 Pastel by Vicki Rogers, submitted for CBCC Visions Arts Contest, June 2004 |
| Coral
Bay Community Council,Inc. |
Pastel by Vicki Rogers, submitted for CBCC Visions Arts Contest, June 2004 |
| News and Upcoming Events News Click
Here for Property Tax Information
The
Coral Bay Community Council will hold its next forum on Tuesday, March
4th at 6:30 pm at the John’s Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay.
The St. John Commission on Youth will share the presentation they recently
made to the Governor on the critical need for recreational facilities
for youth on St. John, and their planned next steps to achieving their
goals. They will share what they have learned, and what they plan to do
next. The teens made an informative video that will be shown too. This
is an opportunity to hear the young leaders in our community express their
concerns, and find ways that we can all work together to support improving
facilities and opportunities for our youth. Everyone is welcome!
CBCC MEETING: Monday, February 18th at 6 pm at the Johns Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay. Wanda Mills-Bocachica, Director of Comprehensive and Coastal Zone Planning at DPNR, will be our principal speaker. As chief planner of the Virgin Islands, she will share her division’s planned activities to improve and update the zoning and planning processes for the Virgin Islands, and specifically for St. John. There will be time for questions. There will also be a brief presentation of techniques recently used to construct more environmentally-friendly roads by Bob Carney. Everyone is welcome! For more information, please email coralbaycommunitycouncil@hotmail.com or call the CBCC office at 776-2099. CAROL SING: Wednesday
Dec 19th, at 6:30 pm we will be enjoying the traditional Coral Bay Carol
Sing and Tree lighting at the basketball court in Coral Bay. As usual,
Santa Claus (the real one!) will be there – to give our donated
gifts to the children. CBCC members’ part in this community festivity
is providing the gifts for Santa to bring to the children. – And
coming prepared to sing with our neighbors!!! The
Coral Bay Community Council is holding its Annual Meeting on Monday, november
12th with refreshments at 5:30 and the meeting beginning at 6 pm. The
meeting will be held at the John's Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay.
The purpose of the meeting is elect board members, and to discuss past
accomplishments, community issues, and CBCC's future agenda. CBCC's annual
newsletter, reporting as a 501c3 nonprofit institution, is available
at www.coralbaycommunitycouncil.org. Everyone is invited to attend the
meeting and enjoy socializing with everyone before the meeting at 5:30pm.
This is the beginning of the 2008 membership year. All Coral Bay residents
are invited to join. For further information, please contact CBCC at 776-2099
or by email to coralbaycommunitycouncil@hotmail.com
The
Education Dept. is sponsoring an open meeting on St. John "Let's
talk education on St. John" from 5:30 to 7:30 pm Monday, Oct 1st,
at the Legislature. The new Superintendent Designate is expected to be
there. This is an excellent opportunity to show our personal and community
support for improving public education on St. John.
Also, don't forget the Lt. Governors Property Tax Meeting, Thursday 6 to 8 at the Westin. See you there. Meeting Announcement – Sept 19th The Coral Bay Community Council is hosting a meeting on the VI Forestry Stewardship Program – and its implications for reducing property taxes on eligible properties over 3 acres on Wednesday, September 19th, at 1:30 in the Nazareth Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall in Cruz Bay. Ms. Marilyn Chakroff of the VI Agriculture Department, who runs the program, will explain it and lead the discussion. “Simply put, if a landowner of more than three acres makes a commitment to manage, protect and improve the natural terrain for a period of 10 years, and has a plan for doing so, they may be eligible for a 95% property tax exemption, similar to the agricultural exemption”, according to Ms. Chakroff. Sharon Coldren of CBCC noted that it might be possible to include a stormwater detention pond project within this designation. All interested people are invited to attend. You may receive a copy of the program brochure by calling Ms. Chakroff at 778-0997 or by emailing CBCC at coralbaycommunitycouncil@hotmail.com for an electronic copy. The
Coral Bay Community Council will hold a workshop on the Property Tax Revaluation
on Monday, August 13th, at 6pm at the Donkey Diner in Coral Bay.
Everyone is invited to bring their Coral Bay valuations and share information -to help ensure accurate valuations. A computer will be available to look up the http://www.vipropertyrevaluation.com/overview.htm website and view valuation details and comparable properties. Here's info on property sales in Coral Bay for use in evaluating the correctness of the property evaluations in your neighborhood. The revaluation you got was supposed to be accurate as of January 2006. Stay tuned for more detailed info tomorrow. We are going to hold the Monday session at Donkey Diner - because we can use the wireless internet access there to get the property info. COMPARING WITH OTHER PROPERTIES: Some recent sales have been at very high levels - and for premium properties. These may be influencing the values of much more average property. There have also not been many sales in the last several years in Coral Bay. Click here for a list of all Coral Bay MLS sales since 2004. If you know of other sales that did not go through regular realtors, please give us that information, so we can add to the list. PROPERTY
TAX RE-EVALUATIONS - The property tax re-evaluations are finally being
mailed. They are also available on the web at http://www.vipropertyrevaluation.com/overview.htm
(When you get to your record, click "property information" in upper right hand corner to see value page) The details of your valuation are here. Only a summary value was sent. What will this mean for actual future taxes? We don't know
yet. Is your evaluation an accurate market value assessment? If you
don't think so, please immediately follow the instructions that come
with the notice for informally appealing it before Aug 17th. If you
wait, the process changes and will be more difficult. Stay tuned, we
will provide you with additional information when we have it. Here's
a news article http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17612288. WATERSHED
MANAGEMENT PLAN MEETING - MONDAY AUG 6TH, 6 PM ,The Coral Bay Community
Council and DPNR are co-hosting a public meeting to discuss a watershed
management plan for Coral Bay focusing on storm-water runoff, sedimentation
and erosion, and other land-based pollutants that threaten coral reef
habitats. The meeting will be held on Monday, August 6th at 6:00 to
7:30 p.m. at the John's Folly Learning Institute. Anne Kitchell, of
the Center for Watershed Protection, will present elements of the draft
watershed plan, and there will be time for public comment and discussion.
