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Members of the Charlestown Police Department will join in what is now commonly referred to as No-Shave November. If you see Charlestown officers on the road sporting a beard and/or mustache, they have donated to the cause and are participating in the fundraiser. Charlestown Police Department’s goal is to raise at least $2500.
Town Councilor Susan Cooper recently proposed forming a Climate Resiliency Commission dedicated to studying and analyzing the issues surrounding climate change as they impact Charlestown. To that end, she and Town Councilor Cody Clarkin have interviewed town staff and other experts and are proposing the ordinance language in this post to create the new commission.
Kenyon Mill is located on the edge of the Pawcatuck River in both Richmond and Charlestown and is engaged in the manufacturing of natural and synthetic textile products. The mill has been discharging to the river for centuries, since the early American industrial period. For over 30 years the discharge has been regulated by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and is now under the Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (RIPDES) Program.
Donate a coat and share some warmth with people in need.
The Town of Charlestown has placed a large bin at Town Hall, right inside the main entrance door, where you can place gently worn or new coats to donate to the Jonnycake Center. The coats will be distributed to those in need to help them stay warm this winter. Charlestown Town Hall is located at 4540 South County Trail.
The Frosty Drew Observatory in Ninigret Park has just finished the installation of their new telescope, a model “CDK 600”, made by PlaneWave Instruments of Adrian, Michigan. The research-grade telescope will be the best telescope in Rhode Island. This bigger, better, and more modern telescope was funded in part with a $107,541.00 grant from the Champlin Foundation.
Out of the 39 cities and towns, Charlestown had the 14th highest number of new homes. When existing population is factored in, we had nearly the highest rate of growth. Despite this growth, our political opposition claims that Charlestown is growing too slowly, that our regulations are burdensome, and that we do too much to conserve Charlestown’s natural resources.
When: Wednesday, October 27 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Pre-Application Meeting for the redevelopment of the Shoreline Plaza with addition of three new commercial 8,000 square foot buildings.
“Shoreline Plaza” is a 9.12 acre parcel and is the last parcel on Old Post Road next to South Kingstown line.
An onslaught of disinformation has been directed at members of town government endorsed by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA). None of this poison spread by our political opposition is true. Instead, the truth is that everything that the majority members of the town government have done is procedurally correct and conducted in the open. These individuals, endorsed by CCA, act in the best interests of all the citizens of Charlestown. Let’s focus on many positive accomplishments by those elected to serve. The spreading of disinformation needs to stop.
When: Friday, October 29th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall, 4540 South County Trail (Rt. 2)
What: Visit the Charlestown Town Hall with your little witches and ghosts and go trick or treating through all of the Town Hall departments. Enjoy the spooky decorations and pickup some extra candy.
Cost: Free for all
The real estate closing to purchase the property took place on September 30th. The land was acquired with funding from a $400,000.00 Natural Heritage grant from the state and the remainder in town open space funds approved by voters in a 2015 referendum. Trails and parking still need to be developed, but the land now officially belongs to Charlestown! Because the property was funded with a grant from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), public access and passive recreation is assured permanently.
Contestants were asked to submit photos taken on one of the five National Wildlife Refuges in Rhode Island. The Refuges are Ninigret NWR in Charlestown, Trustom Pond NWR in South Kingstown, John H. Chafee NWR at Pettaquamscutt Cove in South Kingstown and Narragansett, Sachuest Point NWR in Middletown and Block Island NWR.
Statements that Charlestown Town Councilors, duly elected by voters, have repeatedly refused to place items on agendas are simply not true. There is no requirement that any item brought forward by a Town Councilor must be put on the next agenda. The Council may consider whether other items need immediate attention, whether an item is ready for discussion or whether it needs further research, and whether the item can be better addressed in another way, such as administratively.
During its September 7 special meeting, the Zoning Board of Review took public comment that included testimony about the Route 91 operation and included numerous complaints. The board voted unanimously, 5-0, to reject the appeal and found Charlestown Farms provided insufficient evidence for the applicant’s appeal and affirmed the decision of the town’s building and zoning official, Joseph Warner.
Charlestown’s Zoning Official has determined that the nonconforming legal use does not apply to lots 3 and 4-1 because the company has not done enough to prove the burden of a nonconforming legal use. Next meeting regarding the appeal of the ruling of the Zoning Official before the Zoning Board will be held on September 7 at 7 p.m. at the Charlestown Town Hall.
