North Kingstown Public Officials Must Be Held Accountable

NORTH KINGSTOWN PUBLIC OFFICIALS MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

I recently submitted a letter to the North Kingstown (NK) Planning Commission Chair Mr. Palmer, related boards, commissions and public officials stating in detail the many procedural and enforcement failures by these same boards, commissions, and public officials concerning the Tarbox Hyundai Automotive Dealership requesting clarification and or rectification as required. My letter stated the testimony that I intended to present during a recent Zoning Board public meeting pertaining to the Tarbox Hyundai Automotive Dealership. The intent of my testimony was to explain the litany of non-compliance with zoning and planning regulations and the lack of enforcement by multiple public officials with respect to premature construction and earth removal operations by Mr. Tarbox. Unfortunately my testimony was interrupted to the point that I was denied my legal right to present my testimony.

My concerns and efforts to expose these irregular procedural and enforcement issues during the public hearing led to two letters to the Exeter Town Council attacking my credibility in an obvious effort to undermine my position on the Exeter Planning Board. The first letter was from Exeter resident Kelley Clarke, who was not present at the public hearing and a second from Ed Tarbox, the owner of Tarbox Hyundai Dealership. It is apparent to even casual observers that this was an organized retaliation for my efforts to expose the litany of regulatory and enforcement violations attached to the Tarbox Hyundai Dealership.

In addition to holding Mr. Tarbox responsible for his violation of NK zoning and planning regulations it is imperative that the NK public officials be held accountable for their apparently biased decisions and lack of enforcement. Based on the past history of the NK public officials my fear is that my continued concerns will fall on deaf ears.

The errors and non-compliances afforded to Mr. Tarbox are unprecedented and very worrisome. These procedural missteps are further compounded by the inaction of NK public officials to the premature construction operations and thousands of cubic yards of soil removal at the Tarbox Hyundai site as well as the associated filling operations at the Bestwick site. Unauthorized soil removal and filling operations are subject to a fine of $500 per day for each day of violation. This has been on-going for several months at both Mr. Tarbox’s and Mr. Bestwick’s sites. Where are NK town officials, why haven’t they complied with and enforced their regulations and ordinances, why hasn’t the NK Town Council held them accountable?

It is clear that an unbiased North Kingstown Town Council must be elected on November 8.