Today, I met with some of the investors of the proposed St. John Marina and took a tour of the would-be site of the facility in Coral Bay. I would like to hear feedback from all segments of the St. John community in regards to this project. Feel free to contact my office at 340-693-3513 or respond to this post. – with Shikima Jones
Comments
Zee Testa Investors? St John marina? Is a marina necessary? What are the locals saying?
Susan Greer Littlefield Zee Testa NO is what the locals say
Kerrin Buckley Zee Testa one THOUSAND MILLION times NO. Nobody wants this. These people are trying to steal what is beautiful about this place. They tried to get ahead while all of us didn’t have power or way of communication thinking they could lock the deal down while there was nothing we could do. Terrible idea, terrible kind of person. It’s selfish and everybody here says save coral bay. Save it. End of story, END of summers end.
Reema K Stephens Who are the Investors?
Jason Budsan Please provide the applicants name that is applying for a permit and how far along are they in the process. Thanks
Brigitte Berry Jason great questions.
Zarah Rose Summer’s End – been trying to tear it apart for years now.
Jason Budsan Zarah Rosehttps://stthomassource.com/…/summers-end-group…/
STTHOMASSOURCE.COM
Summer’s End Group Continues to Pursue Plan to Develop Marina…
Reema K Stephens Thanks for sharing this information.
Joanne Orr Johnson Why the hell haven’t they given up yet?
Lois Brayfield Jason Budsan thanks for sharing.
Brigitte Berry I am very concerned about their “non profit” that has zero action in STJ. What has this The St. John Culture & Heritage Foundation group actually done? Why do they delete those questions when Virgin Islanders ask these questions? Their lack of transparency has been consistent and I’m not sure we should entertain more of that in the Virgin Islands. We are worth more than that.
Zarah Rose Brigitte Berry they are consistent with being Shady As F🎈🎈🎈
Brigitte Berry Zarah 🤣 yup! I am OVER people coming here with that attitude.
Zarah Rose Brigitte Berry attitude and stealing money from ppl calling it a cultural heritage non profit !!
Latash Valleyman That is stolen land.
That land belongs to someone family… The people of St.john need to finds the Relative or heirs of the THAT land…
Kurt G. Marsh Jr. Latash, the land isn’t stolen. It’s Marsh family land, the owners are very much on island, and there’s a lease agreement.
Latash Valleyman Kurt G. Marsh Jr. ..Ok. Thx.
It good to know… Now will it a Private or public marina
Kurt G. Marsh Jr. It’s a private investment, which is where tings get tricky.
Latash Valleyman So Now pollution of the bay.. And All local ..lock out…. Thats the future
Kurt G. Marsh Jr. Not exactly. The Bay has long been polluted. I grew up swimming in that bay in the 90’s, but wouldn’t bother taking a dip now. A proper facility would actually aid in the effective care of the vessels there. The majority of that harbor’s shoreline is p…See More
Latash Valleyman Kurt G. Marsh Jr.… Yo ur are correct..allot St.Johnians does not know it is Ancestral land.
. our ancestors are buried on our land… Do you know also st johnians IS NOT SUPPOSED TO PAY TAX ON THEIR LAND..
Hila Babin I can’t see why they need a marina there honestly . I have lived here for 40 years. To be honest I have never seen anything really benefit anyone from here. If there is so much money here why don’t we have better public education? Why not more money fo…See More
Yaweh Israel No more development. We good
Zee Testa when dem investors start talking bout Investing in a YMCA or similar on all 3 or at least 2 of the islands then we can start talking! 🙁 🙁
Russ Cills If St. John people that stupid to give these people that come out of nowhere their precious jewel, Queen Mary will be turning in she grave! Tell them people geh from here this place ain’t Europe nor Amsterdam!
Ivan Thumpoff Williams Russ Cills Russ that marina is needed in Cruz Bay St. John. We have folks in Cruz bay that have to travel all the way to st Thomas daily for work 2 hour journey. Part of the marina plan is training for young Virgin Islanders. 70 mil per year is projected to come through that marina for the people of Stj. This is a win win for the VI. They also plan to set up another marina on the island of Stx. Marina’s are big business for those who own yachts. Those with disposable income. This project should have been started 3 years ago. They are not trying to buy up land on Stj not this group. They are 2 steps away from completing this process. Stj can’t lose with this particular marina project.
Russ Cills Ivan Thumpoff Williams I don’t like the idea sorry..Not from an outsider!
Ivan Thumpoff Williams Russ Cills Bob Oconnor a local st jonian and a former senator was one of the lead person on this project. This ain’t no $100.00 projects only with the help of outside investors can this be done. The folks behind this project live on Stj and have been living there for years.
Ivan Thumpoff Williams Russ Cills there are literally ZERO jobs in coral bay Stj.
K-Jae Jackson Jr Ivan Thumpoff Williams, Russ Cills ….I know uncle Bob Sr. from when I was a little boy going St. John with my dad Jacko deh fireman and crew(2Cent, Crash, Pickerin, Bojo, BoydBrown,Moko). Bob Sr. Wish there was a way to get the team to the Coral Bay…See More
Ginger Parker Ivan Thumpoff Williams They’re nowhere near completing this process, although they may want you and others to believe that. And the promises of jobs? https://savecoralbay.com/popular-misconceptions/
SAVECORALBAY.COM
Popular Misconceptions About the Proposed Marina
Popular Misconceptions About the Proposed Marina
Ivan Thumpoff Williams Ginger Parker senate and the army Corp of engineers is my understanding of the final steps. All other concerns have been satisfied if not it will come out at the hearing.
Ivan Thumpoff Williams Ginger Parker I hope this info is not being put forth by the coral bay counsel because that’s another piece of melee.
Ginger Parker They have so very many hoops to jump through to satisfy the powers that be, although they’d paint another picture. You’ll see. The documents are available.
Ginger Parker Ivan Thumpoff Williams https://savecoralbay.com/federal-agency-usace-comments/
SAVECORALBAY.COM
Federal Agency Comments to Army Corps
Rashaan Evelyn Ivan Thumpoff Williams what kind of tax benefits is this company getting and for how long? Is the land being purchased or leased out?
Ivan Thumpoff Williams Rashaan Evelyn I will get that from the proposal. Let’s not forget the yearly taxes the government will be collecting. This is not like the arch light deal and those 11 tax breaks.
Brigitte Berry Ivan I think we can find better people for utilizing the Bay. These guys have done some shady stuff. We need to pay attention to WHO is behind these projects and what they think of us and the VI, not just the project and the $$$$.
Tom Larson Ivan Thumpoff Williams A MEGA yacht marina in Cruz Bay?
Ivan Thumpoff Williams Tom Larson yep it’s coming.
Karla J. Allen K-Jae Jackson Jr OH, yes!!! Old man Boynes, Big Bob, Mooie & their friends tried for YEARS to get a marina started in the area around Skinny’s. Never happened. But Summers End is different & WHY are THEY still here? Because Bob OConnor is part of their…See More
Reema K Stephens Who is benefiting from this? What percentage is going to the government?
Russ Cills DO NOT SELL and Senator DeGraff leave them people whey they is please!!
Dan Boyd A Marina does NOT belong in that location. Windward shore is never a good marina location, just look at Vessup – Latitude 18 Marina !
Linda Schulterbrandt Don’t allow that Marina to exist, don’t need it. How about investing in something else that’s needed….
Ebonique Jacobs-Esprit We really do not need any more concrete that contributes to more low income jobs that add to our circle of poverty. If it’s not leading to higher paying jobs it just helps to us to be a melting pot of people that can’t do any better . We have to work on us creating business to serve those that live here and the total number of tourists that visit us. We need to perfect and figure out how to make a profit off of our land. We are just advertising for people to displace us faster with all this tourist hungry business, when we can’t get our tax laws straight. Clean up before you invite guest.
Kris Dougherty 🤮
Your kidding right.
How many times does this happen, again and again.. There is no need to mess up St John .
Winston Herbert Jr. Is this the reason why they closed down the other elementary school?
Lyz Jaeger Absolutely NO! You will be taking a place rich in cultural history and obliterating it if you sell out to these imposters.
Chelsea Audain No!!!!
K’Mani Marley Bad idea
Jack Reid Who are they and what ties do they have to the culture. None? No thank you
Cleve Jackson Keep Love City pristine.
Hortensia Encarnacion Looks aweful shallow n may be a fish n sea life hatchery. Hmmmm
Anita Bastian Hell Noooo !
Michele Anita Moses Negativeeeee
Wayne Chesterfield Please open back up Guy Benjamin elementary school. Local people will not benefit
Lois Brayfield Wayne Chesterfield exactly. Campaign to reopen the school! Worry about the needs of the locals first!
Lucy Remington 🙏🏽 please no!!!!
Derry Jackson Sr. Don’t want anything outsiders calling shots or owning squat. They are welcome to make money, but that is it.
Andrea Hedrington Don’t do it
Lucy Remington David Silverman you see this?
David Silverman yup thanks.
Andrea Hedrington Remember
Do
Not
Permit
it
My thoughts
Cathy J Weems In the name of the environment: NO..
Joan Magas Wilson We’ve been fighting this marina for years. I believe there is still a pending lawsuit. To learn about the marina and the opposition go to savecoralbay.com. Here is a short clip from the information available on that webpage.
“Public letters from over 13,000 individuals all opposed to the marina on a wide variety of grounds, including environmental, economic, social, navigational, historic, and aesthetic impacts.
A petition signed by over 5,000 individuals all opposed to the Summers End Group marina.”
SAVECORALBAY.COM
What is “Save Coral Bay” ?
Susan Greer Littlefield Absolutely NO way. This is a horrible plan for SO many reasons.
Avrill Prince Senators Please do your homework on this one
Ivan Jacobs No. And don’t buy any BS they come up with about scaling it down. They’ve showed who they are over a number of years now.
Kerrin Buckley Ivan Jacobs especially when they tried to undermine coral bay in a time when we had no service or communication after the storms. What kind of humanity is that? Not the kind that’s actually FOR the people, that’s who. Save coral bay!
Ivan Jacobs Kerrin Buckley I think I know what you’re talking about but could you say more, as a Coral Bay resident, for folks that are following?
Shay Hpm Yh jus let em buy they way here 🤦🏽♂️
David Arbogast Pave Paradise and put up a parking lot. Please go back to whence you came!!!
Jeanie Williamson The very fact that you could post this show your lack of prior education to what St John has been through with these people. The truth is not buried, it is very available. These people are not interested in St John or it’s people unless people like you Senator, are willing to look the other way for their benefit. Seems the only way you could meet up and take them serious is if you got reason to look the other way.
Bonny Corbeil Jeanie Williamson well stated. IF you don’t have full knowledge of our poor experiences to date…there is a mountain of legitimate concerns…years in fact.
Peter Klaus I am so curious about why these two people keep trying to impose their own vision of what STJ should be on to residents of this island? Even with all of the public outcry and negative responses to their marina…it’s gotta be about the $. I mean how many pairs of white linen pants can you really own??
Joan Magas Wilson They keep trying because they need to continue to attract investors. It’s their “job”. It is how they pay their bills.
Ginger Parker Peter Klaus Selling a lifestyle. That’s what developers do. Then they pack their carpet bags with green and move on to the next “opportunity”. And that’s all STJ and Coral Bay is to these people: An opportunity.
Ginger Parker This project would be a tragedy for Coral Bay. It does not have the support of the community and yet these people simply will not stop pushing this horrendous project along. And what do you think would have happened if it were not opposed? The hurricanes would have destroyed it (all those slips oriented broadside to winds and currents? It would have just destroyed Coral Bay.) It would be disaster on every level, and the only people that stand to gain are the developers.
Lois Brayfield Ginger Parker exactly. As an act of good faith, at minimum they could have cleaned up the destroyed Island Blues complex. It shows how little they respect the bay. Thank goodness nothing was developed pre-storms. They wouldn’t have cleaned that up either!