At the Council meeting, I proposed a motion “to authorize Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz to take whatever action is necessary to protect the town” from changes to rail alignments or other proposals that may be made as part of the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study. The authorization is needed so that the Town can be nimble as circumstances unfold.
On August 10, The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management issued a notice that approximately 30,845 square feet of wetlands at the quarry on Rt. 91 in Charlestown had been altered. The notice requires the land owner to restore the wetland and provides the methods and plant species necessary to achieve that.
Three lots of land owned by a gravel company on Rt. 91 abut the National Wild and Scenic Pawcatuck River, the Nature Conservancy’s 1,100 acre Francis Carter Preserve, and the Tucker Woods Preserve. On July 14, 2021, Joe Warner, Charlestown’s Zoning Official, issued a notice of violation and a cease and desist order to the owners of the quarry at 565 Alton Carolina Road.
It is with heavy hearts that we must report the passing of Jan Knost. Jan passed away on Sunday, August 22, just as Hurricane Henri made landfall in Charlestown and knocked the power out. Jan’s passing was coincidental to the storm, but there is some symbolism in this great light of our community, Jan Knost, being lost at the same time all our lights went out.
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Town Council member Deb Carney recounted assurances from Amtrak CEO William Flynn at the August 10 Town Council Meeting that the most likely new route for a high-speed rail connection from New Haven to Providence would be along the I-95 corridor. As far as NEC Future is concerned, the route “more parallel to Route 95” is the Kenyon to Old Saybrook Bypass. And if we are to believe the verbal assurances of Flynn, rail officials are once again on a collision course with eastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island.
We ask that the Town Council and our State Government Officials inform the Federal Railroad Administration that Charlestown should have a seat at the table on the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study; that there be a complete environmental impact study; and that we remain opposed to the Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass.
At their July 28 meeting, the Charlestown Planning Commission voted to approve the Village Walk application on a vote of 4 in favor and 1 opposed based on findings of fact and conditions of approval. The applicant’s attorney claimed that the conditions of approval amounted to a denial.
Cynthia Drummond reports on the pace of growth in Charlestown and the impacts on everything from the Zoning Department, to the Planning Commission, to our Coastal Ponds and even drinking water.
Charlestown’s Administrator and its Department of Public Works Director have moved to narrow the widths of the travel lanes on Charlestown Beach Road and plan to do the same on East and West Beach roads.
When: Wednesday, July 28 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
On the Charlestown Planning Commission’s July 28th meeting agenda are Master Plans for two major land developments – “Village Walk” and “Charlestown Commons”.
When: Wednesday, July 28 at 7 PM
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 in post)
Why: Learn how the Charlestown Naval Airbase almost became a nuclear power plant and the environmental impacts of nuclear energy.
Presenter: Art Ganz, Marine Biologist
On July 16th the Connecticut Examiner reported that both of Connecticut’s senators support the just-announced Connect NEC 2035 that implements the first phase of the Federal Railroad Administration’s NEC Future plan. No mention was made of continued opposition to the Bypass. What was offered instead was a promise from Connecticut’s US Senator Chris Murphy to be “sensitive to existing communities that live by the rail.” This letter, written by Ruth Platner, was published in the CT Examiner as a response.
When: Saturday, July 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where: At the Charlestown Animal Shelter on Sand Hill Road in Charlestown
Tents are going up to house all the items that will be for sale. You can visit the yard sale to shop for bargains, and you can donate your no longer wanted items for sale. If you want to make a donation for the yard sale, call 401-364-1211.
In 2016, the Federal Railway Administration released a plan to bisect Charlestown with a new high-speed track known as the “Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass”. The Northeast Corridor Commission has now released Connect NEC 2035. This plan does not include the Bypass, but what the maps in the release do have is a giant circle covering our region, indicating that high-speed rail in our area will be studied. The “New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study” is on the table, and that is extremely important and potentially dangerous for our town.
Artificial light at night may be one of the main drivers of firefly declines. These species are active at dusk or after dark, and artificial lights that are on at this time can make it harder for them to see each other. It may also make fireflies more vulnerable to predators that would otherwise be repelled by their light. The resulting decreases in reproduction and survival could have severe consequences for firefly populations.