2 ~~ St. John Tradewinds, March 8-14, 2010 Roundabout Construction Wrapping Up — Project expected to be complete within two months By Andrea Milam St. John Tradewinds The Cruz Bay roundabout project, which has re- mained ahead of schedule since contractor Island Roads broke ground in July 2008, is still expected to finish before its contract closes in July, albeit a bit later than anticipated. Crews are now working on wrapping up the proj- ect, and finishing up odds and ends before the final paving is applied. Motorists can expect one more traffic disruption before the project is complete, explained Department of Public Works Materials Program Manager Thomas Jones. “We still have a few pieces of conduit to run at the top of the hill, near Dolphin Market on Route 10,” he said. “Just a very short portion of the road will be torn up, and that should be starting this week. We’ll have the road down to one lane with flagmen direct- ing traffic.” Centerline Road will be down to one lane for ap- proximately a week, according to Jones. Crews are also working on finishing the round- about’s center circle, which will be made with stamped concrete designed to look like rectangular cobblestone in a pale yellow color to match the Dan- ish yellow hue of historic buildings on St. Thomas. The old Texaco gas station, which the Virgin Is- lands government purchased by imminent domain for the roundabout project, was torn down last week. Island Roads will continue to work on removing the building’s remaining concrete foundation, and creat- ing a grassy knoll in its place. There will also be a turnoff lane at the Texaco site for motorists traveling from Route 10 westbound to South Shore Road, allowing traffic to bypass the roundabout altogether. Over the next two months, workers will be lev- eling the roundabout in an effort to smooth out the circle before its final pavement, known as the wearing course, is applied, Jones explained. “What you see now is just a base,” said Jones. “We still have a few pieces of conduit to run at the top of the hill, near Dolphin Market on Route 10. Just a very short portion of the road will be torn up, and that should be starting this week. We'll have the road down to one lane with flagmen directing traffic.” — Thomas Jones, Public Works Materials Program Manager “You really want the wearing course to be the very last thing to happen, because you don’t want your construction equipment driving on it. We’ve got to do the wedge and leveling and correct any mistakes we have in the base mix before we do that.” The wearing course will likely be applied over- night, as it’s important for all of the final pavement to be laid at once, Jones added. Motorists can also expect to see some electrical work in the area over the next two months. The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority recently put out to bid the task of pulling, splicing and connecting wires at the roundabout, where all utilities were buried dur- ing the construction process. “You'll see trucks out there with spools of cable going underground, and men working in manholes,” said Jones. “There shouldn’t be any disruption of traf- fic while that goes on.” Despite delays caused by the burying of utili- ties, the roundabout will still be completed ahead of schedule. “We’ re a little behind because of decisions that had to be made about rerunning conduit and other related matters,” said Jones. “We lost about two months, but we'll still finish before the scheduled closing date.” TRADEWINDS PUBLISHING ..c The Community Newspaper Since 1972 EDITOR/PUBLISHER MaLinda Nelson malinda@tradewinds.vi NEWS EDITOR Jaime Elliott Jaime@tradewinds.vi WRITERS Andrea Milam, Mauri Elbel $70.00 per year ADVERTISING advertising @tradewinds.vi CIRCULATION Rohan Roberts Permit No. 3 COLUMNISTS/ CONTRIBUTORS Sis Frank, Eliza Magro, Afrika Anhtony, Chuck Pishko, Vern Tonge, Jeff Smith, Paul Devine, Jerry Runyon, Andrew Rutnik, and Dustin Prudhomme SUBSCRIPTIONS U.S. & U.S.V.I. only THIRD CLASS PERMIT U.S. Postage PAID St. John, VI 00831 NEWSLINE Tel. (340) 776-6496 Fax (340) 693-8885 www.tradewinds. vi editor @tradewinds.vi MAILING ADDRESS Tradewinds Publishing P.O. Box 1500 St. John, VI 00831 © COPYRIGHT 2010 All rights reserved. No reproduction of news stories, letters, columns, photo- graphs or advertisements allowed without written permission from the publisher. Lt. Gov. Proposes New Regulations for Real Property Tax Payers — Public Review, Comments Urged St John Tradewinds Newly proposed regulations established for the payment of real property tax in the territory are now available for public review and comment for a period of 20 days, according to Lieutenant Governor Gregory Francis. These rules and regulations — which are promulgated and will be implemented pursuant to Act 7064 of the 28th Legislature of the Virgin Islands — provide for installment plans and early payment incentives for current and delinquent real property taxes. The new rules and regulations will allow for installment pay- ment plans that will grant property owners the opportunity to pay their yearly tax bills semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. Taxpayers will have to apply to enroll in an installment plan. The new regulations also provide for an early incentive discount of up to five percent of the amount of tax due for those who pay their property tax bills in full before the due date. Installment plans for delinquent taxes are also provided. Francis said he hopes the new proposal will be encouraging to property owners and will allow them to meet their tax obligations in a manner that minimizes the financial impact. “We realize that property taxes could pose a significant burden to some of our property owners but we are committed to exploring every option that reduces that burden,” he said. “We welcome and appreciate feedback on the proposed rules.” The general public is urged to review and comment on the pro- posed rules. They are available for viewing on the Lt. Governor’s website at www.ltg.gov.vi or at the main administrative offices of the Lieutenant Governor located in Government House on St. Croix and on Kongens Gade on St. Thomas. The rules will also be available at public libraries throughout the territory. The public is asked to use the email address, com- ments@|go-vi.gov, to comment on the proposed rules. Knight’s Historic St. John Photos To Be Featured at March 9 Meeting The St. John Historical Society’s next monthly meeting will be on Tuesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at the Bethany Moravian Church Hall at which time historian David Knight will continue to take the group on a photographic journey with “The Awakening of an American Paradise — Three Decades that Transformed St. John.” This is part two of his presentation featuring photographs of St. John taken by his parents, Anna and George Knight, which focus on the 1950s and 60s. Bring a friend or neighbor and arrive early for good seating. No one will want to miss this wonderful look back at St. John at an earlier time. Whale Watching on Kekoa on Mar. 14 The Environmental Association of St. Thomas/St. John will be hosting a whale watch on March 14 aboard the catamaran Kekoa. Humpback whales migrate through Virgin Islands waters each winter, with the migration peak usually occurring in February. The boat will depart from the National Park Dock in Red Hook at 8:30 a.m. Whale watchers should bring lunch, sun screen, bath- ing suits and binoculars. Since space is limited, interested whale watchers should get tickets as soon as possible. Tickets are $55 for EAST members and $65 for non-members. On St. John tickets are available at Connec- tions. For more information call 774-1837 or 777-7190.