Hopewell police post hits snag

Hanover Municipal Corporation, JCF at loggerheads over lease agreement

PLANS TO establish a police post in the fast-growing town of Hopewell, Hanover, have hit a snag, which will lead to further delays in the implementation of the muchneeded facility.

The project, which has been in the making since Superintendent Sharon Beeput, head of the Hanover police, conceived the idea in 2017, has been the subject of many discussions between the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), towards establishing a lease agreement for a HMC-owned property in Hopewell to house the police post.

Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, has even visited the property in recent months, giving verbal approval of the project.

The arrangement appeared sealed at the January 2022 monthly meeting of the HMC, when the terms of the draft lease agreement for the property were officially approved by the HMC and sent to the JCF for its scrutiny and approval.

The document was subsequently sent to the JCF headquarters in Kingston for it to be approved, which would have been a forerunner to the rehabilitation of the building on the property and its occupation by the Hanover police.

The draft lease agreement lists the property as located at lot 76, Lynfred Manor, Hopewell, Hanover, with a building thereon, which will be leased for the peppercorn rate of $1,000 per month, for a period of 10 years in the first instance.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HMC, David Gardner, announced at the May monthly meeting of the corporation, however, that he is in receipt of the returned document from the JCF, and it has some changes, which are of concern.

“They (JCF) have gone through it (lease agreement) and what they have done actually is to do a new document, new in the sense that the original document has been revised, and some changes were made,” he stated.

While pointing out that the original document was a draft and changes were expected, Gardner then outlined his concerns.

“Having looked at the level and type of changes, they are deemed to be quite material to what was discussed and approved by the corporation, so it is to be referred for the finance committee of the corporation to take a look at it, and to have a final decision as to how best to proceed, because some of the items would have been different from what was understood when it was first approved,” he stated.

He expressed concern as to whether the HMC will accept several aspects of what is now being proposed in the revised document.

Importantly, The Gleaner has learnt that the HMC CEO is most concerned that the JCF has amended the lease agreement to remove itself, proposing instead a lease agreement between the HMC and the Commissioner of Lands.

“I do not know if, while we were prepared to lease the property on a peppercorn rate to the JCF, we would give the same thought in an agreement with the Commissioner of Lands,” Gardner opined.

Mayor of Lucea and chairman of the HMC, Sheridan Samuels, said that an immediate discussion must be held to resolve the issue.

“We cannot let these things hold up a project of this nature. I have gone in the hills, to some rural places in Hanover, and when I look at the distance from there to the nearest police station in Sandy Bay, to reach those areas is a whole lot of travelling the police have to do,” Samuels stated.

Both Beeput and the political directorate within the HMC were puzzled as to how the Commissioner of Lands has become involved in the proposed deal between the HMC and the JCF.

The HMC and Hanover police chief have agreed to find a resolution to the situation in a bid to have the police post erected.