Jan. 12, 2004 – Every public trash bin in Coral Bay will soon sit on a concrete pad, Public Works Deputy Commissioner Ira Wade told more than 75 people gathered at the John's Folly Learning Institute on Monday evening for the monthly meeting of the Coral Bay Community Council.
The concrete pads, to be surrounded by curbs, will help protect the environment by keeping liquids from leaking into the ground, Wade said. Construction of the pads is part of a $3.8 million federally funded overhaul of Route 107 and part of Route 108.
Although residents dislike the trash bin site located on Route 107 near Love City Mini Mart, Wade said, the two large receptacles will remain there because it is government land. However, plastic fencing to make it look neater may be in the works, he said.
According to Wade, the Route 107 and Route 108 road improvement project is about 55 to 60 percent complete. "Some culverts have to go in," he said.
Wade said when the project got started in June 2003 that the contractor had until March of 2004 to complete the work. The project itself is four years behind schedule, mainly because it took so long to secure easements from landowners along the roadways. Many don't live on St. John, which made the job more difficult.
Culverts and driveways were done four years ago, Wade said, but since then, the area has seen a spurt of new houses and new roads. This new construction diverted some guts, which means some areas have to be redesigned. And that means a need for "more money and more patience," he said.
Coral Bay business owner Phyllis Benton complained that drivers now speed past her watersports shop on the newly paved Route 107 and asked if speed bumps could be installed. Wade said the federal government doesn't usually do that work but urged her to call the Police Department's traffic division to ask for a survey of the situation.
Wade said he had asked for money in his 2004 budget to pave Kinghill Road where it meets Centerline, Johnny Horn and Calabash Boom Roads. He said he asked for $1.5 million out of the St. John Capital Improvement Fund for road repair and $1.6 million out of the Public Works budget for garbage collection.
When and if that money will materialize remains to be seen. The government is operating on last fiscal year's budget because Gov. Charles W. Turnbull on Dec. 23 vetoed the FY 2004 budget approved by the Legislature.
Wade also said he is hampered by having only two people to do road repairs and that the continuing rains are compounding pothole problems and delaying repairs. Potholes develop because the roads are not engineered to allow water to run off, he said, and "the craters will be there until we can get the rain down."
Recycling, or, rather, the lack thereof on St. John, found a sympathetic ear. Wade said he realizes that although Public Works can't accept hazardous items such as used batteries, people leave them by the trash bins anyway. "I need you to tell my bosses to set these programs up," he said, urging St. John residents to ask Public Works officials to set up a way of disposing properly of batteries.
He also noted that people saving glass and No. 1 plastic containers in the hope that the Anti-Litter and Beautification Commission will soon resume its recycling program are tired of waiting. "We're getting it all now," he said, citing huge bags of plastic containers and glass jars that are filling the trash bins.
Anti-Litter and Beautification director Cordell Jacobs said last week that a proposal to resume the recycling program was awaiting Government House approval. The hugely successful program was stopped last spring when the ALBC used up its initial funding. Although additional money was available, the commission had to go through the entire bidding process again. (See "New contract needed to restart recycling".)
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name, and the city and state/country or island where you reside.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
