During their recent meeting, Tudela said, they presented to the governor the kios-ku revitalization and improvement design and the construction cost details.
The $264,000 project, which is located across from the post office in Chalan Kanoa, may be completed within the year, Tudela said.
“We are looking into the needed funding and now we got confirmation from the governor,” she said.
This project, she added, will help boost the tourism industry while honoring the islands’ past and present leaders.
“This will be the first to be built on Saipan. Rota has one,” she said.
The Department of Public Lands has already designated land for the Saipan courtyard.
Felipe Atalig, Saipan Municipal Council member, said the courtyard will show that the council is “productive” despite its limited money and legislative powers.
The memorial courtyard will honor legislators, municipal council members, executive and district administrators and members of the judiciary as well as local leaders from the Spanish, German, Japanese, U.S. Navy and Trust Territory administrations.
A press statement from the Saipan Municipal Council stated that “the kios-ku has remained an icon for the political transformation of the Marianas District to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. The kios-ku is the symbolic springboard for American-style democracy in the Northern Marianas. It was at this plaza ground that helped brought about a political groundswell, heralding the formation of the two-party system in the Marianas.”
The plaza, the statement added, “also played a role in the evolution of local political parties, the place where party leaders uttered their hopes and dreams during political campaigns. Indeed, the plaza was an outside classroom for local politicians, where local political neophytes and seasoned leaders alike learned how to capture the hearts and minds of the local electorate.”
