• Auto dealer: My 10-year sewer woe neglected

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A frustrated Bahamian auto dealer yesterday blasted the Village Road roadworks for both causing a 30 percent decline in sales and failing to resolve his decade-old sewerage problem.

Brent Fox, Montague Motors’ principal, told Tribune Business that if he did not own the property upon which his dealership sits he would have been “wiped out” by a combination of COVID-19 and the ongoing road improvements which, at times, have either totally blocked access to Village Road’s southern end or made it virtually impassable to vehicular traffic.

And he likened the failure to solve a ten-year sewer problem impacting both his business and some 10-15 apartments located behind it as “a slap in the face” despite repeatedly urging construction crews and the Ministry of Works to address the problem during the current works.

Mr Fox explained to this newspaper that his sewer connection to the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s main one is the lowest-lying one in the Village Road area. Due to the “degradation” associated with the previous infrastructure, during period of heavy rain or frequent use by other businesses in the area, his pipe “became half full” and started to back-up.

As a result, to cure the problem he was forced to install a 100-gallon lift station at his own expense to ensure the waste form his pipe could be pumped into the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s main line. Hopeful that the installation of new sewage infrastructure would provide a permanent solution, Mr Fox said his hopes have been dashed because the new main line has been installed at a depth eight to 12 inches (around a foot) higher than his connecting pipe.

Asserting that the main sewerage line should have been laid at the same depth as the lowest line, which is his, Mr Fox said it either has to be dug up and relaid to deal with his situation - something he has been told will cost $500,000 - or he has to persist with the lift station pump.

Speaking after he and others attended a Town Hall meeting with Alfred Sears, minister of works and utilities, on the Village Road roadworks on Thursday night, Mr Fox said: “It was the same old, same old. My sales are down at least 30 percent. If I didn’t own the property I would be out of business because I do not have to pay rent.

“We’re also recovering from the pandemic, which almost did wipe me out. I asked the minister of he can give me a discount on the VAT coming up..... He said he’s going to speak to the Ministry of Finance about giving us something on the VAT. I don’t anticipate anything from that.”

Recalling how, at the height of COVID lockdowns and restrictions, he was hit with a $10,000 fine for leaving 15 vehicles in storage at the Nassau Container Port beyond the time for their removal and clearance, and was unable to obtain forgiveness, Mr Fox said: “If they’re not going to give me compensation on the pandemic, you think they’re going to give me compensation for Village Road?

“I told the minister that it’s only because I own the property that I’m not out of business. Had it been another person after the pandemic it would have wiped them out. I’m getting a lot of customers calling and looking at how to get here. Some people try, go there and turn around. It’s a mess.

“I was meeting with the permanent secretary [Luther Smith] a couple of weeks ago and he was saying they think they’ll be finished by December, but they’ve not landed the aggregate and asphalt. They’re having logistical problems getting asphalt to the island. If they go into January and February, that will be four to five months they will have spent digging. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

Turning to his sewerage issue, Mr Fox added: “I’ve been dealing with multiple issue with the Ministry of Works going back ten years. The sewer line coming from my property, which feeds 10-15 apartments at the back, has issues spilling into the main drain. I had to install a lift station about ten years ago at my cost.

“We had to block off the pipe coming from Village Road. Our property is the lowest on the line, and when there was heavy rain or a lot of use, the pipe became half full and came back up. I had to put in a lift station, a 100 gallon station. It’s not a commercial set-up to manage what it has to deal with. What do I know about lift stations? I did the best I could.”

Mr Fox said he incurs monthly expenses to clean the line, and tank, and every six months the lift station pump needs to be replaced. Having expected the installation of new sewerage infrastructure, as part of the roadworks, would address the problem, he added: “They’ve put in the new sewer line about eight to 12 inches higher than the old sewer line. Right now, I’m nowhere near able to connect to the main sewer.

“My sewer situation is not any better than it was ten years ago. They spent all this money and, when they determined what grade the pipe should be, they didn’t uncover my pipe until a few days ago. I’ve been going out there for three months saying you’re going to have to find my pipe before you do anything. There’s no way they can raise up my line which is going a quarter of a mile back. It’s a complete mess.”