Ginger Parker Lois Brayfield Scary to even contemplate.
Nikki Tyler Senator, I’d be interested to hear how Rick and Cherie reached out to you, and why you agreed to meet with them, unprompted and seemingly without notice, given the history between Coral Bay and Summer’s End. This is shameful.
Peter Klaus Nikki Tyler excellent question
Nikki Tyler Thanks Peter. Hopefully the Senator will clear the air informally in the coming week but, of course, we can look into public disclosure regulations such as FOIAs to better understand.
Margo Rose NO!! was my home for many years.
Ashley Pomeranz Look how empty Yacht Haven Grande is! We do not need another development on our precious land.
Patsy Wiltshire Why St. John?
Bonny Corbeil Please contact the Coral Bay Community Council who has clear evidence of many citizens who live in coral bay and their concern.
Ashley Pomeranz Chelsea Baranowski, Dane Tarr, Valerie Trahan Tarr, Cynthia Swan, Oliver Wesselhoft – in case you haven’t seen this post.
Bonny Corbeil Google “Save Coral Bay” and community Activist David Silverman who has been very involved in the numerous problems this project continues to push. I was St. John Liaison under then President Louis Patrick Hill…this project is not acceptable to most people who live in coral bay. It’s way too large and those proposing it are not trusted by this community.
Margie Kons-Bastin Leave the beauty of St John alone, stop trying to push this project forward.
Angela Shryock Wilbers As a property owner, we are against the marina being built in Coral Bay.
Ryan West Oh lord 🤦🏻♂️
Joan Magas Wilson Info from the webpage, a listing of organizations that has expressed opposition to this marina.
“St John Historical Society
Island Green Living Association
Friends of the Virgin Island National Park
Virgin Islands Conservation Society
Coral Bay Community Council
St John Yacht Club
Coral Bay Yacht Club
Virgin Islands League of Woman Voters
National Parks Traveler
National Parks Conservation Association
Mission Blue
Center for Biological Diversity
Island Resources Foundation”
What is “Save Coral Bay” ?
Jack Reid Please call his office and make sure he can’t ignore us.
Sad that any colonizer with a purse can get the backing of our elected officials so easily
Negasi Tihkoor Jack Reid literally been happening forever down here
Bonny Corbeil Jack Reid sadly, true…
Hannah Jones R u joking??
Abigail Stjohn Without a customs dock and a pump out facility a marina proposal is just a scam.
Markia Garvey DONT DO IT 😐
Lucy Ramone this is one of the worst possible locations for a marina for many reasons which have been outlined in 13.000 (!) letters to the army corps of engineers https://savecoralbay.com/public-letters-to-news-papers/
SAVECORALBAY.COM
Public Letters to Newspapers
Bonny Corbeil Lucy Ramone thanks for posting this.
Brenda Larkin No Marina in Coral Bay. Leave it beautiful.
Tyler Westbrook Please do not destroy coral bay with a marina. Terrible idea. Imagine what a mess it would be now if it was built before Irma.
Lucy Ramone yes and nothing in that location would even survive a cat1 …
Mark Cosgrove No No No No!
Julie Lasota Absolutely! NOT!!
Lee Maunder Don’t even consider hooking up with those two con artists!!!!
Cheri Myers NO!!!!
Dru Moore No thanks, I can barely look at them
Peter Klaus Dru Moore
Sup Dru?
Dru Moore Peter Klaus we’re well, how goes your world??
Not sure when these clowns are going to understand that nobody wants them!
Sara Sawyer Where the hell have you been for the past 4-5 years? Are u crazy??😡
Lynn Marie Anderson No Thank you! This is not needed and unwanted!
Sara Sawyer Ask the why they haven’t bothered to clean up the old island blues site that they have leased! Such an eye sore in Coral Bay. They don’t care about this island! Only looking to scam people ! Don’t know how they even can show their faces around here.😡😡😡😎
Sara Lovegreen No put some hourly slips at the old barge dock so people can shop & dine then head out to a mooring for the night. There is no want or need for a Coral Bay Marina
Steve Curtis No please no! This is a natural area and St John is meant to be protected as a national park and there’s no reason to force a marina into this beautiful place.
Ginger Parker These are the same people leasing the wrecked Island Blues property? Last I heard it was still an eyesore.
Ginger Parker https://stjohnsource.com/…/the-truth-about-the…/…
STJOHNSOURCE.COM
Op Ed: The Truth About the Summer’s End Group Marina | St. John Source
Op Ed: The Truth About the Summer’s End Group Marina | St. John Source
Lois Brayfield Ginger Parker thanks. That’s the best recap of WHY this project must not proceed. As a homeowner in Coral Bay, this group frightens me.
Randy Kiser They are carpetbaggers, pure and simple. Show them the door…
Chelsea Audain This is absolutely disturbing!!!! Mr.Degraff are you really this thick headed? Instead of opening a Marina that would destroy estuaries and reefs for a “Private Marina” not to mention the eye sore it will cause, how about we open back up the school? What about opening up a homeless shelter? What about a facility for the mentally ill ? What about a second hospital with adequate care for those who can’t make it to Cruz bay in case of emergency? They’re many other things that would be better for Coral Bay instead of allowing Blood sucking “Investers” slither their way into our islands. When will it end? Coral Bay needs: Gas Station, Police Station and a Gas Station. Please don’t allow the money and the fake promises fool you Mr.Degraff! Soon we will all be a stranger in our own backyard!
Sammy Ki Chelsea Audain very true!! Gentrification is real in stj!
9x outta 10 they gonna open this marina and collect the cash to spend wherever they really living.
Many locals can’t even find a reasonable price rental or own a piece of stj because of their overpricing bs.
Brigitte Berry Chelsea these “investors” have a nonprofit with zero action in STJ. They have ignored and deleted my questions about that on their page.
Sammy Ki Brigitte Berry so basically they tried to make themselves like they are giving to the community but this was the plan all along!
Brigitte Berry Sammy Ki AND never gave. And pretend to care about our culture and history 🤨
Sammy Ki Dwayne M. DeGraff please follow this conversion in particular. The people want to know what exactly did they gave from their nonprofit; or was it all a sham to pull one over on the locals so they could give off this genuine persona for their own greedy long term goal (building this marina)
Brigitte Berry Thanks Sammy Ki. Here are some screenshots of the ignored questions. Questions by myself and Julie got us deleted from the page and banned from any further commenting.
Brigitte Berry and this private message was ignored.
Brigitte Berry One more ignored/banned question. Thank you for your attention to this Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff
Laurie Gynan Lind Did they show you the property they are responsible for that has not been cleared from the storm? What if that was a Marina instead two buildings? They are NOT responsible community members. The people of Coral Bay have done a fabulous job of cleaning up from the storms yet these two leave a mess right in the middle of town. The community does not need a Marina as they envision it especially one run by irresponsible people.
Cindy Sauers Absolutely not.
Beth Herrington Pfeiffer Mr DeGraff, please don’t. We’ve been coming to St John for years and one of the reasons it is so beloved is the fact that so much of it is undeveloped and untouched by “investors”. I believe we are not alone in thinking that St John is not a “if you build it, they will come” kind of place. Leave well enough alone. Fix the damage from the storms, help the residents, say no thanks to the proposed marina.
Bonny Corbeil Beth Herrington Pfeiffer beautifully stated…thank you.
Gretchen Muth Just No
Greg Chane The Rockefellers had they right idea. Buy huge portions of land to preserve the beauty and peacefulness of St. John. Allowing a marina in Coral Bay would be ridiculous. The charm of the East Side would forever be lost, as would the solitude that so many visitors enjoy when visiting St. John. Once built, a marina would be a blemish on the jewel of the Caribbean. Let those ultra rich investors ruin some other island and leave us alone. They are not interested in anything but profit. Just by the fact that they want to build here in Coral Bay, proves it.
Abigail Stjohn The best spot to put a marina on St. John would be the old seaplane ramp in Cruz bay, convenient to the existing customs dock, the marine gas pump, and existing restaurants and hotels.
Camille Janiffa Bradshaw Dwayne M. DeGraff are you interested in building earth-friendly with block made of post consumer plastic and styrofoam?
Anna Fisher No…. based on information given. Thanks for asking Senator, you got my vote I know you care. Bless up ❤️💛💚🇻🇮🙏🏼🌎
Brenon Joseph Its a good idea as long as there is an opportunity for local investors to get involved. This idea will bring new money to coral bay but it would be foolish if locals are not involved and the money goes abroad instead of circulating on the island
Karen Skuce The Army Corps of Engineers will never pass this. Just say NO!!!! The mangroves alone are too important as well as the whole bay and island!!!
Sandra J. Klose No!
Greg Chane Why don’t you just put in an airport while you are at it?? It’s disgusting that you would even consider speaking with them. 😡
Ashton Phillip All the white folks fed up 😂
Chelsea Audain I guess I’m white because I’m pissed!
Ashton Phillip Chelsea Audain I mean on this stat relax
Chelsea Audain Ashton Phillip yea
Brigitte Berry Chelsea apparently I am too because I questioned the integrity of the developers based on their fake nonprofit 🤔 maybe you should pay closer attention to what’s going on in our islands love. We need you to.
Ashton Phillip i was just talking about the fact they were upset on this post. Never said I agreed with what was going on. I here now thanks to Brigitte Berry will never laugh at anything on FB cuz in 2019 people who used to have sense of humors now have sense, itivity. No more jokes, only serious.
Beth McCorkle Gilbert Please NO!!!! If you build one, put it over in Cruz Bay. Putting it in Coral Bay will negatively impact the coral and other marine life. There’s a reason most of the Island is parkland. We need to preserve the under sea life too.
Keri Altig Are you kidding me? This should’ve been stopped quite some time ago. Leave the island alone. It, and its inhabitants, are tired of defending her and are still picking up the pieces from the Hurricanes that devastated her.
Mimi Baum NO
Leslie McKibben I believe we need a town meeting to discuss this as well as the fake nonprofit these folks founded to help post – hurricane. They have not even touched the area they have on lease that is the biggest eye sore on island since Irma.
Greg Cook Terrible. Instead of seeing St. John as a beautiful, untouched space. You just see room to put more shit and make more money. 👎
Jennifer Marshall Valenti Senator if you are truly interested in why this is bad in so many ways, David Silverman is the person you need to speak to! Not these two jokers that have never been involved in any type of project like this before!!
Keith Gossett Mr DeGraff, I believe your constituents have answered you. Do what’s right for them and send these people packing !
Kathy Gibson-Leonard To small of an island to bring a marina . No need . Plenty of larger islands around to put Marinas elsewhere. Please don’t do this to this small island.
Tyler Westbrook Please go comment on the original post also.
Marcia Simpson You’ve pushed a hot button here. Just understand, we did not want this then, do not want it now, do not want it in the future. Having said this…A small marina, for local use, done thoughtfully without greed…perhaps… We do not trust our government to have St John and Coral Bay’s best interests at heart. We have not seen a great deal of integrity regarding our wants and needs versus government greed and it will take a lot of proof to show us otherwise.
Karen Radtke Really again, NO!
Valene Davis don’t ruin this treasure of a town please. Its one of a kind.
Liz Macdonald NO, NO, NO!!!
Van Tuin NO!!!
Jan Cronan People come to St John because of its unspoiled charm, and folks who choose Coral Bay do so specifically because it’s quiet and undeveloped. This development would negatively impact the very soul of Coral Bay and the island. We don’t need it or want it. The only gain would be in the investors’ pockets. Please tell them to look elsewhere.
Karen Skuce Again, NO!
Susanne Culliton I am a frequent visitor and I do not own property on island. I have been about 20 times. I would be so very sad to see these changes to the island. Likely to really change the vibe on island which is the reason so many of us love STJ.
Mary Topping NO!
