INFRASTRUCTURE

For far too many years, the city did not invest in important capital improvements, and that had a tremendously adverse effect on our community. In the few years before I took office alone, an aging fleet of vehicles meant that trash pickup was constantly delayed and our DPW employees were putting in 12-plus hour’s days (incurring overtime costs). A significant sewer pipe burst just ahead of Thanksgiving, which disrupted businesses, travel, and family gatherings. And a critical water pipe ruptured, resulting in the need for a costly work-around so businesses could remain open and people could go about their daily routines.

Those of us who have cared for elderly parents, a sick friend, a medically-compromised loved one, or, sadly, a terminally-ill child, know how important it is to have top-notch police, fire, and EMT personnel at the ready to respond to any and all emergency situations. I am so very proud to have a CALEA-certified Police Department and a Fire Department whose training and professionalism is the best around. You’re not going to find any better in times of crisis. My family knows this firsthand. But our public safety personnel had been hampered by outdated equipment and vehicles that were constantly breaking down.

Our community also deserves services and an infrastructure that are second to none. This benefits our residents and business community alike. No business wants to move somewhere where their out-of-state customers are going to blow out a tire they have to pay to repair, and none of our residents should ever have to worry if their wastewater treatment or drinking water supply will be compromised because of faulty systems.

To address these issues, in just over three years, we have invested over $65M – none from local taxes – in four new fire engines, a new ladder truck, four new rescues, six new sanitation trucks, a variety of equipment for the Department of Public Works, and new police cars.

We also have new Transwick transit vans to help make life easier for our seniors.

Hate potholes and bumpy roads? We’ve fixed that too, paving more than 400 city streets throughout our community.

(We haven’t gotten to you yet? Please be patient! We assess every street in the city every year, and allocate funds appropriately.)

Oh, and that failed water transmission line that served a third of the city and had been limping along on a bypass system? Breathe easy, now, we’ve fixed that (but, please, preserve our natural resources and be conscious of your water consumption!)

I am proud, that we have now replaced all our remaining lead pipe water service lines, eliminating future health hazards, especially for kids.

Cedar Swamp area residents, long affected by crumbling sewer infrastructure, can now rest easy that we’ve replaced the aging (and failing) force main system. Sewers aren’t something people generally think about, until the smelly evidence is there, but we fixed that also.

The Bayside Sewer project is nearly complete, and we arranged to lessen the financial burden on those who are going to connect to the city sewer system, and help improve the health of our Bay – which, incidentally, helps not only our shell fishing industry, but our tourism industry as well!

Speaking of tourism, lighthouses are a very big attraction throughout the country. Thanks to a federal grant that we secured, the historic and iconic Conimicut Shoals Lighthouse is being refurbished and restored to her former glory. Stay tuned for future updates on how we are going to make this maritime treasure available for the public to enjoy.

(SPOILER ALERT: We hope to have news related to the Warwick Neck Lighthouse within the next few months.)