Senate President Novelle E. Francis, Jr. is inviting the public to submit their comments on the proposed land exchange for the construction of a school on St. John to his office in advance of the Committee of the Whole scheduled for Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in the Cleone H. Creque Legislative Conference Room. Representatives from the Office of the Governor, the Virgin Islands National Park and St. John community groups have been invited to attend.
The proposal would exchange Tract No. 02-101 Whistling Island a/k/a Whistling Cay, Cruz Bay Quarter, St. John, a government owned property for Tract No. 01- 137A Catherineberg (Hammer’s Farm) Cruz Bay Quarter, St. John, a Department of Interior/National Park property. According to the terms of the agreement, the National Park Service will also make an equalizing payment of $210,000 to the Government of the Virgin Islands.
“There is a lot of community interest in the proposed exchange,” stated Sen. Francis. “I hope that people take advantage of this opportunity to submit their comments as part of the public record. While the invited testifiers represent a range of viewpoints, comments from the community ensure that the full diversity of opinions on this topic are available for public review.” Comments should be submitted to senatorfrancis@legvi.org by Friday, July 7, 2023.
The hearing will begin at 3:00 p.m. and can be viewed on Legit TV (VIYA Channel 26), the Legislature’s Facebook page or via livestream at legvi.org. The hearing will also be broadcasted on 91.9 FM.