From DEM to EDC

Gov. Lincoln Almond’s proposal to transfer the authority over the state fishing piers from one agency to another has some fishermen worried that they will eventually lose the piers to development.

As part of an overall plan to restructure the state Department of Environmental Management, Almond has submitted legislation to transfer authority over the state piers in Galilee and Newport from DEM to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. The goal is to consolidate the authority under one agency, which will increase efficiency, said Lisa Pelosi, spokeswoman for the governor.

Now, DEM manages the piers in Newport and Galilee, while the EDC manages the port at Quonset Point.

The bill Almond has sponsored specifies that the EDC must support the fishing industry and other marine uses at the piers – language Pelosi said will prevent them from being turned into waterfront hotels. She added that Almond is willing to strengthen the language to appease those who fear they could be lost to development.

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But that has not stopped the State House delegation from Newport, and fishermen, from protesting. They say they are concerned that giving the authority to the corporation – whose purpose is to improve the state’s economy – opens the door to develop

A place at the pier
“There may be a place for fishermen at the pier, but it may not resemble what we know now,” said David Spencer, a lobsterman who has docked his boat at the state pier in Newport for about 20 years.

”I don’t have anything to base that on, but it’s just my gut feeling,” he said. “I get the feeling that they’re (EDC) more of a development agency than an (organization) that would be a steward to the fishermen.”

Several Newport shipyards have been sold in recent years and turned into marinas or hotels, Spencer said. “If you look at the waterfront 15 years ago in Newport and compare it to today’s view, it’s quite different,” he said.

The state House of Representatives is now considering several bills that deal with the reorganization of the department. The bill Almond has sponsored was filed by Rep. Robert Watson, R-Dist. 43, of East Greenwich.

But Aquidneck Island legislators are criticizing the various bills which include provisions for the transfer of authority. In January, state Sen. M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Dist. 49, sent Almond a letter protesting the proposed shift. Five other legislators signed it, including Senate Majority Leader J. Clement Cicilline, D-Dist. 50.

Paiva Weed said she does not believe that Almond or Economic Development Corp. Director John S. Swen plans to displace commercial fishermen. But giving EDC the authority over the piers leaves open the possibility of their being developed for some other purpose.

“There has been no information provided to me which would convince me that there is any advantage to transferring the fishing pier from DEM to EDC,” she said. “We need to be concerned with the long-term preservation of the fishing industry.”

The fishing industry benefits from docking rates at the state piers that are well below the market rate for commercial docks. About 40 boats dock in Newport, and from 120 to 160 dock in Galilee, the state’s largest fishing port.

The criticisms of the proposed transfer puzzle officials at EDC, who say they have a history of supporting the fishing industry. John Martin, EDC’s director of communications, noted that the EDC provided loans to fishermen after the North Cape oil spill and coordinated a trade mission to the Philippines for commercial fishermen in 1997.

”The productivity of the fishermen is too important to neglect, and that is particularly (so) in the case of Galilee,” Martin said. “Working fishermen provide the ambiance that make it attractive to visitors, so it would be self-defeating to crowd them off their workspace.”

EDC believes it can manage the piers more efficiently because it has many of the specialists on staff that DEM does not. For example, EDC has plumbers, electricians, and other workers who will be available to do work that DEM has to contract out to get done. Officials also point to their experience running the Quonset Point pier as evidence that they will be effective managers.

The development corporation would manage the two piers with eight full-time staff, compared to the 10 that DEM uses, said Ron Patalano, assistant general manager of operations for EDC.

”You reduce the overhead (and) we can apply a lot more dollars to actually getting the work done and managing the work,” Patalano said. “We feel we will be able to do more with less.

”We’re going to reduce the number of people watching the work and increase the number of people doing the work,” he said.

Significant work is needed at both sites. DEM has estimated that the piers need $19 million worth. But EDC engineers estimate that the work can be done for $12.6 million – which is within the state’s budget for improvements there, Patalano said. EDC’s plan also calls for making the improvements in five years, rather than the 10 proposed by DEM, Patalano said.

For example, both agencies agree that the wooden bulkheads – the sea wall that separates ground from water – at Galilee need to be replaced. But the EDC plan calls for studying the steel bulkheads to see how long their lives can be prolonged before replacing them, unlike DEM’s plan, which calls for replacing them. This is where the cost savings is created, said Andy Vzykewicz, projects and regulatory manager for EDC.

Lacks understanding
But while EDC may be a strong property manager, it does not have as acute an understanding of the fishing industry as DEM, noted Kenneth Payne, policy adviser to the state Senate. However, Bob Ballou, a DEM spokesman, said that DEM could still provide the corporation with technical assistance. “We’ve been working very closely with EDC and will continue to do so,” Ballou said.

The Narragansett Town Council will consider the issue of which agency should have control over the Galilee pier in the coming weeks, said T. Brian Handrigan, a council member. After hearing testimonies, the council will vote to on whether to support the proposal. While he did not say which side he will favor this time, Handrigan did say he has supported the side of fishermen in the past.

”At some time we’ll digest what’s been said by all and we’ll take a position,” he said.

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