Diane Clarke I don’t live there, but spend time and money there. I love it for the peace and tranquillity. If I had a say, it would be NO! Don’t ruin a piece of heaven 👎👎🤬
Bean Bruno Please NO
Susan Silverman I am vehemently OPPOSED to this.
Please read the information on our web site. You will find very helpful primary documents.
Savecoralbay.com
What is “Save Coral Bay” ?
Steven Smith Let this charming island be what it is! Big developments will ruin Coral Bay and what the locals and visitors love about St John! Let them peruse this in the the BVI!
Janet Sarapata Hammer No way! This would be devastating for the small island.
Sara Preston Do not ruin this lovely bay. You can never undo the development and ‘build up’ and we can all continue to enjoy it’s rustic charm for ever. Let the big boats and the wealthier of us use Cruz Bay. Leave Coral Bay to the rest.
Jason Andrew Please do not destroy the beautiful landscape with a marina. Cruz is enough.
Barbara Chavez No!!!
Linda Gallagher I own a villa on St John that will soon be my winter home. I am vehemently opposed to this ill planned project St John would be irreparably harmed by this.
Please read Susan Silverman’s attachment.
Heather Long No!!!
David Silverman Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff As you can see from all of these comments, there are VERY strong sentiments held by the vast majority of St Johnians in opposition to these ill-conceived marina plans. I would be more than happy to meet you on STT or STJ to review the history of this project and bring you up to speed on the status at the Army Corps of Engineers and the status with VICZM. I think you owe it to your constituents on St John to have as complete a picture of this project as possible. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to engage in this dialog.
Lois Brayfield 👆👆 Yes, please meet with David Silvermanto hear the majority’s point of view. Please hear the whole story. I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of you and David discussing this project. And while you are in Coral Bay, consider touring the old school, remembering there are still youth that live in Coral Bay.
Carol A Landis No, No and No!
Jude Woodcock That fact that mr degraff insults the intelligence people of coral bay with this bullshit?!
Shaun Long Leave it as is. Do not take the beauty and peace away!#savecoralbay
Eileen Wynne I don’t live on STJ but I do visit each year for two weeks and stay in Coral Bay. Excluding airfare, these trips cost about $10,000. This includes the villa rental, Jeep rental, and food. If a marina is built, we will find some other unspoiled tropical spot and will not return to STJ.
Bonny Corbeil Eileen Wynne 😓😓😓 thanks for your continued support and comments.🙏❤️
Dave Montanile Absolutely no!
Andrea Stepp No way you will ruin the island!!! So many of us oppose this!!! No no no!!!!
Lee Anne Weaver This is a very big mistake.
Betsy Chester No!!
Jodi Sturm No. No. No. nope. Negatory. Don’t do it.
Savannah Taylor Please don’t build this! I want my kiddos to be able to enjoy this beautiful untouched paradise as well one day!
Zarah Rose This is one project that most people, from here and transplants will agree on, is not a good idea. It is the typical overdevelopment with harsh environmental impact and further social impact on an already gentrified community. If you care about the community of Coral Bay soo much Summer’s End… rebuild the school, invest in a community center and let the recreation field be what it is meant to be. Y’all got dollar signs eyes, plastic smiles and cold little dirty hearts.
Marilyn Lenox Absolutely not!!
Cinnamon Stuart You’re joking right? Did you see Images of Coral Bay following Irma and Maria? Insanity, pure insanity, but thanks for trying!
Nancy Butterly No, thank you
Tammy Dauphin It is NOT ok to ruin this culture for a profit!
Leigh Alderman Langworthy No marina! Keep St. John the small island community it is. Building a marina will add commercialism. No Marina!
Anna Norcia Mahoney I say NO to the marina. Don’t ruin the ecosystem just so you can make money. You should be ashamed of yourself
Jude Woodcock We must all call mr Dwayne to educate him about this marina
Jude Woodcock He seems not to know anything about what the St. John people want. And who is this guy? I am already voting him out the next election
Michele Avena I vote NO Marina
Oriel S. Samuel Don’t do it #BLESSUP
Judith Van Nostrand As a 15 year visitor to St John I must say that the reason we come here is because of the unspoiled nature of the island, local restaurants and shops, the National Park and limited infrastructure that make this an island paradise. Do not ruin it!
Melinda Bauman Please don’t ruin this peace of paradise! As many have said, the reason most of us come there year after year is because of the local laid back atmosphere. There are few places left for those of us who enjoy this type of solitude and the unspoiled beauty of nature St John has to offer. You may gain a few boats and transient visitors by doing this but you will loose a whole lot more including the many people that come there now to get away from all the commercialism. Please don’t do this!!!’
Chuck Warner I vote NO!!!
Sue Molnar Stewart This is the letter that I previously forwarded to Johann Sasso on January 21st, 2015. My thoughts have not changed.
I am writing with regard to the permit application submitted by the Summers End Group to permit the construction of a marina in Coral Bay. While I am not a property owner and I do not live on St. John, I still feel a strong love for the island and hope someday to be lucky enough to make it my forever home. While I am not anti-development, in fact development is our family business for over twenty years in Coastal North Carolina, I am against this project. I believe, as do many, that the location proposed is not at all suitable for a project of this magnitude. The damage to the fragile marine environment as well as the long term effects of a project this size can only be detrimental to the Coral Bay area, its current local businesses and the rental homes market. Businesses may be forced to close due to the lack of visitors to Coral Bay during construction and the rental home market will be decimated by the lack of tourists who would be unwilling to tolerate the noise and construction. After construction is complete, any businesses which were able to sustain themselves will have an uphill battle to rebuild and will have the added struggle of having to compete with services offered within the Summer End complex.
My husband and I first visited St. John in October, 2008. We quickly fell in love with the beautiful peace of the island. We returned with our family for Thanksgiving in November, 2008 and our love affair with St. John began. We have returned annually (some times twice a year if we are very lucky) with five couples that we have vacationed with for the last 13 years. All five couples own their own businesses and work hard all year. St John is a little like stepping back in time, leaving behind the big developments, resorts and hustle and bustle of the larger island in the Caribbean. Added to that is the natural beauty of the island, protected by its National Park status, ensures the protection of such a fragile ecosystem.
People work very hard these days and want to enjoy their time off, which for most of us is limited to once or twice a year. Listening to piles being driven into the bottom of Coral Bay along with the other associated construction noise will send tourists streaming off of the island. Many will never return, they will move on to new places. Tourists, who return year after year, faithfully supporting the local economy and enjoying the serenity of “The Rock”. If this project is approved, there will be many vacationers who will not return because St John will not be the same place!
While we do understand and welcome development on St. John, it must be done at the right time, at the right scale and most importantly in the right place. Anyone looking at the patterns of damage during major storm events can see that this is not the right place. Pictures of boats strewn about the shoreline in exactly the proposed location of this marina only solidifies the fact that the people proposing this project are not doing their homework. Who will be responsible for the cleanup when, not if, another major storm affects the Coral Bay area after this project is built? The people of Coral Bay and St. John will be left with a huge cleanup and no financial help to accomplish it.
We love St. John and look forward to seeing smart development, in the right places while supporting and protecting the beautiful unspoiled natural areas which make St. John so unique. I urge you to deny this permit request for so many reasons. It is in the wrong location. The project is too big. It will cause irreparable harm to the sea turtle population, other marine life and sea grasses which live in the Bay. It will destroy St. John’s tourism trade for years and years. Local businesses may be forced to close, due to the lost of revenue when the tourists move to other locations. Homeowners unable to rent their homes may be unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. Coral Bay may never recover if this development is allowed to move forward. There is no guarantee that the marina, if built, will be successful. The tourism trade of St. John has already proven itself to be a success. Are the Governing Agencies willing to gamble a successful tourism trade against a long shot marina endeavor undertaken by people with no professional marina experience? I sincerely hope not.
Thank you for considering all of the many reasons why this project should not be approved. I believe that there are far too many unanswered questions regarding the environmental, financial and professional experience of the developers for this to move forward. If this project was to be approved and it performs as many of us expect it to, the damage will be done. We cannot undue the damage to the fragile Coral Bay area.
I look forward to hearing that this project has been denied and thank you for your time and attention.
Barkley Anderson Sounding in with a hard NO to this proposed marina.
Heather Jordan This is absurd. This would ruin so many things. Instead of thinking about short term dollar you need to be thinking about the current gentrification issues already taking place in addition to the visitors that come to coral bay specifically to get awayfrom the crowds. Bringing a marina would not only destroy the wildlife and ecosystem that it is known and loved for but also the place that so many on the island call home. This would be a huge mistake. Please do not build this!!!
Jane Kyle Kelly Please do not allow the proposed Coral Bay marina! We’ve been visiting St.John for many years ever since my husband used to do work in the USVI – we’ve come to love St.John as one of the most tranquil & serene places ever – putting this in Coral Bay would be a horrible mistake to the sea life, the natural beauty & calmness of Coral Bay. From what I have been following since this was first proposed – very few that truly care about the natural beauty of St.John are in favor of this. 😡😭
Kerrin Buckley As a resident of coral bay I say absolutely not. No in every language. No thank you if you prefer it more polite, and many other words if you don’t. This is our home, please stop trying to destroy what we love and what we live for. I know ZERO people who are in favor. Keep love city kind and loving.
Barb Crites Think with you heart, not you pocket book. No marina. Try to make this a better world, not a more commercial one. There are plenty of other over built places people can go. Not too many Coral Bays.
Connie Scarberry Thompson Please no.
Donna Hayden This new marina in Coral Bay would ruin the environment as well as all of the natural beauty. I’ve been coming to Coral Bay for 20 years and would hate to see it destroyed! To me Coral Bay is the best part of the island and this marina would just destroy it! And it would also deter visitors.
Connie Scarberry Thompson Please no Marina
Kimberly Brynn Please no. Please no
Claire Mele No! And the Army Corps of Engineers already said no, too!
Linda Purves No. Please preserve STJ for the future.
Alec Gowan #savecoralbay. Absolutely not, that would be a disaster. There is no way to do that, and it would ruin the island both environmentally and spirit.
Alec Gowan You would lose more loyal repeat visitors by ruining the place, than gain in a few mega yachts.
Barb Crites Think with your heart and not your pocket book. There are lots of over built places for people to go. There are not many places like Coral Bay. No big marina!
Kristy Faulk Nolen Todd Nolen Cassie Mitchell Sharon Tipton Orman
Kristy Faulk Nolen No. Once you ruin the natural beauty of St John, it will be destroyed forever. Hands OFF.
Amy St John Ramsdell Kristy Faulk Nolen it’s already almost too late
Kristy Faulk Nolen Amy St John Ramsdell the proposed sq ft of the dock they want to build is a full HALF the entire Coral Bay?! Can’t even fathom that 😡
Amy St John Ramsdell Kristy Faulk Nolen it is horrifying And we have been working on fighting this for years. We have not given up.
Leanne Lummis Coral Bay should never be destroyed for the greed of few that have no understanding of why people love Coral Bay. Among the many reasons this is a terrible idea is one that i would advise you to seriously consider. There is EXTREME opposition to this marina.
Please deny this proposal and perhaps they will go somewhere where residents, part time residents, regular visitors and tourists will embrace them …it is not welcome in Coral Bay. These entrepreneurs would be much more sucessful somewhere else.
Joseph A. Viviano Scott Kersey
Lisa LaPlace Knight Please weigh carefully the marina proposal’s impact on the people you represent. Ask yourself, who does this benefit?
Amy St John Ramsdell Absolutely NOT. Please don’t destroy any more of my home so a few selfish people can make money.
Dave N Cindy Beam Mr. DeGraff I am a property owner in Coral Bay and cannot express how horrible an idea this is. This absolutely should not be allowed to happen.
Jason Clay Marinas don’t destroy the environment. Derelict boats that sink and dump waste do.
Leanne Lummis This proposal would destroy the simplicity and natural beauty of Coral Bay. Period.
