Tudela eyeing stimulus funds for stalled dog shelter project

The Saipan Mayor’s Office is eyeing $200,000 from the federal stimulus funds for the municipality’s much-delayed dog control program.

“There is some portion of the stimulus funds that we can tap for the animal program…and we already submitted our application for the $200,000 grant for the Saipan dog control program. Once we receive it, we will use the entire money for the project,” said Tony Benavente, press information officer.

The Dog Control Rules and Regulations were first established in 2003. The Saipan Mayor’s Office was then awarded $75,000 as initial funding for the program, which until now has yet to be accomplished.

Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela earlier said that a small dog facility is being built in Lower Base. Yesterday, he confirmed that this shelter will serve as a temporary facility until a permanent one is built in Kagman—a new site for the project.

However, “all will still depend on the stimulus grant,” he added.

The Kagman site is a 2,000-square-meter land adjacent to the Forestry Division site of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources.

The project was initially planned to be built in As Perdido and was supposed to house 20 dog kennels but Tudela said his office was barred from using the property. That prompted the mayor’s office to temporarily move the project to Lower Base. Construction at the Lower Base facility was put on hold, however, after local permits were not issued. It was learned that some $6,000 was used in procuring materials for the temporary shelter.

“We have now less than $75,000 for the project…and once we get approval from the stimulus grant, we will begin work at the permanent site in Kagman,” Tudela said.

Benavente said the mayor’s office had already complied with all local permits when it first planned the dog shelter in As Perdido.

“Because we transferred the plan to Lower Base, even temporarily, we need to process new local permits and that’s what delays the construction of the temporary small facility now,” Benavente said.

What if they fail to get the stimulus grant? “Whoever sits as the next mayor, he needs to work very hard to make it happen,” said Tudela, who is in his last term of office.

The Kagman property can accommodate 10 cells and up to 20 dogs. Besides the dog kennel, an administrative office is also being planned for the site.

The mayor’s program was initially allocated $75,000 for this project under Saipan Local Law 9-12. However, this was stalled for many years due to the lack of additional funding.

In July 2006, DLNR agreed to transfer the DLNR’s piggery building in As Perdido to the mayor’s office, to be developed into an animal shelter for the stray dog control program.