The St. John Committee of the Coastal Zone Management Board approved a major permit application Thursday to build an 80-foot cellphone tower to improve communications among federal and territorial first responders.
Tom Bolt, external counsel representing Liberty Mobile USVI Inc., made the case at an online meeting for approving the project which was launched by AT&T nearly five years ago, long before Liberty acquired AT&T’s assets in the Virgin Islands. Bolt said the deadline for implementing the project is March 2025.
CZM’s approval allows Liberty to move forward with a federally mandated FirstNet broadband network for communications among police, fire, rescue, FBI, and other agencies.
CZM Committee Member Elissa Runyon asked whether the tower will result in improved cellphone coverage for Liberty customers in the Coral Bay area. Mobile phone users there have long complained that often they are only able to pick up cellphone signals from the British Virgin Islands and are then charged extra fees for international service.
“The spectrum is dedicated to first responders,” said Bolt. “When [the network] is not being used, it will enhance service for regular customers.”
Bolt said Liberty reduced the height of the tower from 100 to 80 feet after listening to concerns by local residents at a public hearing held last June. “We want to be a good neighbor,” he said.
In addition to constructing the “self-supporting monopole communications tower with associated equipment,” the project “includes 12’×30′ and 10’x15′ concrete equipment pads, electrical service, and 12′ wide gravel access road along with a chain-link fence erected around the tower area,” according to the application. The project site is located on Parcel No. 6-4-1, Estate Carolina, No. 1 Coral Bay.
CZM Committee Member Kurt Marsh said the committee had requested further details about two alternative sites, one at Bordeaux and one at Mamey Peak. “We have the responsibility to make decisions in the best interests of the community. We did not get this opportunity,” he said.
CZM Director Marlon Hibbert said that AT&T had researched those sites and recommended the site at 6-4-1 Estate Carolina.
The committee voted four in favor of approving the permit, with one member abstaining. Special conditions for approving the permit include Liberty implementing sediment control and agreeing to cease construction immediately if cultural or historical features are found.
CZM Discusses Plans to Rebuild Public Works Department Maintenance Site at Estate Susannaberg
The St. John Coastal Zone Management commissioners also addressed an application to rebuild the Public Works Department maintenance facility at Estate Susannaberg.
The project site is part of a larger complex that includes separate areas for VITRANS, the V.I. Waste Management Authority’s Susannaberg transfer station, and Island Green Living Association’s Resource Depot and recycling activities, which are expected to continue as usual.
Officials on Thursday presented plans that were essentially identical to those made public in January 2024 when DPW applied for a zoning change for the 2.44-acre site at Parcel No. 6A Est. Susannaberg.
Project consultant Jeffrey Boschulte said plans call for the demolition of what’s left of a building that was largely destroyed by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. FEMA is funding the reconstruction, he said.
Plans now call for construction of a one-story 4,065 square-foot structure, which will include office space, a conference room, a mezzanine, and four bays for vehicles and equipment. Other features include a backup generator, rooftop water collection, a new cistern and an on-site sewage disposal system. There will be parking for seven vehicles.
The driveway will be paved, and stormwater control measures include construction of three retention ponds to handle runoff.
Boschulte said if the application to CZM is approved, Public Works will begin the procurement phase and start advertising for bids in early 2025. He declined to provide a specific cost of the project but said it would be more than $2 million. Construction is expected to take between 18 and 24 months.
CZM Director Marlon Hibbert said he was pleased that every comment made during a pre-application meeting had been addressed in the current plan.
