Dear Subscriber,
This past Wednesday was a Town Hall meeting held for the public and I attended and made notes, which follow.
Orange Creek Town Hall meeting for Northern District of Cat Island
Wednesday 14 February 2018 – Orange Creek Primary School
- Mr. Neil Campbell – Chief Administrator – Presiding (cell 577-0747)
- Superintendent Dencle Barr – Superintendent of Police (cell 424-2778)
- Mr. Omar Stubbs – Chief Councilor
- Mr. Jerry Smith – North Cat Island District Councilor (cell 556-7036)
- Miss Burroughs taking minutes (Arthur’s Town Administrator Office 354-2043)
Mr. Campbell opened the meeting and all stood for the invocation. He then stated the Local Government Act requires public meetings, as this one. Mr. Campbell introduced himself and those above on the stand and recognized the attendance of Miss Margaret Cleare of Orange Creek and other northern Cat Islanders and homeowners from Pigeon Cay.
Superintendent Barr then spoke to us
- 3 weeks on island
- Sgt Simmons under him
- Asks us to help in policing
- Do not be afraid in reporting crime or suspicious activities
- Police want to be mediators in resolving disputes
- There’s no room for those who seek criminal behaviours to support themselves
- Asks for the opportunity to serve now, even if you’ve had a bad experience in the past
- Here to build bridges with the community
Mr. Campbell added that we need to get your vehicles licensed, if not then fines will be assessed. Also, there will multiple, simultaneous ongoing mosquitoes fogging to reduce mosquito infestations
Omar Stubbs chief councilor then addressed the group
- Does this because he wants to make improvements
- Holes in the road are being repaired, but there are limited supplies and equipment
- Settlement cleanup is ongoing
- Building bus stops
- Building fish stands
- If I can’t answer your question I’ll find out for you
The floor was then opened for questions and comments from those in attendance
James Honeycutt – Homeowner from Pigeon Cay
- Introduced myself, attending with my son-in-law, Matthew Jensen and a neighbor Sourena Moayedi from Pigeon Cay
- Requested phone numbers and email addresses of our local government officials so that we may have a more open dialog. (Superintendent Barr provided James with his contact information on his business card)
- Homeowners at Pigeon love Cat Island, many have been here for more than fifteen years
- We’re in the process of forming property owners association
- With regards to the Sky Bahamas schedule, we understand it is a private business and setting the schedule is dependent upon bookings. What we cannot abide is the schedule changing day-to-day and how it has financially affected visitors and property owners alike who booked a morning flight weeks or even months earlier and due to last minute or unannounced flight changes, not just delays, missed connecting flights in Nassau and spent 100s of dollars to be accommodated through no fault of their own.
- Does the Central Government have an obligation to provide air service to the Out Islands?
- We are interested in adding culverts to the main entrance into Pigeon Cay to reconnect the sea creek with a standing water pond that has killed all the mangroves and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. We are meeting with the local owner of the land upon the road passes and will coordinate with Mr. Jerry Smith
- If homeowners which to extend their visit past the limited number days immigrations grants them upon entry in Nassau, who should we contact?
Mr. Campbell responded to Mr. Honeycutt’s questions and comments
- Government building in the Bahamas are color coded:
- Admin pink and white, go there for information
- Police buildings are green
- Schools are yellow
- Sky Bahamas is committing to a monthly schedule that is to remain firm
- As of March first they will only be flying into Cat Island once a day and will no longer offer free ground shuttle service between airports
- Any building or improvements must be permitted by local government
- If permits denied you must appeal within 15 days to Mr. Omar Stubbs and if further denied then 15 days to appeal to the appropriate minister and no appeal from there.
- Private roads cannot be extended more than 24 feet wide
- Thought visitors were only allowed to stay 6 months, will check into the 8 month limit
- When no immigration office exists the police and Neil are the immigrations officer
- Come see him one month early
- He makes two calls, one to Interpol and one to Bahamas Immigrations
Miss Margaret Cleare of Orange Creek then took the floor
- The SkyBahamas changes will have a negative economic impact on all of Cat Island
- Her hotel guest have booked flights as far out as June and now have to make costly changes
- When we fix the roads, do it right!
- I have 5 vehicles going up and down this road, has to be done right, make it last
- Permapatch is a bandaid, can peel off
- Patches aren’t enough, edges are a disaster as well
- We pay vehicle licencing fees for what?
Mr. Neil Campbell responded
- Cement patches are very expensive
- Mr. Russell’s equipment for heating tar is off island
- Ezra Russell said we should sand seal on top of tar
- Looking at tar, asphalt, cement, sand seal to determine the ‘right’ way to fix the roads
Miss Cleare continued
- The process for inspecting hotels has changed
- No one has told them of any changes
- Now you have to apply for a hotel license
- And no one has been out to inspect, please let us know how this is supposed to work so we can be in compliance
Manette Poitier asked about repairs to private roads
- Private Roads are the obligation of property owners but they pay property taxes, why cannot some of the road repairs be extended to these roads as well?
Mr. Neil Campbell responded
- Public act is for maintaining public roads, not private
- Laws published in the Gazette only occurs after a change had been passed into law
Cybil lives at mouth of creek asked,
- Would like a ‘No-Wake’ zone at mouth of Orange Creek
Mr. Campbell responded
- He can do that with signage, but residents will need to report offenders
Mr. Neil Campbell concluded with the following comments
- Establishing a Road Safety committee
- Getting signs to show distances to settlements, docks, etc. But most important is repairing roads
- Invites homeowners association to be created
- Garbage collection, local community must sign off on pickup before collector is paid
- Public works must be done by 20th
- Someone paid $800/month for cleaning a school ground is now being given more work to get more value
- Cat island is 31 of 32 districts, was the top, we need to restore our standing
- Dump sites will have gates with posted times, and garbage will be sorted by type.
- Construction waste
- Household garbage
- Old Tires
- Toxic wastes
- Moving the New Bight dump site to not be so close to ground water
- Derelict vehicle?
- Need schedule for garbage collection
Meeting closed with Benediction offered by the Rev. Manette Poitier
Warm Regards,
James Honeycutt, Pigeon Cay Homeowner