Other DPNR and government agency representatives will also be present
to hear the community's input. PLEASE - SINCE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE VACATIONING
NOW -WE NEED EVERYONE WHO IS HERE TO SHOW THEIR INTEREST & CONCERN
BY COMING TO THIS MEETING!!
CRIME:
Wednesday July 11th 6 to 8 pm at the St. John Legislature - "Crime
Problems" forum hosted by the Safety Zone, the VI Police Department,
the Law Enforcement Planning Commission, and the VI Office of the Attorney
General. A
panel discussion will be followed by audience participation in discussing
new law enforcement efforts collaborating with community organizations
to address domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and other criminal
offenses on St. John. There will be a survey of the audience asking for
needs the community wants addressed. This is an opportunity to improve
our collective understanding of problems and solutions --with the new
administration. (For more info, contact Latoya Browne at the Safety Zone
693-7233.)
VI CONSTITUTION:
For the next several Monday Nights, Paul Devine and Ronnie Jones are moderating
a series of discussion forums dedicated to the VI Constitutional Convention.
They will be held at the Fish Trap restaurant in Cruz Bay at 7pm Mondays:
July 16 and July 30.
STORMWATER
EROSION CONTROL: A NOAA-funded project to reduce stormwater run-off and
develop a pilot watershed management plan is being done in Coral Bay this
summer, with DPNR's blessing! A top national firm, The Center for Watershed
Protection, will be in Coral Bay July 31st to August 7th. Their experts
would like to meet with concerned citizens, homeowners' associations,
developers, and neighborhood groups to talk about stormwater problems
in their areas and how to prevent them. Please contact CBCC by email or
phone, if you would like to meet with these experts and get some
ideas about solving your problems, while they are here. We will arrange the site visit for your convenience - and hopefully provide you with some immediate expert ideas. Then - on Monday evening, August 6th, there will be a public meeting in Coral Bay to hear about their draft watershed management plan, our stormwater problems and possible solutions - and how we might fund and implement solutions such as stormwater sediment ponds. FISH FRY SUCCESS: The CBCC Father's Day Ol' Tyme Fish Fry was a huge success. More than 200 people came! Thanks to all the volunteers and local businesses who made it happen - and especially to CBCC board members and co-chairs: Bonny Corbeil and Jean Cottrell. In addition to a mellow evening at Miss Lucy's beachfront with the music donated by Koko and the Sunshine Band, CBCC raised lmost $2000 for our projects. The Coral Bay Community Council has been invited by Concordia Resort (now called Estate Concordia Preserve) to use their brand new facility for our May 21st Monthly Forum. The Acting Superintendent, Martha Bogle,of the National Park will speak on the search of a new superintendent and the General Management Plans and answer questions about the park. Alvis Christian, Deputy Director of VITEMA will also speak briefly on the important topic of Hurricane Preparedness. Concordia is generously providing refreshments for this meeting and welcomes us to tour the new facilities. Refreshments will be served at 5:30 PM (note earlier time), the meeting will start at 6 pm and end by 7pm on Monday May 21st. Everyone
is welcome. The Resort is located at John's Folly in Coral Bay. For more
information, call Father's
Day Fish Fry on your calendar: June 17th 4pm on the beach at Miss Lucy's!
April
16th, Monday 6:30 PM at JFLI- we will have our CBCC meeting with Senator
Carmen Wesselhoft as our main speaker. Constitutional Convention Education
coordinator, Treganza A. Roach, will also speak briefly about the Constitution
Convention and delegate process and answer questions.
NEXT
SATURDAY -Coral Bay Cleanup! 9 to 11 am, before First Lady deJongh's visit
to Coral Bay. Meet behind Fire Station to get your assignment -- or call
the CBCC office at 776-2099 to indicate where you want to clean up. (On
public road sections, leave trash bags of litter in piles near side of
road for easy pickup by public works.)
Watershed
protection: Silt fences and brush berms CBCC is your watershed association.
We remind everyone undertaking construction or making use of piles of
dirt that silt fencing and containment fencing are necessary around all
such piles and any excavation. Prominently posted DPNR Earth Change permits
are also required, even for receiving a pile of dirt!
If you care about reducing muddy runoff, it is important after this long drought period to check your silt fencing and build up your brush berms in anticipation of the heavy rains to come. Remember, silt fencing does not act primarily as a filter to the water; it acts as a dam to contain the silty water and mud behind it - thus it must be installed strongly enough to stay in place after a heavy weight of mud is leaning against it! Staking must be secure and the bottom six inches of the fence should be buried in rocks and soil. Silt fences -not silt flags! Help protect our Bay! Rapid Watershed Assessment - USDA & EPA stormwater experts will conduct a watershed assessment of all drainage areas in Coral Bay on April 19th. This is the first step toward creating a plan and obtaining grant moneys for helping us install stormwater sediment retention basins, and possible ponds for agriculture in the Carolina Valley. Other problem areas and solutions will also be noted. This is one of the activities that has been spurred by the "Stewardship" program EPA announced at our CBCC annual meeting. Coral
Bay Community Council Forum Meeting on March 26th, with Senator Wesselhoft.The
meeting has been cancelled and rescheduled for next month. It has been
superceded by a Legislative hearing to be held on St. John that Monday
Evening.
