By The Star Staff
Aguada Mayor Christian Cortés Feliciano took advantage of Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia’s visit to the northwestern coastal town on Sunday for political meetings to make public his demands about pending projects that demand urgent attention.
“Indeed, I wanted to bring to the attention of the governor several issues that will surely not be discussed in his meetings today, but that it is up to his administration to address and that unfortunately to this day remain unresolved,” Cortés Feliciano said. “These are important issues for our people. The first, and surely the most urgent, is the incredible problem that the management of the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) has to provide a stable drinking water service in our town. There is no reliable service, but the bills arrive in the mailboxes without fail.”
The mayor, who is also an engineer, drew attention to an unattended landslide on state highway PR-417 in the Marías neighborhood (next to the El Grand Marnier Restaurant), as well as another landslide on PR-411 in the Jagüey neighborhood close to Epifanio Estrada School.
Similarly, the laying of asphalt on highway PR-417 is urgent;ly needed “from kilometer 4.64 to kilometer 11.00, from the Mamey neighborhood to the PR-2 exit in the Cerro Gordo neighborhood,” Cortés Feliciano said.
In addition, PR-2 in Aguada needs asphalt attention, as do other landslides on state highways caused by Hurricanes Irma, María and Fiona that endanger the safety of citizens and hinder access to essential services, the mayor pointed out.
“Specifically, we are talking about PR-411 in the Jagüey and Atalaya neighborhoods, PR-419 in the neighborhoods of Naranjo, PR-417 in the Cerro Gordo neighborhoods and PR-414 in the neighborhoods of Cruces, among others,” Cortés Feliciano said. “Particularly worrisome is the landslide on state highway PR-115, in front of the Cooperative Center of our town, and the delays in the city’s revitalization projects, which are vital for the economic and social development of our town.”
“The truth is that these projects are at the mercy of a battle of egos between the technical teams of the Department of Housing, Horne and Tetra Tech,” the mayor said. “Take for example the South Detour project, on which the municipality has complied with everything, including building permits, and is waiting for the Department of Housing for a document -- a single document! -- to get started. I also brought to the governor’s attention the urgent need for the opening of the Government Center, and of course, the serious problem of coastal erosion on our shores of Aguada. I indicated to the governor that these matters are the responsibility of the state government to deal with. It is their responsibility to make things happen.”
The citizens of Aguada have also pointed out that the town’s old factories and facilities of the Industrial Development Company are abandoned and in disuse, Cortés Feliciano said. The mayor suggested that “if they transfer these facilities to the municipalities at nominal cost, we could fix them and rent them to citizens of our towns who have the need for spaces for their companies.”
“In Aguada we believe in and promote entrepreneurship,” he said.