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West Warwick approves contracts to keep Payne Street school project moving ahead of bond decision
Summary
The council approved contracts totaling about $294,600 for architectural and engineering work for the Payne Street school project and authorized funding from loan or anticipated bond proceeds to preserve state reimbursement eligibility; members debated committing funds before a bond vote.
The West Warwick Town Council approved contracts with Lehi Field and Tekton to continue design work for the Payne Street school project, a key step intended to preserve eligibility for state reimbursement and to keep the overall school-construction timetable on track.
Council members said the contracts — described by staff as task-based work through schematic and design development — will allow the town to meet deadlines for the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) stage submissions and avoid forfeiting a potential 68% reimbursement. Staff presented a four-task scope whose total was reported in the meeting as approximately $294,600; a single line-item quoted for Lehi Field was $46,140.
Some council members questioned whether the town was placing funds at risk by signing contracts before voters decide on a larger bond package that would finance the full set of school projects. One council member said the amount is ‘‘substantial’’ and expressed discomfort committing roughly $300,000 before the final bond outcome. Supporters said not moving forward could jeopardize reimbursements and other deadlines with RIDE.
Town officials and the school-building committee said the Payne Street work is important to free up classroom space at Maisie Quinn and to relocate the alternative-learning program; that sequencing, they said, is central to getting fifth graders out of the middle school. Officials described multiple funding scenarios: short-term borrowing or alternative funding to start design work and then reimbursing those costs if a bond receives voter approval.
On a voice vote the council approved the contracts and amended the resolution's funding language to specify loan proceeds or anticipated bond proceeds rather than school surplus. Council members asked the school-building committee to continue public meetings and to provide clear cost breakdowns and timelines for voters and the public.
No detailed guaranteed reimbursement was presented at the meeting; officials said RIDE responses were pending and that the town is answering questions from RIDE ahead of the next submission deadline. If RIDE approves the project, town officials said the 68% reimbursement would apply to eligible project costs.
