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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesWHO CARES ABOUT EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS?

WHO CARES ABOUT EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS?

Dear Source,
Well, now that the overdue and long-negotiated contract to wrap and bale garbage on St. Croix has been wrapped and baled and tossed on the dump, and Public Works is crying again to the Federal Aviation Administration to let them keep using the illegal and uncertified Anguilla landfill for another four years while air travel to and from the big island is being threatened, maybe it's time to ask the one serious question that nobody ever talks about.
Why, oh, why, was the early-on offer by the Renaissance Group to use their facility (ready, but now lying dormant) to handle all of St. Croix's solid waste by sorting and recycling, incinerating, etc. — at an estimated cost far below those bandied about by Public Works while "negotiating" the whole time with Caribe Waste and the unnamed company out of Puerto Rico — why was this offer never even given fair consideration?
You wouldn't have to look for a site, no neighborhoods would be affected, it lies just down the road from the present landfill, and all the environmental controls are already in place.
Why? The answer, which may lie more in ungreased palms than greasy palm fronds, deserves investigation. Oh, I forgot to mention the Renaissance offer to sell water and electricity to the Water and Power Authority, too, thus reducing utility bills and freeing up Public Works to get back to work on what really impresses the tourists: sewage running down the guts and under the boardwalk. Or maybe they should contract that out, too?
Doh! I forgot the failed sole-source sewer contract with the company of the former senator's hubby — a company which had no equipment or employees — who had just retired from Public Works as — what? — the guy who was in charge of fixing sewage on St. Croix! Never mind. Sometimes it's too silly to restate.
Bring on the federal financial officer; let the cries of "colonialism" fly in the air (while at the same time the planes are flying into Henry E. Rohlsen Airport) until the average citizen sees an improvement in the quality of life and everybody gets back to work making money. Then elect an honest, attentive and dedicated executive officer, and get the finances back.
Simple concept, yet so difficult to carry out. I wonder why. And it's a sure thing, not even a gamble, not like Golden Pond — but that's another story.
Don Bronsky
St. Croix

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