CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Senator Alma Francis Heyliger thanked the lieutenant governor for his quick response to her concerns regarding the premature naming of Veterans Drive after a former governor.
In her letter to Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach, Senator Francis Heyliger pointed out an error on USVI MapsGeo which indicated that Veterans’ Drive Promenade is now “John de Jongh, Jr. Promenade.”
However, that name change has not yet been officially signed into law, according to the St. Thomas senator.
On November 30, 2021, the Committee on Government Operations and Consumer Protection, of which Senator Francis Heyliger is a member, considered Bill 34-0150 which sought to name the walkway and improvements adjacent to the Veterans Drive Highway on the island of St. Thomas the after former Governor John de Jongh, Jr. The measure did not pass in the committee as there was not a quorum of Senators present to vote.
In her letter to the Lt. Governor on December 3rd, Senator Francis Heyliger, citing guidance from the Virgin Islands Code, formally requested that the name be removed until such time as an Act naming that area is passed.
Title 1 Chapter 5 Section 91 grants the Lieutenant Governor the authority over mapping and the Geographical Information System including developing, updating and maintaining a street and address directory that consists of a computerized geographic information system that includes an electronic file listing street names and addresses, and road and thoroughfare addresses. Section 91 does not grant the Lieutenant Governor the ability to name a promenade or building. Title 31 Chapter 1 Section 4 provides that no real property shall be named for any person except upon
approval of the Legislature by Act.
On Tuesday, Lt. Governor Roach informed the Legislature that the mistake had been corrected.
Senator Francis Heyliger believes that “transparency in our government is integral to the work that we do on behalf of the territory.” Much of her work while in office has been dedicated to increased accountability and transparency in the Virgin Islands government.