01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, May 27, 2006

NEW REGISTRY APPROVED

CRANSTON -- The State Properties Committee has given final approval for a new Registry of Motor Vehicles headquarters at Cranston Street and Garfield Avenue, on the former site of the Cranston Street trolley barn. In a unanimous vote, the committee approved a 10-year lease agreement with Trolley Barn Associates LLC, which plans to build an office building and rent the first floor to the Registry for $1.1 million per year, said Brian P. Peterson, associate director of the Department of Administration.

The Registry has been using makeshift quarters in the Apex department store in Pawtucket for the last two years, since pipes burst and flooded its previous home in a former bank building in Pawtucket. Due to open by March of next year, the new facility will have 17 registration and 12 licensing stations, Peterson said, and will be designed from the ground up for customer convenience.State officials are working on a plan to increase staffing at lunchtime, when most customers use the Registry, and to make estimated wait times available on the Internet, Peterson said.

TOWN SUED FOR MALL DENIAL

TIVERTON -- Owners of about 44 acres off Souza Road have sued the town -- and members of the Town Council and Planning Board in their individual capacities -- alleging that town officials have "intentionally and maliciously" tried to block construction of a shopping mall on the land. The civil suit was filed last week in Superior Court, Newport, by James McInnis, trustee for the property owners, who have had a purchase-and-sale agreement with New England Development for nearly five years. The Planning Board last November denied NED's application to build a shopping center of about 275,000 square feet on the Souza Road site, saying it did not fit the rural character of Tiverton. The developer has appealed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court to overturn the decision. McInnis, meanwhile, alleges that since 2002, town officials have made a "concerted effort to engage in illegal spot zoning and to delay, hinder, and prevent McInnis from legitimate efforts to make use of the property in a manner permitted by state and local law." He seeks a court order affirming that the construction of a shopping mall falls within the permitted uses in the highway commercial zone in which the land is located.

GAY BAR TRANSFERS LICENSE

NEWPORT -- The city's only gay bar -- which endured a protracted and controversial quest for a liquor license -- has shut its doors and is selling the license it had so much difficulty obtaining. Castaways on the Solar Winds closed in January and won the city's approval this week to transfer its license. The new license holder intends to open a tavern at a different location, while the building that houses Castaways, at 28 Prospect Hill St., will become a single-family residence.

"The demographics weren't there," said Lionel Pires, co-owner of Castaways. "It was a real struggle." Castaways opened in March 2004 in a venue that had been a pub since the turn of the century and which was a gay bar, David's, from 1971 to 1999. It took Pires and Allan Dillabough nearly three years to secure a liquor license, amid allegations by the partners that they were being discriminated against. But the business lasted less than two years. There are now more than 10 gay bars in Providence that are open until 2 a.m., instead of Newport's 1 a.m. closing time, Pires said. There weren't that many when David's was open he said. "It would have taken years to generate a business," he said.

SEWAGE PLANT DUNS NURSING HOME

COVENTRY -- The regional sewage-treatment plant in West Warwick is dunning a local nursing home for months of unpaid bills, and plant officials have raised the threat of a service shutoff. Haven Health Center of Coventry, at 10 Woodland Drive, hasn't paid a bill since December and is $24,000 in arrears, according to Janine Burke, the plant's director of administration. Monthly notices demanding payment, Burke said, are routinely ignored. "They're not paying anything."

Haven Health Center of Coventry, which currently has 202 residents, is one of four Rhode Island nursing homes owned by Haven Health Care, a Connecticut corporation. The Coventry home, which Burke said is controlled by a limited-liability company called Coventry Equities, was acquired by Haven Health Care in August 2003. This week, the home's administrator, Melissa Prevey, said she was not aware of any unpaid bills. "I know nothing about that," said Prevey, who was appointed in September. Anthony Scierka, president of Haven Health Care, suggested that a "misunderstanding" may have resulted in unpaid bills. "Anything that we lawfully owe we certainly will make arrangements to pay," he said.

BRADFORD INN CONDO PLAN ADVANCES

BRISTOL -- After closing on the $3.6-million purchase of the former Harriet Bradford Inn and two neighboring parcels last week, a New York-based developer is set to move ahead with plans to transform the properties into luxury condominiums. Brenton Realty Investments on May 16 closed on the deal to buy the downtown properties from local businessman Ted Barrows and his company, Belvedere Developers LLC, according to records filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Providence, and the company is already cleaning up the site.

According to discussions between the company and town officials, Brenton Realty will make only minor changes to a proposal by Barrows and his previous partners to redevelop the former inn, a nearby carriage house and a vacant lot into a mix of 22 condominiums and retail space. The company's application for master-plan approval is on the Planning Board's agenda for its next meeting, June 13.