Jason Clay Leanne Lummis in your opinion. Sinking boats that wash up on shore or are a hazard to navigation destroy the natural beauty. Period.
Leanne Lummis Sinking boats as a result of natural disasters would not be resolved with this idiotic marina proposal as detailed by The Army Corp of Engineers summary and refusal to approve this plan for obvious reasons. The design is ridiculous.
Bob Lewis Jason Clay – You appear to be the only pro voice, so I’d say your comment to Ms. Lummis is pretty self-serving.
Jason Clay Bob Lewis I could see your point. Maybe more people that actually know the pros and cons of marinas should be speaking up. And yes I would visit Coral Bay if there were a marina, and my guests would spend their money there at Lime Out or Skinny Legs. Currently the bay is not on my itinerary because of the shape it is in.Like
Tom Larson Nowhere does this proposal mention the infrastructure needed for the Caribbean’s largest marina. No mention on how all the raw sewage will be transported to anywhere from the proposed pump out station, No mention of boats being allowed to pump out thei…See More
Lisa Sanders Cummings No- please no.
Jay Abel No no no no😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
Kara Balch Gerstel Absolutely not!!! Do not destroy the natural beauty of St. John. No one wants this for this beautiful, serene slice of natural beauty. Why would you want to ruin paradise?????
Shelley Green Kara Balch Gerstel They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Douglas Benton Senator. We went through this only a couple of years ago. The army corps of engineers found the location unsuitable for the proposed marina. We had thousand upon thousand of letters written and petitions signed. I’m sure there is documentation that is available on the history of the project as well as the two charlatans representing the money people.It was a horrible idea then and post Irma it’s even worse now. 20 year Coral Bay resident, former business owner right the water in Coral Bay harbor. Thank you.
Paulet Solomon No. You will be ruining the beauty of Coral Bay. NO! NO! NO!
Tanya Nagler Cunningham Dredging the harbor for big boat hulls can’t be environmentally helpful…
Angela Dawn No. And no again.
Richard Sorrem I would not recommend it , and my reason is I see the reefs are disappearing from a number of reasons. With more traffic on the water will increase the rate of which the reefs are depleting. I am not a resident but wish I was. We explore true reefs and see how they have reduced in life, coral life and sea life. It’s your knowledge on the livelihood of the islands but look deeper.
Good luck on your decision. But please look at all the aspects. Thank you for your time.
Rob Rogerson Lands end group is literally poison for Coral Bay. The project they have proposed is harmful to the environment and not compatible with the community. These people are dishonest and irresponsible, they have tried every dirty trick to get past the zoning for their monstrosity of a marina and have left the huge mess that was once island blues in a shamble at the shoreline when they could easily have cleaned it up. Do not in anyway be fooled by these disreputable people. They do not have the interest of the island, it’s ecology, it’s culture, or its residents at heart. They know only greed.
Matt Chrisovergis Please don’t!
Kate Russell Please NO!
Susan Beebe Mathias No, this amazing place in the world is unique. Please don’t let commercialization spoil it’s beauty and ruin it’s natural state. No.
Anita Sewall NO.
Antonio V Torres Leave St John alone. Cant these people take their immense wealth and do that somewhere else?
Then, who is it really going to serve? It wont be a boost to the economy. Any jobs that it provides will find imported labor from the US which will just increase unemployment here.
These projects serve no real value to the general community other than to drive up real estate prices which isnt good for the people who have been living there happily without a marina for generations.
St John is not some savage land that needs to be colonized and developed into a pollution center. It’s paradise for a reason – PEOPLE LEFT THE DAMN PLACE ALONE.
Judi Pierce Can’t this one island be left alone?
Kerry Giammetta No! The marinia would destrpy an already fragile eco system – it wpuld be devistating to the community and spirit of st john. It seems this is 100% against what the community wants or needs. Look at the care they have for st john and its people by looking at how they left island blues- its simple these people don’t.
Clarence Payne David Silverman
Susan Silverman
Harith Wickrema
Harith Wickrema thanks Clarence Payne we will speak with David Silverman,Doug White
Jonathan Cleveland Please, no. Look back on your career one day and be proud that you saved a natural piece of paradise.
Amy E Allen Don’t do it!!!!! No marina!!
Margaret Briggs-Gowan Unspoiled beauty and eco-systems are fast disappearing on this earth. Please help to protect and preserve this beautiful and important spot. And thank you for engaging in this dialog.
Jeff Donnelly Pretty sure the community of coral bay already provided ample feedback about this subject.
Ann-Marie Sedor You can almost see the dollar signs in their eyes. Such a disgrace. What is it with investors? They see a piece of unspoiled land and have to turn it into a money-making venture. Senator, I hope you listen to your constituents (I am not one, just a big fan of this beautiful little island) because every comment I’ve read is vehemently opposed to this plan.
Bruce Merced Did they not see what happened in the bay from hurricane Irma? What insurance company would ever cover a project like that in that location? Call it whatever you want, it’s not a hurricane hole.
Shirley Ann Pula Curriston NO! !!!!!!!!
Wendy N Davis No way. Without the ball field in Coral Bay or the harbor itself, there was no way any help could have come into Coral bay after the storms had the bay been littered with marina debris no boats would have been able to come into the harbor and bring supplies. Same goes for the ball field. That is where helicopters were able to land and bring supplies and take the sick and injured elsewhere after the storms as the roads were cut off for the first few days after the storm. Not to even go into the environmental impact that this project will have. The infrastructure cannot support it. It’s a terrible idea.
Joanne Orr Johnson No, no, a thousand times no. As a previous poster said, please do your homework on this. It is a very bad idea on so many levels. These people are not to be trusted.
Michelle Catalan Don’t do it . 🤦🏻♀️
Sandra Brochu Save Coral Bay – no marina. Disastrous to the sensitive environment!
Steven P Knowlton No. No. No. Please—review the filings made on the Summers End marina project. Speak to David Silverman.
Tracy Pajewski No!! #SaveCoralBay!
Melvin Mkuu Bryan Sr. St.John in need of more important infrastructure like a high school , state of the art health facility and better roads.
Tim Field Please sir, NO! Don’t allow those whose sole interest is money to invade and destroy such a gentle and beautiful ecosystem.
Shawn FitzMaurice Can’t even believe that this question is being asked.
Leona Seita Burk Please do not support this effort to exploit this national treasure. The cultural and environmental impacts far outweigh any benefit.
Shari O’Berry Ashmore No marina!!! It would have huge environmental impact.
Rick Hannan Not a resident just love the place, No
Anna McKibben Taylor Thanks, but no thanks
Bonny Lowe Oh, no, no no!! Please leave Coral Bay alone! If you want to build something, how about a high school?
Jacqueline MacCammon No marina
Joe St. Prix NO!!!!! We don’t need that on St. John.
Melvin Mkuu Bryan Sr. We are still recovery from two devastating hurricane and I know there are so much to do to improve our infrastructure we need to understand the need of the people before we put $$.
Pamela Blasetti I can’t believe this is still a conversation. What will the community get from this? How will you protect the shore, bay and environment there? No real reason for anyone to want this.
Sarah Russell MacColl No. No. No.
Carla Malone Taylor SAVE CORAL BAY !!! No
Sylvia Scheiner No to the marina.
Kathy James Pittman No marina. Would ruin the vibe not to mention the environment.
Jennifer Montgomery NOoooooooo
Rikki Grober Eriksen No No no – our nature is our best asset please protect it
Tia Trefethen No to the Marina.
Maureen Anderson Senator DeGraff, I am so appreciative that you have solicited opinions. My opinion, as a former resident and current vacationer, is that turning Amazing Coral Bay into a Mega Yacht Marina is destructive to Coral Bay as well as the environment as a whole. Save Coral Bay and save our environment.
Melinda Wiltrout Murphy No not a good idea at all for many reasons stated above
Jeanne Jennerich Robilotto What?! You can’t possibly be entertaining that can you????
James Brosnahan Who’s getting paid off to approve this?
Mary Jean Breslin NO WAY!!!!
Cynthia Stetzer I’m glad Senator Degraff reached out. My guess is there could be some real pressure from big money, and that can be dangerous. The fact is, you don’t really know who you are up against.
I find the timing curious. The islands took two back to back body blows, and while people are rebuilding and hanging in there, they’re going to rape St. John while it’s weak?
Are they under the impression nobody is going to notice or they are too tired to fight?
They will likely start a campaign to convince everyone the income will help in recovery and growth. That is typical short sighted big money manipulation.
I acknowledge that I’m not completely up to date on the details, but I was there during the last fight and boy, I swore you/we won! So let me say from the outside looking in,
I find this timing suspicious, opportunistic, and convenient.
Watch court filings for any proposed building on island. Watch for applications for easements and building permits, etc.
Most importantly, I hope you can MAKE YOUR VOICES LOUD, STRONG, AND AGGRESSIVE.
MAKE YOUR VOICES TRAVEL! USE THE MEDIA, REACH OUT TO THE BIGGEST NAMES, AND FRIENDS OF ST. JOHN. GET HELP FROM ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIES, ACTIVISTS AND SCIENTIST/EDUCATIONAL EXPERTISE. ORGANIZE! GET PROACTIVE AND NIP IT IN THE BUD!
You Guys Got This!!
IT’S YOUR ISLAND, MAKE SURE THEY KNOW IT!!
One Love and Jah Bless!
Lauren Jane-Mirocke Harris A thousand times no! Please don’t ruin Coral Bay!
Corwin Moore Absolutely not .. no one in this Island wants this !!!
Brenda Burke Please no.
Jackie Savoia Heger Senator…..my husband has been a structural engineer specializing in Dry docks and moorings for over 40 years. He has written letters to the Army Corps of Engineers stating how devastating a marina would be to the marine environment of Coral Bay. Please consider all aspects of this before you give any credence to those wanting to line their pockets without regard to the harm this would cause.
Shari Tivy Thanks for checking in with us, but no thank you.
Desiree M Smith Not liking this idea at all. What would happen to the area where the crabs live? It would destroy the natural beauty not to mention the pollution from the boats.
Ray Avitable Those of us who cherish the beauty of St. John and the unique peacefulness of Coral Bay do so because it does not have a marina such as the proposed one. I would prefer it stayed that way.
Cindy Maines Would kill the island
Jacqueline Brierley Dear Mr, DeGraff, these people have leased the property of one of the biggest eyesores in Coral Bay, Formerly “Island Blues”. It’s not in their contract to clean up this mess – but one would think that if they cared about Coral Bay at all – they would have put in the effort to clean up their own mess – the same site for the proposed marina.
Cindy Maines Become just another cruise ship tourist place
Brianna Jackson Tallian Coral Bay property owner. We vote NO to a marina!
Christy C Trainor I think the Environmental Impact Studies and residents have spoken. The answer is NO.
Fran Solomon-Salomon No. Please no. Development ruins St. John….
Maureen Wenmoth Please don’t allow this project to move forward. Itcwii destroy the ecology of the precious land and sea there, as well as harm the Coral Bay community with such massive change to infrastructure, community safety and charm that the current tourist community adores
Tamika M. Thomas Williams No. Let’s let nature live.
Dan Oren “Pave Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot”. If you’re concerned about too many tourists, this sounds like a great project to drive people away. Don’t do it!!!
Robert Hunsaker There honestly is a great threat to not only the “character” that has brought generations of people to this unique island but also to the “health” of Coral Bay itself. No matter how you “twist” it, it is neither beneficial nor neutral to the bay – it is negative and enough to warrant a solid “no”.
Yes, there ARE people who would love it and benefit from it, but overall the degree of negative impact overrides that.
I have been visiting since 1982 and am a current landowner on Lovango Cay.
Robert Hunsaker Awaiting the first non-resident investor/developer “yes! Build it”.😒
Christopher Rowe This project isn’t dead yet? The environmental impact alone would be devastating. The drag on infrastructure would be crippling.
