Funding woes imperil street-naming plan

With no assurance of funding this year, the naming of streets and assigning of addresses would be delayed again, complicating the ongoing dispute among legislators whether Chamorro or Carolinian names will be used for the plan.

Mayor Jose C. Sablan, who also heads the Street Naming Commission, said the maps to be used in the project have been prepared but the money for the purchase of the materials and installation of the signs have yet to be released.

“We want to use materials that will last for a long time so that we don’t waste any money,” he said, adding that they have already assigned names to various streets.

But the Saipan and Northern Islands Delegation has tossed back the Mayor’s recommendation on the plan for further review following debate on which names used should be used.

Rep. Melvin Faisao urged the inclusion of a proposal from the Carolinian community to make sure that the street names reflect their cultural heritage.

But some legislators said the move may delay efforts to put in place a street-naming mechanism for Saipan because a commission created by the mayor’s office had already taken the input of all sectors on the island when they drafted the master street map.

The bill, which was passed by SNILD after accepting Faisao’s amendment that sought consideration for the proposal from the Carolinians, will establish a government body to oversee the task of street naming for the island.

It will also adopt the master street map within 90 days from signing of the measure into law by the governor subject to public comments, after which it will be presented to SNILD for approval.

But according to Faisao, a list of names proposed by another body after more than a year of deliberation has failed to include views of the Carolinians because it had no representative from the community.

SNILD chair Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, however, underscored the need to come up with the map plan soon because of requests from the local post office.

Street naming for Saipan has been hampered by bureaucratic problems over the last 10 years and the task has yet been completed despite creation of the commission in 1997.

“The situation is reaching crisis proportion and, especially in these tough economic times, the legislature finds that the CNMI needs organization of this sort to encourage economic efficiency,” the bill said.

“The Office of the Mayor has been working on the task, but final adoption of its recommendations and implementation are now necessary,” it added.