Town Council Wrap: White Elephants & Sewers

Fate of Vacant Town Buildings

Manager Michael Embury proposed ideas for the . For several of the buildings, Embury suggested the town hire a real estate firm to market the properties for sale, as the town does not have the expertise or manpower to do so.

Selling the buildings would work for properties like the former informational technology building on Reynolds Street and the garage on Oak Hill Road, said Embury. However, Wickford Elementary School may be more complex of an issue.

After closing in 2005, the . Last year, into a joint town hall and school administration building. In the same special election, voters approved a question that would allow the council to sell the building. During Monday night’s meeting, Embury said he was unsure of the path the council wanted to take with the building — ranging from leasing the building to selling it.

“Sell it,” said Council Member Charles Stamm, who added that he hoped someone would buy the building and restore it.

The council also discussed the future of another former school — the Little Red Schoolhouse on School Street. .

According to Embury, a group of residents are forming a board of directors for the North Kingstown Food Pantry and has been eyeing Little Red as a potential new home. (Currently, the pantry operates out of the North Kingstown United Methodist Church on Boston Neck Road.)

“Our town’s food pantry is something that has lacked space for a long time,” said Council President Elizabeth Dolan. “I would be more than happy to take a look at a proposal to find a way to contribute to the utilization of that space.”

For Stamm, the former school is “another property that falls in the category of ‘sell it and get it back in the town’s tax rolls.’”

Other council members were hesitant to support or oppose the food pantry’s move to the building without further discussion and information.

23 Washington Street

More than 100 Wickford neighbors officially submitted a petition to the council regarding the village’s most controversial house — . The home, built in 1807, is no longer a historic structure following modifications to the residence by owner Stanley Weiss. Without the historic designation, the house is now in violation of elevation compliance regulations.

“A historic building has been destroyed with wanton disregard for the procedure and rules,” said State Rep. Larry Ehrhardt, who also lives in the village. “This is a graphic demonstration of a regulatory system that has failed.”

The matter is before two town boards (the Historic District Commission and Building Code of Appeals) following appeals from Weiss.

Residents asked that the matter be put on a future council agenda for discussion.

Sewers

North Kingstown is one step closer to sewers as the council authorized the submission of a loan application for $5.8 million from the Rhode Island Federal Clean Water Finance Agency to fund the project.

In November 2010, North Kingstown voters approved a . Town officials hope the project will attract more businesses to the ailing Post Road Corridor. The .