Business owners from Precinct 3 met with Saipan Mayor RB Camacho at his office on Wednesday, May 15.
SAIPAN Mayor RB Camacho continued to solicit the feedback of the business community by hosting a round-table discussion with Precinct 3 business owners on Wednesday, May 15.
In attendance were representatives from Da Bao, Tupu Cane Juice, J’s Restaurant, New XO Market, Saipan Dental Clinic, National Office Supply, Kang Corp., Blackwood Furniture, Tun Tiku’s, Green Consume Market and McDonald’s
During the meeting, some business owners discussed how government bureaucracy affects them.
“In the area of zoning maybe you can help our people,” said Joe Ayuyu, president of McDonald’s of Guam and Saipan. “Some of our businesses have been around 30 years, 40 years and every time we renew our business license we [still] go through zoning [even though] the business is still the same.”
Ayuyu also discussed a specific instance in which regulations slowed improvements he wanted to make to one of his local commercial properties.
Ayuyu wanted to improve his parking lot, but the project was slowed because it was too close to a public roadway.
“Sometimes they’re very strict, sometimes they’re very loose,” Ayuyu said, regarding local regulations. “The attitude now is they see that you’re working and [tell you], ‘You know what, I’m going to cite you.’ They act like a policeman and so a lot of these small businesses are scared.”
Local businessman Juan Tenorio, whose company operates J’s Restaurant, shared a similar experience.
“Our building in Gualo Rai has been open for 30 years already. My dad paved [the parking lot] to the road because we wanted to beautify and make the entrance nice. I recall that for maybe 15 years no one came to the office and everything was fine, but then one day [someone] came to the office and said ‘I’m going to have to charge you for this.’ “
Tenorio said businesses support government operations.
“I feel that…the government agencies need to understand that they need the business community to be able to sustain. Our [business gross revenue tax] is what funds the government,” he told the mayor.
Tenorio added that the road construction along Beach Road will benefit J’s Restaurant once completed.
As for Justin Kim of Kang Corp., he requested more open communication with the government. He suggested the creation of an electronic system, either a mayor’s office website or an email poll, that could collect input directly from businesses. The electronically collected data would be made available for the public.
Mayor Camacho has hosted roundtable meetings with different sectors of the island community since November 2023, when he invited religious leaders to discuss the public cemetery in Marpi.
He has also met with ethnic and cultural group leaders and the business owners of Precincts 1 and 2.
He said the goals of these meetings are to promote his platform of a “safe community, safe village, and a clean island.”
To that end, he has promoted his adopt-a-place program and village beautification activities at each meeting, in addition to various other ideas he has for the island’s safety.
