Sept. 14, 2006 – After being closed for more than a week, St. John's Texaco gas station opened Tuesday. "It was stocked with gas Tuesday," Texaco Caribbean spokeswoman Isabelle Guerin said.
She said the company was just waiting to finalize details of a month-to-month contract with station operator Robert O'Connor Jr. before reopening the station. O'Connor could not be reached for comment.
St. John Administrator Julien Harley said he was glad the Texaco didn't close during the winter tourism season because it's the only station that takes credit cards. "It's much more convenient," he said.
St. John resident Ronnie Jones said that he's pleased that Texaco Caribbean considered the impact on St. John residents in deciding to reopen the station, despite what appears to be bungling on the part of the government.
Guerin said Texaco Caribbean decided to close the station in early September because the Public Works Department planned to take over the property by eminent domain on Sept. 30 so it could build a roundabout. She said this would have given the company time to remove its equipment.
She said she didn't know the specifics of the new arrangement with the Public Works Department.
She couldn't say whether Texaco Caribbean, which is owned by Chevron, will look for another location in Cruz Bay or St. John once Public Works starts construction on the roundabout, currently scheduled for June 2007.
No one could be reached at Public Works for comment.
The closure prompted a public meeting held Sept. 7 in Cruz Bay Park because residents feared they would have to drive all the way to Coral Bay to buy gas. Cruz Bay's only other gas station, E&C, is planning to change its gas tanks and will be closed for a couple of months.
E&C owner Myrtle Barry said Thursday that it now looks like the station will close around the middle of October, but that date is still tentative.
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