An illustration of the new SZV office building.
CAY HILL--Cay Hill Community Council President Angelique Romou invites the residents of Cay Hill to a town hall meeting on Saturday, February 4, to gain insight on current and future developments in the neighbourhood . First on the list is the new Social and Health Insurances SZV office.
The town hall meeting at the Cay Hill Community Space was initially scheduled to take place in November 2022, but had to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
Meanwhile, rumours are circulating that the SZV project near Raoul Illidge Sports Complex will mean that sporting facilities will be taken away from the community. The new SZV offices are to be built next to St. Maarten Medical Center, across from the road to St. Maarten Fire Department, on a location where a basketball court used to be.
Romou would like to dispel these rumours. “In August of 2022, the Cay-Hill Community Council was invited by SZV to a meeting to discuss said project,” she said, “A presentation of the entire SZV project was made to the council and the council was given the opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions. The council was quite happy with the presentation, as the basketball court and other sporting facilities were already incorporated in the plans of SZV and Government.”
The meeting was attended by Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Omar Ottley, Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion and Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure VROMI Egbert Doran.
The SZV office and Community Wellness Unit are part of the development of the area, which also includes improvement of the tennis court, a multi-purpose field for basketball, netball, volleyball, football, and hockey, and the integration and upgrade of the existing playground.
An extensive plan was shared with the Community Council last year, outlining the vast improvements of the existing sporting facilities and additional sporting opportunities. Government’s plans include an Olympic-size pool, said Romou. “This is envisioned for another phase of the development.”
On Saturday, February 4, various stakeholders in the community of Cay Hill will be given the opportunity to share their plans. The council has invited the hospital, the Ambulance Department, the Fire Department, SZV and other stakeholders to make presentations. “We invite the community to engage in meaningful discussions with these entities,” Romou said. “It is also the intention in this meeting to get more community involvement through various committees for the Cay Hill Community.”
Romou said that she has always advocated for the youth of Cay Hill and their sporting facilities and will continue to fight for the best interest of the Cay Hill residents. “Once SZV lives up to their plans, what the Cay Hill people and St. Maarten in general will get will be an upgrade and longer life expectancy, due to the accessibility to more outdoor exercise equipment and a state-of-the-art Community Wellness Center, because we all know that exercise is one of the biggest deterrents for illness.”
The town hall meeting will take place at the Cay Hill Community Space, next to the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex tennis court, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
