Cranston, Johnston & West Warwick Participate In Municipal Resilience Program

Earlier this month we announced that three municipalities – the City of Cranston, the Town of Johnston, and the Town of West Warwick - have been selected to participate in the Bank’s Municipal Resilience Program (MRP).

Cranston and Johnston join West Warwick, who was accepted earlier this year, as the three newest participants to be welcomed into the MRP through our new rolling MRP participation application process.

Communities participating in the MRP complete a workshop process designed to identify priority projects and strategies to improve the municipality’s resilience to natural and climate-related hazards. Communities completing the MRP process are then eligible for action grants to implement resilient infrastructure solutions.

As we've seen with recent extreme rainfall and flooding events, Rhode Island’s infrastructure needs to be made more resilient to the impacts of climate change. That's what the MRP is all about, helping our municipal partners identify key resilience challenges, plan solutions, and qualify for grant funding to implement resilient infrastructure solutions. We look forward to working with Cranston, Johnston, and West Warwick as they participate in the Municipal Resilience Program process.

35 out 39 Rhode Island municipalities have signed up for the MRP. With help from the Nature Conservancy, 33 have completed Community Resilience Building workshops and developed prioritized lists of actionable resilience plans and projects. Municipalities are then eligible to submit applications for MRP Action Grants with a 25% local match requirement. To date, the Bank has awarded more than $7 million in MRP Action Grants to 16 municipalities across the state. In 2022, Rhode Island voters approved the Question 3 Green Bond, including $16 million for MRP Action Grants.

September 6th Municipal Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Workshop

We're partnering with the Rhode Island League of Cities & Towns for a September 6th at 10:00 AM workshop on the many municipal infrastructure funding opportunities available through the Bank. Save the date and register here.

Come Visit Us At Our New Office Location

Earlier this month we completed moving into our new offices at 275 Promenade Street, Suite 301, Providence, RI 02908. We look forward to seeing you in our new space.

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Cover letters and resumes to careers@riib.org.

Infrastructure Bank In The News

Johnston and Cranston join RI Infrastructure Bank’s municipal resilience program, Cranston Herald

“Enrolling Johnston in the Municipal Resilience Program was something I ran on last summer,” said Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. “The MRP allows us to work with leaders around the state to combat the effects of the severe weather we’ve seen in recent years.”

“Cranston is excited to work collaboratively with fellow municipalities in RI Infrastructure Bank’s Municipal Resilience Program,” Hopkins said earlier this week. “The urban flash-flooding events of this summer are a perfect example of hazards facing our city that have been greatly exacerbated by climate change. By participating in RMP, Cranston will be better equipped to identify and address challenges of today, and tomorrow, as soon as possible.”

Narragansett set to boost coastal barrier near treatment plant, The Independent

The town of Narragansett plans to boost coastal erosion around its Scarborough sewer treatment plant through a $515,000 loan recently awarded by the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank.

A 600-foot-rip-rap barrier will be built to extend seaward from the shoreline of the treatment facility. The project will include the placement of appropriately sized rip-rap boulders on the existing barrier to restore the structure to its original dimensions.

It will help to prevent continuing loss of land at the plant, which borders the Atlantic Ocean along Ocean Road.

“The Scarborough Wastewater Treatment Facility’s 2,200-foot effluent outfall must be protected from ever-changing and more frequent, powerful coastal storms, and possible hurricanes. This project will do just that,” said Town Manager James Tierney.