By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The deepening divide at one of western New Providence’s most upscale gated communities is set to trigger legal action as early as today amid concerns over new construction and earlier alleged “rogue actions”.

Old Fort Bay residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday told Tribune Business that an injunction will likely be sought to halt plans by its homeowners association’s Board of Directors to construct “a multi-use pathway” that will provide bicycle and golf cart access to Lyford Cay - and other nearby communities - starting from the West Gate on its northern boundary.

Homeowners, especially in the Islands of Old Fort Bay and Bay Creek subdivisions, are questioning whether the necessary government permits have been obtained for the construction and if Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and other studies are required. They also told this newspaper they were “caught off-guard” by the project, which was announced last week, and for which construction work is due to start on October 31, and want more time for public consultation.

Senior Ministry of Works officials confirmed to Tribune Business that the Old Fort Bay Property Owners Association and its contractor, Bahamas Hot Mix (BHM Construction), have all the necessary approvals to begin and carry out the work after the project was “vetted” by its technical team. This was after Keenan Johnson, the Town Planning Committee’s chairman, said his department had received no submissions or applications on the matter.

The imminent legal action over a seemingly benign project designed to improve the quality of life for homeowners and their families further exposes the growing rift between the various communities and subdivisions that make up Old Fort Bay itself. Tribune Business revealed last week how a dispute triggered by demands that homeowners finance a 50 percent increase in security costs had escalated into the closure of a gate that divides the community into two.

The gate was closed after homeowners in the Islands of Old Fort and Bay Creek subdivisions declined to pay their share of the increased security fees on the basis that the 50 percent hike had not been justified. They believe the “multi-use pathway” is a solution to the loss of “free” golf cart and bike access that residents in Old Fort proper have suffered as a result of the gate closure, which has denied them access to West Bay Street via Islands and Bay Creek.

As a result, residents in Islands of Old Fort and Bay Creek are interpreting the project as a tacit acknowledgement by the Old Fort Property Owners Association that it is quite content to keep the gate closed, thereby preventing their easy access to the Old Fort Bay Club and associated amenities, thus splitting the community in two and keeping it physically divided.

Sean Andrews, the Old Fort Bay Property Owners Association’s chairman, declined to comment on the situation when contacted by Tribune Business yesterday and said he would have to consult other Board members. “I would need time to consider it,” he responded. “I’d have to speak to me Board before I could comment on anything.”

Tribune Business last week sent e-mails containing multiple questions on the situation at Old Fort Bay to both Mr Andrews and fellow Board member, Bert Krista, but neither responded despite being given several days to do so. Following this newspaper’s call to Mr Andrews, it was yesterday contacted by an attorney for the Association, Vanessa Carlino, of Carlino & Co, asking about the nature of the inquiry and time her client had to respond.

Despite being given the requested details, no reply was received from the Association before press deadline last night. The “pathway” concerns follow swiftly behind allegations that Islands and Bay Creek residents were recently threatened with the loss of boating access to Old Fort Bay’s canals and waterways - something which contradicted the official position of Mr Andrews and his Board set out just weeks earlier.

Fred Smith QC, attorney and partner at Callenders & Co, in an October 6, 2022, letter, said: “Our client was recently made aware of an e-mail sent by Mr Bert Krista, one of the directors of the Old Fort Bay Property Owners Association, wherein Mr Krista threatened to instruct the security stationed at the entrance of the canal passage not to lower the chain to permit them access through the canal as a result of his and others’ alleged ‘refusal to pay the agreed share for the last dredging operation”.

This, Mr Smith argued, was inconsistent with the notice sent to homeowners on September 23, 2022, which said “there has been no such discussion or contemplation within the Board of Directors on the closure or restriction of access to the canal entrance relative to Old Fort Bay residents or neighbouring communities that utilise that entrance”.

Mr Smith, asserting that his client and their guests “have an unobstructed right” to freely use the canals and waterways, warned that legal action for damages and costs would follow if this was denied or there was any damage to their boats.

