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NORTH SMITHFIELD – The North Smithfield School Committee and Town Council held a special forum on Monday to discuss the idea of new solar canopies being installed at North Smithfield High School and the Paul Joyce Athletic Complex.
The proposal from Green Development LLC includes an increased capacity for on-site parking, eliminating the need for on-street parking during large events, improvement for safety and traffic conditions, and shelter for inclement weather and sunny days. The solar canopies, which would be installed over the parking lot, would be operated by Green Development and provide more than 30,000 kilowatts a year that would be sent directly into the utility grid.
According to Green Development, it would cost about $1 million to build the solar canopies, along with the addition of handicapped parking signage, seal-coating, curbing and pavement work, as well as added catch basins. It would also include additional lighting, making it easier for residents to walk to their cars after a late game. Working on the parking lot and solar canopies together would be beneficial for the town on costs, according to company representatives. Green would manage the canopies, while North Smithfield would manage the parking lot and the surrounding areas.
“I hope the elected leaders will pursue their duty to explore any possible projects that will benefit tax payers and the students,” said North Smithfield Athletic Association member Tony Guertin. He added that currently the path to the parking lot is also not lit very well, and is very dangerous.
Resident Robert Gianfrancesco spoke of his experience with solar panels, and of their positive affect on the environment.
Guertin said there will always be naysayers on any project, such as with this and the concession stand project that Green Development completed along with its large-scale solar farm in town, and officials should still move forward with beneficial projects despite the criticism.
“Public-private partnerships are not a unique concept, they should leave petty politics and vitriol out of the equation,” said Guertin. He also added that the people who did not support the concession stand and restrooms are the same people who are trying to “enrage North Smithfield” on Facebook on this project.
Resident Mary Cimini said that according to the North Smithfield Zoning Ordinance, roof-mounted and ground-mounted systems are not allowed in open space areas. She added that any use of materials that have a specific health hazard rating or flammability rating require a special use permit.
“If we are to consider the allowance of Green Development to install a roof-mounted solar system, I want to be assured that the Town Council will have this contractor apply and be permitted for this project as all other contractors must do,” she said.
Town Councilor Kim Alves asked Green Development representatives if there will be traffic control signals outside the new parking lot to help the flow of traffic. Green’s Mark DePasquale said that traffic control signals are not part of the proposal, and it would ultimately cost more to include. DePasquale later added that there are different phases of the project that would include reaching out to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to get approval for an additional exit from the parking lot.
“(But) it’s a reach,” said DePasquale.
School Committee member Paul Jones added that he is concerned about safety issues if there isn’t an additional exit. Jones added if something were to happen and not everyone could exit during a large event at the school, they are setting themselves up for liability issues. DePasquale said Green Development will submit a phase 2 exit plan to RIDOT. He said they want to start as soon as possible on the project because of recent renewable energy efforts on the federal level. Jones said he wanted to be be sure that School Committee members left the meeting knowing everything in Green’s plan, as the phases of the project were not mentioned in the earlier presentation.
The School Committee decided Monday to analyze the presentation from Green Development, confer with the Zoning and Planning Boards, and make a decision on the plan at a later date.
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