EAST PROVIDENCE — A key element of the planned three-pronged approach to refurbishing the Crescent Park/Looff Carousel and upgrade the grounds around it is on hold due to lack of funding.

During a meeting specific to the historic landmark late last month and one conducted last week by the City Council, Carousel Manager Tracy Johnson explained the conundrum officials are facing in attempting to replace the existing concession building at the Riverside site.

Ms. Johnson said at the February 2 council meeting the $150,000 the body earmarked for the project in the current 2020-21 Fiscal Year Capital Improvements Budget “is not anywhere close to the amount needed for the bids we received” to construct what would be a new building to house a concession stand, an office and a garage.

She continued, the lowest bid returned for the work through a formal Request for Proposals issuance came back at $287,000 just for the “shell” of the building itself. That figure did not include the installation of utilities and indoor finish work.

At the moment, Ms. Johnson, the Carousel Commission and the administration of Mayor Bob DaSilva are determining how next to approach the effort. She said under consideration are possibly reducing the size of the proposed new structure, figuring out other means of saving money and/or seeking additional funds from the city through balances of Capital Improvement projects completed under budget.

“If we do the project, we want to do it right,” Ms. Johnson added. “If we’re going to spend the money, we want to make sure it meets the needs going forward.”

The city currently has a contract with Warren-based Blount’s Seafood to operate the concession stand. The sides also have an existing agreement where Blount’s would pay for the preparation of the interior space to suit its operational needs if the shell is built by the city.

“They (Blount’s) have a dollar amount that they were willing to put forward, which was wonderful, but if we can’t build the shell it was kind of pointless,” Ms. Johnson explained.

With a new building unlikely to be constructed in time for the 2021 season and with the existing one no longer viable, Ms. Johnson said Blount’s has suggested potentially leaving one of its trailer stands on site for the summer or bringing in one of its mobile units during the two days the carousel is expected to open this year.

Ward 4 Councilor Ricardo Mourato, in whose district the carousel is located and who placed the discussion item on the meeting agenda, called the potential of Blount’s bringing in one of its mobile trucks “a really bad band-aid on the situation.” He added of the project in general, “I feel like we’ve been stuck in the mud for a long time with this one and the opportunity is slowly slipping away.”

Besides determining if savings can be found by having city employees perform some of the construction, Ms. Johnson proposed potentially using another approved FY20-21 Capital line item of $100,000 to install and operate an ice rink donated to the carousel towards construction of the concession building.

A significant amount of the $100,000 rink money is slated for laying a concrete pad upon which the ice is made. Ms. Johnson said while not optimal, the pad “is not exactly necessary right away.” The rink could be formed initially on top of the ground, though when shut down in the spring the area would be muddy for a period of time likely be without grass the following season.

Asked for his opinion on the matter, Assistant City Solicitor Dylan Conley called the reallocation process “complicated.” He told the council it had more “flexibility” to move available funds at end of a given budget year, but noted the current fiscal season only started some three months earlier.

A more readily available option, Mr. Conley said, was to see if the Capital funds are “allocated in such a way that they don’t need to be transferred, that some of the work is appropriate already.” To do so, he said he would confer with City Finance Director Malcolm Moore, calling that approach a “much simpler solution.”

In response to a question about the importance of each aspect of the project, Ms. Johnson said the ice rink and concession building go “hand-in-hand.” The structure would not only be for food preparation and service, but would also provide office space to sell rink tickets and rent skates while the garage would house the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine.

“Everyone has been very supportive and helpful trying to figure out ways to do this, but the bottom line is we just don’t have enough money,” Ms. Johnson said of the building and rink projects.

Carousel improvements

Calling the stabilization of the Looff Carousel the “most important” part of all proposed improvements, Ms. Johnson said that component is well on its way towards being addressed.

At the January meeting of the Carousel Commission and during last week’s council forum, the manager explained engineering plans are being redrawn after the center floor of the structure was removed to reveal a better view of its infrastructure. Also, Ms. Johnson said Todd Goings, of the Ohio-based Carousel and Carvings company, will be visiting the site shortly to consult on the next phase of the renovations.

“The project is picking up speed,” Ms. Johnson said, adding the amount of work necessary just to allow for the engineering schematic to be drawn had slightly hindered its progress.

2021 schedule

Also from its January meeting, the Carousel Commission began consideration of putting together a 2021 calendar of events.

If COVID-19 health and safety guidelines allow, the annual “Movies in the Park” series would be placed back on the schedule along with other events such as the food & wine tasting, which is the commission’s single largest fundraiser of the year. Preparations for the tasting, though, are on hold because of the need to find a new coordinator for the event.

In addition, Ms. Johnson said the East Providence Arts Council has already reached out to bring back its yearly festival, “the looff,” as have organizers of the Providence Folk Festival and Theatre in the Park program. Each of those endeavors did not take place as initially planned in 2020 due to the pandemic.