Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch confirmed yesterday that the Government is looking to purchase Sandys 360.

However, the Minister of Public Works told the House of Assembly that the terms of the agreement had not been finalised.

He said: “We are not going to pay more than $1 million.”

He added that a survey of the property would be conducted to determine how much work was needed.

Sandys 360 opened as a private centre in 2009 at an estimated cost of $10 million, but it closed in 2013.

Colonel Burch also announced that two private companies had approached the Government about the Allen Hurst Building, the former Hamilton Police Station.

He said those discussions “have not been advanced as of yet”, but the Ministry would entertain the proposals.

He also said applications had been submitted to potentially bring Teucer House on Cedar Avenue back into use.

Detailing the budget for the Ministry of Public Works, Colonel Burch said work in the House of Assembly would continue, including interior renovations and the instillation of new windows.

He said $3 million had been allocated to work on the island’s public schools, including painting and roof repairs, while $2 million would be used to relocate the parks department headquarters.

Colonel Burch said a feasibility study on refurbishment of the Swing Bridge and Long Bridge had been completed, with plans for both bridges expected before the end of the year.

He later added that $250,000 had been allotted to carry out further remediation work on the Causeway, with a complete assessment expected this year.

Mr Burch also revealed that the Land Title Registration Office had scanned more than 11,600 paper deeds dating from 2000 to 2017.

But he added that the electronic register for land title information was unlikely to be up and running by April 1 “in order to ensure that we get it right rather than meet an unrealistic deadline”.

Colonel Burch told the House a lack of regular maintenance had caused some corrosion on all of the Government-owned communications towers. Equipment for cleaning the towers was also in a state of disrepair, but he said work would be carried out this year.

Colonel Burch also reiterated that twice-a-week trash collection would resume on April 27, with staff using the time to do maintenance and repairs on the fleet of trash trucks.

New trash trucks are not expected on the road before April 27, but he said three additional trucks would be ordered by the end of the year.

During the ensuing debate, several OBA MPs raised questions about staffing figures.

However, Colonel Burch said the changes listed throughout the Budget compared the figures for the coming year with the “revised” estimates of 2017-18.

The decision had caused confusion among the MPs because, in past years, the Budget book used what was originally budgeted in the previous year.

He said: “As far as I’m concerned, the figures in the book are wrong.

“If you look at last year’s figures, you cannot compare the revised figures to the new Budget. The year hasn’t ended. It’s an estimate.

“If you look at last year’s book — and every book before — the figures are compared with the original approved amounts by the legislature and that’s what I’ve done.

“Otherwise, if you take it to its natural conclusion in comparing it with the revised, I should be saying that my budget has increased over last year and it hasn’t — it has, in fact, decreased.”

On staffing levels, he said there were 581 employees within the ministry, but funding was budgeted for 700 last year.

He added: “What we are saying is we’re going to budget and fund for 707 this year, but I can tell you that we are going to get nowhere near that number, deliberately.”