TOWN ORDERED TO PAY FIRED COMPANY

JAMESTOWN -- The town has been told to pay $47,105.70 to an engineering company that it fired two years ago from a sewer replacement project, citing missed deadlines and problems with the work. The April 6 ruling by an arbitration panel calls for the town to pay Siegmund & Associates Inc. $35,062.50 for legal fees and work that was beyond the scope of the company's contract, as well as $12,043.20 to cover some of the company's arbitration fees. Company president Laszlo Siegmund called the ruling a clear-cut victory, while Town Solicitor J. William W. Harsch said it was a hollow victory at best because the company won nothing on its claims of lost profits. Harsch said the town might appeal and would fare better in court than before the arbitration panel, which disregarded the town's claims for damages on the grounds that the town tried to terminate the contract without any legal action.

BRAWL EARNS LICENSE SUSPENSION

LINCOLN -- The liquor license of La Cabana nightclub on Reservoir Avenue will be suspended from June 30 to July 6 as punishment for three incidents of unruly behavior at the Saylesville nightclub since December, the Town Council voted Monday night. Assistant Town Solicitor Roger C. Ross said the club owners have agreed not to contest the suspension. The action -- the hearing and vote had been postponed twice because of lawyer availability problems -- stemmed from three incidents at the club, one Dec. 28 and 29, another March 6 and a third on April 30. But the December case was the major problem. That night the club was hosting a private party that was broken up by staff members when guests became unruly. More than 100 people left the club and went into the parking lot and nearby streets, some of them getting into fist-fights. The police had to call in officers from Central Falls, Cumberland and Pawtucket to get things under control.

DOWNTOWN RULES GET FIRST OKAY

WEST WARWICK -- The Town Council has given preliminary approval to new design standards for the downtown district that council members hope will ignite and govern long-sought redevelopment. The vote came during the first council meeting since the Financial Town Meeting and it followed months of budget workshops that dominated the council's attention. There had been almost no discussion of Arctic village since last October, when the council rejected three plans submitted by developers to dramatically remake the struggling commercial district.

The four-page architectural design ordinance that the council approved attempts to preserve a so-called village atmosphere that is "compatible with Arctic's historic development pattern." It calls for modest ground-level shops with large display windows, a consistent height for buildings along Main Street and strict standards for building materials and color.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN BREAKS GROUND

PROVIDENCE -- The Elmwood Foundation broke ground this week on the Early Street Townhouses, condominiums that are targeted for families seeking affordable housing. The three-bedroom units will cost $165,00. The typical buyer that will be eligible for the condos is a family of four with an annual income of $58,000. The units will be 1,240 square feet, Energy Star certified and will have one and a half baths. The $2.3-million project was financed by the City of Providence HOME Program, the city's Department of Planning and Development, the Rhode Island Housing HOME Program, HUD, Citizens Bank, National Equity Fund and Rhode Island LISC. "It's a lovely residential neighborhood and we think this project will enhance it and stabilize the neighborhood," said Susann G. Mark, executive director of the nonprofit community development corporation.

MAYOR SEEKS SPECIAL TAX FOR DEBTS

JOHNSTON -- The town needs about $8 million to eliminate a spiral of education debts, and it should acquire the money by imposing a special, one-time property tax, according to Mayor William R. Macera. "Somebody's got to pay the eight million bucks," Macera said. "I'm going to recommend it," he said, adding that the owner of a property worth $300,000 would face an extra $900 in taxes.

The supplemental tax is the mayor's latest proposal for eliminating the town's education deficit, which poses a threat to the flow of cash that fuels the town government, which includes the School Department. So far, the town has chosen to carry the deficit from one year to the next rather than borrowing the money it needs to pay off the debt or dipping into its savings. At the outset of each fiscal year, the town uses new revenue to pay off unpaid bills from the previous year. But that leaves less money at the end of the fiscal year. If approved by the Town Council, the School Department could be blamed for the tax, said Macera, who was doubtful that the council would accept his idea.

PARK, LIBRARY RESTORATION DRIVE BEGINS

WESTERLY -- The Memorial and Library Association announced this week the start of a $7-million capital campaign to restore certain elements of the 15-acre downtown Wilcox Park and update the interior of the Westerly Public Library, built in 1894 as a memorial to Civil War veterans. Work on the park is expected to begin in the coming weeks, said Library Director Kathryn T. Taylor, but interior library renovations may not start for two years. During construction, the library is expected to operate out of a different building for up to a year. Some of the collection will be moved to another location, while a portion of the collection will be put into storage, Taylor said. Repairs to park sidewalks will kick off the project soon, she said, "but we have a lot of events going on all through the summer, so we have to coordinate things very carefully." The sidewalks, she said, will be repaired under a Save America's Treasures Grant with a match from The Champlin Foundations.

NEIGHBORS FAIL TO PREVENT REZONING

EAST PROVIDENCE -- Neighbors surrounding the former Tristam Burgess School on South Broadway say they don't want a condominium development built at the property because it will be uncharacteristic with their community. The residents from Fort, Mason and Public Streets -- which border the 40,814-square-foot site -- came to last week's City Council meeting to prevent the council from changing the land from an R-6 zoning designation to R-5. The residents didn't succeed. Changing the zoning at the former school site will allow Michael West Associates to build the proposed 16 condos. The company was the highest bidder last August for the property at $1.2 million. Officials chose to sell city-owned land and surplus property last year to raise money for capital items. There were 10 sites in all for sale with the former school land being the largest.