Instead of
broken promises and empty gestures, Charlestown’s Clown Council should dip into
their bag of tricks
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| If you want action from the Charlestown Town Council majority, make sure you contribute heavily to the CCA Party |
By
Will Collette
If you've read any of the coverage of the Copar Quarries,
now in both Westerly and Charlestown, you know that
this Connecticut-based company brought its terrible record of law-breaking to
Rhode Island. In the process, they made fools of the town governments of
Westerly and Charlestown.
At
least in part, the failure of Westerly to deal with Copar’s Bradford quarry on
the Charlestown-Westerly town line contributed to Westerly Town Manager Steve Hartford losing his job on August 1st.
Recently,
Charlestown’s Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz made a liar out of his boss, Council President Tom Gentz, by telling Charlestown
neighbors of Copar that Charlestown wasn't going to do a damned thing to try to
control Copar, despite Gentz’s promises to the contrary.
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| Town Administrator Stankiewicz: Charlestown won't even try to challenge Copar |
Responding
to criticism that it wasn’t keeping its promises to help, the Charlestown Town
Council directed Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero to craft a letter for them to
send to Attorney General Peter Kilmartin to complain about Westerly’s failure to
control Copar.
I’m not making this up – this was Gentz’s announcement when the Council came out of its July 8 Executive Session.
I’m not making this up – this was Gentz’s announcement when the Council came out of its July 8 Executive Session.
That
letter is supposed to be on the agenda for the Council’s August 13 meeting (on a Tuesday
because of VJ Day). I’m sure Gentz is expecting the Copar neighbors to troop in
to the meeting to say “thank you, thank you” to him for yet another empty gesture.
Town
Administrator Stankiewicz’s claim that there is nothing Charlestown can do to
regulate a business like Copar is belied by the facts.
Charlestown is talented at sticking it to businesses it doesn't like
In
fact, Charlestown – and especially under the leadership of CCA Party Council
Boss Tom Gentz and his henchman Dan Slattery, with essential back-up from
Planning Commissar Ruth Platner – have been remarkably talented at putting the screws to businesses. Especially those businesses that
have incurred the wrath of CCA Party supporters.
Ask
the oyster farmers in Ninigret Pond who were hurt by a parking ban imposed on Town Dock Road after a CCA supporter asked Gentz
for help in her personal feud with an entirely different business on that road.
Or in a similar case, the Shelter Cove Marina.
Or the women who used to run three small businesses on Crossland Road. They were run out of town by draconian enforcement of Charlestown’s signage ordinance.
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| Gun Shop sign is OK, but when the women with shops on Crossland St. put up a sandwich board on Route Two, the town busted them |
Then
there are the oyster farmers who want to expand aquaculture on the salt
ponds – a move that not only creates jobs, but helps clean the ponds. They’re
being held back by the CCA Party’s new breed of Aqua-NIMBYs.
And
of course, ask Larry LeBlanc. It’s not just his proposed wind turbine project,
but each and every project he has proposed for his 81 acres for the past ten years.
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| Charlestown tied the Cross Mills Fire District up for a year because they wanted to build this fire house out of brick instead of sticks & wattle |
Charlestown,
under the CCA Party’s leadership, can make life miserable even for non-profits
like the Cross Mills Fire District
and the year of headaches Ruth Platner gave them when they
wanted to build their fire house out of brick.
Ruth
Platner cost the fire district money and delayed the new fire house by almost a
year because she just doesn't seem to like brick, even though it is listed as
an approved material in the town’s zoning ordinance. Not to mention that
building a fire house out of non-flammable material kind of makes some
intuitive sense.
Charlestown KNEW Copar was coming, and did nothing
But let’s get back to Copar and the town’s broken promises and empty gestures.
Charlestown
town officials knew Copar was a bad company – and even said so in their Council resolution.
Yet, when the town knew Copar was coming to Charlestown – and yes, they knew
well in advance – the town did nothing.
For three months, the town knew that Copar was operating the Morrone quarry on
Route 91 illegally and did nothing. They didn't even impose the required $25 per day fine for each day of the three months when
they operated illegally. Here is the language from Charlestown’s Code of
Ordinances:
A. No person shall operate any businesses within the town without
obtaining an annual license authorizing such activity from the Town
Clerk and paying the license fee indicated in town ordinance or state law.
And…
147-7, E. Any person, whether as principal,
agent, employee, or otherwise, who violates any provision of this chapter,
shall be fined not to exceed twenty-five
dollars ($25.00) per day for each offense. Any fine imposed under this
ordinance may be appealed to the Charlestown Town Council. The fines shall
inure to the town and each day that the violation continues shall be deemed to
constitute a separate offense.
Copar took over the Morrone quarry on March 6, according to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and didn't get a business license until June 4. They didn't even apply for a license until I wrote and made a stink about it in Progressive Charlestown . Then Charlestown simply issued the permit without penalty.
