Contrary to a commonly held perception, residents of North Kingstown are not unilaterally opposed to all development at Quonset Point. We only ask that development that occurs there makes sense, is a good fit with our community, does not harm the environment, and provides a wide range of jobs. These are reasonable requests by reasonable people.
Before a decision is made about whether to pursue a container port at Quonset Point or not, it is important that everyone becomes informed about what this decision means for the state, for Narragansett Bay, the overall economy, and for the surrounding communities that ultimately will have to live with whatever decision is made. This information gathering is particularly critical to members of the General Assembly for it appears that they will be asked to vote on the establishment of a Port Authority for Quonset during the upcoming legislative session. Understanding that these noble men and women have no staff and little time to research issues on their own, I offer the following points for their consideration:
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Is a container port at Quonset the highest and best use of the land?
No, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it has been estimated that it can take up to twenty years to secure all of the necessary permits and build the infrastructure needed for a container port to be fully operational at Quonset. Twenty years is a long time to wait and an even longer time to let good industrial land lie fallow. We need to consider the thousands of lost opportunities for less controversial and better job-generating businesses that can locate at this attractive industrial park during the next two decades. Is it a sound business practice to put all of our eggs into one basket that isn’t a guaranteed success?
What are the costs of pursuing this proposal?
In a recent interview in the Providence Business News, Governor Almond projected that the costs to develop a container port at Quonset would be between $400-$500 million.
Could the state’s resources be better spent on other types of development?
Unequivocally yes! Over the last five years or so, Quonset has attracted a wide variety of small and medium sized businesses. These businesses have created — and will continue to create — a wide variety of jobs without risking taxpayers’ money to do so. It is easier, more cost-effective and simply makes more sense to dedicate state resources to keeping Quonset on this path toward becoming a full, thriving industrial park. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
