Charlestown Chutzpah

The Land Trust wants to do another dishonest appraisal – and guess whose advice they want?

By Will Collette

At the February 13 Town Council meeting, the Charlestown Land Trust (CLT) pulled off a $475,000 heist of Charlestown taxpayers, selling the town a worthless easement on a piece of grossly overpriced land. The land price was based on an appraisal that used, in the words of the appraiser himself, assumptions known to be false.

However, before the state of Rhode Island releases its $367,000 grant for the purchase of the trashed-out YMCA Camp on Watchaug Pond, they at least have the good sense to demand an honest appraisal, one that is based on the real-world zoning and condition of the land.

Now the Charlestown Land Trust needs a new appraisal for the state, one that will pass the laugh test. The state demands it and, if the Charlestown Land Trust wants to regain trust and credibility here in Charlestown, they need to make sure they get an honest appraisal to justify the town’s $475,000 as well.

But it doesn't look like that's what will happen, if the Land Trust follows through on their March 12th letter to the Charlestown Planning Commission, their partner in pushing this bad land deal on the town. See the CLT letter to the Planning Commission at the end of this article. 

Since the February 13 Council vote to hand over $475,000 in town loot, this requirement by the state is one of two good things that have happened.

The other is the lawsuit filed by Dr. Jack Donoghue that seeks to enjoin the land deal because of violations by the Town Council and their appointed YMCA land advisory committee of the state’s Open Meetings Act.

Among the issues Dr. Donoghue has raised in challenging this deal is the bogus appraisal. I had noted in my analysis of the appraisal that the appraiser valued the land as if it was going to be re-zoned residential and a 10-home development was to be built on it.

But the Town Council has already ruled out re-zoning and killed the 10-home development that had been proposed for the site by Ted Veazey.

I also noted that the CLT appraisal submitted to the town ignored more than 15 derelict buildings, busted-up asphalt, bad septic systems, etc. I noted the appraiser admitted he never went inside any of the structures to determine how bad they were inside. He also did not look for any toxic waste or environment hazards because, as he explained, he was not qualified to do so.

Dr. Donoghue also notes that conducting an appraisal for a conservation easement is a specialty area that requires special training. The CLT’s appraiser was not certified in this particular specialty.

Town Council Boss Tom Gentz loves the Y-Gate Deal

Finally, there’s our recent discovery that the Charlestown Land Trust has reported to the IRS that it does not consider the conservation easements it owns itself to hold any value – they are listed on the CLT’s IRS-990 report at a nominal $1 value. In fact, the CLT told IRS that it considers its own conservation easements to be an actual liability.

However, that didn’t stop CLT Treasurer Russ Ricci from telling the Town Council that $475,000 for a conservation easement on the YMCA junkyard was a “bargain.”

The Charlestown Land Trust has expended a great deal of its good will and credibility capital here in town with this deal. Now that a new – and HONEST – appraisal for the state must be done, let’s make sure it gets done right.

But, based on the letter he sent to the Planning Commission, that seems unlikely.

CLT Treasurer Russ Ricci says in his letter to the Planning Commission that "I am seeking the assistance of the Planning Commission to assist our appraiser establish a plausible [emphasis added] alternative land use for the Property aside from open space [emphasis added] if it were purchased by a private party for development purposes."

Ricci wants help from the Planning Commission to come up with some "plausible" way to have the appraisal be based - once again - on the assumption that the Y camp will be sold to a developer who will somehow get the land rezoned and will win approval to build. Haven't we already seen this movie?

So here we go again. Why is Russ Ricci asking their Y-Gate co-conspirator for advice? Why are they only interested in a "plausible" use, instead of an honest one? "Plausible" is defined as "having an appearance of truth" though not necessarily the truth.

And why is the CLT looking for a scenario that is "plausible" but not what the land really is – i.e., a parcel zoned open space/recreation, covered with derelict buildings, owned by a non-profit – and about to be sold to another non-profit to be used as open space? Why not appraise it for what it is and what it will be, as opposed to Ricci's request for help in crafting yet another bogus appraisal?

Exactly how "plausible" is Russ Ricci's premise that if the Land Trust doesn't buy the Y camp, some private developer is going to swoop in to buy the land, get it rezoned and build a housing plat on it? Is the land going to be sold to a "private party for development purposes?" Absolutely not. So why – again – is the Charlestown Land Trust trying to recruit the Planning Commission to help it with a fraudulent scheme?

For one thing, the Planning Commission should stay out of this. Any advice they might give the CLT will only taint the process. The Planning Commission’s credibility is also shot to hell because of this deal.

In my opinion, a new appraisal must be done, but under the town’s auspices – not the Charlestown Land Trust’s and with no role for the Planning Commission. Given that town taxpayers are putting more money into this shabby deal than anyone else, I think it’s time taxpayers’ interest became a priority.

This new letter – there for you to read for yourself, below, and on Clerkbase – is clear in its intent. 

If the state - or Charlestown - is going to get an honest new appraisal needs to be done using real-world conditions and should be conducted by one or more appraisers who are trained and qualified to appraise open space and conservation easements. The appraiser should also be qualified to assess the liabilities posed by all the derelict buildings, septic systems and other old constructions on the site.

The appraiser must know how to identify toxic and environmental hazards such as lead and asbestos, toxic chemicals and other materials that may require clean-up.

It will be difficult to come up with a credible process to find an honest, qualified appraiser. Y-Gate is such a corrupt deal that frankly, I’m not sure who among the usual suspects in Charlestown town government can be trusted to find the right appraiser.

Perhaps the best approach is for the town to issue a Request for Proposals and lay out the kinds of specifications required for this job. Then empanel a group to evaluate the proposals. They should be persons untainted by this deal and competent to make unbiased decisions.

I know there are such people working in town government and serving on town commissions, though I hesitate to name them and have them vetoed by Boss Gentz and Deputy Dan Slattery on that basis.

But it is in Charlestown’s self-interest – not just for the sake of $475,000 but to restore the credibility of town institutions – to cut through the haze of deception and lies that led up to the February 13 Town Council give-away.

Let’s take the new appraisal out of the hands of the Charlestown Land Trust and the Planning Commission. They have had their chance to work an honest deal, but instead they have dishonored themselves. Let’s do it right this time, not just to satisfy DEM’s requirements but for our town’s sake.