Editor, The Smithfield Times:

The more I hear about Mr. Joseph Luter III’s proposed $6 million offer to Smithfield, the less it seems like a benefit to the town. 

The main benefit would be the sidewalk along Main Street in front of the proposed Grange development. But as The Smithfield Times reported, there is already a funded project to build sidewalks along that stretch of road. We could potentially upgrade the proposed sidewalk to brick, but we will soon have a sidewalk in this area whether or not we accept this money. 

A more questionable benefit would be the construction of a brick perimeter wall at the intersection of Main Street and the Route 10 Bypass. While this would be nice to have, it is certainly not essential, and while brick construction is expensive, I can’t see building a decorative brick wall costing more than a small fraction of the combined $12 million that is under discussion. This would leave the bulk of the money to fund priorities that directly benefit the proposed development at the Grange, to which taxpayers have already collectively contributed $2.8 million for the farmers market. 

I am already concerned about this co-mingling of public and private property, and to my mind a whole host of questions are still unanswered. What happens if the ultimate owner of the development wants to use the farmers market space for something else? If the town and the owner get into a disagreement, can the owner restrict public access to the farmers market? Who pays for upkeep and maintenance on the structure? 

While I very much appreciate all of Mr. Luter III’s contributions to this lovely town, this particular project is just not making sense to me.

 

Greg Brown

Smithfield