Authority must approve barn
By Tom Shevlin

The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority has yet to officially sign off on the sale of a piece of property on Upper Taylor Point critical to the town's highway barn plan, however, that's not deterring town officials from moving forward on the project.

"Until there's final approval, there's no guarantee that the bridge site will go forward," Town Administrator Bruce Keiser told council members on Monday.

Still, that's not holding up the town's plans.

According to Keiser, Department of Public Works Director Michael Gray has indicated that plans for the barn could be before the council as early as the end of October.

In addition, Keiser said that the town has been approached by several environmental groups to take part in the planning and design process in order to minimize the impact of the project.

Keiser reported that RITBA Executive Director Buddy Croft has indicated that the Authority would be convening a special meeting on the purchase and sale agreement prior to their next scheduled meeting in October. Keiser said that RITBA had not given any indication it would reject the agreement and noted that it has the support of both Authority Chairman David Darlington and Croft.