April 5, 2005 — When Ted Bast first started working at A.H. Riise nearly 30 years ago, the neighborhood looked a little different than it does today.
"I started in a corner of the building that housed the gift shop business. Everything behind it was warehouses and dirt alleys," says Bast. "No retail at all. I developed what you see now as A.H. Riise along with the family. I was never bored."
Bast retired about five years ago from A.H. Riise but has continued being an active member of the board of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce. At the chamber's annual meeting in February, Bast was elected president.
"I was with the Chamber of Commerce much of the time I was working and on the chamber board for 12 or 15 years," he said. "I was not interested in being president while I was working for someone else, but now I have the time to devote."
Bast said he doesn't miss working downtown. But as president of the chamber, he once again finds himself spending time in a downtown office, this time looking after the interests of the 800 members.
In his new role, Bast plans to work on the issues that have been important not only to the chamber, but to residents as well. Traffic management is at the top of his list.
"It continues to be a major problem and one of the things I don't feel we should ignore," he said. The chamber is working with the V.I. Police Department and the Taxi Association to test out traffic flow plans on Main Street. See: Gridlock Eased by Traffic Flow Trial Plan
Bast said setting up water taxis is another solution that would relieve congestion on the roads. "People could be picked up at the airport and taken directly to the hotels. The taxi association could get involved in running it as a business, but it's something they object to. It's going to have to happen eventually."
Another issue Bast will continue working on is downtown parking.
"There are a lot of derelict buildings that could provide space for parking areas," Bast said. "That's something that we want to look at as a matter of cleaning up the environment in town — either repairing the buildings or getting rid of them for parking." He continued: "I would like to see the marketplace rebuilt and the pot holes filled. There are so many things that were problems 28 years ago and still are."
Bast also would like to see the chamber and the Department of Tourism work more closely together. But, he emphasized, the chamber does not exist strictly for business purposes.
"The mission is to support the growth of business and enhance the quality of life of the residents," he said. "We've got to keep working at it. We're certainly not going to give up and let these issues lie dormant."
Sitting with Bast on the Chamber board are re-elected members Richard Berry, Richard Blyth, Barry Broome, Thomas Brunt, Susan Chandler, Adriane Dudley, Raymond Fournier, Maurice Kurg and Ed Thomas. Matthew Walton of Tropical Shipping was elected to a first term.
Other members of the board are Mario Austin, Steave Bailey, Mike Daswani, Cecile deJongh, Mary Gleason, Randolph Knight, Hurdle "Trip" Lea, Judi Nagelberg, Jose Penn and Beryl Todman.
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