City hall temporarily halts Santi’s drainage works

An infrastructural project valued almost a million dollars hit a snag when City Hall temporarily halted the work. The plan by the Minister of State Santino Castillo was to fix a drainage problem that affects about six hundred residents in the Buttonwood Bay area of his constituency. The project began this week and the construction of drains and culverts were halted by Mayor Darrell Bradley. If you wonder if it had to do with the upcoming challenge Bradley is said to be considering against Castillo for the Caribbean Shores, Bradley told News Five, he will not confirm that he is running in the Caribbean Shores and that his name has been called for other divisions including the Freetown Division. He did, however, tell News Five that some well constructed streets were being ripped and he felt that there was no need for extensive re-piping in parts of the carriage way. Bradley said that he needed formal assurances from Belize Water Service Limited that if caused damage to the streets when the project was finished, the street would be repaired to its former state.

Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor

Darrell Bradley

“The city has a very good relationship generally with various organs of central government who are carrying on projects in the city. But one of the things that we have recognized is a problem that we need to work on coordination and consultation and we need to ensure that whatever project goes on in the city, there is a commitment that they will restore whatever damage is done to the streets. My understanding is that the project is a drainage project and there was no budget to restore the streets. We had indicated to the persons initially who were from SIF that the City Council had within its budget Buttonwood Bay Boulevard and that is a project that we want to continue. So we are complementing their works which we have the finances for. So that Buttonwood Bay would be a street where the city council is doing the carriage way and that project is doing the drains for the benefit of residents. But the other streets that are being dug up, we need a commitment and an understanding that these streets would be restored. So that whenever there is any project going on in the city or whenever there is any utility works because sometimes it is not a project, but it is the utility companies. Whenever there is digging works in the city, they would come to the city, they would inform the engineer and get our approval and indicate to us where they want to dig. And they would have a plan how they would restore the street to its original form which is what the legal requirement is. Any person who disturbs or interrupts the street has to restore it. This is not an issue that we have only with this particular area. I had mentioned to you earlier the area of Antonio Soberanis Street. The first part of Antonio Soberanis Street that goes from the Central American Boulevard to Albert Hoy is being dug up. And that street is being dug up through the firm mitigation project and that’s a perfectly good street; there is absolutely no potholes on that street. And the projection of the actually deal of that project will take several months into the future. During this period, residents have to go through very disrupted streets. And we are seeing where you don’t have to dig up. Don’t dig up the street; especially if you have a perfectly good street. And when you do dig up the street, there has to be in place a clear written commitment on the part of the utility companies that they will restore the street to its original form. And we are saying until you give us that commitment, there will be a problem.”

Jose Sanchez

“With this particular drainage project, have you received a commitment as yet on when that project will resume?”

Darrell Bradley

“We had indicated to them that we had difficulties when I did a tour of the area and saw the great work that they are doing, but the extensive work in terms of the digging up of the streets. And we want to ensure that at the end of the day, the streets are restored. Our engineer went out there and did a site inspection, I myself did a site inspection. We have written to them, she had a meeting with them and she raised it with them at one of their consultation sessions and they had indicated certain things to her. And we just want them to indicate that in writing so that we know that those areas will be restored to a condition where residents in those areas can enjoy both the drain and the street.”

Medina’s construction won the contract for the drainage project which is being funded by the Caribbean Development Bank.  Bradley says that soon as they receive written confirmation from BWSL, the project will be allowed to continue.