A subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Judiciary will travel to North Kingstown Thursday, May 24 to hear testimony on legislation introduced by Sen. James C. Sheehan (D-Dist. 23) of North Kingstown concerning the proposed container port facility at Quonset Davisville.
The public hearing has been set for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Davisville Middle School, 200 School Street North Kingstown.
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Senator Sheehan’s legislation provides that the construction of a container port facility in the state of Rhode Island would need to be approved as a referendum question by the voters of the city or town in which the port is to be located as well as by the voters of the entire state.
“My legislation, like the gambling provision in the Rhode Island Constitution, would require that the host community as well as the residents of the state approve the enormous container port project prior to its going forward,” Sheehan said. “Given its pricetag of $500 million, and its high risk and potential impact on both North Kingstown and the entire state I think the referendum is the right way to proceed. In fact, I would challenge the governor to support the spirit of my legislation, and to let the people of our state decided whether or not to build his mega-container port.”
Sheehan said the list of experts and government officials who will be providing testimony at the hearing is still being complied, but already includes John Vikerman of TransSystems Corp., a nationally recognized port development firm.
Asked if he expects his referendum bill to pass the subcommittee, Sheehan said “the fate of my legislation is unimportant. We will have succeeded if we can get our message out to the rest of the state. The more people know the more they will realize that this container port proposal not only makes poor economic sense, but also would wreak untold havoc on Narragansett Bay. Simply stated, the container port is wrong for Rhode Island.”
