Island Council approves
increased fees for bridge
~ Simpson Bay bridge urgently needs repairs ~
PHILIPSBURG--The Island Council voted in favour of increasing the fees of the Simpson Bay bridge, to make possible urgent repairs to the tune of US $1 million.
The increases vary according to the size of the boat. All five Democratic Party Island Council members voted in favour of the law amendment during Monday’s public Island Council meeting, while the three National Alliance (NA) councilmen voted against.
NA leader and Councilman William Marlin said NA wasn’t against increasing the fees, but the party could not agree with the manner in which information on the subject had been given to the Island Council.
He promised that NA would return to the issue in another meeting of the Island Council. NA strongly condemned the fact that a report of the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Water Works issued in March had reached the Island Council floor only yesterday morning when the Island Council was in session.
According to NA, the report was very critical of the bridge’s condition: it stated that repairs and maintenance on the bridge hadn’t been carried out as required and that urgent repairs were needed.
Commissioner in charge of Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC) Louie Laveist reacted by saying he respected the opposition’s concern, but yesterday’s agenda point was not the report, which had become the focus of the meeting. “The focus should remain on the bridge fees,” Laveist stated.
Based on questions about what responsibility government would take in this matter, Laveist said the Executive Council would not sit in the chair of the SLAC management. “When the SLAC realised the bridge needed to be addressed urgently, president Russell Voges took his responsibility and immediately addressed the issue regarding the repairs needed to be undertaken.”
Laveist refuted NA statements that government and SLAC did not take the report seriously. “SLAC went as far as making a presentation and gave a detailed tour to promote understanding for the state of affairs regarding the bridge. Once SLAC had carried out its authority to inform government, the Executive Council gave it the go-ahead to work on a proposal.”
He also stated that, based on the report of the Dutch Ministry, the necessary mechanisms would be put in place to make sure that Central Welding & Iron Works, the company that worked on the bridge extension and which has been doing the maintenance, complied with the recommendations made. “It’s serious? Yes. Is it being addressed? Yes. Will the bridge fall down? No.”
The Executive Council, Laveist said, has taken proactive action to address the concerns. In correspondence from SLAC to Central Welding, a list of details was given of works that needed to be carried out at Central Welding’s cost, according to the five-year guarantee of the 2002 contract for the bridge expansion.
Because the yacht season started yesterday, Laveist said, the repair works will start in June 2008 and are slated to last for three weeks. He guaranteed that St. Maarten would maintain its competitive edge as a yacht destination.