Friday, March 23rd, 6:30 pm - A "Meet and Greet" with the 27th Legislature is being hosted by the VI Unity Day Group. As of Wednesday, Ronnie Jones had confirmation from 9 senators. It is being held at the St. John School for the Arts and there will be also be "some brief recitals of our rich island talents" according to the flyer. The School is right next to the Legislature building in Cruz Bay. Monday, March 26th, 6 pm - The Senate Committee of the Whole will meet on St. John at the Legislature for a hearing on the rezoning proposal by Sirenusa to add additional units to their site. We encourage everyone to attend and speak at this legislative hearing about the impact that the Sirenusa construction has had and will have on your quality of life. The developers are requesting to increase the number of units and the density of the project, so they can be assured of making money despite the poor choices they have made. This is an important opportunity to make the legislature aware of our concerns about how this development has progressed: getting developers to respect their neighbors, follow the rules, and have proper infrastructure beforehand - and not reward them for their actions of the last two years. This is one of the few times the whole Legislature will visit St. John and we should use this hearing on the 26th as an opportunity to let the Legislature know our St. John concerns about the direction of development and the lack of infrastructure and planning, and the need to amend some of our building laws. The new St. John Administrator, Ms. Leona Smith, was the guest speaker at the Coral Bay Community Council Forum held Monday Evening, February 12, 2007 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at the John's Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay. The
CBCC forum with our new island administrator, Leona Smith, was an excellent
summary of the day-to-day problems that we need our new administrator's
help in solving - as well as an opportunity to meet her and congratulate
her. See the news coverage for details. They did a great job of covering
it: NO MEETING in January. MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY - Monday Jan. 15th: St. John's celebration began at 9 am at the Coral Bay Basketball Court. As CBCC's president, I made a short speech of opening welcome, and, of course, there was other speakers. Everyone is welcome to participate. Here's
recent news of interest: The Reliance
project at Calabash Boom continues to move slowly forward. Their CZM permit,
as well as other recent CZM permits, received some legal criticism from
the Senate Counsel, Yvonne Tharpes. If anyone would like to help research
the validity of these concerns in more detail, we need some volunteer
help to do it. The Coral
Bay Yacht Club Thanksgiving Regatta was great again - and had better weather
than it often has. This is a more than 20 year tradition. See everyone on the 20th at the Coral Bay Christmas Tree and Coral Sing! The Coral Bay Community Council Annual Meeting was held Monday, Nov. 6th from 6 to 7 pm at the John's Folly Learning Institute. Refreshments will be served. We will review our activities, talk about the future, and thank our many volunteers. This year we have a special guest. The
Coral Bay Community Council Monthly Forum was held MONDAY, OCTOBER 23rd
at 6pm at the John's Folly Learning Institute.
The Speaker will be Commissioner of Public Works, George Phillips. He will discuss plans for parcel 6-4 Estate Carolina, including the construction of the Vitran Bus depot, the cleanup of the fill and other possible purposes for this 5 acres of government-owned land. He will also talk about public infrastructure needs and land use in Coral Bay more generally. Everyone in Coral Bay is encouraged to attend and bring your comments and questions on this important and controversial issue. There will be an open discussion. CRIME: There were daytime break-ins Monday and Wednesday on Lower Bordeaux road, Route 108. After several very quiet months, there is some criminal activity is starting again. Let's do all we can to stop it now. Be alert! Keep a pad of paper and pen in your car - write down the license number, description, date and time of any unknown or suspicious vehicle you see, or people in places you don't expect them. If something happens in that area, you can provide the info to the police. Each neighborhood should also have a crimewatch coordinator to improve local communication on these matters. This does work. We will help you set it up. USED COMPUTER COMPONENTS - CBCC has bought a new computer. We no longer need several older components - available for small donations between $10 & $50. Monitor, Keyboard, Micron working computer system unit, speakers, Aptiva system unit with glitch - good for parts. Nice HP printer/fax/copier combo. Let's recycle productively. Come and get these items! Candidates' Forum All
of the candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor answered questions at
CBCC’s Candidate’s Forum Monday, September 18, 2006 at 6:30
pm at the John’s Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay. For further information, contact the Coral Bay Community Council at 776-2099 or email coralbaycommunitycouncil@hotmail.com. The
CBCC Board is requesting recommendations for nominations to fill vacancies
on the Board in the upcoming election. Board members need to be residents
or owners of land in Coral Bay, members of the Coral Bay Community Council
and be dedicated to fulfilling the mission of CBCC. All service is volunteer.
About 5 hours a month is required.
Updated Study of Coral Bay Harbor Marine Life The
second edition of the "Outline for a Coral Bay "Area of Particular
Concern" Marine Inventory: Phase 1: Inner Coral Harbor" is
now available on line at the CBCC website. This second survey of the
harbor in July 2005 added numerous coral and fish species to the numbers
known to be living in the Inner Harbor -- bringing the total counts
to 31 coral species and 59 fish species. There are even elkhorn coral
clusters, an endangered species.