Ms Carlino replied for the Association, stating: “In order to remove any doubt, the Property Owners Association does not have any intention to block access through the canal entrance. We trust that this unequivocal statement will bring closure to any suggestion otherwise.” Mr Smith, though, urged the Association to protect his client from “such threats” and what he termed “rogue actions” in the future.

Among the Association directors copied in on the exchange were Mr Andrews, Mr Krista, Arantxa Klonaris and Nadim Nsouli. The latter, the founder of Inspired Education Group, which boasts of a global network of 80 schools in 23 countries, attended by more than 65,000 students, has shaken up private education in The Bahamas with his development of King’s College School on Western Road in south-west New Providence.

Meanwhile, although the attorneys’ exchange may have eased canal access tensions, the rift at Old Fort Bay has again been laid bare by plans for the new pathway. “The residents are seeking to get an injunction. They’re talking to the lawyers as we speak,” one source told this newspaper. “They’re not sure if they need an EIA and other sorts of approvals.

“We’re trying to get an injunction as we speak. There needs to be some consultation and discussion. They [Old Fort Bay proper] will have to move their service entrance further east, so this is part of a much large project. We’ve already spoken to the lawyers, and as of tomorrow [today] they’re going to seek an injunction and file the paperwork. We want consultation on this. It’s dangerous, and we don’t see the need to push this through so fast.”

The multi-use pathway was unveiled by Mr Andrews in a letter to homeowners dated October 17, 2022. He wrote: “We are pleased to announce a great development that will benefit our property owners. In order to enhance access, the Government of the Bahamas has approved a multi-use paved pathway from the West Gate that ties directly into the existing pathways which lead ultimately to Lyford Cay, providing access to all the commercial entities in between.

“This pathway will be able to readily accommodate bicycles, foot traffic and golf carts in a safe and sustainable way.” The Islands of Old Fort Bay residents, though, immediately raised their concerns and objections in an October 20 letter sent by their association’s chairman, Gregory Graham.

“The property owners represented by the Islands property owners’ association would be directly affected by this project, and several of our members have expressed serious concerns about the safety implications of locating a pathway for pedestrians, cyclists and golf cart users directly alongside an extremely busy public road frequented by cargo trucks and heavy machinery transports,” he wrote.

“As directly interested parties, our members are also very concerned that, to their knowledge, no record of the relevant government approvals has been circulated, published or otherwise made public. They are also unaware of any opportunity to take part in any public consultation exercises regarding this project, as set out in the law.” Work is set to begin on October 31 and be completed by November 18.

Luther Smith, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Works, confirmed that all necessary approvals have been granted. “It’s a project which has been designed and developed by the developers, who are private developers. The proposals were submitted to the ministry’s civil design section, who vetted it carefully as they would any other civil design project,” he told Tribune Business.

“They made a few suggested changes, like widening a few little pieces of the proposed sidewalk, and then they set out a routine approval, which is done all the time when people are asking for road designs or any other such designs for private subdivisions.”

The Ministry of Works is “by no means” spearheading this project at all, which Mr Smith said was being financed and driven by the Old Fort Bay Property Owners Association. “It is a project by the private developers whose engineer is a gentleman by the name of Mr Garraway, who fully complied with all of the Ministry of Works and Utilities requirement for that kind of situation,” he added.

“The developer will pay for it and will do what they have to do, and it meets the ministry’s full specification. It’s not a matter for the Ministry of Works and we certainly are not building the footpath.” One homeowner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Association was spending thousands of dollars on a pathway it would have no need for if it opened up the middle access gate to make all of Old Fort Bay one again.

“It has the illusion that they’re doing something and are spending a lot of money when they already had a free road that cost them no money other than maintenance,” they added. “They already had safe passage [to West Bay Street] through Islands and it didn’t cost them anything. We maintained security, the roads and verges at no cost to Old Fort Bay. It’s a hell of an effort to cut out Islands and Bay Creek when they had access for free. It’s insane.”