Dear Editor,
My wife and I have a place in Cupecoy. We love St. Maarten and we want our beautiful island and its wonderful residents to thrive.
The regular power outages SXM experiences are harmful to residents, businesses, and tourism and it is obvious that GEBE is unable to keep up with the demand. What is also obvious is that the government is approving building projects without adding the additional infrastructure necessary to support the increased demand. Every new building that goes up brings with it additional strain on the electrical grid, waste management systems, and roadways.
The fairest way to finance the considerable expense of infrastructure improvements is to pass along some of that cost to the people making the profits – the developers. For example, if a developer seeks approval for a $200 million project they should pay a $20 million infrastructure fee – 10% of the project cost.
When the new towers at Mullet Bay (known as Fourteen) were built they should have made road renovation a condition for opening. The developer should have been allowed to finish construction using the old road so that the trucks wouldn’t damage the new one. Then, BEFORE opening, they should have renovated the worst 1/4 mile of that road – which is the part along the golf course from there to Maho. That road is an important thoroughfare for people traveling between Terres Basses, Cupecoy, Maho and Simpson Bay. Anyone that travels that stretch of road knows it is in terrible condition and is regularly made impassable when it rains.
We can expect developers to understate the scope of their projects in order to reduce their infrastructure fees, but financial analyses and audits would assure that SXM receives the revenue needed to help it keep up with the growing demand.
As previously stated, the fairest way to finance the considerable expense of infrastructure improvements is to pass along some of that cost to the people making the profits – the developers. Including the fee with each project approval assures that infrastructure improvements keep pace with new development.
Looking forward to the day when these power outages are a thing of the past.
Lou & Sue Rivera
