Dela Cruz joins technical team at DPW

 The Department of Public Works welcomed 2012 with one new staffer to fill in a newly created key position under the Technical  Services Division.

Geralyn C. Dela Cruz began her new job as a planning and real estate specialist in December.

Dela Cruz earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Chaminade University in Hawaii and is working on her master’s degree in public health from the University of Hawaii.

Dela Cruz left Saipan at 16 and moved to Guam where she stayed for two years. She then moved to Hawaii where she stayed for 11 years.

Dela Cruz became a licensed real estate agent in Hawaii where she was most recently employed as commercial property manager by Colliers Monroe Friedlander, the largest real estate company in the island state.

“I’ve always wanted to come home,” Dela Cruz told Saipan Tribune. “I was very blessed to be offered this position at DPW. I’m excited with my new job and I’m excited to be back home.”

Dela Cruz disclosed that her main responsibility as planning and real estate specialist is to acquire lands for federal projects in relation to the CNMI’s first Right-of-Way Manual, which establishes policies and procedures for the acquisition, compensation, management, and maintenance of designated public right-of-ways to be implemented by DPW.

The manual is based on the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies or Uniform Act of 1970 and seeks to improve the project development process and provide opportunities for additional funding eligibility for roadway infrastructure projects under the current federal-aid highway program.

Dela Cruz said the manual is now in its final review by their legal counsel, assistant attorney general James Kearney, before it is submitted to FHWA for approval.

“Once the manual is done, it’s something I will be administering and will allow us to request for federal funds to acquire properties,” said Dela Cruz, adding that she is also tasked to manage properties acquired through federal monies.

DPW highway administrator Sonya Pangelinan Dancoe said yesterday that Dela Cruz’s position was among the positions approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, which provides most of the funding for DPW road projects in the CNMI.

Dancoe and DPW Secretary Martin C. Sablan welcomed Dela Cruz to the team, saying that her extensive background in real estate will ensure the implementation of the manual and provide strong leadership to the agency.