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Lawmakers support for Oleai Complex takeover sought
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Posted on Feb 21 2012
By Roselyn Monroyo
Reporter
Reporter
Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association is seeking the support of CNMI lawmakers for a bill that will allow NMASA to take over the Oleai Sports Complex.
In his opening remarks during the 2011 NMASA Annual Sports Banquet last Thursday night at the Seaside Hall of the Saipan Grand Hotel, NMASA president Michael White called on lawmakers to give the association the tools to do their job by signing into law House Bill 17-268.
Authored by Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb (R-Saipan), the bill is titled the “Northern Marianas Sports Act,” giving NMASA the powers and responsibilities in operating, maintaining, and regulating the sports facilities and fields within the Oleai Sports Complex in accordance with the terms and conditions of a memorandum to be executed among the corporation (NMASA), the secretary of the Department of Community and the Cultural Affairs, and the governor. The bill will also enable NMASA to get funding from the government.
Pending the decision over the bill, DCCA through the Division of Sports Recreation has been in charge of the maintenance and operation of the Oleai facilities. DSR has been the caretaker of the complex for more than two decades, although NMASA should be doing this task as per Public Law 4-66. However, Executive Order 94-3 put NMASA under the wing of DSR.
Now, through Tebuteb’s bill, NMASA is hoping to get the independence and funds it needed to operate the contested sports complex and support the various programs for CNMI athletes and officials.
White said the CNMI and NMASA cannot continue to ask athletes/coaches and their families to shoulder most of the cost of their participation in off-island tournaments.
White added that NMASA can do a better job in taking care of the complex.
