Providence Journal 2/08/08

City dropped ball in Cullion dispute

CRANSTON

I find it deplorable that the Cranston taxpayers are forced to pay this out-of-court settlement to rid us of the Cullion Concrete Corp. batching plant. The city has failed in its responsibility to protect the interests of its citizens, and we have no choice but to accept this proposal when we are told that litigation could take up to three years and cost two to three times the settlement amount of $1.9 million, and that we could have a concrete plant or some other industrial nightmare on our doorstep should we lose.

Our elected officials are now posturing to claim salvation of the residents from this atrocity, but let’s make no mistake, there are no heroes in this matter save for those citizens who … carried signs, wrote letters, and made phone calls in an attempt at self-representation.

The City Council and the mayor should do two things: (1) rezone the property as open space and grant its custody to the Pawtuxet River Authority ensuring the land will be protected well into the future, without the threat of the City converting it to its own use, or to prevent the sale of the land for private development, and (2) Retrace the path of this deficient building permit, determine the root cause of this problem, and implement new procedures, controls, and oversight to prevent its duplication in the future.

Dennis J. DeMarco