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‘$160K needed to open Marpi Public Cemetery’
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Posted on Oct 06 2015
The Marpi Public Cemetery needs $160,000 to provide power to the facility, which will in turn lead to its long-waited opening, according to Lt. Gov. Ralph Torres in a letter to the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation last Sep. 16.
In that letter, Torres asked the delegation for appropriation to support the opening of the cemetery.
The Office of the Lieutenant Governor confirmed yesterday that this request was still on the table.
The public cemetery was completed in 2012 but its official opening has been delayed due to litigation issues regarding installation of power poles in a National Historical Landmark.
In his letter to delegation chair Rep. John Paul P. Sablan (R-Saipan), Torres says the administration recognizes these concerns.
The administration’s solution, Torres said, is to install “power generating capacity” at the cemetery itself, “along with secure concrete housing that will allow for electrical power for the deep water well and pump to service the toilet facility, sprinkler system, and lighting for the memorial pavilion.”
Torres says the cost-estimate for this is $160,000. The administration’s intent is to issue an “invitation to bid” through the Department of Public Works.
Saipan Tribune reported in May that the long-overdue opening of the Marpi Public Cemetery is exacerbating the lack of burial sites on Saipan as other public cemeteries are now overcrowded and nearing capacity. In July, officials reported that the cemetery would open in September, but this has been delayed anew.
The $2.9-million Marpi Public Cemetery was made possible by funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior through a Capital Improvement Project grant in early 2011. It is a non-denominational public cemetery and has 2,500 double-stack occupancy crypts for a total of 5,000 burials. The cemetery is said to have the potential to provide over 50,000 crypts for 33 years.
