WAPA's $3 Million Gutterball Deal
Over the past year, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) has leased an abandoned bowling alley, a tiny cottage and the surrounding parking lot for a staggering $500,000.04 per year. For WAPA ratepayers keeping track of the news, this is somewhat common knowledge.
However, ratepayers may not have heard that a longtime WAPA contractor and his wife are the landlords of the property on the receiving end of this sweet, multi-year deal.
WAPA has leased the dilapidated bowling alley, a small cottage and an unkempt parking lot at the bottom of Donkey Hill on St. Thomas for a staggering $41,666 per month, or $500,000 annually. A three-year lease that began in September 2018 has an option for an additional three years, potentially leaving ratepayers on the hook for $3 million if the lease is fully exercised.
For more than 20 years, the VI Christian Ministries Inc. has been a well-known and respected part of the St. Thomas religious community. Church President and Pastor Adele Penn-Brown has been a fixture on local Sunday morning radio.
Read more: https://viconsortium.com/vi-top_stories/virgin-islands-wapas-3-million-gutterball-deal-