This document is the outline and beginning of an important project to inventory the marine and shoreline species which inhabit the Coral Bay, St. John, USVI area. It contains overview information for the area, a structure for expanding and completing the work and, as an example, observations for one critical area: Inner Coral Harbor. With
this document as a background, it is intended that grant funding and/or
volunteers can continue and expand the project. It is also anticipated
that the initial observations will provide the general public with valuable
and insightful information on the wealth and variety of marine and terrestrial
wildlife within the Coral Bay area. We welcome everyone's input into
"There are lobsters, both young mature ones and juvenile/larval stage, juvenile sharks and many other species here. Many people think that stormwater and other factors have destroyed the population in the Inner Harbor. Fortunately, this is not the case. Many creatures are still living and reproducing in this unique mangrove, seagrass and reef habitat. Many of them need all three habitats close by to complete their reproduction lifecycle. "We need to be sure that new developments along the shoreline in Coral Bay improve the health of the Bay by taking extra stormwater and waste water control steps beyond possible minumum requirements and limiting any damage to existing habitat to the least possible. They also could contribute to the understanding of the marine life here, by doing excellent environmental impact studies that include detailed longitudinal information about the species and the health of the site as habitat " Explained Sharon Coldren. Coral Bay Community Council thanks the volunteer researchers, Kimberlee Myers and Gloria Witkus who conducted the research. "We hope more researchers will come forward to continue this valuable work and extend it to a complete understanding of how we can protect the underwater habitat. Our members are providing some support to a juvenile shark habitat study this August, by providing donated lodging, a boat and gasoline for the professional researchers. More on that soon" Said CBCC president, Sharon Coldren. The report may be viewed in the CBCC office or downloaded online at http://www.coralbaycommunitycouncil.org/Ocean.htm. FACT SHEET Losing the Guy Benjamin School Community Block Grant The $250,000 Community Development Block Grant for the Guy Benjamin School Cafetorium is about to be reallocated away from the school, education, and St. John by the Governor's recent recommendation to the Legislature reported in the Daily News on July 10th. For three years the Guy Benjamin School PTO has been trying to access these funds and continue this project - with no cooperation from the government. The VI Legislature will VOTE on what to do with these funds: reallocate them elsewhere or leave them with this St. John Project. Wednesday, 6:30 pm at the St. John Legislature, there is a Committee-of-the-whole Legislature Hearing to discuss these Community Block Grant reallocations. St. John needs to be heard! Those wishing to testify should call Mr. Frances in Senate President's Berry's Office in advance to be put on the list -693-3608. The PTO and the Coral Bay Community Council are committed to working closely with the Ed. Department and others to get this facility done - for our children and for the community of Coral Bay. The Coral Bay community needs a centrally located community meeting place; the school needs a collective meeting place for the students, teachers, and parents, as well as improved space for educational classroom purposes. The original plans to demolish building 4/5 and build a new two-story building would be too costly today. Therefore we propose to refurbish a different building, Rooms 1 & 2, on the school campus to serve these multiple purposes. These improvements could be done rapidly with the $250,000 and the support of the PTO and the community. Improvements would include a much-needed new roof and ceiling, new windows, moveable room dividers, and chairs and amenities for group meetings. Help Us Keep the $250,000. Call your Senators! Be at the hearing Wednesday Night, Aug. 9th, 6:30 PM at the Legislature. Let's get every organization on St. John there to speak. The
Coral Bay Community Council recognizes that there are many young people
in the Coral Bay Area, age 18 and older, who are no longer in the educational
school system and may wish to pursue careers in the tourism industry
and other areas of the job market, and may not know how to go about
doing so. Well, if you are truly interested in finding the job of your
dreams, we may have the solution for you. We are offering a "Job
Mentorship Program" to help you build the necessary skills to succeed
in any career you may desire. How about villa and restaurant work, boating,
construction, service industries, project management, or real estate,
etc.?
Would you like assistance in being placed in an entry level job with a future career path? Call us at 776-2009, or contact Board Members Bonny Corbeil at 693-5874 or e-mail her at bonnycorbeil@earthlink.net or Kent Irish at cell (340)643-5310 or e-mail him at wellsea@vipowernet.net The rescheduled CZM Hearing for the Coral Bay Marina was held Thursday evening, July 13th, at 6 pm at the Legislature in Cruz Bay. It was postponed because both Mr. Harley and Mr. Somme were stuck in St. Croix when their seaplane could not make the trip because of heavy rain. Many people are away right now - but if you are here, please come, listen, and voice your opinions on how the CZM decision should be made. We need to work to understand and support the CZM - Coastal Zone Management - decision-making process. If you are on-island - we need you at this meeting. Come support the process! Tell your neighbors! For a refresher on the issues - here's a link to the CBCC comments on our website. http://www.coralbaycommunitycouncil.org/Ocean.htm The Coral Bay Marina proposal is in the CZM process. The public hearing was scheduled for June 20th at 6:00. CBCC has been requested to provide comments to CZM on the proposal by May 31st. Our response will be available on our website soon. Unfortunately, the developers have not done any actual business plan or marina construction planning and are simply trying to get a concept through the approval process. Slips would be in shallow water over dense seagrass habitat, and too shallow for many vessels or for safe use of engines over the seagrass beds. No thought has been given to the feasibility of planning docks to withstand hurricane waves - which are high in that shoreline area, or the suitability or legality under VI and federal laws of having a 100 slip marina over seagrass. You can review the CZM application (very confusing and inadequate) in our office or at the DPNR office in Cruz Bay. We'd love to hear your comments and questions. Plan to be at the public hearing June 20th. CBCC may also have an informational and discussion meeting on the proposal in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned. Sharks!! (The sea sharks this time- not the land sharks) We have been encouraging some shark researchers to investigate our live birth shark nurseries in Coral Harbor. Two people are coming for five days during the first two weeks in August. Needed: free accommodations for two people for five days in early August and use of a BOAT (with or without driver - preferably a 16 to 20 ft. motor boat) in both Coral Bay and Fish Bay. It would also be great if someone donated $ for gas! I'll give you more info on the researchers and the research, if you are interested in helping out! The new St. John Coalition to encourage planning and stop uncontrolled development is having an organizing meeting Sunday, June 4th at 4:30 pm at the St. Ursala's Multipurpose Room in Cruz Bay. Everyone is welcome. The goal is to get as many St. John organizations as possible involved in beginning this group and shaping its future -- So, if you belong to another St. John organization, please encourage the leaders to come and participate. To get on the email list and get involved, send an email to stjohncoalition@hotmail.com. Bordeaux Mountain Villas Group Dwelling Application: Last week, Commissioner Plaskett of DPNR told the developers of that condominium project that their application would not be accepted for review until some irregularities in permitting and construction of a road to access the property were cleared up. Bordeaux Mountain neighbors wrote many letters to DPNR recently about the road problems and concerns about the type of condo project proposed. DPNR heard them - and acknowledged their letters - in the meeting with the developers! We are trying to get a meeting with owners of the property, so neighbors and the community can explain what development would be in keeping with the character of Coral Bay. This
is a press release from the newly - forming St. John Coalition. CBCC volunteered
to send out the press release to our list. Please refer all questions
and requests for interview to Alan Smith 744-6845 wk, 776-6254 after 7
pm, and Catherine Stephen 693-8473 evenings, or their emails above, or
stjohncoalition@hotmail.com.
