Dear Chairperson Schiappa, Donna Conway, and Attorney Greg Schultz:
Today, the SPC will be making one of the most important decisions they have ever made regarding their decision on the proposed new lease between the State, RIDEM, and PRIX. I urge you to act ethically in rejecting the new lease.
I have previously reached out to James Thorsen of the State Properties Committee who as you know was the former Chairperson. He even attended a demonstration rally I had in Galilee regarding our protest regarding the reckless abandonment and harm James Procaccianti and Joseph Paolino have caused in Galilee. If this was you or I who intentionally created a health, safety, and environmental hazard we would have been fined, sanctioned, summoned into court and possibly imprisoned. The RIDEM is also having the State pay for a good portion of the demolition. Why is the State having to pay to clean up the wasteland PRIX (Procaccianti and Paolino) created. The Town of Narragansett Building inspector condemned the Lighthouse Inn as it was determined it is a health, safety, fire, and an environmental hazard. I have been interviewed on the news regarding the harm PRIX has caused in Galilee. Sadly, the RIDEM has failed repeatedly in its fiduciary duties. Today, the SPC will be making a very important decision, and all eyes will be on the SPC and its committee members. The former Chairperson of the SPC, James Thorsen, sent me a personal letter agreeing with my outrage regarding the harm that PRIX has caused Galilee. Ironically, today, the RIDEM will be attempting to have the SPC approve of a new lease for 2 of the 3 lots on the 5 acre parcel. If the SPC approves this lease, it will be a dark day in history for the State of Rhode Island, as the SPC is a watchdog agency that is supposed to stop another State Agency from acting recklessly and it will fail to do so, and it will show our State that a plutocracy form of government is alive and well in RI. We had Buddy Cianci, Ed DiPrete, and our former Speaker of the House, Gordan Fox arrested for abuse of power, so the SPC must take action to stop the RIDEM from abusing its powers by not condoning the reckless actions of PRIX. The SPC must reject the RIDEM's request to grant a new lease to the RIDEM. I am pleading with all the members of the SPC to uphold your oath to protect our State and our residents from those who want to grant a State lease to those who have caused great harm to our State and its residents.
Respectfully Submitted, Dr. Albert Alba
Below is the letter that has been sent out to many of my followers on social media platforms. The following letter has been sent out to the Change.org website that has over 4400 hundred followers regarding what has happened in Galilee regarding the RIDEM and PRIX. In addition, it has been sent out to over 16,000 combined members of the Our Town Narragansett FB Page and the Narragansett Town Council Forum Page. I am also sending this letter out to many others who are concerned about the health, safety, economic, and environmental concerns of our State. I am also sending this letter out to many news agencies. Please do the right thing, so the State can work collectively with the Town to create a viable mixed use development for Galilee.
The RIDEM has started with the demolition of the Lighthouse Inn.
The former lease will be officially terminated today at the State Properties Committee (SPC) meeting which will take place at 1 Capitol Hill in Providence, RI, however the RIDEM wants to award Procaccianti and Paolino a new parking lot lease.
The State is paying for the majority of the demolition, and PRIX is paying for a portion of it.
For the RIDEM to attempt to award a new parking lot lease to Procaccianti and Paolino after the harm they have caused is reckless actions by the RIDEM as they have failed in their fiduciary duties to oversee the land in their care. If the SPC approves this lease it would stink of even greater corruption in the State of Rhode Island. I plan on attending the meeting. I do not know if I will be able to speak, but I will request to speak. An RFP was not even issued to see if another contractor/provider could manage the parking lot or if the area can be used for a better use for our State. The RIDEM previously issued an RFP to obtain the highest and best use for the land that will benefit the State and the Village of Galilee. With the RIDEM wanting to award 2 of the 3 lots to Procaccianti and Paolino to be used as a street level parking lot it is contrary to the goals of the RFP that was created jointly by the RIDEM and PRIX. The Town of Narragansett and the University of RI developed a viable mixed use development plan for Galilee. A consolidated parking garage was part of this plan. There has been public outcry regarding the egregious actions that have occurred on the 5-acre parcel by Procaccianti and Paolino where the RIDEM has sat back and failed to impose fines and sanctions to Procaccianti and Paolino for the reckless abandonment of the Lighthouse Inn that they were obligated to maintain as part of the original lease agreement between the RIDEM and PRIX. We had live seagulls get trapped in the building, and the RIDEM has failed to take any punitive action against PRIX. The RIDEM, RI Commerce, or the Town of Narragansett should be able to take over the parking lot on 2 of the 3 lots on the 5-acre parcel until a consolidated parking garage could be built on the land. The RIDEM states this is a worked-out agreement to settle the litigation Procaccianti and Paolino put forth against the RIDEM. I read the litigation, and it should have been thrown out in court as it was frivolous, and Procaccianti and Paolino should have been charged with reckless endangerment. PRIX broke the terms of their prior lease and intentionally abandoned the Lighthouse Inn, so they can have the hotel demolished, so can have the whole area as a massive street level parking lot. And now the RIDEM wants to award Procaccianti and Paolino with a new lease. If the lease is awarded this would be an example of corruption, and it would exemplify a plutocracy in the State of Rhode Island.
Below is a copy of the agenda for today's SPC meeting, and the RIDEM's proposed recommendation: Please read item F on the agenda. It is in bold print.
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
ONE CAPITOL HILL
PROVIDENCE RHODE ISLAND 02908
STATE PROPERTIES COMMITTEE MEETING
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024, 10:00 A.M.
