the education and outreach component of the ordinance. We’ll be partnering with the City’s Zero Waste Group and the City’s Office of Sustainability to educate residents on the impacts that plastic single-use bags have on our environment, and how the ordinance will be implemented over the course of the next year. During this next phase before the ordinance goes into effect we’ll work to ensure that all residents are prepared, and those that need reusable bags will have the opportunity to get them at little or no cost.”
The production, use, and disposal of single-use plastic bags have significant adverse impacts on the environment and are a serious economic burden to the City’s solid waste disposal and single-stream recycling systems. Reducing single-use plastic bags will help to curb litter on our streets and waterways, protect the marine environment, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ryan also stated, “The economic reasons are also significant as the City will save at least $1 Million each year by removing this common contaminant to our recycling system. This initiative will also help to remove 95 million single-use bags annually from our landfill.”
Highlights of the Ordinance Include:
- It exempts certain types of plastic bags such as dry cleaning or laundry bags, bags used to wrap or contain frozen foods or prevent or contain moisture, etc.
- It allows retailers to retain the cost of reusable bags sold to customers
(Note: large chain retailers are currently selling reusable bags for as little as .25 cents). Retailers spend over $3.9M on bags annually.)
- Countless studies, beginning with Ireland in 2002, have shown that adding a modest fee for bags reduces the use of single-use bags by more than 90%.
- It gives 12 months from passage to become compliant allowing time for education/outreach and for retailers to use existing stock.
- It provides an exemption for retailers who may have a hardship determined by the Director of the Office of Sustainability.
The Ordinance is the product of numerous meetings with the City’s Zero Waste Group and the City’s Office of Sustainability. This energetic group is working on an implementation plan and is committed to a strong grassroots education and outreach campaign for both consumers and retailers.
Ryan was joined by the following councilors who cosponsored the ordinance; Council President David A. Salvatore, Majority Leader John J. Igliozzi, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Terrance Hassett, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Nicholas J. Narducci Jr., Deputy Majority Leader Wilbur Jennings Jr., Councilman Seth Yurdin, Councilman Luis A. Aponte, Councilman Bryan Principe, Councilman Michael Correia and Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune.
Some facts on the environmental impacts of single-use plastic bags provided by Upstream Policy:
- Single-use plastic bags are used on average for 12 minutes and live for about 1K years.
- Single-use plastic bag production produces over 2.5K metric tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide) annually and contributes to the greenhouse effect and global warming.
- Single-use plastic bags end up in the ocean, breaking down into smaller pieces called microplastics, Clean Water Action found that the Providence River had the highest concentration of these microplastics in the Bay.
- It’s estimated that over 95M plastic bags are used annually in Providence.
- Single-use plastic bags account for roughly 60 tons of garbage.
- Single-use plastic bags are NOT recyclable in our single stream RIRRC’s recycling facility.
- Single-use plastic bags are the cause of contamination of our recycling bins and compromise our recycling program.
by Michael Florio | Mar 9, 2018 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-4
Providence City Councilman Nicholas J. Narducci Jr. (Ward 4), will be introducing a resolution at the March 15 City Council meeting asking the City to redirect a portion of the revenue generated from the 11 Speed Cameras deployed throughout the city to go towards school safety initiatives.
“I’m supportive of the City’s installation of the speed cameras,” stated Senior Deputy Majority Leader Nicholas J. Narducci Jr. “Yet, I want us to ensure that we are being thoughtful about proper signage and ensuring that the tickets are not overly burdensome for our constituents. With that said, these cameras are placed around our schools, and with the City bringing in over $600K in revenues it would be a great opportunity to redirect some of those funds for school safety initiatives.”
The City plans to install a total of 15 cameras across the city. Currently, 11 have been deployed, and all are operational.
