“I have trust issues,” First Warden André Boudreau told the Town Council on November 17. The council was discussing the proposed management agreement with the Block Island Land Trust for the Overlook property. The Town of New Shoreham is partnering with the Land Trust to buy land on the Great Salt Pond from the Overlook. Originally, the deal was explained to the citizens of New Shoreham at the Financial Town Meeting in May, 2021 as a group effort between the Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Block Island Conservancy, and the town.The original purchase price was $10.5 million, split between the town for $4.5 million, the Land Trust for $4 million, and The Nature Conservancy and Block Island Conservancy splitting the remaining $2 million. The item was added to the warrant for the Financial Town Meeting just two weeks before the meeting. The voters of Block Island approved the purchase at the FTM, and appraisals were ordered which came back as lower than the purchase price. A new price was agreed upon by the Town Council and Land Trust, $8.5 million. After seeing the revised offer, Overlook owner Steve Filippi reached out to Land Trust Chair Barbara MacMullan and
