Conflict develops over building use in North Eleuthera, following destructive fire.

Conflict has brewed in North Eleuthera following the destruction by fire on July 2nd, 2013 of the Administration Building in the community of Upper Bogue.

The dispute concerns a second building in Upper Bogue that the community has been outfitting, with written permission from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to serve as a library and community resource center. To-date they had secured a donation of books and shelving, and a promise of computers and other materials to outfit the building.

It has long been a goal of some members of the community to develop a library in Upper Bogue with initial attempts being thwarted when the now destroyed admin building was taken over by Government in 1992/93 after brief use as a library following the amalgamation of  the local school into the primary school in Bluff. The fear is that this second attempt will be again impaired by the recent circumstances.

It turns out that, the Ministry responsible for Local Government, headed by Minister Alfred Grey nationally and through Administrator Jolton Johnson locally, in the wake of the fire, would like to use the same building to, according to the Minister, “temporarily” house some of the staff and operations displaced.

According to Council member, Mr. Kevin Collins, after a series of communications with the Administrator the issue came to a head on Monday, July 22nd, 2013 when he was asked to but refused to hand over the keys for the building. Collins said he did so based on a letter granting permission to use the building as a library and resource center for the Upper Bogue community.

Police were reportedly called in to mediate between the parties and as a result a council meeting was called on Tuesday afternoon, July 23rd in Lower Bogue at the North Eleuthera High School beginning at 5pm.

A meeting of the Council did not resolve the dispute with both  sides remaining firm in their intentions. The likely outcome at this point, unless the Ministry chooses otherwise, appears destinded for the outfitting work to stop and for Admin services, atleast temporarily to be housed in the Government Building.