MARIGOT--Local proprietors of four of the new Orient Beach restaurants who have not signed contracts with the Collectivité disclosed at a press conference Saturday in French Quarter that it will cost each restaurant 30 to 40,000 euros to put them “into conformity” for operating.
The local tenants are standing by their claims the restaurants have not been built to French code in addition to refusing to pay the 2,500 euro monthly rent. Frustration has mounted over not receiving news on the request to reduce the rent and not being able to meet with elected officials in charge of the project or the Préfète to resolve the issues.
A meeting with tenants and boutique owners, however, was held Friday with Cabinet Director for President Aline Hanson, Pierre Brangé and Director of the Sustainable Development Department Romain Perrot in the absence of the Vice-Presidents, on insistence of district one representative Steven Patrick.
The tenants at the press conference produced a six-page report from a hygiene inspection they say lists numerous anomalies that need to be corrected before the restaurants can be opened.
They added they had been required to attend a training course at their own expense of 940 euros each on running the restaurants and during that course were made aware of code regulations with regard to hygiene and maintenance.
Signs that the grievance is escalating was noticeable with the presence at the press conference of Patrick and members of the “Wake-Up St. Martin” collective giving their input.
“We are sick and tired of waiting,” said tenant Maurice Jermin. “We are not waiting anymore. We need to do something to get our places open because we need to feed our families.”
According to Gillian Jermin the four “metropolitan” tenants who signed contracts at the full rent were now experiencing problems having signed to accept the restaurants “as is.”
“They have written a three-page letter to President Aline Hanson outlining 23 complaints of problems they have run into with expenses exceeding 20,000 euros,” she said. “They have also asked for the first month’s rent to be due on October 1 instead of March 1, 2016. They got a water connection on February 3 and are now only getting electricity.”
Said Patrick: “The Government is supposed to facilitate its people to get into business. In the last eight months, eight people have been taken out of business, four of them locals. Not only have our locals been taken out of business, but existing businesses are not involving our own people in economic activity. It’s a double whammy. What is the intent and long term plan for economic growth for the people of St. Martin?”
Brangé told The Daily Herald Monday that Perrot and a group of technicians were already on site at the restaurants investigating the complaints.
“The Collectivité is not the builder of the restaurants,” he said. “But complaints about them not being up to French code need to be checked and verified.”
He could not say who would pay for any corrections that might have to be made. He added the rent has already been reduced to 2,200 euros from 2,500 euros.
President of True Hope for St. Martin Jules Charville said if it comes to a public protest “other pending issues” would be included such as the “50 pas Géometriques” and Grand Case Beach situations.