Elizabeth Rast NO. NO. NO.
Gretchen Muth NO! PLEASE NO!
Linda Gallagher I own a villa on St John that will soon be my winter home. I am vehemently opposed to this ill planned project St John would be irreparably harmed by this.
Do your research into all the letters that have been written about this, learn about what the VI National Park’s opinion on this and what the Army of Engineers has said.
Helen Nissen Leach I wish I lived there, I would vote no.
Caroline Heivly Sounds like a horrible idea!!! Strongly opposed to it.
Buju Richardson Red hook is enough
Denise Kelly Pryor No, no , no 😫
Jeremy Newman No!
Cameron Jennings No. As a hooked visitor we seek out the Coral Bay side of STJ for the community, natural beauty & the calm. I see STJ in my dreams. Love and respect what it is and do not ruin it because it can’t be undone.
Jane Washburn Ecological nightmare & unnecessary development which will ruin what makes St John what it is. We are the USVI step children for services. Look at the recovery after Irma & Maria out in Coral Bay. They were cut off much longer. There isn’t the infrastructure to support this project. Army Corps of Engineers I thought already nixed this!
Vivian S. Schweizer Please, Please DO NOT!
Taylor Novak NO!! Complete loss of marine life. Absolutely not.
Bill Winter Terrible idea. The point of Coral Bay is to be away from hustle, bustle, noise, and population density. Keep it quiet and peaceful.
Jane Sheridan Thank you for taking the time to come to St John and see things for yourself. Thank you for caring enough to ask our opinion & listen to the people of St John.
Jim Busch Opposed to the current plans but a small facility could be good if done properly.
Char Roberts Please dont destroy beautiful coral bay. It is peace on earth to us. Go somewhere else.
Deb Gardner Say hello to more traffic, even more overcrowded beaches and restaurants and the feel of Cruz Bay! Remember – once done it’ll never go back the way it was……..
Todd Scofield Do not ruin the charm of Coral Bay or Love City for that matter.
Jeff Deeney Absolutely not.
Matt Mooers Leave the bay alone!!!
Jenni Lyn Cooper It just is not the right place. Bad for the wildlife. Destroy the bay..Can’t even manage the trash we produce on this side of the island …
Sheri Haag NO
Mag Wessinger Please, no.
Kathleen Keesling Please, no. The risks outweigh any economic benefits, and once done, cannot be undone.
Peggy Blitz No, no, no………a development such as the proposed borders on criminal.
Kevin Hood PLEASE NOT IN CORAL BAY!
John Funch NO
Catherine Schonberg Butler Absolutely not!!!! No!!!! Please no!!!!!
Greg Gaven No
Justin Nesbitt Please not here!
Bonny Corbeil Craig Barshinger
Peter Briggs Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff this development is flawed in so many ways.It does not have proper commitment / upland agreements (ownership, or leases), proper permits filed, nor the support of the community, nor army corp of engineers.The entire concept is not well considered, which is out of place with the market, environment, and scale of surrounding Coral Bay harbor, and community
Lynn Willey Gillis For so many reasons, just NO!!!! Let Mother Nature be!!! NO NO NO to a marina!!!!!!!!!!
David Gloski Just became a St. John resident… Please do not do this to this island. It is special the way it is! That is why we came here. It is why so many people come here!
Mark W Hammer No. Coral Bay is beautiful and STJ is a special place because it doesn’t have this kind of development. You need to figure this out – STJ DOES NOT WANT YOUR MARINA!!
David Lawson Not in Coral Bay
Jalani Horton if u against development at all that’s impractical and hurts us, look at St. Croix. we have to be informed, strategic, long term goal-oriented and wise.
everybody cry no when somebody want to do something, but disappear into the abyss when there is no growth, no jobs, no vision and we end up with brain-drain and non-locals migrating here in droves.
be part of solutions or we simply die off.
Thenativeson Usvi It’s true, relying on tourism or the exportation of rum cannot support the local economy. We need to innovate and get ahead of the other Caribbean islands that have much more to offer.
Lori Stevenson Thenativeson Usvi I am all for a well considered and practical development- this is neither
Kellie O’Boyle Ruth Riddle please weigh in
Eleanor Bole A great big NO ..Coral Bay has a natural beauty that needs no improvement. The flora and fauna is wonderful. LEAVE IT ALONE.
DeDe Weekes Seems like the locals already lost most of St.John to others … please not anymore…
James Brosnahan Who’s getting paid off to approve this?
Donna Otis Keeley Not a good idea! There are few places left on this blue planet that are free from ‘mans’ footprint – Coral Bay is not suitable for this type of project- just because we can build something doesn’t mean we should!
Dyana Smith Tarr Fix the ROAD!!!
Tami Irons DO NOT DO THIS!
Lori Stevenson This marina project is too big and not in the right place – the damn harbor is open to the wind and sea!
Lori Stevenson There is so much wrong with this project it’s laughable
Lori Stevenson David Silverman
Steve McCauley Coral Bay is an established keystone nursery habitat for many fish and invertebrates, including lemon and black tip sharks. The health and resilience of the regional coral reefs and fisheries we depend on are directly correlated to the health of this nursery habitat. These are facts, not my opinion.
https://www.academia.edu/…/Thesis_Defense_Juvenile…
ACADEMIA.EDU
Thesis Defense: Juvenile Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) and Lemon…
Peter Hoschl Bad idea
Leigh Sauls NO! Would ruin the whole reason people come to ST John and especially those of us that love the quiet side of coral bay
Janice Kongsbak No no no. The charm of being unspoiled is what brings tourists to St John. Build a Marina and St John will be nothing but a more expensive version of most other Caribbean islands 🤮. Keeping St John pristine is the reason Mr Rockefeller bought up as much of the island as possible and turned it into a national park
Doug White NO MARINA ! IT WOULD DESTROY CORAL BAY! Save Coral Bay
Doug White NO MARINA! IT WOULD DESTROY CORAL BAY!
Dennis Judson Absolutely not. This should NOT be built.
Bonny Corbeil Why….why…do we need to once again…defend our threatened natural resources against greedy developers only interested in making a buck? With all due respect…new senators should know about this ongoing fight of concern with this too large marina that threatens to destroy our Bay!!! SO…here WE go again…burdened with this responsibility….🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤬
Denise L. Fraguela Bonny Corbeil exactly
Eleanor Gibney Senator, as a resident of St John since my birth in the 1950s, I’ve seen a lot of crooks and opportunists with plans to exploit the island. These people are the absolute worst among them, and their persistence in the face of continuous united opposition from the community is very disturbing.
Brigitte Berry Eleanor you are spot on. The worst!
Bonny Corbeil Eleanor Gibney thank you Eleanor……I can’t believe they continue to push this ill advised and horrendous idea.
Worse…WE are burdened too again to expend our energies to save our bay.
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤬🤬🤬😓😓😓
Denise L. Fraguela Brigitte Berry yes she is
Lucy Remington I’m glad Dwayne posted this so we have the opportunity to chime in. Doubt he expected the hornets nest he was about to step in. 😂 Ken and Barbie, seriously, go home already.
Denise L. Fraguela Lucy Remington please name no calling.
Henry Swart As a frequent visitor to St John since the 1980s I feel the failure to keep Coral Bay and the entire east end free from large scale development would be a huge step in the wrong direction. Both tourism and more importantly the ecology would suffer greatly.
Tina Reed Robinette No, thank you. Listen to your people and your ecosystem.
Mimi de Seda We need to rebuild a proper marina here. We have so many in horrid condition that need proper attention and management first. Take care of those, bring the boats back.
Don Cummings Lisa Sanders Cummings
Al Winters NO MARINA SAVE CORAL BAY
Kristin Carbone Grosso Please do not allow this marina happen. I am vehemently opposed, for both the marine life and for the people. Coral Bay is so special the way it is. I would be heartbroken to lose that.
David V. Smith Many negative comments about this project. Hopefully these comments will have an effect. Often times money talks and never listens.
Brigitte Berry David I know. There’s a huge diversity of responses from visitors, to villa owners, to pre-purchase Virgin Islanders, to Real Estate business owners, the yachting industry, and so on. I hope we are heard.
David V. Smith Brigitte Berry Agreed Brigitte. We’re just annual visitors but that bay is a beauty to behold.
Bonny Corbeil AND we wonder why citizens-get burnt out on their involvement as citizens!!!🤬🤬🤬🤬🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Bonny Corbeil Andrea Milam Chouiniere…here’s an important story to tell in the Daily News…
Andrea Milam Chouiniere Bonny Corbeil I’m not reporting on things like this but I’ll alert newspaper staff and ask someone to follow up on it.
Bonny Corbeil Andrea Milam Chouiniere many Thanks….all of the comments are so worth reading.Like
Sandra Miller Wow. You come looking for the investors. What about those of us who drive around, through, over and in the potholes of Coral.Bay???? Can you please address a very real and pertinent issue for the people who pay taxes,and li e every day on this island ????
Kimmer O’Neill Don’t let Coral Bay become commercialized…. will ruin that area and it’s beautiful appeal.
Kacy Luvingod Tyson Kimmer O’Neill the VI will sell to any who will buy. Thwy will sell the island to the highest bidder
Kyara Amethyst this is a foolish n selfish idea n it shouldn’t have even been a discussion. that marina is a good idea yes but it needs to go somewhere else. not out here in Coral Bay. that’s gonna just change EVERYTHING about CB. the environment, population, even th…See More
Maura Kane Sayre No marina. Save Coral Bay. Please!!
Susan Daugherty Vicinie Please NO! We visit St John because of what it is. If we wanted developed beaches there are many other places to go. Please dont ruin the island. We stopped going to St Thomas when we realized the beaches were often overrun with what we called “boat people”. The natural beauty of St John is so special. Please don’t bring more development to the island, especially the Coral Bay side.
Barbara Webster Feirtag As a frequent visitor to the island, please leave it alone.
Lee Maunder It will never be built, for many reasons, but that does not stop the pair from roping in investors and living off their money.
Even the small Marina proposed by Sirius/Moravian Church would have problems – there cannot be fuel storage at that level, showers and toilets would be difficult to sustain from a water perspective, let alone taking on fresh water for a boat. No laundry, for sure. The best that could be planned would be a small dock for pick-up, drop-off and short term tie-up for shopping for stores and ice.
The previous floating dinghy dock at the Skinny’s side had to be towed into the creek when a hurricane threatened, and you saw the aftermath of Irmaria on the replacement dock…and the whole island. Even Hurricane Hole, that had safely kept vessels for many hurricanes in the past, proved inadequate then.
I do not agree with Angel Joseph that Coral Bay is the “wild, wild West”, there are no more illegal activities there than elsewhere in the islands and the community there is, of necessity, fairly self-policing; it proved itself after the hurricanes when every soul there in some way helped another and the meagre facilities and provisions were shared. After traveling the world I have not found another place with such love and community spirit.
Summers End is interested only in what they can get out of the island, not what they can put into it.
Kerrin Buckley Lee Maunder well said 👏🏼👏🏼
Jim Gallagher Numerous Federal agencies have reviewed the proposed marina, and rejected it for many reasons. It is a bad idea for the people, the marine life, the infrastructure, and the entire economy of St John. The only people who might benefit from it are the rich investors, and even that is far from a sure thing. I wrote a several page letter to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) years ago when this was first proposed. My observations were true than and they are still true today. If you are serious about considering all points of view, contact me to get a copy of the letter. Please read the Federal agencies’ responses to the proposal before going any further.
Todd Tryall Myrtle Beach South huh…🤔🤔🤦♀️🤦♀️😱😱😱😱
Tacky Tacky….
Until Unvle Sam steps up and decides to love it it leave it alone it’s gonna be a mess from either point of view….
But commercialization will ruin the solitude….
