Senators Pass "Take it or Leave It" Museum Lease; Vialet Decries Absence of Local Voices on Board; Johnson Says Gov’t “Laid Itself Down” for $100 a Month

The proposed lease has been under scrutiny in and out of the legislative chambers. When Bill 36-0040 was first discussed in the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance on March 18th, several lawmakers took issue with various aspects of the arrangement. Senator Novelle Francis was concerned about the length of the lease, while Senator Kurt Vialet was worried that Virgin Islanders would not be appropriately represented. During the vetting process in the Committee on Rules and Judiciary, Senator Marise James reminded lawmakers that the government does not retain the right to cancel the lease before the 99 years, while the lessee has a chance every decade to choose to terminate the agreement.

If approved by the governor, the Hamburg America building will effectively be under the control of the Kim Foundation for a nominal fee. The arrangement continues to disturb Senator Johnson, who argued against the structure of the lease during Monday’s regular session. He drew on examples from mainland museums that, according to Mr. Johnson, charge $35 for entry.

“At $35, all it takes for them to make the $100 a month that they're going to give to us is three visitors walking into that museum,” Senator Johnson declared. “$100 a month. That's what this is about. Nobody wants to speak about that. It's $100 a month for 99 years,” he lamented. “Our great grandchildren ain’t going to get no money from this…and they're going to make a profit. Make no mistake about that,” he argued.

Johnson was one of several legislators who attended a meeting with the prospective developers after the lease was ventilated in the relevant committee. “I said you guys need to hold this and let’s work on a next arrangement because I’m willing to give you the building to lease,” he recalled. Instead, the lawmaker shared that he was told “all or none. 99 years or none. No negotiating. We don’t want to sit down and wait.”

The Legislature, he believes, is being “pushed around” by acquiescing to such requests. “ I would prefer to even sell the building than to say I’m going to lease it, because you're not going to get nothing from it.” For Senator Johnson, the dollar value of $100 no longer goes very far, but “this government laid itself down to collect $100 a month for 99 years.”