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BILL NO. Thirty-Fifth Legislature of the Virgin Islands A Resolution honoring and commending Carlton “Ital” Dowe for his contributions to the people of the Virgin Islands PROPOSED BY: Senator Novelle E. Francis, Jr. WHEREAS, Carlton “Ital” Dowe was born on February 19, 1958 to the late Issa Barry- 1 Thomas of Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and Henry A. Dowe of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; 2 and 3 WHEREAS, in 1978, Carlton “Ital” Dowe graduated from the Charlotte Amalie High 4 School; and 5 WHEREAS, Carlton received an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies and 6 Associate of Fire Science Technology and Administration degree from Miami Dade 7 Community College in Miami, Florida; and 8 WHEREAS, Carlton “Ital” Dowe earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice 9 from John Jay College, City University of New York; and 10 2 WHEREAS, in 1983, Carlton became the youngest person to assume the 1 responsibilities of Fire Chief, for the then Virgin Islands Fire Service, St. Thomas-St. John 2 district; and 3 WHEREAS, under Carlton’s leadership, the Fortuna/Bordeaux fire substation was 4 established and the smoke detector program in the Tutu and Bordeaux communities was 5 initiated; and 6 WHEREAS, in 1995, Carlton was confirmed as the Director of the Virgin Islands Fire 7 Service; and 8 WHEREAS, Carlton is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and 9 the International Association of Arson Investigators; and 10 WHEREAS, after serving as the Director of the Virgin Islands Fire Service, Carlton 11 “Ital” Dowe became a United States Marshal; and 12 WHEREAS, while serving as a United States Marshal, Carlton served warrants in 13 conjunction with the Virgin Islands Police Department Special Operations Bureau and was 14 integral in making many notable and high-profile arrests; and 15 WHEREAS, Carlton “Ital” Dowe served his community as a five-term senator in the 16 Legislature of the Virgin Islands; and 17 WHEREAS, in his first term in the Twenty-Fourth Legislature of the Virgin Islands, 18 Senator Dowe advocated for $10,000,000 union wage increases; and 19 WHEREAS, in the Twenty-Fifth Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Senator Dowe 20 sponsored legislation that established the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands; and 21 3 WHEREAS, in the Twenty-Seventh Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Senator Dowe was 1 a co-sponsor of legislation that established the Witness Protection Program and he was also a 2 lead sponsor of legislation that appropriated $2,900,000 for the construction of Leonard 3 “Nardo” Trotman Drive on St. Thomas; and 4 WHEREAS, in the Twenty-Eighth Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Senator Dowe was 5 the primary sponsor of a measure that gave a cost of living increase to the Government 6 Employees Retirement System’s annuitants and he was also a co-sponsor of legislation that 7 assisted with the bid preference for small businesses; and 8 WHEREAS, in the Twenty-Ninth Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Senator Dowe was 9 the primary sponsor of legislation that promoted literacy by establishing the eBook Pilot 10 Program for elementary, junior, high and alternative education schools and other educational 11 programs and he also supported legislation that provided funding for the Virgin Islands’ public 12 education system, by increasing the motor vehicle rental surcharge from $2.00 to $3.75, of 13 which $2.00 was allocated to the Virgin Islands Education Initiative Fund; and 14 WHEREAS, in the Twenty-Ninth Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Senator Dowe and 15 his colleagues successfully sponsored and passed legislation that created the Division of Capital 16 Improvements in the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works and he also advocated and 17 successfully led the charge to implement a marine terminal user’s tax; and 18 WHEREAS, Carlton “Ital” Dowe currently serves as the Executive Director of the 19 Virgin Islands Port Authority (“VIPA”); and 20 WHEREAS, Carlton was steadfast in the expansion of the Crown Bay Dock, where some 21 of the largest cruise ships in the world have berthed including the Icon of the Seas; and 22 WHEREAS, Dowe successfully negotiated a 10-year berthing agreement with Royal 23 Caribbean Cruise Line at the Austin “Babe” Monsanto Marine Terminal in Crown Bay; and 24 4 WHEREAS, Carlton “Ital” Dowe orchestrated and successfully negotiated agreements 1 with Royal Caribbean Group (“RCG”) and Cruise Terminals International (“CTI”) that will 2 transform the Virgin Islands’ cruise industry and secure its position as a premier cruise 3 destination in the Caribbean. The first agreement is an extension of the existing Memorandum 4 of Understanding between VIPA, CTI and RCG, reaffirming CTI and RCG’s commitment to 5 develop the Crown Bay District, including the Austin “Babe” Monsanto Marine Facility