This project really is like one of those old movies with the evil banker
, the damsel in distress :mooner
Joe Weatherby?)
and the train coming down the track.
Where is the mountie coming to the rescue?
MY only question is if they can not get it done before hurricance season why not do it after hurricane season?
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Vandy' targeted in federal lawsuit
By Sam Nissen
snissen@keynoter.com
Posted-Wednesday, April 9, 2008 10:48 AM EDT
Norfolk company wants $1.64 million to release liens
The U.S.S. Hoyt Vandenberg is under arrest this week after the shipyard working on the ship filed a lien against it and Reefmakers, one of the companies coordinating the project.
Eastern Virginia Federal District Court Judge Walter D. Kelley, Jr. issued a warrant for arrest of the vessel at the behest of Colonna's Shipyard, Inc. The Norfolk, Va.-based company requested a lien for $1.64 million in unpaid repair and cleaning bills.
Key West City Commissioner Bill Verge said this was just business as usual, as the shipyard owners look to ensure payment by holding the only asset involved. The city holds the ship's title, with Verge as their liaison to the project.
It sounds like big news, but it's not, he said. That's what we've been working on for a month now.
A representative from Colonna's said the company had no comment. A lawyer for Colonna's did not return calls seeking comment. Joe Weatherby, marketing director for Reefmakers, also did not return calls for comment by press time.
Verge said he tired of criticism of the project, including some in a Keynoter editorial, that he said stymies support and is not factual.
The whole thing has such negativity, he said. I try to tell everyone upfront what's going on, but nobody is listening.
He also said the various local agencies involved - including the county, city and Tourist Development Council - are not at any risk, as they cannot release funding for the Vandenberg until it is sunk.
He worries that the summer will be tough on businesses without the added tourism dollars the ship would bring in. TDC director Harold Wheeler has said the project will drive curious divers to the site, but the long term tourism effects could be negligible. The TDC has pledged $1 million to the project.
The city is lobbying the state legislature and Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development to pay for cost overruns totaling $2.4 million.
The legislature is expected to vote today on a bill that would provide $1 million in funding. The bill might prove to be the lynchpin of the financing, as other state funds might go as it goes, Verge said. He was less than optimistic about the project's future.
Even if we get the money, it may not be soon enough, he said. It'd be a shame to see it not happen, but if it doesn't work, we'll move on.
The 520-foot long ship was built in 1943 as a navy troop transport. The ship saw limited action as World War II wound down. It was renamed after Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg upon being recommissioned as a missile tracking ship in 1963. It served as such for 20 years. The ship was later used for filming the 1999 movie Virus.