Dear Honorable Governmental Leaders for the State of Rhode Island,
I hope you are doing well. I hope you will take action to stop the RIDEM - Procaccianti Parking Lease Deal in Galilee. Procaccianti (PRIX) previously had a lease for the 5 Acre Parcel In Galilee. The lease expired last year. PRIX failed to keep the terms of their last lease. They neglected the hotel and it has not been occupied in over 7 years. Now it needs to be demolished. The RIDEM put out a RFP for the 5 Acre Parcel. The Town of Narragansett submitted a viable proposal for the RFP. The plan was in compliance with the Galilee Comprehensive Plan, and the University of Rhode Island Research Study. The Friends of Galilee has over 800 members on their FB Page, and they all support the Town of Narragansett's Proposal. I am on the Galilee Advisory Committee, and I support the plan. I created an online petition at Change.org, and over 2900 individuals provided their virtual signature of supporting the Town of Narragansett's Proposal. It was developed and supported by the Town Manager, James Tierney, and our Town Planner, Mike DeLuca. The Narragansett Pier Residents' Association supported the Town of Narragansett's Proposal too. The RIDEM stated they did not select any of the plans submitted for their RFP and they did not explain in any detail their rationale, but they awarded Procaccianti a 19 year parking lot lease without it going out for bid even though Procaccianti failed to maintain the hotel they were responsible for. In addition, last year the State Properties Committee informed Procaccianti they would be given a 6 month extension to their lease that expired last September, but they would have to demolish the existing hotel. Now the RIDEM is stating the 10 Billion Dollar Developer does not have to pay for the demolition, but the tax payers of RI have to pay for the demolition.. The Rhode Island Attorney General's Office was contacted prior to 6 month extension being granted for the lease, but the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office never got back to the Town of Narragansett to investigate the Town's complaint. Let us hope the RI Attorney General's Office will get back to us now for this gross malfeasance of the RIDEM. In the summer, while the Town of Narragansett was making a case to not grant an extension to Procaccianti for its lease, the State Properties Committee already approved the six month extension. Below is a link to Monday's Town Council Meeting that shows the frustration of Town Council Member Dr. Ewa Dzwierzynski. Frustration is also expressed by members in the community. Please let us not think the Golden Rule for Rhode Island is , He or She who owns the Gold Rules. We do not want our State Motto have to change from "Hope" to "Hopeless"
Here is a video link that shows you the condition of the hotel as a result of the purposeful negligence of Procaccianti Developers. Only in Rhode Island can a State Agency like the RIDEM get away with awarding a Slumlord Billionaire a 19 year parking lease after the Billionaire developer purposely made a property become uninhabitable to a point it now needs to be demolished, and now the State of RI taxpayers have to pay for the demolition. Let us hope the Governor, our Attorney General, the Courts, and the State Properties Committee do not allow this behind the scenes deal to be approved.
Attached is a paper I wrote on the latest status on the RIDEM - Procaccianti Parking Lot Lease. The paper shows why our politicians and / or courts need to step in and stop this unscrupulous behind the scenes deal.
Please message me or call me if you need any additional information. My cell number is 401-218-3614 and my home number is 401-783-2506.
If you for whatever reason do not want to do a radio segment on the above, please let me know what talk show host may be interested. I work 12-7pm, so I would be able to hear your show if you decide to cover the newsworthy story.
This story does not only involve Narragansett, but the entire State of Rhode Island as if a State Agency can totally disregard the will of a Town for a Billion Dollar Corporation that will hurt and not help the Town or City, it is frightening and setting up for a dangerous precedent on how corrupt our elected officials and our courts are in the State of Rhode Island. If Procaccianti can keep the lease awarded to him it will cost the Town of Narragansett in more ways than one.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dr. Albert Alba
Below is a copy of the attached letter I sent out to our elected officials
In an unexpected, astonishing, and extremely blindsided move, the RIDEM has recently announced that they will be awarding the Procaccianti Group an area of the 5-acre parcel of leased land in Galilee for a parking lot!
It is important that the Town of Narragansett, the RI Attorney General's Office, and/or the Governor step in and inform the State Properties Committee and the RIDEM that they are in violation of state law, as they cannot award the lease to Procaccianti without it going out for bid.
It appears the whole RFP Process can be considered a dog and pony show done in a questionable manner to come across that the RIDEM was acting in good faith. The RIDEM has a fiduciary responsibility to lease its property without partiality, so the State can use the land that would best serve the interest of RI and the Town of Narragansett, the residents, the fishermen, and the taxpayers of RI. With the RIDEM noting they will be awarding Procaccianti Developers a parcel of land for a parking lot and not putting the parcel out for bid, the RIDEM is not acting in good faith.
To add insult to injury, the RIDEM is attempting to again award the lease to a corporation who showed neglect and reckless disregard for that same area of leased land.
In a Zoom meeting with the Town of Narragansett, Procacianti’s chief legal counsel, Michael Vocolla called the area of Galilee “noisy and smelly”,a situation that was ironically created by his company’s neglect. This statement also speaks to the negative attitude of the corporation toward an area that residents regard as quaint, historic with tremendous potential for revitalization and tourism.
The latest proposed lease to Procaccianti “stinks” as much as his abandoned property. It makes no sense to award a new lease to the same person who trashed their property with a previous lease, and the lessor was left to pay for the cleanup of the trashed property?
