Oleai track ‘rehab work’ moves forward

The resurfacing of the Oleai track and field facility is now moving forward with the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. releasing a request for proposal for interested contractors to submit their respective designs.

Bidding for the resurfacing of the Oleai track facility is expected to begin next month. Contractors that will bid for the project need to follow the standards set by the International Association of Athletics Federations. (Jon Perez)

NMHC deputy corporate director Jeanie P. Mafnas said they would expect interested bidders or contractors to begin submitting their architectural and engineering designs by the first week of March since the RFP was already published in the newspapers.

Interested contractors can now pick up proposal packets starting on Feb. 17, Tuesday, at the NMHC office in Garapan during regular working hours from 7:30am to 4:30pm, Mondays to Fridays.

NMHC will also hold a pre-proposal conference on March 3 at 10am at the NMHC office conference room.

In an earlier email, Mafnas said the resurfacing of the Oleai track facility is NMHC’s only selected project for the year.

“We’re still in the planning stages, so the project has not been out for bid. DPW is assisting NMSA in finalizing the scope of work for the RFP. NMSA (Northern Marianas Sports Association) prepared the plan with the help of DPW,” said Mafnas.

Mafnas, in a telephone interview with Saipan Tribune, added the resurfacing of the track could start 30 days after the bidding process.

“Once the A/E designs are complete we will again release an RFP for bidders that will do the rehab work. It will take 30 more days for the bidding process. Expect the rehab work to start by late March or early April.”

Mafnas said NMHC is only the funding agency for the project after NMSA applied for the Community Development Block Grant.

“NMSA is the sub recipient of the grant and they are responsible for the preliminary work. The amount of the grant is $965,000,” said Mafnas.

NMSA will be using 80 percent or $772,000 of the amount will be allocated for the project while the remaining 20 percent or $193,000 will be allotted for administrative work.

NMSA executive director Tony Rogolifoi, in a separate interview, welcomed the development as it would mean the resurfacing would start before the rainy season.

“We’re pushing for April as our target to start with the project. We don’t want to run into the rain season since it would delay every thing. Usually the rainy season starts in July and hopefully we’re already done before the rains arrive.”

He added that they are hoping to limit the number of bidders to three. “So it won’t be that hard to choose. We will go with the best bidder and the contractor needs to follow the scope of work.”

“The material must also be certified and must meet standards set by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The track, before it got damaged, is the only eight-lane Level II facility in the Micronesian region and we want to bring it back to its original form,” added Rogolifoi.

NMSA will have a locally hired construction manager, who will oversee the entire project, while the expert is the one that they are going to tap off-island. The expert can either come from any European country or the USA.

The expert will watch over if the resurfacing is done according to IAAF standards and procedure.

NMSA would close the facility once resurfacing of the track begins and once the project is done they would implement stricter rules and other guidelines for public use.

NMSA personnel will also take care of maintaining the track where the surface will be cleaned every three to four months to keep the dust and other unnecessary materials from sticking.

At least two months is needed for the actual process of putting the adhesive and laying out the track. The winning contractor needs to make sure the adhesive dries accordingly before putting down the new rubber surface.

The new track oval, once completed, will have a light blue color and not the usual pinkish-red hue.