Latest news with #CapitalImprovementPlan
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City says restoration of historic Providence City Hall will cost $40 million
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The first phase of $40 million in restoration work at Providence City Hall is slated to get underway next spring. Renovations to the building's exterior, which will include repairing the dome, the front two roof pavilions and masonry in that area, will cost $10 million in total, according to city spokesperson Samara Pinto. Pinto said the work will be funded through the Providence Building Authority Bond as part of the city's Capital Improvement Plan. On Monday, the Downtown Design Review Committee heard from DBVW Architects, which completed a building condition assessment on City Hall last October. Project manager Benjamin Lueck said the assessment was limited to the exterior enclosure and related water infiltration. 'First and foremost, the roofing materials are deteriorated and failed throughout. In some cases, these are original materials dating back to the 1870s,' Lueck said. 'Our report also addressed the fact that, really, all of the exterior masonry joints are also failed. In some cases, large areas of masonry joints, mortar joints, are just completely open.' Lueck said the 'most significant issue' was the building's internal roof drainage. He added that the building's conditions were 'widespread' and said that 'no specific areas that are in worse condition than other areas.' 'With that in mind, our recommendation to the city is to pursue a really holistic restoration strategy,' Lueck said. He said the goal was to make sure the building was 'weather-tight' as well as 'historically accurate.' Lueck acknowledged the building has undergone restoration work over the years, but has not had any work done since 1979. 'Nowhere on the building are you seeing exactly the original construction,' Lueck explained. 'We're trying to get as close as we can to what has been the appearance of the building for the past 100 years with the acknowledgement that it will require a little bit of … slight changes to the overall detail.' Lueck said he'd recommend removing the copper cladding and preparing the original cast iron surfaces integrated into the roof with new waterproofing. Once that's done, Lueck said new decorative copper cladding would be installed to replicate the old cast iron. Lueck told the committee that DBVW hopes to have its construction drawings complete by December in advance of the proposed bidding process in January. Construction could start as soon as March or April of 2026, he said. The rest of the proposed restoration work at City Hall could take up to five years, but Pinto said the timeline may vary due to other factors like 'project costs, supply chain and potential disruptions.' 'This restoration will return the building's exterior to a standard of quality not seen in decades, while finally addressing longstanding issues like water infiltration and the deterioration of decorative metal elements that have impacted the structure for much of its existence,' Pinto added. Pinto said future phases of work to City Hall's exterior include restoring the remaining roof systems, masonry repairs, improving the building's rainwater removal systems, and replacing the windows to improve energy efficiency, 'all while maintaining the building's historic character.' The work is expected to cost $40 million in total, according to Pinto. Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@ is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plainfield's second budget vote results: What happened?
Even with a total reduction of $800,000, all three questions on the ballot for the Town of Plainfield's budget vote failed to pass again at the referendum vote June 2. This is the second time all three questions failed to pass at the ballot box. The majority of voters opposed all three questions at the referendum May 19. At the budget vote June 2, the proposed $14,320,593 operating budget failed, with 563 yes votes and 717 no votes. The revised operating budget was $320,000 less than the proposed budget for the May 19 referendum, which was $14,640,593. The proposed education budget was $39,327,822, a reduction of $480,00 from the May 19 budget failed June 2, with 625 yes votes and 654 no votes. The proposed education budget at the referendum was down from the $39,807,822 that was proposed for education at the budget vote May 19. The town's Capital Improvement Plan for the next and ensuing five years also failed June 2, with 562 yes votes and 701 no votes. 'I think it's probably still a little too high,' Don Kivela, of Plainfield, said regarding the town's budget. In addition to the questions on the proposed operating and education budgets as well as the Capital Improvement Plan, there was a non-binding advisory question on the ballot for the June 2 election. The question asked voters if they were in favor of having a proposed municipal solid waste to energy plant in Plainfield. The vast majority were opposed to the project, as 125 voted yes and 1,148 voted no. The public hearing on the revised budget will take place June 9 in the auditorium at Plainfield High School. The next budget referendum will be held June 16. The town is working out a polling place, as work to replace the entrance ramp at Plainfield Town Hall begins June 3. Polls will be open from 6 a.m.-8 p.m. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Plainfield's second round of budgets fail at the ballot box
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
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Chesapeake wants to build a railroad crossing overpass in South Norfolk
