A Special House Commission on Land Use was created in 2021 to examine how Rhode Island is using and managing its 1,214 square miles. Critics of the ongoing effort, however, claim the outcome is predetermined: reduce regulations and local control to encourage more development.
The amount paid to the District by each town is determined by that town’s share or percentage of enrolled students. Charlestown makes up 24% of total enrollment. The overall proposed school budget increase is 6.64%. Annual inflation for the New England region through November of 2022 is 6.4%. The Chariho Regional School District budget is adjusted for inflation to a zero percent increase compared to last year’s budget.
N.O. Bar, LLC, that manages the Clam Shack located in the Shelter Cove Marina on Charlestown Beach Road, has been before the Charlestown Town Council for a liquor license renewal and is currently before the Charlestown Zoning Board for a Special Use Permit for the construction of an outdoor bar.
Charlestown taxpayers are served by a dedicated Town staff. For example, during the pandemic, ours was the only town in the state to provide uninterrupted services to our residents, and to those who needed assistance, even during the worst of Covid-19. Most Charlestown residents correctly understand that their Town is well managed and have every reason to be happy about the state of its fiscal health.
The increase in overall housing density is being proposed for Charlestown without any assessment of the cumulative potential impacts of the increased septage on groundwater, drinking water, and the coastal ponds and other water bodies. Putting no limits on the number of bedrooms and allowing any lot to create an additional new short-term rental will impact coastal areas especially.
In late 2022, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) published a new proposed rule on the federal-lands-into-trust process for Native American tribes. The lands-into-trust process is a set of procedures that the BIA uses to acquire title to land and hold it for the use of tribes. This process was established by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and was later interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Carcieri v. Salazar in 2009. The proposed rules appear to be an administrative action to overturn the Supreme Court decision.
Every Friday night in the winter (weather permitting), Frosty Drew Observatory opens their Observatory, Science Center, Sky Theatre, and telescopes to the skies and offers free stargazing and astronomy to anybody interested in observing with them. They open on clear Friday nights at around 7:00 p.m. with views of the beautiful night sky over Ninigret Park.
Do you do a daily or occasional pick-up of roadside litter? Nips, which make up a lot of the litter on some roadsides, are mostly not recyclable, but now they have a use! They can be used to persuade the legislature to support legislation to reduce single use plastics, which will help to reduce litter and pollution in our area.
At the Charlestown Town Council meeting on December 12, town employees were again attacked for being paid for work they had performed. These attacks smear the reputations of town employees who have been committed, even during the global pandemic, to providing top-quality services to the people who call Charlestown home.
What started out as a routine trip to dump trash turned into a lovely day-out experience. The preserve covers 87 acres consisting of 2 large fields and lots of surrounding woodland with several trails through them, a small pond and some wetlands. After our walk we decided to lunch out … and decided on a nearby very small cafe owned and operated by local native Americans called “The Sly Fox Den Too”
The law requires that employees be compensated for all their regular work hours. Before alleging, again, that a serious problem exists and before accusing Town staff, falsely, of a serious misdeed, Mr. Hoff should recognize that Charlestown’s method of calculating its employees’ hourly pay is standard practice and has not created a long-standing “silent liability” that needed to be paid. Charlestown paid its employees for the hours they worked.
We’ve made a list of some of the recent things we are thankful for in Charlestown. There’s so much more. Let us know what you are thankful for in Charlestown.
Between community projects, my time with Parks and Recreation, and Town Council, for over 9 years it has been my honor and pleasure to give back to the community that has raised me. And it has been the absolute privilege of my life to have been elected by the people of Charlestown to represent them these past two years. Wherever life brings me, to Westerly and beyond, Charlestown will always be home.
I am humbled to have served the Town of Charlestown for eight years and I thank the citizens of the town for the opportunity. The town is in excellent shape. Much of the credit for this goes to our town administrator, Mark Stankiewicz. He has guided the town commendably well, under the direction of the Town Council, for approximately nine years. Without his excellent leadership, our town would not be where it is today.
At the November 14 Charlestown Town Council meeting, the Town Council voted 4 to 0 to release the $400,000.00 grant that the town had received to purchase the Saw Mill Pond Watershed and transfer the grant to the Charlestown Land Trust, which will now pursue additional funding needed to protect the land.
