After all the drama around Champlin’s Marina that occupied much of the past two months, things have settled down for the time being, as the new owners prepare for summer.
First was the news in November that Champlin’s then-owner Joe Grillo had appealed the February 2020 decision denying the dock expansion first applied for in 2003 to the R.I. Supreme Court. Then came the news that Champlin’s was sold on Dec. 23, and right on top of that, that Champlin’s attorney, Robert Goldberg, and the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council had gone through mediation behind the backs of the Town of New Shoreham, and all of the intervenors involved in the case. Although they had been invited to mediate, the town was told that if they did not wish to participate, there would be no mediation.
That mediation resulted in a memorandum of understanding between the two parties that was signed in an executive (closed) session of the full CRMC on December 29. If granted by the R.I. Supreme Court, Champlin’s would have the right to extend 156 feet farther into the waters of the Great Salt Pond, in close proximity to the navigation channel and the town
