MLA launches petition
(CNS): The opposition representative for the district of East End, in partnership with the independent member for North Side, will launch his official ‘no’ campaign to the East End Sea Port on Saturday. Arden McLean, who has said he is vehemently opposed to the proposed development of the commercial dock in his district, says he will be starting the petition against it in Frank Sound, which is in the middle of the three districts most likely to be affected. He explained that he would eventually go door to door with the ‘no’ petition island-wide but the campaign will be launched at the heart of the communities that will be directly impacted.
The development is a proposal by local landowner, Joe Imparato, which has been submitted to government for consideration and involves cutting a channel into the island in East End at High Rock and digging a basin for a commercial shipping dock that would deal with oil and gas, offer home porting for cruise ships, transhipment, a container port and a mega yacht marina. The proposals has raised enormous concern in the area about the potentially catastrophic damage to the environment, the potential contamination of the fresh water resources in the area, as well as the dangers levels of surge and flooding it could cause in bad weather.
Both McLean and North Side MLA Ezzard Miller are campaigning against what they both have said is nothing more than an excuse for a quarry that will offer little or no benefit to their constituents. McLean said Saturday’s rally would be the start of the public opinion campaign and their goal to raise awareness about the problems associated with the proposal.
“We want to provide a way for people to register their objections to this proposed project so that government will know what the public thinks before any decisions are made,” McLean said of Saturday’s public rally. “If this project goes ahead it could cost the country millions. The developer may be saying he is giving it to the government but there is nothing for free and the roads alone will cost the public purse as much as $200m.”
McLean said recently at a public meeting that he would do all he could to stop the project as his constituents were opposed and if he had to he was prepared to lie in front of the bulldozers. "We have to stop this now," he said, warning that as a member of the minority opposition, if the proposal gets as far as the Legislative Assembly then he could not stop it. "I am here to lead you right up front and we need to send a message and we need to say it loud enough."
His legislative colleague Miller is also strongly opposed and intends to hold a public meeting in North Side on 7 December. Miler said that one of the problems he has was that no proper analysis over the need for such a development has been made by government.
“Rather than a business plan, what we have is an often controversial investor who, having bought large tracts of essentially useless land, has now decided he can make money by quarrying the rock and shipping it over seas,” he said.
Miller suggested that, having now seen the plans, he estimated there was as much as half a billion dollars worth of fill to be gained, given the depth of the basin the developer proposes to dig.
“He is then going to donate that hole in the ground to government to turn into a port,” Miller added. “I don’t think that is the way we should be developing our infrastructure. Moreover, Grand Cayman is not that big of a land mass that we can afford to add a piece of it to Texas.”
The anti-port petition rally is scheduled to begin at 7am and will last throughout the day at the junction of Frank Sound Road and Bodden Town/Seaview Road. The Young Progressives will also be there and President Denise Miller called on all the young people in Grand Cayman who care about the future of the island to come and sign. She also indicated that there is now an online petition.
Visit the developer’s website at www.eastendseaport.com
Category: Headline News
Arden is looking for the PPM leadership role…last week it was the Assembly walk out, this week East End port …next week we should see him dressed as Santa…
THERE ARE SOME THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SAY ABOUT THE EAST END PORT. Why would any body in thier right thinking mind want to put a port on the weather side of the island, every where else you go ports are put on the opposite side of the weather. that is why our fore fathers move the port from bodden town on put in george town. this area has good weather at lease eleven months of the year. the propose sight has bad weather eleven months of the year. i would suggest tomr impareto that consider going to north west point and looking at the area of the turtle farm, i think this is agood area since the water is very deep to the shore and there will no need to to go so far out. thia area has good weather eleven months of the year. MR IMPARETO take your money and go to west bay and build a port there for goverment. if not takeover from DECCO and do the port in town . WE DO NOT WANT YOU AND YOUR BUDDIES IN EAST END. Now if these areas are not good enough for you kindly get the premier to put in the north sound. this is the area that he said that he cannot even mention to west bayers obout putting a dock there, but east enders must not say anything about it coming to east end . MR IMPERATO I URGE YOU TO RECONSIDER THIS PROJECT IT MIGHT JUST CAUSE A CIVIL UNREST IN THIS COUNTRY
Silly and Personal Post…get back to sitting idly under a tree, waiting for a Government handout.