All St. John Organizations and individuals are invited to help form the new St. John Coalition. Every St. John organization, club and church is invited to send a representative to an initial St. John Coalition organizing meeting - Sunday, June 4th from 4:30 to 6pm at the St. Ursala's Multipurpose Room in Cruz Bay. At this meeting, it is planned to create a steering committee for the Coalition, consult and agree upon a mission statement, and identify some long and short term goals. Recently major construction projects like Sirenusa, Grande Bay and proposals such as a 6+ story building at Pastory have left most residents of St. John wondering "How could this happen?" St. Johnians now understand that these projects arrived without warning because our laws do not require public notice! Will projects of this scale continue without our knowledge? How can our roads, parking, water and sewer, etc. accommodate the impacts of these projects? These questions and more have led to a series of public discussions about how Virgin Islands DPNR laws and regulations shape our future - and whether changes should be made, or better enforcement achieved through encouraging DPNR or taking legal action. As a result of these meetings, it has become evident that we must develop a community vision of what we want in St. John's future and how we can work together that make our vision a reality. THIS ORGANIZATION IS NOT & WILL NOT BE AFFILIATED WITH ANY PARTICULAR CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE. "Creating a vision of St. John's future requires that all voices be heard. We want and need the involvement and participation of you, your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and organizations", says one of the organizers, Alan Smith. Organizations which indicate an interest in participating will be announced in a future press release. For more information,
please email DPNR
will be holding a meeting with the St. John community this Thursday
evening, May 11th, 5:30 to 8:00pm at the Legislature. Representatives
from all DPNR divisions will be there to answer questions about
development and regulatory concerns. Citizens will be able to speak
their minds about any topic, including infrastructure and design
concerns about the large scale construction projects underway or
on the drawing board.
Also, the developers of the proposed Pastory Gardens multi-story condos will be there to explain what they want to do, and field questions and comments from the audience. Regulatory enforcement has elements of discretion and interpretation. We need to be sure that DPNR understands the concerns of St. John's residents in HOW they are interpreting and enforcing the law, and that how they do their important jobs - is important to all of us! This meeting is being held at the request of Catherine Stephen, a resident of Pastory, who contacted DPNR and made her concerns known - so they are responding. NOTE: On the same evening, there is also a meeting about the ferry and barge services with the Port Authority and the Public Services Commission and the companies serving us: It will be at the Westin beginning at 6pm. We may need to divide our time between both meetings - or attend one of the meetings and have your neighbor attend the other - and say you are speaking for both. This meeting was set up by Senator Barshinger. (Everyone apologizes for the inadvertent double scheduling.) Instead
of our May Forum, this Wednesday, May 3rd 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the John's
Folly Learning Institute, the National Park Service is presenting the
draft General Management Plan. We will have about 45 days to provide
meaningful comments back to the NPS. These plans will provide the blueprint
for each park's long-term protection and management for the next 15-20
years! The purpose of the meetings is to solicit your input on the preliminary
alternatives for the management of Virgin Islands. The NPS will present
a slide show and have park representatives available to answer your
questions." CBCC encourages everyone to participate.
Great
News! Community Action and Building a Coalition of Community
Organizations is Working! Commissioner Plaskett has denied the permit application for
the 9 story Are these issues over? Not by a long shot. And there are
still the FRIDAY: 11 AM: SIGNS, SIGNS, SIGNS - YES, we will all be
at Governor's Monday April 24th - St. John's Coastal Zone Management CZM Commissioners will be at the CBCC meeting at the John's Folly Learning Institute, - 6:30pm to 8pm. A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING TO ATTEND - TO SHOW WE CARE ABOUT THE DECISIONS THAT GET MADE. Here are two articles of interest: See you Friday Morning...Even if you can only come for a few minutes at lunch hour - do it! 1) The Next CBCC Monthly Forum is a special meeting with the St. John Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Commission on Monday, April 24th at 6:30 pm at the John's Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay. CZM Members will discuss their interpretation of their role and the CZM law in the context of Coral Bay and St. John. They will also listen to our concerns and we will discuss the appropriate application of the law for the benefit of Coral Bay (without reference to particular projects). This will be a very important meeting-to learn about the realities of CZM review and discuss our community's goals in using this important development review and approval process. CBCC president, Sharon Coldren said: "If you care about the future of development and protecting the environment and the essential character of your community, it's very important to be at this meeting. Mark the date. Show the Commissioners that we care about their decision making on our behalf". Everyone is welcome to participate. 2) Development
issues: We anticipate needing volunteers to research and follow up on
a number of development issues starting to "froth" on St.
John. There may be a group dwelling permit application coming here for
condos on Bordeaux Mountain. It's being sold, but not permitted yet.
