Sports complex takeover bill pushed anew

House Bill 17-268, authored by Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb (R-Saipan), is called the “Northern Marianas Sports Act” and contained similar provisions found in House Bill 17-112, which Tebuteb also introduced during a House session in October 2010. HB-17-268 also defines NMASA’s specific powers and responsibilities that were missing in Public Law 4-66, which led to the establishment of NMASA in 1984.

This includes the operation, maintenance, and regulation of the sports facilities and fields within the Oleai Sports Complex in accordance with the terms and conditions of a memorandum to be executed among the corporation (NMASA), the secretary of the Department of Community and the Cultural Affairs, and the governor. In PL 4-66, NMASA is mandated to regulate the usage, operation, and maintenance of sports facilities and fields in the Commonwealth in coordination with DCCA, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Education, Department of Public Works, and Office of the Governor.

Other stated NMASA powers and responsibilities in the latest bill are to charge reasonable fees for the use of sports facilities and field within the complex; exclusive rights to award vending and advertising rights at the complex; receive, hold, and expend funds and property necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purpose of the corporation; and submit and prepare a budget and copy should be provided to the DCCA secretary.

Pending action on the latest bill, the present set up has staff of Division of Sports and Recreation, which is under DCCA, in charge of the Oleai complex. The division also receives facilities usage payments (like the $1 per visit at the weight room adjacent to the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium), while DCCA has entered into a contract with the Korean pro baseball team LG Twins for the usage of the baseball fields at the complex.

By law (as per PL 4-66), NMASA should be the one doing these tasks. However “Executive Order 94-3 placed the said agency (NMASA) under the purview of the Division of Sports and Recreation,” as stated in an email DCCA Secretary Melvin Faisao sent to concerned agencies/individuals in 2010 and copy furnished to Saipan Tribune in response to the introduction of HB 17-112. Faisao in an email to Saipan Tribune yesterday declined to comment on the latest bill, which if approve, will repeal a section of Executive Order 94-3 that placed NMASA under the wing of the Division of Sports and Recreation.

The latest bill (under transitional provisions) also states that the DCCA secretary may transfer unobligated appropriations for the Division of Sports and Recreation to NMASA, which may expend such fund for general purposes without restrictions.

NMASA president Michael White on the other hand has yet to respond to Saipan Tribune’s email, requesting for a comment on Tebuteb’s latest bill.

White in an earlier email to Saipan Tribune in response to Tebuteb’s earlier HB 17-112 said “for many years, NMASA has strongly supported the prospect of assuming responsibility for the administration of sports facilities in the Northern Marianas. We believe that, as a non-governmental organization devoted solely to the sporting community, we can do a better job of managing these facilities, for the benefit of everyone who uses them.

“However, it is clear that there is no way that these facilities can be self-sustaining based solely upon revenues derived from user fees and charges. For this reason, if we are going to assume responsibility for management of these facilities, we would need an annual appropriation, sufficient to cover personnel and other operational costs. If such an appropriation is part of the proposed legislation, I am certain that NMASA will support it.”

Saipan Tribune learned that NMASA submitted a budget proposal to DCCA last fiscal year, but DCCA’s budget proposal forwarded to the governor did not include NMASA’s request.