Breaking

9-Year-Old Boy Dies After Being Shot in Head in Croixville Housing Community; Police Detain 15-Year-Old

Concerned Residents Clean Christiansted Town Using Their Own Tools, Money, and Some Help from the VI Fire Service

Territory May See Veterans Cemetery Through DeGazon-Sponsored Bill

Credit and Debit Cards of WAPA Customers Were Compromised Since August 30th, WAPA Says, Authority to Finally Start Issuing Notification Via Mail and Email

Sports Tourism in VI Gains Momentum as DC United Team is set to Play Exhibition Soccer Game on St. Croix

Carnival Breeze Brings 3,700 Tourists to St. Croix During Maiden Call; Senators, Tourism Officials Want to See More

Limetree Bay Willing To Provide $10 Million To Help Add Life to a Dying G.E.R.S.

American Airlines to Serve St. Croix With New Flights Next Summer

The Sudden Death of Influential Roots Reggae Visionary, Vaughn Benjamin of Midnite Band and Akae Beka, Has Rocked the Virgin Islands and Reggae Community Around the World

Arthur A. Richards K-8 School Hosts Anti-Bullying Campaign

Come Out. Hang Out. Have Fun at The Meat Up, One of St. Thomas’ Latest Hot-Spot for Good Food with Friends and Family.

UVI Board of Trustees Approves $47.1 Million Fiscal Year 2020 Budget; Sets $3 Million Fundraising Goal

Man Dies During Early Morning Car Accident on St. Croix; Driver of Car Arrested (Updated)

'You Did Everything You Could to Prevent this from Happening': An Emotional Goodbye to Young Aaron Benjamin

Back in Business: Cost U Less on St. Thomas Opened its Doors Friday to Thousands of Customers 2 Years after Irma and Maria

Bill Aimed at Regulating Credit Use by Gov't Departments and Agencies Among Others Held in Committee

Juan Luis Hospital Announces Completion and Availability of Mobile Dialysis Facilities

Tractor Trailer With Tank Carrying Thousands Of Gallons of Liquified Gas Flips Near Cool Out Bar; Driver Injured But Alive

Credit and Debit Card Hack Through WAPA Appears to be Widespread in Virgin Islands; WAPA Says Support Services Will be Made Available to Affected Customers

Facing Life in Prison Without Parole, Mother and Boyfriend Plead Not Guilty in Murder of 4-Year-Old Boy

Historic Building In Frederiksted Soon To Be Restaurant, Museum

Breaking News / Business / Featured / News / Virgin Islands / July 8, 2017

Senators who make up the Committee on Finance on Friday approved a lease agreement between Department of Property and Procurement and the Cruzan Group, LLC d/b/a Ay-Ay Palace.

The measure, Bill No. 32-0126, will allow for a new start-up restaurant to be built in the historic Oscar Henry Customs House in Frederiksted. In addition to the upscale casual dining second-floor restaurant, other plans include a ground floor museum of the scale house for tourist and visitors alike.

Committee Chairman Kurt Vialet, a supporter of the measure, said now is the right time to invest in St. Croix’s restaurant industry. “St. Croix’s restaurant industry is doing extremely well. The restaurants in the town of Christiansted are filled every night – during peak-season and during off-season. There is a need for additional restaurants of this type in Frederiksted,” he said.

According Cruzan Group LLC member Toney Laurencin, the company’s main mission with this project is to help revitalize Frederiksted area. With an investment of up to $400,000.00, the Cruzan Group, LLC is committing to preserving the historical aspect of the building with appropriate techniques for coral-based material buildings. There’s also consideration of an A/C system that includes a dehumidifier to maintain proper atmospheric conditions for the facility’s interior.

Sen. Brian A. Smith sees the Cruzan Group, LLC as a role model for other Virgin Island entrepreneurs. “You guys exemplify courage,” he said. “We need people like you guys to step up and take on similar type projects.”

Mr. Smith also said the group’s investment is substantial enough to warrant a reduction of the fees to government of the Virgin Islands. Deputy Commissioner of Property and Procurement Laverne P. Bailey, quickly noted that the fees went through lengthy deliberations and all sides agreed to the the final numbers.

The measure received unanimous support from committee members and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration.

Other action taken by the Committee on Finance included:

Bill No. 32-0071 – An Act amending Title 33, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 12, Section525 relating to the rate of duty on articles shipped from within the U.S. Customs Zone to provide for duty-free importation of articles, and repealing 29, V.I.C. §§713c, 713e (c) (3), 713f (c) (3), and 806 (c); and 33 V.I.C. § 42b (d) (2), 526, 527, 531, and 532 – This measure was held in Committee until the call of the chair

Bill No. 32-0098 – An Act amending Title 33, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 89, Subchapter III, Section 2541 pertaining to the attachment and sale of property for non-payment of taxes – This measure was held in Committee until the call of the chair

Bill No. 32-0089 – An Act authorizing the reprogramming of a portion of the proceeds of the Matching Fund Revenue Bonds, Series 2009A (the “Series 2009 Bonds”), issued pursuant to Act No. 7081, as amended by Act No. 7095, and certain Interest Earnings allocated to the Virgin Islands Department of Education non-school support facilities and certain school facility capital projects which require priority funding at this time – This measure was approved as amended and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary

The Committee on Finance is scheduled to meet again on July 20, 2017

All seven Committee members were present
Chair: Senator Kurt A. Vialet, Vice Chair: Senator Marvin A. Blyden, Members: Senator Neville A. James, Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, Senator At Large Brian A. Smith, Senator Tregenza A. Roach, Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff

 

Feature Image: Oscar Henry Customs House in Frederiksted. (Credit: My Virgin Islands)


Tags: , ,



Ernice Gilbert
I wear many hats, I suppose, but the one which fits me best would be journalism, second to that would be radio personality, thirdly singer/songwriter and down the line. I've been the Editor-In-Chief at my videogames website, Gamesthirst, for over 5 years, writing over 7,000 articles and more than 2 million words. I'm also very passionate about where I live, the United States Virgin Islands, and I'm intent on making it a better place by being resourceful and keeping our leaders honest. VI Consortium was birthed out of said desire, hopefully my efforts bear fruit. Reach me at [email protected].




Previous Post

5 Beaches Not Safe This Weekend, DPNR Warns

Next Post

Sodium Holds Lead In Day 2 At 54th July Open BillFish Tourney





You might also like

Leave a Reply


More Story

5 Beaches Not Safe This Weekend, DPNR Warns

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources said on Friday that five of the 37 beaches it tested between July 3-7, were...

July 7, 2017