and 6 Crown Bay Center in St. Thomas. The second agreement is an addendum to the existing 10- 7 year Piers Usage Agreement between the VIPA and RCG, which creates a Capital Cost 8 Recovery Charge (“CRCC”). The funds generated from the CRCC will be used to advance the 9 Crown Bay District Upland Development project on St. Thomas, including the pre- 10 development work for a third cruise ship dock, and to fund the pre-development costs to 11 advance improvements to allow for a broader range of ships to call on St. Croix; and 12 WHEREAS, Dowe led the VIPA’s team in the successful refinancing of VIPA’s 2003 13 marine bonds at a savings of approximately $2,400,000, which money was used for: funding 14 the refurbishment of the Gallows Bay Marine Terminal; bulkhead dredging of the Schooner 15 Bay Channel to facilitate the berthing of small cruise ships in Christiansted, St. Croix; 16 developing a paid parking facility in Cruz Bay; and constructing a U.S. Customs and Broder 17 Protection facility and a multi-level parking garage at the Red Hook Terminal; and 18 WHEREAS, under Carlton Dowe’s leadership, for the first time in VIPA’s history, the 19 VIPA secured the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant from the 20 United States Department of Transportation which was used to complete seaport projects; and 21 WHEREAS, Dowe lobbied for the passage of legislation that resulted in tremendous 22 savings to the VIPA by allowing claims against the VIPA related to injury, loss of property, 23 personal injury or death to be limited to an amount not to exceed $75,000; and 24 5 WHEREAS, Dowe lobbied for the passage of legislation that allowed the VIPA to 1 collect the entire $1 of the Marine Terminal Tax, as opposed to 30 cents, which resulted in 2 $1,100,000 in new revenue; and 3 WHEREAS, under the leadership of Carlton Dowe, for the first time in 11 years, the 4 VIPA received discretionary funding from the Federal Aviation Administration; and 5 WHEREAS, Dowe recommended and implemented, with the approval of the VIPA 6 Board, an increase in ship dues and wharfage fees for inter-island travel between St. Thomas 7 and St. John and the British Virgin Islands; at that time, the increase was the first increase in 8 20 years resulting in a 78% increase in ships dues and a 133% increase in wharfage fees over a 9 four-month period compared to the same period the previous year; and 10 WHEREAS, through Carlton Dowe’s leadership, the VIPA now generates additional 11 revenues to support its operations; and 12 WHEREAS, Carlton revamped the VIPA’s internal policies to improve management, 13 including its financial, procurement, travel and records retention policies; and 14 WHEREAS, Carlton Dowe implemented human resources programs for the VIPA’s 15 employees, completed union negotiations, fulfilled outstanding contractual obligations that 16 brought all contracts current, which resulted in unionized employees being paid at their correct 17 grade and step; and 18 WHEREAS, Dowe continues to work hard on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands 19 through his efforts in the remodeling of the Cyril E. King and Henry Rohlsen airports; and 20 WHEREAS, Dowe led a team that accomplished the Public Private Partnership that will 21 finance infrastructural improvements at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix and Cyril E. 22 King Airport on St. Thomas; this transformative collaboration will enable the Virgin Islands to 23 remain competitive with other Caribbean tourist destinations; and 24 6 WHEREAS, Carlton has organized several flight arrival ceremonies to commemorate 1 young Virgin Islanders piloting major airlines into the Virgin Islands; and 2 WHEREAS, Carlton advocated for the implementation of aviation programs in the 3 Virgin Islands public schools; and 4 WHEREAS Carlton is married to Mrs. Jacqueline Smith-Dowe and has six children: 5 Shenika, Roane, Shawn, Lynelle, J’Koi, and N’Kai; and seven grandchildren: Shawn, Jaden, 6 Kyleigh, Kaiden, Asia, Brielle, and Xion; Now, Therefore, 7 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands: 8 SECTION 1. The Legislature of the Virgin Islands, on behalf of the people of the Virgin 9 Islands, honors and commends Carlton “Ital” Dowe for outstanding public service to the people 10 of the Virgin Islands, through his roles as Fire Chief and Director of the Virgin Islands Fire and 11 Emergency Services, United States Marshal, five-term senator in the Legislature of the Virgin 12 Islands, and Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Port Authority. 13 SECTION 2. In recognition and appreciation of his contributions to the Virgin Islands 14 community, the President of the Legislature, or the President’s designee, shall present a perma 15 plaque copy of this Resolution to Carlton “Ital” Dowe at an appropriate ceremony. 16 BILL SUMMARY 17 This bill honors and commends Carlton “Ital” Dowe for his many years of service and 18 contributions to the Virgin Islands community. 19 BR23-0411/September 24, 2024/GC 20