Day is Wednesday April 22nd.

Please call the wrong.

Chairwoman Harris.

Thanks, Chair Pashardov.

Absent Councilman Barclaws is absent.

Councilwoman Graves.

Councilwoman Barcus.

And we have three presentations to ask Count War.

Let the record show that we also joined my sister Lysman Daniel.

So thank you.

Okay, thank you so much.

We also have our clerks.

Okay here as well.

We'll call our clear.

Communication from his honor the mayor made in April 6th, 2026, informing the honorable members of the pursuit to sections 302B and 1103 of the Providence only Charter of 1980 as amended in public law chapter 25 through 58.

Sections one through 30 months passed in 157 at the AC we didn't set up on the province as a member of the Providence Chief Nations Commission.

Yes.

Could you please join us at the table?

Hi.

Welcome to our to the urban committee we call it here.

Nice to see you.

How are you doing?

Very good.

Uh you are submitted um uh application via part of the relationship commission and have been one of our meetings.

Yes.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Great.

So my name is Ansa Lumsa.

I am currently a junior at Roger News University.

I am double major in community studies and graphic design, but also a double binary in library studies and professional and public writing.

Um so a little bit about sort of the committee subside tool involves interpretation services.

I have the ability to speak to paper just for weekly, which includes English, Spanish, and Kitchen, which is a one-common dialect.

Um and I don't know how those about my community, especially if you speak it on live resources.

Um while to speak very many cards, we got a lot of extensions.

Um, first of all, thank you for introducing us to the language contact.

And that's um indigenous language.

Yeah, thank you.

Um the more we know, the more not to be our people, especially around us about the server people.

So thank you.

Tell us why you want to change why you want to be a part of the relationship.

So I have been reading a TD meetings just as public.

Um as a student and I'd be lucky.

I feel like adding that connection to the PHC is very important.

Um, I can contribute me, and we have more students involving um generations to be a whole discussion.

That's awesome.

Glad to hear that.

So have to deal with part of the social justice.

Social justice struggles later.

Yeah, so about it.

Yeah, sorry, I was um so that is that I represent the body at my school.

Um we are offering a park over the university, so a boarding of issues that I think I can do to have or sort of solutions like the participants have more computer, especially about this issue that we have and to advocate for more day centered events to which you got more students over the way.

Um that's really the social discipline training clearly.

Thank you.

Any any committee?

You I'm very personal.

Are you gonna be able to uh have the time to say?

Yeah, so I have actually uh attending the way I have actually already allocated experts for my throat seems seniors or rather specifically.

What do you mean you read this job?

What what do you what is your vision of what this job entails?

Um so my research just to make the commission more and sort of connecting well with the community.

I want to make sure that those at the departments here are the commission and the mission it has, which is very important.

Um just to make sure that it's emphasis of the inclusion that everybody has to thank you first of all for sharing more.

We are very excited to see uh people like yourself that uh want to get involved with the city um committees and to be a part of the change that you know the city is moving towards, right?

Which is diversity and all that you describes.

So we're so proud to have you.

We are now asking for a motion to uh this uh vote.

Second second motion back trusting one place, second background uh right.

That's okay for a moment.

Um you will go before the fourth committee four vote.

Right now we have approved you the lead this committee, and we welcome you.

Thank you so much.

Let the record show that councilman John Townsend's here.

So noted.

See you.

And right now we have just uh want to introduce uh partners.

Communication from his honor the mayor named April 6, 2026, informing the honorable members of the city council that pursuant to sections 302B and 1103 of the Profidence Community Charter of 1980 as amended in public law chapter 35, sections 131 passed in 1987.

He is this day appointing the Rome Hyreck, 12 Eagles Street Providence Rhode Island will two nine as a member of the Providence Human Relations Commission for a term to expire on January 31st, 2029, and respectfully C NCC for your ball.

Mr.

Myrack replaces I slow me secournal expired.

Is this my please about beginning to express recognition?

Oh my name is L A R O in my RS Thank you for being here tonight.

Yes, we are interested in why you're interested in being a part of the city.

So tell us a little about yourself.

Okay, so my day Java servers the executive director D supply of uh obviously the justice division, which encompasses the provider's people.

Um I was a member of the PHRC for 2021 to my terms expired.

So it's time to get back to prominence, uh PC any subject.

Yeah, um council.

No, um I was really interested in your um background and in your um property.

But about I can hear a good what did you uh have your your background really but it's kind of though what did you uh last have been going down?

But what is uh what that's an interrupt on it, like a thing.

Oh, no, I do have to hold out everything.

That's what it says.

All right, um I'll be able to go to time, but so my day job I guess they are for DCYF members and Chinese, so that was Jupiter formation as well.

So I'm trying to keep younger people out of the system.

So I try to say like when my work I have a work, I've been like on the uh business with myself busy uh I don't want new customer target.

So you can keep it young assistance.

So I've been a lot of work with contribution work for systems.

Whatever we can keep people from coming back, so why are you still making the services, schooling, displaying schooling, uh jobs fields, uh middle health stream, subject street, you can get social reproductive um positive development, anything like that.

This is not just very important side because we need to have some reports here and um different national boards constantly called anything working with young people just keeping them out of the systems because they're most better for young people.

So it's not really important what I think.

I used to be a hill person back in 19 conference the uh retired conference.

Uh what the question is wrong.

Oh god, I I came up with that because you have a massive question.

Which caused me to remember my uh you do you do this law?

We need to be thinking about to try to assist you and either keeping them up in getting the computer.

Oh my god, what do you think?

Is there is there a little auditive thing that we can improve?

Or one that's not even such a stuff.

Well, I don't know.

So the um current almost indirectly curves enough because you take a more considerate more deliberate look at your work.

So you'll know people that some commuters do it very, very well, and some don't do it.

