THE Commonwealth Ports Authority will hold a public hearing on Wednesday to allow members of the Tinian community to express their thoughts on a proposal to rename the Tinian International Airport in honor of former Senate President Francisco Manglona Borja.
The public hearing will be held in Tinian Elementary School’s cafeteria at 5:30 p.m. June 14.
In the 22nd Legislature, then-Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider introduced Senate Bill 22-60 to rename the Tinian airport to Francisco Manglona Borja/Tinian International Airport. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communication which did not take action on the bill.
In an interview, CPA Chairwoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds said renaming the Tinian airport will honor the services, contributions, and intricate role that Borja played in expanding the airport.
“When he was mayor, he led the Tinian leadership to appropriate $6 million dollars in CIP funds for the airport runway expansion. When he was senator, he led the efforts to allocate funds for the completion of the departure terminal,” King-Hinds said.
For whatever reason, she said, S.B. 22-60 “never made it out of committee [but] CPA would like to honor the request of the Tinian leadership by taking this action.”
She said they are hosting the public hearing to gather input from the Tinian community, so she encourages everyone to show up at the public hearing.
Tinian community members can also submit their comments to the CPA board of directors at cpa.boardsec@pticom.com or share their views in the comments portion of CPA’s special meeting on Friday in the Bar K conference room at 4:30 p.m.
