But missing lamp causes concern

It cost the taxpayer $2.5 million to secure land needed for the new senior secondary school at Berkeley, it was revealed in Parliament on Friday.

But Parliamentarians were more concerned about an item of far greater intrinsic value.

While there was some bickering over why it took more than four years to conclude the deal, it was approved by legislators from both sides of the House who then issued an appeal for the recovery of a lamp that has mysteriously disappeared from The Haven.

Negotiations with The Haven Trust, which operated a home for young single mothers on Berkeley Road, started in 1997 under the previous United Bermuda Party (UBP) Government and were finally concluded by the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) administration.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott described the deal as a complex one that had been concluded to mutual benefit.

He read excerpts of correspondence between the former Government and the Trust to show that the Trust strongly resisted the idea of giving up their property.

“There was a grave reluctance on the part of the trustees to release this property to the Government even though it was a worthwhile initiative,” Mr. Scott said.

In the end the Trust agreed to be transferred to Bayview on Happy Valley Road with some strict conditions, one of which was that they be free of their financial obligations to the three quarters of an acre Berkeley Road site.

Bayview, owned by the Bermuda Housing Corporation, was worth $2.1 million, he informed the House, and had to be renovated. Government agreed to pay off another $17,000 towards mortgage interest that had accumulated for the Berkeley Road site and the mortgage itself became part of the expenses of the new senior secondary school.

The trust also had an income generating restaurant worth $80,000 on that site that had to be paid for as well, the Minister explained.

The UBP approved the property transfer but not before criticising the Government for taking four years to conclude the deal, arguing that the bulk of the work had already been done under their watch.

Mr. Scott, said Shadow Transport Minister Erwin Adderley, should have added to his statement an apology to the Trust because they had been embarrassed when they fell behind on their mortgage payments because of Government's “tardiness”.

And he said it was another example, like the recently concluded handover of the former US baselands that showed how Government could not close a deal.

But Government rejected the criticism, saying that the former Government had neglected some details of the deal and they had to clean up after the UBP.

“We were on the backfoot then and had to start the whole process of renovating Bayview,” Health Minister Nelson Bascome said.

“If anyone is to blame it is (the change in Government) and the unfinished business.”

Opposition MPs agreed with Mr. Bascome that The Haven's new site at Bayview with its panoramic views and accessibility to the City, was an excellent environment for its residents. Kudos were heaped on the late founders of The Haven (Millie Neverson and Edith Crawford), which was established in 1948 originally as a boys' home, who often had to pay for the facility with their own resources.

A lamp which had been placed on the home's threshold by one of its founders had gone missing, said Mr. Bascome.

“It stood as a beacon and can also stand as a beacon for those who cross the threshold of the new Bayview,” said the Minister who then issued a call for its return.

Shadow Labour and Home Affairs Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin backed the call. “I believe historical artefacts need to be preserved and have a place of prominence,” she said.

“If anyone is aware of the location of this lamp, please ensure its return to its rightful owner.”