Check out: http://www.islandiavi.com/bordeaux.htm 3) Passenger Ferry Service: Enjoyed your ride lately? No? The Public Service Commission (PSC) has put out a questionnaire asking for comments on the current service. We have placed copies at Connections East - come fill it out, we'll turn it in for you -or you can do yourself. Higher fares are being voted on this month by the Public Service Commission. Many of us feel that customer service has been extremely reduced in the last couple of years as ridership has grown. Please fill out the questionnaire and/or write a memo suggesting concrete ways they can improve service. Send it to CBCC if you like and we will submit. The PSC fax number is 340-774-4971. 4) Our CBCC Board Members: You know I'm here - since I write the emails - But it's time to acknowledge the very valuable and consistent efforts of our Board - to keep our organization going forward on the straight and true. When you see them -please say hello and thanks: Barbara Dalmida Thompson, Vice President, Marie Naisby, Secretary, Jean Cottrell, Treasurer, Joan Thomas, Kent Irish and Bonny Corbeil. My personal thanks to each of them for providing their own unique skills to our efforts. Without them, it would not be possible to run CBCC. Friday,
March 31st, is a local holiday - Transfer Day. The John's Folly Learning
Institute will be having another Seafood Sale at the Triangle - very
yummy food made by the parents of the children who are raising funds
for their trip to Washington, DC this summer. It begins at 11 am - until
its gone! Stop by Friday for a great lunch!
This Saturday, April 1st, is the Annual Coral Bay Yacht Club Flotilla Beach Party and Spring Regatta - to raise money for the kids at Guy Benjamin School. $40 for sail to beach party and back. Buy tickets in advance at usual places (see newspapers for details and choices). $20.00 for Beach party only - at Vie's campground on East End. This Party is becoming a wonderful Coral Bay Tradition! Everyone - please join us! (Even if you can't come, be there in spirit, contribute or buy a raffle ticket.) CBCC has worked with the Yacht Club to help effectively utilize last year's raised funds to start the Guy Benjamin Playground Project, this year's funds will probably be used to complete it -- making it an all-community collaboration for the children.. Bonita (Bonny)
Corbeil has been elected to our Board of Directors to replace Bonnie
Blair who has resigned. Thanks to Bonnie for all her past work, we
will miss her. And Welcome Aboard to Bonny Corbeil who is also our
Police Community Liaison and working on starting some teen activities. CORAL
BAY DAY! CLEAN UP - The Annual Coral Bay Cleanup will be Saturday, March 4th from 9am till it's done! (a couple of hours) Be there! We will work with the Coral Bay Yacht Club and any other organizations that would like to be involved. If you know of any area that needs cleaning up that day, besides the usual Inner Harbor shoreline and roads - please contact us, so we can plan for it. FIX
UP Participants: Coral Bay Community Council, Coral Bay Yacht Club, John's Folly Learning Institute, Moravian Church, VI Unity Day, GBS PTO, Public Works and Everyone who comes! CRIME - We need to work diligently to return Coral Bay to its former "safe" environment. This will take the same techniques used throughout the US - neighborhood crime watches in combination with the police. GET YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD CRIMEWATCH STARTED! We cannot overstress the importance of getting watches started and continued - for each neighborhood. It definitely does work to curb crime - they go elsewhere. Do it before your neighborhood gets hit with burglaries - not afterwards. It is not much work, but it does involve getting phone lists together, learning a few tips, and coordinating information. Talk to your neighbors, select a coordinator and get in touch with watch@coralbaycommunitycouncil.org to set up a meeting and training. If you own a rental house here, talk to your rental manager and your neighbors to get your house involved too. POSTAL PROBLEMS - As the result of member concerns at our recent CBCC meeting, we contacted the postmistress. Here is info to help you (some from the PO and some from our experience:) 1) Your mail is now being RETURNED TO SENDER if the person who sends it uses your "old" address. Be sure everyone who mails to you uses your "new" address- the 4 or 5 digit number followed by your neighborhood - NOT your parcel number. If you do not have a "new" address contact the post office at 779-4227 , and ask to speak to your carrier, or stop your carrier at the box and ask. Call early in the day. 2) Late magazines and catalogs: Magazines and catalogs mailed at bulk rate are put in a container in Miami - and not shipped until the container is full. What does this mean? It takes a month or two for the container to fill up - and the latest ones will be unloaded first! The PO does not expect this will change. If you want magazines faster, contact your publisher and explain the problem to them and/or pay for first class delivery - rather than media rate. 3) Big Boxes sent Priority Mail get here in two to three days - small boxes and envelopes sent Priority Mail can take weeks! - Moral: If you really want something to arrive quickly - Have it sent to you in a big box - even if it's just a piece of paper! And, of course, pay the 40 or so extra cents for delivery confirmation. (Also, from personal experience, although it hard to tell for sure, Priority Mail delivery seems to work best if it is delivered to one of the mail services in Coral Bay rather than held for delivery at the PO. You can arrange for this with the carrier and services, even if it is addressed to your mailbox. Yes, it will cost you something per package., but you don't have to pay for gas to town or deal with little slips.) 4) Even though USPS computers say that parcel post and media mail to our zip codes are delivered in under 10 days - it is NOT true. It takes 4 to 6 weeks because it is put in containers on ships. (Yes, we have pointed this out to the National USPS office, but they haven't changed the software - Someone want to take on this job of nagging Washington?) The
Coral Bay Community Council Monthly Forum was held Monday Evening, Feb.
13th, at 6:30 pm at the Johns Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay.
This month will be an open discussion of concerns and issues in Coral
Bay, including the draft Vision Statement for Coral Bay. Everyone is
invited to come and share your ideas and opinions. Volunteers will be
requested for various projects. For more information, contact the CBCC
office at
Coral Bay Community Council Monthly Forum for January 9th, was at
the John's Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay.
