U.S. Senator Jack Reed had a message for Middletown this afternoon – I’m here to help.
In between visits to the Federal Emergency Management Agency COVID-19 vaccination center at the former Benny’s storefront and the joint Newport-Middletown operation at Community College of Rhode Island, Reed dropped by Town Hall for a visit.
There, the high-ranking Senator was briefed by Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown and Fire Chief Robert McCall about different initiatives in the community from the response to COVID-19 to the overall state of the economy.
Based on everything Reed’s seen and heard, he came away impressed and hopeful that more vaccines will be delivered soon, something that will be good for everybody.
“Right now, you could say there’s more of a supply issue,” Reed said, speaking from the upstairs conference room in Town Hall. “Based on everything I’m hearing, within a couple of weeks or a month, there’s going to be more of a demand issue because of all the vaccine projected to come online.”
Based on Reed’s read, the more people are vaccinated, the more the economy will open up and help get folks back to work.
“There’s definitely a huge pent-up demand,” Reed said. “There’s only so much you can do in terms of renovations to your house and people are going to start looking to travel and enjoy themselves.”
Brown said based on what he’s seen and heard, the defense related local economy hasn’t been too deeply impacted by COVID-19, but the tourism sector definitely needs a shot in the arm, something the vaccines are already helping out with.
“I’ve talked to people in the business and others in tourism and they’re saying they’re already seeing the number of reservations going up,” Brown said. “That’s definitely good for us here on the island as we work to transition out of COVID.”
Opening the conversation, Brown and McCall thanked Reed sincerely for his constant work on the community’s behalf in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
They said this was especially true with the $1.76 million in federal Staffing for Adequate Fire Emergency Response (SAFER) grant money Reed had a large part in securing for the community last September. Those funds will help cover the costs of eight new firefighters hired by the town to help improve response times and bring more resources to every emergency in the community.
Brown went onto chat about Reed’s continued support for plans to bring a new public fishing pier and recreational area to the west side of town by Greene Lane. He also talked about the community’s need to do more infrastructure upgrades, particularly with its stormwater and sewer networks.
Reed said in coming weeks, a major infrastructure bill aimed at just the kind of work Middletown was focused on would likely be put forward in Congress, something he’d fight hard for the town.
McCall also spoke of the need for Middletown Fire to upgrade its radio equipment so it could better communicate with neighboring departments – including Naval Station Newport – during emergencies and mutual aid calls. Known as the 800-megahertz network, McCall said such communication can be critical when seconds matter and resources are being deployed.
In response, Reed agreed, saying that it was nice to see Middletown have such a good working relationship with its neighbors and the radios would only promote those efforts.
In coming weeks, Reed urged the community to put together projects that he could get behind and support because now that COVID-19 vaccines are more widely available, it’s time for Middletown – and the rest of the country to take significant steps forward.
“If there’s a specific project, or projects, let us know so we can get it on the list,” Reed said. “The infrastructure bill and a ‘Green’ infrastructure bill we’re talking about are going to help a lot of people at a time when they need it.”
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