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Council approves 15‑year caretaker lease for Middle Bridge property with direction to tighten contract language
Summary
Council approved a 15‑year lease extension for the town caretaker’s residence at Middle Bridge (accepted with council direction that the solicitor refine lease terms), citing the tenants’ long service and town conservancy support.
The council voted 5–0 to approve a 15‑year residential lease amendment for the caretaker’s house at 95 E Middle Bridge Road, after public comment endorsing the tenants’ long stewardship of the property.
The tenants explained the longer term was sought to justify modest investments in the house (air conditioning, modest interior improvements) that they would fund personally. One tenant said they’d maintained the grounds for decades and asked for stability to make upgrades. Several residents and members of the Narragansett Land Conservancy Trust urged approval, while other commentors asked for clearer lease language on fair‑market value, maintenance responsibilities and disaster‑repair obligations.
Town counsel advised the council that legal staff could tighten and clean up the draft lease language to address those specific points; the council agreed and approved the lease while directing the solicitor to revise several clauses for clarity before final execution.
