Alpine Town Meeting Set for Wednesday
An open forum that will provide an opportunity to discuss all aspects of the Alpine Waste-To-Energy project is the goal of the Town Hall Meeting Wednesday, January 13, from 6-8 p.m. at Gertrude’s Restaurant, St. Croix.
The meeting is being sponsored by Crucians In Focus (CIF) in conjunction with the Virgin Islands Ratepayers Association. Admission is free.
CIF President Michael Springer, who will serve as moderator for the event, said the meeting will be an opportunity for participants to hear the rationale for and concerns about the project, and said the format is designed to make the most productive use of the available time.
The meeting will begin with a 10 minute (approx) presentation by each of the panelists (listed below) during which time information on the project and community concerns will be given. Their initial presentations will be uninterrupted.
Following the presentations, there will be a question and answer period. Participants will be provided with forms they can use to write their questions and the panelist(s) to whom the question is addressed. Questions will be directed to the appropriate panelist(s) by the moderator.
“Participants can submit as many questions as they like throughout the time the panelists are giving their presentations,” Springer said. “In the interest of time, and to get as much information discussed in the time we have, we believe this format will be the most effective for this event.”
The panelists are St. Croix Senator Nellie O’Reilly; Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority Executive Director Hugo Hodge; Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority Executive Director May Adams Cornwall; Paul Chakroff, Virgin Islands Ratepayers Association; Mario Moorehead, historian and community activist; community activists Steffen Larsen, Dwayne Callwood, George Moore and Clarence Payne; and former Senator Adelbert Bryan.
“As you can see the panel represents a wide range of views on this project and we know there are strong opinions out there on this matter,” Springer said. “We hope the makeup of the panel shows that it is in the public’s interest to get the full picture.”
The forum will also be broadcast live on WSTX Radio, 970 AM.
If you cannot attend and would like to submit a question, please add it here as a comment we we’ll add it to our list.
Michael Springer a lead voice on public issues. Interesting.
Interesting indeed!
How many votes will this get him?
I just get back from the meeting at CAHS. We really put a lot of pressure on the WAPA amd Alpine panelist! Even Ms Cornwell was vex with us by the time the forum finished!
Senator’s had best be LISTENING to all of us this time around. This is the worst option we could have ever chosen for alternative power provider.
Watch the session today to see who shows up and what questions they ask………….starts at 9am on STT.
I listened to the STT meeting last night and don’t let us get distracted by the “emotional” talk from Cornwall-Adams and the rest. They are traveling with an army (that we are paying for) of consultants to shove this deal down our throats after the fact because this is just damage control.
If they’re so concerned of having the FACTS of this deal out there why didn’t they do this before the PSC gave it’s approval or WAPA signed the contract.
This is a PR move designed by and paid for by WAPA, Alpine and the government who put this deal in place in the first place.
Let us stay focused on the issue – not just now but for the next 20-40 years.
We also need to keep calling our government official BEFORE these issues come up. We need to continue to put pressure on them. We have reached the point that we can no longer take them at their word.
Who is paying for the “experts” and consultants’ presence at the three presentations WAPA/WMA is putting on over four days? How much did it cost? Will we see an “LCAC” (Levelized Consultant Adjustment Charge) on our WAPA bill?
LIVE FROM FORUM: No show panelists: Cornwall, Hodge, Beach, Chakroff, Bryan, Sen O’Reilly
Mr. Springer and Clarence Payne are trying to get elected to the senate in November. Thats the only reason why they are beating a DEAD HORSE. Alpine is a DONE DEAL.
I forgot Duane Callwood. FRAUDS!!!!!!!!!!!
In all fairness, please take note that both Senator O’Reilly and Chakroff DID actually attend, with their luggage in tow.
Alpine needs not to be thought of as a dead horse nor a done deal. There must be ways to stall this action legally, and force WAPA to meet the Green desires of the community.
As far as Springer and Payne putting on this forum for the purpose of votes, I would look harder at the gal who showed up to the forum for the sole purpose of handing out a 5 page newsletter from Usie Richards: that is more blatant, Usie didn’t even bother to come. I guess he doesn’t care to hear first hand how his voters feel about AEG, he just wanted to be sure his juicy flyer got handed out.
Remember the “EUF” that viwma tried to shove down our throats? Well, everyone thought that was a done deal too, but it turned out not so. Let’s not give in to AEG, as one wise person has said, “he who stays till the end wins!”. Let’s stick in there to force this poor choice to go away.
Well first of all, congratulations to Mr. Springer and all of his panelists and Sen. O’Reilly and Mr. Chakroff who made it over from the meeting on St. Thomas to attend the town hall meeting.
It was unfortunate that Hodge and Cornwall and the gentleman from Alpine couldn’t attend, but Sen. O’Reilly said the Barshinger’s hearing was still going on when she left so I don’t think there was anything they could do about it.
I thought all the panelists brought their own perspective and Mario Moorehead is right on target when he says people need to take the time to READ before forming an opinion. And while the rest of the panelists were clearly not in support of the deal, I thought they all made points based on the facts and not just some emotional tirade.
And kudos to Mr. Springer, whose intent was to show the project from all sides and not just the side of the people who signed the contract and their army of consultants – and who carried out his mission even after the expected panelist lineup changed.
Good job all!
Don’t we want the people seeking office to be out leading the charge. I wish I could vote for both Mr. Springer and Mr Payne, they deserve a chance to serve the community in an official capacity. Both will be excellent public servents. Keep up the good work gentlemen.
I was not able to attend the meeting. Does anyone know approx. how many people were in attendance and the overall consensus of the people?
What were the handouts Usie had distributed? AND did anyone else think King Hill was way out of line when he ripped into a citizen who had two minutes to testify last night? The ‘People’s House’ indeed.
Shame on Hill.
Hill you are an embarassment not only to the Virgin Islanders but to your Home town Dominica…. Stop trying to be who you aint. Go back to the Carib Reserve and try to do with your own people what you try to do here .
Senator Donastorg/Good Grief, will you ever stop with the whining? Inquiring minds want to know.
Why do you always have to bring up the next Governor of the Virgin Islands , as if he has time to be in this blog . Obviously yall deJongh people know Senator Donastorg is a threat… Keep buying out the people with contracts that will not work. Not everyone in these islands are corrupted. Alot of people here are humble individuals. So keep calling the Senator a whiner , because nothing else could be said about him … On the other hand some of the other candidates including the Governor could be called a THIEF… For thiefing what belongs to the people of the Virgin Islands for their own pleasure and use… SHAME on You deJONGH .. we voted for you because we believed you would do good for these islands and what you have done is used us. Not AGAIN!!!!!!!
Speaking of candidates, I was wondering. I did some research on The Political Graveyard, and I noticed that in the 1984 VI elections, about 10 incumbent senators got voted out and replaced with a new batch of people. In 1986, seven senators were voted out. Can somebody explain to me what was going on during those election years for this to occur? By the way, here is the address:
http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/VI/ofc/legis1980s.html
I’m supporting Donastorg in 2010. I could care less about what all the haters say.