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Town committee in Narragansett recommends free tribal beach access after hearing ‘disappointing’ criticism from residents at ‘unruly’ meeting A committee tasked with making recommendations on shoreline access in Narragansett has approved a proposal calling for the town to waive town beach fees for enrolled members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe.
If the town council adopts the suggestion approved unanimously by the town’s Coastal Access Improvement Committee Wednesday night, enrolled members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe would receive free Narragansett Town Beach passes, waiving walk-on and parking fees. Committee Chair Cinna Zerquera-Martin says she’s optimistic the town council will approve the fee waiver by the start of this summer’s beach season. “Narragansett Town Beach bears their
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SORhodeIsland.com • June 2022
name; the town of Narragansett bears their name,” Zerquera-Martin said of the tribe. “We feel that this is long overdue and is the right thing to do. And we’re doing it now.” Town Council President Jesse Pugh, who is a liaison to the coastal access committee, said town councilors will likely take up the proposal at their meeting on May 16, and he plans to make a motion then to adopt the changes. Practically speaking, Pugh said, the change would be small and “it’s not going to make a big difference to anyone in town.” But, he
said, “It’s a big change symbolically, and it’ll be great for the town of Narragansett to be the first town ever in Rhode Island to do it.” The proposal drew sharp opposition at Wednesday’s meeting. A small group of residents spoke out, with one person calling the fee waiver discriminatory and others suggesting it could lead to overcrowding at Narragansett Town Beach. During a separate discussion on making Native American land acknowledgement statements before town meetings, Pugh
Photo by Alex Nunes
By Alex Nunes, This article was originally published on April 28, 2022