Julie
Wright who is Resource, Conservation and Development Coordinator,
USDA - National Resource Conservation Service, will give a presentation
on the Estate Bethlehem, St. Croix stormwater retention pond project
which has recently been completed. Other members of the project team
may also join us. In addition, we will discuss how we might work to
replicate this important project in Coral Bay to deal with our storm
runoff and create an agricultural water source. Everyone is welcome. For more information contact the CBCC office at 776-2099 or email coralbaycommunitycouncil@hotmail.com Reliance Housing CZM application for 72 affordable housing units at Calabash Boom - CZM decision hearing, Wednesday, Dec. 28th, 6:30 pm Legislature Building, Cruz Bay. If you are a fulltime voting resident, the board strongly encourages you to be there and bring your neighbors too. CBCC has a "letter to the editor" appearing in Monday's Tradewinds. Guy Benjamin Playground - Over the children's Christmas vacation- Dec 26-Jan7, CBCC is making a big push to complete the construction of the equipment. Many have volunteered. We need more people with construction skills. Even if you are busy with guests and a job - most of what we need is 2 hours on one day and 2 hours or less on another day - to complete items. We have the hole digging and concrete pouring scheduled and need the carpentry and placing of equipment to work around that. Please call me asap if you are available at all, so we can get this done -- while we have two weeks of "construction site" not children's safety issues. Sharon at 693-5590 or 513-4298. Olasee Davis, well-known VI environmentalist and columnist for the Daily News, saw our presentation about the formation and purpose of CBCC at the Nonpoint Source Pollution conference and wrote a very supportive "guest editorial" about CBCC! Here is the link - read to the end to see what he wrote about CBCC. http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com
Mailing: 9901 Estate Emmaus, St. John, VI, 00830-9587 Dec Coral Bay Community Council Monthly Forum meeting was Monday, Dec 12th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at the John's Folly Learning Institute. This month's speaker is Yvonne L. Tharpes, Acting Chief Legal Counsel, VI Legislature (and Coral Bay resident). She will speak on the VI legislative process and how the public can participate in it. Everyone is welcome! CBCC's computer has died. Does anyone have one to donate? Or could fix ours? (A Windows 98 computer is fine for us at this point - we use it principally for member files.) Don't forget to get your voices in practice for the Coral Bay Christmas Tree and Carol Sing, Dec. 14th, 6:30 pm at the Coral Bay basketball court. As always, all "villages" in Coral Bay -neighborhoods, organizations and groups - are encouraged to present and share a selection of carols. If you like, please bring a gift for a child (marked with age and boy/girl), so that we will have enough for all the children. ($ donations for gifts also accepted in advance - can be dropped off at the CBCC box in Connections East.) Please call the CBCC office at 776-2099 to get your community group of carolers on the program. (You can leave a message.) DONATIONS NEEDED: FREIGHT: Is anyone sending a container down from the states this month and might have room for two pallets of playground rubber surfacing for Guy Benjamin School? CHILDRENS' GIFTS: Part of the Christmas season is sharing - and seeing the joy on childrens' faces when they get a present. CBCC would like to underwrite the gifts for the John's Folly Learning Institute Children at their annual Christmas program on the 21st, as well as at the whole community celebration on the 14th. Individual gifts you have chosen will be wonderful, also any cash donations to purchase gifts. For the 18 children at JFLI, we would like to have about $500 to spend on one suitable gift for each child and some "stocking stuffers". We are also seeking donations small and large for 30 to 50 children's gifts for the celebration on the 14th. Anyone feel like writing a check as SANTA this year? If so, please email your commitment (so the presents can be bought) and drop your check off at our box at Connections East with a notation of its purpose. (Yes, it's tax deductible too, as a charitable donation.) The
last few months have been sad and difficult for everyone on St. John,
Volunteers needed to help with these events-and for everything!
Oct 25th: CZM meeting on Reliance moved to Westin - Coral Reef Room, 6 pm Calabash Boom Housing: The CZM hearing on the Reliance Housing Project for Calabash Boom is scheduled for Oct 26th, 6 pm at the St. John Legislature. CBCC has made copies of their application available at Connections in Coral Bay and our office. There is also a full-size set of the drawings available at the Library in Cruz Bay. You may take home the copies in Connections by leaving a $5.00 refundable deposit. We also left a copy at the Calabash minimarket. CBCC has provided questions and comments for improvements and will testify at the hearing. Please share your ideas with us. Rotary Dinner: October 22nd, Saturday at Miss Lucy's. Guy Benjamin and Avelino Samuel are being honored by Rotary for their service to the community. Dinner tickets are available at both Connections for $30.00 each and need to be purchased right away - Monday or Tuesday. Everyone is welcome - and Coral Bay especially! For info or tickets, you can also call Bill Willigerod at 776-0883. St. John Call to Action for Planning - The petition letter is available for signature at both Connections, the K-2 video stores, Keep Me Posted and the Mail Center. Please sign this week - so it can be sent. CBCC Annual Meeting and Membership Renewal Letter went in the mail this weekend.When you get yours, please return it right away! The Annual Meeting is Monday, Nov. 7th, 6 pm at the John's Folly Learning Institute. Everyone Welcome! Join for 2006 now! Due to the heavy rains, the Guy Benjamin School Celebration Barbeque scheduled , Oct. 10th is cancelled. It will be rescheduled at a later date.. Teacher needed: Guy Benjamin School needs a sixth grade teacher right now - if you know someone who might be interested in the job. Crime Watch Coordinator Needed: CBCC needs a new volunteer Neighborhood Crime Watch coordinator - to maintain communications between all the neighborhood watches forming in Coral Bay, encourage education and training, etc. Innovative: Still having problems? We have a volunteer, Shay Copeland, who is going to work with everyone to evaluate the status of our problems with IInnovative, after a three months have passed since our meeting. Share your recent experiences. PUT INNOVATIVE in subject line of your email - so we can get it to Shay. Also, if you are still waiting for service, contact us - the list is not very long right - we need to know who actually has a problem. Office Space available: CBCC is looking for a tenant to share our office space. Inexpensive - great neighbors! Volunteers Needed: CBCC really needs some additional office volunteers and project volunteers to