Break the Circle of Empowerment and Erichment

BREAK THE CIRCLE OF EMPOWERMENT AND ENRICHMENT

North Kingstown Governance is in Dire Need of Change

The Town of North Kingstown is in the grips of the republican majority town council. This republican council majority has and continues to empower and enrich their favored developers and insiders through amendments, manipulation, and lack of enforcement of the NK ordinances and regulations.

The Rolling Greens proposal by developer Mark Hawkins was the first indication of the control that the republican majority town council holds on the various NK boards, commissions, departments, and public officials. The intense bias by the council majority for this development also brought to light the abandonment of redeveloping Post Road in favor of developing the RT102 – 2 western intersection of North Kingstown.

The Mere Farm, another development by Mark Hawkins for Carl Wicker, a vocal supporter of the Rolling Greens development, was allocated NK public water even though it was outside the revised Water Service Area (WSA). This was accomplished via a loophole of the regulations and a distorted subdivision of the lots to circumvent the WSA.

The most arrogant development is the Tarbox Hyundai Automotive Dealership. Upon discovering that new car dealerships are not allowed directly over GW1 reservoirs, NK town officials changed Mr. Tarbox’s property from GW1 to GW2 while official NK water maps indicate this area as GW1.This unjustifiable action not only puts NK groundwater at risk it also places Allie’s Donuts, a RI icon, well water supply at serious risk upon which their business’s viability depends. Just as disturbing the Tarbox Hyundai project initiated unauthorized earth removal from the Tarbox site to unauthorized fill at Mr. Bestwick’s property at 4019 Quaker Lane, and began construction operations without required zoning and planning approvals and building permits which the council majority obviously continues to allow unhindered.

More evidence of the destructive policies of the council majority is the Town Hall abandonment and relocation debacle that is indicative of their disregard for historic preservation. That disregard was further demonstrated in a letter in the Standard Times by Councilor Carol Hueston just prior to NK hosting the RI Statewide Historic Preservation Conference this past April.

The Wickford EL redevelopment is yet another example of the council majority’s disrespect for historic preservation and their bias for another favored developer, Mr. Andy Kinnicom. Then, on top of under selling the property to Mr. Kinnecom the council majority goes even further by proposing to assist their favored developer by promoting a Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) whereby the project would be financed by the taxpayers.

These are all signs of “insider” governance. A new NK town council needs to be elected with a mandate to rectify these illicit developments, repeal the regulations used to promote them, and to initiate an internal investigation into the boards, commissions, and departments responsible for their non-compliant approvals and lack of enforcement. All those responsible must be held accountable beginning with the controlling republican majority town council. This coming November 8^th you the voters must hold your public officials accountable and set a new course for North Kingstown and reestablish a positive precedent for good governance everywhere.

Frank DiGregorio

Exeter