During its special meeting on Friday, majority of the CPA board members approved director Benigno Sablan’s motion to approve the lease extension, the waiver of sublease fee, and the expansion of the lease for URC’s parking area.
Before the motion was put on the table for voting, Vice Chairman Manuel Villagomez raised his objection, explaining to his colleagues that the motion was disadvantageous to the commonwealth’s interest.
Villagomez said CPA stands to lose a minimum of $54,000 in five years with the waiving of the 25 percent sublease fee.
“That is over $10,000 a year that CPA will be losing,” Villagomez said.
But Sablan said URC still has to comply with the conditions imposed by the sublease agreement, on top of the original lease agreement that will end in 2019.
All of the directors, except for Villagomez, voted in favor of Sablan’s motion.
CPA is collecting about $40,000 from URC.
Sablan said once URC already paid its arrears, the 25 percent waiver will be returned to CPA’s coffers.
With the extended 15-year lease agreement, URC will be able to remain on the property until 2034.
Owned by Joaquin Manglona, URC has a standing lease agreement with CPA, covering approximately 60,000 square feet of land within the Saipan airport.
URC said it will invest at least $500,000 through major improvements at the building.