Providence is not doing bad, so province is the funeral spot.

Just keep that further.

We want to make it bigger right now because we haven't worked too big if they want people to just automatically come back.

So the more delivery we are about that.

You know, I work in a company's number.

And excuse me, you don't mean you think you're not to say that we don't we don't control this.

And well, what I did is I I made my focus uh uh work for this working with the case of the things I said I've got these one thing.

I'll pay safe saying rather a thousand kids or no more keys.

Who doesn't like easy work?

But also but another time you know another time is that you still don't have to keep in controls.

We get a much better thing for our both.

Counselor, I mean I just want to say, Mr.

Meyer, I've just been always so impressed by your background.

I know we've had a lot of conversations in that in the past, and um you are just someone who's the epidemic of this work in what needs to happen in space.

I mean, your work when you were living in Minneapolis was very much instructive as you were getting your PhD, and I I similar to counseling grades, I I would love to just glean from your expertise and your experience, particularly in the buffet.

Um I know that you have worked extensively too with um Senator White House on um juvenile justice pre-authorization act and um please whatever we can do to just like glean from your knowledge and your experience and your expertise, so I would like to do so at the local interview.

So we need to record someone called you, but you're hoping with that other stuff all of those possible social conversations.

Yeah, without further ado, I I strongly uh support.

Uh classes do have okay.

Is there a recommendation?

I would make a strong, strong recommendation for to remote chairwoman.

Um made by a council council second council quays.

All in favor, uh so we welcome you to a committee first of all uh to go forward, and you will be heard by the full council and voted on by the full council.

Well, we welcome the both of you into the city.

Image, you got me excited about you all.

So thank you for wanting to service in from this.

Thank you.

Right, we are asking folks from the model.

Thank you.

Communication from Lizana, the mayor, dated March 27, 2026, submitting community development block brand budget for the program year 2026 through 2027.

But while I kept it in writing, Emily Freedman, Director of Housing and Services, Department of Housing and Human Services, Listen Director of Housing Community Development, Department of Housing and Community Services.

The following have been invited for presentations.

Thank you.

We would love to hear from you guys when we have the register.

We are pleased to join you here again this evening to present our proposed grant budget on behalf of Mayor Smiley.

As a reminder, this budget is going to serve as the second year on adjustments under our 2025-2029 five-year consolidated plan.

We did receive almost a hundred workflow proposals.

And of course, we did we have to make some incredibly difficult decisions due to the tremendous level of acts that we received, and of course, all the federal uncertainty.

In total, we received 17.5 million dollars in requests with 12.5 million dollars in CPG home.

As mentioned last week, HUD announced the federal fiscal year 26 home, ESG, and HOPA allocations for the year.

That has enabled us to develop a sub a budget that reflects actual allocations rather than having to use projections by contingency provisions.

Um as the next steps, as you know, the shared goal of the committee process is to work collaboratively to get the budget into the help form and then pass the budget twice.

The budget will then be incorporated to a final larger annual action plan to be put out for a federally prescribed 30 day public project period and submitted to Hudford.

We need to endeavor to have these steps completed in place by the first to avoid any disruptions in the services or delays in funding receipts.

Prior to passage for this committee, we will also need to work on identifying all of the work projects to incorporate into the final ordinance.

I know that Council Gato and Robert Batista have been in touch with many of you to identify projects.

And department directors are always also here to offer any suggestions.

Um file Robert, we do have almost all of the work projects identified for that.

Um identifying reports.

And if there are no immediate questions for I myself, we are cutting it out with it in um to the excellent percentrics that are on the technical questions.

Okay.

Um that while that's one thing for your work to make sure that we are doing that are we squatted by thank you.

Um sorry, who is of course oh, he says international random words to money?

Um right here you are your name is uh my name is Ryan, I can follow it, which is all in Mars.

It's doing a wonderful job in my neighborhood, so I'm happy to see you tonight.

You know, we'll uh share with us the committee what is going on for leases and what you do the table tonight.

Thank you, and thank you for the community for having here tonight.

Um we've been doing a lot, you know, uh questions.

Uh we started in 1992.

Uh we have yeah, celebrated 35 this year.

Um it's been a journal.

Uh with the help of the city, I would say that you know uh the city has played in five in the development of system.

Um regulation, you know, uh we'll be ready in the city meeting.

That was way back.

Unfortunately, we have our challenges.

Uh we're talking to social services, uh to start with you know, mentoring of it.

Uh we knew that uh uh as a result of Speaker.

Uh we have a graduate manager.

Uh today we are proud to say many of them professionals.

Uh we are hearing about that.

So we continue to collect immediately participant in our project.

Uh to them are welcome to our planet.

Uh that's the problems of our spectrum to collect our students.

Uh we are going to finish it this year, but uh in particular, this year uh we have challenges of uh needs to um we have new to the competitive program this week, but the challenges are there uh to bring the case in uh those are the issue out of the uh stuff of running uh currently we are going to spring break.

Uh spring group will not just budget to one five properties.

You know we'll also anybody's coming up to that without source.

So uh usually specifically possible for them to participate.

Um, this year will be an aspiration to be put to budget.

Well, still there are challenges.

There are things that are not uh with your scholarship.

Still, I guess there are challenges uh this year's 2030.

So you know this problem uh most inside of specific.

Um that is collaboration to model uh job use, but this too after that's gonna be definition.

And then we are bringing in the party of health and making the presentation of that kind of couple.

It's becoming very expensive.

Everything is becoming very expensive.

But with support, I think that would help and that would be helpful for us to continue to not just work.

But we've been very lucky to have volunteers that help us on some of the speaking.

If you don't invest in them today, don't blame them to come.

All of us are on the camera.

And like I said, the pathway for all of them is either you go to college or technically.

That is a problem.

If you still implement that condition, I think they will go far.

They will be better than us.

