Business

Property and Procurement Announces Major Fee Increase for Vendor's Plaza Occupancy

The rent-free occupancy of booths at Vendor’s Plaza in Charlotte Amalie will come to an end in October, the beginning of the new fiscal year. That’s according to officials in the Department of Property & Procurement, who testified during Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection.  Speaking to the issue was Vincent Richards, deputy commissioner, who said that the plan was to begin charging $3600 a year, a steep increase from annual rental fee of $200 that was previously charged. Mr. Richards defended the jump in price when Senator Ray Fonseca asked why the fees had gone up by so much. “We believe that it’s a fair rate…$10 a day,” said Mr. Richards.  When asked by committee chair Senator Carla Joseph whether any input had been solicited from the vendors regarding the fee increase, Mr. Richards noted that the department has had previous conversations with the vendors, as well as discussions with the president and vice p...