The V.I. Port Authority’s efforts to rehabilitate salvageable Bournefield housing units is moving forward, with progress being made on leaky roofs, VIPA Director of Engineering Dale Gregory told the VIPA board during its regular meeting on St. Croix Wednesday.
"We have been able to work on six roofs, sealing them … and we are getting good feedback," Gregory said. "They tell me they aren’t having any problems."
As a stopgap measure, crews also put tarps on the houses of tenants complaining of leaks, covering as many as possible, then working first on the ones that are not covered or still leak despite tarps, Gregory said. Recent rains slowed some of the work, but if weather permits, he expects to be sealing two to three roofs per day.
"I think we will be in pretty good shape by the end of the month in terms of stopping leaks. Then we will go in and assess each unit," he said.
The work is part of a redevelopment plan to fix up some units and gradually relocate tenants through attrition. Many of the 42 occupied units in Bournefield are substandard, with an array of structural, electrical and plumbing problems.
Last fall, VIPA announced it was going to evict all the residents, giving them four months to find new housing. Residents protested, saying similar, moderate-priced housing is next to impossible to find on St. Thomas, and the board reconsidered and began working on a more nuanced, gradual approach.
On April 20 the Senate passed a measure requiring VIPA to submit its Bournefield plan to the Senate for approval within 60 days and to ensure that tenants are relocated into "decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations within their means."
In May, the VIPA board approved a draft redevelopment plan, and on Wednesday the board approved an updated version of the plan, prepared by VIPA staff to ensure it met the terms of the Senate measure.
Attacking VIPA’s Budget Deficit
As one of several austerity measures aimed at closing a looming $3.4-million deficit this year, the VIPA board last month approved a 50-cent per-passenger fee for vehicles picking up customers for pre-arranged tours and other taxi services that do not have the airport concession. Notices were distributed, and the fee had been collected for three days as of Wednesday’s meeting, said VIPA Finance Director Judith James.
"Our first day of collection netted $71 dollars," James said. "We did have some negative feedback from some of the users who did not want to be paying the fee in that manner."
Several purveyors want to pay on a monthly, rather than daily basis. But unless the policy is changed by the board, James said she has no authority to make the change, adding that the airports have been charging on a daily basis.
In other business, the board approved just more than a $2 million increase to the contract with V.I. Paving for runway resurfacing at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport. The project was always expected to cost close to the current anticipated total, but the contract was scaled back to meet available federal grant funding.
But with progress being made towards closing Anguilla Landfill, the Federal Aviation Administration has made more money available, allowing the entire project to be completed, Gregory said. The revised contract cost is $8 million.
There is a 5-percent local matching requirement for the FAA grant, so the $2 million increase to the contract will cost VIPA $102,000, Gregory said.
In other business, the board:
— approved a 10-year lease extension with TMT Sand Co;
— approved a change to a lease agreement Chevron Caribbean for a submerged fuel line in Crown Bay, allowing Chevron to terminate the lease by paying one year’s rent in advance;
— approved a new five-year lease for Tropical Shipping on St.Croix, with an option to renew for another five years; and
— and approved hiring for several vacant positions and other personnel changes.
Present at the meeting were chairman Robert O’Connor, Gordon Finch, Labor Commissioner Albert Bryan, Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls, Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty and Attorney General Vincent Frazer. Absent were Yvonne Thraen and Cassan Pancham.
