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Public Works seeks $1.5M increase to paving contract cap; RIDOT and utilities will reimburse part
Summary
Public Works requested a $1.5 million increase to the street-improvements bid cap to cover recent paving invoices and spring work; staff said about $500,000 of the new request covers reimbursements-eligible roads submitted to RIDOT (one-third reimbursement) and that the paving account balance is around $3.5 million after a recent Rhode Island Energy payment.
Public Works asked the finance committee to authorize a $1.5 million increase in the street-improvement contract cap to cover invoices from the recent paving season and anticipated spring work.
Director Christy Moretti explained that much of the added amount will pay invoices already incurred and that approximately $500,000 of the request is for roads planned in spring where the city expects reimbursement from RIDOT of roughly one-third of costs. Moretti told councilors the paving account balance is about $3.5 million and that the city received a deposit of roughly $595,000 from Rhode Island Energy tied to utility relocations.
Council members sought clearer processing timelines and an explanation of how constituent paving requests are prioritized. Eric Earls of Public Works walked through the screening process — utility conflict checks, coordination with other utilities (gas, water, sewer), traffic-volume prioritization and a recommendation to the mayor’s office — and said the mayor makes final decisions on which requests advance.
The committee approved moving the procurement item forward after questions, and councilors asked staff for more proactive communication about timing on constituent requests and for an educational session on how the capital budgeting process works ahead of the next budget season.
Next steps: Council expects more detail on priority lists and an administration-led briefing on budget and capital prioritization before the next budget cycle.
