Town to Apply for Community Development Grants, Minus One Wind Turbine

The town council will proceed with its application for a Community Development Block Grant, but it won't include funding for a wind turbine at the Quaker Hill senior development.

The town of Portsmouth is preparing an application for a state-funded Community Development Block Grant for an amount not to exceed $250,000.

The town held its second hearing Monday night to give the public a chance to speak on behalf of the proposed projects, which will be funded by the grant. The projects are not only located in town, but throughout Newport County.

Among the activities and programs were:

•  $76,000 to replace the roof and repoint chimneys on the Portsmouth .

• $3,838 to improve commercial building facades in Island Park.

• $15,000  to provide funding for furnishings and equipment at East Bay Community Action Program’s new health care facility in Newport’s north end.

• $10,000 to provide start-up funds for the operation of its health and dental services at its new facility in Newport’s north end.

• $5,000 to support the existing Women’s Resource Center in Newport.

• $2,000 to support the Community Resource Board (Housing Hotline of Newport County.

• $3,000 to support the Community Housing Land Trust of Rhode Island to provide education, training, technical assistance and monitoring of affordable housing units.

• $30,000 to support Church Community Housing Corp., operating the Regional Revolving Loan Fund, foreclosure prevention, homeowner assistance, Rhode Island Housing Home Repair programs, commercial rehabilitation, neighborhood revitalization and loan servicing.

• $10,000 for administration of grant programs.

Councilor Judi Staven motioned to approve the application, but without a request to fund a wind turbine at the Quaker Hill development in Portsmouth, which had been projected to receive $50,000 to provide electricity for the 73 elderly residents living there. According to Staven, the project requires a variance first from the Zoning Board of Review.

“I would like to see that item removed,” Staven said about the option for the windmill.  “Let’s just remove it and leave the other ones on it.”

The council unanimously approved the motion without this project.

Susan Schenck, chief operator officer of East Bay Community Action, spoke on behalf of the funding for the new health care center, which would be located next to the Community College of Rhode Island in Newport. The existing center is currently located at 19 Broadway, a congested area with little room for parking, she said.

“It’s a relatively small space for a center,” she said. “[With the new center] we will be able to double the amount of patients we are serving.

“Our focus in providing health care for all of Newport County is for those people who are low income, under employed and under insured.”

The application will now go to the Planning Board and be submitted to the state on June 14 for approval. The grants will be awarded in August.