Site work and paving for a road / highway in Newport, Rhode Island. Completed plans call for site work for a road / highway; and for paving for a road / highway.

https://www.newportthisweek.com/articles/city-proposes-major-slashes-to-capital-projects/ The city of Newport is proposing a nearly $9 million cut to its capital improvement plan this year, in­cluding projects to improve public infrastructure, add new traffic safety measures, purchase emer­gency vehicles and upgrade public parks. As the city faces an uncertain budget cycle, Finance Director Jim Nolan said the cuts are a matter of necessity. “In order to make our budget balance, we had to remove a number of CIP projects,” he said. The trend is likely to continue in Fiscal Year 2027, with $15.2 million in capital spending proposed to be eliminated next year. Councilor Xay Khamsyvoravong took issue with the proposed eliminations, stating that they do not align with direction from the council and “completely missed the mark.” He said the city budget is “ultimately a reflection of the city’s priorities.” “As it stands right now, this budget will not advance a foot further until we get a revision back that actually reflects this commu­nity’s priorities,” he said. Of the total $12 million identified in capital projects for this year, the city is recommending funding only $3.4 million of the work. Roughly $5 million is set to be cut from fa­cility improvements, including ren­ovations at city hall, multiple roof replacements on public buildings, $100,000 for sewer line replace­ment at the police department and a $500,000 match for improve­ments at the Edward King House. Nearly $500,000 in recreation upgrades is also on the chopping block, including $250,000 for park upgrades, $170,000 in playground improvements and $75,000 in historic park restoration. An ad­ditional $350,000 is proposed to be cut from planned roadway im­provements, including $300,000 for Bellevue Avenue concrete. Other major projects, such as implementation of the transpor­tation master plan ($500,000) and purchase and installation of dy­namic parking signage ($300,000) are also recommended to be cut. Khamsyvoravong said the pro­posals would cause past councils to feel like “they have not had the impact that they intended to have while serving” and that the community is being ignored. Since taking office in December, the cur­rent council has passed nearly one dozen resolutions related to traffic, traffic safety, parking and multi­modal transportation. “This council has been very res­olute in standing behind almost every single one of those reso­lutions,” he said. “There’s some communication that’s getting missed here. We’ve been speaking through resolutions where di­rected, but it feels like nobody’s listening.” Khamsyvoravong targeted the proposed elimination of $500,000 to implement the transportation master plan, which was approved by the prior council in 2023 and sets a modern framework for trans­portation in the city, including an emphasis on pedestrians, bicycles and public transport. “We’ve completely failed to put our money where our mouth is,” he said. “We’ve done little more than pay lip service to the capital improvement plan budget that we worked very hard on revising. We ignored months of resolutions, the master transportation plan, traffic and safety studies and residents who email us every single day and come up here advocating for more traffic safety measures.” In March, the council unani­mously passed a resolution re­questing the state officially open the new 200-space park-and-ride off JT Connell Highway and di­rected the city to use it as a multi- modal transportation hub. Last month, the council also approved three other resolutions related to traffic flow or parking changes on Bridge Street and Broadway. In September, the council passed a resolution reversing the flow of traffic on the one-way por­tion of Dixon Street. It also sparred with city administration over the improper installation of stop signs in the Point and a speed camera on Ruggles Avenue earlier this year. Resolutions related to Admiral Kalbfus Road and Hillside Avenue have also been recently approved. It was the first proposed budget for City Manager Colin Kennedy, who was appointed by the pre­vious council in a 5-2 vote last May, with Khamsyvoravong one of his most vocal proponents. Kennedy beat out the previous finance di­rector, Laura Sitrin, who served in the role for over two decades. Many saw Kennedy’s appoint­ment as a stark shift away from an entrenched city administration with too much power concen­trated within a set of longtime, top city employees. Joseph Nicholson, the previous city manager, served as the city’s solicitor for nearly three decades before taking the city manager role in 2016. Ken­nedy, a former Navy command officer, did not have municipal ex­perience. “For the many people who don’t like outsiders coming into New­port, and for people who do not like change, all I can say is you have to trust the council, because this is what we were voted in to do,” said then-councilor (now Mayor) Charles Holder at the time. “You have to give people a chance to show that they are qualified.” At the time, Khamsyvoravong supported the roughly $35,000 in­crease in salary that would be paid to Kennedy, saying that the cost of living in Newport is high and that the amount was competitive with other municipalities. At the workshop, Khamsyvora­vong thanked the city’s finance department and said it had “done its job.” “While we have full faith in the city’s finance staff, it does not seem like the administration has in any way listened to the policy priorities that have been put forth,” he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Road Improvement Program 2025