by Billy Kepner | Jan 30, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15, Ward-7
$20M of the bond will be for upgrades to schools, and $10M will be to improve neighborhood community centers and monies for City Hall roof and interior renovations.
Tonight the Chairman of the Providence City Council Committee on Finance, Majority Whip John J. Igliozzi of Ward Seven, and his colleagues approved the City to seek a $30M bond for school and other neighborhood infrastructure projects. In addition to schools, the bond includes monies for repairs and renovations to City Hall and neighborhood community centers.
“When the Administration put forth a proposal to take out a $20M bond for school infrastructure, I requested an immediate analysis of the cost of borrowing an additional $10M in an attractive rate environment to support other much-needed upgrades to City-owned properties,” stated Majority Whip and Chairman of the Council’s Committee on Finance John J. Igliozzi. “Working together with the Mayor and his finance team we found that the additional funds were a reasonable investment and that the rates today are better than they were when we first began this discussion. For the past year, I have been advocating to not only fix our schools but to fix our own house – City Hall. The $10M addition to the bond proposal will go towards fixing the roof of City Hall and other much-needed renovations to the historic building.”
Much of the bond is subject to the Rhode Island Department of Education Housing Aid Reimbursement program which will refund the city 82% of up to $16M of the $20M bond that is earmarked for school infrastructure improvements.
“The best investment we can make is in our youth,” said Mayor Jorge Elorza. “I am proud that we will be able to invest critical dollars into our school buildings and continue to improve public properties throughout our capital city with this bond. I thank the council members for their continued commitment to our schools and our city.”
City Council President Sabina Matos stated, “Whip Igliozzi has an understanding of the City’s financial health that is unmatched, and I’m grateful that he was able to see how the time was right for us to take this important step to not only secure our schools but to secure our other city-owned properties.”
The resolution will be sent to the full City Council for a vote and passage at their regularly scheduled February 7, 2019 meeting.
by Billy Kepner | Jan 26, 2019 | Community Engagement, Council News, Ward-15, Ward-6, Ward-9
Council President Sabina Matos giving remarks at the flower offering.
The Dominican Flag flies in Roger Williams Park.
Council President Sabina Matos with the Dominican Flag.
Councilwoman Carmen Castillo giving remarks at the event.
Councilwoman Carmen Castillo & Council President Pro Tempore hold the Dominican Flag.
by Billy Kepner | Jan 24, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15
Providence City Council President Sabina Matos, Ward 15, today awarded the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy $50K to help in the restoration of Rhode Island’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument located in Kennedy Plaza. The funding for these restoration projects were set aside by the Council during last year’s budget negotiations to address the continued maintenance of several of Providence’s historical monuments.
“The restoration and care of our City’s monuments and landmarks is an important endeavor,” stated Council President Sabina Matos. “The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is an iconic symbol of our downtown neighborhood. This funding will help the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy to begin the much-needed work to restore this Civil War monument that stands as an honor to the ‘memory of those who died so that the Country might live.’ And I am very happy to see this work begin.”
Nearly 2,000 Rhode Islander died during the Civil War, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was designed by American artist Randolph Rogers to honor their sacrifice. When it was first dedicated in 1871 it was a place for the fallen soldier’s families to gather and to remember the unimaginable loss that our state’s residents suffered.
Executive Director of the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy Cliff Wood stated, “This support from the Providence City Council comes at a critical time in the fundraising for the Soldiers & Sailors Restoration Project. The Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy thanks them for their commitment to improving and maintaining our shared public spaces and for understanding the important story told by this nationally recognized monument. A monument which lists the names of all the Rhode Islanders who fell protecting the future of our national union.”
The funding comes from the Providence City Archives who during last year’s budgeting process was awarded these funds to support the City’s landmarks including funds towards the restoration of Federal Hill’s DePasquale Plaza fountain.
From Left to Right: City Council Acting Chief of Staff James Lombardi III, Esq., City Council President Sabina Matos, City Council President Pro Tempore Michael Correia, Providence City Archivist Caleb Horton, City Council Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris, Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy Project Manager Kat Boots, and Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy and the Providence Foundation Executive Director Cliff Wood.
by Billy Kepner | Jan 7, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15
Providence City Councilwoman Sabina Matos, Ward 15, was elected City Council President after today’s installation of the 2019-2022 City Councilors. She has the distinction of being the first Latina to hold this seat.
Council President Matos began her first term as the Councilwoman for the fifteenth ward in January 2011. During her tenure on the Council, she has served as Council President Pro Tempore from January 2015 until her election as President. She also served as Acting Council President from May 2017 until December 2017. During her tenure she has served on the Councils’ Committee on Finance, Committee on Municipal Operations and Oversight, Rules Committee, Committee on Women and Healthy Communities, Committee on State Legislative Affairs, and serves as Chairwoman of the Committee on Urban Redevelopment, Renewal, and Planning.
