Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:04 AM
Apr 25, 2016 News
Ivan Barton, a re-migrant and Linden entrepreneur is adamant that he will take legal action against the Linden Mayor and Town Council should they pursue a course of action to have his sanitary facility located on the Northern side of the Mackenzie Market, demolished.
According to Barton, the building of the structure, which is seventy percent complete, was only undertaken after approval was given by the former Council. Its estimated cost is some $6M.
Barton said that he had observed all protocols as it relates to the building, including environmental concerns, and as such will not just stand idly by and allow the structure to be torn down.
“This is a personal attack, this is not about the facility, I am guilty by association. And if the council demolish this, they are going to pay me back every cent that I have expended, as I have already spoken with my lawyer.”
Barton said that he had applied for permission to build the sanitary facility since last year October, but was only given the green light earlier this year.
He said that he subsequently began the process of removing the dumpsite and later began erecting the structure. He pointed out that throughout the process he was being guided by former Chairman of the Works Committee of the Linden Town Council, Eric Harry.
According to Barton, after the new Council was sworn in, he was invited by the new Mayor Carywn Holland for a meeting with regards to the facility.
That meeting however did not materialize, as well as two other meetings that he was invited to.
Barton said that while the first two meetings did not take place because the Mayor was otherwise engaged, he did not attend the last one, because he was only called fifteen minutes prior to the proposed time.
He indicated that he was recently sent a letter from the Town Council ordering him to cease all works on the facility. He said he however refused, as he had the permission to build. Barton said that he would not acknowledge any Cease Order, unless it was a court order.
Barton said he was subsequently called by the Mayor last Thursday, where in front of a full Council, he was ordered to stop.
But the work on the facility continued on Friday and over the weekend, despite a letter from the municipality ordering him to dismantle the structure.
“There is no way I’m going to dismantle this structure- hell no!” Barton declared.
I would not plug $6M into a project without the necessary approval; I’m not a madman, so I’m not going to pull it down and if they do, they are going to pay. I am going to take legal action against them because this is a personal attack. There are buildings that are in violation of the municipality’s building codes all over the place, so they have to take action against those people too!”
Joseph London, another resident pointed out, “when this place was a garbage dump, nothing was being heard from the Council, nobody was saying anything. Now the dump has been cleared and a modern sanitary facility is being erected, and people are having a problem- why? I think this is a political thing, and certain people just don’t want to see progress in this neighbourhood. This is going to be one of the most modern facility in this country- so why are people complaining?”
“This is a good thing to happen with our upcoming Town Week and Jubilee celebrations. We need public facilities like these, so that persons wouldn’t be forced to expose themselves in public. I think this is a very vindictive move by people that don’t want to see progress in this neighbourhood,” London added.
Gregory Parkinson posited, “I’m surprised and disappointed that the Town Council would see this as an encumbrance or a health risk. This is something that can lift the standard of this community. A lot of activities happen here in the nights so we need this facility. It would cater for people twenty four hours. The facility at the back of the market, people are afraid to go there in the nights, because its desolate, persons could be mugged or women raped. They complain that the facility is at the front of the market, but go to the airport and see where the toilets are, they are in the front of the airport and nobody complains about smells or anything.”
Charles Sampson, a Councilor with the former Town Council, said that the structure is about seventy percent complete and that even if there might be a few infringements, “there are infringements all over the place. If they are saying that the building is too close to the transformer, all of these buildings, about ten of them, are close to the transformer, and anyhow that could be fixed; as a matter of fact, LECI has indicated that adjustments can be made.”
“I cannot understand how the Municipality wouldn’t want a facility like this here. If they have environmental concerns, there is a filtration system, so whatever would come out of the septic tanks would be biologically pure, so environmentally they can’t tell the man anything. The EPA can’t tell him anything, the man following all the rules,” the former Councilor pointed out.
“This facility is necessary. If we are about to celebrate fifty years of independence, we need more than this facility and this man has plans to build a similar one by the Wismar Market. We have Members of Parliament who come here, so we need a decent and modern facility like this!” he added.
In an earlier interview, Town Clerk Jonella Bowen had indicated that “ways” of dealing with the issue in an amicable manner were being looked at by the Council.
Server Monday: sanitary
Caption: The almost complete sanitary facility at the Mackenzie Market
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
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