07-R401
2007 -- H 6538 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/06/07
J O I N T R E
S O L U T I O N
RELATING TO RHODE ISLAND
PUBLIC CORPORATION DEBT MANAGEMENT ACT JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Introduced By:
Representatives Shanley, Lally, Walsh, and Pacheco
Date
Introduced: June 15, 2007
SECTION
1. This Joint Resolution is submitted pursuant to the requirements of Rhode
Island
general law sections 35-18-1, et seq. and 37-6-2.
WHEREAS,
The University of Rhode Island (the University) has academic programs in
Physical
Therapy, Communicative Disorders, and Kinesiology with teaching, research, and
outreach
that benefit Rhode Island adults and children with injuries and disabilities;
and
WHEREAS,
The Independence Square Foundation (the Foundation) is a non-profit
corporation
that develops and manages community center buildings, leasing space at
affordable
rates
to not-for-profit operations, with a historical emphasis on operations
supporting individuals
with
disabilities; and
WHEREAS,
The Foundation promotes and fosters collaborative relationships between its
non-profit
tenants in the interest of enhancing the range and quality of services offered
to these
special
populations, recognized at the National level as a unique model to be emulated:
and
WHEREAS,
In 1991, the University and the Board of Governors for Higher Education
(the
Board), and the State Properties Committee (the Properties Committee) approved
a lease of
land
(Ground Lease), for ten years, with ten years renewable, for a parcel of land
at 25 West
Independence
Way on the Kingston Campus of the University in Kingston, Rhode Island to the
Foundation,
enabling Independence Square to build a 40,000 square foot community center
building
for not-for-profit tenants; and
WHEREAS,
Per the Ground Lease Agreement, the Foundation is required to make
payments
of $1 per year, and at the end of the term or further extension of the Ground
Lease, the
University
and the Board obtain title to the building and associated improvements for the
payment
of $1; and
WHEREAS,
The Board and the Properties Committee, at the same time and in 2002,
approved
space leases (Lease) for the University’s Physical Therapy Program and
Communicative
Disorders Speech and Hearing clinic respectively within the existing building
at
25
West Independence Way and those Programs, associated students and faculty, and
clinical
clients
have benefited from the quality, accessible, and well maintained facilities for
the duration
of
those Leases; and
WHEREAS,
In 2004, the foundation proposed a plan for the development of an addition
to
the existing building within the boundaries of the existing parcel defined in
the Ground Lease,
and
began seeking Federal and private sources of funding support to defray the
capital costs for
such
a project, and succeeded in securing Federal support totaling $1,200,000 to
date as efforts
continue;
and
WHEREAS,
The project, as now conceived, is a two-story addition containing 27,600
square
feet that would house the following tenants:
The
South Kingstown Transition Academy (formerly the South Kingstown Farm
School)
a Town operated school providing specialized educational support for
children
with autism, currently housed in a temporary building;
The
Trudeau Center’s Early Intervention Program, serving children with
developmental
disabilities, a program that would benefit from the on-campus
location
and adjacency of clinical services;
First
Step Child Care Center, a not-for-profit child care facility operating in the
existing
building and expanding programs into the addition to serve the
University
and surrounding community; and
The
University’s Kinesiology Program, providing undergraduate and graduate
degree
programs in physical education, teacher education, exercise science, and
health
fitness with a strong commitment to laboratory and experimental learning,
being
relocated out of the current Athletic Complex to facilities designed to their
requirements,
complementing the University Physical Therapy and Speech and
Hearing
Clinic presence in the original Independence Square Building in
Kingston;
and
WHEREAS,
The budget for the design and construction of the Project is $8,200,000, a
minimum
of $1,200,000 is supported by Federal sources, and the Foundation has received
tentative
authorization to secure bank financing for up to $7,000,000; and
WHEREAS,
The University, the Board, and the Properties Committee have approved a
25
year extension to the existing Ground Lease, that will be effective upon the
date of the receipt
of a
certificate of occupancy for the Project, the 25-year term extension of the
Ground Lease
being
a requirement of the Federal Government for the commitment of Federal sources
to the
project;
and
WHEREAS,
The University, the Board, and the Properties Committee have approved a
Lease
(the Lease Agreement) with a term 25 years, for 16,368 square feet of space in
the Project
for
the University’s Kinesiology Program, with that Lease Agreement and associated
obligations
beginning
in Fiscal Year 2008-2009; and
WHEREAS,
The Lease Agreement requires the University to pay a Base Rent for the
University’s
proportionate share of building operating expenses, including heating, cooling,
lighting,
and basic electrical service, such Base Rent in the first year being $259,024,
calculated
on
an annualized basis, but adjusted downward in accordance with the anticipated
shorter first
year’s
period of occupancy, this Base Rent being subject to annual increases in
operating
expenses
in future years; and
WHEREAS,
Under the Lease Agreement, the University will be required to pay
additional
rent for the University’s proportionate share of financed Estimated Build-out
costs not
to
exceed $296,400 per year on a fixed annualized basis for the twenty-five year
term of the
Lease
Agreement, unless reduced by the successful receipt by the Foundation of additional
Federal
and/or private funding for the Project, such Additional Rent payments to be
supported by
University
general revenues; and
WHEREAS,
Approval is required at this time in order to ensure that all tenants are
committed
to their respective lease agreements so that construction of the Project can
proceed and
achieve
readiness for occupancy in FY 2008-2009; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations
hereby recognizes that the annual payments of Additional Rent of the
University’s
Estimated
Build-Out Costs will not exceed $296,400 in any year under the term of the
Lease
Agreement,
and will not exceed $7,410,000 over the full 25 year term of the Lease
Agreement;
and
be it further
RESOLVED,
That this General Assembly hereby supports the Foundation’s Project as a
favorable
investment on the University’s Kingston Campus, that will ultimately become an
asset
of
the University and the State, serving as an important academic program and
critical operation
for
children with special needs, while further building upon a successful
University, Foundation,
and
community partnership; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That this General Assembly hereby approves this Lease Agreement and its
associated
Additional Rent for Build-out Costs; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to
transmit
duly certified copies of this resolution to Governor Donald Carcieri, and the
Rhode
Island
Board of Governors for Higher Education.
SECTION
2. This Joint Resolution shall take effect upon passage.
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LC03361/SUB A
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