Government officials discuss challenges, timelines for Irmaria recovery projects

ST. CROIX — As the U.S. Virgin Islands nears the seventh anniversary of hurricanes Irma and Maria, many of those tasked with overseeing the territory’s $15 billion recovery effort gathered in the Great Hall of the University of the Virgin Islands Albert A. Sheen campus on Wednesday for a clear-eyed discussion hosted by V.I. Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett.

Plaskett led three panel discussions throughout the morning to highlight the ongoing work of local Cabinet members, territory health and energy leaders and representatives from federal agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The first, about managing local projects, their challenges and timelines, featured Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington, Public Works Commissioner Derek Gabriel, and Schneider Hospital CEO Tina Comissiong,

“What are the one or two things you would need, that you are asking, in your partnership with the federal government and with the private sector,” Plaskett asked the trio, who collectively oversee some of the territory’s largest recovery projects — schools, roads and hospitals, respectively.