It seems we’ve given up our ability to manage the space and specifically to really follow what Hester Simmons had in her will and what our town ordinance states.”

David Rockermann

It seemed like a slam dunk several years ago when the Little Compton accepted an $80,000 state grant to help fund about 75 percent of the cost of major improvements at the Town Landing. Now, in a nod to frustrated residents who say the restrictions associated with the grant are unacceptable, the town will ask the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to take the money back.

The novel request comes after the DEM recently ruled that since the Landing repairs were partially paid for with state grants, the town cannot restrict half the parking spaces at the popular spot for the exclusive use of Little Compton residents. Some have been pushing for that restriction for months, saying they are being squeezed out of one of the town’s best spots by out-of-towners.

Councilors agreed Thursday evening to a two-step approach with DEM. If the agency is unwilling to take back the grant money, the town will submit a formal petition requesting that 15 spaces at be set aside for the specific use of Little Compton residents. Although town administrator Tony Teixeira has already unsuccessfully raised the question with DEM, town solicitor Tony DeSisto said petitioning the agency is a more formal way to get DEM to reconsider. 

  Hester Simmons’ gift

Several audience members on Thursday mentioned the property’s previous owner, the late Hester Simmons, who before her death in 1948 stipulated in her will that the landing property would be turned over to the town “for the benefit and pleasure of people within the community in perpetuity.”

Residents say the phrase makes Simmons’ intentions clear and should be honored. They also point to a town ordinance that contains similar wording. 

Harbor Road resident David Rockermann said the grant issue has gotten the town into a “little bit of a mess.”

“It seems we’ve given up our ability to manage the space and specifically to really follow what Hester Simmons had in her will and what our town ordinance states,” he said.

Focusing on specific wording, Rockermann added, “When she said ‘community,’ I don’t think she meant Boston, New Jersey, and Maryland. She meant people in town, and it seems pretty clear that the ordinance that went through in 1980 that said ‘for town residents only’ was in response to protecting that part of her will.”

Rockermann said he was “all for” giving the money back to DEM.

“I’ve already had someone come forward to me to offer to do that, and I think it would be a surprisingly easy task for us to raise that money.”

Councilor Paul Golembeske, who has spoken at previous meetings of the pitfalls involved in accepting government grants, reiterated those comments last week.

“Don’t take state money. It’s a free gift, but there are always strings attached to it.”