UPDATE: Stop Signs, Turbines Dominate Council Meeting

Size was not a discriminating factor in Monday night’s North Kingstown Town Council as residents took aim at structures on opposite ends of the size spectrum  – stop signs and wind turbines.

About 30 people lent their voices to both contentious issues, with most in stark opposition to either the turbines or stop signs.

One group got its wish Monday night, as the council – minus the absent Elizabeth Dolan – voted unanimously to only allow one of the originally six proposed stop signs in the Terre Mar Drive neighborhood. , the Town Council unanimously rejected the proposed six stop signs after residents of the neighborhood came out in full force against the signs, with one resident calling six signs “overkill.”

Mark Bohac, who began the 20-person petition to request the stop signs, called for a compromise of three stop signs. Bohac argued that motorists would speed through the neighborhood, endangering pedestrians and children, and that stop signs would curtail this.

“Give us sidewalks. Gives us speed bumps. Whatever can be done,” said resident Teri Bohac.

Resident and Planning Commission member James Grundy disagreed with Bohac's intentions, however, citing a national report that stated stop signs should not be used to control speed.

Despite an earlier report from the police department that called for six stop signs, Acting Police Chief Thomas Mulligan said his department is no longer recommending that number. “Clearly that neighborhood doesn’t have enough traffic to warrant stop signs,” Mulligan said.

The chief took the blame for the initial report’s findings, adding that vegetation was a big reason for the line of sight issues drivers experience in the area.

The night ended with a lengthy public comment from opponents to wind turbines in North Kingstown. Though familiar faces like residents Jeff Zucchi, Colin O’Sullivan and Robin Wilson took to the microphone, there were some new faces at Monday night’s meeting.

One such person was Tony Olszewski, of Portsmouth, who lives near the Portsmouth High School turbine and spoke of the turbine’s “strobe effect.” (Click here for a video made my Olszewski showing the strobe effect in his home, which he brought to the council meeting but was unable to present.)

“I feel it has hurt my quality of living,” said Olszewski. “I come home and want to relax but I can’t. I have to leave my house.”

Residents of North Kingstown Green, a subdivision that will host developer Wind Energy Development’s 427-foot turbine, voiced their concerns and fears regarding their soon-to-be neighbor, echoeing Olszewski's concerns. Half a dozen residents stood behind as resident Colleen Clare spoke on their behalf.

“We don’t want it in our backyard,” Clare told the council. “We’re nervous. We’re afraid. We need your help and we need it now.”

According to Clare, the issue has divided the small neighborhood, with neighbors on one end supporting the turbine and others opposing it.

“It’s time for this town to heal,” said Zucchi after he called for a repeal of the wind energy ordinance.

• The council voted to transfer a liquor license from Larson Enterprises to Jay Smit, Inc. for Colonial Wine and Spirits.
• The council appointed Mary Ballard and Tiffany Salvati to the Arts Council and reappointed Fran Quinlan, Tony Giarusso and Michele Bednarick. With Susan McCarthy and Kim Pinksaw not returning, the Arts Council still has two open positions.
• The Harbor Management Commission will remain the same, as William King, Barbara Ray and State Sen. Dawson Hodgson will reassume the three expiring positions.
• David Nickerson was reappointed as the town’s tree warden.

Added a video courtesy of Tony Olszewski on March 3.