St. George's gets $750,000 grant

Corporation of St. George’s Financial Grant

Remarks

By:

Senator, the Hon. Michael M. Fahy, J.P.

Minister of Home Affairs

Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014

Good afternoon,

We’re here today to highlight some relatively good news, particularly as it relates to our most historic area – St. George’s.

As you can see I am joined by the Mayor of St. George’s Mr. Garth Rothwell, St. George’s constituency MP and former St. George’s Mayor, Mr. Kenneth Bascome and area MP Nandi Outerbridge.

Each of these individuals have been fierce advocates in recent years and months for this historical area.

I want to thank in particular MP Bascome and MP Outerbridge for their continued work in the Constituency and their care and concern for the Old Towne, which has helped the cause for St George’s tremendously.

One of this Government’s pledges when coming to office was to ensure that we did all that we could to assist in the revitalization of St. George’s.

We recognised that it was important to work with the Corporation of St. George’s to protect the special historical qualities of the Town and commit adequate funds to marketing St. George’s as a World Heritage Site.

Another one of our goals was to reestablish a close working partnership between the Government and the Corporation to ensure its viability as a Municipality.

While the Corporation of St. George’s has been in receipt of $1.2 million in grants from the Government over the previous years – it’s no secret that the Old Town has faced its share of challenges in recent months and years in meeting their operational costs.

This wasn’t the only concerns they faced.

They have struggled with infrastructural issues due to years of neglect and lack of planning.

They have seen a decline in tourism in part because of a lack of a dedicated cruise ship.

And they have seen some of their businesses close up shop because of the economic crisis.

As the Minister responsible for Municipalities, I have made it my personal commitment to keep the lines of communication open with the Mayor of St. George’s as well as with the MPs who represent the area to try and find solutions to address their most pressing issues.

And one of the ways that we agreed on how Government could immediately assist was by facilitating a capital injection to the Corporation.

So today I am pleased to present the Mayor of St. George’s with a cheque in the amount of $750,000.

Five-Hundred Thousand ($500,000) will assist in the Corporation of St. George’s operational expenses, while $250,000 of these funds will go directly towards urgently needed repairs and upgrades to the King’s Square bathrooms in time for the 2014 tourism season.

I think it’s also important to highlight that this Government understands that cash flow to the Corporation must be sustained; hence our decision to provide continued financial support via the UNESCO Fund and the collection of Wharfage fees.

So effective April 1st the Corporation of St. George’s will begin collecting Wharfage fees.

We anticipate that the financial boost from this will amount to $2 million.

Additionally, monies collected from the UNESCO Fund will assist St. George’s greatly.

This comes into effect around early summer and it’s anticipated that this will result in added revenue of $500,000 for the Old Towne.

So without question, this represents a tremendous windfall for St. George’s.

I have said before, and I think it bears repeating; St. George’s is one of our Island’s historical beacons. It occupies a unique place as part of Bermuda’s heritage.  

It was the site of the Island’s first settlement and in the last decade, it has garnered the distinguished status of being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Old Towne was once a place bustling with tourists, commerce and cruise ships, and this Government is working hard to see St. George’s restored to those heights once again.

I am pleased to say that today’s grant is a demonstration of our solid commitment to St. George’s.

It’s also a demonstration of a Government that listens and that fulfills its promises.

It is also an excellent demonstration of the fact that if the parties can come together in the spirit of partnership and collaboration, positive and fruitful results can and will occur which will ultimately benefit the people of Bermuda.

Thank you.