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When: Wednesday, March 27 at 6 p.m.
Where: Cross Mills Public Library, 4417 Old Post Road, Charlestown
What: “A Small Town’s Brush with Nuclear Power”, presentation by Journalist Brian Mitchell who was hired as the first editor of the Chariho Times in 1977, when plans to build a nuclear power plant in Charlestown were well underway. Brian will recount the story of reporting on this controversial proposal.
The final plan includes an appendix with comments, but missing from the comment collection is an important letter from the Audubon Society of Rhode Island in opposition to the installation of any lighting near the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge. Also missing is a 2012 letter from the US Fish and Wildlife Service in opposition to lighting in Ninigret Park sent as an attachment with other correspondence. The missing letters both clearly state that there is no lighting that will not impact nesting and migratory birds in the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge.
The Chariho School Committee voted to adopt the Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget. The period for amendments has now ended, and the next step will be to present it to voters in April. During this final opportunity to make revisions, some items, such as the $434,000 that the committee had restored to Hope Valley School at a previous meeting, were cut from the spending plan. The final budget total, before state aid, is $58,341,117. Even if voters reject the bond in May, Hope Valley School is slated for closure.
The Department of Environmental Management is reminding Rhode Islanders to remove potential food sources from their properties as black bears emerge with warmer weather. Bird feeders, unsecured trash cans, livestock feed, and other easily available household and backyard food sources attract bears primarily in early spring, during droughts, or in the fall when they are trying to put on weight for hibernation.
With the passing of Charlestown Town Councilor Grace Klinger in January, there was an open seat on the Town Council. By Charter, because there was less than a year to the next election, it was up to the Town Council to decide how they wanted to fill the seat. The Council chose to fill the position by appointment, accepted applications until March 1, and made their selection on March 11.
The Town just released the final Ninigret Park Master Plan. Missing from the final version, dated March 4, 2024, is the page detailing the $33 Million cost to execute the plan. These cost estimates are available in the December 22, 2023, draft of the Ninigret Park Master Plan that was reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission. We have included the missing cost estimates in this post.
The 2024 bills are meant to build on the shoreline access legislation of 2023. The 2024 bills will give the Coastal Resource Management Council and local communities tools to preserve access not just to the shoreline, but also to historic trails and recreational sites. Links to each bill’s text and progress in the post.
UPDATE: This cleanup was canceled and has been replaced with a clean-up at Schoolhouse Pond Preserve also at 9:00 a.m.
When: Saturday, March 16, at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Meet at the Preserve parking lot on Railroad Ave. in Carolina
What: Join with the Charlestown Conservation Commission to help them maintain this beautiful property.
Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve is owned by the Town of Charlestown with a conservation easement held by the Charlestown Land Trust.
When: Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m.
Where: Ninigret Park
What: A 5K to commemorate Deerfoot (Tarzan Brown)
Cost: $25 – Link to register in post
The Corps advised that the town coordinate with the Army Corps throughout the Ninigret Park planning processes, and should either of the troll statues require any soil disturbance below the ground surface, the Town should perform that work with full-time oversight by a munitions professional and perform soil testing to properly characterize and manage the disturbed soil.
The Army Corps is investigating areas of Ninigret Park and the National Wildlife Refuge to understand the nature and extent of chemicals of potential concern and munitions and explosives of concern relating to former Department of Defense operations at the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Landing Field. Video of meeting in the post.
Rhode Island’s shortage of housing that is affordable is blamed on decades of insufficient home construction. While that may be true generally for the state, home construction has proceeded apace in Charlestown. Between 1970 and 2020, Rhode Island’s population grew from 946,725 to 1,097,379 – a 15.9% increase in population. In those same decades, Charlestown’s population grew from 2,863 to 7,997 – a 179% increase.
“Because they had such a failed public process before, and because what they proposed was so devastating to the environment, historic resources, to people’s homes, they ought to want to start with a really open process, because people will assume that they don’t have any other ideas, because I’ve only heard of two, and one has been taken off the table. So if they have another idea, no one knows what it is, and the people in the path of that other idea ought to know, too.”
When: Wednesday, March 6 at 4 p.m.
Where: Room 35 – State House
Why: Let the legislature know you support House Bill 7550 which would return money for land preservation to conserve important landscapes, watersheds, and farms to the “Green Bond” that will be on the 2024 state-wide general election ballot. Attend the hearing in person, or send written testimony.
