By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

NORTH SMITHFIELD — U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) will visit North Smithfield Sunday for a briefing and tour of the Branch Village district.

The tour kicks off at noon with a brief welcome and reception at the North Smithfield Fire and Rescue Service building at the corner of Great Road and St. Paul Street.
Kennedy will join town officials and members of the Branch Village Revitalization Task Force (BVRTF) to discuss the town's request for a $5.78 million federal appropriation to match the town’s infrastructure investment of $6.1 million for the revitalization of Branch Village.
"This is an opportunity to reinforce the broader community’s commitment to partnering with all levels of government to stimulate a sustainable and prosperous future," said Task Force Chairman John Flaherty. "In addition to demonstrating the strong and diverse support this initiative has in the community, I think we need to emphasize the importance of completing the additional public improvements simultaneously with the sewer project planned for 2009. As we understand it, this particular appropriation cycle is timed perfectly to coincide with the sewer project."
The town is applying for federal grants that would pay for Branch Village streetscape improvements. It's hoped that work would go forward simultaneous to the town-approved (and funded) sewer project scheduled for next year. The $6.1 million earmarked for Branch Village comes from a $21 million municipal sewer bond.
Over the past few weeks, members of the Task Force have been meeting with the consultant hired by the town to help with the second phase of the Branch Village plan.
Lincoln-based Pare Corporation was awarded a $26,000 contract for the work, which will include developing alternative mixed use scenarios and analyzing impacts of the various development scenarios on public services, traffic and the municipal tax base. Hiring a consultant is seen as an important step toward advancing implementation of the Branch Village concept plan.
The BVRTF unveiled its vision statement and plan to town officials and residents last November. The document is the culmination of a 10-month effort by the task force, which has been working with Horsley Witten Group to examine development possibilities for the nearly 200-acre Branch Village District along Great Road.
Both the Town Council and Planning Board have adopted the concept plan, which calls for a more traditional village center with street-level retail with offices or apartments above, and on-street parking and sidewalks with benches and shade trees. The plan also suggests ways to encourage smart economic development within the 175-acre Branch River Industrial Park if it were allowed to accommodate a mix of uses not currently permitted in the manufacturing zone.
The revitalization is seen by town officials as the best opportunity to build new revenue in a way that upgrades a village in need of private and public support. The Branch Village revitalization initiative follows the 2006 update of the town’s Comprehensive Plan, which recommended that the Branch Village District be considered a future “growth center” or priority investment area.
This second phase of the plan is expected to be complete by June or July.
Phase three of the plan - drafting a mixed-use zoning ordinance - has already been included as part of the scope of work for the rewrite of the town's zoning ordinance now underway in connection with the town's recently updated Comprehensive Plan.