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Police Stations Face Deadline to Upgrade Septic
Posted by Editor | July 30, 2009 | Categories: Government and Politics | 1 Comment
A long standing complaint that the Puerto Viejo and Cahuita police stations did not have proper septic tanks has esclated with the Ministry of Health ordering the building to be closed.
The station in Puerto Viejo, located beachfront, has already had a septic tank donated by the local tourism association CATCAS and local business owners doing construction in the area have stepped in and donated work to get the septic field built.
So apparently the work is well under way.
But an A.M. Costa Rica article yesterday alarmed many people as it only mentioned the closure order and not the fact that work is ongoing.
The tourism board among others are negotiating with the health ministry to make sure the order is delayed so that the work can be completed and Puerto Viejo is not left without a police station.
Update: One of our readers contacted The Tico Times, a generally more reliable source, and got this additional information from reporter Mike McDonald:
Thank you for your concern about the police stations in Puerto Viejo and Cahuita. I have received a lot of emails about this article in the past 24 hours and there is some confusion about the issue. The police stations are not closing nor is anyone trying to close them.
This is what happened: The Ministry of Health issued a series of orders to the Ministry of Public Security about some health and safety concerns they noticed in police stations along the Atlantic coast, which is nothing abnormal. The Health Ministry requested that the station in Puerto Viejo replace a damaged door, install a new fire extinguisher, replace some old electric outlets and repair two windows.
The only closure the Health Ministry issued was for the kitchen and the bedroom in the police station in Tuba Creek. The Tuba Creek police station will remain open, but officers will not be able to cook or sleep there until the two rooms are cleaned and repaired. I confirmed this information with both ministries. I also spoke with Luis Videla, the man from the Southern Zone Chameber of Commerce cited in the AM Costa Rica article. His concern was mis-communicated in AM Costa Rica’s story. His wish was to call a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Security, which has been scheduled for next Monday, to ensure that the police stations comply with the Health Ministry’s requests so they do not have to close the station in the future.
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This afternoon community leaders where assured that the police delegations will not be closed down but would recieve the necessary upgrades in order to continue to operate. A request was also made for a meeting with the Ministry of Public Security and delegado Lacayo to further discuss this issue as well as other concerns regarding crime and security in Caribesur.