NMI’s first $241K skate park unveiled

Children and adults now have a central place for board skating with yesterday’s unveiling of the $241,000 Saipan Skate Park in Garapan, which may also soon have a wi-fi for free Internet connection.

This is the first skate park in the CNMI, which was made possible by collaboration among parents, skate boarders, the government and private businesses.

Juanito Tiamzon, 15, said he used to go around the island to find the best spots for board skating. “I go anywhere just to skate. Now we have one right here, and this is better than okay,” he told Saipan Tribune during the unveiling ceremony.

Tiamzon, a ninth grader at Saipan Southern High School, said he started skateboarding only last year at the urging of his friends.

The skate park is located beside the Garapan Round House and Gold’s Gym.

Another skater, 16-year-old Leo Duenas Jr., said he and his friends usually skate park at the parking lot of the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

“We still go there on school days because it’s near our school. But on weekends, we come here,” he said.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said the project was accomplished with a strong private-public sector partnership, and with strong community involvement.

He said the $241,000 project is unique in that it received funding from multiple sources.

About $135,000 came from federal funds administered by the Northern Marianas Housing Corp., and the rest came from the local government and private contributions.

“I am very proud of this successful group effort, and I look forward to seeing more community cooperation as we maintain this facility for our local community,” he added.

Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Dr. Ignacio Dela Cruz said the skate park is “a dream come true for deserving youth.” He, however, reminded the skate park users to clean up after using the facility to help maintain the park.

Ben Babauta, president of the Rotary Club of Saipan, which has been instrumental in putting together the skate park project, called on people’s attention to the other features of the park, such as the solar lighting. He said the park will also soon have a wireless network connection and benches.

Laurie Peterka, who led the Rotary Club of Saipan’s involvement in the project and a consultant for the ISK8 Society, could not hold back her tears when she addressed the crowd during the unveiling ceremony.

She also talked about the dedication and hard work of young people who attended the meetings for two years to keep the project going.

“These kids showed up in every meeting. They’re cooperative and persistent,” she said.

Construction of the skate park was completed in late September, while the solar lighting was installed in November.

The unveiling was held only yesterday because of issues with ownership of the park, according to Peterka. She said the government owns the park, but its maintenance is a partnership between ISK8 Society and DLNR’s Division of Parks and Recreation.

NMHC executive director Joshua T. Sasamoto, in his remarks, said the park had been vandalized but the ISK8 Society members helped remove the graffiti.

Peterka said ISK8 has done two graffiti cleanups at the park.

ISK8 founding president Scott McClarin, in his message read by IT&E’s Kathryn Barry during the ceremony, said having the skate park “is just about the coolest thing Saipan could ever hope for people under 30, and for some of us over that age.”

“What ISK8 has done is to begin what hopefully becomes a long-term change in many of Saipan’s skaters and youth to believe in themselves in the midst of difficulty, who will hopefully grow up seeing possibilities rather than limitations placed on them by adults,” said McClarin.

During the ceremony, the names of those who made the skate park project possible were repeated by speakers. They included NMHC, Rep. Francisco Dela Cruz, the CNMI Youth Foundation, Seafix Inc., EFC Engineers & Architects, the Saipan Rotary Club, and the Island Skate (ISK8) Society, DLNR and individual donors.