Snorkeller said:
I do not know "what is being proposed." I am not sure President Gibbs at this time knows what will happen on Orient Beach. There seems to be a distinction between the immediate time between now and October 1, 2018 and then the planning for after October 1, 2018.
I do struggle with the idea that it was folly to build the Five Stars and other beach structures that lasted for more than 20 years as very successful businesses. I think building them - like building Dreams on Nettle - was a calculated and reasonable taking of risk by entrepreneurs.
If you simply want to take the position that nothing should be built that close to the high water mark again, fine - say so. But, to say that the plan needs to be to build that close to the high water mark again in a way that would withstand the hit that Orient Beach took from Irma - I just do not think that ever will happen.
And, let me add that I do not want that to happen. I do not want concrete bunkers built on Orient Beach. I much prefer nothing or what was there before Irma and before the carbets.
It appears as though the French government, which ultimately owns the beachfront IINM, is considering requiring any improvements to be very low impact, and capable of disassembled easily. I used the term "folly" to refer to any notion that what was built would withstand a major storm. Sure, people made money while it lasted, more than they would have made had they faced the responsibility to clean up the debris left behind, which I seriously doubt will be the case. Will any of the entrepreneurs line up to write a check for those costs? Who will get stuck for those costs?
What happened with the "small bars" between Club Orient and Kon Tiki is instructive. Someone had the "brilliant" idea to "upgrade" those places. All that was left behind, based on the photos I saw, were the roofs, sitting on top of the footprints of the buildings.
My guess is that the French government wants any future improvements to be designed based on reality, and not some fantasy that there will not be another major storm, so that when the inevitable happens, the residual financial impact involved in cleaning up the mess is minimized. Makes sense to me.