I’m not at all sure the post you call silly is in fact silly.
I confess I may have missed it, but I do not recall seeing an independent study published whose objective was to identify the best location for a commercial port in Grand Cayman. I’m fairly certain that weather patterns, in essence the central theme of the post you object to, would be an important consideration in such a report. Given that you probably only get one chance to get this right, I would have thought that such a report was the logical starting point. Having identified the most suitable location for the port, it should then be a matter of negotiation with the land owners to free up the land for development. Maybe the Crown already owns it.
Instead it appears as if the starting point is that Mr. Imparato owns land in East End which has significant value if he is allowed to quarry and sell the fill. Whether it is the best or even a logical location does not appear to be entering into the discussion. If the location cannot be justified now, because for example, the weather patterns would render it unusable for large parts of the year, as suggested by the poster, it will be no more viable when the hole is dug. If this is in fact in any way the case, no partners for the development would come forward. Mr. Imparato has made it clear that he is not prepared to do it alone, if at all, so the ultimate consequence would be a large hole in East End and a large(r) bank balance for Mr. Imparato, not exactly a win-win for Cayman.
Arden is simply rushing to do the ‘NO’ petition before the people find out that it is not all the bad Arden says it is.
Any petition signed before the full information is out is INVALID. Just another “I want to Head PPM” stunt.
well said!…this petition is not worth the paper its written on at this stage because the people do not why or what they are voting against…..
Ever read the book "Dont stop the Carnival"?
Good Job Arden! You’re doing the exact right thing with your cause. You would have made Mr. Warren very proud by standing up to this atrocity (not that he hasnt been proud of all your past achievements). All the best luck! sorry that i am overseas at school and are unable to sign your petition!
All should know that Arden dosen’t oppose development, he made it clear that he was in support of the Shetty Hospital because he could see the benefits of it fror the country. To say he is against development is far from the truth, what the government needs to do is to tell us what is the benefits of moving it to our tranquil East End?
go Arden and ezzard get that petition signed asap i will be one of the very few let what our forefathers left us with beautiful north side and east end
In case you have not checked they left us Maiden Plum, swamp, cliff rock and bush. It is up to us to make it into something of value. Apparently the politicians do not want it to get any better so they can buy our votes at election time with a turkey and box of goodies!
Wake up and do not be used….
Thank you Arden and Ezzard. I’ll be at Frank Sound early saturday morning to sign the petition!
Cayman is too small for this type of Texas (pun) size project. The eastern districts are the only part of Cayman that even feels like a Caribbean island.
Stuff the nimbys. The greater need must prevail. Build it. Quickly.
Attn: MR. EZZARD MILLER AND MR. ARDEN MCLEAN,
Thanks for your Leadership.
Amen, get we need to get this premier out of office ASAP.Put him on the back bench where he can sit till we vote himout in 2013. Or force him to resign its for the good of the country.
Ezzzard you need a petition that deals with the following issues:
1. Removing Big Mac from Office
2 Stop the Imparato Project
3. No mining of our Mt. Trashmore. (Too dangerous for a little 144 square miles territory like ours if it explodes!)
4.Petition to preserve and protect ourselves as a TAX FREE HAVEN FOREVER! if we don’t we are doomed. Its all we have to offer offshore investment.Don’t let Big Mac take that away from us!.
5.Stop the raping of Bank accounts 7 years young! way too early It takes 10 – 15 years to save up for a College fund., Stop Raping college fund bank accounts! Only 30 to 50 year old accounts should be considered unclaimed.
6. The Berthing Dock our land protected from being lost in a lease that is TOO LONG! We need the property to be leased in a way that we will not lose our public land to Billionaire developers.
Big Mac is wearing out Alden, Ezzard, Chuckie, Arden, Ms. Florence Goring-Nozza and the rest of us using our comments and feedback as the strong opposition trying to keep him in line. He is destroying the country’s wealth and natural resources and we want him out of office. The man is a loose cannon!
GET THE PETITION READY. (All these matters on the agenda please!)
It is not merely a NIMBY issue. It affects all of us. It’s not just the EE environment. The irony is that because it is NOT in your backyard you don’t see that. You just think "oh it’s just a bunch of EEnders complaining about this otherwise worthless land so it doesn’t matter" (which, fortunately, is not true).