That's where we possibly should have our support senior.

So I thank you for the time.

How many young people do you have in your program and what's the age?

More than necessary.

Last year, I remember we're going to six class.

We have 98 kids.

That's bottom line.

They have a home for themselves.

They come together.

They started dancing.

Now today they are our dancing.

If you attended our summer African data last year, you will see the OSC looks, you know.

We got the saw them at the plan together.

So I mean they are talented.

Just have to give them the opportunity.

I'm planning for a lot.

Well, that's okay.

Any questions?

I want to say thank you.

Because I would like to see that program that you have an issue, right?

That's what we need.

Because keys sometimes need to identify where I come from and where it's involved.

And I'm willing to go forward.

So I'm glad you do that.

I'm glad to see that we also call it when it's you know take it in front of the happy club.

And yeah, no that you can.

I'm sorry.

It's very disappointing.

I would like to see in my work particular the problem that you have because around the top.

I was wondering though, because I think you will talk about ice.

How that affects and go pack the house and talk to the model.

We are doing with it.

Um rich and five spot together.

It is not a bottom.

If you can't come to our office, I mean this is uh requisite online.

We're gonna set up hyper lawyer.

If you can't talk about free, you know, download the lawyer, then to pack out, uh have to come to answer any necessary questions.

Uh you guys do it for it.

Um, uh give us money uh to people, you know, hearings that are having styles and that will still be so we uh must find the all this channel that we look at the spot to explain just when you start it to the case that you find out that without some session.

Thank you.

Thank you, madam chairwoman.

I I just wanted to say thank you for your long-standing leadership in the community.

I remember reading uh your organization, I think you were the first chartered low-income um credit union in the state of Rhode Island, which is an incredible deal.

And I mean you've been around for as long as I've been a lot.

Um and I just again thank you for your viewership and all that you're doing for the city of Province.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for coming in and sharing what the committee all the amazing work polices is doing in the legal life, and this is inspiring us each other.

Thank you.

And I'm sorry, we can call the next.

Can we enter this into the record?

Yes, we can enter in the siding with the directors.

Uh as you gave uh is um T1.

The record is exhibited one.

Three teeth, how are you?

Well, thank you.

Um records.

My name is Karen Sand, I'm the director of outreach and also after that.

Okay.

Well, tell us a little about you and my case tonight.

I first want to thank members of this council in the city of Providence for the support over the last year, and it's been truly transformative for our community without that support we do not work in the way that we have from our community to yours.

I think your class will build this relationship with the pasture look for anyone's place.

Okay, thank you so much.

Um church to uh support our friends because many of them are the space also spent the night outside of the floor shelters.

We see a lot of our friends in the navigation physical looking up here at the moment.

So we have our first communicator secure what's doing here with Snap Cutscene at the moment.

So many of our friends are in recovery, and some are in actual states of addiction.

So we continue to open our doors every day to provide a safe space to try to help people get back.

So I hope that does everybody have a kind of big way to walk through that and just have some of the work from last year, what we're hoping for the year ahead.

So yeah, this is from our mission state.

We are a church in the heart of the city, sustained by the records of all of God and providing folks for all meetings.

We practice what we call radical hospitality at our church, and that's inviting people from all walks of life experiencing poverty, homelessness, and lack of shelter, uh, to fully participate in the life of the church.

So, as I mentioned before, our church is only five days a week, that's approximately 27 hours per week.

Now we have dropping services every day that we open and we're open at all, regardless of faith and religion and settling costs.

Some of the numbers from last year we served over 45,000 meals at the church.

Um we had also 30,000 individuals who use our restaurants, which are all up in the year open.

We had over 12,000 artists, we're just highlights our clothing room.

We have a free boutique that allows our friends in the community to come in and get donated items that they don't have today or clothing or home students or folks who are in the new apartments.

Um fortunately, some of our friends are at a damage to our banching supplies and provide safe subtitles, so that's usually 27 hours there.

Uh our outreach program last year.

We had over 400 bus passes to uh we distributed to those who work with ISSIRSSDI.

We had over 80 bus passes that we purchased as a church to make sure our folks who didn't have access to transportation were able to have that.

We know how important it is to have access to that to stay on track of appointments and get the clinics and do all these things that are needed to get the houses clearly, so we continue to be the hub for uh our relationship that we could provide a bus passes supporting.

And we had over 230 uh cases of uh individual casing.

Um other things, we had over 200 instances of emergency housing support through hotel or rental assistance, and then we had over 20 individuals who received stable or transitional housing service.

So that's for property houses locally departments.

Um worked hard to make sure we have the same place to call all my night in this cash fender.

We partnered with Rhode Island Council churches to be able to open our doors during the very cold weeks to make sure none of our friends were left outside.

So we've here opened over 60 or 63 days with pastoral show.

So we've obviously seen a steep increase in our food and security friendly in our community.

Obviously, with what could happen for the next month with SNAP benefits, we are wanting to make sure that we continue to provide the services to our friends with basic tech.

Uh last year we had an all-volunteer kitchen for uh that bridge and struggle for burn out and just high pressure trying to meet the need that came through our doors every day and just increase every week.

We can see more and more relying on stretching meals that weren't incredibly nutritious because we just didn't have the final access to things which we have to do because of last year's grid.

Um, but we were just unable to diagram needs that our folks need for diabetic plans to plan basically the three options for our practice last year, was something we wanted to work on the past year.

So our goal last year because it was to have a director of sweet service somebody that can oversee and manage our volunteers to plan and execute our weekday videos as we just again continue to see the rise of folks coming from our work.

Um, and then obviously we wanted to work on being able to accommodate all the diet or needs that we're able to change.

Um we wanted to coordinate through bank and click service providers by the state to increase the nutritional value organs without increasing or having significant cost.

And then this is Bernard Miller.

