Smithfield Town Council Approves Ice Rink Concessions, Bryant Bill

Smithfield's Town Council approved a Request for Proposal (RFP) to provide concession services at the Smithfield Ice Rink Tuesday night and approved a resolution to leverage more taxes from Bryant University.

TJ Tullie, recreation director for Smithfield, said the RFP would allow companies to bid on providing concessions - burgers, soda and snacks - at Smithfield Ice Rink . 

For the privledge, the successful company will lease the concession area at the rink for $13,020 annually, working out to a lease of about $1,085 per month.

The lease will have two renewable years in it, Tullie said.

The Council also approved sending a resolution asking the town's General Assembly delegation to work to pass a bill that would change the act incorporating Byrant College of Business Administration (Now Bryant University) to reflect the fact that it's now a university, and to allow the town to tax the institution at its full value unless Bryant and the town work out a payment in lieu of taxes before June 30, 2014.

At the moment, said Council President Alberto J. LaGreca, the state provides the town about $450,000 annually in lieu of taxes. If the town were to tax the university at its full value, however, tax revenue would be in the millions of dollars. 

The town has made the attempt at making the changes for the last seven years, to no avail.

The Council also re-appointed Robert Leach to the Historic Preservation Commission and Roger R. Warren as an alternate member of the Financial Review Commission, a one-year term expiring February 2014.