No need has been shown for a new port. The present port is operating at 30% of capacity. In fact the whole project is the tail wagging the dog. The steps should be (a) determine whether we do in fact need a new port; (b) if the answer to (a) is yes, commission studies to determine the best location for such a port taking into account all relevant considerations including potential damage to the environment, cost of relocation of insfrastructure, natural protection from rough weather etc.
Instead, what has happened is that Mr. Imparato has a large tract of land in EE and figures "I can make a lot of money out of this if I can get to quarry it. But how can I persuade the govt. and people to allow me to do that? I know – I’ll tell them we’ll fix the gigantic hole left by building a port! I’ll draw lots of attractive graphics to excite their imaginations. I’ll even suggest that you can combine a cruise port with a cargo port. I’ll promise them that there will be lots of jobs for Caymanians and a big boost to the economy. Greed will blind them to the obvious flaws. But of course I won’t provide a bond for me to be liable in case, for whatever reason, I fail to make good on these promises and no port materialises". The poor govt. in desparation for a solution to our dire financial straits jumps at it without any scrutiny at all. That gets the party hacks involved who then start calling anyone who has the foresight and insight to oppose the project, or even dares to question it, a "nimby".
And why would the very rich want to come and pay a typical extravagant fee to park their large yacth in a harbor anywhere in Grand Cayman? What am I missing. Why would you build the cargo pier about as far from the cargo holding and distribution area on the island and then truck all the cargo and containers back and forth (as if there isn’t enough traffic). What am I missing? Why would enough want to stay in a large hotel overlooking the cargo area and empty docks far away from all the restruants and bars? What am I missing? What is the real reason to piss off most of the islanders east of Frank sound by turning their tranquil area into a large Camana bay type infrastructure when their already is a Camana bay? What am I missing? Why does the few in Government not listen to the many who put them there? Will someone tell everyone what we are all missing?
I mean besides the obvious greed thing.
*Repost*
(In the spirit of sustaining the necessary momentum in opposition to this proposed project.)
The Eastern Districts as a collective is the saving grace of Cayman today.
This proposal is nothing but the beginning of the end of said saving grace.
As soon as this port is erected the domino fall will commence and development will run rampant as it has in SMB – then in another 30 years we will be crying the same old song in regards to the Eastern districts as we are now for SMB!
If we need to extend our cargo and cruise berthing facilities (doubtful as industry related reports are predicting a forthcoming avoidance of the Caribbean ports) then let us do so on the previously developed areas of the island!
For goodness sake – the UK and other European countries have HUNDREDS OF MILES OF PROTECTED COASTLINE!! Extending up to 10 miles inland at some points! Those countries are in now way as dependent on their coastline as is the Cayman Islands!
Why is this so difficult for people to understand?!
Our TOURISTS LOVE the calm and tranquil qualities of our Eastern districts – most are FED UP with the over-development and congestion of SMB and GT – but still we are adamant on destroying their (and our) last bit of solace?!
Absolutely amazing.
*As for the jobs argument – give me a break! All over this world people commute daily to get to work – in the UK alone the average commute is something like 1.5 hours! If our EE and NS residents need a job – then for the better good of everyone else – let them make their way to work! (Btw, I too will eventually be falling into the category of a resident of the Eastern districts.)*
Furthermore – we ALL KNOW that there will be another tsunami of work permit workers to complete this project.
Come on Cayman … let us take our heads out of our behinds for once! See the true picture for what it is. No true, justified or valuable long term benefit will come from this project to the people of this country.
Instead, it will only fatten the pockets of a select few – mostly non-Caymanians … as is always the case.
Sincerely,
whodatis
This Port is a very good idea. They are doing there best to accomodate environmental pressures and they are encouraging local investment joint ventures.
Ships like Royal Caribbean, whom in my opinion are demonstrating the future of cruising, don’t land here because their new mega ships can’t be facilitated by the little tenders we have. Therefore, this new East End Sea Port, will allow the mega ships to land here; along with encouraging the mega yachting industry.
http://www.eastendseaport.com
Don’t let the pretty pictures fool you. This project will disrupt a peaceful way of life, traffic will be horrendous, the beauty of East End will be destroyed, and another blow will be dealt to the fragile and vulnerable environment of this tiny island.
