As Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration, Goulding had the task of disposing of 604 acres on the shore of Ninigret Pond that, from 1942 until the early 1970s, had been the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Landing Field. “Such use is not to be inconsistent with the use of the other 367 acres transferred to the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.”
When: Thursday, July 24 (dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at dusk)
Where: Ninigret Park at the New Pavilion
What: Concert by country music artist Houston Bernard; movie Mufasa: The Lion King; and food trucks providing dinner
Who: Brought to you by Charlestown Parks and Recreation Department
Cost: Music and Movie are Free. Dinner – pay for as little or as much as you want to eat
When: Wednesday, July 23 at 7 p.m.
Where: The Quonnie Grange, 5662 Post Rd, (Rt. 1) between East and West Beach Rd., next to Dunn’s Corners Fire Station (location map of the Quonnie Grange at bottom of post)
What: Learn about Samuel Davis who was a Quonochontaug developer, lawyer and preacher and why he was so mysterious.
Who: Presentation by Ken Andrew, Quonochontaug Historical Society Board member
The Charlestown Town Council has approved its $39.5-million plan for the development of Ninigret Park. The “Ninigret Park Utilization Plan Update 2025” is a long-term strategy or blueprint and will serve as a guide for decision-making and future development, according to a statement by the Town Council at the front of the plan document. With the adoption of the Utilization Plan, the Town Council is now turning its attention to its implementation.
The storms that climate change is intensifying don’t necessarily spell doom for the plovers, but they’re not an inherent blessing either. They introduce a new set of complications and concerns for the bird. Whether climate change benefits or hurts piping plovers will depend a lot on the human response to that change.
Salt Ponds Coalition 2025 Online Auction Starts July 7
When: Starts Monday, July 7 at 6:00 a.m. and ends Thursday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Details and links to join the auction and fundraiser in the post.
Savings, which are accumulated over a long time, can be held in reserve for a number of reasons, but one of the most important is that these savings are held to pay for unexpected expenditures resulting from calamitous events, such as hurricanes, floods, and economic recessions, and to cover yearly operations. Should they have been reduced or diverted to other uses?
When: Thursday, July 10 (dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at dusk)
Where: Ninigret Park by the Playground
What: Lamar Peters (Elvis Tribute Artist) is the performer, the movie is The Goonies, and food trucks will provide dinner
Details in post
When: Wednesday, July 9 at 7 p.m.
Where: The Quonnie Grange, 5662 Post Rd, (Rt. 1) between East and West Beach Rd., next to Dunn’s Corners Fire Station (location map of the Quonnie Grange at bottom of post)
What: Learn about the February 1907 shipping collision between Quonochontaug and Block Island that killed over 150 people
Who: Presentation by Dan Harrington
When: Thursday, June 26 (dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at dusk)
Where: Ninigret Park by the Playground
What: Jamie McLean Band is the performer, the movie is Jaws, and food trucks will provide dinner
Details in post
On Wednesday, May 28, at a well-attended meeting, the Planning Commission reviewed a major land development proposed on Ross Hill Road under the state’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act. The meeting was a Pre-Application Conference, which is held before a formal application is submitted. Details from the meeting and a video are in this post.
When: Tuesday, June 24, from 6 pm to 7 pm
Where: Kettle Pond Visitor’s Center, 50 Bend Road, Charlestown
Join Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to learn about plans for the Quonochontaug Breachway in Charlestown.
When: Every Friday – June 20 to August 29 from 9 am to 1 pm
Where: General Stanton Inn, 4115 Old Post Road, Charlestown (map in post)
Local fresh produce, fruits, honey, shellfish, specially prepared dishes, baked goods, and more.
The Town Council repealed the ordinance in its entirety on May 27. Going forward, Charlestown will not charge developers impact fees for new development at a time when a new state law allows developers to force ten times the number of houses allowed by Charlestown’s zoning into new developments. At the meeting, as part of a very lively debate about the issues, Councilors Steve Stokes and Rippy Serra expressed that they are in favor of bringing back impact fees in the future.
