Consequences of
one-party rule in Charlestown become more apparent
By
Will Collette
The
Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA Party), an offspring of the now defunct right-wing RI Statewide Coalition, controls every elected position in
Charlestown, including the Town Council and Planning Commission.
That
makes controversial spending and giveaway deals a whole lot easier to ramrod
through, regardless of the merits or the opposition.
Such was the case last
month when the Council
approved a raid on the voter-approved Recreation Bond authorization to put
a bicycle track no one needs and a playground that no one asked for into
Ninigret Park.
Next
Monday, May 14, the CCA-controlled Council will hold a hearing on a plan to
spend $600,000 in taxpayer money for
a nice, but not all that special piece of land which will be added to
Charlestown’s already
bloated stock of open space.
The
Charlestown Land Trust (CLT), a private non-profit organization in no way part
of town government, secured a matching grant from the state Department of
Environmental Management (DEM) for $258,750. The CCA claims the CLT is “donating” this money to the town of
Charlestown, so the town should spend another $341 thousand or so to acquire
this property.
The
DEM would hold a conservation easement on the property and so would the CLT.
This is similar to the wheeling and dealing done by the CCA Party and the Land
Trust in 2012 when they tried, unsuccessfully, to scam
taxpayers into buying the derelict YMCA camp on Watchaug Pond for an
inflated price and dubious purpose.
This
land deal doesn’t rise to the level of the 2012 Y-Gate scandal, even though
there are many similarities.
The
property is owned by the Sprague family through their Back
Road Holdings LLC. For sale is 27 acres from two lots in Carolina with some
frontage on the Pawcatuck. The family plans to retain a section of the land
that fronts onto Carolina Back Road.
The
two lots are currently assessed at $497,100 and that includes the portion that
is not for sale, so let’s figure its tax value is roughly $450,000. According
to the appraisal done for the Charlestown Land Trust, the property in the sales
offer is worth $517,500 – see for yourself, HERE, at page 10.
But
the price we are told we must pay – take it or leave and do it NOW – is
$600,000.
That’s $150,000 less than the town assessed value and $82,500 less than the
Land Trust’s own appraisal.
Based on the town assessment, we are being asked to
pay 33% more than the land
is worth; if you use the higher CLT appraisal, the asking price is 16% more than it’s worth.
But
wait, sez the CCA Party! It’s a bargain too good to pass up!
And
why is it a bargain? Well, first, the Land Trust is “donating” all that money.
The CCA is referring to the $258,750 in state taxpayers’ money from DEM –
that’s OUR own money – so they can tap the town for another $341,000.
It’s NOT
a donation. It’s a matching grant. And all of it is OUR money, taxpayer money, not the Land
Trust’s or the CCA's.
According to the CCA, buying the land means 19 houses won’t be built on the
land. Because Back Road Holdings LLC had plans drawn up for a subdivision with
19 houses, they panicked, assuming that in this mushy real estate market, 19
houses would actually get built. The CCA Party makes a lot of assumptions like
that.
I’m more inclined to see the resemblance to the Whalerock
property deal where the town spent beaucoup money ($2.1 million) to block a wind turbine project that
probably wasn’t going to be built anyway.
CCA
thinks children are parasites
As
the CCA Party sees it, you can assume that any property NOT locked up as open space automatically becomes high-density
housing developments.
Those high-density housing developments automatically attract young families
with lots of Chariho school-aged children.
Those Chariho kids will automatically spend the rest of their
lives going to school at taxpayers’ expense because apparently children in
Charlestown never complete schools to begin lives as productive, tax-paying
adults.
Those are the assumptions behind the CCA
Party’s bizarre, anti-family theory which is part of their sales pitch for this land deal. If you think I’m making this up or exaggerating,
read it HERE on the CCA Party website.
The
CCA Party’s novel economic theory, hatched by Planning Commissar Ruth Platner
and her hubby Cliff Vanover, is that the more land you set aside as open space,
the lower the tax rate due to their auto-rug-rat theory about development,
families, children and schools.
Ruth
and Cliffie have had eight years to test this theory in Charlestown. Let's review how it's worked out.
Consider
how much of the land is locked up under federal, state and town ownership,
exempt due to ownership by non-profits or religious organizations or
tax-favored under conservation easements or the FFOS
program that conserves farm, forest and open space.
 |
| The Interior Department's map shows that way over 50% of Charlestown is already locked up for conservation. The yellow lines indicate the area the feds are considering for the new wildlife refuge. |
And
that ain’t all. The US Interior Department is looking to create a new Great
Thicket National Wildlife Refuge to protect the habitat of the eastern
cottontail bunny. Their
plan calls for acquiring up to 3,200 acres of land, mostly centered on Charlestown
for the new refuge.
If
you look at the Fish
& Wildlife’s map, included with the plan, note the brown and green
areas on that map to see the amount of land in Charlestown currently set aside for
conservation. The town now has more than 50% (probably more like +60%) of its land locked up.
Now imagine another few thousand acres taken off the tax base and
ask yourself, “where will the town’s revenue come from?”
 |
| SCREEN SHOT from the Charlestown Tax Assessor's webpage on the town website. |
Even though Charlestown has taken more and more land off the tax base to exclude families with children from moving to town, our property tax rate has
increased each and every single year since 2008 when the CCA Party seized
control of town government.
We went from $7.16 in 2008 to $10.11 per $1000 of assessed
value this year. That’s an increase of 41%!
If
the evidence of your own tax bill isn’t enough to debunk the Platner-Vanover “Kids
Are Parasites” Theory, there’s a Bryant University study that carefully studied
–and shredded - their theory’s core premise (click here to read it).
The actual land in question is hardly someplace unique and special. See for yourself. The CCA Party and the Land Trust produced a
little 3-minute video
that presumably casts the property in the best possible light. However, to me, it looked
like typical moraine property.
But
the Conservation
Commission thinks the land would be OK for passive recreation. The Parks
& Recreation Commission also signed off.
I think Charlestown taxpayers need to weigh in on the cost, which instead of being $600,000, should be somewhere around $500,000.
I think Charlestown taxpayers need to weigh in on the cost, which instead of being $600,000, should be somewhere around $500,000.
And
someone has to say it: how much more of this town’s land can be set aside as
open space before the bottom falls out of our tax base?
The
official Town Council meeting agenda follows with my snarky comments in Bold Red.
Charlestown Town Council
Regular Meeting 3/14/2016 7:00 PM Council Chambers
Town Hall 4540 South County
Trail Charlestown, RI 02813
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