Eleuthera families: We want Disney

The view at Lighthouse Point. Photo: Barefoot Marketing

As of Friday, September 21, 2018

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

JOB creation will be the determining factor in the fight over the development of Lighthouse Point, according to one resident in Central and South Eleuthera.

In a series of interviews with The Tribune this week, various residents from the community have argued that the “ultimate voice of the people” must be heard, and once that occurs, “respected and encouraged.”

Lighthouse Point, a privately owned 700-acre peninsula comprising the southern tip of Eleuthera, has remained in the public spotlight for much of the past three months, with conservation groups launching a massive preservation campaign for the property.

Disney Cruise Lines has proposed to develop a destination at the site.

Organisations such as the Bahamas National Trust and the One Eleuthera Foundation, along with many other environmentalists and activist groups, are instead calling for sustainable development at the site.

“We want what we can see, not what they say they can get other people to do for us,” said Roscoe Thompson, 57, of Wemyss Bight, when contacted for comment.

Insisting the public comments made by groups opposing the Disney development have been unbalanced and void of true public support, Mr Thompson said sustainable job creation and community development are what residents are after.

“We are long-suffering here in Eleuthera,” he told The Tribune. “They are complaining about Disney’s plans, but we are looking for a way to feed our families and keep our kids here.”

“This is my view, it doesn’t have to be right, but it’s mine.

“There are very little jobs here and we need all we can get. One Eleuthera has been around for years and did very little to develop anything around here.

“Now, we have a company stepping up to add jobs and now they want to speak up,” he added. “It just seems shady to me.”

Mr Thompson said he, like many other residents, view One Eleuthera and its coalition of environmental groups as nothing more than a “last minute bid” by special interest groups looking to “protect their playground.”

Mr Thompson claimed residents have sat back for years, hoping “donors would smile on Eleuthera.”

“Nothing happened, Now, One Eleuthera is marching all around talking about how they have these backers, these donors who are interested in doing for Eleuthera.”

“Where have they been? That is my point, They popped up when the talk about Disney did. Then everywhere was ‘Save Lighthouse Point.’”

He continued: “I have no personal problem with One Eleuthera, the way I see it, if Disney wants to come in here, One Eleuthera should have welcomed them.”

“They didn’t wait to hear Disney pitch before bad-mouthing them. If One Eleuthera has this money, they could invest it in another part of the island; the more the merrier. Both can coexist and many other investors. I don’t see why we should be cross firing,” Mr Thompson said.

Another resident, Bernadette Sweeting, 50, of Green Castle, said despite the perceived silence, “the true Eleuthera” is totally on board with the Disney development.

“You hear them on the radio, you see them in the papers non-stop; that is how they work,” she said, referring to the groups opposing the Disney development.

“But that isn’t coming from the people who really live here. The mothers and the fathers that have to sit back and watch their babies grow up and move away.

“That’s not the story from the young people who can’t find work and leave school to nothing.

“When you speak to the true Eleutheran, you will get the picture that Disney coming here is what we have wanted,” she said.

Mrs Sweeting said in the lead up to her decision to publicly back the Disney development, she “considered” the proposals presented by “all sides.”

“I didn’t rule out anything, One Eleuthera made my decision for me,” she said. “It was the things they didn’t answer and the things they wouldn’t touch.”

According to Mrs Sweeting, One Eleuthera in its presentation to residents sidestepped questions raised over their finances.

“Anyone with sense knows that when you are speaking to investments and major development, money has to be there. When we asked, the answers were funny; they didn’t tell us much, so it left more questions than answers.”

“We waited for Disney to hear both sides, we wanted to be fair. Having met with the president of Disney last week, I am comfortable that they are serious about their intentions,” she said.

“They talked about the low density development and conservation, sustainable design and business practices, public access, job and economic vitality and celebrating our culture.

“That was all built around improving life for us in Central and South Eleuthera,” she added.

The Tribune understands that residents and groups that support Disney’s proposal for Lighthouse Point are expected to launch a campaign of their own, with a view to inspire like-minded Bahamians to publicly back the development.

Earlier this month, One Eleuthera’s President and CEO Shaun Ingraham warned that any exclusive development at Lighthouse Point would cut circulation of ground traffic into South Eleuthera.

In those comments he asserted the move could cause further economic harm to a community already “suffering enough right now”.

He said his organisation’s plan for the area would make use of zones to stimulate the local economy while also protecting the area.

BahamaPundit 5 years, 7 months ago

Who doesn't want Disney. NOBODY!!! We all know what's happened in the past -- people stood in the way in hopes of getting a big pay day -- they protested until a 5 million dollar donation was made. The Disney purchase of Lighthouse Point is a no brainer!!! Could be anchor project to rejuvenate the entire economy of Eleuthera for decades to come. Disney is a game changer. Any place they move into raises realestate value everywhere around them. They are capitalist royalty!!! Anybody standing in the way of Disney should sit small. Mickey Mouse is a game changer and would benefit us all!!!

