PHiMARA has three non-paid directors,
all own property on Prospect Hill Road:
President: Suzanne Holroyd, 26C
Secretary: Marcia Murray, 26F
Treasurer: Brian Weller, 3
In consultation with a USVI real estate attourney, PHiMARA was established as a Special Purpose Non-Profit Entity, PHiMARA will
administer the maintenance of the main access road, pr27.
Responsibilities include evaluating road conditions, generating cost-effective action plans, raising the necessary funds, overseeing contracted work, and conducting routine reviews and repairs.
Along with these operational efforts, PHiMARA will work toward broad communication with all the lot owners to foster as much collaboration as possible as well as to ensure full transparency.
See the PHiMARA charter for more information (link).
WHY PHiMARA EXISTS
Access on our road has become increasingly problematic due to the absence of consistent, coordinated maintenance over the past several years. Until December 2021, the maintenance operations were administered by a single lot owner; however, that person has left the island. Since then, no consistent, coordinated, and enduring road maintenance has been undertaken, leading to the road’s current unacceptable condition.
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While we all need a road that allows access to our properties, we are also concerned for the protection of our coastline. Additionally, our community needs to be aware of violating regulatory codes and environmental laws due to excessive storm water run-off our road generates. These violations can lead to heavy fines. Given that, a key driver in PHiMARA’s activities is to avoid fines.
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COST SHARING
There are currently 24 properties that require the main access road:
13 in Butler Bay Estates, 5 in Prospect Hill Estates, and 6 directly on pr27.
USVI case law has established that any property granted an easement for a main access road is required to share the cost of maintenance.
This is true regardless of whether there is a house on the lot or it is vacant.
This is true whether or not there is any written agreement stating the requirement.
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The cost of maintenance for the main access road is divided by 24.
This is not new, rather a continuation of the cost sharing method that has been in place since the road was created.
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USVI law states that the individual lot owners using a shared main access road are responsible for the maintenance of that road.
For many users of our shared main access road, a Home Owners Association (HOA) has helped manage that responsibility by collecting funds and providing one combined payment for road maintenance for all members of that HOA (e.g., Prospect Hills Estates Subdivision Landowners Association (PHESLA) sends a single payment on behalf of its five members/lots.)
Stated another way, the lot owners -- not the HOAs -- are responsible for the cost to maintain the shared main access road. However, if the members of an HOA would like to pool resources and have their HOA make one lump payment, that's fine.
The math is simple: Cost per lot owner x number of lots.
As noted earlier, PHiMARA's efforts are focused on only the shared main access road; however, our community's two HOAs -- PHESLA and Butler Bay Estates Landowners Association (BBESLA) -- each have a road located within the area making up their respective members' lots. PHiMARA has no involvement in the maintenance of those internal-HOA roads. Instead, those members/lots owners will continue to address the needs of their HOA-road as has been done in the past.