CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The National Park Service awarded the territory at least $10 million dollars in supplemental funding to the Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Office (VISHPO).
The NPS funds are primarily intended to replace the “historic and archaeological resources” in the U.S. Virgin Islands that were “impacted” by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, DPNR Commissioner nominee Jean-Pierre Oriol said Friday.
This funding through the Emergency Supplemental Funding from the Historic Preservation Fund (ESHPF) will allow the VISHPO to administer a Historic Recovery Grant Program to assist in the repair of hurricane damaged National Register-listed or eligible sites throughout the territory, according to Oriol.
Through ESHPF over $5 million will go towards the restoration of these sites. $1M will go towards the assistance of restoring Government House in Charlotte Amalie and the Battery on St. John and Up to $2M will be used for administrative costs.
Any balances will be eligible for use towards restoration of other sites.
The State Historic Preservation Office is currently developing the eligibility criteria and more information will be released to the public once finalized. All funded repair work must substantially mitigate the threat and include steps to mitigate future damages.
The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), derived from Outer Continental Shelf oil lease revenues, was established in 1977 as the primary source of funding to implement the Federal Preservation Partnership program. Annual grants are made to States, Tribes, and local governments under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/2017_hurricane_recovery_grants.htm
Commissioner nominee Jean-Pierre Oriol (left) and Megan Brown, Chief
Division of States, Tribal, Local Plans & Grants, National Park Service sign off on the agreement Friday. Photo credit: Mathew John of NPS
Curious the Moravian Church at Coral Bay was pictured. The Moravians of course played an import role in the history of St. JOhn, but this is not a public landmark, nor is it within the park boundaries. Wouldn’t the crumbling condition of Annaberg have been a better fit. Also , troubling that not much has been done to restore much more significant St. John landmarks such as Fortsberg, and the Estate Carolina ruins. Its truly sad that the archeology laboratory at Cinnamon Bay got destroy and plans are afoot to build a new one, but shouldn’t some long overdue visible treasures like Fortberg and the Windmill and former great house at Estate Carolina take precedent in our thinking? Unless something is done to secure and or stabilize still existing historic landmarks like these, in a few years we’ll also find ourselves searching for their remnants as well, buried deep in the soil like those of the Tiano culture.