THE Marine Charter Association club house is now living on borrowed time. This newspaper has been reliably informed by the Ministry of National Development that the Marine Charter Association (MCA) had been offered an alternative lease on an unsurveyed plot next to St. Anne gate way at Roche Caiman, and that they are expecting the MCA to move there. In fact the Ministry of National Development had expected MCA to have made the move already by the end of April this year.
On contacting the MCA for clarification on its position regarding the allocation of the plot at Roche Caiman, the Association pointed out to us that it was not as easy as the Ministry was making out to be. “We cannot just uproot from where we are presently and move to the new site, there are logistical issues to be considered”, commented a member of the MCA.
The MCA agreed in principle that the new site at Roche Caiman is ideal for its operation, but they (MCA) were quick to emphasis that the Ministry of National Development was only prepared to offer a temporary yearly lease until such time that the Waterfront Development will be ready.
According to the Ministry of National Development government will request the prospective developer of the Victoria Waterfront Development to accommodate the Marine Charter Association in their plan for the area.
This issue has now become complex in nature because the arguments being advanced by MCA have merit and are worth considering. According to MCA their relocation to the proposed site at Roche Caiman will cause them to incur major costs in architect fees for drawings and supervision works - Engineering fees - Planning application and processing fees Contractor for construction fees for new building, piling for pontoons Construction of a marina jetty SEPEC for installation of new fuel tank & marine fuel station and PUC for electricity, water and sewage installations/connections.
Therefore MCA is looking for something more permanent than just a twelve months lease with a predetermining end to it, when the Waterfront Development would have been completed. And there is no guarantee that the MCA and the Waterfront Development would definitely agree to a deal, when there are so many things at stake for both sides. The MCA is of the opinion that the possibility exist in that they could find it impossible to afford the rent set by the developer once the facilities are ready.
It is now clear that the government should reconsider its offer to the MCA. The long years (35 years) of service especially to the tourism industry should be taken into consideration and under present circumstances it is not unreasonable to request from government a permanent site on a long-term lease for the Marine Charter Association.