LATEST NEWS ABOUT ROCKY
POINT
June 3, 2010:
Rocky Point bond will be put to voters in November.
The House today voted to put
on next November’s ballot a referendum question for a $14.7
million open space and recreation. Approval by the voters “will authorize
the State of Rhode Island to issue general obligation
bonds, refunding bonds and temporary notes in an amount not
to exceed ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for the purpose
of acquiring title to all or a portion of land in and
around the former Rocky Point Park for the purpose of
establishing the same as a public park,” also funds for
acquiring the former Shooters property in Providence and
making improvements at Fort Adams in
Newport.
Another
chance to revisit Rocky Point and show support for creating
a public park there: On Sunday, June
6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian has
arranged to open the gate on Rocky Point Avenue so the
public can drive or walk through the city-owned land along
the shoreline. Rain or shine. Four hours should improve
traffic flow and allow everyone a chance to enjoy the view
and show their support. Foundation officers and volunteers
will be on hand for discussions, to sign up more Friends,
and to accept donations--$25 for a Rocky Point T-shirt. You
can also pick up a bumper sticker. The Warwick Neck
Improvement Association will offer its Warwick Neck book
that includes nearly 50 pages on Rocky Point, including
many rare photos.
May 10, 2010: Here is the latest Rocky Point news.
To buy all of
Rocky Point, we need a bond issue on the ballot and
approved by voters
One of the urgent tasks ahead is to get a bond issue,
including money for the purchase of the remaining Rocky
Point property, on the ballot in next November's election.
To that end we have met with House Speaker Gordon Fox and
other key members of that House, and Senate President
Teresa Paiva Weed and other key senators, as well as
Governor Carcieri's chief of staff and Michael Sullivan,
director of DEM. Resolutions have been introduced in both
the Senate and House for a Rocky Point bond issue. Of
course once a bond referendum is on the ballot, the support
of Rhode Island voters will be required to make this
important piece of our goal of a public Rocky Point a
reality.
Many other organizations are also interested in a bond
issue. We have been closely consulting The Nature
Conservancy, Save the Bay, the RI Land Trust Council and
others, as well as with the responsible staff at DEM. We
stay in close touch with the mayor of Warwick, Scott
Avedisian, a strong supporter of a public Rocky Point, and
his staff.
How much will
it cost? The park's bankruptcy complicates
things--creditors must be satisfied and developers could
still try to step in
Acquiring for public use the remaining property at Rocky
Point is complicated by the fact that it is currently in
the hands of the US Small Business Administration as
receiver for the bankruptcy court. The cost of the
acquisition is therefore uncertain, as the receiver is
obligated to obtain the highest amount for creditors. And
developers who have had their eyes on the property for
residential development could at any time return to bid up
the price. We have met with Mark Hayward, district director
of the SBA, in order to understand the issues affecting the
cost of acquisition and therefore the size of our task.
Another
chance to visit Rocky Point coming up. And the shoreline
may be opened permanently for walkers
Warwick Mayor Avedisian is planning to open the city-owned
shoreline again for a two hour period in June, allowing
visitors to drive or walk through; details in the next
edition of Rocky Point News. And he has endorsed a city
council resolution, introduced by Councilman John
DelGiudice, to provide permanent access to the city-owned
shoreline, possibly by creating a walking trail from a spot
near the old access gate. City officials are working on
plans and discussing with the SBA how to assure that
visitors do not venture into the SBA controlled area, which
poses many hazards.
Friends are
signing on--5000 so far
Our campaign to demonstrate the wide interest in a public
Rocky Point is off to a good start. More than 5000 have
signed on as Friends of Rocky Point via our website, at the
flower show and salt water fishing show at the Providence
Convention Center, at the Warwick Public Library, at
commercial establishments such as Nick and Joan's café in
Warwick (more than 900 so far!), and Town and Country Lanes
in Johnston and through individual efforts to sign up
friends and neighbors. Filmmaker David Bettencourt, creator
of the movie You Must Be This Tall, is preparing a public
service announcement to be aired on TV this summer.
You can help: forward this update to friends and family who
might be interested in the fate of Rocky Point, and
encourage them to visit our website and sign up as Friends
of Rocky Point. Or encourage your favorite business
establishment to sign up new Friends (like Nick and Joan's,
with spectacular success--above), an email to us will get
them started.
Our
fundraising has kept us solvent as we develop our
campaign
We have received donations totaling more than $4,000
ranging from $5 to $250, plus larger in-kind donations,
enabling us to buy supplies for our campaign and to save
for the larger purposes of purchase and maintenance. We are
all volunteers, have no paid staff nor expense accounts,
and will hire no consultants unless paid for with
foundation grants. We need additional donations, which can
easily be made on line or by mail, see our home page.
