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Rocky Point, more land taken over by the government and off the tax roles of the City of Warwick. Another maintenance nightmare for the remaining taxpayers left to pick up the tab. We took a taxable privately held asset and turned it into a public liability! The City of Warwick and State of Rhode Island have long been hard pressed to maintain the properties they already have, did we really need more?

In the City of Warwick alone we have Conimicut Point Park, Oakland Beach, City Park, Goddard Park all on the waterfront and we want more. Have any fishing piers or dining halls and the like been built or proposed on any of those properties? Who will pay for the maintenance? Check the condition of a little park in Conimicut on the corner of Beach Avenue and West Shore Road then try to imagine the City of Warwick or the State of Rhode Island trying to care for a large tract like Rocky Point...it will never happen Warwick and you know it! We have a boat launching ramp in Oakland Beach that was funded and built by the state and given to Warwick to maintain, go take a look at that mess....the North ramp is constantly filled with sand and most times unusable! The weeds are overgrown and out of control. I've yet to see a maintenance crew doing anything there, the list goes on and on! Did you know that the City of Warwick doesn't have an emergency boat launching ramp other the one at Oakland Beach, if they have to launch for an emergency off Conimicut Point the firefighters have to traverse the sand and oftentimes get stuck with their fire and rescue equipment. Talk to the Warwick Fire Department about it along with the implemtation of boat rescues on the bay and where they launch from. Ask how long it would take them to get from the Oakland Beach Ramp to Conimicut Point! How about after dark? We're sure going to have egg on our faces if there's ever an aircraft emergency off the Warwick shoreline. Here we are worrying about Rocky Point, let's do something smart for a change Warwick!

Rocky Point worked in the past when it was privately owned and operated by the Ferla family as a family entity. Families had one car back then and the whole family would pile in (little roads) and go for the day, those days are long gone and we still have little roads! Today's economy wouldn't support an entity that's only viable six months (at best)out of the year, that's why the former owners could no longer make a go of it! The taxes and insurance liabilities drove them out of business. If you doubt what I'm saying call your insurance carrier and the City tax assesor for quotes. If you acquired the property for free you wouldn't be able to make a go of it! Hold onto those memories as I have, it's time turn the page.

Rocky Point belongs in the private sector (2 1/2 acre house lots) bringing tax dollars to the City of Warwick, build something in Oakland Beach, Goddard Park, City Park, etc. where there's better access and egress. We do not (nor will we ever) have sufficient access and egress (Rocky Point Road and/or Palmer Avenue) to the Rocky Point property!

For your information the City of Warwick (I believe) turned away prospective (Rocky Point Property) developers in the past for the following reasons....

No building permits without the developers buying all the land and then having to give the strip of the waterfront to the city for free....there's a term for that which I dare not mention here.!

Outrageous and costly sewerage system requirements of any interested developer....

Inadequate access and egress to the property, would produce too many vehicles!

I'm sure if any of you care to dig deep enough into past council meetings you will learn what really happened!

If the City of Warwick received such a great deal on this property they should consider putting it on the market and profiting from it. Repair the roads and gain tax dollars, it would be a win win situation! There's more than ample open space in this little state of less than one million people with it's 39 local governments, a state government a federal government and plenty of parks that go mostly unused.

From: Court is last hurdle to Rocky Point purchase

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