EAST PROVIDENCE — Reversing a decision it had already reversed once prior, the East Providence City Council at its meeting Tuesday night, June 25, voted by a 4-0 count to rescind an ordinance re-appropriating federal funding to renovate the former Oldham School building from the proposed Community/Rec Center back to said center and construction of an entirely new facility.

Sound a bit confusing? Well, it kind of has been.

The back-and-forth between the Council, specifically Ward 4 rep Rick Lawson in whose district the old Oldham is located, and Mayor Bob DaSilva, as well as members of his administration, would be the envy of a good game of Ping Pong, which might actually be played in a Community/Rec Center if one ever gets built.

What to know now is, the $3 million in COVID-19 recovery program "American Rescue Plan Act" (ARPA) funding the Council previously approved for the Community/Rec Center remains available to the administration for the endeavor.

That pot of cash is rolled into another $3 million earmark derived from a federal appropriation sponsored by former United States Congressman David Cicilline included in a spending bill two years ago. The city also gained access to some $4 million from Gov. Dan McKee's Learn365RI Initiative via the state’s Community Learning Center Municipal Grant program.

All told, DaSilva has nearly $11 million to build his center. Lawson, after Tuesday night's meeting, reiterated he will not support the use of any more city monies towards the project if there are overruns, a stance the majority of the Council has also held previously.

Lawson continued, "I support building a recreation center for the Townies, but for the budget that was laid out with the $3 million in APRA money for construction of the new building.

"That's the budget we gave them. I believe the $3 million on top of the grant money (the mayor) has is appropriate for his building. He has over $10 million, almost $11 million, for hard costs. That's all he's getting, and I believe I can speak for the rest of the Council on that. Soft costs, we'll discuss that once the building actually gets built."

Also reached for comment for the body's move the previous evening, DaSilva responded Wednesday afternoon, June 26, “I believe the City Council made the right decision by moving forward with the previously approved plan that will give our residents a new state-of-the-art community learning/recreation center.

“I want to thank all of the members of my administration who have been working to bring a multipurpose facility to our residents, leveraging a once-in-a-generation grant funding opportunity to get it done.”

To go over the situation once again, DaSilva, using the project as the focal point of his second term in office, initially submitted a grandiose plan for the center with a price tag of some $45 million with a full-court gymnasium, pool, theater as well as several classrooms and office spaces among other amenities.

The scope and sum of the mayor's draft proposal was quickly rejected by the Council, the current composition of which was seated with DaSilva from the 2022 election.

Key for the early incarnations of the mayor's vision was earmarking of all the city's remaining ARPA funding, some $14 million, towards the Community/Rec Center.

Again, however, the Council as a whole balked at that notion. The body, in fact, went 180 degrees the other way in the summer of 2023 when it appropriated the entire $14 million of ARPA funds towards about a dozen individual projects, including $1 million to repair the roof at the now dilapidated Oldham.

Eventually, and after months of negotiations, some in public, some seemingly not, the Council and the administration late last calendar year settled on the use of the aforementioned $3 million in ARPA funds to the center.

To those paying attention, there seemingly were some obvious strings attached.

Lawson's vote for the Community/Rec Center appeared to come with the caveat of the administration agreeing to turn the aging Oldham building on Bullocks Point Avenue, which had not been used as a school in over a decade and the ownership of which given to the city from the School Department in late 2022, into a small business incubator/community gathering space.

And the vote of support for the Community/Rec Center by Ward 1 Councilor Frank Rego apparently came after he struck a deal with DaSilva to finally put into service the long sought after full-time emergency rescue vehicle based out of East Providence Fire Department Station No. 3 in Rumford, where the largest number of his constituents reside.

Of note, neither of those bargaining chips have yet come to fruition.

Which leads to the Council's meeting Tuesday night, June 4, when Lawson introduced an ordinance to rescind the ARPA money usage for a new Rec/Community Center and instead earmark that amount to Oldham to renovate it for the same function. He also suggested the mayor use the other over $7 million in appropriations for that purpose as well.

That evening, during an at times terse exchange with DaSilva, Lawson said, ""I don't think it makes smart fiscal sense to build new construction...I am convinced everything you are trying to accomplished can be accomplished at the Oldham building...There is zero reason in my mind for a new construction."

At a recent public gathering sponsored by the Ward 4 Democratic Committee with both he and the mayor present in between the June 4 Council forum and last Tuesday's, Lawson explained, "(DaSilva) said he is only using grant money on the (new Rec/Community Center) building. He would not commit to using any ARPA money for Oldham."

Lawson added, "I'm still firmly believe the Oldham building and its location would give us more bang for the buck. It has plenty of parking, space for community gardens. It's next door to a playground, two athletic fields, two outdoor basketball courts and soon a splash pad. Financially, with the money available, we can achieve all the mayor's goals and more at the Oldham property."

Knowing the mayor's stance, Lawson said he would no longer pursue the reallocation ordinance. And in addition he said he's likely to call for the rescinding of a $1 million ARPA appropriation specific to Oldman, potentially leaving any upgrades to that facility in limbo.

That last bit flies in the face of another portion later in the June 25 meeting, when the administration's ARPA coordinator Melissa Spurr approached the Council to inform it a Request for Proposal process for repair to the Oldham roof had been completed.

Again after last Tuesday's proceedings, Lawson said he sent an email to the administration "asking for clarification on what's going on."

He added, "I'm waiting to hear from the administration whether or not they will replace the roof, doors and windows with the ARPA funds. If not, then the council we will reallocate the money to parks, playgrounds and fields."

As for the rest of the Council, Ward 2 rep Anna Sousa has been an opponent of the Rec/Community Center based almost solely on its intended location, on the Senior Center grounds at the heavily-trafficked Pawtucket and Waterman Avenues intersection. She made that stance known again last week.

Ward 3 Councilor Frank Fogarty was also originally against size and location of the new facility. It was also out of a $5 million ARPA appropriation for infrastructure projects he sponsored from which the Council originally took the $3 million to give to the revised Rec/Community Center plan. After that, Fogarty has voted to support measures for project.

Lastly, At-Large member and body president Bob Rodericks was absent from the June 25 meeting, but he has been a steadfast proponent of the new Rec/Community Center since it was downsized and re-envisioned from its initial proposal.