Dec. 6, 2004 – Sen. Lorraine L. Berry might not have been able to get her special session, but Vargrave Richards, acting governor, is apparently going to get his.
Richards sent a letter Monday to Senate President David Jones to call the 25th Legislature into a special session on Dec. 15.
Jones, reached in Miami Monday night, said he saw no reason why the special session should not take place. He said, "I think everyone will be there. That is a responsibility we have. I plan to be there."
According to Jones the senators will only be able to address the issues specified by Richards.
In his letter to Jones, Richards said the items to be addressed would be the ratification of the franchise agreement between the V.I. Horse Racing Commission and TRAXCO and a ratification of the sublease agreement between the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation and TRAXCO, Inc.
Gov. Charles Turnbull had recently approved the agreements allowing TRAXCO, a subsidiary of Treasure Bay V.I. Corp., the company that manages Divi Carina Bay Casino, to run Randall Nicholas "Doc" James Racetrack (See "Randall Racetrack Operators Get Governor's OK").
Berry had spent last week trying to get enough senators to sign a petition to hold a special session to consider overrides of Turnbull's vetoes of several senate bills. For a while it appeared she had enough senators on board, but then Sen. Luther Renee withdrew his name. One of the reasons he gave for withdrawing his name was that issues concerning the St. Croix race track were not on the agenda. (See "Berry Throws in Towel on Lame-Duck Session").
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