Aug. 28, 2007 — Public Finance Authority board members plowed quickly through a two-page agenda Tuesday, and spent most of a two-hour meeting discussing the progress of various territory-wide capital-improvement projects.
Gov. John deJongh Jr., the board’s chairman, also announced that board member Paul Arnold has resigned to take up the position of St. Croix capital projects coordinator with the Economic Development Authority.
PFA officials said work is continuing on the reconstruction of the Toro Building at Estate Orange Grove on St. Croix, which will eventually house the local Department of Justice. On Sept. 6, a pre-bid conference will be held with contractors and a walk-through of the property will take place, said Brian Turnbull, the authority's special projects coordinator.
Officials added that they have reached a "milestone" in the construction of the multi-million dollar King's Alley Hotel on St. Croix, which recently hit a snag when board members decided to terminate an agreement with contractor Best Construction. Since then, St. Croix-based Apple Construction has been brought on to finish the hotel, and has helped the authority secure a conditional-occupancy permit, said Julito Francis, PFA executive director.
"They have been on the job, working steadily, and have helped us get the conditional occupancy permit, which means that a considerable portion of the facility is now considered usable,” Francis added. “This is a milestone achievement — it allowed us to actually stay there for a couple of days. Now the next goal is to have the opening of the hotel in early November."
During a meeting last month, board members voted to send out an RFP (request for proposals) to parties interested in purchasing, leasing or managing King's Alley.
During Tuesday's meeting, the board voted to enter into a formal contract with Apple Construction to finish up the hotel repairs.
The PFA board also approved $1.5 million in extra funding needed to complete construction of the authority's new complex, located in the old Quarters B building on Government Hill. While officials did not provide a complete breakdown of what the money would be used for, they did say the additional work would include renovations to the adjacent office of the St. Thomas-Water Island administrator.
The $1.5 million would come from interest earned on the 2003 gross-receipts bonds. With the additional funding, the project should be complete by the end of next month, Turnbull said.
Rounding out the capital-projects items, the board also approved a $143,000 contract with Omni Systems, which would be responsible for installing new telecommunications and Wi-Fi equipment at the Quarters B complex.
PFA board members also acted on recommendations made for the selection of an investment-banking team that would be responsible for addressing a number of new initiatives, such as the floating of pension-obligation bonds. The team will also look into dealing with the issue of retroactive pay owed to government employees, and the advanced refunding of some of the government's bonds, Francis said.
With the PFA's authorization, Francis can begin entering into agreements with the firms, which include JPMorgan, Citigroup, USB/FirstBank and J.P. McGowan/DETFA First Albany. Any final contracts must again go before the board for approval.
Board members also decided to:
— solicit appraisals for the Anchor Inn on St. Croix;
— review a proposal from DLR Aviation for a space at the Frederiksted Pier; and
— approve the use of a Banco Popular credit card for office purchases and authorized Francis to be a signatory on all the authority's bank accounts.
Present during Tuesday's meeting was deJongh, along with Finance Commissioner Claudette Watson-Anderson and Office of Management and Budget Director Debra Gottlieb.
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