WAPA Board, Frustrated Over Lack of Key Information, Delays One Contract But Approves Another

On Thursday, the Water and Power Authority's governing board met to consider approvals for two major projects – undergrounding infrastructure along a feeder route on St. Thomas, and a new transformer to replace equipment damaged during the 2017 hurricanes. Star Matthew, the mechanical engineer managing the undergrounding project, explained that it entailed replacing “primary and secondary with underground infrastructure along the Feeder 5A route, starting at the Sub Base Road going into the power plant.” Work is scheduled to begin in mid-January 2025, with an estimated completion date of January 2026. The current project cost is just north of $4.4 million, funded entirely by federal dollars. On Thursday, Ms. Matthew wanted the board to approve a change to the current payment terms. “Haughland is wanting to utilize progress billing,” she explained. “They'll be able to invoice based on the percentage of milestones completed, rather than at the completion of each milestone.” The change,...