Mapp To Meet With Trump Today For One-On-One Discussion; St. Croix Curfew Now 7:00 p.m. To 10:00 a.m.

Governor Kenneth Mapp on Monday during his post-Hurricanes Irma and Maria press briefing announced that he would be meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., somewhere between Vieques and Puerto Rico. The meeting will be a one-on-one, Mr. Mapp said, and during the discussion he intends to raise some concerns to the president, among them the slow pace with which the Blue Roof Project is moving.

By now, roughly 400 roofs should have been installed, but only 47 have. The governor said the contractor chosen by the Army Corps of Engineers to do the job — which then subcontracts the work to another company — was not living up to the task. “We’ve got to do better than we’re doing,” Mr. Mapp said.

The territory’s leader will seek help from the president with rebuilding schools, hospitals, and putting the territory’s power distribution system underground. He will also request a medicaid reimbursement cost share from the federal government that is similar to what U.S. states pay.

The governor announced a further easing of the curfews on St. Croix and St. Thomas, which Mr. Mapp said would continue to be eased until they are altogether abolished, as road crews continue their cleanup work. On St. Croix, the curfew as of Tuesday is 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m., meaning St. Croix residents have between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to conduct their business. On St. Thomas, the curfew is now 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

The governor said the Department of Education has set an “aggressive” October 16 date for the reopening of schools on St. Croix, but he wasn’t sure whether the date would be met. Instead, Mr. Mapp will meet with D.O.E. officials to determine, among other things, whether the Oct. 16 date is achievable, or if more time will be needed.

Below are the other important updates from Monday’s press briefing. The governor will update the territory again on Tuesday, after meeting with Mr. Trump.

1. Department of Health has received 700 items for babies — to include pampers, diapers, baby bottles, formula, PediaSure, baby food, towels, sippy cups, pullups and more, and will start giving the items out on Tuesday at the Dept. of Health’s Harwood Complex on St. Croix, on Thursday in St. Thomas at the Nisky Center site, and Friday on St. John at the Morris F. deCastro Clinic.
2. More mental health teams have landed in the territory and are providing services.
3. Approximately 4,500 residents and visitors who have been impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria have been evacuated from the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to Dept. of Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty. Mrs. Nicholson-Doty said 3,000 left by cruise and 1,500 on flights. She thanked United Airlines, Delta Airlines and particularly Jetblue, which has provided the most mercy flights.
4. Mrs. Nicholson-Doty noted that the airlines have not kept their schedules and in some instances canceled flights, a concern that the Department of Tourism hopes to bring up during a conference call this week.
5. Banco Popular will open again today from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The bank’s ATMs are operational and will be after banking hours as well. Bank of St. Croix and Firstbank will also open.
6. The Gallows Bay port remains closed by the Coast Guard, therefore the QEIV ferry is unable to operate at the moment.
7. The V.I.P.D. continues to enforce the curfews, with multiple arrests being made on Sunday night. V.I.P.D. Commissioner Delroy Richards gave a few tips to drivers: Slow down at intersections; follow statues (wear seatbelts, make sure children are seated in their car seats, for example).
8. Mr. Mapp said debris removal in St. John continues to be a vexing issue, and that his administration is working to remedy the problem.
9. AT&T technicians are on the ground and assessments on 3 of 28 tower sites have been completed. Service is expected to see some improvements from mid-week.
10. The DSNAP program (Disaster Food Stamp) will see a roll-out on October 16. The governor expects almost all Virgin Islanders to qualify, as qualification can be established by simply proving that your home lost power during Hurricane Irma or Maria (WAPA has already created a list of affected areas territory-wide), and that food items were spoiled because of it. The governor told The Consortium that the Department of Human Services will employ a strategy to make the process as easy as possible. There will be only one form to be filled, and persons who are already on the SNAP program will not need to apply. D.H.S. will erect tents and utilize facilities throughout the territory to streamline the signup process.
11. Food distribution centers will reopen today and Wednesday territory-wide, but are expected to be closed on Thursday and Friday. The Mapp administration is not requesting more meals ready to eat (MREs) from FEMA.
12. Because the Department of Labor buildings were compromised, its servers that process unemployment data were affected, putting the government behind two weeks in unemployment payments. Mr. Mapp said the government will work with the Army Corps of Engineers for a solution, along with the Department of Finance, to create a system that would see unemployment recipients receiving direct deposit payments.
13. While the governor as of Monday did not have a full report from Sprint, he said, “They have someone here, but they’ve got to pick their game up.”