The local government has many tasks to accomplish before the National Park Service will agree to a land exchange, V.I. National Park Superintendent Brion FitzGerald said Tuesday. The local government wants the exchange so it can get ownership of up to 10 acres in Catherineberg that are under consideration for construction of a public school.
“They have to identify land to be exchanged,” FitzGerald said, adding once that land is identified, the government will have to do studies on it that include checking for hazardous materials.
A parcel owned by the local government on St. Croix was identified as a possible site several years ago but that location hasn’t been mentioned in recent years.
FitzGerald said a land swap is necessary because, according to federal law, the Park Service can’t give away land. He said that the local government’s land must be equal in value to the Park Service land.
Currently at issue for the park is the government’s failure to do a full archeological survey at the V.I. National Park site in Catherineberg proposed for the land exchange.
FitzGerald said the local government’s contractor had a permit to do the full survey but wasn’t as thorough as the Park Service expected.
According to a Government House statement released Monday, a “scoping” meeting was held July 29 so architect John Woods could unveil the results of the archeological survey. The press release said a Phase 2 archeological survey was planned but indicated the Phase I survey resulted in the identification of a modern 20th-century residential structure and associated features, an historic component and pre-historic component and above ground features and structures.
According to the results, the bulk of the historic remains are on the eastern side of the parcel, not on the portion under consideration for the school site.
At the July meeting, Woods indicated that based on the Phase I archaeological findings, a school can be accomplished on the site without interfering with the eastern most historical findings on the property. However, FitzGerald said whether a school can be built or not depends on the results of the archeological survey that is not finalized, according to Monday’s news release.
FitzGerald indicated that in addition to identifying land for an exchange, natural and cultural resource surveys need to be conducted on both federal and local properties to be exchanged.
According to the Park Service, once all of this is completed, then a provisional Land Exchange Agreement would be drafted with the execution and final terms contingent on the results of the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act processes.
Information gained from scoping and the appropriate resource surveys will be used to determine constraints on the design and location of the potential school. In addition, that information will help determine the appropriate NHPA requirements and eventually the NEPA environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, which FitzGerald said was the more detailed of the two.
Once conceptual plans for the school are completed, the NEPA document needs to be contracted. Necessary design information for the NEPA process would include details of the building footprint, such as the shape and location on the site, building height and general appearance.
If the environmental assessment or environmental impact statement recommends the exchange, the NEPA process is complete and the Park Service regional director can sign off.
If the lands the territory proposes to exchange are outside of park boundaries, then legislation authorizing a boundary expansion for that particular park area would need to be passed by the U.S. Congress. FitzGerald said it doesn’t have to be in this park but could be St. Croix.
According to FitzGerald, it may turn out that the National Park Service will not approve the Catherineberg site for a land exchange, which means the local government will have to look for another possible site for a St. John school.
The press release indicated government will also have to negotiate an official agreement with the Park Service, perform a cost analysis and identify financial resources.
Numerous public meetings on the situation held over many years indicate there is support for a new school.
When this school year starts, Sprauve Elementary School students will be joined by those who previously attended Guy Benjamin School in Coral Bay. Guy Benjamin closed at the end of the 2013-14 school year.
According to St. John Administrator Leona Smith, the Sprauve School is in bad location. It’s located near several bars, and students face continuous traffic noise as well as danger from the traffic. “It’s an accident waiting to happen,” Smith said.
The press release indicated the July 29 meeting followed the first public meeting in May, which focused on space planning and educational program concepts, garnering updated public input regarding the need for a school. Some suggestions have indicated the desire for a pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade facility and possible thematic programming geared towards a particular course of study.
