Two marinas are in the works for Coral Bay, “but no one has received any permits,” according to Coral Bay Community Council President Sharon Coldren at a Tuesday meeting to discuss a marine plan for the harbor.
Coldren told the 16 people attending the meeting at Guy Benjamin School that one marina is on land that runs mainly along the shoreline from Skinny Legs Restaurant to the ball field. The land is leased by T-Rex Corp. from the Moravian Church.
Coldren said the company had a 99-year-lease that began in 2006, adding that the company is moving slowly with its plans.
“It won’t take any less than five to 10 years,” she said.
A second marina is under way by Summer’s End, a company with St. John resident Rick Barksdale as a partner.
“We are still trying to see if we can put together something that works,” Barksdale said.
He said the area across from Cocoloba shopping center is one of the spots he’s evaluating but that any land used for a marina would be leased.
“We’re exploring possibilities,” Barksdale said.
Another marina spearheaded by St. John resident Robert O’Connor Jr. was in the works near the same location, but Coldren said federal agencies nixed that idea before a permit was granted because it was in an environmentally sensitive area and too open to the sea.
“Lack of shelter was a problem,” Sen. Craig Barshinger added.
Barshinger pledged to work with the Coral Bay Council on their issues, chief among them being the shortage of moorings in Coral Bay.
One man at the meeting said he had tried for three years to get a mooring for his boat but was told that there are no moorings available on St. John.
“There is a hold on processing applications,”Coldren said.
The man said he could get an anchoring permit good for a month, but he had to do it in person and it cost $50 a month.
Moorings, public boat ramp access and water quality were the three topics those at the meeting agreed needed attention when it came to marine planning.
Coldren updated those at the meeting on other pending Coral Bay projects. She said the 170-acre territorial park planned for land owned by the Egbert Marsh Trust is kaput because the Agriculture Department’s Forest Legacy Program funding fell through.
According to Barshinger, Forest Legacy was going to contribute about $7.5 million and the local government $3.5 million. He said that the Egbert Marsh Trust was willing to sell the land for an “unbelievably” low price.
Coldren said that the fact the territorial park won’t happen may be a blessing in disguise. She said the land would have to be used for conservation, which means that the “flattest, highest and driest” area in Coral Bay couldn’t be used for any infrastructure improvements.
As for the poor condition of Centerline Road, which was heavily damaged in 2010’s Hurricane Otto, Coldren said she understands from Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls that the federal money to make repairs is there but the local money isn’t.
Barshinger said that Smalls had announced at a Sept. 25 Legislature meeting that everything was in place to fix the road. Barshinger said Smalls told him that if the repairs weren’t made soon, another storm might mean the loss of Centerline Road, the only paved way in and out of Coral Bay.
Coldren also said a proposed reverse osmosis plant in Coral Bay got the ax by the federal government because of environmental concerns.
The Community Council plans to meet again at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at Guy Benjamin School to work more on the marine plan for Coral Bay.
