Referendum will decide whether state borrows $640 million to improve housing, public facilities

Rhode Islanders will have their chance to weigh in on their own sort of economic stimulus Tuesday as they head to the polls to decide whether to borrow more than $640 million for everything from building affordable housing and better roads to maintaining beaches and campgrounds.

With COVID-19 and the vaccine rollout gobbling up so much of the media oxygen these days, the referendum hasn’t gotten as much attention as it normally might. But electors have already been casting ballots for several weeks in early voting stations throughout the state, much like they did in the runup to the general election last November.

There appears to be broad support for passage of the bonds from the labor and nonprofit community, but not everyone thinks it’s a good idea to borrow so freely amid the looming economic uncertainties of the pandemic. Arguing that borrowing is just “delayed taxation,” the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity, for example, is urging voters to reject all seven of the questions on the ballot.

“Rhode Island already suffers from too much debt,” the center says. “The economic disaster as a result of the catastrophic pandemic is another reason not to borrow money.”

On the other hand, “Yes for Rhode Island,” a coalition of more than two dozen trade groups, unions and nonprofit organizations, is advocating for passage of all seven of the referendum questions.

“Seven questions. One answer: Yes,” is the coalition’s campaign theme.

“This spring, Rhode Islanders have a chance to carve out our own paths to recovery by voting for better schools, clean drinking water, safer roads and bridges, and jobs

that sustain our families,” the coalition says.

So what’s in it for you? Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the ballot, question by question:

● No. 1 would issue $107.3 million for the renovation of college infrastructure, including $57.3 million for the University of Rhode Island Fine Arts Center, $38 million for the Rhode Island College Clarke Science Building and $12 million for the Community College of Rhode Island’s facilities in Warwick and Lincoln.

● No. 2, dubbed “beach, clean water and green bond,” authorizes $74 million in all, including $33 million to improve and maintain beaches, parks and campgrounds. The rest is for an assortment of endeavors, including $4 million to continue developing the I-195 Park in Providence; $4 million for local recreational projects throughout the state; and most of the balance for land preservation, continued dredging of the Providence River and drinking water infrastructure projects. Also, the state is committing $2 million of the bond proceeds for developing recreational assets in the Woonasquatucket River Watershed, which includes parts of Glocester and North Smithfield.

● No. 3 calls for $65 million for building and renovating housing projects, with an eye toward expanding the stock of affordable housing and revitalizing neighborhoods.

● No. 4 apportions $71.7 million to allow the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to continue repairing the state’s ailing roads and bridges. RIDOT also emphasizes the leveraging power the funds would provide by permitting the agency to tap some five times the worth of the bond in additional federal funds for road infrastructure.

● No. 5 provides $15 million to develop and maintain facilities for early childhood care and education. Head Start, one of the region’s biggest child care organizations, is urging Rhode Islanders to approve the question.

● No. 6 allocates $7 million to support arts and cultural organizations. About two-thirds of the funds would go toward the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Trinity Repertory Company, but $2 million is set aside for the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to pass along to scores of smaller organizations and independent artists in the form of grants.

● No. 7 calls for $60 million to finance improvements to industrial infrastructure. A third of the money would be used to continue expanding and upgrading facilities at the Port of Davisville in Quonset; the rest for industrial site development that attempts to mimic Quonset’s success in getting open land ready for manufacturing and commercial uses throughout the state.

A word of caution for anyone planning on casting a ballot on election day – check on whether your usual polling place is open. More than likely, it’s not.

Woonsocket and Pawtucket, for example, have both trimmed down the normal number of stations for the referendum.

“This is a different type of election,” said Michael Narducci, manager of Woonsocket’s Board of Canvassers. “We will be using super polling places.”

The phraseology means the traditional contingent of roughly a dozen stations in the city has been compacted into just four. In Woonsocket, they are John F. Kennedy Manor, 547 Clinton St.; Monsignor Gadoury School, 1371 Park Ave.; Leo A. Savoie School Gym, 990 Mendon Road; and Harris Elementary School Gym, 60 High School St.

The poll-squeeze is even tighter in Pawtucket, which is crunching its usual 31 polling stations into just three for live ballots on Tuesday – the Slater Park Pavilion, in the carousel parking lot; Woodlawn Community Center, 210 West Ave.; and Euart Post, 55 Overland St.

Polls are open from 7-8 p.m. everywhere.

“We would also like to remind voters that questions 6 and 7 are located on the backside of the ballot,” Narducci added. “Make sure you vote both sides of the ballot.”