The Providence City Council Committee on Finance approved the proposed memorandum of understanding between the city of Providence and four universities — Brown, Johnson and Wales University, Providence College and the Rhode Island School of Design — and a memorandum of agreement between the city and Brown at a meeting Thursday evening.
The proposed voluntary payment agreements will now move to the full City Council for a vote, though portions of the memorandum of agreement, which includes multiple property transfers from Providence to Brown, will require additional approvals. If approved, the two agreements would generate over $223 million for the city over the next 20 years, with the University paying an average of $8.7 million to Providence each year.
The Thursday vote approved both the MOU and MOA 2-1, with Councilor Miguel Sanchez voting in opposition while Acting Committee Chair James Taylor and Council Sue Anderbois voted for the agreement. Councilor Helen Anthony, the chair of the committee, was not present at the meeting.
The decision follows a public hearing Tuesday evening in which student activists spoke in opposition to the memoranda, The Herald previously reported. Other Providence community members, such as small business owners, also attended the hearing, with some voicing support for the proposed agreements along with city officials.
