House minority bloc continues restoration of public parks

WITH several projects already in the bag, the House minority bloc continues to push forward with its Public Private Partnership projects, restoring public parks.

On Monday, the lawmakers made their way to Chinatown to restore the public park along with their staff.

“It’s been a very gratifying project for the minority bloc,” said Rep. Angel Demapan.

After being sworn into office this past January, the bloc decided that they would combine forces to do community outreach by restoring public spaces island-wide.

“We’ve done several villages, several basketball courts, and the skate park, and now we’re here at the Chinatown basketball court,” said Demapan.

Their hope as some of the leaders of the Commonwealth, he said, is to develop these facilities, especially for the younger generations, in an effort to promote health and wellness activities, engage kids in outdoor sports, and also build sportsmanship and camaraderie within the villages.

“It’s our ultimate goal that after we restore these facilities island-wide, we hope that we can put together an island-wide basketball league where the teams are created by villages,” he said.

The bloc believes that this approach will give the people of the CNMI a sense of ownership and a sense of pride in the village they come from, and in turn, not just build the name of the village through sports, but also take ownership in beautifying and keeping their villages clean.

“We hope to spread [that] spirit throughout the island,” said Demapan.

He noted that a common issue the bloc has seen in the facilities they have refurbished is poor maintenance, which is why they have decided to come in to restore them.

“We hope that when we turn over the end product to every village that there’s now a sense of responsibility to maintain the place and also to educate each other in terms of not vandalizing the area and just keeping it clean,” he said.

These facilities are for the young and old alike to visit and engage in sports activities, and so the lawmakers encourage community members to maintain the area.

Little things, like natural wear and tear such as basketball nets and rims are easily replaced.

“We just seek the cooperation of the community to just generally maintain the place and keep it beautiful for everybody that uses it,” said Demapan.

The lawmaker believes that what makes these projects very personal for him and his colleagues is that they came from a generation where there were village leagues and sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, and volleyball.

“All that has since gone away. We’ve seen a lot of westernization of our way of life. We want to work on these facilities to just bring our people back to the basics, and that’s to foster kinship amongst each other and build respect amongst each other,” he said.

The House minority bloc thanks its private and public partners, including the Office of the Mayor of Saipan, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, for giving them the equipment, tools, and resources needed to make these projects possible.

“We come here with our staff ready to labor and do the work that needs to be done, but without the resources from our partners, this wouldn’t be possible,” said Demapan.

The minority bloc goes out and assesses different parks and facilities around the island and come together to decide when they will work on which projects.

In their planning, they speak to their partners who provide the paint and other supplies to complete the projects.

“Once we get their approval, then we know we’re ready with the manpower. Once we assess the place and we get our partners to jump on board with us, we move forward with it,” said Demapan, noting that the minority bloc has already completed eight projects prior to the Chinatown basketball court project.

Some parks will, however, need to wait for an incoming shipment of 400-watt lights before being adequately lit.

Demapan said the vendor who provides lights are out of the 400-watt lights used for the basketball courts.

The bloc attempted to install lights with lesser wattage. However, they were not bright enough to light the court for patrons.

After a long day of laboring to restore public parks and facilities, Demapan said that it’s all worth it when community members, especially the younger generation, joyfully visit the newly renovated park.

“When the kids come by and they play at the parks after they’ve been restored, we’re reminded of why we set out to do these projects in the first place,” he said.

Reps. Joseph Lee Pan Guerrero, Ivan Blanco, Angel Demapan, Joel Camacho, and John Paul Sablan, along with their staff, worked on the restoration of the Chinatown public park on Monday.