Richmond Recreation

Attention Richmond residents. Richmond Recreation is accepting applications for summer 2013. It is a great program to get kids active and social during the summer.

The program will run from July 1st to Aug 2nd. There is no program on July 4th. It will be held Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Richmond Elementary School located at 190 Kingstown Road.

Children entering kindergarten through grade 6 may attend. Teens from grades 7-8 may attend the day camp as counselors once approved by the Camp Director.

The cost is $145 per child or $290 per family of 2 or more.

For further questions contact Camp Director Charlotte Markey: recreation@richmondri.com

Day camp registration is available on the Richmond Town Hall web site: www.richmondri.com

Richmond Rural Preservation Land Trust

Did you know the Richmond Rural Preservation Land Trust has preserved over 200 acres in the town of Richmond as open space?  The trust’s mission is to identify, preserve, and protect open space within the town of Richmond in perpetuity; to maintain the town’s rural character and ecological assets; and to act as responsible stewards of land acquired or placed in conservation easement.

The goals of the trust are to:

1.    Preserve agricultural land, open spaces, fresh water wetlands, adjoining uplands, wildlife habitats and groundwater recharge areas.

2.    Identify and protect vital areas with the cooperation of private and governmental organizations

3.    Provide public access to acquired lands for various passive activities including biking, hiking, and fishing.

4.    Actively steward the land trust properties through monitoring and management.

 

 

Map Courtesy Richmond Rural Preservation Land Trust

 

Land owners can sell their land to the trust, gift it or sell or gift the development rights of land to the trust. For information on these visit the Richmond Town Hall website at http://www.richmondri.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={2F3FCD78-C79D-4FBA-AB59-9946B9AFE835}

 

The protected acres are scattered throughout Richmond and residents who are thinking about listing their homes should check the Richmond Town Hall web site and see if their property borders protected lands. It is something agents not used to rural properties or properties in Richmond may overlook.

 

Generally, buyers who are looking at rural properties feel more comfortable buying a home bordering open spaces, knowing it may not be developed. 

 

There are 4 Richmond Rural Land Trust Properties. They are Stetson, Bradner, Crawley and Scudder. There are 2 properties with conservation easements and almost over 15 protected properties.

Rural Southern Rhode Island MOO-Naure Ordinances

MOO-nure, it’s smelly, sometimes slimy, wet and dry, colorful and constant. No one likes to talk about manure, but for rural Rhode Island residents who own or tend livestock, it is a daily (sometimes twice daily, who am I kidding, multiple times a day) reality.

Cows From Behind

For those dealing with the other end of life, here in the bottom end of the state understanding town ordinances about “it,” can at the very least keep homeowners out of trouble and in their neighbor's good graces.

Believe it or not, each town has several ordinances involving the care, removal, management and storage of manure; or as I like to consider it, future compost.

According to the town of Richmond, in the manure ordinance 6.18.010, manure ordinances are for livestock . The town's definition of livestock includes such public offenders as cattle, cows, sheep, horses, ponies, mules, burros, donkeys, goats, llamas, alpacas, rabbits, chickens, roosters, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, pea fowl, peacocks, ostriches, and emus, as an accessory use to a principal residential use.  

Meanwhile, wild animals are free to use the world as their toilet.

2 other ordinances that impact manure storage are listed below.

6.18.020 General standards.  The following standards apply to any parcel on which domestic livestock are kept. 

 

A.  Areas where domestic livestock are kept shall be managed in a manner that minimizes dust, odor, and vermin.

 

B.  Stormwater runoff from all areas where domestic livestock are kept and where manure is stored or composted shall be directed away from wetlands and wells on the parcel where the domestic livestock are kept and away from wetlands and wells on adjacent parcels. 

(Ord. dated 6-7-11)

 

6.18.030 Manure management.  Manure shall be stored or composted in the following manner:

 

A.  Manure shall be stored or composted at least fifty (50) feet from a lot line, one hundred (100) feet from a well, and two hundred (200) feet from a wetland or stormwater drainage feature.

 

B.  Manure storage or composting areas shall be visually screened from residential uses on adjacent lots.

 

C.  Manure shall be stored on an impermeable surface and shall be protected from precipitation by a cover to prevent surface runoff over and around manure piles to avoid contamination of surface and ground water.

 

Manure is not a pretty or sexy topic (I can't believe I just used the word "sexy" in this post) but for those who live in rural southern RI or those who want to, it is an everyday reality. Knowing and understanding town ordinances will hopefully keep homeowners out of trouble and in the good graces of their neighbors.

 

For more information contact the local town hall.

 

Richmond Town Hall website

Richmond Rhode Island Free Brush Dissposal

Following Hurricane Sandy many southern RI residents were left with storm debris, fallen limbs and brush in their yards. For those who don’t have a working brush pile the Town of Richmond will accept brush at the Richmond Transfer Station.

Richmond is offering brush disposal for free to Richmond residents. Please note that brush removal does NOT include leaves. The free disposal program is to aide residents who have brush and tree debris.

To dispose brush at the Richmond Transfer Station residents will be requested to weigh the load before and after it is dumped. Then the resident’s name and address will also be collected for record-keeping purposes.

For more information call the Richmond Transfer Station at 401-491-9505.