By Steve Klamkin WPRO News

A five-year capital improvement plan calling for improvements to city roads, sidewalks, parks, recreation centers and other public facilities was signed by Mayor Jorge Elorza on Thursday, who said it calls for spending $222 million in throughout all parts of the city.

Elorza said that after inheriting a deficit, the city is now in a better fiscal position to start investing in itself.

“We as a city are no longer kicking the can down the road,” said Elorza in a signing ceremony at the Zuccolo Recreation Center on Federal Hill, among the city facilities that will benefit from the added spending.

“We will no longer defer maintenance and wait for things to break for us to fix them. We are indeed building the new Providence by doing business differently and making meaningful investments across our city with a long term vision in mind.”

Several City Council members were on hand to applaud the investments, including Council President Sabina Matos.

“This is going to be $222 million dollars that are going to be invested in our city which is way overdue. Our buildings have been neglected for a long time, and we have to make sure that we continue to invest in our city,” Matos said.

Among high profile items budgeted in the current year are $6.2 million to repair the leaking City Hall roof, $3 million to upgrade the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier system, and $300,000 to repair the fountain in DePasquale Square.

Many fire stations, parks and recreation centers are slated for improvements, and $30 million for a new Department of Public Works Complex is budgeted in Fiscal Year 2021, which begins in July.