Mapp administration briefed HUD deputy secretary on roads, housing and infrastructure projects

U.S. Virgin Islands officials briefed U.S. Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Pam Patenaude on June 12, 2018, on recovery projects including road reconstruction, electrical-grid hardening, harbor dredging and housing redevelopment.

The meeting on St. Croix followed HUD’s February 2018 announcement of a $242.7 million award to the territory. According to Government House, the session focused on how the funds would be allocated and used.

Public Works Commissioner Nelson Petty Jr. said all territorial roads needed upgrades to federal highway standards and said permanent road repairs would take about five years. He identified Centerline Road on St. John, Hull Bay Road and Mandahl Road on St. Thomas, and Northshore Road on St. Croix among priority projects for the first phase of HUD-funded work.

West Indian Company President and CEO Clifford Graham and Virgin Islands Port Authority engineering director Damian Cartwright presented updates on dredging plans for Charlotte Amalie Harbor and St. Croix’s Schooner Channel.

Housing Finance Authority Executive Director Daryl Griffith and Virgin Islands Housing Authority Director Robert Graham outlined housing recovery efforts, including public-housing demolition, community repositioning plans and Community Development Block Grant allocations. Government House said the housing authority projected a five- to seven-year timeline for the transformation.

Water and Power Authority Executive Director Lawrence Kupfer said WAPA’s strategic plan included hardening the electrical grid and upgrading generating units to better withstand future storms.

Finance Commissioner Valdamier Collens, who also served as executive director of the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority, gave HUD officials an overview of the Office of Disaster Recovery, which coordinates and monitors disaster-recovery funding, including HUD grants.

After the meeting, HUD representatives toured D. Hamilton Jackson Terrace, LBJ Gardens, the John F. Kennedy Housing Community and the WAPA Richmond Power Plant.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-mapps-leadership-team-updates-hud-officials-on-territorys-progress/