This is the gentleman we stepped into our service director role last year.

He has over 10 years of experience in across our state.

Um worked from 2019 to 2025 in culinary training at Harvest Kitchen.

That program is designed to be at risk youth with getting them culinary skills and then placing them into the barnographic one.

Starting that program can see for his tenure there.

So he joined our staff last September, is currently working in 12 hours.

Increase the nutritional value.

Now the meal that we offer provides different options for our friends with different types of and Bernard's presence in his leadership kind of gave us the unanticipated outcome.

It just brings a whole new level of joint in the kitchen and has this unique ability to bring it to bring people in the community.

Not to be leadership.

So it's a true question.

So we could have product leadership, but there are just dozens and dozen volunteers by passion for food service under his guidance.

So these are our 2026 proposed goals.

We want to have our unhouse volunteers re-enter the workforce programs that he wants to create.

So based on his program at our expension, our goal is to have one year of what we call exalinary path to be a train to reach seven cohorts for a property six individuals with an eight-week course to include food safety certification as well as the basics and focusing service.

And then the goal would be to provide six graduates into employment to move this industry to support them traditional.

So did we know federal funds support so many things for us?

These programs would be accessible and culturally responsible to province diverse populations, helping residents achieve stability and economic health.

So just to sum everything up, our average program of the church is providing essential basic needs and support is one of the most vulnerable people in our city in our state.

We request that they develop the library resources to continue to expand and improve our services in 2026, including that job again that was mentioned to equip interested participants for a career services and economic help.

As always, we are grateful to be at the table.

So thank you for considering helping both.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Like I said, last I don't know what to do.

This program since then, I would just use a lot of stuff.

Nothing.

So I mean no guy definitely blessed you.

You know, but anyways.

Um unique individuals.

What do you mean by all unique?

What do you mean?

There was no duplication of individuals who receive services.

So 230 different individuals were receiving these services.

Oh, okay.

Um I'm I'm very intrigued and happy that we're planting that one.

This food service thing now.

Um I guess my question is if we don't how much do you think it's gonna cost?

And are you looking at once you start something like that?

Once you start something like that, thinking that you're more through example for this coming year, I think our proposal is forced to properly for uh sizable part of his salary, but our cost of the program for the whole year with supplies is over a hundred thousand dollars.

So we will continue to look for other creative grants around the city to be able to expand what we're able to do.

Yes, but our goal is to be able to expand out the certification program to be able to hire staff and help them grow.

Um I know we had to run out from the staff before um because I know a lot of them run out the lab still want to stay in it.

I know that affects people's talents.

And it's wholly attributed to Bernard's leadership is positive energy, is it just breathing advice into our community through that presence?

So we have probably before Renard got there, we might have been 10 to 12 volunteers that were navigating our problems that are committed to easier for larger skill sets and would also be just like insane an absolute blessing for us because of just as positive output every single day walks in partners and the flip side.

You have a very small kitchen.

Well uh where other other sites oh at the meal sites, because I was thinking about your kitchen update.

It's kind of small.

It is, yeah, yeah.

We we cycles a lot of folks in throughout the day, so we'll have kind of a breakfast crew and a lot of traffic crew and all of serving crews and clean up groups so everybody's getting a chance to be in the kitchen.

Yes, we cannot at this point.

Yeah, I think six of us expanded other spaces in our building, but leadership, so we have some stores and purchase new equipment and we can use other spaces in the building to be able to accommodate the growth.

We are looking for other ways to expand the building.

It's a big building.

We have utilized the goal is to continue in this kind of stream.

Okay.

Um be quite enough.

I can also expand.

Yeah, I think given what we're seeing with our community and everybody at this table knows what's happening, we are in a perfect storm of the lag of housing and everything that's happening.

Um not this calendar year, but yeah, we'll be to probably increase the broken and expand gather stuff because very hard time to figure out the resources from drying up in a lot of places too.

So we want to be able to continue to open our building, which is a size of one to our company.

Okay, thank you.

Council thank you, madam chairwoman.

Kevin, I want to thank you for your leadership and all the work that you're doing, and uh would love to come down to highlight the great programming that you are doing, uh particularly for our house folks.

And I have a couple questions here.

I'd I'd love to hear a little bit more about how the funding that I know we partnered on last year, has been instrumental, particularly the infrastructure repairs that you were you were working on.

I know I've already talked to staff about um Robert and I had extensive conversations about not an allocation on the CBD key side going towards uh Matthewson Street Church, so I don't know if we committed to I think it was 25,000 uh for this year for our working application.

So hopefully that helps in addition to what you're seeking through this funds, but I would love to hear again what the the funding you were able to provide last year has been helpful some additional funding can help some of the work that you're doing.

Yeah, especially with Bernard's you know, hiring that is transformative for us.

So I think it's additional funding this year we have to be able to have the building for something doing it just continues that before we get any jobs that we can do to trade the tables of other opportunities for folks right inside of our building that we don't have.

So I think the goal for us to go to training these this year, being able to transform that to be back into the workforce.

Fantastic.

And I I guess I have a question about uh this piece.

So with the cohort of learners, are those just broad people in Providence, or are the do somebody on house folks actually have an opportunity to participate in those cohorts if they want to primarily folks who are talking for our door?

We've already identified it's fantastic.

It is our number so we can try to get into the strength.

So that's an easy.

Thank you.

I've got to you know why?

Because when I went there, I mean you'll you know, you know, being patient respect to the people no matter what's the situation, you very patient, you know, to serve them.

And then that's that's I say I want to say hi, can I give it to you?

Because when I went there, I don't know, Joe Kevin.

I don't know, you wrote me that program.

I don't know nothing.

I only see you have the passion, you know, the love for the people to serve us.

Yes.

And that's what we for me.

