13-R278
2013 -- S 0913
Enacted 05/14/13
S E N A T E R E
S O L U T I O N
REITERATING
SUPPORT FOR THE CONCEPT OF BRINGING THE RETIRED AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS JOHN F.
KENNEDY TO NEWPORT COUNTY AS A FAMILY ATTRACTION, EDUCATION AND JOB TRAINING
CENTER, DISASTER RELIEF FACILITY, MUSEUM, AND MEMORIAL
Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Paiva Weed, Felag, and Ottiano
Date Introduced: May 02, 2013
WHEREAS, Rhode Island
Aviation Hall of Fame, Inc. (RIAHOF), a
nonprofit organization, plans to develop a world-class,
financially self-sufficient family
attraction, education and job training center, museum, and memorial
on the
(
USS John F. Kennedy as the centerpiece; and
WHEREAS, Locating this namesake legacy in
given President Kennedys close association with this
state, including his wartime training at
Melville, his marriage in
and
WHEREAS, This project has the potential to become a self-sufficient
economic engine,
all at no cost to or investment by the state. Here are
some specific benefits:
Attract as many as
350,000 visitors annually, many of whom would not otherwise come
to the state;
Generate more than $45
million in annual economic impact;
Create more than 80
direct jobs and more than 500 total jobs;
Provide a major
vocational training facility and school-to-career program;
Contribute more than
$3 million annually in direct tax revenues to the embattled state
treasury;
Result in a worldwide
public relations boost for
Offer public access to
and use of another part of the bay waterfront;
Provide significant
educational, vocational, cultural, and historic benefits; and
WHEREAS, A carefully
developed business plan focusing on the diversification of
revenue streams to insulate against the seasonality of
one of the top consultants in the nation. ConsultEcon, Inc. has completed a detailed market
demand, financial feasibility, and economic impact study
that concludes this project will be
financially viable if the plan is executed as presented; and
WHEREAS, The project intends to become a major educational resource
for the state and
the region, focusing on S.T.E.M. education offering math
and science opportunities for grades K-
12. The project will provide opportunities for more
than 2.7 million students under 16 within a
100 mile radius--and that market is
growing faster than the national average. The project will
commit significant resources to help future generations
better understand history, math, and
physical sciences; and
WHEREAS, The USS John F.
Kennedy project will become a resource for business
development through school-to-work initiatives to be run in
conjunction with area industry,
colleges, and technical schools. The job training benefit that
can be obtained through this creative
reuse of a taxpayer asset is enormous. More importantly,
that benefit can be obtained at a fraction
of the cost of other options. The equipment in the
machine shops and other repair facilities aboard
this ship offer vocational training capabilities in the
marine trades and other technical disciplines
that are not only worth millions of dollars, but also
equal or exceed what is available anywhere
else in the region; and
WHEREAS, The USS JFK
would become a life-saving resource in case of disaster,
providing shelter, emergency power, communications, and
virtually unlimited water and food
supplies. The USS JFK can serve as an emergency management
facility with more than 370,000
cubic feet of storage space, a communications center,
fully-equipped hospital, a helicopter storage
and launch capability, and facilities to feed and house
as many as 5,000 persons in a crisis; and
WHEREAS, RIAHOF's application to the U.S. Navy has already included
letters of
support from the Governor, former Congressman Patrick
Kennedy, and other members of the
of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor and
Training, and the RI Adjutant
General, among others. This project is supported by a wide range of
ideological and political
interests, to include elected officials, labor unions,
educators, environmentalists, and business
groups; and
WHEREAS, The group and the region that would be most strongly
affected by this
project, the
this initiative. Executive Director and CEO Evan Smith
wrote, "On behalf of the board of
directors and staff of the Newport & Bristol County
Convention & Visitors Bureau we are
pleased to offer our support for your efforts to bring the
aircraft carrier USS John Kennedy to
we are very excited about the possibility of adding a
significant new visitor attraction to the
waters of
tourism program"; and
WHEREAS, The project is not inconsistent with other ongoing and
planned development
on
WHEREAS, The United
States Navy has designated RIAHOF as the "sole viable
candidate for the potential donation of the USS John F.
Kennedy"; and
WHEREAS, The Office of
the Secretary of the Navy has described the USS JFK
endeavor as "a very ambitious and exciting vision,"
and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy
responsible for Navy facilities worldwide has confirmed that the
Navy would consider such an
arrangement so long as the mission of the base is not adversely
affected; and
WHEREAS, All the various
RIHOF efforts to achieve this end are being taken with the
United States Navy's knowledge, both locally and in
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of
believes it would be in the state's best interest to continue
to endorse and nurture a project that
promises so many benefits to its citizens, is supported by the
local region, and is compatible with
responsible development of
RESOLVED,
That this Senate also strongly supports the national
fund-raising effort now
underway for the USS JFK project, and also encourages the
continuation of corporate and other
private financial support to this nonprofit initiative; and
be it further
RESOLVED,
That this Senate urges all interested parties,
including, but not limited to,
the Governor, the Economic Development Corporation,
various city and town governing bodies,
chambers of commerce, tourism development entities, the
business community, and the residents
of this state, to come together in a cooperative effort
to overcome all bureaucratic and technical
obstacles and raise the funding necessary to move forward with
this worthwhile endeavor; and be
it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and hereby is
authorized and directed to
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the
Governor, the Director of the
Economic Development
Corporation, and to the executive officers of each of the cities and towns
in this state.
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LC02457
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