Rhode Island House GOP Leader, Housing Department at odds over release of Echo Village records

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Republican state legislator demanded answers on the funding of the ECHO Village pallet shelters in Providence.

At a press conference, House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale said he wants to know why each shelter, according to him, cost over $100,000, when he found similar shelters that cost around $17,000.

Chippendale said he filed an APRA request for documents on the shelter, and that he was met with “resistance” from the Department of Housing, including a fee of $495 for information he said he was “statutorily entitled to.”

He added that the department “missed multiple deadlines” and gave “vague and inadequate responses” to his requests.

The Housing department responded to Chippendale’s news conference, and said that it received a request from the representative on Feb. 14.

The requested documents included a complete list of all contractors and subcontractors involved with the shelter, all contracts, purchase orders, invoices, and payment records associated with the project, procurement and bidding documents, project budgets, financial reports, or funding agreements on federal and state fund allocation, all correspondence with any regulatory agencies related to permitting and/or entitlement for or project approval, and a list of financial sponsors or other benefactors for the project.

“After a preliminary review, on Feb. 26th the Department of Housing informed Minority Leader Chippendale that a payment of $495 would be required to complete the request due to the volume of responsive documents (including 1,320 emails) needing review and redaction for confidential information,” the statement said.

The department said that Chippendale rescinded his APRA request and formalized a demand for the same records as a legislator.

“It is important to note that this change in request meant APRA requirements – including any time limits or extensions for gathering and reviewing the information – were no longer applicable,” the statement said.

It added that the department had released the complete contracts list, all contracts and invoices, procurement and bidding contracts, and budgets and financial reports to Chippendale on March 13, and that House of Hope, the nonprofit that runs the shelter, had the list of financial sponsors.

“Lastly, we are still reviewing the 1,320 emails to determine which can be released based on confidentiality,” the statement concluded. “As we shared with the leader’s legal counsel, we anticipate that this process to take 33 dedicated hours from housing’s legal staff.   The department is cognizant of the importance of transparency and accountability in state government.  We continually strive towards achieving our mission of solving the State’s housing shortage and homelessness crisis, while also fulfilling the public’s information requests.”