The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has a lease with the PRI X - Procaccianti Group.  The lease is set to expire this August.   DEM has offered to give a six-month extension on the lease.   DEM wants PRI X to put out RFPs in order to see if other businesses may put forth proposals.    PRI X put forth 2 proposals this year.  The 1st proposal recommended a small strip mall for the area with the remaining leased land being a large unpaved parking lot.   After the 1st proposal was rejected, PRI X put forth a 2nd proposal.  It put forth a very small park area, and the remaining leased land would be used for a large parking lot.   We do not need more parking lots in Galilee.   It will not help the fishing industry, nor will it help local businesses and tourism to go to Galilee.    We need a revitalization plan in the leased land area.    If one is concerned about parking, we can use a portion of a huge parking area located at the Sand Hill Cove Beach.   That parking area is never filled to capacity.   The beach parking lot is close to Galilee.   A shuttle service can be used.    Many tourists' sites utilize this strategy.  Disney, Six Flags, Bush Gardens, and many other large tourist destinations have huge parking areas a short distance from the destination, and people are shuttled into the town, village, or park.   The University of Rhode Island Revitalization Plan proposed a multi-level car garage that takes up a small footprint of the overall leased land.   However, to create a huge parking lot in that area would be a tragedy to our Gem of a Village, Galilee.   

In East Providence, they have a Coastal Commission.    East Providence Waterfront Commission The Governor of Rhode Island Endorsed the Commission.    My question is:  Why are we not consulting with a team of experts in the area?  Why are we listening to the Procaccianti Group who have a vested interest to spend the least amount of money in the area for their financial gain?   

 I do not feel it is coincidental, the Procaccianti Group recently purchased a multi-million-dollar (19 million) Champlin's Marina in Block Island.  Please see following link regarding the purchase:  Champlin's Marina.   Interestingly, just prior to the sale to the PRI X group purchase of the Marina, the Marina was illegally expanded upon.   It took the Rhode Island Attorney General to investigate the situation.    Malfeasance was determined in the expansion deal, and the expansion was later reversed.   Please see link: Champlin Expansion Is Reversed - AG Implicates Behind the Scene Deal   By having a large parking area at the port of Galilee, the majority of cars parked in the leased land area will most likely be heading to Block Island, and many may support the recently purchased Champlin's Marina.   It is no wonder, the Procaccianti Groupn is supporting primarily a large parking lot in that area.   A parking lot will give the Procaccianti Group the biggest bang for their buck.  

The representative from PRI X insulted the area of Galilee by noting the area is in a noisy and smelly district, and it does not have a scenic view.   The former Lighthouse Inn did well for many years.  Have the seagulls started putting out more smells this last decade?    Maybe the problem is the PRI X Group failed to maintain the existing hotel, and now it is a haven for seagulls to drop their excrement.   When I go to Galilee, I never hear anyone complaining about the smell.    The PRI X representative also noted the area is in a flood zone, so development in that area would be problematic.    Hotels can buy built in flood zones.  The Grand Bohemian Hotel in Charleston, SC is one of many examples.  The Grand Bohemian Hotel, Charleston, SC.   Maybe the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management should reach out to Architectural Companies that have built hotels in flood zones, and the RI DEM should not continue to reach out to a company that has a vested interest to build the least costly alternative to possible bring more business to the owner's multimillion dollar marina in Block Island.    Let us have the RI Department of Environmental Management consult with experts in developments in coastal areas.   Why are we married to the Procaccianti Group.    They already have shown the State and all those concerned, the company has disregard to helping the Village of Galilee.   When people are involved in a hurtful relationship, they get divorced.   Why are we staying connected to this company?    Let us separate ourselves from leasing out to the Procaccianti Group.   The State should put out a nationwide bids for RFPs to developers who have been successful in revitalizing coastal seaports.     

The Narragansett Town Council, the Narragansett Town Planner, Michael DeLuca, our Regional State Representatives, Teresa Tanzi and Carol Hagan McEntee, the Friends of Galilee, the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce, South County Museum, and the University of Rhode Island all support a viable revitalization plan consisting of a hotel, a maritime museum, green space, mixed use development, and a consolidated parking area.  One can read about the University of Rhode Island's Report that shows a Viable Development Plan for Galilee.   It is titled, Galilee: A Vision for A Resilient Port that was supported by Dr. Will Green, a Professor and Department Chairperson of Landscape Architecture. Please see the following link created by the University of Rhode Island and supported by Dr. Will Green.  Galilee A Vision for a Resilient Port  Please see the following You Tube Link the Narragansett Town Council Member Dr. Dzwierzynski created.   Dr. Ewa Dzwierzynski You Tube Video On the History of the PRI X DEM Land Lease Please vote NO for a lease extension.   I urge all legislators and concerned citizens to contact the RI Department of Environmental Management and urge them to not give an extension to the Procaccianti Group.