Land Swap Legislation Held in Committee for Up to 45 Working Days as Senators Seek More Time To Weigh Options

A proposed land exchange between the government of the Virgin Islands and the National Park Service is on hold for at least 45 more days, after members of the Senate voted on Thursday to hold enabling legislation in committee for that long.

The vote during the Committee of the Whole’s legislative session came after hours of passionate debate on bill 35-0112, which would authorize the conveyance of Whistling Cay to the federal government through the NPS in exchange for a parcel of land in Estate Catherineberg, for the purposes of building the first public K-12 school on St. John.

“We should not be making decisions where we are uncertain,” said Senator Donna Frett-Gregory, when her turn came to speak on the matter.

“I don’t think it’s going to jeopardize our ability to get the FEMA funds,” Senator Milton Potter opined, about the plan to take the additional time for the legislature to conduct their own due diligence on the proposal, which several of his colleagues said was not presented to them in sufficient time to thoroughly investigate the issue from all angles.

Senator Kenneth Gittens presented arguments for why the measure before the body needed to be amended. “Tell me or show me any place in the bill before you that says upon this land swap that our school will be built,” he asked. “Where is that in the enacting clause?” He noted that the assured preservation of water rights for fishers and recreational boaters was also not included in the language of bill 35-0112.