“When my family emigrated from the Dominican Republic in 1994, we did so for better opportunities, and as an immigrant, I understand the unique challenges that the majority of today’s Providence population faces,” stated Council President Sabina Matos. “Today, women and minorities are not only the majority of the city’s population, but we now make up the majority of the Providence City Council. Now, more than ever before, the Council’s leadership reflects what our community truly looks like. Today the City of Providence has made history by swearing in a majority women-led Council. Women have not always had seats at the table, but one-by-one Councilwoman Carolyn Brassil, Councilwoman Josephine Diruzzo, Councilwoman Carol Romano, Councilwoman and former Acting Council President Balbina Young, Councilwoman Patricia K. Nolan, Councilwoman Rita Williams, Councilwoman and former Council President Eveylyn Fargnoli chipped away at that glass ceiling, and today our City Council represents those that have elected us to serve.”
Matos continued, “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the residents of Ward 15, and I look forward to the next four years of serving all residents of our great city. I believe that my colleagues and I have a great deal of work to tackle the issues of our time. But, I have complete faith that we can come together and continue to make Providence an even greater place to live, work and play than it already is.”
Council President Matos’ election comes after the majority of the Democratic members of the City Council held a caucus in November of last year, to seat new leadership. The positions are as follows:
- Michael Correia – Ward Six, President Pro Tempore
- Jo-Ann Ryan – Ward Five, Majority Leader
- John J. Igliozzi – Ward Seven, Majority Whip
- Nicholas J. Narducci Jr. – Ward Four, Senior Deputy Majority Leader
- Mary Kay Harris – Ward 11, Deputy Majority Leader
The Council’s newly seated leadership teams’ legislative goals for this term will focus on housing affordability, economic development (especially in support of local small businesses), and a continued focus on the city’s financial health. They will also continue to address the quality of life issues that face every neighborhood, which will include public safety, infrastructure, improved city services, and finally working towards making Providence one of the cleanest cities in America.
Sabina Matos was born in the province of Barahona in the Dominican Republic and moved to the United States in April 1994. She is a graduate of Rhode Island College with a BA in Communications and Public Relations. She is also a graduate of the Latina Leadership Institute and Leadership for a Future.
In 2014, Sabina Matos was named to the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership program as one of two dozen emerging bipartisan leaders from across the country.
The Aspen Institute is a nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas. Its Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership program seeks to enhance democracy by identifying and bringing together the nation’s most promising young political leaders who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to work responsibly across partisan divisions and bring greater civility to public discourse.
Council President Matos is also the past President of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee and has served on numerous community-based boards including the Olneyville Housing Corporation, the United Way of Rhode Island and ECAS Theater. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, most recently she was honored by the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council with their first annual “Fred Lippit Award.”
Council President Matos lives in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence with her husband Patrick, and their two children, Diego and Annemarie.
by Billy Kepner | Jan 2, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15, Ward-5
Sabina Matos, Ward 15, the putative incoming City Council President has requested that the January 3, 2019 meeting, which would be the last meeting for the current term be canceled. The new council will be sworn-in on Monday, January 7, 2019 at noon.
It is somewhat unprecedented to hold a January meeting on the eve of ushering in a new class of City Councilors. Matos stated, “Out of deference to the four new members being sworn-in on January 7, 2019, precedent compels the Council to defer taking up new business just days before they are to be sworn-in. The January 3, 2019 agenda includes ratification of long-term multi-year contracts affecting thousands of city employees, and appointments that should be fully vetted. To convene beforehand, would be uncharacteristic, given past practice, to have an outgoing Council deliberate on such important matters.”
The full Providence City Council regularly meets the first and third Thursdays of the month.
Jo-Ann Ryan, Majority Whip, Ward 5 said, “With the swearing-in of the new Council scheduled for Monday, January 7, 2019, a majority of the Council thought it best to wait these few short days, to allow the new members to be seated, before voting on these important matters.”
Ryan continued, “Since the current charter was adopted in 1980, early January meetings being held within a week of a new Council being sworn-in are a rarity. The last time a first Thursday arrived before the first Monday swearing-in was 16 years ago in 2003 and the Council did not meet. Prior to that, it was 1991 and the Council did meet, but it was for a special occasion. Former Mayor Joseph R. Paolino, Jr., who had also served as Council President lost in the Democratic primary for governor the previous September and delivered a farewell address to the body.”
