A group led by House Speaker William J. Murphy is taking steps to put the site of the Station nightclub fire in the hands of a private nonprofit corporation that would build a memorial there.
The president of the West Warwick Town Council, Jeanne-Marie DiMasi, filed incorporation papers to become the corporation's registered agent on Sept. 29. In the papers, DiMasi said she is also listed as one of the three directors of "The Station Night Club Property Procurement Fund." The corporation uses DiMasi's home address and has no formal ties to the Town Council.
Murphy, a West Warwick Democrat, has been meeting informally with Democrat DiMasi and other elected officials to plan a memorial at the fire site. The group is seeking an arrangement that would allow Triton Realty Limited Partnership, the landowner, to donate the land to the corporation.
The group's effort stalled several months after the fire, when lawyers working for the fire's victims sued Triton. By getting rid of the land, Triton could be seen as depriving plaintiffs of a potential asset.
But DiMasi said yesterday that Murphy has found a way around that roadblock. He has found a private donor willing to put the value of the land -- probably between $200,000 and $250,000 -- in a special escrow account, DiMasi said. That way, if the fire plaintiffs prevailed against Triton, the value of the land would still be available to them. Meanwhile, Triton could donate the land to DiMasi's corporation.
DiMasi said yesterday she did not know the name of the private donor.
Murphy will petition the courts to approve the arrangement, DiMasi said. Meanwhile, DiMasi's new corporation will apply for nonprofit tax status. The other two directors of the corporation are Rep. Norman L. Landroche Jr., a West Warwick Democrat who is Murphy's law partner, and was also one of the first firefighters to respond to the burning Station; and Gilbert Medeiros, brother of the late Thomas P. Medeiros, who died in the fire. Thomas Medeiros was a friend of Murphy's from West Warwick High School.
Although his name does not appear in the incorporation papers, Murphy is directing the memorial effort, DiMasi said.
Jody F. King, vice president of The Station Family Fund, said yesterday that his group has been working closely with Murphy's office on the project.
"Something's got to be done soon," King said.
Other groups and individuals involved with the site were surprised to hear yesterday from a Journal reporter about the House speaker's plans. Colleen M. Delaney, who has several friends who were injured in the fire, formed an online chat group to discuss the disaster. This summer, she met with Murphy's staff in his office to discuss ideas for a memorial. Murphy's staff seemed receptive, she said yesterday. But "we haven't heard from them since."
"I certainly am glad that they are taking active steps," she said.
Thomas Cahir is president of the Station Memorial Foundation, which, like DiMasi's organization, was formed to build a memorial at the Station. Cahir is also an editorial assistant at The Journal.
Cahir said he met with Murphy earlier this month and told him about his group's plans to raise money to buy the land from Triton. "He said he wanted everyone to work together," Cahir said. "He made it sound like things were progressing slowly, and there was nothing to report at the time."
Cahir learned only yesterday that the project is advancing. "I had no idea," he said.
In the wake of the fire, Station survivors and the families of the victims formed several groups, not all of which get along with one another. The Station Family Fund has drawn criticism from other groups for accepting donations from Great White, the rock band whose pyrotechnics ignited the fire, and which many families blame for the deaths.
"They [Murphy and DiMasi] are going to have their hands full, P.R. [public relations]-wise, with the way they did this," Cahir said. He added that many families of victims might be upset to see West Warwick town officials involved in the memorial. "A lot of people feel like West Warwick is to blame for not inspecting," he said.
DiMasi said Murphy's plans grew out of a series of meetings of an informal group this spring.
But even one member of that group didn't know about the project until yesterday. Mark R. Fleury, the Republican councilman who represents the ward that includes the Station, had attended the meetings, but he said yesterday he had no idea the project was advancing.
"I'll have to ask [DiMasi] what's going on," he said.
Murphy's spokesman did not respond to a request for comment yesterday afternoon.
DiMasi said that Murphy's group plans to hold a meeting next month. "We're going to have to decide how we're going to get plans for the site, who's going to choose the memorial," she said. "It's not the biggest piece of property, so you're very limited in what you can put there."
Reporter Zachary R. Mider can be reached at 277-8068 or zmider@projo.com
