Sept. 12, 2006 — It appears that a deal to reopen St. John's Texaco gas station is in the works. "We are in the process of working on agreement with the former retailer to get it open," Chevron spokesman Isabelle Guerin said Tuesday.
Chevron is the parent company of Texaco Caribbean, which owns the Cruz Bay Texaco gas station operated by Robert O'Connor Jr.
She said the company hopes to have it open in the next few days, but she said she didn't have a firm date.
Sen. Craig Barshinger sent out a news release Tuesday announcing that Texaco Caribbean is working on a month-to-month deal with the local government.
He said that Texaco Caribbean's retail district manager, Algernon Cargill, e-mailed him that “we recognize and acknowledge the government's call for our Texaco service station to remain open to serve the wider St. John community and assure you that we are working as swiftly as possible to respond formally to the government's request positively."
St. John Administrator Julien Harley confirmed that discussions are under way between the government and Texaco Caribbean but said he could not reveal any details until the deal is finalized.
Deputy Public Works Commissioner Ira Wade said he knows something is in the works but hasn't seen any documents.
Public Works Commissioner George Phillips was on leave and could not be reached for comment.
Barshinger said in a news release that Texaco Caribbean's willingness to reopen the gas station will "alleviate a crisis that would have occurred when Cruz Bay was left with no gas stations."
Guerin said the company understood the residents' concerns.
The issue came to the public's attention in early September when the Texaco station abruptly closed when it sold the last of its gas.
The Public Works Department plans a roundabout for that area. Initial plans called for removing the gas station.
The government was in the final stages of condemnation proceedings, but they were not finalized.
After public outcry about the loss of the gas station, Phillips said Texaco Caribbean could occupy the space until June.
Around the same time, information came to light that the other gas station in Cruz Bay, E & C, planned to closed for a couple of months to change its tanks.
That left one station remaining to serve all of St. John, and it is in Coral Bay.
This news prompted a public meeting Sept. 7 in Cruz Bay Park, where Wade told residents that the government was trying to work out the matter.
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