At a community meeting full of children, PVD City Councilmembers propose redirecting community benefit money

The ProvPort Community Benefits Fund, designed to address the environmental injustice burdens of Wards 10 and 11, may be redirected into a scholarship fund.

Friday night's community meeting at the John Rollins Rec Center on Ocean Street in Providence was one of the strangest I have attended. For one thing, it was on a Friday at 6:30 pm, not a time when people would ordinarily attend a meeting about a proposed change to the recently negotiated ProvPort Tax Agreement. For another thing, few adults were in attendance. Instead, Councilmembers Pedro Espinal (Ward 10) and Mary Kay Harris (Ward 11) were speaking to a room full of middle school- and high school-age children - there to play basketball. The audience was made up of over 30 kids and maybe a handful of adults.

You can watch the meeting here:

Let’s back up:

In November 2022, then Providence City Council President John Iggliozzi (Ward 7) attempted to rush through a 30-year extension on the ProvPort Tax Agreement that left the community completely out of the negotiations. The community reacted negatively and the deal was shelved until the new Council President, Rachel Miller (Ward 13), and Councilmember Helen Anthony (Ward 2) could collaborate with the community to strike a new deal that was passed in January 2023.

Under the new deal, ProvPort established a community benefits reserve account that will make a minimum of $120,000 a year available to the city to support projects “including but not limited to, racial and environmental justice, economic and environmental impact, labor, job training, port/neighborhood relations, parks, and recreation infrastructure as provided in the Master Plan.” $25,000 of this Community Benefits fund is to be allocated specifically to Community Benefits Projects in Ward 10, at the direction of the Ward 10 Councilmember. The rest shall be distributed by the City of Providence’s Board of Park Commissioners for projects to benefit those communities immediately impacted by the Port of Providence located within Wards 10 and 11.

“This agreement is a significant victory for my constituents and neighbors living and working around the Port,” said Councilmember Espinal after the new deal was struck. “My concern always centered around public health, safety, and the welfare of our residents. My council colleagues and ProvPort listened to the community, and this legislation directly resulted from working together.”

At Friday night’s meeting, Councilmembers Espinal and Harris announced a proposed change to the way the Community Benefits Fund would work. Instead of using that money for projects that would help address the environmental injustices and harms faced by the communities living adjacent to the Port, Councilmember Espinal proposed putting the money towards college scholarships for students enrolled in public high schools in Wards 10 or 11. This would require a permanent change to the Tax Agreement ordinance, allocating $5000 from the Ward 10-specific Community Benefit fund, and all the rest of the Community Benefits Fund ($95,000+) to a college scholarship fund for students enrolled in public high schools in Ward 10 or 11. The maximum scholarship would be $5000.

“Think about it,” said Councilmember Espinal to the students seated around the basketball court. “If we're able to get this through the council, you will have $100,000 that you can apply to school as a graduating senior... That is unheard of.”

“What do you think?” asked Councilmember Espinal of a student he brought to the microphone.

“I feel like it's great, you know, a good opportunity,” said the student.

“How do you think it will have an impact on you?” pressed Councilmember Espinal.

“Um, I don't know... My parents would love that...” said the student.

Philip Trevvett was an adult member of the public in attendance.

“I heard from friends that there was a last-minute community meeting through which Councilman Espinal was going change the planned use of funds that had been gotten through the Port of Providence tax agreement,” said Trevvett. “The money is intended for a wide range of projects that could benefit the community broadly, in many creative ways, over decades. The fund would have the flexibility to adjust to community needs over time and create opportunities for new and young voices to impact how that money could be used. But a scholarship fund changes all that, and permanently directs the money for 30 years.”

I asked Trevvett what he thought about the meeting.

“The meeting was manipulative and problematic,” said Trevvett. “It took advantage of the fact that there were 30-plus students, mostly middle school students. The proposal was presented as if Pedro Espinal and Mary Kay Harris were bringing a hundred thousand dollars to the community out of nowhere for a scholarship. It was not framed as if this was money already set to be used in this community for the next three decades.

"Presenting that in a room full of young students makes it extremely difficult and uncomfortable to say you have a problem with the plan. No one has a problem with giving kids scholarships. Do the kids of South Providence need a hundred thousand dollars for scholarships? Yes, they do. Let's do that. Let's also not close high schools on the south side of Providence while talking about a scholarship.

“I heard a kid ask how much money would the scholarship be and I heard [Councilmember Espinal] reply that the scholarship would be capped at $5,000 and the kid had a huge open mouth because it's so much money. No one had a chance to ask, ‘How much does college cost? If you're getting $5,000, how much would you still have to pay or borrow? What would that mean for your life, for your family's life?’

“This isn't to say that there aren't kids who could benefit from a scholarship like that, but doing it in that room and presenting it with such limited information - in such a narrow way - made anyone who had concerns out to be a bad guy. That's not an environment for a productive or honest community meeting.”

The Community Benefits Fund was designed to be administered by the Parks Commission and guided by public input (through the Master Plan and other community processes), be directed towards projects that benefit the communities of Ward 10 and 11, and address the environmental injustice burdens that the community faces as a result of ProvPort’s presence.

By contrast, the scholarship fund would channel the community benefits funds towards a relatively narrow segment of the community - approximately 20 high school students a year - and permanently direct the money towards something that is not related to the health and safety impacts that the Port has had on its surrounding neighborhoods.

Councilmember Espinal's legislation is fast-tracked to be heard in the Providence City Council Ordinance Committee.

“There is no reason to rush through a change that would have such a permanent and lasting impact on the Tax Agreement,” said Ward 10 resident Linda Perri. “Environmental justice and community advocates fought hard to improve the final Tax Agreement Ordinance, especially to ensure that community input was built into the processes for deciding what happens at the Port, and for how the various revenue-sharing funds are spent.

“To rush through a big ordinance on short notice and holding only one community meeting that’s announced on a Monday and held on a Friday night undermines the premise that there be robust community input into the process.”

Attending the meeting were Providence City Councilors Miguel Sanchez (Ward 6), Juan Pichardo (Ward 9), Shelley Peterson (Ward 14), and Representative Jose Batista (Democrat, District 12, Providence)

After I went to press I received the following from Monica Huertas of the People’s Port Authority, who fought so hard to get the Community Benefit Fund established just over a year ago:

“While we recognize the importance of supporting educational opportunities, we have reservations about the allocation of these funds for a scholarship program.

“Our concern lies in the fact that scholarship programs, while beneficial, may not directly address the immediate environmental justice needs of our community. As an organization committed to combating environmental racism and advocating for the well-being of marginalized communities, we believe that any funds designated for community benefits should prioritize initiatives that directly mitigate the harmful impacts of industrial activities on public health and the environment in our Green Justice Zone.

“Instead of solely focusing on scholarships, we would like to see a more comprehensive approach that includes investments in environmental remediation projects, healthcare services, job training programs in sustainable industries, and community-led initiatives aimed at addressing environmental injustices. These efforts would not only benefit individuals but also contribute to the long-term resilience and empowerment of our community in the face of systemic environmental challenges.

“It's actually tacky (and tasteless), given the fact that so many of our children miss school daily due to health issues caused by the port.”

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