Employees of S and S Services Corp. are back at the Bovoni landfill pending an expected payment from the government this week.
S and S has maintained the landfill for seven years, according to S and S President Siewdath Sookam. Workers walked out last week because of nonpayment by the government. It was the second walkout in four months, according to the V.I. Independent.
Sookam said a meeting is scheduled today with Public Works Commissioner Harry Thompson Jr. to settle on the payment. He said the government owes him $600,000 to $700,000.
Thompson said he was certain the amount owed Sookam is "in the six figures."
Thompson said he spent last week and the weekend aggressively pursuing a plan to get Sookham paid and to develop a contingency in the event that S and S stayed off the job.
Asked about the impact of a walkout, Thompson said, "Not having the daily cover [of the landfill] puts us in non-compliance with federal codes."
Lack of daily maintenance also results in swarms of flies in the area, the Independent quoted Bovoni residents as saying.
And, of course, there's the danger of another landfill fire. Thompson said the hazard created by not having anyone on the job required Public Works to watch the landfill hour to hour and day to day.
"We were looking to identify someone else who could do the job, while we were looking for money to pay S and S," he said.
Thompson said he was still working on trying to get Sookram paid this week.