WESTERN BUREAU — The Dome, in Montego Bay, one of the island’s national monuments, and the home of an elderly homeless man, is to be renovated at a cost of $700,000.

Secretary/manager for the St James Parish Council, Christopher Powell, told the Observer Thursday that work is expected to begin in May and should last for about six weeks.

The bulk of the funding for the project, Powell said, would be provided by the National Heritage Trust and the local authority.

He added, however, that the four members of parliament for St James and the general public would also be asked to contribute to the project.

The work, according to the secretary/manager, will include the replacement of bricks, the repairing of broken windows, repairs to the interior of the building and landscaping.

The historic Dome is the source of Montego Bay’s first domestic water supply and up to the late 1960’s, householders in the area obtained supplies from this source whenever there was a disruption in the public water supply system.

But over the years, the structure has fallen into a state of disrepair and for about the last 20 years, has been inhabited by the homeless man, known only as ‘Bugs’.

Over the past year, the local government body’s numerous attempts to have him removed have failed.

But Powell stressed on Thursday that Bugs would have to be removed before work begins on the building.

“We have a space for him at the parish infirmary so everything will be done within the law to have him removed,” he said.

Several attempts to identify Bugs’ relatives have been unsuccessful.