By Cedric Johnson, Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE WESTMORELAND Parish Council has placed its stamp of approval on the architect's plan for the parish's new municipal building, which is expected to come off the drawing board early next year.
The building, which is estimated to cost approximately $80 million, is to be built at Dunbar's River, in Savanna-la-Mar, on land owned by the Parish Council that was previously used to house the parish's public health department.
"The ground floor, including fixtures, will cost $45 million and is to be funded by the Parish Infrastructure Development Programme while the first floor will cost about $35 million," said Adrian Smith, Architect from the Ministry of Local Government as he presented and explained the plan and drawing to the recent monthly meeting of the Parish Council.
Mr. Smith disclosed that the Minister of Local Government, Portia Simpson Miller was surprised when she was told that the Westmoreland council was the only Council in the country that did not have its own home. That, he said, explained the reason for government's speedy approval of the plan.
For several decades the Westmoreland Parish Council has been operating out of the dilapidated courthouse building on Great George Street, which offers limited accommodation, and is shared with the resident magistrate court.
The council has frequently earned the wrath of the various magistrates over the years because their debates, especially the noisy ones, sometimes interfere with the court's ability to conduct its business in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity.
After one of its reprimands from the court, the council sought the intervention of the then Minister of National Security, K.D. Knight, in resolving the matter. At the time the council told the minister that they found the court's objection to be quite unreasonable as according to them; the building belonged to the council.
NOISY DEBATES
Although Minister Knight decided then that both agencies should try their best to accommodate each other, the noisy debates continued, forcing at least one judge to threaten to 'lock up' those councillors, who refused to tone down. The Council was subsequently forced to take its monthly meetings to the nearby Anglican Church Hall.
As a consequence of the problem of trying to conduct business in such close proximity to the court, former mayors Sebert Davis and Ralph Anglin have consistently spoken out about the need for a municipal building for Savanna-la- Mar. In fact, it was something they had both placed on their action plan but never managed to achieve during their respective tenures.
