In meetings hidden from the public and in documents denied to journalists, local businessman Michael Ball has proposed to construct and run a zip-line canopy tour that would send cruise ship passengers careening down from his family’s property on Magens Bay Road deep into the Alphonso Nelthropp Arboretum at Magens Bay Beach, one of the most peaceful spots on Magens Bay.
Magens Bay Authority board members first heard a proposal from Ball during the board’s meeting in August. Since then, however, talks of the zip-line have gone on behind closed doors during the board’s closed executive sessions. Board members walked the property where the zip-line will be constructed during a meeting in October.
A zip-line (also known as a zip wire or aerial runway) consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline. It is designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to traverse from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable, usually made of stainless steel, by holding on or attaching to the freely moving pulley.
Several sources close to the project have confirmed that the cruise ships would charge $100 per person—half of which would be kept by the ships, while $44 would go to Ball, and the remaining $6 going to Magens Bay Authority.
In addition to owning Blackbeards, LLC, Ball also heads Virgin Port Services, the St. Thomas port agent for many of the cruise lines.
Ball could not be reached for comment after numerous attempts over more than one week.
Documents available to the public detail the Ball family’s recent acquisition of land above Magens Bay that several sources close to the project said Ball has identified as the launch site for the proposed zip-line, with the landing site located at the bottom of a gut inside the arboretum, which was named for Alphonso Nelthropp, the father of current Magens Bay Authority chair Aubrey Nelthropp.
On Sept. 13, 2005, Aubrey Nelthropp and his wife, Carole, sold 3.26 acres of property in Estate Canaan & Sherpenjewel, just above Magens Bay, for $1 million to the Vernon A. Ball Trust and the Eva M. Ball Trust. The Nelthropp family had purchased the property from Arthur Fairchild’s heirs for $18,000 in 1974.
Within two weeks of that purchase, on September 23, 2005, the Ball trusts also purchased an additional 3.45 acres, adjacent to the Nelthropp property, from Shawn Scott, trustee of the Flamingo Palms LLC Profit Sharing Plan, for $830,000.
The proposed zip-line will run through land purchased by The Nature Conservancy and the V.I. government for use as a nature preserve and wildlife refuge. The supports and infrastructure would be built partially on the Nature Conservancy’s Land, according to Aaron Hutchins, the conservancy’s director of government relations in the Virgin Islands.
Hutchins said he has had several meetings with Ball and discussions with the Magens Bay Authority about the zip-line but has not yet received a formal proposal.
“We are far from giving our full endorsement or blessing,” said Hutchins, “but we did send a letter giving the project our preliminary support.”
Once the formal proposal is received, Hutchins said the Conservancy would do an extensive environmental evaluation before making a decision.
Walking through the arboretum as it is now, the silence is often broken only by the sound of waves lapping against the nearby shore, wild parrots calling to each other from the trees above, and land crabs scurrying into their holes below. The area is currently off limits to taxis and safaris and frequented by walkers and sightseers looking to get off the beaten path.
According to the storyboard located next to the arboretum gate, Fairchild donated the arboretum and beach area to the municipality of St. Thomas and St. John because “it was his desire that the preservation of the natural beauty be dedicated for the enjoyment of the people of the Virgin Islands.”
After many years of neglect, the arboretum was restored by Charlotte Amalie Rotary in 1991. The restoration project was spearheaded by Nelthropp, who was rotary president from 1991-1992.
As chairman of the Magens Authority Board, Nelthropp is charged with preserving and protecting the character of the place, which is dubbed the “People’s Park” on some of the arboretum’s guide signs.
When contacted by the Source for information on the project, the board chairman denied any knowledge of a proposed zip-line, saying he didn’t even know what a zip-line was. “Wow,” said Nelthropp, “this is news to me.”
When asked for copies of the minutes from recent Magens Bay Authority meetings—which are supposed to be available as part of the public record—board members and Authority staff said Nelthropp had instructed them to only release documents with his permission.
Nelthropp was then asked for the documents but refused.
The next board meeting will be held at Magens shed No. 3 at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving, according to Authority staff. The meeting is open to the public.
The Magens Bay Authority Board includes Aubrey Nelthropp, Leo Francis, Katina Coulianos, Robert Moron, Dayle Barry, Elliot McIver Davis and Gov. John deJongh Jr., represented by St. Thomas-Water Island Administrator Barbara Petersen.