What: The public hearing on the Chariho Regional School District’s 2024-2025 budget
When: Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Chariho Middle School Auditorium
Why: The public hearing will concern the proposed school budget for the 2024–2025 budget year and any and all other business that may be lawful at said meeting.
Details in this post …
I am constantly amazed at the lack of fealty demonstrated by some acknowledged graduates of Chariho High School to their alma mater. They are a subset that proudly proclaim that they graduated from Chariho as they propose to cut the school system’s budget, programs and staff.
The Charter presents the Town Council with three options: leave the position vacant, hold a special election to let voters decide, or appoint someone to fill the position. The Council has chosen to fill the position as soon as possible and decided against holding a special election. The members of the Town Council will, therefore, vote to appoint Councilor Klinger’s successor. Anyone who wants to submit an application for the empty seat must do so by March 1.
The Carolina Management Area forms part of the northern boundary of Charlestown and the Great Swamp Management Area is partially inside Charlestown on the eastern edge of town. Prescribed, or planned, burning is a tool that natural resources managers use for maintaining habitat diversity and to protect communities from extreme fires by reducing hazardous natural fuels.
When government officials make decisions that seem to serve a minority interest or that do not seem to serve the interest of the public, it is not unusual for members of the public to assume a corrupt influence. That is an unfortunate distraction because it moves the public’s focus away from what government officials are doing to their often-unknowable motivation for doing it.
CHARLESTOWN — Years after a proposed “Kenyon to Old Saybrook” high-speed-rail bypass through areas like the historic district of Old Lyme and and Stonington’s Olde Mistick Village sparked public outcry in Connecticut, few realize the pivotal role that Charlestown played in stopping the plan, or at least delaying it until now. Story at CT Examiner.
A bill introduced by Rep. Megan Cotter, D-Exeter, would inject $16 million into this year’s Green Economy Bond to fund four separate programs to protect land from development and provide a healthy boost for the state’s environment. The bill already has more than 30 co-sponsors and bi-partisan support. Story at ecoRI.
Charlestown’s Zoning Ordinance contained a simple and fair method of determining setbacks for substandard lots. Replacing that with the state mandated formula will result in nonsense calculations, an increase in neighbor conflicts and a decrease in public safety.
Charlestown’s Wastewater Management Ordinance was first enacted in 1994. It was opposed by some as an invasion of privacy and a taking of property rights. Over time, most residents have recognized the importance of clean drinking water and a protected environment and now accept that they need to maintain and sometimes replace their septic systems.
Charlestown Citizens Alliance is proud to be supported by the residents of Charlestown and those who love our town. When you support CCA, you support an organization that has been, for over 17 years, dedicated to civil and open government and to preserving and protecting those assets that make Charlestown such a unique and treasured place to live.
When : Tuesday, February 6th at 6 p.m.
Where: Westerly Town Hall Council Chambers, 45 Broad St (Second Floor), Westerly
What: The Westerly Planning Board will hear comments on a proposal to build a 2,300-unit housing complex adjacent to Winnapaug Pond, in Westerly. Message from the Salt Ponds Coalition and other details in post.
Ruth Platner: “I asked Bard to make some images that combined high-speed trains with some of the destruction the new route would create such as the permanent fragmentation of 1,800 acres of permanently protected open space, but Bard refused to create such disturbing images. If these images violate the ethics of a robot, why are they okay to make a reality in Charlestown!?”
The on-going “New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study” will recommend a new off-corridor route that meets goals for time and capacity included in the 2017 NEC Future Record of Decision. Whether that means a return to the idea of a bypass, such as the controversial route previously planned through Charlestown, or a direct inland route between Hartford and Providence is not yet clear, although a recent interview with Congressman Joe Courtney hinted that the direct inland route may already be off the table.
CT Examiner editor Gregory Stroud shares information about current planning for high-speed rail in the northeast, including how the decisions made might affect southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. This 52-minute video is a refresher on the past flawed federal process and provides information about the “New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study” that began in November.
This year’s state Green Bond has no funding for: the State Open Space program; the Local Open Space grant program; Farmland Protection; or Forest Conservation. Please contact your state legislators and let them know that you are concerned about the lack of land and water conservation funding in the Green Bond. Links in post.
The Chariho School District has created an 18 page FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document explaining in detail the proposal to build three new elementary schools in each one of the Chariho towns (Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton).