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HomeNewsArchivesOpen Forum: Choice Defends RT Park Legislation

Open Forum: Choice Defends RT Park Legislation

May 17th, 2014

In two recent letters printed in the local media Monday, May 12, and Tuesday, May 13, Mr. Sebastiano Paiewonsky Cassinelli, president of the St. Thomas-St. John, Chamber of Commerce, and attorney Adriane Dudley, chair of the Chamber’s Legislative Committee, provide opinions that might be construed to represent all members of the Chamber of Commerce in voicing their opposition to the RT Park clarification Amendment No. 03-0302 introduced on April 24, 2014, by Senator Shawn-Michael Malone and passed unanimously by the Senate.

However, as the CEO of Choice Communications (“Choice”), and a long standing member of the Chamber, I was shocked and surprised (and frankly disappointed) to read these two letters – the first signed by Mr. Cassinelli and the second signed by Mr. Cassinelli and Ms. Dudley. To the best of my knowledge, no meetings of the Chamber were held to discuss the amendment or the Chamber’s response, either by the full Chamber or the Legislative Committee. Thus, it appears that Mr. Cassinelli and Ms. Dudley are using their positions to express their personal views and not necessarily views that are reflective of the Chamber membership. For the record, I know for a fact we are not the only Chamber member that disagrees with Mr. Cassinelli’s and Ms. Dudley’s statements – and we do disagree vehemently. We and many other Chamber members strongly support the action of the entire Senate in passing the RT Park clarification amendment introduced by Senator Malone by an open, unanimous vote.

I would politely remind Mr. Cassinelli and Ms. Dudley that the legislative process does not require the approval of the Chamber. Further, while the Chamber can serve and has served an important role in providing guidance on legislation, such guidance should only be provided by the Chamber after its members are provided an opportunity to “weigh in” if the Chamber president and the Chamber Legislative Committee chair are going to use their titles in submitting letters such as those submitted earlier this week. Otherwise letters such as those submitted earlier this week may mislead the readers.

The majority of Monday’s letter expresses concerns about the amendment being pushed through in secret and the purported lack of process. What Mr. Cassinelli fails to mention is the legislation that created the RT Park back in 2001 included all of the steps and open hearings he now complains about, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the legislation and a failure to understand the legislative history before writing his letters. The RT Park legislation in fact adopts the very precise process for gaining admission to the RT Park that he advocates. This process was followed to the letter by Choice when it applied to RT Park in 2009. In fact, Choice initially applied to the EDC for benefits as a telecommunications company, which is a category of benefits in Section 708(a) II of the EDC law and the Legislature has previously indicated that the telecommunication sector merits tax incentives and the only question is under which program. Choice met with the EDC regarding its benefits and mutually determined that the RT Park was a more appropriate program and so Choice formally advised the EDC in September, 2008, that it was withdrawing its application to the EDC and proceeding with an application to the RT Park. Then, Choice did not, as was suggested, gain admission to the RT Park “through the stroke of a pen.” Instead, Choice underwent a lengthy and detailed application process requiring an extensive application, a background check, opinions of counsel, a negotiation with the RT Park as to the terms of admission, and a lengthy and detailed Park Tenant Agreement, which is a contract approximately 50 pages in length and signed by a representative of Choice and a duly authorized representative of the RT Park. The contract provides benefits to Choice but also imposes significant financial and service obligations. The benefits were approved in a 2011 public hearing by the RT Park Board, all of whom are trustees of the University of the Virgin Islands or persons with expertise in areas related to the park’s mission who were nominated by the governor and approved by the Legislature. Choice has adhered to all of the ongoing financial and service obligations.

The last time the RT Park legislation was amended was in 2012. That amendment was introduced by then-Sen. Carlton Dowe and provided for the governor’s participation in the RT Park tenant approval process, and it was included as Section 10 of Act No. 7342. The 2012 amendment was adopted in the very same manner as the most recent amendment without vetting by the Chamber’s Legislative Committee, with no objections voiced by Chamber. If legislation giving the governor the right to review and sign off on all RT Park applications did not merit the Chamber’s attention and wrath, why now does legislation rolling back that review authority for new, but not existing, businesses require Chamber vetting?

Choice has been an active member of the St. Thomas-St. John community and specifically the Chamber of Commerce for many years. We have a proud partnership with the RT Park and the University of the Virgin Islands. As part of this partnership, for the last three years we have provided an opportunity for students to intern with us and hired two of our interns following their graduation. The commitments made by Choice to the RT Park, including upfront and ongoing fees and services, and to the University of the Virgin Islands are firm commitments that Choice has made for a 15-year period and are not dependent on Choice having income or gross receipts. Choice is dedicated to expanding communications infrastructure in the USVI, and is happy to partner with University of the Virgin Islands to accomplish this through the RT Park. The legislation passed by the Legislature affirms that it is within the RT Park’s mission to partner with companies developing communications infrastructure within the territory, although we believe that this ability was clearly within the RT Park’s mandate from the start.

The actions of our legislative body in enacting Amendment 03-0302 are to be admired and supported as an effort to add clarity to a long-standing law and should not be taken out of context and vilified. The veto by Gov. de Jongh should be overridden at the next senate session. Vetoing the amendment sends a bad message of broken promises. Is it right for the government to sign a contract only to have the contract terms and conditions unilaterally changed while the contract is still active? It is a break in trust for the tenants of the RT Park and bad for the 50-plus employees of Choice Communications. Our contract with the RT Park must be honored on the terms under which it was established. It is the right thing to do.

Best Regards,

Tony Shepherd

CEO

Choice Communications

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