EAST PROVIDENCE — The City Council at its meeting Tuesday night, Aug. 15, gave first approval to a planned referendum to be presented to voters this fall, which would authorize the administration to seek up to $15 million in bonds for use in reconstructing East Providence’s battered roadways.

The item, which needs a second Council approval, would be placed on the ballot of a planned Special Election on November 7 of this year, something the Council also approved at the August 15 session to also present voters with the proposed changes made to the City Charter by the recently seated Charter Review Commission.

City Manager Tim Chapman, in conjunction with Public Works Director Steve Coutu and City Engineer Erik Skadberg, composed the measure at the behest of the body and specifically Ward 3 Councilman Joe Botelho.

“We didn’t look at this lightly,” Mr. Chapman said of roadworks bond proposal.

The item has two components. If approved, the city would obtain up to $15 million to fix its roads, likely doing so over a three to four year period, according to Mr. Chapman. Each year, East Providence would borrow in the range of $3-5 million to complete the necessary repairs. It would be done in that manner so as to lessen the interest paid. The term of each loan would likely be 15 years, the manager added. The city would gain access to the money through the state-operated Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. Mr. Chapman said interest rates at the moment remain relatively low, between 2.2 and 3.6 percent depending on amount and term.

The second aspect of the referendum would have the city use money for repair of state-owned roads in East Providence by “borrowing” against funds already set aside for potential synchronization of its fiscal year budget with that of the state. Mr. Chapman proposed using between $2 million and $2.5 million of sync fund monies to fix portions of Pawtucket, Warren, Waterman and Pawtucket Avenues, the Wampanoag Trail and Veterans Memorial Parkway.

In turn, the state, which has agreed to the proposal, would repay the city in full for all construction costs, including the repair and replacement of sidewalks and drainage.

This move is necessary, Mr. Chapman explained, because most if not all of those roads mentioned are not included for repair in the state’s current comprehensive plan, “RhodeWorks,” and the earliest they may be addressed isn’t until 2026.

“These areas are major,” Mr. Chapman said. “They’re in a dilapidated state. The roads are horrible. The sidewalks are horrible.”

Mr. Botelho lauded this element of the referendum, calling it “ingenious.” He said of Mr. Chapman, “Tim, I know we challenged you to get this done and as they say in the movies, ‘By, God, you did it.’”

Mr. Botelho continued, saying the referendum gave East Providence a chance to change its reputation for roads as one of being a “laughingstock” to a “model” for the rest of the state, adding, “The great thing about the bond going in front of the people is that they for once get to decide if they want to fix the roads or not.”