I keep it that to do it, you know, part of my life to service a bit to be you know happy to be happy is that you prepared words you know, people blast community of after the street, but every one of us in this room everyone's community, we're all using market trying to put it all together, try to make the needs of work right now.

Yeah, everyone could stay just great.

Thank you so very much for uh speaking to this actually uh asked a couple questions.

Um this was the position that was applied for last year with the funding, right?

And it was 12 hours you said part-time.

Um what is what are you considering full time forty hours?

Will this I believe it was 20 grand last year?

15.

All right, so will this increase in the hours reflect the increase on the amount of this position?

Yeah, yeah, we'll still have to see some private properties and market brands to be able to fill this out at work and proceed from graphics.

And just one other minor question.

Um, you know, I saw any of the you did 45,000 meals last year.

I believe part of um the reasoning uh explanation last year was that the fellow food director will also maximize your um food costs to be able to see that realization in your budget for spending with a partnership with higher versions of route as well as have not seen an increase in the cost of the possible figures involved to purpose.

But he's helped us figure out other creative outways as well to be able to pursue that and look at other places for the city that our systems are the things he's supposed to do to help us kind of start.

That's it, thank you.

And thank you for coming in tonight to speak for us.

And Kevin, can we schedule a time about this stuff?

Yeah, you have some updates for America for the appreciate.

Um things to um the record is too much like we are.

Hello, how are you?

How are you?

Very good.

Um my name is Mark Burner.

I'm a civil engineer with the NASCAM watching council.

Can I join the directory should error?

I I was not uh on vacation when the invitation came, but um, you know, as soon as I saw it, I was happy to join Mark here.

Mark Mark definitely is the one to talk about this project, but I wanted to come to the committee meeting.

Uh at least a layer, executive director class, it's actually for the price of certainly the committee generation of our path.

So here is work Mark.

And uh thank you.

And thank you for being able to jump right in.

You know, I mean calling to the table, thank you.

I'm really um interested in this project.

I don't know a lot about it, so I definitely want to hear whatever you can make the other sand a lot.

Um so the National Turkey River Greenway uh is a multi-use trail that runs on off-road province, approximately a little under six miles and traveling and also except it's a Johnston, and kind of like to call it the highway of the city, meaning it helps people get through various portions of the city without having to be on road.

So um people are able to use the greenway, and then if they're heading to a destination that may be in the state center or something, they could essentially just use the that way.

Um currently our greenway has about 55,000 people with a 10 minute walk, and it runs through the neighborhoods of Valley Smithville, Manton ownsville, and Parker, and a lot of these contributions as the vehicles.

So uh it's certainly a necessity, it's not necessarily preparational asset, it's a necessity from a lot of people.

It's also located in areas facing significant environmental structure.

So uh greenway, in addition to being uh transit corridor is also an outdoor classroom.

We do a lot of programming on that.

We have like education programs, adults in the community to learn about environmental issues and opportunities access recreational assets.

We also have a proceed program the greenway through the organization.

And certainly uh the presentation is focusing on a section of greenway that's a right of the park.

Um so the second or third slide rather uh shows some pictures of the current greenway in the market's park today.

Um there is a missing section, um, which is connecting Parkford app into the uh park space.

So that's essentially what we're focusing on this project.

So a little bit on uh project background.

The project currently is undergoing multiple phases because of the cost and our ability to secure funding.

So right now we have the pulling phase one, which is uh construction of a 750 foot a year in the fall uh to be able to accommodate the future path.

Um phase two, which is what we're essentially talking about today's instructional the actual path in phase two phase three rather uh is going to be an additional section of the path on phase two.

So the purpose of the uh C D BG request is to uh construct a path from such an entrance into the park.

Um currently there are no sidewalks since the park being the second part of the support in the city, and they're not being any sidewalks.

Uh it's obviously a very change situation for uh site lines um people with um shares or baby carriages and whatnot are actually forced to walk into the way that they're trying to access the park space and roadway 21 feet wide, which is essentially the minimum that you want the road.

People don't have the space to be able to uh make really fast.

There's no area for them to uh we have a chain of fast on one side, we have a state building.

So essentially the project is going to construct the path in public sidewalk so that in doing so, it also serves uh centralists and other folks like information.

So the second priority um sort of project is also focusing on doing some uh crosswalks and other pedestrian safety measures on Park Park Avenue.

And currently there's a 2200, I'm sorry, 2200 foot section of roadway at last across.

So that's about just under half a mile.

So you are being to cross Parkford Avenue, which is a very busy street, um, and they are doing so in a crosswalk, they'd actually have to potentially walk in a thousand feet either direction to be able to do so safely.

So this project is creating a path down each we're also closing some uh park for that to create some costwide street uh across the street uh piece of the project on that assumption somewhat measured to this work.

I'm sure everyone knows that probably has a lot of flooding issues where I can park with those code.

History Morio's park is that it wasn't formed on cloud flooding, and so it does flood company and it's a tension of the issue that happens with that flooding uh stays uh prologue that stays here for a few days and takes a while, right?

This creates somewhat of an issue because it actually has that dimension to the park space for people to have the park actually have to navigate the sense of bubbles.

So in us constructing the path department as the construction helps work uh to really roll that flood water so that people are being parked and supplementary to the project as well as doing some lengths and stormwater measures to help the addition of the resources that we need to have to offset the such that we don't want to introduce more flooding into the park configuration uh this should be services.

So um our CBDG request is essentially fulfilling uh gap that we have in the funding.

So currently the project uh all phases in design is a 3.5 million dollars project.

Um we would like to receive a student and currently have a one that we dollar ranked do so officer about um 75,000 all the ways to essentially that would be used in the construct 1200 computer to be path protected barrier, which is essentially our riddle, so that obviously stars are able to uh drive into the path on the stormwater measures in uh council makes the path.

Okay, we're gonna have to walk up in each street.

