Oct. 3, 2001 – With a mooring and anchoring fee program in the wind, V.I. National Park officials are asking for public input at two meetings scheduled on St. John. The first will be an evening session, from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Legislature building. The other will be a morning forum, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Oct. 18 in the third-floor meeting area at the Marketplace.
While park officials wants to know boaters' and residents' opinions, they also want to hear from companies interested in bidding on contracts to collect the money.
Acting park planner Jim Owens said they want to know what companies propose before deciding on the scope of the contract. He said it might play out that one company gets the contract for the entire park, with subcontractors working the various bays, or the job might be divided up geographically among several firms.
"There's going to be some physical limitations on how many places you can get to," Owens said, referring to the need for the contractor to go from boat to boat, day to day, to collect the fees.
There are 182 overnight moorings in park waters. Owens said the park's vessel management plan, now in its final stages of development, calls for overnight fees of $12 for mooring use and $8 for anchoring in park waters. "Day use will continue to be free," he said.
Park officials plan to start collecting mooring fees in early 2002. The use of a contractor to carry out the work comes under the park's commercial services plan which took effect in July.
Officials also want to know if any companies holding commercial services permits — which allow them to operate within the park — are interested in hiring a park ranger for their visitor tours. Owens said some tour operators have indicated they would do so if rangers were available. He estimated it would cost about $35 an hour to hire a ranger. If there is a demand, "We will expand the interpretative ranger staff," he said.
In addition to expressing views at the upcoming meetings, anyone may fill out a questionnaire that addresses the mooring and anchoring fees as well as the availability of rangers for hire. Copies of the questionnaires are available at Connections in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay, as well as from Owens. They must be submitted by Oct. 31. Owens can be reached by telephone at 776-6201, ext. 247, or by e- mail to npplanning@islands.vi.
