DEM head says RI should buy Rocky Point

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) - The director of Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management says the state ought to buy a portion of the former Rocky Point amusement park and preserve it as open space.

The problem is finding the money for the land that has been valued at more than $20 million when the state is facing a $370 million deficit.

Director W. Michael Sullivan tells The Providence Journal that he has asked the State Properties Committee for permission to begin surveying and appraising 82 acres that developers have been eyeing for luxury housing.

Sullivan said he hopes to create a coastal state park with the land with the 41-acre portion of the seaside amusement park that closed in 1995 and was acquired by the city and state last year.