And on the post, are they going into the street or are we going into the um top?

So then you can have yeah, so um if you look at the picture of P Street, you see the chain link fence on the right, and you see the slope on the left.

The path is actually gonna be in that slope.

So we're actually building the slope back, and that's the construction of the wall right now.

And I apologize, I know that this is very dry, but it's essentially the wall that we're constructing is pushing the slope back, so then we can build the path basically.

Okay, so it's not gonna narrow the street.

No, no, the the road is gonna stay the same.

Okay, and of course, okay.

They're going further up.

The crosswalks are gonna be at Hartford, so the entrance into the park um at Parkford Avenue.

So it's right adjacent to the on-hoff rings of route six.

Okay.

Yeah.

Thank you for your leadership now.

Um I have a couple questions.

So it looks like the request was 475 mass minutes.

Yes.

So I think that that's gonna be kind of a big depending on what uh the committee approves here.

So are there other ways that you think you'd be able to flip those budget holes?

Um just is that I know you know state federal funding is tricky these days.

So yeah.

So what we've been doing is focusing on the most integral parts of the project, which are essentially the most safe areas of the roadway.

And so uh that's essentially how we've had to phase the project is we're essentially prioritizing this work.

And so uh that's essentially how we've had to face the project is we're essentially prioritizing this for and so if we weren't able to secure the entire uh funding would like to have to reduce uh the length that we're building the path really focused on like the heat street, not necessarily to the park space.

So um we would probably end up getting about 700 pair fee of uh to that end.

So the the striping and all the stuff that would theoretically be done by DPW, I'm assuming is uh or have you had conversations with DPW about the potential for them to kind of take on some of that work to reduce some of the the costs and all, or so the way that we've we've essentially uh put all the projects to bid to have them because you'd be bidding on like a vendor who would do the striping and all of that stuff.

Yeah, it's we find that typically it's it's easier to have one contractor become it might save money on the front end than on the back end development formation having to double multiple contracts in one markets to make this all public station.

Yeah, and has there been any discussion with the with the city about potentially striping those crosswalks at all?

Like if you have you guys spoke to DPW, maybe so.

Yeah, so we um we've been planning the project for about four years doing so.

We've had numerous conversations with DPW parks um DOT PHA, which is very next door.

So we definitely um engaging these partners um because there been like a holdup or is I mean like has DPW done like a traffic study.

I I I would think that they could potentially take this on.

I don't know the implications or the internal conversations that you've had with them, you know.

I I could see you know internally DPW needed step to to put this cross box in if there's that necessary need without you guys having to go out and separate vendor to do so one of the complexities that happens is it's a DOT won't go.

Okay, all right.

So it's a jurisdictional thing.

It's a jurisdictional thing.

So we actually have permitting permits in front of DOT right now for the project's building cross box.

Okay.

Thank you.

Council Marcus, you're I'm a fire.

Thank you, Pat.

Because this uh for me is safety, you know, safety because we don't have safety over the you know the cars before you still wait, and then people don't have it actually when it worked.

So you have to be very now to the interlay as you walk to the marine.

So when you see this project safe, I mean a hundred plus you know, well, because that's a safety case, we know they're probably that's a baby or something, so we don't have that.

So now we have we can get that so we can you know be safe because we have that other issue with black lab, many things, so now we can have it, you know, say the this is not all people in view, is it just the safety people to walk into that ink because another antico disclosed?

So this is the only way it can be okay.

What's more that hardware?

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have one quick thing after the okay.

No, I wanted to know to have one of the channel.

Oh, um, I just also wanted to mention that this project is and Mark mentioned it before, it's right adjacent to a huge complex for Providence Health Authority.

So there are hundreds of people.

Um, and there are a lot of them are very economically challenged.

They're living in public housing.

And so it's really um a shame that the people who are living right next to this park space have to deal with such a difficult issue of accessing this park space and bringing their children and the families to the part.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman.

I who's the council person in the Sarah?

Councilwoman McCarthy.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, to you know, um, yeah, well, it and so like don't be mad at me, councilwoman.

So I was thinking that, you know, and this is I don't want to offer this up or volunteer this, but I I was thinking perhaps um, you know, council folks have like some discretionary funding.

I'm not volunteering her funding, by the way, but uh, I think maybe this could be like an opportunity to look at the like the crosswalks.

I don't know if that the state needs to actually strike them, but I I could see you know, between Robert and the council could be putting a letter to DOT saying like, hey, can you guys just scrape our crossbalk here?

I hope that there could be some inroads, but look, that could be a very complicated process.

That's my topic is amazing at what he does.

Um, so I don't want to, you know, suggest something that's not possible, but I I just wanted to kind of go down as something to potentially look at the cost.

But you have some insight on this project, right?

And just what councilman's gonna council mentioned.

Are there other council people who have as well?

Uh yeah, I believe uh board six um is also interested in um helping out with this project.

That's a good idea.

You know, we can always push our idea with this.

I just feel like striping your crosswalk should be lowing the fruit, but I I don't know.

Sometimes they do the traffic studies that they might say that traffic study doesn't come back to corroborate that there needs to be a crosswalk there, but I mean just something that we can um the terming that we have for TOC uh so it does include a crosswalk because it does have uh several prints.

Oh see, so it's bigger and flashing like mediums as well.

So with the route six walk, right?

Um ideally we would love to actually pay that entire intersection.

That was uh part that's very costly.

Oh, I see.

Okay, so that's a much bigger problem.

Um because they're uh I mean not to get into it, but Hartford Avenue is one of the few places that people are able to speak from the west to east side of the so there's a lot of people that congregate to that area and if you're ever driving through there at some point, just look at your lab, that's a pedestrian the uh distances we need to walk uh across these on offerings where people are just sitting off the such complex area to think that the the nearest crosswalk is in a thousand feet in each direction and save uh uh same infrastructures and safe.