Leslie McKibben Dear Mr Senator
The problems with this meeting are very worrisome. The fact that you appear uneducated in their past escapades, the governmental bans, and the current and ongoing lack of involvement in the clean up
Of their leased land post hurricane. In addition, these people have tried to continue this pipe dream for years despite missing crucial deadlines imposed by the EPA along with others. In addition they are so masterful at their deceptions that they even set up a non profit post hurricane that shows no legitimacy for St John. Be very careful Mr a senator as you sleep with the dogs.
Litzy Cora Anaya I have a feeling that regardless of what we might have an opinion about this matter… guess what? The construction of the marina will happen. Marine life will be impacted. Money talks, that’s my experience in the VIs.
For those of you who have short memory, when the barge ferry terminal was built, both marine and wild life was impact and I didnt see anyone complaining about it.
BTW, one of the best schools in St.John was close due to this propose marina since part of the access is thru the school grounds. And still I didnt see anyone making something to stop this.
Jim Gallagher Litzy Cora Anaya I am sorry we haven’t connected on this issue before this, but we have been fighting this for many years. I am only one minor player among the many major players who have stalled their approvals. I would be happy to share the letters over all that time. Why do you think there are no pile drivers working in Coral Bay today?
Lee Maunder Litzy, you haven’t followed the ‘Save Coral Bay’ site? Or the actions of our hero David Silverman? EVERYTHING has and is being done to ensure that this disaster does not happen!!
Litzy Cora Anaya Keep fighting…. I love my island paradise the only place in the world that I call home. I would be a disaster for a marina to built there. Keep fighting. Thanks for giving me the heads up of where to find more info.Like
Khalid Merchant DeGraff is a man of honor tough job
Andrea Wisniewski Carbaugh no. just no to the marina. Aruba already exists. stay untamed.
Julie Hawkins Boone Absolutely NO. Love St John and Coral Bay specifically, as is! Please don’t ruin the environment and the culture of that lovely place with this type of development!
Tina Laudato Against this, especially for marine life and eco system. Visitors to the island, myself and my friends included, choose St John for its natural beauty, the fact that it is not overly developed like other places and for it’s laid back vibe. We have returned (almost annually) to St J since 2003 for those reasons. Change it and we will likely change our minds about choosing it as our favorite place on earth!
Mike Hoffeditz Tina Laudato I’ve polled the donkeys and they are unanimous in their opposition.
Tina Laudato Mike Hoffeditz yes, also a bad idea for the donkeys, goats, iguanas, etc. Its their home as well! Thanks for being their voice!
Mike Hoffeditz Tina Laudato I find it more sane to talk to the animals!
Cynthia Nizzari Please keep this Virgin Island intact and say no to the Coral Bay Marina proposal. Look at the other islands around you. To the people who live on and visit STJ, they have become loud and too commercial. With Maho and Cinnamon resorts not functioning any longer STJ has become unaffordable or too commercial for many people already. The introduction of the coral bay marina would contribute to making the island less pristine and even more unaffordable than it is, with very little, if any, benefit to the people whose families have lived there for generations.
Steven Bond Please do your own research into this subject. This project has been rejected by numerous govt agencies, and the community as a whole. It is neither sustainable or wanted. Thank you.
Lee Maunder Adding: Senator, if you are approached by a company mentioning plans for condos in the current ball park/recreation ground next to the (closed) Guy Benjamin School, treat that plan with equal hesitation and distrust!
Karen Vahling Good day, I’m speaking as a 26-year resident and business owner in Coral Bay. I built my home/villa from the ground up and renting out part of our home sustains my family. Coral Bay depends on the visitors that stay at our “Mom & Pop” run villa and other villas. People stay here for a quiet, beautiful and friendly community. I see many visitor comments in this post stating that they seek us out for just that. We pay thousands of dollars every year in lodging tax. Our guests still rate us 5 stars despite visible wreckage, terrible roads and overflowing dumpsters. But they will not come if this turns into Yacht Haven Grande. Yacht owners will not pay lodging tax from their yachts. And the proposed condo units could shift lodging to an entirely different market and away from tax-paying long time residents and locals who’ve spent their lives and hard work here. There are plenty of areas on St. Thomas that would suit people who desire a yachting/condo experience and the government has an obligation to support them now that they’re established – by not diluting the market with another mega marina in our remote local community. We already suffer from lack of infrastructure as St. John has always gotten disproportionately low funding while paying in disproportionately high taxes per capita than the other islands. Environmentally, economically, intuitively and morally NOT a good or viable idea. Consider instead a new dock and a gas station to serve both boaters and vehicles.
John Patrick Yob The footprint of this is too big. More limited docking makes more sense than a big marina.
Krista Mellinger-Deroma Shocked! that after the many years of refusals and fights you even have approached the question to the residents of Coral Bay!! Where have you been ? Absolutely NO! or there will be a revolution! Pitchforks and all!
Marc Eckhardt They are not investors. In fact there should be an investigation to find out what is happening to the funds they have taken so far for this scam and if they are being used appropriately
William Hudson Leave coral bay alone
Steven Weinel How about fixing the roads, clinics, and schools?
Jack Buzzi How can you not understand the sentiment of the local People and federal agency’s .get your head out of the sand sir
Lee Anne Weaver When you take away the natural beauty and make it commercial you loose so much. The island will change and so will the tourist. It needs to remain a quiet beautiful island it is! Thank you.
Valene Davis Don’t just look at the dollar signs, look at how coral bay will be LOST!!
Oriel S. Samuel Natural Beauty Is The Best Beauty #BLESSUP
Bonny Corbeil Oriel S. Samuel absolutely!!!! I’m open to a small marina with a pumpout station sofolks can sail in and enjoy it..but NOT them. They’ve proved to be irresponsible and ignorant about this community.
Glenn Allison Oriel S. Samuel and when it’s gone..you can’t get it back..government always wants the tax revenue..I understand this..but someone has to take a stand for nature and natural beauty👍
Bonny Corbeil Glenn Allison which is responsible for creating this revenue.🤦♀️🤦♀️Like
Sharon Eileen Opposed
Laura Bourgal We have visited Coral Bay for almost 30 years . We go because it’s Coral Bay. If we wanted marinas and glitz we would vacation in Miami Beach. Keep Coral Bay Coral Bay. Save Coral Bay!
Bonny Corbeil Laura Bourgal 👍🏿💕❤️
Bonny Corbeil Sure…build that ridiculous marina…and you kill the goose that laid the golden egg of natural resources that makes St. John exactly why people come here!
Courtney Niederer The coral bay community does not feel positively about this proposal!
Alison Edmands This a terrible idea for the environment and all the people who live on and visit the island. JUST SAY NO!!!
Denise Barbier Senator Thank you for taking the time and the awful drive on these poor roads to come to Coral Bay… On the way you passed what was once our School in Cruz Bay, now modular units set in cement on what was a ball field… I understand these are leased not bought $$$$ into someone pocket, you passed what was once our Clinic… not reopened since the storms but again a modular unit set in place to my knowledge never opened… guessing leased agin from ? $$$$$ lining some ones pocket… Traveling further into St John you passed through the flats where the road is so terrible you slow to a crawl if you like your car. Please note this area is fixed! Right! Moving onward around Bordeaux Mt, Coral Bay comes into view… Still beautiful from above. Taking a right at the Welcome sign you passed our very poor location for the two dumpsters that service this side of the island. They were over flowing yesterday so you got a look at what we deal with every day. Junk cars, boats, trailers are everywhere you look but frankly there is no place for them as our transfer station is full! (understatement) Finally you arrive at the location where Summer End has neglected to clean up the place they lease. It has been a year and a half, if they or the owner of the property would just ask this loving Community would physically come and clean it up! Crickets. Those of us living in Coral Bay look at that mess every single day. Sir we don’t need a marina, we need these folks to clean up their mess NOW. Tourist are back, we are a loving community that longs for support for basic needs. School, Clinic, Roads. Not a marina. Thank you for taking the time to drive out here. Common Sense seems to not be a strong point these days. Lets bring it back. Help us clean up our island not add any more headaches .
Raven Wirick Lewis Denise Barbier beautifully said.
Sean O’Grady Denise Barbier please don’t build this.
Denise Barbier Sean O’Grady not a chance Sean.Like
Terry Jordan Denise Barbier this says it all!! Thank you!Like
Michelle Anderson Loveless Good Bye Coral Bay and hello oil streaks!
Kelly Larkin-Wheatley As a home owner & full time resident, whose property overlooks Coral Bay, please, do not allow this to ruin what we have here. We do not want this marina!!!
Lois Brayfield Kelly Larkin-Wheatley ditto.
Shannon Gaffney Stoll It will change everything that people love about St. John. It will attract a completely different kind of tourist.
Rosanne Perkins I no longer live on island so I’ve been following this from off island.
I just don’t get why coral Bay and a marina?
It’s too beautiful to destroy with the marina, any environmental ramifications and what it will do the ecosystem.
Anyone with common sense and a heart and his soul and a love for the islands knows this is incredibly wrong.
Catalina Keller Are folks calling the numbers he provided? Flood the office with calls! It’s much more likely to get his attention. My heart is with you in a big NO!
Kris Dougherty Dwayne m DeGraff.
Sir it appears you want more then a 1000 no’s.
NO is the overwhelming response.
NO is the response of the marine life as well.
NO means well. NO..
It’s also clear that your people want better roads. They feel that your valuable time is spent better on other projects.
NO is such a simple word and is clearly the answer here.
NO thank you.
Sea Sol It looks like you have your answer on what the STJ people think…since you asked, I fervently hope that you take all the answers into consideration. The reasons have been listed, as well as lots of research done that I’m sure you are aware of. Somethi…See More
Paul Trujillo If you support Summers end group you will be committing political suicide !
Greta Nicholls In my opinion Denise Barbier outlined all the things that needed for the Island on St. John and not the wants of a few!
Ken Totushek May it never be! Even entertaining the idea, undoubtedly removing from the islanders (many whom have already lost so much), control of what’s left of this beautiful island to is a awful way to start V.I. History month! ☹️ But it is commendable that this information is out where the public can respond–hopefully there will be listening ears, that might put this issue to bed once and for all.
Don Antone Terrible idea. No no no
Cathalina John-Baptiste I guess the voters tell ayu! It’s hell no
Katie Kat Walker I have lived off island for a few years. Everything about Coral Bay would not be the same!
NoNo No
Just No
Gabrielle Goulet NO, an overwhelming no. We don’t need a development to come in and destroy our already delicate ecosystem. Not every square inch of our beautiful islands need to be developed and destroyed by human impact. Residents and tourists alike choose to come to St. John because of its relatively untouched beauty. Focus on restoring the marinas we already have and other areas of our infrastructure that will have just as much if not more of a positive impact for our residents and tourists alike. SAVE CORAL BAY!
Richard Campbell NO NO NO NO N O NO
Aimee Hawkins Riley Please do not do this. A marina will totally change the island😕
Coco Gill NO, NO, NO!!!!! I understood that this idea was dead in the water. What the heck!?!
We visit St. John and IMMEDIATELY head over to Coral Bay because it is quiet, rustic and cool. Why would anyone want to change that?
Todd Hitchins Former resident and frequent visitor. Please NO. St. John is the jewel of the VI because it is NOT like the rest of them.
