Tinian to Marines: Come on down!

Tinian welcomes increased military presence, but not the possible rise of adult entertainment establishments in the island, according to a Tinian senator.

Sen. Henry San Nicolas said yesterday that Tinian residents were hoping that the establishment of military facilities would help boost the island’s economy.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial recently met with U.S. Naval Forces Marianas and Navy Region Marianas commander Charles Joe Leidig to discuss the possibility of increased military presence in the islands.

Some of the 6,000 U.S. Marines that would be transferred from Okinawa to Guam might reportedly spill over to Tinian.

“Oh my god! Please come to Tinian. There’s a big piece of land available for military use,” San Nicolas said. “Such a move would make the economy start moving and bring in additional revenues to the island.”

However, Tinian does not welcome the idea of transferring adult entertainment businesses from Garapan to Tinian, San Nicolas said.

The governor mentioned the plan in jest during his weekly press conference last Friday.

“When people think of adult entertainment, they think of prostitution. Tinian is not ready for that,” the senator said.

In related news, San Nicolas said that the CNMI and the United States had yet to finalize negotiations on the Tinian leaseback agreement, whose initial 10-year term expired on Aug. 8, 2004.

Aside from extending the agreement, the Commonwealth wants to amend the terms and conditions of the 1994 agreement so it could to use the leaseback property not only for agricultural, but also commercial purposes.

The CNMI’s Covenant with the United States allowed the U.S. military to lease 17,799 acres of land and waters on Tinian, as well as 177 acres in Tanapag Harbor on Saipan, and the entire Farallon de Mendinilla, which has an approximate area of 206 acres.

The federal government paid a total of $19.52 million for a 50-year lease of the CNMI public lands. The lease will be effective until 2028.

In 1994, the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of Defense signed a leaseback agreement so the Tinian government could use a portion of the public lands leased to the military.

The leaseback agreement has since been amended, leaving only about 5,800 acres of land located in the middle of the Tinian covered by the agreement.