Marpi power poles lawsuit to go to trial

Superior Court associate judge Kenneth L. Govendo yesterday set May 1, 2012, as the trial date in the Friends of Marpi’s lawsuit against the CNMI government over the power poles project in Marpi.

Govendo said the court-issued injunction that temporarily stopped the installation of the remaining power poles for 90 days will remain until after the trial.

There will be a status conference on March 6, 2012.

Govendo set the trial date after attorney David G. Banes and assistant attorney general Gilbert Birnbrich informed the court that no negotiation between the parties was conducted to resolve the lawsuit.

Banes is counsel for Friends of Marpi and co-plaintiffs, while Birnbrich represents the government and co-defendants in the case.

At yesterday’s status conference, Banes said they are open to talks to resolve the case but that the government is not serious about negotiations.

In an interview later, Friends of Marpi’s Tina Sablan said that litigation was always, for them, a last resort. She said every effort was made prior to this lawsuit to meet with the government in good faith and offer potential solutions.

“Why is the government fighting so hard and expending so much of its limited resources to stop public appeals for transparency and more sensible alternatives?” Sablan asked.

To this date, she said, they still don’t know the actual costs of this project, who has benefited, why no public hearings were held before the power poles went up, why no assessments were done, and why alternatives were not fully considered.

Birnbrich said that during his discussions with Attorney General Edward T. Buckingham and other government officials, the decision was that the government wants to pursue the project and respond to the lawsuit.

After the hearing, Birnbrich reiterated that the government believes “it has done nothing wrong.”

“This case has without merit and we have every right to install all those power poles,” Birnbrich said.

Tina Sablan noted that Friends of Marpi and many others who have opposed the power poles have called for two simple things:

* Greater transparency and public involvement in a project that impacts an area of tremendous historic and cultural significance, as well as natural beauty;

* Thorough consideration of more appropriate and cost effective alternatives for providing power to the public cemetery, including but not limited to solar energy and standalone generators.

The power poles are part of a $2.9 million project to build a Marpi public cemetery. The poles are supposed to supply power to the public cemetery and the CNMI Veterans Cemetery. Only two more power poles need to be installed to complete the project.