Mayoral hopeful Mariea Caisey has written a personal message to the residents of St. George?s outlining why she believes the town?s future would be better with her at the helm of the Corporation.

And speaking to she spotlighted a range of issues including the creation of a boardwalk near Ordnance Island, opposing any pedestrianisation of the Town Square and taking action to stop speeding along Duke of York Street.

Only four days before the town goes to the polls on Thursday to elect a new mayor, Ms Caisey has revealed her hand in order that the people of the town can decide whether they wish her or current Mayor E. Michael Jones to lead for the next three years.

Ms Caisey wants to see the creation of a shade shelter for the horses used by carriage operators to transport visitors around the town, and she says there needs to be repairs done to the walking surface of Water Street, Customs House Square and other roads.

The stocks in the Town Square have been in need of repairs for at least a year, according to Ms Caisey, who questions why it is taking so long.

In her election letter, reproduced elsewhere in today?s newspaper, she states that the Corporation?s role is to run the town and take care of the properties it owns.

?Aspects of our town?s infrastructure need immediate attention, such as our street and town lighting. There are matters that are still outstanding from when I last sat on the Corporation in 2003 which have not been addressed,? said Ms Caisey.

She pointed out that the roof of the Town Hall damaged by Hurricane Fabian had not been repaired nor the upper floor which is used for town meetings, adding: ?Instead time and money have been spent on projects not immediately related to the town?s needs.?

And in reference to the elimination of double taxation for the town?s residents, sighted by Mr. Jones as one of his mayoral achievements, Ms Caisey points out: ?While much appreciated, it has not been finalised as amendments have yet to be made to the Municipalities Act.?

She continued: ?There has been talk of making the whole of the Town Square pedestrian. I?m against that. We have quite a few seniors within our community. The way the square is marked off now is sufficient enough because it allows those people to come and park and go to the different businesses that line the square.?

The issue of whether or not the Town Cut entrance to St. George?s harbour will need to be widened to allow new Panamax-size cruise ships access is another big talking point in the town.

?I?m not prepared to give any opinion about the Town Cut until we have the simulation study. But I would go as far as to say that I don?t think anyone would want to touch what Mother Nature has made out there. We all have to wait to see what the study says before we start to put our thinking caps on to what solution we can come up with,? she said.

And on the subject of policing the town, she commented: ?We used to have a periodical meeting with the Police and work together and have a Police presence and we would love to have a Police officer to walk the beat. We also need to have our fire station here, so we have to come to an understanding with the Government that our fire station does not leave this side of the bridge because we need to ensure we have coverage all the time.?

She continued: ?And I think there?s a problem with traffic speeding in St George?s. It starts at the start of Duke of York Street and the bikes go straight through the stop sign by Somers supermarket, up Barrack Hill and down to The Cut. There is not a week that goes by that I?m waiting to come out the stop sign that someone comes out. I would hate to think that we would wait until someone gets hurt. It?s a small town. We need to slow the traffic down.

Speaking on the continued uncertainty over what will become of the former Club Med resort site, she hoped a solution would soon be found as a new hotel was needed to put revenue back into the town.

If Panamax-size cruise ships come to the town there needs to be careful consideration to the number of visitors the town can comfortably accommodate without it suffering the fate of other Caribbean destinations that have become chock-a-block with people.

Ms Caisey also has concern that too great an influx of visitors would result in the town?s infrastructure, such as its sewage system, being unable to cope. With an eye on bringing more revenue to the Corporation in order to benefit the town, she proposes seeking approval to have pay-and-display parking in the Water Street car park.

Asked if she would be able to find the time to attend meetings and other town business, the manager of Bank of Bermuda?s St. George?s branch said she had permission from her employer to fulfil those responsibilities should the town?s 402 registered voters decide to make her mayor on Thursday.

Only Ms Caisey and Mr. Jones have put their names forward for the mayoral election. Five candidates are contesting the three Aldermen roles on the Corporation. The election of the five common councillors to complete the new Corporation is still at issue after only four candidates appeared by the original nominations closing date last Thursday. A revised closing date for nominations for the councillor positions has now been made for tomorrow.