St. John residents want action on the high cost of energy, the opening of more access roads to Coral Bay and economic development, several said Tuesday at a town meeting called by Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen. About three dozen people attended the meeting held at Julius E. Sprauve School.

“What role should the federal government play?” Hugo Roller asked when speaking about energy issues.

Christensen outlined a Resource Integration Plan that would enable the V.I. Water and Power Authority to determine the right mix of power sources such as solar, propane and liquefied natural gas to get the territory off its dependence on fossil fuel.

“No other place in the United States is as dependent on fossil fuel,” Christensen said.

On a similar subject, Albert Willis complained about the more than two years it has taken to get his net metering project running.

“It took DPNR two years to do the inspection,” he said, echoing remarks made by other residents at other meetings where the subject came up.

The issue of road access to Coral Bay is another perennial meeting topic. Currently Centerline Road is the only paved road to Coral Bay. Residents complain that if Centerline Road is blocked, they will have no way to get in or out of Coral Bay.

“The road’s been an issue for years. We can’t wait until there’s a catastrophe,” Christensen said.

King Hill Road, however, which is paved from the North Shore Road to Centerline Road, has an unpaved section that runs from Centerline Road downhill into Coral Bay. A total of $850,000 was appropriated to pave the road, but the job was never done.

In response to a question about why it didn’t happen, Coral Bay Community Council President Sharon Coldren explained that both sections of the road meet Centerline Road on a very steep incline. “If it’s a four-way intersection, it becomes way, way too dangerous,” she said.

In order to make it safe, both approaches on King Hill Road would have to be built up to make the approaches level with Centerline Road, and that would cost “millions and millions.” She said another solution would be to relocate the spot where the unpaved side of King Hill Road meets Centerline Road.

Coldren also said that Centerline Road itself needs “serious money” to fix its deteriorating condition.

In addition to King Hill Road, access roads on the north and the south sides of Coral Bay need to be opened, according to resident Yvonne Wells.

Noting that V.I. National Park was the biggest player on St. John, another resident, Jose Penn, suggested that the park needs to play a bigger role in St. John’s economic development planning.

Basil Ottley, who serves as the desk officer in the Virgin Islands for the Interior Department’s Office of Insular Affairs, suggested that residents bring their concerns to the park as it develops a 15-year master plan.

Friends of the Park President Joe Kessler replied to Ottley, saying work on that plan came to a halt because the process had taken so long that the information was already outdated. “They spent a ridiculous amount of money on community meetings and scoping meetings,” Kessler said.

Penn spoke at great length about how important managed economic development is for St. John so future generations can earn a living.