Native Virgin Islander and Deputy HUD Secretary Promises Collaboration for Territory's Rebuild During Visit to USVI

The V.I. Finance Authority said in a release early Sunday that it welcomed on Friday native Virgin Islander and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman to the territory.

Ms. Todman and several HUD officials met with Governor Albert Bryan and VIHFA’s Executive Director Daryl Griffith, Chief Disaster Recovery Officer, Dayna Clendinen and Director of Programs, Ann Hanley to discuss accomplishments and challenges of the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. The CDBG-DR oversees projects and manages federal monies allocated to the VI for disaster recovery and mitigation.

Mr. Griffith outlined specificities around the EnVIsion Rehabilitation and Reconstruction program and challenges that VIHFA staff encounter, including administrative steps toward getting applicants to their grant agreement—the last step before construction, according to the release.

Ms. Todman made a commitment on behalf of HUD to collaborate with the authority to help the people of Virgin Islands see a path forward.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here today. We want to look at the bottlenecks, and if we think that it’s our rules that are creating those bottlenecks, let’s make sure that you are interpreting those as flexible as possible to get things moving,” she said. “If you’re not doing well, we’re not doing well.”

According to the release, VIHFA top officials lauded project progress of the $95 million investment into the custom build of generators for the Water and Power Authority, which is expected to provide an additional 40 megawatts of reliable and sustainable energy backup in the territory. This is HUD’s first investment in the power system in the Virgin Islands, stated VIHFA. VIHFA said it is developing an action plan for Tranche 5 which will fund the electrical power system enhancements and improvements in the USVI.

“We will be looking for some resiliency planning with those funds, to include green energy," said Ms. Todman. "This is generational money, so find what you can embed in the fabric of the power grid that will outlast all of us here at the table.”

Governor Bryan, who according to the release initiated the invitation for this visit during a virtual meeting on September 23, paralleled his prioritization of alternative energy for the territory. The Vision 2040 Plan led by the administration and funded through CDBG-DR sets an aspirational goal of having 75 percent of energy generation by renewable sources in the next forty years. “Our goal is a renewable company," Mr. Bryan said.