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If the Town of Narragansett were awarded the lease for the parking lot, we could have used the income from the parking lot to pay for improving Galilee, both for the residents and the fishermen, for our library, schools, and infrastructure. A certain percent of the proceeds from the parking lot should be appropriated, as well, for the fishermen-- to enable funding for a nearby fishermen’s community center.
Now Procaccianti will be reaping the profits at the State of RI and taxpayers’ expense. If this is not a dereliction of duties by the RIDEM, what would you call it? The RIDEM previously noted Procaccianti would be given a 6-month extension for the lease, but he was to remove the existing buildings. This was never initiated, and we can all see the hideous condition Procaccianti left the former Lighthouse Inn.
Why does the RIDEM continue to pander to Procacacianti at this developer’s gain and the entire State of Rhode Island’s loss? Why is the corporation rewarded a lease for land which they hold in total disregard-when residents and developers hold the area in high esteem , foreseeing great potential for development which will benefit both local and statewide residents.
It is vital to know the reason why the RIDEM saw fit to grant the parking lease to a MULTI BILLION DOLLAR corporation without it going out to bid to a company that showed gross neglect to the property and violated their prior lease. In addition, the company has shown it has no interest nor commitment to local tourism or to support the local fishing industry. Why did the RIDEM choose to ignore the carefully and thoroughly researched plans of the Town of Narragansett that sought to preserve and enhance the Village of Galilee? The Town of Narragansett’s Plan is in compliance with the Master Plan Agreement for Galilee, it was supported by research conducted by the University of Rhode Island, and it was supported by our Town Council, Town Manager, and Town Planner. There is an online petition that supports the Town of Narragansett’s Proposal at the Change.org website, and it has over 2900 signatures. Also, the Friends of Galilee that has close to 300 members endorse the Town of Narragansett’s Proposal.
We are tired as Rhode Island taxpayers for having to clean up the mess of the rich and the famous. We had to pay for the Curt Shilling Studio 38 Deal, so we do not want to pay for the RIDEM-Procaccianti Deal. Enough is Enough !!! On Procaccianti’s company’s website at Procaccianti Companies it notes Procaccianti has 10 billion in investable assets, yet he was a slumlord that left the hotel on his leased property become so uninhabitable that the RIDEM has determined it has to be demolished. Even though it needs to be demolished as a result of the neglect of Procaccianti’s billion dollar company, the RIDEM wants to charge the taxpayers of Rhode Island to pay for the demolition.
We need Governor McKee to use his powers to stop the RIDEM from continuing with their reckless behavior that shows a total disregard and lack of respect to the Town of Narragansett Elected Officials, our Town Manager, Our Town Planner, our Comprehensive Plan for Galilee, our residents, and the taxpayers of Rhode Island and Narragansett.
Our State’s Attorney General Peter Neronha also needs to do whatever is in his powers to stop this behind the scenes deal as he stepped up to the plate and determined that the expansion of the Champlin Marina in Block Island was illegally expanded upon when a behind the scenes deal took place just prior to Procaccianti purchasing the property.
In addition, we are urging our State Local Representatives, Teresa Tanzi and Carol Hagan McEntee, and State Local Senators Alana DiMario and Bridget Geraci Valverde to act and speak out with respect to the malfeasance of power at the hands of the RIDEM. Our local representatives need to attend a Narragansett Town Council meeting and show their support for the Town of Narragansett. Please contact the media and press them to make this gross mismanagement of the RIDEM visible to everyone throughout the State of Rhode Island.
We recommend and urge the Town of Narragansett take the following steps.
1. The town solicitor should apply to the Washington County Superior Court for a Temporary Restraining Order based on a verified complaint that immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage will result to the Town if RIDEM awards Prcoaccianti its lease. The State now must pay to demolish his abandoned hotel.
2. The Town of Narragansett should request through the APRA/Freedom of Information Act that they see all the records of the minutes from the meetings involving the review of the RFP and those responsible for awarding the lease to Procaccianti.
3. Contact the RI Attorney General Office again to issue a cease-and-desist order to prevent the RIDEM from granting a lease to Procaccianti. The RIDEM has violated their fiduciary relationship by awarding a lease without having the lease going out for bid.
4. Have the RIDEM be investigated for gross malfeasance, as the RIDEM has allowed Procaccianti Developers to trash the state property that was being leased out, without penalty. Currently, rather than charging Procaccianti with gross neglect, the RIDEM is having taxpayers pay to clean up the abandoned building. The RIDEM has previously allocated parcels of land that were zoned for fisheries to be used as parking lots. These zoned lots should be dedicated to the fishing industry such as the construction of a lodging / community center, allocated for mending nets and other duties, and have designated parking exclusively for the fishermen. Such reckless behaviors by the RIDEM cannot be considered ethical by anyone nor any state agency unless they are unscrupulous.
5. The State and the Town of Narragansett must tell the State Properties Committee they cannot approve the lease to Procaccianti for a parking lot as the RIDEM has failed to negotiate with the Town of Narragansett and other bidders for the area of leased land in good faith.
6. If all else fails, the Town of Narragansett Zoning Board should refuse to grant a special use permit for the parking lot area as the lease was obtained due to gross mismanagement of the RIDEM.
It takes the entire State to save our Village of Galilee. May we still have “Hope” in Rhode Island as our State Motto has not changed.
This paper is being submitted in honor of my beloved father, Albert Alba, Sr. who advocated ideas to improve the Town of Narragansett for its residents, businesses, and for everyone visiting our Gem of a Village.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dr. Albert Alba