Wednesday, 26 December 2007

By JAMES MADDEN

CHARLESTOWN – There’s still uncertainty about choosing consultants for the feasibility study of the Mud Cove project. In fact, it the town council may increase the scope of the project to include the Route 1 driving range.

“I think we have a bigger picture,” said Town Council President John Craig. “I think we could do some good things with the driving range property, make it more useful.”

During their Dec. 10 meeting, the council was faced with rehiring Bradford Associates and PARE Inc. as the consultants for the feasibility study, or taking the recommendation of Town Administrator Edward Barrett and hiring the new firm of Kent & Frost as the consultants.

“If the council elects to move forward I recommend that Kent & Frost do the work,” said Barrett.

In September, the town council decided to replace Bradford Associates and PARE Inc.

Mageau said he’d received various complaints concerning the town’s other Route 1 project, which Bradford Associates has also worked on.

At the November town council meeting, the town’s Mud Cove ad hoc Committee Chairperson Virginia Wootten explained that there wasn’t enough time to find new consultants to complete the Mud Cove project feasibility study by the May 2008 deadline. The deadline has already been extended once.

She said new consultants couldn’t be found due to the poor treatment the former consultants received from the council.

“I think it’s very clear, they cannot find a landscape architect to do the work because quite simply the treatment that our consultant got gets around, got around, and there isn’t a landscape architect in the world that will come work for us unless there’s a public apology made to Sara Bradford,” said Waterman at the November town council meeting. “You sent us down that street Mr. Mageau… We’re losing grant money here, big time, and there’s no assurance this grant will be extended.”

If the town doesn’t have the state extend the deadline or complete the feasibility study, the town could lose two state grants of up to $200,000, which is funding the entire project.

Consequently, Waterman suggested asking if the original consultants would come back, and the council as whole agreed to ask if they’d come back.

According to Wootten, PARE Inc. has said they’d still be willing to do the feasibility study at the original cost of $9,850.

At the end of the Dec. 10 meeting, the council neither rehired the former consultants, nor did they entertain Barrett’s recommendation of hiring Kent & Frost.

“I’m inclined to ask we table this,” Craig said to Wootten. “And looking more at the driving range and doing what you want to do at Mud Cove… That’s just one of my thoughts.”

“If you want to take a whole look at the area, I would be readily willing to withdraw my request,” said Barrett.

Allen was against hiring Frost & Kent because the company’s, “biggest player is Scott Rabideau,” said Allen. “It’s not too long ago that he was the expert witness on the other side (against Charlestown).”

Allen was referring to a housing development project (Ninigret Hamlet) by Larry LeBlanc – to build 200 housing units on 80 acres of land near Route 1. The site abuts tribal land and town zoning allowed between 25-30 units.

When LeBlanc’s proposal went through the town’s public hearing process in 2002-2003, Rabideau was LeBlanc’s engineering expert.

Since LeBlanc didn’t get approval from the town, he’s brought the project to Rhode Island’s Coastal Resource Management Commission (CRMC) for review, where according to Allen, “it’s in limbo.”

Allen said the town had to hire its own engineering expert, Steve Simpson of PARE Inc., in essence to defend the town against Rabideau and LeBlanc.

Allen also pointed out that an environmental group called the Conservation Law Foundation recently filed complaints and got the Rhode Island Ethics Commission to investigate controversial decisions made by CRMC in connection with Rabideau.

“It’s a very discomforting feeling to me to be hooking on to a consultant that’s been on the other side against us, that’s under investigation and may be subpoenaed,” said Allen.