Why a "no" petition. Why not a "yes" or "no" petition so that the MLAs could get a true picture of their constituants feelings.
There is no such thing as a "yes" or "no" petition. A petition is either for those in favour of something or those against something. It is not a referendum.
I thought his constituants told him to go fetcth the invironment impact, and proof of any down side effect, or adverse effect this project would lay on the East End population.
It seems to me, Arden is not listening to his constituants, he is leading this protest all by himself.
Has anyone checked the distance this propose project is located from the fresh water lens? the distance from the main high way and the fresh lens is 2.3 miles. 99% of the land this proposed project will be built on is swamp land. i doubt if you will drill and find any fresh water.
No such thing as a yes and no petition.
A PETITION IS A PETITION! That’s what it is. Its not a fence straddler!
A YES and NO petition would mean:
X-pats say "YES" to Big Mac while waiting for key employee status and grants….
While All Caymanians say "NO" to big Mac because we are sick and tired of him.
There are way too many X-pats paper Caymanians supporting this loose canon of a man and his crazy projects making this place unsafe for all of us.
We have our own petition Thank you.
Do you really think that Cayman is prepared to go it alone? If all the Xpats and foreign business were to leave the island how do you think Cayman will do. Folks are always saying that XPats take away from Caymanians yet they are the ones putting money into the government pockets. How many Born Caymanians would rather pay property and income taxes like other countries so they would have no need for XPats or Foreign Businesses? Big Mac as you call him, if you recall when the UK pushed to have direct taxation in Cayman was the main one fighting to save Caymanians from this instead he raised the cost of being a XPat or Work Permit holder.
Maybe someone should start a survey asking folks to vote against X-Pats and be willing to pay taxes so they can have the island to themselves.
sign a petition on what basis?…just because arden says so????… talk about nimbyism
The petition should be held after a full independent environmental impact assesment is done……..
until that is done, everything else is just hot-air and conjecture….
Not that it is not patently obvious why you should sign the petition but the petition itself explains why. You evidently have not read it.
This not about a port, it’s about the rape of Cayman by very rich people for fill that is already is being supplied by other Cayman businesses, which will be adversely affected as a result. The absurdity of "adding a piece of Cayman to Texas", even if it made econonomic sense, is very eloquently put by Mr Miller. And it will ruin a scenic coastline.
Mr. Imperato’s pretty pictures and fantastical assumptions can’t pull the wool over the Northside MLA’s eyes, thank God! Take a good look at arrogance in its most bloated form.
If the Government doesn’t have the funds to build the two essential finger piers in George Town, is it likely to have half a billion dollars in 15 years time to build a port in the wrong place, requiring a new road system, effluent treatment plant and an airport as well? Dream on!
Most of the residents on the coast will have quit by then. Their properties will have become unbearable to live in, as the endless stream of loaded trucks thunders by in one direction, and the cruise-ship buses in the other.
There’s a madness of desperate greed sweeping Cayman, and now it’s extending to Beach Bay.This application to quarry in both a residential area and virgin forest, an application already firmly rejected, is being given the dignity of being looked at again by the Planning Authority. How such a plan gets through the front door is a sad mystery to most of us who love these islands. Or perhaps it isn’t a mystery, which would be much worse.
As Ezzard states "it is an essentially useless piece of land" , so it needs to be developed for the welfare of the island residents. This NIMBY attitude hurts the sustainability of the our economy and long term opportunities for the upcoming generation.
The political circus has come to town. Unlike many good people, the circus won’t be rolled over.
Arden don’t let anyone tell you this is progress. This is not progress, this is destruction!!!!!!….all for the love of money.
The history books will put Mr McLean down as an obstructionist to the needed infastructure of the Cayman Islands.
If he thinks the entire infastructure of the country can remain in George Town than he is sorely mistaken.
The landfill is an accident waiting to happen and his refusal to have a new landfill is incredibly hurtful and selfish to the real needs of the country.
The voice of the majority needs to drown out this obstructionist.
The history books will most likely put YOU down as a delusional yet manipulative snake in the grass.
Nice try though – very well worded.
