THE MANAGEMENT of Seacastles Beach Resort at Rose Hall, Montego Bay, is now forking out $30,000 per day for water following the disconnection of its supply by the National Water Commission (NWC), for the non-payment of a $3.3 million bill.
The NWC has already filed a suit against Canadian-based Cameleon Hotel Management, the company that runs the property, to recover the amount.
In a news release Tuesday, the NWC said two cheques issued by Cameleon and totalling $1.188 million had bounced. Anthony Sabate, the company's general manager, yesterday confirmed that the cheques had bounced but explained that enough cash was not in the accounts because other cheques were honoured first.
According to the NWC, the suit was filed after several attempts were made to recover the outstanding amount. Following the lawsuit, Came-leon approached the NWC with a proposed settlement plan which was accepted after "intensive negotiations".
The settlement required that the hotel's management accept liability for the full amount of $3,347,823.56 and to settle same with immediate payment of $2 million. The balance was to be paid over four months. Cameleon reportedly made a lump sum payment of $800,000 and a further payment totalling $1.188 million on December 21,2001. However, the two cheques for this amount were returned to the NWC.
Mr. Sabate, in defence of Cameleon, charged that it was the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) who is billed for the water. In fact, he said, the bills are made out to the UDC. "Legally I do not understand why we (Cameleon) should pay when the bill is made out to the UDC," he said.
He explained that 198 apartments make up the strata development which was built by the UDC. Of that number, 120 are managed by Cameleon, the others are privately run.
Mr. Sabate, A Spanish national, further explained that the outstanding bills are for the a period from 1999 to September 2000, before he arrived at the property. He arrived at Seacastles on September 21 that year.
All apartment owners are required to pay maintenance fees which are used to pay 50 per cent of the security bill. The remainder is used for the upkeep of the property. Sabate charged that the UDC and the strata company have not collected any fees for the past four years.
Meanwhile, a certified cheque for J$636,000 has been refused by the NWC, Sabate said. He claimed it was not accepted because the NWC deemed the amount to be insufficient. Mr. Sabate has blamed the lack of funds to clear the arrears on the downturn in visitor arrivals following the September 11 terrorists attacks on the United States.
"We just did not generate enough funds to clear the bill," he told The Gleaner. He has promised to pay the amount being requested by the end of the week.
Until then, Cameleon will continue paying $30,000 per day for 15 truckloads of water. It takes that amount of water to fill the tanks on the property.
