During the public hearing in the House chamber on Thursday night, Hunter bombarded Stump with several questions and accused the lawyer of lying.
He also expressed disgust about the government’s “disregarding, ignoring and disrespecting the will of the people.”
“Why is the CIP office fighting so strong to get it through?” he asked. “There’s something really odd here.”
Stump, who is with the governor’sCapital Improvement Projects Office, did not answer Hunter’s questions until Rep. Ray A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan, asked him why the installation of power poles in Marpi was necessary.
Stump said the power supply is “for future needs.”
Asked by Tebuteb whether the CIP office was informed about the land use plan for the area, Stump said it was considered during the one-stop permitting process with the Division of Environmental Quality, the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Historical Preservation Office.
Hunter then turned to Rep. Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan, and said the House committee shouldbe asking Stump questions instead of the people in the gallery who were all supporters of the Friends of Marpi.
Former Rep. Tina Sablan told lawmakers that there should be a comprehensive land use plan before implementing any new development project on island.
Wes Bogdan, one of the attorneys of the Friends of Marpi, said the historic area is one of the most important natural resources the CNMI has and is the place that most tourists want to see.
He told lawmakers that it’s not too late to do the right thing.
Businessman Bud White reminded the House members of the previous copper theft incidents in Marpi, noting that there seems to be no one guarding the properties in the area. If copper wires that will be installed with the power poles were stolen, he asked, “do we have a budget to replace them?”
Russ Quinn, president of the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation, said the CNMI has hundreds of people involved in sports and most sport events like triathlon, biking and marathon are held in Marpi.
Aside from being away from the traffic and dogs, Marpi’s scenery and beauty add to the quality of every sports event held there, he said.
Marpi, he added, can be the biking capital of Micronesia.
Torres expressed concern about the land owners in the area.“What if these people decide to develop their property and put similar things on their own land? Are you going to prevent them?” he asked the advocates.
Rep. Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan, asked Stumpif the power to be provided to the veterans cemetery in Marpi “would be a burden to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.?”
Stump said the Division of Parks and Recreation will be CUC’s customer.
Palacios then asked if landowners can hook up to the power lines of the cemetery, and Stump replied, “Yes.”
Sablan, however, clarified that with regards to providing power to the cemetery, she was told it would be the Department of Public Health’s responsibility to pay the power bills.
Rep. Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan and chairman of the committee, said as a result of the public hearing, they may come up with legislation that will take into consideration both sides of the issue.
In an email on Friday, Hunter apologized “for flying off the handle…at the public hearing,” saying that the “absurdity of this whole situation has just gotten to me.”
He said the hearing and his research over the past few months have revealed the following:
• There are no hundreds of landowners in Marpi begging for power.
• There is no powerless veterans cemetery hoping and begging to be connected to CUC’s grid.
• There is no local indigenous push for lights at a cemetery due to cultural tradition.
• There is no technological barrier to setting up a bathroom without power or relying on rain for landscaping.
Hunter said “there is no logical reason that anyone in their right mind would be fighting to put up these poles, and that we should be exerting so much time and energy to counter them. Who are we fighting? If it is not the landowners, not the veterans cemetery and not the public cemetery users, then who is it?”
According to Hunter, “We are fighting Jim Stump…. No one else is pushing so strongly for this power pole project…. Only one person, Jim Stump, has openly displayed a determination to initiate and complete a power pole project in Marpi despite overwhelming opposition and readily available alternatives.”
Hunter noted that the public cemetery “has power through a stand-alone generator.”
He said Stump is “willing to needlessly waste CIP money on power poles for a bathroom and a sprinkler system at a cemetery (the tune of who knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars).”
Hunter added, “Everything Jim said last night was completely absurd. None of his ‘justifications’ can be substantiated.Much of his testimony was either outright lies or twisting of truth.”
Variety tried but failed to get a comment from Stump.
