After a seven-year renovation process that spanned the tenures of three successive mayors and three national local government ministers, Arima Town Hall officially reopened its doors to the public on Wednesday — a date that would have marked the 50th birthday of Lisa Morris-Julian, the former D’Abadie/O’Meara MP and Arima mayor who launched the reconstruction project before her tragic death in late 2024.
The iconic municipal building on Sorzano Street had sat stalled for months, wrapped in red caution tape, after its contracted construction team paused work over an unpaid $6 million fee that had put the entire project at an impasse. It took intervention from top leadership of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) in early 2024 to break the deadlock: then-PNM chairman and acting Prime Minister Stuart Young convened a high-level meeting at the party’s Port of Spain headquarters, Balisier House, bringing together senior PNM executive members Colm Imbert, Camille Robinson-Regis, Foster Cummings, and current Opposition Leader and Arima MP Pennelope Beckles, alongside representatives from the Arima Borough Corporation to resolve the outstanding funding dispute.
Speaking as the featured guest at Wednesday’s reopening ceremony, Beckles credited the collaborative effort of all three consecutive mayors who oversaw phases of the project, starting with Morris-Julian who initiated the reconstruction in 2019. Following Morris-Julian’s tenure, Cagney Casimire held the mayoral office from 2020 to 2023, and current mayor Balliram Maharaj has overseen the project’s final completion phase. Beckles also acknowledged contributions from three successive local government ministers — Kazim Hosein, Faris Al-Rawi SC, and current minister Khadijah Ameen — as well as former Arima MP Anthony Garcia, who played a key foundational role when reconstruction first launched.
Beckles explained that the multi-year delay stemmed from unforeseen cost overruns and procedural hurdles triggered largely by the COVID-19 pandemic. The original 2017 budget allocated just $1.5 million for the refurbishment, but shifting public health restrictions and unplanned additional scope of work forced the cabinet to scrap the original cost agreement and restart negotiations. “It ended up that the variations cost more than the original request to construct the building, and of course, once that is done, it means you have a whole procedure with procurement and many other things,” Beckles noted, adding that while some tasks could have advanced more quickly, bureaucratic protocols required for public spending extended the timeline. She declined to assign blame for the delay on Wednesday, stating that further details on the hold-up would be released to the public at a later date.
Beyond serving as a formal meeting chamber for the mayor and borough councillors, Beckles emphasized that the renovated town hall will fill a broader community role, acting as a public gathering space for local events and a central hub where residents can connect with their elected representatives.
Malabar/Mausica MP Dominic Romain, who succeeded Morris-Julian in office following her death, paid tribute to his predecessor at the ceremony, noting that regardless of whether the reopening date was intentionally scheduled to align with her birthday, it stands as a fitting legacy to her public service. The restoration project launched when Morris-Julian held the mayor’s office, making the completed building a lasting marker of her work for the Arima community.
Morris-Julian’s life was cut tragically short in December 2024, when a devastating house fire swept through her Arima residence on Farfan Street, killing her and two of her children: 25-year-old Xianne and six-year-old Jesiah. Post-mortem examinations confirmed all three deaths were caused by smoke inhalation.