Last week, the Council held a workshop to discuss the condition of the buildings at Easton’s Beach and potential Council and City actions to address them. The rotunda, snack bar, and carousel buildings are all in disrepair and the architectural and structural study found only the rotunda can be repaired. The snack bar and carousel buildings cannot be salvaged and will need to be completely rebuilt. During our workshop, we heard from the public and discussed potential options for how to approach a rebuild. The public was firmly in support of keeping a snack bar and the carousel onsite. I believe that we need to better engage with the Beach Commission to ensure that we continue to get public input as we move forward. I also believe that it is essential that we don't repeat the mistakes made by previous Councils – if we are going to build public infrastructure, we need to commit to providing adequate funding to keep it from falling down. What we repair and rebuild at the beach must come with a maintenance plan that the City is committed to following and funding.
At this Wednesday’s City Council meeting, we will once again discuss the possibility of building a skate park in Newport at the Abbruzzi Sports Complex. This discussion has been ongoing for quite some time, both in the community and at Council meetings, and in a workshop. Newport residents have consistently stated that they are concerned and unhappy with the recreational opportunities and activities for our youth. City Staff has been working some time to construct a basketball court with a grant the City received from RIDEM. Friends of Newport Skate Park has been canvassing and raising money to pay for the skate park.
I worked with Councilor Ceglie to submit a resolution to authorize the City to move forward and work with both Friends of Newport Skate Park and Newport Little League to build a new skate park and find a new home for T-ball in Newport. It is crucial to the success of both Friends of Newport Skate Park and Newport Little League that the City find a new home for T-ball before construction on a future skate park begins, and I made sure that we included that in our resolution. We have room for all of these sports in Newport, and our children deserve access to them.
The work on the Pell Bridge ramps continues and updates can be found at www.dot.ri.gov/projects/pellbridgeramps/. I am pleased to see how the bike path is coming along and look forward to using it.
If you have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, you can do so at a state-run site or through a pharmacy. The state's website, covid.ri.gov/vaccination has more information and can help you get the vaccine ASAP.