Dear Editor,

In response to many criticisms we environmentalists constantly get, and also to enlighten the general public with some FACTS about Paul Golden….

We do not place turtles, birds and lizards above children, we just see the big picture, which includes a clean and healthy environment so we can all be physically and financially healthy. If part of our island suffers from pollution and displacement caused by inappropriate development, we will all suffer in the end.

For one example, golf courses need toxic chemicals to kill weeds that interfere with the perfect green grass. These chemicals leach into the ground making their way to the sea and damaging the things that fish eat. Have you snorkeled off the Buccaneer beach lately? It’s not that wonderful, and the Buccaneer is one of the most environmentally sensitive hotels on St. Croix. Weed killers kill other plants and sea life, too. When the fish have no food because run-off has destroyed it, they die. Then there are no fish for us to enjoy when we snorkel or dive, or eat at the dinner table. Just because we haven’t seen this happen yet, doesn’t mean it won’t happen if we keep on abusing the natural world. We therefore need to be very careful where we put golf courses, among other things. The Great Pond area is not a good place for one because there is abundant sea life in the bay which will be negatively affected by run-off from a development in this area. The Great Pond area has been designated an “Area of Particular Concern” because of the natural resources there. We need to respect this and find a better place for Mr. Golden to build his casino/resort. (I want to say…Like on the moon…)

I applaud William Smith who is resurrecting the former Grapetree Bay Hotel. What a smart move! This is a property which already has proper zoning and a footprint for a beautiful hotel. Easier all around, and less damaging to the environment we all share.

The Fischer family, who’ve recently purchased the former Cormorant and are working with CHANT and SEA from the very beginning to ensure that their planned expansion will be environmentally and culturally appropriate are also to be highly commended.

As far as jobs are concerned, I wonder how many people will be happy working the kinds of jobs another casino/resort will provide. Are the people who work at the other casino/resort happy? Maybe some are, but I think that many would generally rather be doing something else besides working in the “service” industry. And here, I am not saying that service industry jobs are less important than any others. Every job is important. I came here many years ago and worked 7 days a week in various part-time positions (including cleaning toilets, even with my master’s degree) until I decided to start my own business. Now I work for myself and I love my work. In my line of work (which is also in the “service industry”), people are happy to see me. They also usually feel better when we part ways. It is extremely rewarding. Some people think my work is hard, and it often is. But I am doing something I truly love, and the joy of accomplishment and my peace of mind far outweigh the difficulties. My work does not harm the environment or anybody’s health. I believe anyone can look around any community, see what needs to be done, what niches need to be filled in a positive way, and then do what they love to make a good living.

Eco-tourism is being under-explored by Caribbean islands. It seems that each wants to emulate one of the others, especially the ones with big resorts and casinos. But the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. What someone else has may not be best for the next guy. St. Croix is an incredible place with beautiful people and a rich culture and history. Many people want to learn about our culture and history. Don’t we want to share that with them? How will another casino help preserve this heritage for all of our children? We can educate ourselves and each other so that we do not have to depend on every developer with big ideas who want to exploit our island and our people. Getting involved with CHANT is a good start.

Now for a few of the actual facts about Paul Golden’s project, which have been thus far ignored by most of the news media. I’m trying to make it understandable and not in so much “legalese”, which might just as well be Greek as far as I’m concerned.

First, the US District Court has ordered that our local CZM Committee make a “findings of fact” to determine whether Golden’s plans comply with our VI laws. But, our local CZM staff has already determined that Golden’s plans do not comply in the following areas: Drainage, flooding and erosion control; Impact studies on marine life in the Great Pond Bay; Impact studies on land areas surrounding the pond and bay; Sewage treatment and disposal; Hazardous waste disposal; Fire and Police protection and Public Health, among others.

Second, our local CZM staff has already recommended that the CZM Committee deny Golden a CZM permit because of these failures to comply. But the CZM Committee granted him a permit without a quorum. This means there were not enough voting members present to conduct business, yet they granted him a permit, which is illegal.

This also means that Golden has a lot more work to do. He has not complied with requirements to receive a permit to build anything. Despite these facts, he continues to insist that he is “in full compliance of the CZM permit” and “not in violation of any CZM conditions”. He has also tried to stop the permit from being reviewed by the St. Croix CZM Committee. To me, this indicates he knows the plans will not be approved by CZM.

Third, it will take years for the numerous legal challenges from the many parties interested in the laws of the VI being upheld to be resolved. And the PFA gave him until March 31, 2008 to resolve them.

So now, where will he get the funding for his proposed convention center?

Fourth, he still has not shown the public any real plans for this project. You know, like blueprints (real engineer’s drawings with measurements and stuff.) We always see the “artist’s rendering”, oh, but this time, a lovely aerial photograph has been added.

And finally, Mr. Golden said in a radio interview, that he would be happy to speak with the environmentalists and answer their questions, but he denied us access on his tour of the Great Pond on Friday. What was he afraid of? The truth? I think so, because he did lie when asked about the smell of the area. The natural processes which occur in and around a salt pond will produce gases which may be somewhat unpleasant. However, despite the fact that the wind was blowing from east to west, and there were only a handful of Senepol cattle far to the west of his site, he said that the smell of the Great Pond was actually from manure. Now there’s a bunch of bull! (I want to say…Or, does he just not know sh**?)

Okay, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe he really just doesn’t get it. Fine. But if he truly is that ignorant about the source of the odors on this property, how will he understand any of the more difficult issues involved in beginning, building, completing and managing a project of this magnitude?

(I want to say…I’m starting to think that maybe he’s going for a Guinness Book record for longest time to actually begin a resort/casino project…..) But I’m really trying to be nice :)!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 at 10:06 pm and is filed under Rants, St. Croix, Terry Talk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.