{"id":20702,"date":"2015-04-12T10:25:04","date_gmt":"2015-04-12T10:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=20702"},"modified":"2015-04-13T11:55:40","modified_gmt":"2015-04-13T11:55:40","slug":"new-legislation-seeks-buy-catherineberg-wico-3-2-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=20702","title":{"rendered":"New Legislation Seeks To Buy Catherineberg From WICO For $3.3 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. THOMAS — The West Indian Company (WICO), which is owned by the Government of the Virgin Islands (GVI), owns Catherineberg,\u00a0commonly\u00a0known as the\u00a0Governor\u2019s Mansion, that sits high atop Denmark Hill\u00a0overlooking Charlotte Amalie.\u00a0But new legislation proposed by Sen.\u00a0Janette Millin Young is seeking to change ownership from WICO to the GVI for a payment of $3.3 million.<\/p>\n

There’s a catch, however: WICO owes the government about 3.3 million in taxes, so the government won’t actually pay WICO money; as the legislation’s language makes plain:<\/p>\n

BILL NO. 31-0052<\/a><\/span>\u00a0— “An Act to authorize the Virgin Islands Government to purchase Estate Catherineberg from WICO by offsetting payments owed in lieu of taxes, as mandated by Act No. 5826, as amended.”<\/p>\n

According to the measure, WICO is mandated by law to pay the GVI 10 percent of its annual revenue in lieu of taxes — the total of which equates to $700,000. The measure also reveals that WICO hasn’t met its obligation for the fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. As a result\u00a0of its failure, WICO currently owes the GVI $3.3 million for fiscal years 2010, 2011 and 2012, according to the proposed measure.<\/p>\n

The bill also states that Catherineberg is not a revenue generator for WICO, and WICO would like to remove the 6 acre property from its portfolio. Furthermore, the mansion is often used by Governors to host state functions and other official activities.<\/p>\n

The legislation now sits in the Senate Committee on Finance pending further action. If approved, the sale would be transacted through the Department of Property and Procurement.<\/p>\n

WICO, Catherineberg, Governor Mapp and a $12,500 Monthly Mansion Rental<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since taking office, Governor Kenneth Mapp has been residing in a luxury mansion located in Nazareth, St. Thomas, that’s currently costing tax payers $12,500 in monthly rent payments. The revelation of the costly payments ignited controversy among residents of the territory, with the consensus being that, in a time of such pronounced financial hardship, which was made known by Governor Mapp himself, frugality should be considered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be very, very clear. I got elected and my priorities have nothing to do really with where I live and accommodations provided by the government,\u201d Mapp told VI Consortium<\/em> at a recent press conference<\/a><\/span>. \u201cI own my own home of which I\u2019ve owned from 2001. I live there when I\u2019m on St. Croix. There\u2019s residence made available to me by the government when I\u2019m on St. Croix of which I have not slept in. I\u2019m still in my own home and I\u2019m happy to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Mapp believes repairs at Catherineberg are overdue, as well as a determination as to what should be the final purpose of the aging mansion. The governor also made known that he plans on exiting the St. Thomas mansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, we will do an assessment of Catherineberg, there will be repairs of Catherineberg, I do have a plan to exit the Nazareth property. I can\u2019t give you a date on when that exodus will occur, but I think overall, and I\u2019ve been on this public stage for quite a while, as a government and as a territory, we need to come to a resolution on this issue with residencies for governors and lieutenant governors. It\u2019s been provided since governor\u2019s were appointed by presidents,\u201d Mapp said.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a clear demarcation from the standard of having residencies repaired to house governors and lieutenant governors. I think in this maze of what\u2019s happening, we\u2019re going to present a plan to the community and the legislature that we believe could resolve this once and for all.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Correction: April 12, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

A previous version of this article stated that the amount the Government of the Virgin Islands is willing to pay for Catherineberg, through legislation sponsored by Sen.\u00a0Janette Millin Young, is $3.2 million. That’s incorrect. The correct amount is $3.3 million, according to language written into Bill 31-0052.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ST. THOMAS — The West Indian Company (WICO), which is owned by the Government of the Virgin Islands (GVI), owns Catherineberg,\u00a0commonly\u00a0known as the\u00a0Governor\u2019s Mansion, that sits high atop Denmark Hill\u00a0overlooking Charlotte Amalie.\u00a0But new legislation proposed by Sen.\u00a0Janette Millin Young is seeking to change ownership from WICO to the GVI for a payment of $3.3 million. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[228,3,11,191,147],"tags":[1476,1630],"yoast_head":"\nNew Legislation Seeks To Buy Catherineberg From WICO For $3.3 Million - V.I. Consortium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ST. 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