THE Commonwealth Ports Authority hosted a town hall meeting on Tinian Thursday last week to solicit comments from members of the island’s community regarding Tinian harbor projects proposed by CPA and the Department of Defense.
CPA Executive Director Christopher Tenorio, staff attorney Joe Hallahan and CPA board legal counsel Robert T. Torres made PowerPoint presentations on CPA’s seaport projects and how they may differ from those proposed by DoD.
Joining them in the town hall meeting were Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan, other island officials and community members.
Tenorio provided the participants with an overview of CPA’s master plan while Hallahan presented the difference in scopes between the CPA and DoD projects.
CPA Board Chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds said port projects must take into consideration the community members’ concerns and their desire for economic growth.
She said the Tinian leadership has been very clear about their support for the DoD projects as long as they mutually benefit both parties.
She added that “CPA wanted to engage the community at the onset of these discussions so we can start gathering and analyzing…concerns as we continue these discussions.”
She was “happy to see the participation of our leadership but more importantly the people in our community who will be the most impacted by these developments.”
In his presentation, Hallahan noted that CPA’s proposed cost based on a 2010 master plan is $111.1 million while DoD’s estimate is between $600 million and $700 million.
He said CPA does not have the funding to undertake any of the master plan projects, but DoD mentioned that a cost-sharing plan may have to be developed for some or all projects.
Hallahan said CPA also has no current plans for DoD’s proposed leased area. DoD, for its part, is requesting a 25-year lease for a new warehouse, storage and laydown area.
Tenorio said the purpose of the town hall meeting was to solicit comments and concerns from members of the Tinian community. CPA, he added, stands to act in the best interest of the people of CNMI — the stakeholders and the users of the islands’ airports and seaports.
He said CPA will continue to inform the community about DoD’s plans for the harbor.
He added that CPA and the community should also consider the following questions: “How do we use the seaport? How does it exist today, and what do we want it to be?”
DoD, for its part, plans to hold a stakeholders’ meeting on Tinian for the proposed harbor projects.