Shame it amounted to absolute hogwash.
(Yet more evidence that "education" is NOT always the key!)
Some people simply have bad intentions – regardless of the relevant reality.
The discusion will move forward in this country when people learn to discuss idea and move beyond child like name calling.
The reply to my submission was unable to discuss the idea at the East End MLA is an obstructionist and that the country will be hurt by this in the long run.
Name calling is childish on this forum just as it is in the LA.
1. Had I respected your rather slimy perspective I would have bothered to uphold some level of maturity in my response to this particular post of yours.
2. In the context of what we are discussing, your usage of the term "obstructionist" to describe Mr. Arden McLean is beyond the act of "name calling".
3. You can view a more sincere and mature perspective of mine on the issue at hand a bit higher up on the page.
* I tend to adapt to my surroundings as I find that works best to get through to the participants.*
(Don’t take any of this personal, I am simply very passionate about this particular issue. Passion is something that has been traditionally absent from my people at times like this. It is time we reverse the trend.)
"(Yet more evidence that "education" is NOT always the key!)"
Jokes… I know that is the basis this country is run on – look at McKeeva; he was a messenger boy for CNB and now he is running the country.
That deserves LOLs and Thumbs Up
He IS the voice of the majority. You are the voice of the greedy minority.
Just how do you know what is the will of the majority? We should save money from elections and referendums and have you pick the winners and losers with you knowledge of what Cayman wants.
According to the CNS poll 69% of respondents oppose the EE port.
On the other hand the Premier has said that the port cannot be in the North Sound as the people will not accept it. How does he know that (rhetorical question)?
Well, well well- the majority has spoken. Move your greedy ass aside.
This doesn’t make sense as a quarry. The fill may be valuable on Cayman but I can’t believe there is a market for that much of it. The US and Mexico have massive supplies of limestone that is "dirt cheap" so it is hard to see how rock from Cayman would be competitive. The profit must lie somewhere else in this deal.
On second thought maybe the quarry is to provide the fill for the cruise ship dock in Georgetown. It would be interesting to know how the quantities compare.
I would like someone to write on this media and explain to me what damages that the Island will sustane from the development of this dock/port. If I cannot read this on here I cannot sign my name to something I am not sure of.
I like Mr Arden McLean, but he sometimes act just like Mr Bush. The attitude, the attitude, problem.
Tell Cayman in detail what damage we will have. I want to hear it from the experts, not just some politicians guessing or the public voice. What is the negative impact on our Island. Then I can sign on the dotted line.
They can’t name either the damages or benefits. This is more political posturing. Wouldn’t it be nice to be the next Premier?
Lots of hot air if you ask me, if we the Caymanian people can’t see by now, it’s all about political posturing, Arden… Ezzard stop trying to further fool your people.
Why are you two trying to stop every development that the UDP bring to the table.
Where are your plans for the future generations?
If you two want to help the Caymanian people, legislate right now, a law that will assure the East end entrepreneurs, and the Caymanian people much opportunities from this proposed development.
Can you explain to the people that you are trying so hard to brain wash, how this project will damage the eastern district, tell us how much miles of coast line there are in the eastern district, how many dive sites exist.
how much %of the coast line this project will disrupt, how many dive sites this project will destroy. Time to give it a break, lads.
Arden, stop wasting time. GT is not going to let East Enders have the pulse of the country in their district! the port has already been issued out.
Try to get out their and do something to help Caymanians – bring a sensible Motion or something.
I think you meant to say "try to get out THERE". "Their" means belonging to them.
The questions I have for Mr. McLean are:
1) Are there any benefits to this port facility?
2) If so, what are they?
Wasn’t the PPM slogan "Don’t Stop the Progress"? Having seen them in operation, I think this slogan should be clarified. It should have been "Don’t Stop the Progress of Going Backwards."
Don’t be silly! The days of industrilization are over! Progressive thinkers talk about sustainable, environmentally friendly development.
Thank you!
However, getting that message through the thick hardened skulls of some of our older Caymanian folks is very difficult indeed!
More members of the influential crowd of Cayman really needs to get with the program and QUIT with the 1970’s playbook!
Lol!
Did I really say "needs" earlier?!
Kindly excuse my Caymanized Tourette’s syndrome.
🙂