Negril ATV wash station to improve vehicle care, enhance effective resort policing
Published:Monday | October 2, 2023 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The implementation of a washstand for the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) fleet in Negril, Westmoreland, is expected to significantly contribute to the longevity of these vehicles by facilitating improved maintenance practices.
That’s according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (P-STEB) within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF),
McKenzie characterised the donation of an ATV washstand to the Negril police by hotelier Richard Wallace and his friends as significant, stating that such equipment helps to ensure that the resort area division, which is part of the policing infrastructure, can effectively serve the residents of Negril and the rest of Jamaica.
“The provision of this washstand is really not a simple thing, it is something which is very important to the maintenance and upkeep of the vehicles and I am quite sure that because of this washstand we will have the vehicles better maintained and they will last even longer,” McKenzie said.
He was speaking during a ceremony to hand over the Boardwalk Village donated ATV Wash Station at the Negril Police Station on September 27.
He noted that this facility in Negril will reduce the need for ATV to be sent into Kingston for maintenance and that the police force views this as a very generous act on the part of the Negril business community.
“When we think of the use of our tools in the JCF, they are important to us and when we come down to the ATVs, they are very important tools that enable the police to be more effective as they conduct their duties,” the ACP said.
“This particular wash station, we value it in a very big way. We will take care of the equipment and we will ensure that it provides the service that it is here for,” McKenzie told those who were in attendance.
According to the head of the P-STEB, the public will be delighted to see that the efforts of forward-thinking citizens have resulted in a utility that will serve us well and aid us in our enforcement duties.
Daryl Whyte-Wong, director of visitor safety and experience at TPDCO, emphasises the significance of ATVs to the resort town of Negril while praising the decision to construct a wash station for their maintenance.
Citing research on ATVs, Whyte-Wong stated that these units have an average lifespan of three years and that the Negril resort area has had access to these vehicles for seven years.
PROPER MAINTENANCE
“So, even without the proper maintenance, the unit was taken care of to the best of their capability. Adding this washstand to it, then we expect to get an even greater lifespan out of these units,” the TPDCO visitors safety and experience director said.
Richard Wallace, managing director of Boardwalk Village, said it is difficult to adequately police Negril’s seven-mile beach without the use of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV).
“Recently the two older ATVs broke down and were not working for a while, that’s when it became so stark of how important they are,” Wallace stated.
He stated that the Negril Chamber of Commerce and Industry, under his presidency, advocated for the purchase of two ATVs and a wash station when the situation became overwhelming.
“We insisted that whoever purchased the vehicles also install a wash station; the ATVs were purchased, and we are very pleased, but the wash station was not installed,” said Wallace, who added that the construction of a wash station was crucial to the longevity of the ATVs, but neither the Tourism Product Development Company nor the Tourism Enhancement Fund were undertaking the task.
“Through the grateful citizens we are, I offered personally and through my company Boardwalk Village to install the wash station - we went ahead and we decided that this was the best location to build it,” Wallace said.
During the process of constructing the wash station, Wallace believed that BoardWalk would be responsible for the entire cost. However, he disclosed that some local business leaders, including Novus Building Systems, came to the rescue and donated all the concrete required for the facility. Additionally, welders and electricians from the community volunteered their services for free.