The governor’s lack of support is not deterring Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen and attorney Amelia Joseph from pressing their battle against the National Park Service for title to property in downtown Christiansted.
"The local government owns that property," Joseph said on WSTX Tuesday. "I’m so sure of this I’d bet my left foot."
The Park Service began work in September to turn a 12-space downtown parking lot into a park, contending that i was within its rights because the property is part of the Christiansted National Historic Site.
Hansen and Joseph, however, disagreed. They argued that the land belongs to the V.I. government. They filed suit in U.S. District Court and were granted a temporary restraining order in order to prove that the local government indeed held title to Fort Christiansvaern, the Scale House, Customs House and Steeple Building.
But a few days after granting the restraining order a District Court judge reversed his decision, noting that only the governor can take legal action on behalf of the territory. The judge questioned whether Hansen, acting as a private citizen, had standing in the case.
However, he gave Hansen and Joseph until Nov. 1 to prove ownership and convince Gov. Charles Turnbull to join the suit.
The governor refused, but Joseph said Tuesday that the case wasn’t closed. Reiterating her belief that the property belongs to the V.I. government, she said she was continuing with the suit without Turnbull. This time the tactic will be to force the governor to join the fray by filing a taxpayer's lawsuit.
"The taxpayers in the Virgin Islands can file suit if the government is wasting money or giving away real property," Joseph said. "The property is priceless. It’s our property – local Virgin Islanders'."
Meanwhile, the Park Service has almost finished turning the asphalt area between the Scale House and the wall surrounding the Post Office into a 4,200-square-foot lawn, with an information kiosk, benches and palm trees.
The $150,000 project would complete the Park Service’s controversial move of April 1998 that turned the 70-space King’s Wharf lot into a grassy park. That project spurred protests from former Gov. Roy Schneider, who also claimed the V.I. government owned the property.
He later backed off those claims. But Hansen and Joseph say the Park Service’s claims to the property haven’t been proved.
"If they have proof they own the property, why not share it?" Joseph asked.
Both Hansen and Schneider argued that downtown businesses would be hurt by the lack of parking. Christiansted National Historic Site Superintendent Joel Tutein, however, argued that most of the parking at the King’s Wharf lot was being used by employees and business owners.