Thank you.

Any more questions?

Thank you so much.

Oh, yes, that's it.

Okay, sorry.

Um so we know uh what's that this route six over there?

Um, and I believe that that field's pretty well lit at night.

How's the lighting across where the proposed path would be?

So there is lighting uh on paths, it's not as big as sorry, it's not as right.

That's that's the park space and we've had conversations parks right now complaining about what the appropriate standard and some of the feedback that we receive is that record you maybe in terms you can make this right as you want.

Um we are looking at that areas that would be public as uh is any plans hopefully.

Yes, yeah, you know, long term uh in the future um probably either tapping onto the existing utility pools that are in the way that doesn't work, we possibly will get doing some sort of solar which we have another solid dollars.

Obviously, thank you.

Thank you so very much for coming in.

Um what is going on with what's going on over there?

I have no vision in the area.

I mean problems all my lightning.

We have to go make a tool okay.

Thank you so much.

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you for considering thank you.

Uh again, councilman.

This is uh number three, right?

Yes, okay.

And also make that comfortable three seconds that can still possibly change asking.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Please do that even recording.

My name is Oscar Mejidas, I have the founder and CEO of the right and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Um let me say that I'm really happy to be here sharing information about the organization, how do we have been for the last two years?

Well, we're we are very happy to have you this year's your first year of time, right?

Yes.

Okay, so tell Command a little about what you've enjoyed and how you've been doing it.

Okay, please um yes, the I am the CEO and founder of the organization, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce back in 2016.

Um thinking in the links of a very small business owner that they have language barrier, even they don't know how to they didn't know how to navigate the system.

Well, I have a brilliant idea to do related to even with I didn't know how to do in the time.

Nowadays uh we are the largest, the second largest chamber of commerce in the state, and the largest Hispanic chamber in England.

Um I'm very proud to say that we support uh we have more than 1200 member register in our organization from the beginning.

The idea was to create a platform of resources.

So business owners could come to us and ask questions, or even ask for to go to the government offices, and then starting in that point, we have been growing right now.

Um we have a very strong network and with police collaboration with government agencies, with private corporations, with um other small business support organization, creating a strong network and a strong platform of resources.

Um in the last two years our the demand of from our services services has been increasing due to the difficult economic situation, and additional related hard immigration policies adopted by the federal government.

So that may us to be more creative and try to expand our services.

The reason that we are applying this year for the CPDG program is that CBDG grant is that the reason we want to extend our services to more uh possible business, more in the city of Providence, which are uh is the biggest Latino competition in the state, and it's the biggest group of business owner in our organization.

I want to share that we provide services for businesses that even the government member of the change.

I don't know if it does good or is that that, but we don't know how to say no.

So that makes us our organization to grow with a very strong community orientation.

We are supporting our community, not just the business owner like a separate person.

No, we support our business as a head of the family member of our community.

We are involved personally, I involved in the location, I involved in care, I involved in uh cooperative wider cooperatives that make our work more valuable everything.

So I'm here requesting some help from the city to extend our services to more business basically.

Yes, and are those folks are part of provenance, or are they beyond progress as well?

We are a statewide organization.

Oh, yeah, statewide, okay.

There are six cities with uh very representative uh Latino community, studying providers and traffic, trend, working and also the other daily six cities have some Latinos around.

And even they call at the end of our uh ahead looking for some kind of solution.

Do you get support from the state?

Not in the last two years has been very, very difficult.

Um but I think to buy that in the past during the pandemic, we have sponsored uh for the state.

Uh I received support, for example, the cursor, supporting some of our events, and from the business service division of the secretary of the state.

So I students say no, but in the last two years that's really complicated.

Yes.

I mean, hands down, I don't can't think of an organization that's more deserving, uh especially the work that you do with um the Latino community and the ways and infrastructure with technical support and leadership.

So I support this wholeheartedly.

I think like every single dollar that you're looking for here, I think we should do the everything in our power to help you assist all the wonderful organizations that you assist around the city.

So I just want to thank you for all of your leadership.

Um it's truly commendable, and um you know, all the people that you impact truly.

I mean, I I hear it everywhere I go.

I mean, the the small businesses in the Latino community um and the way they talk about you and the services that you provide, I think bar none um is just to your leadership and all the great work that you're giving.

So I'm glad that you're like actually here at the CEDT table because I know sometimes it takes other organizations years to even kind of break through.

Um and um I just look forward to as long as I'm on the council supporting your work year after year, um, so you can deliver um the great work that you can take in particular community.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Um really we as every organization in the country, we are suffering the effects of the economy.

Our members, they are suffering so hard.

Uh the membership dues has been decreasing in an impressive way, but we can force the people to pay.

Um, we can't say no, if you don't pay, we don't give your service.

No, if my personal case, I perfectly understand that if we help a small business to grow, we are helping to feel needs in food, in health, in house.

It's uh it's a forum in economic development.

Business growth, more jobs, and more people satisfying any needs.

So is that the reason that I am so focused in continuing uh our work?

We are celebrating 10 years, don't ask me that has eight years, but um very optimistic about the future and studying to work looking at the next decades.

That's one of the breaks.

Thank you for coming.

Um you said six other cities.

Are you requesting any bunch about the five?

But on the city, no, that's the only uh application that I can introduce.

Yes, the city of Covid.

In the city of Potokit, we apply last year for a grant uh funding grant.

We are executing that ends this uh september.

Okay, um I know that small businesses are suffering.

Um I know that there's a lot of them about how things what the hell is going on, how can we house this manage then be able to help keep somebody's businesses?

How could we spend them being able to help keep some of these businesses?

Okay.

Well, um I could say that around 15-20% of business owners come to my office asking me and say I don't know what to do.

I want to close the business because I can afford expenses and living cost.

