CCA Blog and Mail Box

Congratulations to all who have participated. You all have done something positive for your neighbors, neighborhoods, and the town as a whole. The level of commitment to keeping Charlestown beautiful is one of the most admirable aspects of living here. We are a community that cares about our neighborhoods. There is a lot to like about Charlestown and its community spirit is one of those things.

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Saturday, April 9 was a great day to enjoy spring in New England – about 25 enthusiastic walkers, a couple of leashed dogs, lots of bird song, clear views of the Pawcatuck River and sun, were enjoyed. The walk was to introduce an initiative of Charlestown’s Parks and Recreation Commission of a trail in commemoration of Ellison “Tarzan” Brown.

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All community members and organizations are encouraged to plan free events – whether family friendly, recreational or restorative. Events can range from ecological, educational, cultural, musical, historical or artistic activities to hiking, cycling, canoe and kayak outings or even picnics and social gatherings that celebrate the Wild and Scenic Status of the Wood-Pawcatuck Waterways.

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Land proposed for protection under the Natural Heritage grant program is scored for its protection of critical and uncommon habitat, its capability of supporting a diversity of habitats, its support for rare/endangered species, its close proximity to other protected land, its close proximity to a river or other water body, groundwater protection, and public access for passive recreation.

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Rhode Island House Bill H 7531 makes our state’s most important forests and wildlife habitat, ineligible for incentives to develop renewable energy. It also defines preferred sites where renewable energy incentives should be focused. If adopted, this legislation would be a huge improvement of Rhode Island’s current renewable energy siting programs that are encouraging the clearing of many hundreds of acres of forest and wildlife habitat.

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The taxpayers of Charlestown can have confidence that $3 million of their hard-earned money is not missing and that their taxes have been spent as they authorized. Further, they can be assured that the town is well positioned to weather an emergency. Telling a tale about an accounting error that does not exist and implying that there is fraud that also does not exist in order to try to confuse some people to gain political advantage does the town a grave disservice.

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Cynthia Drummond, who wrote for many years for the Westerly Sun, has brought her considerable skill and high journalistic standards to cover Richmond Town Council and Planning Board meetings for the BRVCA. You can read her articles at the BRVCA web site. Because of our shared borders and interests, Cynthia’s coverage is also a benefit to Charlestown readers.

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Thank you to everyone who donated to our 2021 fundraiser for RI CAN!! We raised over $1,500.00 this year. That brings your total donations to our last two RI CAN fundraisers to over $11,500.00!

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Charlestown has little debt, a high level of savings, and a higher quality of life than most anywhere on the East Coast. When there is nothing to find fault with, a false scandal has to be manufactured. Using lies and smears to destroy local politicians is not an acceptable way to attempt to win an election, but in an age where fewer people read newspapers and with expanding access to social media, this is an effective way to mislead some people.

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On February 14, the Charlestown Town Council adopted, on a 3 to 2 vote, the Fund Balance Policy that was recommended by the Charlestown Budget Commission. The purpose of this policy is to establish the recommended level of unassigned fund balance that is to be maintained in the General Fund for generally accepted accounting principles and budgetary requirements of the Town.

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The purpose of this MOU is to establish a framework of cooperation between the Town and the Refuge in regards to management of natural resources in the Park to meet the intent that these lands be managed in a manner consistent with the Refuge while facilitating the development of the Park for the benefit of the public.

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“Charlestown Commons” was proposed as a mixed-use project on 8 acres of land at the corner of Rt. 1 and Falcone Lane, and consisting of retail, restaurant and residential. At the January meeting the Planning Commission Chair read a communication from the applicant explaining that the soil on the site would not support a septic system and was therefore “not a buildable lot given its soil conditions”.

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On February 14, the Charlestown Town Council will continue to consider adopting a written fund balance policy. The discussion has been continued so that all residents will have ample time to review and digest the issues involved. The question that such a fund balance policy would address is, how would Charlestown maintain financial stability over time and also have the capacity to recover from a major hurricane or other disaster?

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A lock box on a home allows police, fire and rescue crews to quickly gain access to the home in the event of an emergency, saving critical time and perhaps damage to a home. The program is available to Charlestown residents who are 65 and older or who have special needs or a medical disability. It is free for residents to sign up.

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Charlestown is a great community, rich in beauty and natural and historic resources. For Charlestown to continue as a wonderful place to live, we need an engaged community and volunteers who will work in the community’s interest.

Please consider filling out the form in this post to learn how you can be more involved!

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How would Charlestown’s surplus (unassigned fund balance) maintain financial stability and capacity to recover from a major hurricane or other disaster? On January 10, the Charlestown Town Council will consider this question and potentially take action upon a fund balance policy, a policy containing principles to guide present and future financial decisions.

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The five new open positions were announced in January and appointments will be made by the Town Council at the February Council meeting, and interested Charlestown residents may submit applications at any time between now and early February.

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Vintage postcards of Quonochontaug from about 1908 make up this 2 minute video from Carla Ricci

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On the agenda at the December 13 Town Council meeting is a renewal of the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) between the Town of Charlestown and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge. Ninigret Park is on land that was part of a WW II-era naval air training base. The base closed in the early 1970s. Approximately 380 acres became the USFWS’s Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge and the remaining 230 acres became Ninigret Park, owned by the town.

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What: Public Hearing on the creation of the Charlestown Climate Resiliency Commission
When: Monday, December 13 at 7 p.m.
Where: Town Council Meeting, Town Hall, 4540 South County Trail
In part, the commission will work to protect the quality of life for Charlestown residents and minimize climate change effects on the community as much as is possible.

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Bob Petrone has created this beautiful year-end video of seasonal scenes of Quonnie. The video takes 6 minutes to watch, but you’ll wish it was longer.

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RI DEM owns and manages a public boat launch and about 40 acres of property in Charlestown to the west of the breachway that connects Quonochontaug Pond to Block Island Sound. An informational meeting, hosted by DEM, presented a recent assessment of the breachway and the access road/parking lot and focused on ways to improve the pond and breachway’s resiliency in the face of rising sea levels and other climate-crisis impacts.

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Food insecurity continues to rise nationally due to the pandemic and our town is no exception. The Rhode Island Center Assisting Those In Need (RI CAN) is a local lifeline to many. We are asking you to join CCA’s fundraising campaign with a financial donation that will be presented to RI CAN.

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The Charlestown Town-Wide Survey has been completed. Citizens favor the low tax rate and keeping Ninigret Park as it is, and they do not favor more residential growth or a national company’s commercial development.

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Those in Charlestown who oppose land conservation and the resulting protection of wildlife habitat, ground and surface water and other natural resources continue to misrepresent a good land deal for our town. Acquiring a property that protects important natural resources at a price well below its retail value is a good deal for our town and a good use of funds dedicated to land conservation by the voters.

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“The problem is, according to Haberek, Kenyon Industries is not currently capable of meeting the new, stricter standards. He said DEM and the company would therefore need to negotiate a consent agreement that would set a timetable for Kenyon to comply with the state’s new effluent limits.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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