CHESAPEAKE — City leaders are pursuing grant funding from the state to build an overpass bridge for the Norfolk Portsmouth Beltline Railroad on Freeman Avenue in South Norfolk. At its meeting this week, the Chesapeake City Council passed a resolution to apply for funding through Virginia Department of Transportation's Revenue Sharing Program for the project. The rail passing is nestled between Harris Street and Republic Road. The project would replace the existing at-grade railroad crossing with an overpass bridge and include associated roadway realignments and improvements. Local transportation experts have been studying traffic disruptions caused by trains across Hampton Roads in an effort to recommend solutions. The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization collected data on more than 600 railway crossings across the region to prioritize improvements and new overpasses and underpasses projects to ease traffic congestion. The organization scored 307 public, at-grade crossings for prioritization based on several factors, including traffic and train volumes, delays, safety and roadway characteristics. The Freeman Avenue crossing came in at number 11 on the list. Norfolk railroad crossings occupied the top five spots on the list, including on Hampton Avenue at Terminal Boulevard and on Granby Street near Ward's Corner. Chesapeake has the most crossings in the region at 122, including 98 at-grade crossings, according to the HRTPO. The Freeman Avenue overpass project will feature two 12-foot lanes at a speed of 35 mph. Pedestrian and bicycle facilities won't be included, but 8-foot shoulders are proposed accommodations. Also at Tuesday's meeting, the council approved an action to acquire rights-of-way in the area required to construct the project. Construction is scheduled for the spring of 2028 and expected to span until late 2030. The city has prioritized the project as it currently has $22.5 million of funding in the city's multi-year Capital Improvement Plan in the fiscal budget, including $10.2 million from the Federal Rail Administration. An additional $24.5 million will be needed in future years, for a projected total of $47 million. The city's application for funding from VDOT requests $10 million, and if received, the city would match that — likely through bonds financed by the South Norfolk Tax Increment Financing district, according to a memo from city staff. Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133,
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
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City of Eau Claire plans $48.3 million in capital improvement projects for 2026
EAU CLAIRE—The City of Eau Claire is asking for public feedback on its five-year capital improvement, which contains projects totaling approximately $266 million. 'There will be a public discussion on June 9 and also June 23,' said Eau Claire Finance Director Kitzie Winters. 'The City Council is scheduled to adopt the budget on June 24.' The Capital Improvement Plan, which plans out capital expenditures from 2026-2030, was presented to the council last week. It contains a plan to spend approximately $266 million over the next five years, including $48.3 million in 2026. Nearly a quarter of that would go to the Land, Building, and Equipment Fund. 'The capital improvement plan is exactly what it sounds like,' Winters said. 'It's a plan. We do call it a budget, but it is a plan for our assets or repairs that are over $5,000.' She differentiated it from the annual operating budget which are funds that go toward services and staff. 'The Capital Improvement Plan is for those larger repairs or acquisitions of land or creation of a trail or a park, or repair of a street,' she said. 'We do attempt to secure grants from the federal and state level. We use our tax dollars there that we retain as a city. Then we look toward any general fund usage, but it's half-funded from issuing general obligation debt.' In terms of the city striving to manage its debt, Winters said, 'We have an existing policy to keep that in a respectable limit. We're very conscious of the effect on the debt issuance and how that translates into the tax bills. Our targets are always very close to what we're paying off. We're not attempting to increase the tax bill. We're trying to keep that level.' She said that big things which would have the most impact on taxpayers would be needing to build a new fire station or addressing an issue with a large parking structure. Winters did note that there are plans for either remodel or construct a new fire station in 2027 and that the city council is still discussing the parking structure across from City Hall for 2029. 'It is reaching the end of its useful life to repair,' she said. '[Replacing it] would be over $30 million. It'll cost between $2 million to $3 million for demolition. We're evaluating how much parking will be needed. We're looking at scaling it down to maybe a two-level parking deck. It would cost around $14 million.' To view the full proposed capital improvement plan, visit
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plainfield's voters had there say on the budget: Here are the election results
All three questions on the ballot for the Town of Plainfield's budget referendum failed to pass at referendum May 19. The proposed $14,640,593 annual town operating budget, failed with 284 yes votes and 540 no votes. The proposed $39,807,822 education budget failed, with 317 yes votes and 507 no votes. The town's Capital Improvement Plan for the next and ensuing five years also failed, with 320 yes votes and 501 no votes. Of Plainfield's 10,863 registered voters, 824 voted in the budget referendum May 19. This equates to a voter turnout of 7.5%. Some Plainfield residents were not surprised to see all three questions fail. 'We had a lot of people who said that their decision was pretty much made, meaning that the recent cuts and recent discussions that were made didn't really change their mind,' said Thomas Sinkewicz, a Plainfield resident as well as the chairman of the town's economic development commission. 'They were looking for more to be cut from the budget.' Dean Gorman, a Plainfield resident and chair of the town's board of finance, said it was very clear that residents opposed all three questions on the ballot. '60% of the people that cast their vote voted against the budget, each of the three elements,' Gorman said. More: Plainfield proposed budget up more than 6% for fiscal 2026: When voters can have their say According to the Plainfield Town Charter, if one of or both budgets fail, the town's board of finance will revise the budget/budgets. Then, an additional referendum would be held within 14 days of the initial one. The Plainfield Town Charter states that if the Capital Improvement Plan is not approved at the town budget referendum, it will be revised by the town's board of finance and presented to a subsequent referendum. The town charter gives no timeframe on when that referendum would be. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Plainfield voters turn down all three budgets at annual election
