Finance Committee puts off government's plan to buy two properties
Published: February 20, 2013
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ST. THOMAS - The Senate Finance Committee heard testimony Tuesday about two pieces of property the government wants to buy, but no action was taken.
When the government wants to purchase property, the contract of sale must be approved by the V.I. Legislature.
V.I. Property and Procurement Commissioner Lynn Millin-Maduro said Tuesday the government wants to buy two small parcels, one on St. Thomas and one on St. Croix.
The first property is in Estate Bovoni, and will give the government full access to Bovoni Cay, located in Benner Bay.
The government has agreed to purchase the property, No. 1-2 Estate Bovoni, for $31,000. The money would come from the Business and Commercial Fund, which collects rents paid to the government from tenants leasing government property.
As part of the purchase, the seller - the Patti Birch 1991 Trust - will gift the government the 5 percent interest in Bovoni Cay. The other 95 percent interest in Bovoni Cay was donated to the V.I. government in 1998 by Virgin Cay Marina.
"With this gift of the trust's interest in Bovoni Cay, the government will have full control of the cay for the benefit of the people of the Virgin Islands and for its use as a conservation and recreational area as restricted in the 1998 deed of the other 95 percent," the trust's attorney, James Casner, said.
The second property is Plot No. 57 Cotton Valley, St. Croix. The property would be purchased for $48,000 - from the Business and Commercial Fund - and would be used for a police station.
The Legislature's Legal Counsel Office had some concerns about the contracts, but a legal opinion on the matter was not complete.
Senators decided to hold the two contracts of sale in committee until the legal opinion is received.
- Contact reporter Aldeth Lewin at 714-9111 or email alewin@dailynews.vi.
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