Quonochontaug Historical Society (QHS) has enhanced their archive with web-based capabilities. This will enable remote access to their Archive collections. This has been an important goal of the QHS and the culmination of a significant amount of work over the past year.
“Human development has divided turtle habitat into small pieces, resulting in islands of resources separated by roads and other uninhabitable landscapes.” Learn about the plight of local turtles in this article from ecoRI.
When: May 30 – June 1
Where: Ninigret Park
Cost: $15 for adults and children over 10, $7 for children 10 and under
This event is rain or shine, no pets allowed.
“You see all the steam coming off the compost, all that vapor,” he said, pointing through the screens of his covered porch in Charlestown to the large pile of organic materials in view, “that’s a product of the microorganisms … they eat that food and break it down to become the best part of our soil.”
When: Friday, June 13th at 7 a.m.
Where: Ninigret Pond (address provided upon registration)
Registration: Registration is required (read post for link to register)
Led by Conservation Biologist Paul Miller, this guided paddle offers a chance to observe bird species up close while learning about the role of conservation in protecting coastal habitats.
When: Wednesday, May 28 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall, 4540 South County Trail, Charlestown
What: Pre-application meeting with the Charlestown Planning Commission for this development proposal
A portion of this parcel is currently a sand-and-gravel operation with the rest forest and wetlands.
What: Financial Town Referendum
When: Monday, June 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall, 4540 South County Trail
Monday, June 2, is the annual Financial Referendum on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1. The June 2 vote is on the municipal portion of the 2025/26 budget; the Chariho portion was approved earlier. Read the post for more detailed explanation.
The RI Coastal Resources Management Council has denied the Town Council’s request to resurface Charlestown Beach Road along the coastal barrier with asphalt millings. After many years of fighting for different kinds of pavement for this section of the road, some members of the Town Council have finally relented to follow the advice the town has been consistently given by coastal geologists since at least 2013.
When: Tuesday, May 27 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: A public hearing to discuss this question and the Zoning Ordinance amendments proposed, which, if adopted, would revoke the town’s Capital Facilities Impact Fees Ordinance.
When: Tuesday, May 20 from 6 to 7pm
Where: At the Charlestown Breachway, 812-774 Charlestown Beach Road, Charlestown (In case of rain the presentation will be at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center at 50 Bend Rd, Charlestown)
What: An update on the status of the repairs at the Charlestown Breachway
Register: Register by May 19
Parts of the new 2030 housing plan roughly follow Land Use 2025, but the assigned housing production numbers in the plan reverse the goals of Land Use 2025 and enforce the continued population movement toward the more rural areas, with its related loss of forest, farms, wildlife habitat, and natural beauty.
What: Budget Public Hearing
When: Monday, May 5 at 7 p.m
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
Municipal spending exceeds the amount of money the town will raise in tax revenue and still maintain a stable, low tax rate long term. The Budget Commission noted that expenditures continue to trend upward while revenues are increasing much slower.
“That’s a floodplain forest,” he said. “Pin oaks mixed with red maple. When the glacier retreated, a meltwater river likely piled sand here before the moraine, which these pines tolerate, while the lower plain became swampy and friendlier to the forest community across from us.”
The Town Council sent a letter to our legislative delegation requesting authority to draft an ordinance to enact a homestead exemption. A homestead exemption allows one group of taxpayers to receive an exemption, while another group of taxpayers are required to pay the difference.
At the April, 28 meeting, when asked what the meeting was about, Councilor Carney stated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss “a Second Amendment resolution in support of Second Amendment rights.” It’s unknown why this information wasn’t included in the last two agendas along with the meeting announcement.
When: Saturday, May 3 at 9 am sharp – NO RAIN DATE
Where: Meet at St. James Chapel, 2079 Matunuck School House Rd. (Please park on the far left of lot along the edge)
What: 10 mile bike ride on a route that passes by Charlestown Beach, Green Hill Beach, Moonstone Beach and South Kingstown Beach.
Who: Charlestown’s Block Island Sound Bikeway Committee and South Kingstown’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee invite you to ride with them.