Dear Source:
Much is being said right now about the state of the economy and Governor John P. deJongh has been in the forefront of the efforts of our government to encourage business creation and job growth here in the Territory. One such effort has been the Virgin Islands Energy Office’s Sun Power Loan Program. The program designed to provide an affordable option for homeowners and small businesses to purchase solar water heaters, and to promote the development of the renewable technology market (i.e. Create jobs). Five million dollars of Federal Stimulus was received in May 2009 to fully fund this initiative. In May 2010 the loan program became fully operational.
I am the owner of Solar Solutions, LLC, a participating vendor in the VIEO’s Sun Power Loan Program. Four months after the formal launch of the program I am saddened to report that the program is hopelessly adrift in mismanagement and disorganization. And this is the coconscious of the entire vendor community. The goals of installing 200 solar water heating systems per month and of creating jobs for the 26 graduates of the Solar Water Heater Installation Training Program (itself a Federal Stimulus funded project completed in the fall of 2009) have not been realized. And will not be realized unless aggressive intervention and corrective actions are made inside the VIEO. It should be remembered that Governor deJongh choose to bring the VIEO under the organizational umbrella of the Governor’s Office when he assumed office and as such carries some personal responsibility for the success or failure of this program.
The problems with the program are numerous, but primarily caused by the VIEO’s inability to complete loan approvals within the programs prescribed time line requirements of 3 weeks. Loan applications submitted on June 18th have still not been approved and the vendors like me are beginning to run out of work. As of this letter I have one week’s work remaining……..then the staff layoffs begin. Just when we expected to be adding more staff we find ourselves faced with layoffs and disappointments. Repeated discussions and communications with VIEO staff and a 2 hour meeting on July 13th with Director Bevan Smith have had shown no positive results nor improvements in the VIEO’s performance.
At the start of 2010 after waiting 9-months for the often promised and never delivered start of the program it took VI Senate intervention, lead by Senator Hill, to force the Governor to become personally involved and to finally move this program off the drawing boards and into implementation. But today the program is in disarray and as the VIEO operates out of the Governor’s Office and Director Smith answers directly to the Governor, it’s time for Governor deJongh to exercise some leadership and again intervene personally in this matter. It is my belief that absent immediate changes in the VIEO and within its leadership that this program will continue to fail. The programs promise of offering an affordable option for the purchase of a solar water heater and the promise of creating jobs for the graduates of last year’s training program will be added to the long list of broken promises and missed opportunities that litter our Territories history.
Michael DiNapoli, St. Croix