Five years after the Federal Railroad Administration set aside the idea of a high-speed rail bypass between Old Saybrook and Kenyon, R.I., in the face of near unanimous opposition across the region, the federal agency announced today that it was reviving a key study intended to settle, once and for all, a route for rail travel between New Haven and Providence.
Thanks to Bob Petrone for sharing this beautiful video of a recent drone flight from East Beach to the Quonochontaug Breachway to display the beauty of the Charlestown coast.
On October 31, I received a letter from Clay Johnson, and rarely have I seen a letter with so much misinformation and derogatory innuendos. Mr. Johnson, you mention, “stop the madness.” The madness that must be stopped is the wanton publication of unsubstantiated stories designed to inflame people who do not take the time to uncover the facts.
We can be very proud of our town. The last 12 to 14 years have been good, with elected representatives endorsed by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance prominent. The town has had stable government, open space preserved, some affordable housing created, civil discourse promoted, threats averted and taxes kept low. This has led to some complacency among residents quite happy to leave the business of the town in able hands. Social media has caused tempers to run high on certain issues which are often not fully understood. More is at stake than a few temporary hot issues.
When you fill in your mail ballot or enter the voting booth on November 7 or 8, please vote for the Independent candidates in this post. From the shore of the Block Island Sound to the villages along the Pawcatuck River they will protect our quality of life, our low tax rate, and our beautiful environment. Image in post to download to your phone or printer to bring with you to the polls.
On November 1, a letter from Mr. Clay Johnson, a resident of Richmond, dated October 14, 2022 arrived at my home and the homes of many other Charlestown residents. It is full of baseless conspiracy assertions about Chariho. Mr. Johnson has done nothing to promote creditable and responsible discourse among voters.
The “positive way to move forward” is to elect representatives who will work for the best interests of citizens in all areas of town. The Independent candidates endorsed by the CCA commit to protection of our natural environment; low taxes and a stable financial position; responsible development; well-managed, responsive, civil, and open government; access to recreational opportunities; and quality education.
Every two years we get the opportunity to exercise the right and privilege to vote. We all work to protect the right to vote, but some do not take advantage of it each election cycle, and we should. A clear majority of you said you approve of the direction Charlestown is taking in the town-wide community survey, so vote for these candidates to continue that direction and record of achievement and to implement your wishes. Voting continues through November 8th. Get out and vote now.
The Town of Charlestown’s Onsite Wastewater Management Program created this first short video (in post) detailing the Town’s Nitrogen Reducing Layered Soil Treatment Area (LSTA) Septic System pilot project. There will be a series of these videos as the program progresses. This first video illustrates the need, design, treatment mechanisms and installation of the LSTA system.
Ms. Carney is wrong. A conservation restriction has been determined to be a “reasonable regulation,” not a confiscation of property, and case law supports that determination. Conservation restrictions are a widely used tool throughout Rhode Island to protect open space, including wetlands and other sensitive areas, from unsuitable development.
CHANGE OF VENUE
When: Thursday, October 27 at 7 p.m.
Where: Saint James Chapel Community Room, 2079 Matunuck Schoolhouse Road, Charlestown
Join us to meet the candidates CCA has endorsed for Charlestown Town Council, Planning Commission, and Chariho School Committee. This was originally scheduled at the Police Station, but the meeting room at the station is needed for storage related to the election. We are grateful to St. James Chapel for allowing us use of the community room on such short notice.
Mr. Serra is promising that, if elected, he will fire the Town Planner, recall the Chair of our elected Planning Commission, and remove the Groundwater Protection District requirement that 20% undisturbed open space be set aside to protect the aquifer. It would seem, because he has said so, that Mr. Serra is running for office in order to derive a personal benefit from changes that would be detrimental to our town and our drinking water—possibly one of the worst reasons to run for office.
Someone once said that local election campaigns are called the “Silly Season.” Now it’s the “Lying Season.” I was shocked to read in The Westerly Sun’s Letters to the Editor on Tuesday, October 11, the fabrications and deliberate lies of Catherine O’Reilly Collette, chairwoman of the Charlestown Democratic Party.
Let’s continue to elect excellent candidates to town government who understand the connection between our environment, our economy and our low tax rate and who are willing to do the hard work to protect all three. Who you elect for local office will affect your tax rate and will shape the landscape and character of the town years into the future.
Representatives who have values similar to ours would be expected to represent our views and to vote the way we would vote most, but not all, of the time. There are times when there are legitimate differences between people of similar values, and that is to be expected.