We are um strategies with them, working in marketing, working in with some coaching, uh coaches, experts.

For example, depending on the type of business, reducing the time that you have open implementing deliveries for restaurant and food businesses, uh finding help with other organizations, and we are trying to do the most that we can.

Unfortunately, I could say that the last six months around 10%.

I could say for the business have been closing because it's impossible.

Um with the increasing energy cost, and they show me how they were paying to hold December, and now they are paying 1200, so it's too much.

Um but we all the time try to use the to suggest closing as the last option.

Oh great.

So it's funding um stay quiet, but this funding would be just um and the other one is how it's ice affecting your business.

Anyone try to come into your business or around your business to try to care anything?

It's any of the businesses that you're working with as ice try to intervene or you have found ice without ice coming from it.

I mean people intervening which way.

Oh, I mean, just like I think she was asking, like, is ice showing up to some of these businesses?

Yes, yes.

Um in fact, I want to share with you that the fear is so big that some of my staff went to visit a few businesses in Central Force, and innocently they went very well dressed in black jacket.

The panic and the business was so big that suddenly nobody was attending the business when they called it.

There is fear about everyone well dressed is to nice.

So yes, I have testimonial from several um business in South Providence, in Central Force, uh that even ICE is not over there doing what they are doing, but the panic is there that you are that is affecting business not just with the lack of customs, but with the lack of workers, people in not showing to work because you know misinformation, confusion, rumors people trying in WhatsApp.

Hey, there is someone that looks like ICE agent in that corner, people disappear from that.

So it's really a hard time for Latin.

Um small happens, so Oscar was my teacher for computers.

But right now I see he was because he all we have is something to offer to the computer and he had a couple business, basically you know, to give a class to me or small business because I was small business before the control shine and the house or something like that.

All my sleep all the pictures, people have people don't have any small business or the people of the investment.

So because I have that and I don't have that information, so now we have it, so he passed around.

So definitely my teacher.

And when you want it business because you have it before then, and then you go here and you be playing.

You don't know what you need to do, but you know, oh my business, I want to speak what kind of business, what we need, one lesson money, and this that's the chamber of span champions to give it this.

That's what we say, say no.

Because one business like this, if you give me the right information, you can go forward.

Sure.

And that's okay.

Don't grow up.

I think there you go, you got your testimony.

I need a testimony on my website.

Because I I always pick it when I know I never say something.

You know that maybe you always help with people at that basement.

So you always get into that.

I'll be celebrating like 20 years in this state.

Um in the same week that we are celebrating the 10th anniversary, which is on May.

So 20 years in this state, and at the my second or third year, I created uh vocational school to prepare Latinos to get jobs and other states.

Uh I just have one quick last question.

So you're obviously doing this statewide.

Have you reached out to the governor, the speaker, the funding there?

And I know that the council, so I I chairs uh state legislative affairs, what we do is we send uh you know uh resolutions in support or an opposition to any uh bills up at the state house urging passage or you know, for for for funding to various organizations or just bills up at the state house.

I know that this body can't be for everybody, but I would think that this body, if you um were requesting funds from a state, you know, we can put together a resolution uh asking state also background.

Um so is that no, that would be a great help.

I requested uh like three years ago, um it wasn't approved at the um legislators, they didn't approve.

I went without support without asking nobody come to me, so innocently I went to put my request and it was rejected.

Um the governor when I go to the government is saying okay, let's see what commerce corporation could have for you.

If no there are programs implemented by them is very difficult.

I would like to take your report and further conversation to see if it's that possible.

I could be prepared to introduce it for the next budget discussion.

I think that they start to prepare them.

So I will appreciate any help that you can give it to the organization because you are doing directly to business.

Yeah, and when you submit, please let us know because again, if the thing sometimes the body will support those resolutions and say this is going to be something that's incredibly helpful to the city of Providence and the people that we serve, and yeah, we can call our legislators to the state houses say this is something that's really important to us.

Hopefully, they can push in.

I appreciate that.

Um grace and go in six cities, that's six dollars.

Yeah, you know, and yeah, between Providence and Konsaki and Central Falls and Kentucky, that's all our legislators at the state has sometimes I feel the legislators don't have feelings, or they are confused with the concept of the chamber of books.

We are the new school chamber of commerce concept, it's not that we are because we are working with business, business are paying us, and they're gonna have money.

No, that is the traditional way, it doesn't work anymore.

We are very community oriented.

So we are asking for money to help those small businesses.

So those are the business who really need help.

Twenty twenty-five employees or more, they already are established.

So I feel that sometimes legislature connect and say, oh, you are like a great deal providing chamber.

You have money.

And no, my concept or the concept of the Hispanic chamber is totally opposite.

The name is bigger than that than what's going on to that.

Well, we definitely see the outcome of the working mind.

I need to appreciate it as a city to see that you are part of the decommodation.

And we appreciate that.

I think your reputation like so many set around the table of how we seed you.

And we know the working two and it's great, but we appreciate it.

Um thank you.

And thank you for coming in today and for the first time at giving us a highlight of the working to mind and the challenges also.

We appreciate that.

We always say uh the last table, but you're not please.

We really appreciate having you here.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Please uh see our organization as part of the city and as part of the team.

Because again, I know that sometimes it's difficult to reach out all the business that are in the city.

I can do that.

We have a good uh is the poder de convocatoria, it's power to it to be heard by our community, so please consider us up to you.

Thanks so much for our thing.

Um I would like to answer this as um to the record.

Right.

Uh there's no motion to continue item three.

Okay, there's no other business for this body.

Do I get a motion?

Yeah, for to continue.

All in payment.

All right, we are now catching.

So motion to a chair.

Oh, that's right.

So this is motion to chair.

Thank you.

Thank you, Casmant.

Thank you.

Thank you for