Tom Larson Nowhere does this proposal mention the infrastructure needed for the Caribbean’s largest marina. No mention on how all the raw sewage will be transported to anywhere from the proposed pump out station, No mention of boats being allowed to pump out their contaminated grey water into Coral Bay Harbor (Grey Water is all waters other than raw sewage heavily contaminated with detergents/chlorine), How will all the garbage/refuse be transported to St Thomas, What is the disposal plan for hazardous materials, What is the plan in case of a hurricane (Will the boats remain in their slips directly exposed to the ocean?), What is the plan in case of vessels on fire, What is the oil spill response plan, Where potable water be supplied from (the plan mentions rain catchment , is this water safe to drink?), How many water trucks will be required to supply this many vessels when there is lack of rain or when supply is overwhelmed, No mention of a marine chandlery to supply boats with parts, No canvas makers/sail repair, No mention of on-site marine mechanics for repairs, No mention of marine electricians to repair electronics, no mention of a grocery store large enough to supply this many boats with provisions, no mention of an inflatable repair person to repair dinghies, No mention of an on-site life raft re-certification technician, no mention if they have asked U.S. Customs if they would man the Customs office they are proposing or the required security fence that is required by the U.S. Coast Guard, No mention of Search and Rescue resources, No mention of what will happen to the boats that are currently on legal moorings that are in the footprint of the marina, No mention if there will be a dock big enough for a barge to moor alongside to provide the massive amount of fuel that will have to be supplied to this many vessels of large size or mention of how many fuel trucks will have to come from St Thomas, No mention on how much power will need to be supplied by WAPA for the largest marina in the Caribbean. To Summarize not one mention of services to be supplied to boats…
Tracy Newman Tom Larson well said!
Sea Sol Yeah, good points made there!
Peter Klaus Nicely said Capt. Tom!!!Like
Carolina St John It will only take a quick search to see the long and organized opposition to the project. Thank you for asking for input and being honest that they approached you but I think you will find that they took advantage of your not knowing the pre-storm history of this issue. Shakima should have at least been aware. David Silverman is the person you need to contact for the full documented history on this issue. You might also want to investigate their non-profit they formed within days of the storms to raise money for our community but no one can be found that received help from them.
Laurie Martin JUST SAY NO!!!!!
Carlos Lindquist Absolutly no!!!!!!!
Cate Poole Army Corps of Engineering already rejected their proposal. Please contact David Silverman.
Jude Woodcock Cate Poole makes mr degraff look stupid
Cate Poole Jude Woodcock . Thanks.
Laurie Blair Hell NO!!!!!
Lisa Swing How many times do the people have to rose up and fight this? Nobody but the greedy developers want this!
Visitors don’t, residents don’t, friends of the park don’t and yet politicians aren’t listening.
I thought the bay and It’s waters were protected monument waters?
Lisa Swing *rise up
Kathi Anderson Why? Why break something that is so good! 😱NO!
Terri Perkins Pierce Paula Vital
Paula Vital NOOOOO!!! I thought this was put to rest already. Please, don’t give into greed and preserve the natural beauty of St John!! If we want to go somewhere Americanized we’ll go to Aruba!
Heidi Broecking No, no, a thousand times no! And you should absolutely meet with David about this project.
Sammy Ki Akil Jacobs Monique Faulkner Drew Quetel Carol SamNeo Abimbola
Neo Abimbola Sammy Ki that area needs to be preserved STJ is already a dam lost cause, what else they want to do..
Sammy Ki Neo Abimbola i tagged you because I knew that’s what you would say and I could say that I agree with you.
Neo Abimbola Sammy Ki I read so much comments and not one person agrees..One person said even the army corps of engineers are against it..This serves no purpose for STJ ..Just like down botany bay
Jackie Taylor Horrible idea! No! No! No!
Alice Oram Barstow The horrifically damaged and untouched-since-the-storms property owned by Summer’s End and situated right in the middle of Coral Bay should tell you all you need to know about this operation.
These folks don’t care about local residents or the local economy. They want what they want and too bad for the long-term residents..and since pretty much ALL local residents object to this plan.. Summers End just sticks it to each and every one of them..by leaving a horrible mess right in the heart of Coral Bay.
Please..do not be swayed..this project has gotten a thumbs down repeatedly, and there is simply no way to argue that this would be good for Coral Bay and its residents.
Please, Sir….listen to your constituents..this plan must not be implemented.
Mimi McMillin Please NO!
Sarah Locke BAD idea all around. Just keep one place where there are no mega yachts!
Russ Ballou St. John is unlike almost any other place in the world, certainly in the Caribbean, in that it has this very special, very loyal following of individuals and families who return year after year for decades on end. My family, extended family, and many of our friends help to make up this following. We tread lightly while on island, and those of us who have children take the opportunity during our time there to educate them on how important conservation is, and how, with quite a bit of care and wise decision-making, the most beautiful places in the world can remain that way in perpetuity. Aside from being a natural paradise, St. John is the ultimate classroom – the best kind – one in which kids don’t even realize that they are learning. We visit you every year in July/August, and it’s summer school for them, though they think it’s just vacation.
I would implore you to also tread lightly, and frame any decisions you make through the prism of what makes St. John special – its history, its proud West Indian culture, and its natural, largely unspoiled beauty.
Anne Yaindl Goyer St. John’s infrastructure simply couldn’t support this. Add that to the strong sentiments from many residents, visitors, Army Corp of Engineers, etc. that believe this is a harmful and bad idea for Coral Bay, we stand adamantly against this proposal. Stop giving in to dollar signs and protect the natural beauty and underwater creatures that make St. John the special place it’s been.
Katie Milne I think everybody already knows the opinion of the community regarding this matter. It isn’t wanted, plain and simple. Money and greed should not win out here. To allow this project to go through, would be making friends with the devil. We have the opportunity to do the right thing and to set a positive example for future generations. Let’s not look back on this and say ‘we should have fought harder’.
Jack Hogencamp I see there are already over 500 comments here. I’m willing to bet that not a single one of them voices support for this. We have been coming to the island for over 25 years now and have watched as its infrastructure is increasingly strained by the type of greed that resulted in such monstrosities as Sirenusa and Grande Bay. Now you want to move it into the water? No. No. NO.
Normie Limbert Jack Hogencamp What about the old Maho Campgrounds? Look at that huge raping of the land! The government can not take care of what they already have let alone what they continue to allow!
Katie Milne I saw a lady named Sharon saying that ‘natives’ actually support the project. 🙄. Unbelievable.
Katie Milne I saw a lady named Sharon saying that ‘natives’ actually support the project. 🙄. Unbelievable.Like
Normie Limbert My husband and I just bought property in Coral Bay to live in for the rest of our lives for a reason. We have been coming to St John since the mid 60’s and my in-laws once owned 25 acres in Zootenvall. We have a very strong connection with this gem of an island and the people who love and protect her. Cruz Bay is nice but far too busy and impersonal for us let alone no place to park if you want to go out to eat or do anything else there. Coral Bay would so ruined in so many ways by putting in a marina. Please do not allow this to happen. It seems the only folks who want this are those with too much money who want more of the same. Please NO!
Noelle Windrush Nobody wants this, just NO.
Lee Ann Gale Good Morning ~ This couple is like reoccurring cancer cells. Check out their background, their multiple bankruptcies and get rich quick schemes. They continually change their website in hopes that opposing folks won’t find them and uneducated ones willbuy into their facade. What have they ever been successful at? What do they know about Marinas? Or boating?
My husband and I are 30 plus year, extended stay visitors to St John, who stay in Coral Bay. My husband is a boat Captain and we own a sailboat which we sail 4 months out of the year and have for a very long time! We know a lot about Marinas, boating, currents, winds, weather and how totally absurd this Marina being proposed for Coral Bay is. Never mind that it is unfavorable to many Government Agencies and Environmentalist. Yes, something very small on a fitting scale to provide, fuel, water, repairs, trash disposal and pump out to Coral Bay boaters would be terrific. That would show true concern about the best interest of the environment and the Coral Bay Community. Not some Mega Marina, let’s get money from investors, get rich quick scheme, self serving Marina idea!
Please do extensive research on the folks and their proposal and check out the Save Coral Bay website!! https://savecoralbay.com/
Lisa Swing Lee Ann Gale Bravo!
Mike N’ Anne Lavallee No!!!! It would ruin the beauty of the island!!!!!
Sharon Petersen I hope the right people are seeing and reading these comments.
Craig Barshinger My advice to current leaders: listen to the people and the experts. Scientists inform wise decisions, leaders implement them.
Do not accept pay offs. Everyone will figure out what happened.
Looking back in time to the Summers End Marina project, this was a boondoggle. Too big for the infrastructure of Coral Bay, and obviously too open to the sea. The developers would have gotten the permits, sold the project off to some unsuspecting mainland developer, and then the whole project would have piled up on the Coral Bay roadway at the first storm from the southeast.
Let’s make smart, sustainable decisions for Coral Bay, and in fact for the whole VI!
Larry Wilson Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff, past Senator Barshinger knows the score, he has been sitting where you are now. Please heed his warnings. Too many people come to the Virgin Islands with get rich schemes “to help” the islands, it’s people, and economy. In nearly every case, they diminish the values of the Virgin Islands.
Annmarie Beller NO, NO, NO!!!!
Billy Slaughter St.john is the last unspoiled virgin island,please leave it be.
Kristin Robinson No!!
Robert Wetherille Almost as dumb an idea as the golf course idea years ago
Kathy Jameson This is a big NO! The only reason my family goes to St. John is because of the lack of this kind of thing. Their is no need for it. Keep the island unspoiled and full of nature, not buildings.
Jenn Corb No. Is that simple enough feedback? No, no and no. There is nothing about this that benefits St. John, and as we’ve discovered over the past few years, thousands of reasons it is a bad idea. So…. NO.
Karla J. Allen No, Sen.DeGraff….look what Irmaria did to Coral Bay. A SMALL, 20-slip marina, with gas & pump-out station, MAYBE. But nothing more.
Beth Alexander Do you want it to be St Thomas or St John? We only have one bite from the Apple when it comes to preservation. Once you destroy land and waterways there is no going back. We love St John because it’s St John and off the cruise ship highway.
Karen Colgan McCready Mr DeGraff, if proper research was done, it would be known that this is NOT in the best interest for STJ, Coral Bay, or for the eco-system.
Kiđ Rołłie DO NOT do it 💯
Steve Andras Don’t do it – leave it alone
Karla J. Allen Sylvia B. Weaver Glad to see you’re still “on “ FB!!! Hope you’re doing well!🥰Like
Abby Ash Coral Bay should remain as it is!!
Mary Dutton Bryant No. Please leave Coral Bay the lovely place it is.
Christopher Wray DONT DO IT 😩
Paula Savel NO
Sheila Wikiel Dear Senator DeGraff – PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT approve this marina project in Coral Bay. It would create substantial environmental issues and damage to the fragile marine ecosystem in Coral Bay, as well as, have an impact on what makes Coral Bay a unique and inviting place to visit and live in as part of the USVI.
Beth Alexander Dear Senator: please read and remember these words from the government’s own marketing stagedy for St John, “Unspoiled Beauty.” Thank you for your service.
Josh Robinette Leave it as it is.
Rebecca Campbell Gibbel NO- the struggling mangroves and coral nursery is already tenuous and development would destroy that. Say no to commerce and yes to nature!
Marilee McGinnis Kick them while they’re down…that’s what it seems like now…the community made it clear it doesn’t want it.
Anthony Brewley Nope…they trying to make the Caribbean their personal playground…how often do a majority of islanders get to fully experience the island that they live on like those who just come for a visit?..next ting u kno they have big pocket money investors doing just that…investing to benefit them and their rich friends and family…cutting the locals out of ever again enjoying what generations have for millennia..
Cathy Beechler Did you ask them why they have left the Island Blues property such a mess when Irma/Maria was 18 months ago?? And it is a hazard for children. I don’t understand why the government hasn’t intervened and made them or the owner of the property clean this up.
Mikki Miller Please do everything you can to prevent this development. It will harm the environment and destroy all that makes Coral Bay the beautiful place it is.
Lee Maunder Senator: it is to your credit that you wish to treat Mr Barksdale and Ms Summer as fairly as you would anyone else on the previous island.
However, you state that they are continuing the permitting procedure – how can that be when they have not addressed even the most basic of the actions required of them by the ACoE?
I do believe that the amount of negative feedback from almost all on this topic gives you some idea of the strength of local feeling about this project.
