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The members of the territorial council will meet this Thursday, November 12, at 5:00 p.m. There is only one item on the agenda: a resolution concerning land matters. It involves approving and authorizing the president to sign an agreement for the use of public property regarding the operation of the bar-restaurant at the Saint-Barth airport, formerly known as “L’Envol.” Ten applications were reviewed on October 21 by an “evaluation panel” composed of elected officials Alexandra Questel and Olivier Gréaux, the airport director, and the head of the Collectivité’s land and public property department. The proposal submitted by Le Chassezac, the company behind the L’Horizon project, was ranked first. The proposals from SAS O’Corner (“Le 646 by l’Isola”) and Bonito (“Bartfly”), although very compelling, were deemed less “comprehensive.”
Three Unanswered Questions
In addition, three questions were posed by Maxime Desouches (Action-Équilibre Group) to the council president during the last meeting on Thursday, October 29. Xavier Lédée noted at the time that the legal deadline for submitting miscellaneous questions had not been met. The chairman-candidate therefore did not provide an answer. He will undoubtedly do so during this Thursday’s session.
The first question concerns President Lédée’s decision to no longer publish the Territorial Collectivity’s public procurement notices in the pages of the Journal de Saint-Barth. In fact, for over a year, the Territorial Collectivity has been funding the publication of these so-called “legal notices” on the website of a weekly newspaper in Saint Martin. “Five emails on this subject have been sent to the Territorial Council by elected officials and business leaders,” stated Maxime Desouches. To date, no explanation has been provided. It is incomprehensible that a territorial collectivity would entrust the publication of its public procurement notices to a media outlet outside the island (…) The JSB was able to publish legal notices thanks to Amendment No. 72, championed by Senator Michel Magras and adopted on March 24, 2009. This amendment took into account the unique characteristics of our island. The JSB is the island’s only free local newspaper. It includes legal notices in its print edition, which entails a cost. Seventeen years later, the president has discontinued its use for the Collectivité’s notices, without providing any justification or explanation to elected officials. ” He went on to ask: “What motivated the decision to stop using the Journal de Saint-Barth? What administrative, legal, or economic constraints were cited?”
On this same subject, the president of the Multiprofessional Economic Chamber, Jérémy Laplace, also sent a letter to Xavier Lédée in mid-October seeking an explanation for this choice of publication and use of public funds. In his letter, the president of the CEM notes “the concerns among local economic stakeholders” regarding this change in media, which expands local public procurement to include companies in Saint Martin—and even beyond.
For example, during the Territorial Council meeting on October 29, elected officials approved a settlement agreement with SARL Multi Services Caraïbes, a subsidiary of the Martinique-based Fontaine Group located in Saint Martin and, now, in Saint Barthélemy. Like the territorial council member who spoke before him, the president of the CEM asked to know the administrative, legal, or economic reasons that led the Collectivité to prioritize publications in a Saint-Martin newspaper.
Register of Vehicle Rental Companies and Pilot Program Report on the Shuttle Service
In addition, on October 29, Maxime Desouches posed two further questions to President Lédée. One concerns a request for access to the registry of motor vehicle rental companies, as provided for in Book 9 of the transportation regulations. “These regulations have been in effect for two years, and jurisdiction has been entrusted to the Collectivity since 2015. To date, I have received no response, and the registry does not appear on the Collectivity’s website,” the elected official stated before asking: “Has the registry required by Book 9 been established, and where can it be publicly accessed? How many companies are listed in it, and how does the Collectivity verify that operators meet the required conditions? What enforcement and penalty measures are in place against rental companies operating without authorization? What information does the Collectivité plan to provide to the CTTSB and industry professionals before the start of the season?”
The last question concerns the shuttle service, the Ti’Bus SBH. “At the last Territorial Council meeting, we approved 1.2 million euros for a three-month trial of the shuttle service—that’s 400,000 euros per month and more than 13,000 euros per day,” said Maxime Desouches, who is requesting access to the “pilot program report” mentioned during the Territorial Council meeting on September 24. While he insists he “does not dispute the shuttle’s usefulness,” the elected official wants to know the actual costs per passenger.