CONFERENCE ROOMS ‘B’ & ‘C’
AGENDA
Posted: February 16, 2024
• Discussion and potential vote on the approval of the State Properties Committee
Meeting minutes of January 23, 2024 and February 6, 2024
NEW BUSINESS:
ITEM A – Department of Transportation – Discussion and potential vote on the
approval and execution of a Purchase and Sale Agreement and Bargain and Sale Deed
between the Department of Transportation and NAMAMAF, LLC for the sale of
approximately 20,881 square feet of State-owned land located at 265 George Washington
Highway and 275 George Washington Highway in the Town of Smithfield.
a. Purchase and Sale Agreement
b. Bargain and Sale Deed
Presenter: Christopher Santilli
ITEM B – University of Rhode Island – Discussion and potential vote on the approval
and execution of an Amendment One to Facilities Use and License Agreement between
the University of Rhode Island and the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation
for the use of the Ocean Technology Center (“OTC”) located at the URI Narragansett
Bay Campus.
Presenter: Ryan Carrillo
ITEM C – Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and
Hospitals – Discussion and potential vote on the preliminary approval for the
Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals to advertise
for public sale via public auction a BHDDH group home located at 2755 Wallum Lake
Road in the Town of Burrillville
Presenters: Kate Breslin Harden, Esq., Constance Beck and Adam Boudreaux
ITEM D – Department of Administration – Discussion and potential vote on the
preliminary approval for the Department of Administration to enter into lease
negotiations with EIM Plainfield Pike, LLC for warehouse space located at 2700
Plainfield Pike in the City of Cranston.
Presenters: Adam Boudreaux and Danyeli Valerio
2
ITEM E – Department of Environmental Management – Discussion and potential
vote on the approval and execution of a Purchase and Sale Contract for the acquisition of
a Conservation Easement over the 91-acre Harrington-Derjue Property located at 186
Henry Brown Road in the Town of West Greenwich.
Presenter: Lauren Miller-Donnelly
ITEM F – Department of Environmental Management – Discussion and potential
vote on the approval and execution of a Termination Agreement and Indenture of Land Lease related to the lease of State-owned land lots located in the Port of Galilee in the Town of Narragansett.
c. Termination Agreement between the Department of Environmental Management and KRG Realty Company (Lots 118, 119 and 120)
d. Indenture of Land Lease between the Department of Environmental Management and PRI X, LLC (Lots 119 and 120)
Presenter: Mary E. Kay, Esq.
The next scheduled meeting of the State Properties Committee will be held on
Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Any individual requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in
this meeting should contact Thomas Mannock at 222-6377 (voice) or #711 (R.I.
Relay) at least (2) business days prior to the meeting.
RHODE ISLAND
Department of Environmental Management
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
235 Promenade Street Providence, Rhode Island 02908
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
RHODE ISLAND
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
235 Promenade Street Providence, Rhode Island 02908
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
Below is a letter of Memorandum to the SPC by the RIDEM. This letter stinks of corruption. If this gets approved by the SPC, it will be a sad day in the history of Rhode Island, as it will show reckless actions are being condoned by a State Agency that is supposed to uphold the law against other State Agencies that have failed in their fiduciary responsibilities for the State of Rhode Island.
RHODE ISLAND
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
235 Promenade Street, Room 425
Providence, Rhode Island 02908
MEMORANDUM
TO: Marco Schiappa, Chairperson State Properties Committee
From: Terence Gray, P.E., Director of the RI Department of Environmental Management
February 9, 2024
SUB.JECT: Indenture of Lease and Termination Agreement - PRI X, LLC - Port of Galilee
The Department of Environmental Management ("DEM") is requesting approval of and signatures on an Indenture of Lease (the "New Lease") with PRI X, LLC ("PRI X") for lots 119 and 120 (also known as lots 256 and 257) in the Port of Galilee, in Narragansett, Rhode Island. DEM is also requesting approval of a Termination Agreement for an Indenture of Lease (the "Fonner Lease") for lots 118, 119 and 120 (also known as lots 250, 256 and 257), as amended,dated October 16, 1990.
The New Lease being presented to the Committee is for lots 119 and 120, which is the parking lot portion of the Former Lease. The New Lease is a component of the settlement of litigation captioned PRIX, LLC v. The Town of Narragansett, et al., C.A No. WC-2023-0118 to which the State of Rhode Island is named as an affected party. Under the New Lease, PRIX has agreed to improve the two lots with a state-of-the-art automated parking operation, landscaping and other site enhancements. Detailed site improvements are set forth in Exhibit B to the New Lease. PRI X has also agreed to provide a contribution to the demolition of the former motel on lot 118, (lot 250) located at 307 Great Island Road, Narragansett, as part of the settlement.
The State and PRIX have also negotiated the termination of the Former Lease and will not be including the motel lot in the New Lease. In connection with the termination of the Former Lease and settlement of the litigation, DEM and PRIX have agreed to provide for the termination of the Former Lease with the exception of any of the obligations of PRI X pursuant to indemnification and insurance obligations under the Former Lease, which arise from any incidents prior to the termination and commencement of the New Lease.
Telephone 401.222.4700 I www.dem.ri.gov I Rhode Island Relay 711
Upon demolition of the former motel on lot 118 (lot 250), DEM will landscape the motel site and the immediate plans are to use it as a public area for ferry patrons and other visitors to the Port. In the future, DEM plans to move forward to identify the highest and best use of the former motel parcel to support the State's commercial fishing industry.
As always, the Department appreciates the State Properties Committee's time and consideration of this request. Director Terrence Gray and Assistant Director and Chief Legal Counsel, Mary Kay, will present this matter on behalf of the Department.
Thank you for your consideration.
cc: Dane Kwiatkowski Gregory Schultz Mike Walker