TheMadHatter 5 years, 7 months ago

he told The Tribune. “They are complaining about Disney’s plans, but we are looking for a way to feed our families and keep our kids here.”

NO. Only conch slop fa yall. The environmentalists say we must starve to protect the environment and the church says you must have more children to starve along with you.

Sickened 5 years, 7 months ago

Actually, I think we should put Disney on our next voting ballot so that they can manage our entire country. They would have everything running smoothly, people trained correctly, areas cleaned up and tourists coming in by boat, plane and probably by monorail.

DDK 5 years, 7 months ago

Mickey for our next PM!!

OldFort2012 5 years, 7 months ago

Brilliant idea. We are totally unfit to run a piss up in a brewery, let alone a sovereign country. I for one would not mind not going to vote every few years if it meant that things ran properly. This democracy thing is vastly over-rated.

Alex_Charles 5 years, 7 months ago

sounds like a good idea to me. We'd actually have a functioning postal service too!

MaryMack53 5 years, 7 months ago

No one can deny that Eleuthera is in desperate need of economic stimulation. Those vessels should really be directed to Nassau port where we already have the capacity to handle them. This is one of the major reasons why the Nassau port needs to be improved urgently. Lets hope D'Aguilar follows through with the RFP process quickly.

OMG 5 years, 7 months ago

One Eleuthera exists for S Ingraham and his pet projects all down south. Its laughable that it is caled One Eleuthera. Mr Ingraham has had years to do this and now starts shouting. Obviously foreign backers not only pay his salary but are probably promising funds to secure as Roscoe quote rightly says " their private playground" .All these people on Facebook trying to get 36000 signatures are not Bahamians. I bet that they would be upset if I dropped in on their US community and started interfering in some local project. . So south Eleutherans have to remain poor whilst Mr Ingraham has plenty of income and these non Bahamians advocate for a part of the island they may visit once a year or never.

sheeprunner12 5 years, 7 months ago

This is why Bahamians are being screwed everyday ........ divide and conquer

Porcupine 5 years, 7 months ago

I see this issue coming up in many places here in The Bahamas. Short term cash for the long term selling out of the country. We make the choice almost daily, from spending 600 million a year at the web shops, taking a few dollars for voting for an MP, taking undersized crawfish and conch to "feed our families", welcoming in any for foreigner who may have a few dollars only to swing them............ The Bahamian experiment is coming to an end. We will either go broke before all else, or the waters will swallow up these islands before we know it. Both are happening. It is just a question of which will come first. There is a very high cost for choosing to remain ignorant. Here is a prime example, and the comments to prove it.

ashley14 5 years, 7 months ago

Disney is a game changer. The economy would explode. You don't even realize how much. All the bull would have to stop. Florida doesn't have a state income tax for residents. Tourist's pay it. Your government would have to step up too. Disney wouldn't play games with them. Great chance for the Bahamian people.

becks 5 years, 7 months ago

Ashley14 and all of you who are for this Disney project and who keep saying it “will be a game changer” and the Eleuthera “ economy will explode” and that “ it could rejuvenate the Eleuthera economy for decades” please explain to the rest of us, if that is really what will happen why is it then that the already existing Princess Cay cruise ship port just down the road a couple of miles, that has been there for years, hasn’t already done all those wonderful things that you claim will happen because of Disney? Princess Cays hasn’t done anything beyond providing a few menial jobs cleaning toilets etc. to a very small number of locals. The economy didn’t take off. By what magical and mystical thinking do you actually think that anything diffrent will happen with Disney? Open your eyes, Disney will rape the land, make millions off of it and throw 20 menial jobs to a few locals and that’s it. Period. Same exact formula Princess used down the road and same all the other cruise lines, Disney included, used at their other private spots in the Bahamas.

OMG 5 years, 7 months ago

Funny how nobody complained about Princess Cays being developed. Um! Where was One Eleuthera then?

becks 5 years, 7 months ago

Nice try at diverting the question and why are you so focused on One Eleuthera and Shaun Ingraham? You keep bringing him up seems like you have a personal issue with him, a bit of Black crab syndrome maybe? One Eleuthera didn’t exist back when Princess Cay was developed..now how about answering my question...what happened to all the fantastic game changing economic improvements by the development of Princess Cay.

The_Oracle 5 years, 7 months ago

Freeport was the original site that Walt Disney looked at, then chose swamp land in Florida! Unfortunately all of our our arguments for and against are largely built on a false sense of what could be/should be/would be which will never be. We are desperate for jobs, full stop. Disney wants a better private island destination with tax concessions from a Government which is inept in negotiation and desperate. That hand writing is on the wall. Who owns the damn land anyway? Ain't seen that name in print yet.

ThisIsOurs 5 years, 7 months ago

Promises promises. These people have nothing on Lucifer when he promised Jesus the world if he would ONLY bow down and worship him.

How many more broken promises do we need before we stop selling our souls for maid, butler, janitor, receptionist, waiter and security jobs? This sound just like the illegal gambling promises, they surely got super rich but what have they delivered to the Family Islands but blight?

Sign in to comment

Or login with:

OpenID

The Tribune