Times have changed, but solutions still possible



 

 

When The Jamestown Press announced the Vision 2020 concept at the beginning of the year, it was originally conceived as a 12-part monthly set of think pieces by engaged residents, each followed by a public discussion.

COVID-19 had other ideas. So much has happened that the current terrain is barely recognizable from January. The columns each pondered, “Where should Jamestown go?” from slightly different perspectives. We are sort of at the halfway point, and it’s a opportune moment to do an appraisal.

After re-reading these pieces and the letters to the editor during this period, certain themes emerged that the authors shared and some points of public divergence also appeared.

They proposed a variety of ideas to support the business community, ranging from easing parking restrictions, easing property usage change rules, increasing signage directing off-islanders to businesses and historic sites, creating an economic development commission, creating a trolley circuit, and bolstering the role of the chamber of commerce.

There is an underlying assumption that we want and need tourism, but there is less of a clear public consensus on how much and what kind of tourism — and there are multiple kinds. There are gastronomic, arts, recreational, historical, and environmental tourism and various combinations to name just a few.

There is the corollary concern of how any of these strategies are to be effected in a prolonged period of social distancing. All local businesses actively are involved in reassessing and adapting their business models and looking at new revenue streams to support themselves or tide them over during the pandemic.

Let me backtrack to 2019 to identify a number of things accomplished by the town I think indicate that we are well-positioned to be proactive about the suggestions of the authors and that demonstrate a communal will to solve problems. n The town charter was murky about the public petition process when it received it’s first petition regarding the Sanctuary City initiative. This placed the canvassing clerk and the board of canvassers in a complicated place with no real guidance on how to proceed.

A non-partisan charter revision committee through diligent work successfully developed a clarifying policy that goes to the voters in November. This process goes a long way toward filling the gaps in the charter: it reminds us this is a living document and needs periodic revisions. (That same charter did not have a provision for an alternative to an in-person financial town meeting as Charlestown does, resulting in the drive-in movie format of this year’s FTM.) n When the town received an offer of a donation of public art, it had no policy in place. A committee was constituted to develop a policy deftly chaired by Duncan Pendlebury of the planning commission. It was a bumpy but inclusive and successful process that paved the way for further consideration of public art.

At the same time, the Jamestown Arts Center through the (again) deft and inclusive public and private engagement of Vice President Tom Farrell was able to debut the Outdoor Arts Experience currently scattered around the island. (Since it opened, this has been a demonstrative example of arts tourism attracting people to Jamestown who have patronized its businesses.) n The town employees have leadership roles in their professional governance bodies and public committees such as the state League of Cities and Towns, the Police Chiefs’ Association and the Rhode Island Elections Committee — this last being Town Clerk Erin Liese. We on the board of canvassers have two elections this Fall under very complicated circumstances with the rules and provisions changing weekly, but with Erin we have a seat at the table.

We had a warm up with the financial town meeting, but through the D-Day-like logistical planning of Recreation Director Andy Wade and his team, what initially appeared to me to be a wacky idea went like clockwork — we had 203 voters there, more than many previous FTMs. We worried about the format stifling discussion, but Town Moderator John Murphy maneuvered the proceedings to allow for dissent — the last speaker gave an impassioned pitch to defund the police. n The town council worked effectively in 2019 to manage the budget and bonding issues, such that when COVID-19, hit the town was not in an overextended state. Additionally, the council and Town Administrator Jamie Hainsworth proved remarkably agile to move to Zoom meetings and respond to requests to loosen rules to accommodate restaurants, provide bump-outs on Narragansett Avenue, lease parking etc. By the second council Zoom meeting there were 43 participants — more than attendance at most in-person meetings.

These are the conditions that indicate we have the will and the ability to come together to address the really serious problems ahead: The robustness of our volunteer community in consolidating Jamestown’s food banks and carefully monitoring food insecurity; the preparedness of our schools to manage the Fall whatever form this takes.

During this time period, other things have happened. Jamestown had a Black Lives Matter demonstration attracting around 100 people. A letter to the editor by Cate Brennan responding to a history question in The Jamestown Press called into question the historical census description of the African-American presence in Jamestown. Many people actively working on how to recognize the black presence in Jamestown. As the state began opening up in phase III, concerns were raised about visitors, people fishing, parking, garbage,and social distancing resulting in an online petition to restrict certain parking to locals — engendering support and opposition on social media.

What were some of the important ideas from these Vision 2020 contributors?

From Andy Nota, to drill down on the core values in Jamestown — an active lifestyle, a strong sense of place, a protected environment, and strong education.

From Will Tuttle, of The Governor’s Crossing Brewery, the notion we should entertain the idea that some businesses may be pop ups, that there will be turnover; that the town can support businesses by redirecting a portion of the meal and beverage tax; that the chamber can generate business directories and signs.

From Bill Munger and Jeff McDonough, a more directed approach, including the idea of an economic development commission, upkeep of the island’s infrastructure, and transportation support such as bike paths and a trolley circuit.

From Sav Rebecchi and others, ideas about maintaining the water supply including through paring of the tree canopy. A repeated theme was signs and the question of usefully directing visitors to sites and businesses — to make it userfriendly, interesting and informative.

The Jamestown Historical Society’s Rosemary Enright raised really important issues about how our public description of our history is incomplete, especially in places like Fort Getty, West Ferry, East Ferry and that better historical signs can explain to ourselves and visitors Jamestown’s role in different periods from the Colonial multi-racial agricultural period to the role of the ferries in transporting goods in the Atlantic trade to the military installations culminating in a German prisoner of war camp of strategic importance to the postwar denazification process.

To circle back to the issue of what kind of tourism we need and want, my experience has been that fully informative, fully inclusive, nuanced descriptions, wall texts, didactic signs and contextualized monuments encourage visitors who will not only respect the place and environment but patronize the businesses.

I have seen this in operation in Charleston, S.C., at plantations in New Orleans, and in the coastal cities of France, where a wholesale reinstallation of all the museums to reflect these cities’ involvement in the triangle trade finally has made historical sense of what was a partial picture — and substantially boosted tourism and increased patronage of restaurants and collateral businesses.

We need to make more of our history visible to encourage these visitors. We do not need a welter of signs for those of you who think we have too many already. We need signs with intention, strategically located that begin to fully amplify who we have been, who we are, and which will attract people who want to share that experience with us.

Ken Newman moved to Jamestown in 1982. He is a member of the Jamestown Board of Canvassers and sits on the advisory boards of the University of Rhode Island’s College of Arts and Sciences, Common Cause Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

It’s time to have your voice heard

The seventh community forum in the “Jamestown 2020: A Vision for the Future” series has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Once a date is established, it will be publicized.