Francis Heyliger discovers major oversight error, place formal request to Lieutenant Governor for swift corrective action

US VIRGIN ISLANDS – In what is being termed as an error, after public uproar and a heavy social media backlash, a Lawmaker of the 34th Legislature has taken the issue directly to the source: the Office of the Lt. Governor. Senator Alma Francis Heyliger penned a letter directly to Lt. Governor Tregenza Roach on December 3, 2021, pointing out a disregard for the law of the Virgin Islands.

On November 30, 2021, the Committee on Government Operations and Consumer Protection had Bill No. 34-0150 introduced to be considered. The Bill seeks to name the walkway and improvements adjacent to the Veterans Drive Highway on the island of St. Thomas the “John de Jongh, Jr. Promenade.” Due to a lack of a quorum no action was taken on the measure to advance the legislation, as such the bill remained in the committee.

With no action taken on the bill within hours of the hearing an imagery map of Downtown Charlotte Amalie surfaced with the name of “John de Jongh, Jr. Promenade” had begun to be widely circulated on social media as if the individuals responsible for the updating of the territories’ geographical information considered it a foregone conclusion before going through and completing the process.

Senator Francis Heyliger did a thorough review of the VI Code and delivered a host of factual evidence to support her concerns over what is termed an “Error,” by the Lieutenant Governor in a press release dated December 10, 2021. The Senator Francis Heyliger pointed out that, “Title 1 Chapter 5 Section 91 grants the Lieutenant Governor the authority over mapping and the Geographical Information System to include developing, updating and maintaining a street address directory. Furthermore, it consists of a computerized geographic information system that includes electronic files listing street names and addresses, road and thoroughfare addresses.”

That section of the VI Code clearly states what is allowed and expected of the law. Francis Heyliger went on to explain, “Section 91 does not gran the Lieutenant Governor the ability to name a promenade or building. In addition, Title 31 Section 4 clearly states that no real property shall be named for any person except upon approval of the Legislature by Act!”

In her penned letter dated December 3, 2021, emailed and hand delivered to the Lieutenant Governor Roach the freshman senator said these words directly. “It has come to my attention that the promenade which is the subject of Bill 34-0150 has already been named on USVI MapGeo. I have attached a printed map for your review. In the interests of transparency and adherence to the law, I am formally requesting that you remove “John de Jongh, Jr. Promenade from MapGeo until such time as an Act naming this area is passed. Thank you for your cooperation and adherence to the Virgin Islands Code.”

So, after a seven-day period of social media and talk radio uproar the Lieutenant Governor took a different approach. Customarily when an individual senator directly writes to a government official they should be sent a response or at least be carbon copied (cc). Instead, the Lieutenant Governor penned his own letter to Donna Frett Gregory in her capacity as senate president of the 34th Legislature and not acknowledging the senator who raised the concern. After sending the correspondence to Frett Gregory a press release went out to the public on December 10, 2021. Headlined “Lieutenant Governor Roach Informs Legislature of Correction of GIS Mapping Error Regarding Veterans Drive.”

The press release spread the blame around. The release states, “The Office of the Lieutenant Governor’s Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) Division is responsible for developing, updating and maintaining a street address directory that consists of a computerized geographic information system that includes and electronic file listing street names and addresses as well as road thoroughfare addresses.”

If those words sound redundant or familiar it is because it is the identical language that Senator Francis Heyliger pointed out to Lieutenant Governor Roach in her letter to him on December 3, 2021. He further acknowledged this part of the code. “As a mandatory part of the updating process for the catalog of street name and addresses, the GIS Division must include all Bills regarding street names passed by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and subsequently enacted into law. At the November 30, 2021, hearing no Bill was passed and a s a result could not possible be enacted into law.

Lieutenant Governor Roach detailed the error regarding Veterans Drive and indicated that the matter has been rectified. He further explained, “Last month (November) the Division received a copy of Bill 34-0150, incorrectly referenced it as a law, and subsequently propagated our error into public space through Mapgeo. The error received public attention when the attendant map was shared widely on social media. This error has been corrected. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or confusion it may have caused,” said Lieutenant Governor Roach.

Still no reference or correspondence to date from Roach to Francis Heyliger, the senator had this to say. “I am here on the behalf of the people that hired me on this two-year contract to be their representative. I just want to do right by the will of the people and when mistakes are made they should be corrected as soon as possible, and to be honest I would rather that promenade be named after one of our heroes, a veteran as it is a part of veterans drive.” Francis Heyliger concluded.

On December 14, 2021, Francis Heyliger authored a letter to the office of the Lieutenant Governor thanking him for his quick response to her concerns about the premature naming of the walkway and improvements adjacent to the Veterans Drive Highway on the island of St. Thomas on MapGeo as referenced in her December 3, 2021, letter.

Senator Alma Francis Heyliger concluded, “Transparency in our government is integral to the work that we do on behalf of the Territory. I appreciate your accountability and quick action in correcting the oversight on MapGeo. I have attached a copy of the updated map for your reference.”