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By ANDREW MARTIN
The Charlestown Town Council unanimously voted Monday night to put off discussion of a deal for 81 acres so the next council can decide on the matter.
The parcel, which is located north of Route 1 on Kings Factory Road, abuts land owned by the Narragansett Indian Tribe.
At this point, the town has not moved on the idea of a referendum. And at Monday’s meeting, the council heard the plea of attorney William Landry, who represented developer and landowner Larry LeBlanc.
“The last action by the council was to put to the voters whether the voters wished to approve the purchase-and-sale agreement,” Landry said, then adding that he subsequently wrote a letter to the council asking why it had not executed that agreement.
Landry explained that LeBlanc’s preference is still to sell the land to the town. He added that there have been no agreements made with any other parties. But he did mention that there has been a raised interest in the property because of the recent activity in the Carcieri v. Kempthorne case.
“We are still waiting to have some indication from the town on whether it still wants to buy the property or not,” Landry said. “My client lives in [Charlestown] and would like to see the property preserved for the town.”
Mageau responded by saying that the problem he has always had with this issue is that it was brought to a lame-duck council. “We’ve got two hours left in office,” he said while looking at the clock.
Also, Mageau cited the fact that the price has risen from $1.1 million in 2004 to $5.5 million now. He added that the town has not been presented with an appraisal of the property as well. Another issue raised by Mageau was that the purchase seemed like an urgent issue, though LeBlanc has kept pushing the deadline for the town back.
Councilor Katharine H. Waterman, who supports going to a referendum, explained that LeBlanc has been extending the deadline because he understands the town is under constraints right now. “It takes time to put this together. He has an obligation to the trustees and we have an obligation to the citizens. And I think LeBlanc appreciates that,” she said.
Waterman did agree that the $5.5 million price tag is too high. She said it could work if the town had some partners in the purchase, though.
Mageau then said he thinks the council’s successors should be handling this decision, which Waterman agreed to. But she wanted to make sure LeBlanc would agree to it as well.
Landry said he would be happy to talk to the new council regarding the land. He also reiterated that this is the third time the town has been offered the land; a few years ago, voters shot down a proposal to buy the land for $3.6 million.
Landry then stressed that someone other than LeBlanc will own the land three months from now. Who will own the land, he added, is up to the town.
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