Dear Editor:

Four Seasons Resort has just spent some money on a new project. Is it a part of the Hotel's post-hurricane improvements to get the Hotel up and running, and put so many people back to work? Or maybe it is a project to help reduce the crime and violence that has gripped our small island, or an initiative to help those who are unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.

No, Four Seasons has decided to build a fence between the golf course and my fenced property. In these hard economic times, when there are so many urgent problems that need attention, you must be thinking that there is some great need for this fence, right? My property is one of the only homes on this particular side of the golf course, and it already has a green, chain link fence, which I paid for and had installed. It is similar to other fencing across the golf course, at the Mahogany Hill Estates.

When I installed my fence, I made care to get the land staked by a surveyor in order to make sure that the fence placement was proper, which it is. I left a small gate at the golf course side of my property, as I am bordered by lots on two other sides, and felt that one small gate to the golf course would be my only option as an emergency access to and from my property, which my wife actually used in that capacity one time last year.

When I heard from a few reliable sources a few months ago that Andrew Humphries had ordered that a fence be placed along my property line, it sounded quite ridiculous to me. Every one of these sources indicated to me that they were telling me about the fence because they had reason to believe that the fence was being placed for personal reasons. After all, this fence is placed against my existing fence, and not along the whole Golf Course boundary line! So, a fence against a fence, huh? Sounds strange.

You would think that if a fence was needed, it would be needed along the properties which are not already fenced. After all, from my home, I do see cows and dogs go from the unfenced areas onto the golf course daily. And of course I see many people use the golf course for daily jogs, mainly hotel management and their spouses.

So, I'd like to now share with you a little history: Several years ago, I purchased a piece of property in Upper Paradise Estate, as an investment, from Mr. Joseph Parry, our now Premier. The property is bordered by the Four Seasons Golf Course, has great views of St. Kitts, Nevis Peak, and of course the golf course. It seemed like a great piece of land and an opportunity for me to come back home to Nevis when the time was right. I had been living in the U.S since I was twelve, but always wanted to come back to the place of my birth of which I had so many great childhood memories.

In the States, I had been running my own construction company for about 20 years. I had built and renovated homes on the beautiful island of Nantucket, MA, as well as in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. I specialized in large, high-end, shingle-styled homes. I built several homes in both locations on spec, and then sold, or rented as vacation homes. Finally, in 2007, the time seemed right to come back home to Nevis. I sold my home and packed up my family and belongings and came back to Nevis to build a beautiful home, to the same standards that I had used in Nantucket.

This property I purchased from Mr. Parry had been periodically kept clear of tall trees and shrubs. I had then paid to keep it cleared while I was in the States for years. Once I came back to build, I of course kept up the clearing. It wasn't until I staked for the home I was about to build that I realized that a very small strip of the land that had been cleared over the years belonged to Four Seasons. I actually spoke with the then golf course manager, Mr. Allan Balcos, and asked him to visit my property. I showed him the small strip of land. He indicated that the Hotel would be happy to work with me. He seemed very reassuring. He also indicated to me that a particular manager at the hotel, Mr. Bryan Claxton had spoken to him, suggesting that he block my property in some manner. Mr. Balcos indicated to me that he felt that that suggestion was completely uncalled for.

Nearly a year went by. Mr. Balcos had moved back to the States. The house had started taking shape, and the quality of the construction was evident. Mr. Humphries and Mr. France paid me a visit. They called me over to the golf course one afternoon. Mr. Humphries asked why I had cleared the bushes on the land that Four Seasons owned. I explained that the bushes had been cleared all along, even before my ownership. I explained that I had already spoken with Mr. Balcos about the issue and I wanted to work something out so that the small strip of land could look nice, instead of being scraggly, wild bushes, which would continuously be encroaching on my property. They would be impossible to maintain.

Mr. Humphries stated that he would rather have the bushes grow up wild. He also stated that every villa owner on the golf course pays to have that privilege and I am trying to get a free ride. It was quite a different feeling than the meeting I had with Mr. Balcos. I wrote Mr. Humphries a letter a few weeks later, asking that we work on an agreement on the upkeep of the small strip of land that would be pleasing to both parties. I received a short reply back from Mr. Humphries, by letter, pretty much stating to not trespass on golf course property. No sign of wanting to work with me in any way.

Time passed, and I installed a chain link fence around my property. Soon, the small strip of native, scraggly bushes that comes from the Four Seasons Golf Course property got out of control, crawling up and over my fence, invading my landscape. I had the bushes removed, at my expense. This leads us to the present day. To me, this should be a simple issue. It would seem that the Four Seasons Resort would want to work with its local neighbors, not place an approximately 7' high fence against a 5' high fence that already exists. Yes, the Four Seasons fence is taller than mine and also has metal-colored posts with three rows of barbed wire at the top. It looks very much like a prison fence. This all sits parallel to my existing nice, green fence.

The Four Seasons fence extends only from one corner of my lot to the other, yet all the property to the sides of me, which I do not own is not fenced at all! To top this off, I have been told by a few other reliable sources that Four Seasons recently installed a video camera to keep an eye toward or on my property. A video camera? What is really going on here? In addition, why did Four Seasons use property that they do not own to transport workers and trucks to and from the fence construction location? Why did they mix the concrete on property they do not own? And why did they use a private road that is not owned by Four Seasons, but actually owned by myself and the other property owners in the private development in which I live to access their property?

Why would Four Seasons do all of this? Of course I have my own ideas as to why. These kind of reasons are often hard to prove. I have been told from several Four Seasons employees that there is some jealousy coming from the Hotel managers that a black, local man actually owns a house as nice, or nicer than the homes on the Four Seasons property. I have had a lot of compliments on the home I have built, including from several villa owners within Four Seasons. In fact, the couple of visits I have had from Four Seasons villa owners have been very welcoming. So, why does Four Seasons management want to block my home?

If you take a look at the properties that abut the Four Seasons Golf Course, you will find quite a few non-Four Seasons homes which seem to live happily next to the Hotel property. You will find one small home owned by a non-Nevisian, without any obstruction to the Golf Course. This family takes leisurely walks on the Golf Course whenever on-island. There is no 6' high fence, no wild bushes blocking that home's boundary line. You will also see another home where there is a gate onto the Golf Course, and the Hotel actually keeps the access nicely cleared -- the gate looks to have gotten much use. You will see other homes where there is nothing but a simple, low, green, chain-link fence (single, not double) separating the two properties.

So, what is so different about my property or about me? In my opinion, the Hotel could do more for the people here in Nevis with the money they have chosen to use on this fence. To most people, I would think that this double fence idea looks at least like an idiotic waste of money, or most likely a discriminatory action. To me, management that practices either of these should not be running one of the largest employers on the island.

I wish the Hotel would follow in it's own General Manager's motto, as quoted from the Four Seasons website: "It's very difficult to prepare yourself for what the hotel industry can throw at you. In the end, it's all about managing yourself positively, even in seemingly negative situations." With what is going on with this fence and camera, I can't even imagine what Four Seasons will do next.

I have spoken to many locals and non-locals, including many Four Seasons employees (all of which came to me) about this issue and some have suggested that I place this information in the newspaper.

Respectfully,
Steven Phillip

This media house attempted to contact Andrew Humphries for some input into the issue but he declined to comment.