Jan. 28, 2004 – A Senate Government Operations Committee hearing on waste disposal and road repairs that was scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday on St. Croix has been postponed to next month, Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone, the committee chair, announced on Wednesday.
The meeting was called "to discuss the many growing concerns and issues surrounding the sewage system on St. Croix that [have] been plaguing that district for a significant period of time," Malone said in a release, expressing "a sense of urgency to address this matter" because of health concerns.
According to the release, he postponed the meeting "because Commissioner Wayne D. Callwood asked for more time to prepare for the meeting, citing the fact that he had meetings with federal officials at the same time the meeting was set."
Malone rescheduled the meeting for Feb. 19. Meantime, he said, he plans to speak with Public Works personnel "to ascertain what procedures need to be implemented to rectify this situation as soon as possible."
Malone, who adamantly opposed the recently enacted legislation creating the V.I. Waste Management Authority, said he is committed "to taking aggressive oversight steps toward improving the waste system on St. Croix despite the passage" of the bill.
He also said that road conditions "on all three islands are deplorable and are posing serious dangers to motorists and pedestrians alike."
Also invited to testify at the Thursday meeting from Public Works were Robert Moorehead, assistant commissioner; Aloy Nielsen, acting deputy commissioner, Engineering Division; Sonya Nelthropp, senior manager, Utilities/Waste Management Division; John Green, senior solid waste coordinator; Joseph Bradford, utilities director; Jose Ledesma, roads and highways director/St. Croix; and Frederick Stevens, roads and highways director, St. Thomas; along with Kenneth Mapp, Public Finance Authority director of finance and administration..
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