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Editorial - Not unthinkable

That outgoing Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake wants the Council of Ministers to get on with approving the much-discussed purchase of the Vorst land in Cay Hill (see Friday paper) is to a certain extent understandable. After all, the family has been waiting since the days of former Minister Roland Duncan and his plans for a Justice Park on that location.

Not only that, but they have agreed to lower the price at least twice Read more

Minister Lake wants ministers to vote on Vorst land purchase

PHILIPSBURG--Outgoing Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake wants the Council of Ministers to vote in its upcoming meeting on the pending purchase of the Vorst land in Cay Hill.

He is preparing an advice on the land purchase to take up in the Council of Ministers' meeting. The decision on whether or not the land should be bought for US $4.5 million "should be a council decision," instead of outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams "deciding for the entire council."

Wescot-Williams told the press on Wednesday of the offer to government of a reduced purchase price for the land from the property heirs Read more

Vorst heirs offer a reduced land price

PHILIPSBURG--Government has been offered the Vorst land in Cay Hill for US $1 million less by the heirs to the property. This now puts the purchase price at US $4.5 million.

Caretaker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said the Council of Ministers has not taken a decision on whether to accept the offer. Her preference is to leave the offer for the incoming cabinet to make a decision.

Outgoing Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure VROMI Minister Maurice Lake had come under much fire for opting to purchase the land, instead of following an earlier proposal with the heirs for government to lease land.

The purchase price was higher than the lease price Read more

Lake: Concrete actions planned in disaster management meeting

PHILIPSBURG--A disaster management, planning and response meeting between initiator Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake and various stakeholders has led to concrete actions being drafted, according to a VROMI press release issued shortly after the meeting took place at Dr. A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall on Monday, November 17.

"My ministry is reviewing the national drainage plan and will be presenting to the Council of Ministers a revised plan along with a budget in order to start to address these challenges Read more

Minister ‘disturbed’ by water pump situation, to discuss disaster response

~ Thompson calls statement 'propaganda' ~

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake says he is "very disturbed with the situation regarding the storm water pumps" and has announced that he is set to meet soon with representatives of various governmental ministries and agencies in relation to disaster management.

In response, environmentalist Rueben Thompson called these comments "the same propaganda we hear with every natural disaster."

Lake's statements were relayed via a VROMI press release last night and came in the wake of recent torrential rainfall, Hurricane Gonzalo mid-October and subsequent criticism in regard to flooded areas and lack of maintenance of emergency systems such as floodgates and water pumps.

The planned meeting will take place on the morning of Monday, November 17, and will focus on disaster preparedness, management planning and response.

'Be on the ball'

"I am very disturbed with the situation regarding the storm water pumps," the press release quoted Minister Lake as saying Read more

Resident: Stop filling pond, protect Foga from flooding

FOGA/ PHILIPSBURG--Residents of Pendent Cactus Road in Foga were among those heavily affected by flooding following the recent storm, having experienced knee-height water. Not an uncommon occurrence, they are concerned that they have been, and will continue to be even more affected because of the filling of land nearby on the pond-side which is set to accommodate another 36 houses.

Many residents and businesses near the ponds in Philipsburg have been affected, and have also questioned the maintenance of the floodgates and pumps Read more

Editorial - Area of attention

The adverse weather conditions particularly Friday into Saturday and their consequences again caught many off-guard, as especially the flooding was more intense and widespread than might have been expected. This kind of "unpleasant surprise" scenario tends to lead to the usual "blame game" mainly regarding late warnings and action by the relevant authorities.

It's important to point out that Friday's 6:00am forecast by the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten already had mentioned scattered showers, some of which could be heavy, advising residents and motorists in flood-prone areas to be vigilant Read more

Mullet Bay entrance blocked

MULLET BAY--A large pile of rubble was placed to block a Mullet Bay entrance on Friday, November 7, causing a stir among the public and business owners who operate on the beach. The move by Mullet Bay management seems to be technically legal, because it still allows the public access to the beach by foot. However, it directly results in nearby business owner Leopold York not having vehicle access to his establishment, where daily offloading is needed for almost everything the business needs to operate Read more

No quorum stalls meeting on Intellectual Property Bureau

PHILIPSBURG--Only six Members of Parliament (MPs) were signed in for the plenary session of Parliament to formalise the Intellectual Property Bureau on Wednesday afternoon, two short of the quorum of eight MPs needed for the meeting to start.

The meeting now will have to be reconvened by Chairwoman of Parliament MP Sarah Wescot-Williams within four days (four times 24 hours) as stipulated by Parliament's Rules of Order Read more

Youth Parliament wants more of a role in decision-making

PHILIPSBURG--The Youth Parliament wants a more active role in the decision-making process of the country.

A delegation of the Youth Parliament, headed by Dwayne Griffith, presented a motion requesting the possibility to make recommendations on the findings of the various integrity reports to the Parliament of St. Maarten on Tuesday afternoon in a Central Committee meeting in Parliament House.

The "emergency" meeting during which the motion was presented to the Parliament was requested by the Youth Members of Parliament (YMPs) Read more

Editorial - All hands on deck

The call by Minister Maurice Lake to remove stricken vessels from St. Maarten’s inlets (see related article) might sound a bit callous to boaters who recently became victims of Hurricane Gonzalo, but is nevertheless to the point. After all, the wrecks in and around the bays and lagoons are not only a maritime risk and in some cases an environmental hazard, but also pollute the landscape.

As long as the unsightly view they create remains, every visitor will be reminded of the natural disaster, which is nothing to be ashamed of, but certainly not the image any destination would prefer to portray either Read more

Lake urges mariners to remove damaged vessels

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake is calling on mariners whose vessels were damaged during the passing of Hurricane Gonzalo three weeks ago to remove the vessels from inland waterways and lagoons, and to clean up debris.

"I've observed some of the vessels that partially sank or were blown ashore have been removed within the Simpson Bay Lagoon Read more

Lake: Chin Cactus Dr. promise will be kept

PHILIPSBURG--In response to an article published in the Friday, October 31 edition of The Daily Herald based on a complaint letter received by this newspaper about the continued, deplorable state of Chin Cactus Drive, Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake announced that his promise will be kept, but that additional procedures need to be followed, including presenting the project to the Council of Ministers.

"A promise made is a promise kept," was the first point stated in the VROMI press release Read more