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Plans to develop Motor Pool on St. Croix are tabled

The Department of Property and Procurement has scrapped plans to develop Motor Pool and Motor Vehicle Bureau facilities on property in Estate Bethlehem, St. Croix, real estate that is perceived to be prime agricultural lands. The joint decision was made at a meeting convened by Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. between Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Louis “Akil” Petersen and Property and Procurement Commissioner Lynn A. Millin.

"I am extremely pleased that a resolution to this issue has been reached. We remain committed to an agricultural agenda that includes various parcels of real estate on the island. We will now look elsewhere for less fragile land to develop the much needed motor pool complex for St. Croix," deJongh said Wednesday. Millin said after the meeting that “alternate sites are being reviewed for the motor pool and motor vehicle bureau facilities on St. Croix.” But she pointed out that research showed that while the property was one time a part of VI Corp land, it is not now real estate that is under the purview of the Agriculture Department. "The property is zoned 'P' for public use but we recognize that the Agriculture Department has use for the property and in the spirit of working together we will turn control of the property over to Agriculture for its use."

During the meeting at Government House on St. Croix today, it was revealed that development of a motor pool facility at the site would have had a negative effect on nearby and adjacent property already used for agriculture purposes especially a nearby water table. "This land has great potential as we have seen in the development of adjacent properties," Petersen said, noting that, "The Dept. of Agriculture is pleased with the decision, it is one which reinforces our promise to preserve all farmland that now exist in the Virgin Islands."

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