Keiser: town should forfeit any claim to Beavertail Lighthouse ownership

Town Administrator Bruce Keiser has recommended that the town forfeit its claim over licensed use of Beavertail Lighthouse and allow the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to enter into a final agreement over the management of the 151 year old light.

According to Keiser, the DEM, which is responsible for the management of Beavertail State Park, has expressed an interest in operating the light since Coast Guard officials began its license review process. The Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association (BLMA), which runs the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum, has also expressed an interest in the site. The town's decision to forfeit its claim would make way for the final disposition of ownership and allow necessary improvements to the light to move forward. Because the license review process allows any organization to apply for control, Keiser said that he didn't see a reason for the town to enter into a process which would put it in competition with the DEM or BLMA.

"I don't see a role for the town" Keiser said. The town has had an interest in the light in the past as affordable housing. However, in April, the Coast Guard denied the town's request to continue the use of the light's caretaker quarters for affordable housing.

In a letter dated April 11, J. J. Metcalf, commander of the USCG Civil Engineering Unit Providence, based in Warwick, wrote "we will not be permitting residential occupancy at Beavertail Lighthouse since this type of occupancy is not directly related to the maintenance of the property."

In May, DEM Assistant Director Larry Mouradjian had indicated that the town, DEM, and BLMA had plans to enter a threeparty agreement that would define the future use of the property once DEM had petitioned for ownership from the current owner, the state General Services Administration.

A meeting between the town's Beavertail Acquisition Committee (BAC) and BLMA had previously been set to discuss the matter further for Oct. 17, at 3 p.m.