Recent repairs to units in the Estate Bournefield housing community have turned up some extensive damage, which V.I. Port Authority board members said Wednesday was a liability and should lead to the eventual condemnation of the entire area.
At the board’s monthly meeting on St. Thomas, VIPA Executive Director Carlton Dowe said a little less than $100,000 had been approved for repairs to 15 (out of approximately 42) units in Bournefield, which adds up to about $4,000 per house. The initial scope of work for the repairs included putting in sheetrock and dealing with plumbing and electrical problems, among other things, he said.
Dowe told board members that some of the units are in worse condition than first thought and that he’s not sure that the money allotted would be enough to cover the work.
“Some of the units we started to work on, as we remove the sheetrock and outside wood, we found quickly that in the interior there was the deterioration of several copper piping sections where electrical outlets have been not working and other problems,” Dowe said. “Even the money that has been approved will not be enough if we continue to find these kinds of deteriorating conditions.”
When Dowe was asked whether the board should “revisit” the amount approved for repairs, Dowe said he’s going to try to work within the given scope but eventually the board is going to “have to make a serious decision” on how it wants to proceed.
Work on one unit alone, for example, is going to cost somewhere around $20,000 and that building is in the process of being demolished, Dowe said.
“The money we have didn’t take into consideration what we actually found,” he added.
The authority has hired One Stop Home Owning Construction Company to work on repairs to several of the units in the housing community.
Dowe said the work needs to be done for the sake of the residents living there, but he told board members that a plan to eventually condemn the units and move residents to another site close by is in the works.
Recent meetings with a developer that has already done extensive work in the territory could yield positive results: Dowe said he should be receiving a report back in two-and-a-half weeks about the feasibility of developing the new site (which he said is located “up the hill” from Bournefield), but added that the deal hinges on whether the developer could receive federal tax credits for the project, he added.
“If they are able to get federal tax credits, that’s the approach I’m going to take,” Dowe told the board. “We don’t expect to evict anyone, but we will be making provisions so we can assist them in acquiring decent and suitable accommodations.”
In other action, board members tackled some pressing financial issues, including concerns that the authority’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget shows a 6 percent decrease in revenues.
According to the board’s finance committee chairman, Manuel Gutierrez, the board has instructed Nellon Bowry, VIPA’s interim chief financial officer, to look at expenses and figure out what has caused the decrease. Once that is complete, the board might try to “revisit” its budget next month, Gutierrez said.
“We are trying to get a handle on the situation,” he said after the meeting. “I assume the decrease has to do with the whole economic picture, and I think we have to look at the competitiveness of our destination as a whole.”
Gutierrez also spoke about the approval of a new financial policy, which he said is “important for the management of the authority.”
“We didn’t have one before,” he said. “It’s also important because it gives us more structure. If we ever decided to go to the bond market for any reason, this is the type of financial policy that investors look for.”
VIPA’s most recent financial report, from December 2012, shows that current operating revenues are $4.3 million, down 6 percent from the same time in December 2011. Total operating expenses are currently $4.9 million (down 4 percent from the same time in December 2011), which leaves a loss of $616,509.
Total operating revenues, year to date from December 2012 was $11.2 million, while year to date revenues at the end of December 2011 were $11.8 million. Year to date operating expenses from December 2012 were at $13.5 million, which is comparable to December 2011, according to the report.
The report also said that aviation division revenues have decreased by 8 percent, while marine division revenues have decreased by 4 percent. The aeronautical division shows a 7 percent revenue increase.
On a positive note, Bowry said in his report that the authority’s balance sheet “is strong,” with assets totalling $40 million.
Board members also voted to authorize Dowe to enter into a contract with BioImpact Inc., which will help VIPA to secure the permits needed to conduct maintenance dredging in Crown Bay Marina (the contract is for eight months at a cost of $28,100).
The board also discussed matters relating to the eventual closing of the Anguilla landfill on St. Croix, and a possible extension from the Federal Aviation Administration on the final closing date.
Board members attending Wednesday’s meeting included Gutierrez, Albert Bryan Jr., Gordon Finch, Vincent Frazer, Beverly Nicholson-Doty, Robert O’Connor Jr., Allison Petrus and Darryl Smalls.
