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A dialogue of the deaf. For much of the territorial council meeting held on Thursday, August 27, the exchanges between elected officials from the Saint-Barth d’Abord group and President Xavier Lédée took on the air of a deadlocked debate. This was particularly evident during the discussions that followed the presentation of the third agenda item. This item concerned the vote on an amendment to the public service delegation contract for the modernization and operation of the Public waste management facility, entrusted to Ouanalao Environnement. This included relocating the waste collection area for residential customers to a plot of land in Saint-Jean. The goal was to make the vacated portion of the Paprec site in Public available to EDF while reconstruction work on the power plant was underway.
3.8 million for a temporary solution
The new collection site for residential customers will therefore be built in Saint-Jean, on the area where sargassum collected from the beaches is currently stored. This will be a temporary structure (“Seven, eight, nine years,” said President Lédée), with an estimated cost of over 3.8 million euros. In Public, the former Paprec residential waste collection area will be used to house the EDF power plant’s temporary generators.
“There is no perfect solution, nor is there a flood of proposals on the table,” President Lédée emphasized. There was also the possibility of a site in Public, but it had a somewhat steep slope and was close to homes, which would bring the waste collection center even closer to residents. ” Francius Matignon questioned the cost of the operation, which he considers “high.” He also raised the issue of making an 800-square-meter plot in Anse des Cayes available to EDF. Xavier Lédée confirms: “This area will be used for the workshop and the EDF reception area while construction is underway.” Regarding the cost, the president explains: “We need to build a concrete slab, a ramp, a sunshade, and a sturdy structure to withstand hurricane risks.”
“No Ideal Location”
Alexandra Questel, leader of the Saint-Barth d’Abord group, then launches into a lengthy statement. She addresses the constraints related to the island’s limited space, which is “not expandable,” and expresses her confusion regarding the proposal for a so-called “temporary” structure requiring an investment of nearly four million euros, given that it is “likely to remain in place for a decade.” The elected official criticized what she considered to be a lack of long-term vision.
Xavier Lédée replied: “I see that there aren’t many proposals. Discussions are still ongoing, as the exact location still needs to be finalized. There are practical realities. At what point was it ever said that Saline would be an area with crushers? There is no ideal location. There are homes in Saint-Jean just as there are in Public. There will inevitably be nuisances.” The president emphasizes that the waste collection area for residential customers “is not an industrial facility.”
Maxime Desouches of the Action-Équilibre group also questions the notion of a “temporary” structure and asks, “If it’s temporary, do we need to spend so much?” Francius Matignon then returns to the fray, once again raising a question about the temporary nature of the future structure. President Lédée then loses his patience. Annoyed, he remarks sarcastically: “It’s temporary! I don’t know how else to put it. What could be clearer?”
In the end, the only elected official who delves a little deeper into the heart of the discussion is Rudi Laplace. The elected official pointed out that Saint-Barthélemy “must move toward an energy mix” and added: “We need other forms of energy production and must prepare for the transition.”
The resolution is adopted by a narrow majority, with eight votes “for,” seven “against,” and four abstentions. The voting patterns reveal a strange fragmentation among the three groups of local elected officials.
Adoption of the Nine Resolutions
The nine resolutions on the agenda were adopted during the session. These included the Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy’s accession to the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the renaming of certain local roads in several neighborhoods on the island, the amendment to the public service delegation contract for drinking water distribution with SAUR, the agreement to make the roof of the Public Ecopôle composting center available for the installation of a photovoltaic power plant, the formalization of a land swap in Anse des Cayes, the signing of a lease agreement for the creation of a specialized care facility in Lorient, and three amendments related to human resources management.
