Ballot Question No. 4: Vote to Reject

“In fact, the citizens of the state have already paid for the Shooters site once to accommodate the I95 project. In this case, once is quite enough” –

This is a very inaccurate statement given that the RIDOT states that the sale is mandated because the federal government paid 80% of the 13+ mil price with the promise of resale. So the citizens paid approximately 2.5 mil not the full purchase price as implied above. Even if we purchase the remainder of the property from the federal gov’t for 3.5mil the citizens will have only shouldered less then half of the original purchase price. Certainly not the total cost as implied above.

http://www.artinruins.com/arch/?id=decay&pr=bootleggers
“Committee chairman Kevin Flynn said the state is obligated to put the property up for sale because 80 percent of the purchasing cost was covered with federal money, on the condition that whatever was left over be sold at market value to help pay for the highway project. Flynn says the committee’s approval allows the DOT to draft a request for proposals so that the property can be advertised for a public auction. The committee will review the RFP and, more important, have a say over whether the state moves forward with the sale. A purchaser would have to honor easements that ensure public access to the waterfront, he added.
“Some compensation needs to be paid back to [the Federal Highway Administration], and it’s up to this committee to determine what that is,” he said.”

Missed the state amount in the article referenced above $4.7mil so it would total @ $8.2mil for the state if this is purchased. Still not paying for it twice.