Getting serious with Tinian development

The last and worst of the revelations from the Mayor of Tinian’s Office is that they have given up on moving the dump and are awaiting salvation courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

The need to move the Tinian dump away from 8th Avenue has been recognized by both the local, state and federal government for years. It was well known to the incumbent mayor of Tinian before he took office. Certainly former chairman of the Gaming Commission, former Senate President, and now chair of the Tinian Legislative Delegation, Joseph Mendiola, has been aware of the need to move the dump. Given that, one consideration was to request a cooperative effort from the Navy. However, as soon as it became clear that option was not going to pan out in a timely manner, it became incumbent upon the leadership to take decisive action on the most viable alternative.

The Matua Bay Resort is a huge project that would complement the Dynasty Hotel and Casino as well as the other new casino now under construction with an international quality golf course. Now, we learn from the mayor’s staff that they have done nothing about moving the dump and have no plans to do anything, but wait for the military and hope for the best. They cannot use “no money” as an excuse, not after squandering $10 million out of the Tinian Municipal Fund over the last two and one half years. The golf course project will not begin until the local government shows good faith by at least beginning the process of moving the dump.

Mr. Editor, I would ask your reporter to contact a representative of the Matua Bay Resort project and find out just how much his organization has already invested in Tinian, because that is how much effort we owe him and his associates in return for their faith in us.

The Governor of the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Legislature must also share in the responsibility for the development of the casino industry on Tinian, for the same reasons they supported casino gambling on Saipan. Every nickel of revenue created by construction on Tinian goes straight to the CNMI General Fund. Every nickel of revenue created by the Dynasty Hotel and all associated businesses goes straight to the CNMI General Fund. These are moneys that could be used to pay for a new power plant on Saipan or pay off the debt to the Retirement Fund. There is no need to borrow if we can pay, and we can pay if we will only work for it.

I have no idea who in the Governor’s Office is responsible for implementing federal Capitol Improvement Projects, but Speaker Palacios (the only legislator thus far to have shown some concern for CIP projects) should have that person in his office every week with an update on every project. If the leadership of Tinian won’t do it, then the Speaker should set a goal for the date of the arrival of the first regularly scheduled landing at Tinian West Field Airport and check off progress. He then will be the honored guest of the people of Tinian that day. The Tinian elected leadership will probably be off island anyway.

Producing the economic development of Tinian is serious business. It affects the lives of every person on this island, and every person in the Commonwealth. If this administration, either local or state, cannot deal with the real problems facing the development of the casino industry, then they should step down and let competent people take over.