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HomeNewsArchivesSenate Approves Help for WAPA, Exclusive Franchise for Ferry Route

Senate Approves Help for WAPA, Exclusive Franchise for Ferry Route

April 19, 2007 — Senators voiced mixed opinions Wednesday on a bill granting one local company a 15-year franchise agreement to provide ferry service between St. Thomas and St. Croix.
At the end of the eight-hour meeting, however, the bill made it through the full body by a slim margin, with eight senators voting in favor, four voting against and three abstaining.
Since the bill was introduced at a meeting held late last month, senators have argued whether or not the proposed franchise agreement for Aquatic Management LLC — doing business as V.I. SeaTrans — should have been put out to bid, allowing other local ferry companies the chance to present alternate proposals. Others, such as Senate Minority Leader Ronald E. Russell, have questioned whether the Legislature has the authority to grant exclusive ferry franchises, or whether such proposals should be vetted through the Department of Property and Procurement or the V.I. Port Authority.
During Wednesday's session, however, Senate President Usie R. Richards said that the Legislature's authority to grant such an agreement has been set by "history and precedent," since previous Legislatures have voted to, among other things, grant an exclusive franchise to two ferry companies offering services between St. Thomas and St. John.
At Senate hearings held over the past few weeks, Richards, a co-sponsor of the bill, has explained that the agreement had been in the works for the past year, since the last ferry operator, Island Lynx, ran aground with financial troubles. The bill's main draw is that it would give the new operator, V.I. SeaTrans, better access to the federal funds needed to subsidize the cost of a new boat and other expenses. (See "Senate Committee Approves Long-term Ferry-Service Agreement.").
"Our concern is offering reliable permanent ferry transportation between St. Thomas and St. Croix, and we are acting well within our authority in securing these services for the people of the Virgin Islands," Richards said during Wednesday's session.
However, Russell argued that the company would still be able to obtain federal funds if senators vote not to grant an exclusive contract. "The issue here is exclusivity," he said. "Do we need it here? No, we don't. You just need a franchise to get the federal funds — it doesn't have to be exclusive."
While Russell, along with Sens. Juan Figueroa-Serville, Louis P. Hill and Neville James, used these reasons to vote against the bill, others continued that providing permanent, "homegrown" ferry service would ultimately build a bridge between the islands and "link" the two communities together.
Voting in favor of the bill on Wednesday were Sens. Liston Davis, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Norman Jn Baptiste, Shawn-Michael Malone, Richards, James Weber III, Celestino A. White Sr. and Alvin L. Williams.
Sens. Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Basil Ottley Jr. and Carmen M. Wesselhoft abstained.
An amendment subsequently attached to the bill directs the Department of Public Works to add the ferry route between St. Thomas and St. Croix to the territory's comprehensive mass transit plan, which makes the company eligible for federal subsidies.
However, the funds have to be in place by the end of the month, Richards said.
Senators also butted heads over another bill designed to give some much-needed financial help to the V.I. Water and Power Authority.
"I have mixed feelings about this bill, and whether it should really be called the WAPA Financial Reform Act, instead of the WAPA Financial Assistance Act," Jn Baptiste said. "Because this has nothing to do with reforming the utility's finances — it's about giving them a handout."
While many senators agreed, a majority voted in favor of the bill, saying that certain measures need to be put in place to pull the authority out of its financial slump.
Over the two-day session, which began on Tuesday, senators also approved bills:
— appropriating $250,000 from the General Fund to WAPA to conduct a pilot solar-powered street-lighting program on St. Croix;
— mandating that 4 percent of delinquent property taxes collected on each island go into the respective district's street-lighting and potable water accounts;
— reprogramming $2.9 million set aside for the defunct Carifest Theme Park project for the construction of the Leonardo "Nardo" Trotman Drive on St. Thomas;
— requiring that individuals appointed for government boards and commissions may not be employed by the board for which they serve;
— authorizing the governor to implement flex-time, or staggered, work schedules for employees and promulgate rules and regulations for the flex-time policy;
— allow the director of Personnel to sign off on all notices of personnel action (NOPAs) and terminations or suspensions for nonexempt, classified government employees;
— appropriate $400,000 a year for three years to the Department of Education for the summer science and humanities enrichment program;
— require the V.I. Housing Finance Authority and the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation to make quarterly reports to the Legislature regarding the status of available-housing opportunities in the territory; and
— establishing a Magistrate Division within the V.I. Superior Court.
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