2025 -- S 0174 AS AMENDED

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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J O I N T   R E S O L U T I O N

TO ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE MAIN STREET COORDINATING PROGRAM

     Introduced By: Senators Urso, Britto, Burke, Tikoian, Rogers, LaMountain, Zurier, Gu,

     Date Introduced: February 07, 2025

     Referred To: Senate Finance

     (General Treasurer)

     WHEREAS, The State of Rhode Island is recognized as the 2nd most urbanized state in

the country and has many traditionally-developed commercial districts, including retail corridors,

downtowns, village squares, and neighborhood commercial centers, herein collectively referred to

as “Main Street districts”; and

     WHEREAS, When Main Street districts are functioning as vibrant places, they yield

many benefits to the State and its municipalities, with the potential to generate substantial

economic activity, tax revenues, housing, tourism, small business creation, jobs, and real estate

development, as well as positive social and public health outcomes; and

     WHEREAS, Overall, Rhode Island’s Main Street districts are currently not living up to

their potential to generate these benefits with local efforts to revitalize and cultivate these districts

often inconsistent, not comprehensive, and disconnected from each other, resulting in inefficiency

and uneven success; and

     WHEREAS, Forty-one other states and five city or county governments outside of Rhode

Island have successfully increased economic benefits from their Main Street districts through the

creation of a Main Street Coordinating Program designed to build capacity at the local level to

improve Main Streets districts’ economic vitality, appearance, function, events, marketing, and

organization through the trademarked and proven “Main Street Four Points Approach”; and

     WHEREAS, Main Street programs in other states have collectively tracked $101.58

billion in reinvestment, 168,693 net new businesses, 746,897 net new jobs, and 325,199

rehabilitated buildings in Main Street districts since 1980; and

     WHEREAS, These other coordinating programs are all affiliated members of a national

network organized and supported by Main Street America - an organization widely recognized as

the premier expert on improving Main Streets’ performance, with thirty-three coordinating

programs housed within government and thirteen run as independent nonprofits; and

     WHEREAS, The State of Rhode Island currently has a Main Street Rhode Island

Improvement Fund within the Commerce Corporation as set forth in chapter 64.27 of title 42 to

foster private-public partnerships in relation to improvement of streetscapes in local business

districts; and

     WHEREAS, The well-known and respected RI-based nonprofit Grow Smart RI has been

building a relationship with Main Street America since 2021, has studied the program extensively

including the different ways it is coordinated at the state level, and is prepared to leverage its

twenty-six year history as a conveyor and trainer in place-related issues to implement a Main

Street RI Coordinating Program in the State as soon as funding is identified; and

     WHEREAS, Collaboration between the Commerce Corporation and Grow Smart RI on

the use of the Main Street Improvement Fund has the potential to stimulate investment and

generate substantial economic activity and otherwise yield many benefits to the State and its

municipalities; and

     WHEREAS, These potential benefits demonstrate the need for the formal establishment

of a Main Street Rhode Island program and the collaboration of the Commerce Corporation and

Grow Smart RI; and

     WHEREAS, The formal establishment of “Main Street Rhode Island” would be managed

by Grow Smart RI for an initial period of three years, with annual reports detailing progress on

the following goals and activities:

     - Hiring and retention of a full time Main Street RI Coordinator position;

     - Training for local RI communities provided by Main Street America and its members

from throughout the nation;

     - Monthly educational sessions and bi-monthly networking opportunities for all local

groups focused on the cultivation of vibrant Main Street districts;

     - The management of a “learning cohort” of individual communities to receive

customized technical assistance;

     - Development of an online resource center of training materials, actional research and

best practices;

     - Presentation of an annual full-day conference-style event for learning and sharing of

information; and

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     - A signed MOU with Main Street America with Main Street Rhode Island established as

the Coordinating Program for the State of RI; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That a program is hereby established called “Main Street Rhode Island” to

be managed by Grow Smart Rhode Island. The commerce corporation is hereby empowered:

     (1) To accept monies from federal sources, grants, private entities or other sources

intended for Main Street Rhode Island; and

     (2) To disburse all such monies received and intended for Main Street Rhode Island to

Grow Smart Rhode Island; and

     (3) To appropriate any portion of the monies held in the fund created pursuant to Chapter

64.27 of Title 42 to Grow Smart Rhode Island to support expenditures related to the

administration of and execution of the Main Street Four Points Approach.

     The state controller is hereby authorized and directed to draw his orders upon the general

treasurer for the payment of said sum, or so much thereof as may be from time to time required,

upon receipt of properly authenticated vouchers.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

J O I N T   R E S O L U T I O N

TO ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE MAIN STREET COORDINATING PROGRAM

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     This resolution would authorize the appropriation of the sum of $500,000 for the formal

establishment of “Main Street Rhode Island”.

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