The town also knows – because I pointed it out to them – that under Charlestown’s Code of Ordinances, once a business receives a license to operate in Charlestown, it is subject to the following oversight and regulation:
The town also knows – because I pointed it out to them – that under Charlestown’s Code of Ordinances, once a business receives a license to operate in Charlestown, it is subject to the following oversight and regulation:
B. All licenses granted under the provisions of
this section shall be granted subject to the condition that the licensed premises shall be kept open
to the inspection of the Chief of Police and the Town Council at all times
during the business hours and subject to the provisions of the Charlestown Code
of Ordinances and Rhode Island General Laws and also subject to such rules and regulations as the Town
Council may from time to time promulgate with reference to such licensed
premises.
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| Phil Armetta - Copar's money guy and one of Connecticut's leading trash haulers (photo courtesy of Stephen Devoto and the Middletown Eye News) |
At
Copar’s Westerly site, DEM cited Copar for illegally
hauling in and dumping old appliances (e.g., refrigerators) and for wetlands
violations. The executives of Copar are heavily engaged in the waste disposal
business. In fact, their money man, Phil Armetta, is renowned as
one of Connecticut’s top trash haulers.
There’s a lot more money in waste disposal than there is in mining and hauling rock, sand and gravel.
There’s a lot more money in waste disposal than there is in mining and hauling rock, sand and gravel.
The
Morrone site on Route 91 now under Copar’s control is practically on the banks
of the Pawcatuck River and is in the middle of wetlands just to the north of
Burlingame. That's the Pawcatuck - the river the Westerly Sun just featured as a resource our region has worked hard to restore.
This is a highly sensitive area. It’s also very isolated, almost impossible to see from the road. You won’t even find a sign on Route 91 telling you the quarry is there.
This is a highly sensitive area. It’s also very isolated, almost impossible to see from the road. You won’t even find a sign on Route 91 telling you the quarry is there.
Charlestown
has the right under its Code of Ordinances to inspect the site to ensure there
is no illegal waste dumping or air or water pollution – particularly to the
Pawcatuck – happening at the Charlestown site. Is Charlestown likely to do
that? No, according to Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz.
Charlestown
also has reserved the right under §147-2 B to subject Copar to “rules and regulations” it might “from time to time promulgate with reference
to such licensed premises.” Is Charlestown likely to write any new rules
and regulations to cover Copar? No, according toTown Administrator Mark Stankiewicz.
How about whether Charlestown should enact a "good character" or "bad actor" ordinance to protect Charlestown from future Copar's by barring the town from issuing permits or contracts to companies with bad track records? According to Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz, Charlestown isn't going to do that either.
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| Run-off from Copar's quarry going into Charlestown wetlands |
How about whether Charlestown should enact a "good character" or "bad actor" ordinance to protect Charlestown from future Copar's by barring the town from issuing permits or contracts to companies with bad track records? According to Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz, Charlestown isn't going to do that either.
He
told Sue Clayton that all Copar is doing at the former Morrone site is hauling out material.
First, how does he know that’s all that is happening, given Copar’s colorful history in Bradford and in Connecticut?
Second, even if that’s all they are doing, that raises a red flag.
First, how does he know that’s all that is happening, given Copar’s colorful history in Bradford and in Connecticut?
Second, even if that’s all they are doing, that raises a red flag.
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| I took this photo of a fully loaded Copar truck coming out of the quarry without a cover as required by law |
I
have personally witnessed Copar’s trucks speeding on Route 216 and careening into
the Copar driveway going so fast, they almost tip over. I have witnessed – and
photographed (left) – Copar trucks coming out of the Bradford site, again going at
unsafe speeds, with their loads of rock and grit uncovered.
Charlestown
could – if it had the cojones – make sure that Copar doesn't do that at the
former Morrone site by simply increasing police presence in the area to bust
trucks being driven uncovered or over the speed limit.
If you want Charlestown to help, get ready to pay
Finally,
let’s get to the nub of it.
When Charlestown decides it wants to tangle with a business, such as for example Whalerock, it has demonstrated the remarkable will to do virtually anything, legal or illegal, to attack that company.
It
will file lawsuits that have no chance of success. It will put every town staff
member to work on finding ways to attack the company.
It will hire extra lawyers. It will hire experts. It will even pay for legal representation for private citizens!
It will hire extra lawyers. It will hire experts. It will even pay for legal representation for private citizens!
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| Being a big supporter of the CCA Party got Ron Areglado unlimited support from town government in the Whalerock fight and a patronage appointment to the Chariho School Committee to boot |
But
that somehow doesn't apply to the beleaguered neighbors of Copar.
Perhaps
it makes a difference that the leadership of the Whalerock opposition,
especially the Areglados and the Chambers, became major CCA Party supporters.
They
organized a big fund-raiser for the CCA Party and urged all the neighbors to
give generously to the CCA Party's 2012 campaign.
Several became CCA Party major donors, earning neighborhood blowhards Ron Areglado and Donna Chambers patronage appointments to the Chariho School Committee.
Several became CCA Party major donors, earning neighborhood blowhards Ron Areglado and Donna Chambers patronage appointments to the Chariho School Committee.
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| If you want something done, show Gentz the money |
Perhaps the best testimony they can give at the Council’s August 13 meeting is to deliver a large bag of money to Boss Gentz.
As
Sue Clayton wrote in her recent article, fair is fair. All of Charlestown’s citizens should
expect to get fair and equal treatment, not just CCA Party favorites and
campaign contributors.