Gavin Black, president of the Rhode Island Ports Coalition, joins WhatsUpNewp for a videocast on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. to talk about the $60 million Industrial Facilities Infrastructure bond issue that is part of the $400 million March 2nd bond referenda.
If approved, the Industrialization bond will provide $40 million to “replicate Quonset’s ‘Site Readiness’ throughout Rhode Island,” according to the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Handbook. This portion of the bond would facilitate preparation of “business-ready parcels,” administered by the Quonset Development Corporation
The remaining $20 million of the $60 million bond would be used to modernize Quonset’s Port of Davisville, the state’s only public port. The modernization would include building a new pier, rehabbing Pier One (built in 1941) and dredging, according to the handbook “to accommodate offshore wind project cargo while maintaining the Port’s existing businesses.”
Black, who is listed as president of Moran Shipping on the Ports Coalition website, is corporate counsel for Moran Transportation Industries. A graduate of the Roger Williams School of Law and University of Rhode Island Marine Affairs Institute, Black is a member of the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Federal US District of Rhode Island Bar.
He is active in the maritime community with participation in the North Atlantic Ports Association, Maritime Law Association of the United States and is currently is serving as Port President of the Propeller Club of the United States, Narragansett Bay Chapter.
Besides the Industrialization Facilities Infrastructure Bond, other bond issues on the March 2 ballot are:
- Higher Education Facilities – $107.3 million.
- Beach, Clean Water and Green Bond – $74 million.
- Housing and Community Opportunity – $65 million.
- Transportation Infrastructure State Match – $71.7 million.
- Early Childhood Care and Education Capital Fund – $15 million.
- Cultural Arts and the Economy Grant Program and State Preservation Grants Program – $7 million.
Watch the conversation live below as it happens or anytime afterward.
