House minority refurbishes Navy Hill basketball court

In a span of just three days, members of the House of Representatives minority bloc and staff, with the help of the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, USA Fanter Corp., Hong Ye Hardware, Saipan Mayor’s Office, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, and other volunteers, fully restored and beautified the Navy Hill Basketball Court, located across the Rota and Tinian liaison offices in Lower Navy Hill.

The lawmakers got to work on Monday morning at 8am, and with the help of everyone on the team, were able to complete the project at a much faster rate than they were expecting.

The court itself was water-blasted to clear years of soil buildup that stained the court’s floor, then gave it a fresh coat of paint, with the words “Navy Hill” painted on one side.

According to Rep. John Paul Sablan (R-Saipan), the rims of the basketball court hoops were undamaged, so that saved them a lot of time from having to repair them. Instead, they were able to focus on repainting the entire court area, including the bleachers, and fixing the fences.

In addition, the trees that once blocked the view of the Rota and Tinian liaison offices were trimmed with the help of Saipan Mayor’s Office workers.

When asked where he drew inspiration for his designs for the paintings on the court, Rep. Joel Castro Camacho (R-Saipan) said there is a town in South Korea whose buildings and pavements were splattered with amazing designs. That’s where he got some of his ideas, in addition to artwork that he saw in his last trip to Guam with his fiancée.

“I took those inspirations and used them to apply my take with my art on these projects, leaving a signature on every village we work on,” Camacho said.

Minority bloc spokesman Rep. Angel Demapan (R-Saipan) described the project’s success as a “tremendous” benefit for the community. “And I hope that they get to appreciate it again like it’s brand new and to bring back the sportsmanship and camaraderie here in this village.”

In addition to their efforts to repair as many recreational activity areas in different precincts, Demapan said they also aim to work on projects on Tinian. “The goal is to continue supporting each other, regardless of what precinct we come from and where the village is situated. At the end of the day it’s for the community.”

With 85% of the project completed on just the second day, leaving the final touches on the repair of the fence to be done today, the entire project is expected to be completed this afternoon.

This project is part of the minority lawmakers’ ongoing mission to renovate and reinvigorate the multiple recreational areas of the different precincts in the CNMI.