The Block Island Residents Association is exploring the possibility of the town opening up a public park at the Coast Guard Station. The town has owned the facility since the 1990s, with the Coast Guard discontinuing year round operations in the late 1980s. The Coast Guard still has a presence on the island during the summer, but docks their boat at Champlin’s Marina.There has been interest in expanding the dock at the station and opening up parts of the property to the public for several years,with money budgeted in 2019 for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The town has an application with the Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) to reconfigure the dock, widen the pier, and add a fixed timber pier. The application was accepted on September 1 and is awaiting a decision by CRMC.
BIRA has asked to have Harbormaster Kate McConville give its representatives a tour in order to assess how to grant public access to the site without interfering with the town’s current uses of the facility.
Harbors Committee Member Charles Gustafson presented the idea, saying: “We’d be able to open it up to the public asa public park.” He elaborated on the
