We love Collier Point Park. This hidden gem offers fishing piers, boat launches, and benches on the boardwalk for enjoying this unique perspective of the city. A tower provides vistas up and down the bay and visitors were once able to walk right under the Iway over to the hurricane barrier, but since May, the access gate has been closed. We just found out about this courtesy of Rob Smith, staff writer over at ecoRI News. The property owners claim there has been serious damage caused by vandals. Obviously some of this must have been caught on the 24-hour surveillance cameras and presumably the video has been turned over to the police. We will have to look up the police report and see if any arrests have been made.
But here is what I am learning for the first time:
. . . there’s a twist. The park isn’t owned by the city. The land and park are owned by the Starwood Energy Group, which operates the nearby natural gas-fired Manchester Street Generating Station.
Starwood Energy closed the park to the public in mid-May, citing vandalism concerns and damage to the park’s infrastructure. Residents attempting to access the park via its Henderson Street entrance will see imposing black metal gates in their way.
Who to be mad at?
Collier Point Park was at the center of alterations to the city’s tax stabilization agreement with Dominion Energy, the then-owner of the Manchester Street power plant, in 2018.
. . . the original agreement was being altered to excise a provision that would transfer ownership of the park to the city, or be subject to a $300,000 tax penalty. Dominion kept the land and eventually agreed to pay $150,000 as part of a settlement with the city.
We gave our park away to a Fortune 500 company? And knocked $150K off the bill to boot? In that same year, Dominion was making a $7.9 billion acquisition of Scana Corp. This all came to pass under Mayor Elorza’s stewardship. The ecoRI News piece links to this ProJo reporting (7.23.18) on the City Council committee hearing where Dominion insisted it was actually doing the city a huge favor taking the park off our hands.
Well I want the park back!
Collier Point Park has long been a Dose favorite. Here’s how happy I was when it was finally reopened after the Covid lockdown. And here is our history of the unusual park from six years ago. This is particularly important for the people of South Providence for whom this park provides access to the water, fishing, and fresh air. Mr. Smith has more to say on how important this coastal Right of Way is for the people of the city.
Big thanks to ecoRI News for their reporting.
Collier Point Park, Henderson Street, (directions)
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Let’s see what the police report has to say.
If this idea – collective punishment for vandalism: no more park for anybody! – spreads…