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Editorial: Saving Rocky Point
Warwick Beacon
Thu, Jul 31 08
Efforts to save public access to Rocky Point have taken a long and at times torturous path, but the mayor’s steadfast focus and the support of state and Congressional leaders is close to paying off.
In a matter of less than two weeks, providing no party with a legitimate claim steps forward, the Small Business Administration will release its rights to 41 acres of shoreline and open space at the former amusement park. When this happens the city can start planning how those lands overlooking Narragansett Bay will once again become accessible to the public.
That’s a very short version of what has transpired.
Ever since the Federal District Court named the SBA receiver for the failed park, there have been suggestions that a portion, or even all, of the 124 acres be saved for the public. This ran counter to the SBA’s responsibility to recover loans it and others had made to the park’s owners. Giving away the park was not an option and neither the city nor the state had the money to be a viable bidder for the land.
It seemed that the best the city could hope for was to negotiate a deal with prospective developers to set aside some land for public use. Developers were prepared to do that, but the land they were willing to deed to the city was, for the most part, wetlands. Prime shoreline was too valuable to be left for public use.
Mayor Scott Avedisian wasn’t satisfied and we have him to thank for having bigger dreams.
He was not alone in believing more could be done. He had the support of the city council and Congressman James Langevin and Senator Jack Reed. With the help of these Congressmen, $2.2 million was procured as matching funds for the acquisition of open space.
There were conditions attached to the federal funds – there needed to be a match and the deal had to be finalized by Dec. 31, 2007.
The matching funds – $800,000 from the city and $1.4 million from the state – came through by the deadline. Closing on the deal, however, was problematic because the developers the SBA was negotiating with were not prepared to buy the remaining park acreage. As the sale of the 41 acres and the rest of the park land were linked, the parties included a reconveyence clause in the city contract. That clause provided for the 41 acres to be returned to the SBA if the sale on the larger parcel wasn’t completed by Aug. 4.
As it turned out, three developers that had options on buying the property in the three years backed away from deals. It looked like the city would lose the 41 acres too.
The mayor, however, saw an opportunity.
Avedisian recognized that a major creditor other than the SBA holds a substantial stake in the outcome of a sale and if the $4.4 million was to be lost, the chances of them gaining anything in the immediate future was dim. Employing the argument the SBA would have a clearer path to disposing of the park without having to address issues raised by the widow of lawyer Raul Lovett and that Mrs. Lovett would be better off getting a known sum now, Avedisian brokered a deal that was approved by the court on Monday.
If there is no legitimate reason not to do so, the sale of the 41 acres will be finalized in ten working days from Monday.
This does not mean, as some wish, that more of Rocky Point couldn’t be saved for public use. What it does mean is that 41 acres –some of the best land – will be saved and for that we are thankful.