keep everything moving along smoothly. If you have a few hours to help, please give us a call. The Coral Bay Community Council Monthly Forum will be held, Monday, June 13th at 6pm at the John's Folly Learning Institute. David Sharp, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Telephone Corporation, will be the guest speaker at the June 13th Monthly Forum of the Coral Bay Community Council. The meeting will begin at 6pm sharp at the John's Folly Learning Institute. Mr. Sharp will talk about the service expansion construction currently going on in Coral Bay, when applications for new service will become routine, and how to permanently resolve billing or service problems. He will also answer audience questions and listen to concerns about Innovative's various services. Laurel Brannick, Park Ranger, will speak briefly about the Reef.org Great Annual Fish Count on July 16th. Friends of the Park has purchased fish identification kits for people who would like to snorkel their favorite areas and identify and count fish on that day or any other day. She will explain how to participate and will have kits for people. News: The Reliance Housing Foundation project for Calabash Boom will enter the CZM process within the next few months. They met with our subcommittee last week to share the preliminary site plan and seek comments. CBCC asked the VI Housing Finance Authority to host a meeting in Coral Bay in March for the whole community in the evening -- to explain the eligibility for both developments: the apartments and the townhouses, and to share the latest site plans before the CZM process. Hi members
- here's a link to a ST. John Source article summarizing our It will
be possible beginning soon, for people to file a form that will Membership renewals: A year has passed, so it's time for Annual Membership Renewals. The membership year runs from November after the annual meeting through the following November's annual meeting. (Our fiscal year is the standard calendar year.) Please send in your renewal today -- form is included with the mailing. Remember, dues are $20.00 per individual. We also ask that all house owners and those who can afford it - give CBCC a donation of $100 (or more) to underwrite the work of CBCC. THANK YOU to all our volunteers! For manning the office, setting up our meetings, getting our office furnished, our member records in order, participating on committees, writing reports... And so much more!!! Archives:
July 4, 2004: Below
is a summary of important early details from a Reliance Housing From
a Reliance document: The entire 8 acre site is zoned "Special".
This zoning classification allows 2 story residential development, with
2 units per 3,000 square foot lot, by right. It does not allow for apartment
The development plan is to construct two distinct communities on the site with shared infrastructure. One community will include 24 for sale, affordable townhomes, developed by VIHFA and constructed by RR-Caribbean. The other section of the site will include 48 affordable rental apartments, developed by Reliance. A Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and a Reverse Osmosis (R/O) water plant will be built by Reliance and will provide water and sewage treatment for the entire development. The entire development will have a condominium form of ownership, which will facilitate the sharing of common infrastructure and costs. The development work will also include renovation of the existing community center. It is anticipated that the building will have a new roof, central HVAC, replacement windows and shutters and new interior finishes. The community building will include a computer lab, and meeting space with kitchen facilities. Construction:
The buildings will be constructed with poured in place Construction Period: January 2005 - December 2006 Number of Units: 4 buildings with 12 apartments per building; a total of 48 apartments. Development Costs: $15,725,781- total project cost Financing:
Construction / Permanent Loan $ 2,160,000 Hi Members, here's the link to another article on the Moravian Church land issue: http://www.onepaper.com/stjohnvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=1083386181 Also, we are having another planning visioning session --for those who have not already participated -- this evening, Tuesday, June 29, 6:00 pm Moravian Church land: On Thursday the Daily News will run a story with information provided by the Moravian Church attorney about the final settlement of the lawsuit over the ownership of the land, and possible future development alternatives the church is reviewing. Plans seem to include condos, a hotel, a marina, a business center and a possible small golf course. From other sources, we have learned that at least some proposed plans include removing the school and the firestation to some other location (no details known). Clearly people in the community are likely to have many different opinions about the value of various proposed options, and which are likely to happen. CBCC
will work to have options and local opinions be clearly heard, by Here
are links to the news articles: http://new.onepaper.com/stjohnvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=1083386156 The Coral Bay Community Council will hold its next forum on Tuesday, March 4th at 6:30 pm at the John’s Folly Learning Institute in Coral Bay. The St. John Commission on Youth will share the presentation they recently made to the Governor on the critical need for recreational facilities for youth on St. John, and their planned next steps to achieving their goals. They will share what they have learned, and what they plan to do next. The teens made an informative video that will be shown too. This is an opportunity to hear the young leaders in our community express their concerns, and find ways that we can all work together to support improving facilities and opportunities for our youth. Everyone is welcome!. ST JOHN YOUTH – Save Tuesday, March 5th, for another CBCC Forum: the St. John Commission on Youth will share a video and their comments about the condition of recreational facilities on St. John and youth recreational needs. You won’t want to miss these excellent, involved young people in our community expressing their concerns. The
Coral Bay Community Council will hold its next forum on Tuesday, March
4th at 6:30 pm at the John’s Folly Learning Institute in Coral
Bay. The St. John Commission on Youth will share the presentation they
recently made to the Governor on the critical need for recreational
facilities for youth on St. John, and their planned next steps to achieving
their goals. They will share what they have learned, and what they plan
to do next. The teens made an informative video that will be shown too.
This is an opportunity to hear the young leaders in our community express
their concerns, and find ways that we can all work together to support
improving facilities and opportunities for our youth. |
|
CORAL
BAY COMMUNITY COUNCIL, INC.
Office: 8-1 Estate Emmaus, Coral Bay, St. John, U. S. Virgin Islands Mailing: 9901 Estate Emmaus, St. John, VI, 00830-9587 |
