At the town hall meeting hosted by the Virgin Islands Port Authority Monday night to discuss proposed increases in marine fees and tariffs, the message from the St. John community was loud and clear: “You are punishing St. John!”
That was one of the cries heard inside the Cleone Creque Legislative Conference Room, which was filled to capacity and locked down 10 minutes before the start of the meeting. A crowd of nearly 60 gathered on the balcony outside the conference room, clamoring to get in; their calls almost disrupted the presentation by VIPA Executive Director Carlton Dowe during the first hour.
When a loudspeaker was brought to the balcony so those outside could listen to the discussion inside, the crowd settled down to hear what community members had to say about the proposed fees.
The Port Authority has proposed a slate of fee increases that affect everyone in the territory, including docking fees at V.I. ports, fees for travelers between the BVI and USVI, and pilotage fees (primarily for cargo) for vessels over 100 tons. Dowe’s presentation, which outlines current VIPA projects and provides details of the fees, can be seen here.
But St. John community members were mostly concerned with proposed new fees as well as increases to ongoing fees, which specifically affect them. “I look at your presentation, and I have one question,” said Bonny Corbeil. “Have you thought of the deep burden and suffering you’re putting on the 4,000 who live on St. John? We’re a small community.”
Among the proposals is an increase in the barge ramp fee – the fee collected when a vehicle travels by barge from St. Thomas to St. John. “We’re being charged for coming back home,” said Pat Richards. “No one else in the territory has to pay to come home.”
The current fee is $3 for a car or small SUV. The Port Authority plans to double that fee to $6. In addition, VIPA plans to start charging a $2 fee for more than one passenger over the age of 12. (This is in addition to the $65 round-trip now charged by the barge companies.)
Several people testified about the need to go to St. Thomas for services that are not available on St. John. “Who rides a barge?” asked Meaghan Enright. “A teen going for a recreational activity? A senior for dialysis? A person going over for jury duty? It’s a very predatory fee on the most vulnerable in our community.”
One retired educator said she is the caregiver for her father, who has Alzheimer’s; she has to bring him with her when she takes the barge to St. Thomas with her husband, who cannot get his medical treatment on St. John. With the increases, she will have to pay an additional $5 every time she goes. “I’m not against increases,” she told Dowe. “Just do them rationally.”
The barge companies, too, will be affected by the new docking fees, according to barge owner Carmen Hedrington. “The car ferries will have to raise their prices. We were told we can’t collect a fee for extra passengers. But why is VIPA allowed to?”
The Port Authority is also planning to start charging “cargo overflow staging fees” throughout the territory. These fees will apply to trailers, containers, and heavy equipment that are awaiting transport at marine terminals and Port Authority properties. VIPA has proposed 10 new fees, eight of which affect cargo heading to or from St. John. “With an increase in fees for trailers, that burden will fall on St. John residents,” said Dior Parsons.
Dowe said several times that while barge companies have raised their fees to cover their increased costs, the Port Authority has not increased its ramp fees in 19 years. Similarly, VIPA has not raised its docking fees in eight years. Dowe presented photos of facilities throughout the territory, including the St. John dock, that are in need of repair. “Underline this,” he said. “VIPA can only spend what it makes. We don’t get anything from the central government.”
But St. John residents didn’t buy his argument.
“You’re putting an obscene and disproportionate burden on St. John,” said Hadiya Sewer. “The people of St. John are being displaced. Our land taxes are proportionally higher. There’s no public high school on St. John, and no hospital. The government is creating conditions which force us to leave.”
St. John residents were also opposed to charging for parking at the lot, which is part of the Victor Sewer Marine Facility in Cruz Bay. This parking lot — locally known as the Custom’s lot — is routinely used by St. John residents for trips to the post office or the Health Department clinic across the street.
The Port Authority has proposed allowing 30 minutes of free parking, but several audience members said they often spend more than 30 minutes to complete business at the post office.
Dowe said one reason for charging at the lot was to prevent people from parking there and then going off island for weeks at a time. Carol Beckowitz said, “There are ways to police the lot to keep long-term parking abusers away.”
One person who said she uses the Custom’s lot daily is Elva Goodwin, the pastor of the Moravian churches on St. John. She supplements her income by teaching at the Moravian School on St. Thomas. She keeps a car on St. Thomas and pays for parking at the Red Hook terminal – another facility which is slated for an increase in fees. “I now pay $175 a month, and you want me to pay $250? And now pay for parking here (on St. John)? I look at the people in my congregation …. The little man can’t afford it.”
Residents Question VIPA’s Basis for Calculating Proposed Fees
St. John residents questioned the Port Authority’s basis for raising the fees. In an op-ed published in the Source, Pam Gaffin, an accounting professional on St. John for 35 years, said the proposed fee increases were calculated based on financial statements from 2022-2024 when VIPA projected a loss in 2025. But Gaffin said VIPA has made “spectacular” profits during the first six months of 2025.
Gaffin said, although the data available on the VIPA website is incomplete, “the limited documentation that is available shows consistent increases in St John revenue.”
“For example,” Gaffin continued, “their data shows quite impressive June monthly revenue for the Barge Ramp ($52K), the Red Hook Parking ($99K) and the Gravel lot ($6K), for a year-to-date total of $1.3 million, up 4% from the previous year. The Creek Cruise Ship passenger revenue for St. John went up 53% from the previous year.”
Gaffin asked, “Could some of this windfall be used to prevent residents from suffering economic hardship due to the fee increases?”
At the meeting, St. Thomas resident Imani Daniel also asked VIPA to make available their profit and loss statements for each of their facilities. She promised to attend the town hall meeting scheduled for Tuesday night on St. Thomas to follow up on her request.
The St. Croix meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport Terminal VIPA Conference Room on the second floor.
Several residents asked how and when a decision would be reached regarding the proposed fees. Dowe said he and his staff would review the responses gathered from the three public meetings held this week and make recommendations to the board. Dowe said he hoped the decisions would be made at the monthly October meeting, which is open to the public.
The board currently has seven members. Leona Smith, the one board member from St. John, was the only member who attended Monday’s meeting.
“The (whole) board should be here – to feel our rhythm and our heart and our pulse,” said Myrtle Barry.