Please address work to effect the necessary repairs and maintenance of the public spaces and roads, but otherwise preserve this bay, sir.
Charmaine Burin Leave it as it is.
Denise Coppage Smith I’ve only been coming to your beautiful island the last two years. I love the Coral Bay area as it is, didn’t get to see it pre hurricane. Why are you considering putting a Marina in this area?
Lee Maunder Denise, two sharp operators have been trying to do it for years. It won’t happen, but they rope in new investors and live off that money whilst doing nothing towards furthering the project apart from a little paperwork and a lot of talking. No environmental impact studies have been done, nor have they addressed other items as required by the Army Corps if Engineers.
Their shady dealings have now extended to the St John Culture and Heritage Group, where they have been soliciting donations for ‘after Irmaria repairs’. We have yet to see a blessed dime spent on Coral Bay or St John, (though they manage regular trips to Florida) and they have still not cleared their leased property, the old Island Blues building. 😡
Shelley Green Denise Coppage Smith 😿
Jessica Piercy Stephanie Merget Piercy NO NO NO. The island has been through enough. The community has been through enough, just let things be and rebuild NATURALLY.
Lucia Francis It was a pleasure to have you come to St. John and meet withnative St. Johnians whose families have lived here since the 1800s. My great grandfather was born ( around 1876). The proposed St. John Marina is a ray of hope that demonstrates that we St. Johnians can use our property wisely to bring economic opportunities for ourselves, our government and future generations. We are showing that our economy can be stronger if we grow from within. It is time to change the negative path of disenfranchisement of local St. Johnians; it is time for all to understand the significant role the town of Coral Bay played in the past and need to play now and in the future for its residents who wants Coral Bay to have a visble and sustainable economic future. This dream will be a reality for those ous who claim to love these idlands. We are changing the negative cousrse now and moving forward with positive development that will benefit not just the local St.Johnians , but all who truly love Coral Bay and the island of St. John. I am asking the 33rd Legislature to support this project. This is developing from whithin! The money circulates here , at home.
Jeanne Pullen Please do everything you can to prevent this development. It will harm the environment and destroy all that makes Coral Bay the beautiful place it is.
Patsy Love If you put in a marina in Coral Bay, I’ll never return. I’m sure many other recurring visitors to this special place will also turn away. You will permanently harm an environment that remains one of the very few places left in the U.S.A. that has not been turned into a money making scheme for the rich at the expense of the natural world.
Thomas Brewster Let’s see: marina,pump out facilities,water treatment plant,fuel dock,fuel storage,pilings (lots of these), months of pile driving,transportation of materials from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay over already distressed roadways, and a myriad other things. All for a marina ON A LEE SHORE, with open ocean almost all the way to the continent of South America? Really? Me thinks that’s daft.
Jeromy Barry Just a regular house negroe being a sellout. Just basically gentrifying us. Have fun being land Rich and land poor. Your the real problem. You say you fully aware but when you see that check your opinion change one time . DON’T BE A SELLOUT!!
Lucia Francis Are we Love City, when som much harted is shown by our “local visiting residents “? Upu have no scientific grounds, no economic facts to ask our Senators to vote against the project! This our prject we have a right to seek the management group of our choice. When groups are personally attacking individuals. I must ask what is it you fear? Do you really think what has been done to Coral Harbor , a historical hsrbor environtmentall snd economically sound? I know we all know we need to change course now, starting with the St. John Marina.
Abigail Stjohn A marina without a customs check in dock and a pump out facility is just a scam. The best place for a marina on St. John is the old sea plane ramp area in Cruz bay, close to the existing customs dock, marine gas station, and existing hotels and restaurants.
Lucia Francis Let’s sll come aboard and build the St. John Marina! Let’s build a brighter economic and cultural heritage project for St. John! Get on board!
Lee Maunder Lucia, the only people to make money from it will be Summers End and their investors and, as you may have read above, so many of our visitors who return year after year and spend their money here will not return.
Are you willing to live next to the bay for two years while there is pile driving and building going on, with more and more trucks and heavy machinery using fragile Centerline Road?
And be there for the cleanup when the next bad cat 2 upwards hurricane washes it all up on the road??
Not feeling your love for Love City, I’m afraid…..
Lisa Swing Lucia Francis as a resident why would you want this? How would ruining the sea grass beds ( per army corps) by pile driving and bringing in yachts create a cultural heritage? If anything it will permanently alter the fundamental qualities found in your little paradise.
Susan Costanzo Maffeo Please do not build this marina. It isn’t needed and Coral Bay needs to remain untouched!!
Seala Matthias With all due respect to anybody who supports this project, I strongly oppose it, especially as a resident of coral bay. I feel that it will negatively impact the environment by disturbing turtle, fish, and bird habitats to name a few. It will also turn the quiet side of the island to not be so quiet anymore. Big trucks will be passing by almost regularly and construction sounds will be heard all around coral bay especially since it is bowl-like, the sound will deflect off each cliff side. The amount of garbage that will accumulate will negatively impact the environment and people especially since regular garbage disposal has been an issue in the past. (Not bashing the Penn boys tho cuz it wasnt their fault💛) I understand that it may bring economic benefits but this project will take many years to even get started especially since our small island lacks many resources and we always on “island time”. In the meantime this will disrupt the daily lives of the residents especially since many in the coral Bay Area do short term rentals! Tourists don’t want to come to an island to be overlooking an ugly worksite that disrupts the beautiful island landscape and “peace and quiet” side of STJ. The protection of ball field is also a reason why this should not be built. The school had already been shut down☹️and so it gives more of an incentive for this marina to be built bcuz it can be torn down but that school can be used for after school programs or other purposes. The ballfield has been a big part of my past where I have ridden bikes, played softball, and attended events like the 8 tuff miles. That shouldn’t be taken away from the children because it is the one place where the coral bay kids could go and chill. With these reasons in mind I implore you to consider the fact that this is going to do more harm then good, and manyyy of the residents will not be happy. Sorry this is so long my voice is going to be heard one way or another🤷🏾♀️
Mary Ann Luckman Brueckner We love Coral Bay. I’m sitting on the deck of our lovely rental cottage looking at an unfamiliar view. Mother Nature devastated Coral Bay. Please do not allow humans to continue to go do by building St John Marina.
Jason Cawthron I just want to say that I love that you are reaching out to the community for their opinion on this matter.
Personally I don’t like the project. Coral Bay needs a marina but first real infrastructure that doesn’t detract but only adds to the charm.
Ryan West Serious infrastructure improvements need to be made to Coral Bay in order for the community to handle any influx of visitors, resulting from any size of development. The roads need improving. Waste management needs more resources, manpower, and fixed assets to facilitate waste removal. If there is a serious medical emergency, the response time from EMS is inadequate because of manpower, assets, and distance; they need the support of a second medical facility on that side of the island. We don’t have enough LTE coverage in that area of the island to triangulate an E-911 signal. What about fair, affordable housing for those who would be employed by such a development so that the added jobs can stay here? There are some serious, longstanding issues that need to be addressed in order to support any sort of further economic development in Coral Bay. Is the government willing to make these improvements before starting such a project? If the answer is no, I personally can’t agree with any proposal that has been made public at this point. The Coral Bay community deserves both infrastructural stability and economic stability; one cannot reasonably exist without the other.
Amy Crenshaw Nope-just nope…..for all the above reasons. Leave Coral Bay as it is!
Mark Phillips Didn’t the Coast Guard already reject this proposal? I thought this project was dead. Who ARE these people?
Shelley Green NO. No raping, no pillaging, no greed. What a travesty. We are all sick and feel as if our souls are crushed.
Larry Nix Why do you want St. John do look like the marinas of St. Thomas? Just across the channel they can put in their mega yachts. True the dollars would stay there from tourism however how many tourism dollars would you lose from the people that have come there for years. I do believe the people that have come for years and years have recommended it and that is why others have come. I don’t see that this is needed.
Sherry Keen Please no…just, no.
Leon Toebben Absolutely no marina!
Patti McCanless Rappleyea NO!!
Rich Nabring This is a really bad idea. Not a fan. Probably would stop visiting St John and head to other islands outside the USVI
Chenijah Dawson NO LEAVE CORAL BAY AS IS Makeda DawsonGenesis Dawson
Terri Miller Good God. NO!!
Lily Killiam NO NO NO NO!
Paul Ferry NO
Ryan West Kellie Meyer, April Knight
Kellie Meyer Ryan West ohhh I saw this! Def worth a follow. Thank you Ry!Like
Ryan West Any time, Kellie! I had a feeling you’d already have your eye on it 🙂
Kellie Meyer Ryan West 👀 you know me 🙋🏼♀️Like
April Knight Thanks Ryan!Like
Patricia Caldwell You will ruin what many consider a disappearing concept…a sense of quiet. Why is this even being suggested? I have been visiting for 20+ years, because of the fact that the island is not overdeveloped. Tourism will suffer, I am sure.
Barbara Dickerson Patricia Caldwell it will attract more tourists!Like
Kathie Anderson Patricia Caldwell it will mark the beginning of over development of pristine areas of St John. First, a few boats, next infrastructure aka roads will be impacted and last they will take overall you loved about Coral Bay.Like
Patricia Caldwell Kathie Anderson Exactly…and it’s not like the infrastructure can handle a huge influx of people. Not to mention environmentally sensitive areas.Like
John McQuillan I’m just an annual tourist. But my opinion is NOOOOO! An ecological disaster wrapped in a social nightmare.
Greta Besch Moen https://savecoralbay.com/five-federal-agencies/…
Five Federal Agencies – No, No, No, No, No
Kari Fields No!!!
Rebecca Dietrich This disgusts me… these 2 looking over Coral Bay like they own the place. I don’t live there, but visit a couple times per year and was just there last week. That’s a hard NO on the summers end marina, Mr Degraff. I hope the overwhelming negative response is convincing.
Amanda Ray NO
Noel Donohue Please don’t spoil this beautiful piece of the planet. There are so few left.
Carolyn Ruffer 40 years coming to STJ. No!!!
John Lory Hell NO
Scott Labis 18 years coming here. It is simply money driven. When is enough enough?
Shelley Campbell Greenwald A huge NO!
Fernando Aubain I think it is a great idea, it might have it’s up and down because of it’s natural beauty. But we have to think of what the people of Coral Bay just went through with the 2 storms. Nothing is going to be destroyed, but it will bring the people of Coral Bay a sense of hope with a new development , that hopefully will create jobs close to home.We have to give it a chance and see what will be the outcome
Autumn Peters No!
Al Cooke No marina can ever improve upon the picture accompanying this post.
Michelle Davies Coral bay was my childhood home and its austerity is what makes it special. Mega yachts have no place in coral bay, in the natural or social environment. They would ruin the very beauty they’d be coming to enjoy, pushing out the locals who call it home and make it what it is.
Elizabeth Boggier What makes St John special? It’s unspoiled beauty take note of what has happened to St Thomas and IS happening to St Croix. Remember who they are -> investors. Not environmentalists. Please don’t destroy the natural beauty of this unique island!
Amicitia Maloon-Gibson Elizabeth Boggier Thank you and exactly my thoughts.👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾Like
Ilona Kistemaker I thought the COE nixed this project? Are they trying to get around things now?
John Rutherford A marine for mega yachts ?…..No way !
A dock for a ferry ? That would be progress
Shadeia MzDetermined Sheridan Make improvements that locals need. Like fixing potholes, cleaning up the beaches that got destroyed, getting a better docking system for ferry’s. The island doesn’t need another blessed marina!! Leave STJ alone!!
Valo Mills Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff I hope you are reading these comments!
Amicitia Maloon-Gibson Where is your team? Today “I”. I love St John…the economic / environmental impact is tremendous on the local businesses and property taxes. Suggestion to you my classmate and your Team of advisors. Look at how the Bahamian Government deals with land sales and developments. Revenue and growth income for VI. Please don’t do it!