I admire his approach and every department should follow his idea. Every department should run some kind of business to fund their operation. In fact, our government should consider building an office space to rent it out too. Why not? Nothing surprises me anymore.
Can you imagine how many businesses will want to establish here should this happen? I wonder what is wrong with the present system. If the mayor feels that the $10,000 minimum bid that was set-up by the Legislature is inadequate and feels that he should receive the $3,000 rental fee that I charged my past tenants, then what can I say. But will this amount make a difference in his operation? Frankly, it is not even enough to pay for his son’s salary.
My advice is that he either makes good or end the monopoly. To make good is to extend the franchise on a longer term or end it to allow those individuals who want to operate a cockfight and/or bingo the opportunity.
Competition after all is healthy. It doesn’t make sense for anyone especially the government to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a few thousand dollars a month. Unless of course, he has someone in mind and are discussing this behind closed doors, then he is on track — build it with government funds and have a family member or a dear friend operate it. This way the proceeds can be divided in so many ways over or under the table. I am not doing this because I have a cockfight facility, rather I feel for the present cockfight operator who will be denied the opportunity to bid again in order to recover her investments.
An old friend once told me that any regular Joe can run a department successfully if given the right tools and money, but a person will be better judged on what s/he can do with their limited resources. In other words, work with what you have.
Rumor has it that all the family members are earning over $40k and the son is earning over $50k as a community worker. If this is true then he needs not only to be creative, he needs to wheel and deal by hook or by crook.
NICK SABLAN
Garapan, Saipan
