The Tribune

• Auto dealer ‘on mend’ but Gov’t relief will be help

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Village Road auto dealer yesterday said his business is “on the mend” with sales returning to pre-COVID levels amid the ongoing wait for government compensation following the roadworks’ completion.

Brent Fox, Montague Motors’ principal, told Tribune Business he “cannot complain” with auto sales “bouncing back pretty well” over the past three to four months but urged the Davis administration to deliver on its promises of relief for roadworks-hit businesses just to show it is “looking out for people”.

Noting that it will likely be impossible for his firm and others to recover what they lost during the road improvements, he added that Montague Motors would likely have enjoyed a post-pandemic revival a year sooner without the closures and general disruption created by the project.

“We’ve actually bounced back pretty well. I can’t complain,” Mr Fox told this newspaper. “That was actually a year there where we could have rebounded a lot earlier. Where we were going to be a year ago we ware there now since the construction finished. 

“Other than that I cannot complain because sales have been pretty good in the last three to four months. We’re back to pre-COVID levels. I would say that we’re definitely back to normal over the last three to four months, but we would probably have been in this position a year ago had it not been for the roadworks construction. We’re on the mend.”

Village Road businesses, having formed a Collective to press the Government for financial relief due to the roadworks’ significant impact on trade, have met with the likes of Alfred Sears KC, minister of works and utilities, and Michael Halkitis, several times to make their case. The prospect of tax relief, or some other form of compensation, was mentioned in passing during the recent Budget debate but nothing concrete has yet come forth from the Government.

“There has to be some compensation. We’re not talking a few thousand dollars that were lost. We’re talking $100,000, which could easily make or break any business. If I did not own my property, maybe I wouldn’t be in business any more. Come on government, when are you going to do what you promised? It’s all good.

“If you don’t push them, they kind of let it fade away. That’s what I think. Nothing has really happened for me, and nothing has really happened as far as what was promised: They were going to help to relaunch Village Road and do advertising, and this and that. That’s all really talk, I think.....We’re still waiting for the compensation, even if it’s just $5,000 to say we’re looking out for people. I’ve already done my complaining and seen how far it got me.”

Mr Fox said he had previously “raised hell” about damage done to his boundary wall and fence during the roadworks, but Emile Knowles, principal of Knowles Construction, the project’s main contractor, told Tribune Business there was no evidence that his vehicles or anyone connected to the project was responsible.

As a result, the Montague Motors chief said he had performed the necessary repairs himself “otherwise I would still be waiting, but $2,000 here, $3,000 there, it all adds up”. Mr Fox said the Government could compensate impacted businesses in a variety of ways without having to spend its scarce cash resources, suggesting that it offer VAT, Business Licence or real property tax relief or a combination of all these measures.

“They could give compensation by way of giving me a VAT holiday,” he added. “There’s a number of ways where it’s not going to cost the Government a cash outlay. They could do something with Customs duties, VAT, Business Licence fees, waive something here or there.”

Some 15 companies previously signed their names to a letter authored by the Village Road collective, where it was suggested the Government provide “refurbishment grants” for residents and business owners to repair damaged premises, vehicles and other facilities impacted by the project. It also called for Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) bill discounts, and “full sponsorship” of a collaborative marketing campaign to entice consumers back to the Village Road area.

VAT credits, plus Business Licence and real property tax waivers, were also suggested as mechanisms to compensate for the damage inflicted by roadworks that have caused consumers to avoid the area “like the plague” and resulted in up to a 46 percent income losses for businesses.

It is not unheard of, though, for the Government to provide tax breaks and other concessions for businesses impacted by long-running roadworks projects. The last Christie administration did so for the New Providence Road Improvement Project that impacted multiple businesses in numerous areas of the island more than one decade ago.

Mr Fox, meanwhile, said that while the situation was “a little better” his yard is still flooding during heavy rain. This is despite a new drain that was installed at Village Road’s northern end at the bottom of the hill, and he added: “They never really dug a new drain. They dug across the street and connected to an existing drain.

“They really didn’t solve the problem of excess flooding. It’s still not draining when it floods. It’s a little better but still flooding. A lot of money was spent but they have still to address the issue. It is what it is. It seems that the more you complain, the less you get done.”

Mr Fox also reiterated that the roadworks had failed to solve his sewerage system connection issues. With the city’s sewerage pipe now higher than previously, it is impossible for his line to connect to this, and he will continue rely on the same lift station used for the past 40 years to pump waste - with all the maintenance and associated costs that brings.

“The road is in good condition and we have the flow of traffic coming back,” Mr Fox said. “It looks good, but we have the same pre-existing issues at the bottom of Village Road. I tried to get their attention before they broke ground, and everyone was aware of it, but it was not in their plans to sort out. I was out there begging them that I’d like to hook back up to the sewer line.”

To do that now, Mr Fox said, means he will have to spend around $50,000 to dig a new sewer line from Village Road to the back of his property and raise it six inches to connect with the city’s line. “At the end of the day, we’re rolling along doing pretty well,” he added. “The road looks good. The issues haven’t been resolved, but life goes on.”