Describing Gibbs Hill Lighthouse as a “rusty eyesore”, former hotelier WA Toppy Cowen has gone public with concerns on the present state of the building on Facebook.Mr Cowen posted a picture of the lighthouse on May 28 on his Facebook page and asked: “Why it is being allowed to become a rusty monument instead of a pristine tourism attraction?”The question prompted a host of responses on the popular tourist attraction on Facebook.“Approximately 25,000 people climb to the top of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse every year, Public Works haven’t been painting it for years but they handle the negotiations for maintenance with contractors,” said Mr Cowen.When contacted by The Royal Gazette, Mr Cowen, who resides in British Columbia, said the upkeep of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse has special meaning for him and his family.“My great grand father became a lighthouse keeper in 1858, so you can see this is a place that has some endearing memories,” he said.“When we read there are probably more than 25 percent of the buses in Bermuda that need repair or waiting for parts and new ones are also on order, we must ask ourselves, why has this been allowed to happen similar to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse that is now a rusty eyesore?“There are stories about a slew of GP cars that are in desperate need of repairs and a GP car left on Church Street for almost a week because it needed service.“Couple that with civil servants that use GP cars to go to a ball game or grocery shopping and more recently a sporty new vehicle that was purchased with all the bells and whistles to transport chain saws, we simply ask, who the hell is in charge?“The overspending continues with no serious signs of austerity measures in place to stop the financial bleeding on the island. When the Government gets all the unions to agree, if ever to a wage cut and pension freeze, there might be a few dollars left over for a coat of paint for Gibbs Hill Lighthouse,” said Mr Cowen.The Cowen family has a 147-year history of lighthouse keepers dating back to the 1800s. The retired hotelier expressed similar concerns five years ago, in an article published in this newspaper in May of 2005.At that time he expressed concern about what he saw as “the dilapidated state of the lighthouse”.“Tourists can not currently go outside on the balcony of the lighthouse, nor can they go onto the catwalk around the light. Tourists troop all the way to the top and are often disappointed to find that they can only look through a small, bleary window,” said Mr Cowen.When contacted for a response, a spokesman for the Minister of Government Estates and Information Services, Michael Scott “confirmed that Gibbs Hill Lighthouse has been added to the list of Major Buildings Upgrades to be carried out” by his Ministry.“The required works at the lighthouse are being costed and will be urgently put out to tender,” he added.The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse was designed by Alexander Gordon and was possibly the second iron lighthouse built in the world. It was officially opened on May 1, 1846. The first lighthouse keeper was Joseph F Darrell.