Two communities file official
complaint against Westin Hotel
Resort official says road owned by hotel owner
PHILIPSBURG--The residential communities of Tamarind Hill Estate and Dawn Beach Estate have each filed a formal complaint with the Fire Department seeking to stop Westin Hotel from preventing access to their homes by first responder emergency vehicles.
The complaint sent Tuesday to the Fire Department with the heading “Two residential communities file formal complaints regarding lack of access by Westin Hotel,” also called for an end to what it referred to as “the cat and mouse games of the past few weeks aimed at pressuring government to resolve the promised road” to the resort, and said this should not put public safety at risk.
Attempts to reach Fire Department officials Tuesday for a comment on the issue, which has been brewing for several weeks, were unsuccessful.
However, Westin Resort Project Manager Ray Hicks told The Daily Herald on Tuesday, “The road that is currently blocked belongs to the company that owns Westin Hotel. Government is currently constructing a permanent bypass around the resort and we have provided a temporary bypass to ensure access to the estates of our good neighbours.”
Hicks also said the resort had every document and was registered at the Kadaster office to prove that it owned the road that was being blocked. He said he was in constant contact with the government and Commissioner Roy Marlin was his contact with regard to the matter.
A container was put on the road that leads to Westin Resort from the Southwest, over the weekend. While no official information was received from the 310-room resort’s management, the resort’s action was clearly intended to prevent heavy equipment vehicles from accessing the road near its property. The concern is that other vehicles, such as emergency vehicles, will have restricted access to the surrounding areas.
The communities specifically charge that “the present first responder access to their communities has been severely compromised by the actions of Westin Hotel. There is no ability for fire trucks to make the turns that have been placed by Westin in the temporary bypass.”
In addition, the communities stated, “As we believe unhindered access by emergency first responders trump all political and legal considerations, we respectfully request that you (the Fire Department) demand ample access to the communities of Tamarind Hill Estate and Dawn Beach Estate, which your department is duty-bound to protect.”
“This is hardly the neighbourly conduct one expects from a five-star Westin,” they added.
St Maarten vacation rental