But to help
with the purchase or contribute to getting the property
ready for public use we will look for large gifts
We will be launching an effort to encourage large gifts, to
be held in escrow for application to the purchase price of
the remaining property or returned if a purchase does not
happen. If you know someone interested in preserving open
space and willing to discuss with us a possible gift to
help the public obtain the Rocky Point property, please let
us know or encourage them to contact us by email or by mail
to The Rocky Point Foundation, c/o Beacon Communications,
1944 Warwick Avenue, Warwick RI 02889. We will be happy to
meet and discuss with no obligations.
Our website
has other interesting stuff
Finally, if you haven't visited the Scrapbook page lately,
take a look, it has many interesting and poignant
comments, and you might want to add yours. And the Views
of Rocky Point page includes
views of the little seen and unexpected rocky ridge,
known in the old days as "the caves." We envisage that
area would make an interesting and challenging nature
trail, adding to the other attractions: scenic views of
the bay, two sandy beaches and large open areas for
sports.
March 26, 2010:
Thanks
to the generosity of the RI Saltwater
Anglers
we had a
complimentary booth at the NE Saltwater Fishing show
March 19-21 and signed up more Friends and talked with
many folks who would love to be able again to fish
from the shore at Rocky Point. We have now signed up
over 4000 Friends who support our goal of a public
park at Rock Point. And we have over 1500 fans on
Facebook. Don’t forget the new play featuring Rocky
Point--see
below.
March 12, 2010:
David Bettencourt, the
filmmaker who created the wonderful movie about Rocky
Point, You Must Be
This Tall, joined
us at the Rocky Point property on March 6, along with his
colleague Jason Mayo, to film and photograph the sights for
future use in promoting the creation of a public park
there. He is a strong supporter of that goal.
Meetings
with the Governor’s staff,
Speaker of the House Gordon Fox and other legislators, the
director and key staff of DEM, the Environmental Council of
RI, and other environmental and land preservation
organizations helped advance our goals.
Signups of Friends of
Rocky Point continued
at a rapid pace, nearly 3000 are aboard now, and
contributions have reached $4000. We now have more than
1300 fans on Facebook.
New play features Rocky
Point. Daydream
Theatre Company presents their production
Out To Rocky
Point, an
original play written and directed by Lenny Schwartz on
April 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29 30, and May 1, 2010. All
shows are at 8 pm. Performances are at Bell Street Chapel
in Providence.
--Out To Rocky
Point is a coming
of age story that takes place at Rocky Point Amusement Park
on the last day it was open in 1995. The production will
use authentic props and signs from the park as well as some
surprises.
==Ticket prices: $10 General Admission, $5 Students/
Seniors(with a valid ID). Tickets are available now at
www.Smarttix.com. Or visit our website at
www.daydreamtheatre.org. Any questions can be directed to
Mary DeBerry at 401-644-2293.
Nonprofit
status. The IRS has
notified us that the Foundation is exempt from section
501(c)(3) of the federal tax code and contributions are
deductible effective November 25, 2009.
February 23, 2010:
Flower show:
We signed up about 1500 new
Friends of Rocky Point at the RI Flower Show, February
18-21. We had a table there thanks to the generosity of the
Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association and Ken
Quaranto. And thanks to volunteers Clyde Bennett, Dawn
Almon, Kandee Deck, Carol Mann, Maggie Murphy and Betty
Garrison. Together with all Board members, they maintained
a presence at our table throughout the show, talking with
the many people from RI and all over southern New England
who are keenly interested in the fate of this historic and
scenic site. (Photos courtesy of Carol Mann)
Our progress:
We are just getting started,
but thanks to the
Flower Show we now have over 1800 signed on as Friends of
Rocky Point, many contributing to our fund, over $3000.
Over 1200 are fans on our Facebook page.
January 26, 2010 "Get the Point" has gone public. The
ProJo, Warwick Beacon (and sister newspapers in Cranston
and Johnston), radio and television reported our coming
out. Our press conference was held at Rocky Point on a
beautiful sunny morning overlooking a sparkling
Narragansett Bay and three bay bridges. Warwick Mayor Scott
Avedisian, Joe Diaz, representing DEM director Michael
Sullivan, and Foundation President John Howell spoke of the
cooperation among the city, the state, Rocky Point
Foundation, Save the Bay, The Nature Conservancy, the RI
Land Trust Council, neighborhood associations and Rhode
Islanders from all over the state aimed at preserving all
this historic and scenic treasure for all to enjoy. Our
banner displayed our slogan www.GetThePoint.org,
which takes visitors directly to our primary website,
www.rockypointfoundation.org.
