ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands government has ignored orders from the Historic Preservation Committee in the St. Thomas/St. John District to remove two unauthorized items — the colorful “I Love STT” metal sculpture from Vendors Plaza and the oversized neon green Adirondack photo-op chair from Cruz Bay Beach on St. John.
Despite formal denials to retroactively approve the placement of both items in the historic districts after they were erected without authorization, they remain standing years after they were ordered to be removed.
While the “I Love STT” sign has been in place at Vendors Plaza for about two and a half years since it was unveiled on August 13, 2023, the oversized chair has been sitting in the sand on Cruz Bay Beach for about three and a half years since June 2022.
Kurt Marsh Jr., a member of the St. Thomas/St. John Historic Preservation Committee who chairs the Virgin Islands Historic Preservation Commission, said the Department of Property and Procurement erected the “I Love STT” sign without any consultation.
The unauthorized installation triggered an emergency response from the St. Thomas/St. John Historic Preservation Committee, which has jurisdiction over signage and alterations within the historic district.
“We did call Property and Procurement to the next monthly meeting to discuss it,” Marsh said.
Deputy Property and Procurement Commissioner Vincent Richards sought retroactive approval from the committee to keep the sign in place. The committee denied his request.
“We took a vote, and the vote was that it would be denied and that it would need to move,” Marsh said.
That directive, however, has not been followed despite conversations with officials from P&P and Government House about relocating the sign along the Veterans Drive waterfront promenade that has public park spaces and a picturesque backdrop, Marsh said.
“We didn’t just say, ‘you need to move it,’” Marsh said. “We also provided a solution that’s in the same area, still along a tourist visitor route and close by, but they just haven't complied.”
When WTJX contacted the office of Property and Procurement Commissioner Lisa Alejandro to ask when the sign would be relocated, her secretary relayed a message on behalf of the commissioner.
“We are working on moving the sign to a better location,” she said.
While P&P lacks urgency to relocate the sign, the governor was never satisfied with the committee’s order.
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. issued a statement on August 28, 2023 expressing “grave disappointment” with the Historic Preservation Committee’s vote to remove the “I Love STT” sign, suggesting some members use the committee as a vehicle to hinder efforts and initiatives to revitalize the territory’s towns.
“The Bryan-Roach administration continues to push investments and champion initiatives aimed at boosting commerce, affordable housing and tourism to our historic towns,” Bryan said in a statement. “And it is disheartening to see a small handful of individuals continue to stand in the way of that progress by using their personal opinions as a cudgel to beat down the improvement efforts supported by the masses of Virgin Islands residents who want to see improvements made in our towns and historic districts.”
Marsh said the government’s refusal to follow the order reflects a broader pattern of disregarding the commission’s legal authority.
“HPC is not a group of history enthusiasts,” he said. “We are governor-selected, Legislature-appointed regulators of both local historic preservation statute as well as federal so the work that we do is not a club of people who just are interested in history. We actually have a pretty significant mandate.”
Marsh said it is a great shame that Bryan and his administration have gone against the responsibilities of the Historic Preservation Committee on more than one occasion, noting that the oversized neon green Adirondack photo-op chair remains on Cruz Bay Beach after the committee denied a retroactive application to allow it.
“They said it was going to be temporary and just up for St. John carnival, and then it was coming down, and years later it’s still there,” he said.
The oversized chair, constructed by the Department of Public Works, features the Department of Tourism’s mocko jumbie logo on it, a cut out in the shape of the island of St. John with the letters “STJ,” a “visitusvi” hashtag, and the words “St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.”
Ian Turnbull, director of the Division of Festivals within the Department of Tourism, confirmed he and St. John Administrator Shikima Jones-Sprauve submitted a joint application to the Historic Preservation Committee for retroactive approval of the photo-op chair after it was constructed. He declined further comment before speaking with the department’s public relations team. Subsequent calls to the department for comment were directed to Assistant Commissioner Alani Henneman-Todman, who did not respond to requests for comment.
Jones-Sprauve said the government has not removed the oversized chair from the beach because it is outside of the historic district regulated by the committee.
“It’s not in their district zone,” she said. “Their district zone starts from the stone wall of the taxi stand.”
Despite Jones-Sprauve’s position that the photo-op chair is not in a historic district, the committee’s order to remove it remains in place. The committee, however, does not have any authority to require that the administration follows its order.
“The most we could do is give an approval or denial and recommendations, but we don’t have an enforcement arm of our own,” Marsh said.
If the executive branch does not want to follow the laws relative to the regulatory responsibility of the Historic Preservation Committee, Marsh suggested that proper legislation could be proposed to amend them.
“We agree that the laws need to be amended,” he said. “If you have a problem with the laws and the way they are, then change them.”
