Summers End Group grant has been cancelled

iheartsj · Post by **iheartsj** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:43 pm

The grant that had been awarded to the DPNR with Summers End Group as the sub=grantee has been cancelled by the federal government. Read all about it here

http://savecoralbay.com/fws-grant-withdrawn/

This is a huge victory for those that love St. John and particularly Coral Bay. Also a huge victory for turtles, sharks, baby fish, corals, etc.

Thanks to all the wonderful knowledgeable folks who protested this grant award by pointing out to the Fish and Wildlife Service that it spelled environmental disaster.

Beesmom · Post by **Beesmom** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:13 pm

Most excellent news!

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:14 pm

Great news!

I'll have a view of Coral Bay tomorrow evening. Can't wait!

thompson27502 · Post by **thompson27502** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:48 pm

So it's done? Coral bay is saved?

watergirl · Post by **watergirl** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 10:03 am

Is this the end of Summer's End? Shall we break open the champagne? Oh drat it's only 10am and I'm not on island!

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:29 am

I don't think this is the end. We may be able to see the end, but there are many more steps before they are eliminated. The letters we've read are recommendations at the staff level. Let's see if everyone agrees. It is good to know that even if the ACOE approves, another agency can veto the permit.

JIM

mls10 · Post by **mls10** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 5:55 pm

While I am very pleased that SEG has been dealt another blow, what on earth is the Fish and Wildlife Services doing granting money to marina developers?

lark22 · Post by **lark22** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 6:30 pm

mls10, I was wondering the same thing -- I was thinking that it might be to give the dept some sort of say in the project, and give it some leverage in order to protect its interests? Basically, if a project has a chance of moving forward, they figure that they might as well be involved somehow.

It also gives them the chance to do what they're doing now: pull their funding, which probably undermines the project's prospects quite a bit.

Agent99 · Post by **Agent99** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:30 am

According to the article the grant was $1,274,000. That does not seem like a lot of money when looking at the massive scope of the project. Hopefully the message sent by the withdrawal of support will speak louder than the actual dollars withheld.

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:05 am

The loss of this grant is about more than the money. I was thinking the same thing about the monetary value of the grant. It's a small percentage of the project's budget. The loss of the $1.25 million will, however, affect their pro forma. They will have to make it up in additional revenue, scope cuts or a combination of the two. As they say in Washington, "A million dollars here and a million dollars there and pretty soon you are talking about a lot of money."

The greater value is that of prestige. They can no longer wear that grant like a bullet proof vest and say, "Look at us. The US government is giving us money to do this work." The other agencies can also use the revocation as political cover to turn them down.

Although this is not the end of the project, it is going to have a negative impact on their project. And that, my friends, is a good thing.

JIM

iheartsj · Post by **iheartsj** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:14 am

In attempt to answer some of the questions about the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG).
This grant from Fish and Wildlife Services is part of a federal program to improve services to transient boaters. Five other marina grants were awarded stateside at the same time. The award to DPNR/SEG has a requirement for a $1.4 million match. The proposal indicated that the match would be made as follows:

$1.3 mill from Anaconda Holdings, Simpson Bay St. Marteen ("primary financier"). plus $50,000 each from The Summers End Group and The Yacht Club at Summers End. The majority of the money coming from a foreign investor!!

The grant proposal was for 96 slips for boats 30-60 feet in length with 36 of those designated for transient boaters. The expenses that could be charged to the grant for reimbursement was prorated for 36 out of 96 slips.

Amazingly, after award of the grant, the design changed to a 145 slip marina including 49 slips for boats 100-210 feet.

DPNR has until today to respond to the 20+ concerns outlined by F&WS and
to submit any information or documentation in support of their response.

Details available at savecoralbay.com

usvi-on-line