Mayor Romero provided the following information in a recent interview:

Ferry Problems Mayor Romero has recently been working to get a new passenger ferry and a new cargo ferry for Culebra to improve the service.
As most residents know, each year the passenger ferries are sent to San Juan for inspection leaving residents the inconvenience of having to use older, smaller and less comfortable ferries. The cost for the Ports Authority to rent these temporary ferries is very expensive. To add to the problem, on July 1 — one of the busiest times of the year for tourism from the Big Island — the Culebra II will go to San Juan for inspection, further limiting passenger services.

Recently Mayor Romero traveled to Florida to inspect a 300-passenger ferry that is for sale. He said the ferry is only four years old, in excellent condition, and travels at speeds up to 38 knots — about twice as fast as the present boats. The mayor said, “The expense for the Ports Authority to rent a temporary ferry is about $5,000 per day and if you multiply that times six months, that’s almost one million dollars. This ferry in Florida only costs two million and is available today. We’re waiting to hear from the Ports Authority and the Governor’s office to see if the purchase will be approved.” The mayor hopes that these key people see this as a good solution to an on-going problem.

In addition, there are also many problems with the cargo ferry services. Smaller ferries that can only hold a fraction of the cargo and vehicles are substituted for inoperable larger ferries. For two weeks in June, several of the construction jobs were shut down since they couldn’t get enough material to the island. A temporary solution was to add two additional ferry routes — one on Monday and another on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. — but the long term solution is to acquire new ferries. Recently, contracts were signed to begin the construction of a new $7 million cargo ferry, similar to the Cayo Norte, but the mayor did not have any information from the Ports Authority on a schedule or delivery date.

The mayor added, “I believe that we don’t just need new ferries but we need a new system. I have been working hard to have the ferry system taken away from the Ports Authority and to make it a separate entity. The Ports Authority is responsible for too many other things such as all the airports and maritime ports around the island. They just don’t have the time or resources to commit to the changes needed for Culebra.” The mayor admitted that he hasn’t had much support for this idea.

Labor Department funds used to start youth program As reported the May 2003 issue of The Culebra Calendar, a new organization has recently been created for young people between the ages of 7 and 18 to give them a better awareness and educate them on how to preserve Culebra’s natural resources. The Culebra Conservation and Development Authority (ACDEC — from the Spanish acronym), created the program because of the growing civic concern for the protection and preservation of the island’s natural resources.

To get the program underway, money will be used from a summer job program sponsored by Puerto Rico Labor Department that provides summer jobs for 27 youths. The mayor and the program directors hope that this incentive will help to attract young people to the program and to continue it through the rest of the year.

The mayor commented that they have had several challenges getting this program started. Their main problem is the lack of parental participation. The director of the program, Alba Romero, is working to recruit essential volunteer leaders. If you would like to help or enroll your child, please call Ms. Romero at 787-742-0368 or ACDEC at 787-742-3880.

Lifeguards for Flamenco. The municipality recently sent eight residents, four of which are Municipal police officers, to Luquillo to participate in a lifeguard training program. The municipality recently built a lifeguard stand at Flamenco Beach in order to make this popular spot a safer place for swimmers. The new lifeguards will begin work this summer.

Waterfront improvements continue Work is underway to improve the waterfront and plaza area. The new area will have granite pavement, new benches, lamps, a ticket office and stairs down to the beach. It will join the old plaza to create one large area. In addition, some unique tree-like artwork will be added and it will provide waiting passengers with shade. Soon additional work will begin to construct a new ferry terminal.

During the process of installing the new granite pavement, the cargo ferry pier will be closed for approximately two months to allow the materials to set properly. Watch for more information on the cargo ferry being redirected into the bay at the DNER pier.

“Main” Street Expansion As reported in the April 2003 issue of The Culebra Calendar, Pedro Márquez Street will be widened. Work to expand this main street in town, will begin in July and last about nine months. The street will be widened by five feet and electric and phone lines along with new sewage pipes will be buried. Together with the waterfront improvements, the town area will be in disarray for some time due to the construction work. However, the mayor has several plans to help alleviate the congestion.

One of his ideas is to establish remote parking area and transport people to town in vans. The mayor has also contacted the island’s only bank, Banco Popular, to bring in a temporary “mobile bank” that could be located away from town. He is also working with officials from the U.S. Post office to move the building out of town but he said this change could take much longer than the construction. The mayor commented, “The community has to work together while construction is underway.”

And the municipality added: If there are two vehicles at home, and two people are coming into town in the morning, take just one car. If you don't live far from town, then walk. If you have bike or motorbike, use it. If you can offer somebody a ride, do it. Also, think of ways that might help make this process more bearable and share your ideas with all of us.

A new bridge? Because of the large number of concerns that surfaced from a meeting in March 2003 held by the Puerto Rico Roads and Transportation Authority (ACT from the Spanish acronym) on a proposed new bridge at the waterfront (see The Culebra Calendar, April 2003), ACT is planning a second town meeting to discuss new alternatives. One option might be to have a floating bridge and another a higher bridge, to give larger boats better clearance.
The mayor commented, “I believe that most people believe this is a good project but we need community support. If we build a bridge, we will alleviate a lot of congestion in town and we will also have the opportunity to create a large and badly needed parking area on the other side of the channel. But, I want to do what the majority of the people want to do. If they don’t want the bridge, then we won’t have it.”

Municipal policy for parties at Flamenco Beach There has been an increase in corporate sponsored parties and concerts at Flamenco Beach in the last few years. This year’s Memorial Day weekend concert and beach party sponsored by Finlandia cause a lot of concern among residents. We asked the mayor what his administration’s policy was for allowing these events. He said that event sponsors must have his approval and they must provide for security during the event and garbage collection and removal afterwards.

Mayor Romero said, “Since the usual crowds that come each year during Easter week could not come due to the heavy rains, merchants on the island were looking for ways to help compensate their loss of income. All the business people that I spoke with were very pleased with the added income that the Memorial Day event brought to Culebra.”

We also asked about a recent promotion for “Culebra Spring Break 2004” seen on the young-adult satellite television channel MTV, the mayor said, “I haven’t heard about that and have not given my permission for it to happen.”