Middletown residents express confusion over school bond vote, total costs

MIDDLETOWN – Voters took to the microphone at last week's Town Council meeting and questioned if the voter-approved $190 million bond project for a new middle-high school reflects what voters approved last November.

The new building would be 200,000 square feet and include a fourth CTE program, an indoor sports facility, an auditorium, and renovations to the current high school and Forest Avenue Elementary School at a price of around  $2 per day for the average taxpayer, according to estimates. The project is eligible for the state’s 55 percent reimbursement rate.

Some concerned residents say that they thought the project would encompass all costs and some cited $20 million of additional costs that voters were not aware of.

Paul Mankowsky said voters narrowly approved the bond and the ballot asked for $190 million debt, which would include equipment, repairs and furnishings throughout the school, including demolition, architectural and landscaping costs.

“You’re about to engage a construction manager at risk,” Mankowsky said.

“A construction manager at risk agrees to a contract based on a maximum price that he can negotiate with a builder,” he said.

He said there is more to this project than what has been outlined and they need to be clear to voters.

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Confusion over second state of the project

Karen Biasrte referenced a graphic on Rhode Island Department of Education’s website that reflects that two pieces of the project timeline were reversed.

Biastre said that a stage 2 submission for the project was submitted in February, which is three months after the Nov. 7 vote last year.

Neither the town nor the voters had the critical stage 2 information before the vote, she said.

Biastre said RIDE recommends that the second stage should be submitted before voters.

“The project was rushed to vote and has changed three times,” she said, adding that the project is over budget and no longer accurate.

Town Administrator Shawn Brown and Council President Paul Rodrigues stressed that the project is within budget.

“We need to make this crystal clear about what’s going on here. We are borrowing $190 million. That’s what we are borrowing. I don't care if we need a special workshop to explain this. …. I want to make sure it’s crystal clear to everybody that if there are changes – and I don't think there are based on reports we get at every meeting – that we need to clear this up once and for all.”

Rodrigues disagreed with Biastre and said the vote has to come before the second stage of the process. He said “no shovels” have touched the ground and expressed concern about the rhetoric that the project has surpassed its approved budget.

Brown said other communities have approved the bond before stage 2 and either way is acceptable.

Brown said up until the vote was taken, the town had the design and preliminary work completed.

“We made a decision to take that risk but most communities won’t. We felt strongly about the project and wanted to get the $20 million in reimbursement (from the state),” Brown said.

'Not costing the taxpayers an extra dime'

“There is more than one way to do it but only one way is portrayed on the RIDE website,” Brown said. “Middletown has not done something unusual. It’s just something not illustrated by RIDE.”

Rodrigues said that the additional $20 million is not part of the bond but it is supported by the five-year capital improvement plan.

“It's not costing the taxpayers an extra dime,” he said of any additional improvements or school items.

Brown said that what is reported to the town through construction management and what is on the RIDE web site is different – “ for regulatory purposes” – which could lead to some confusion.

Brown made an apples and oranges comparison and said that what is reported to RIDE from the town is for negotiation purposes.

He indicated that some people are misinterpreting the numbers.

Larry Connell said there were five worksheets about the project presented to RIDE before the public.

Connell said recent data shows that Forest Avenue renovations, as well as school technology costs, are no longer a part of the budget that voters thought would encompass the $190 million.

“Middletown is obligated to give the voters what they ask for and the budget that was agreed upon,” Connell said.

“I have no idea today what I’m on the hook for as a taxpayer,” Connell said.

Rodrigues said all questions posed will receive answers.

“Not one of us up here (on the Town Council) is trying to be deceitful, facetious or do something that the voters don’t want,” Rodrigues said. “I’m a voter and I voted for it. I know what I voted for.”

He promised they will do the best they can to make sure the project is on time and on budget.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Middletown school bond numbers being misinterpreted by voters