(Office of the Governor) — “Shortly following the June 16 visit of FEMA Regional Administrator Robert Fenton and Joe Engler, FEMA Region IX Recovery Division Director, the CNMI Public School System’s FEMA projects have been moving at a quicker pace,” reported Gov. Arnold I. Palacios.
PSS, an awardee of FEMA-PA funds, has been allocated the largest sum of grant funds — roughly $48.9 million — that covers 18 approved FEMA PA projects. Since Regional Administrator Fenton’s visit, nine PSS projects have been put out to bid and they include:
• San Vicente Elementary School Campus-Wide Project
• Construction of Da’ok Academy
• Koblerville Elementary School Campus-Wide Rehabilitation Project
• Construction of Francisco M. Sablan Middle School Building C
• Oleai Elementary School Campus-Wide Rehabilitation Project
• Construction of William S. Reyes Elementary Auditorium and Building C
• Kagman Elementary School HVAC Project
• Kagman Elementary School Replacement of Chain Link Perimeter Fence, Gates, and Backstop Fence
• Kagman Elementary School Skylights Replacement Project
The remaining projects cover smaller construction projects and facility contents.
Expenditures
Currently, PSS has a balance of $42.3 million to support its FEMA projects. The current balance represents a $6.5 million decrease since Fenton’s visit. The Governor said that expenditures and drawdowns will effectively increase once contracts are awarded and projects break ground.
Update on Hopwood Middle School Project
Governor Palacios further reports that demolition, debris removal, and construction of the $22.6 million Hopwood Middle School project are underway.
“PSS has already obtained the demolition permit. Demolition and construction activities will commence once PSS and the contractor secure the required permits, FEMA’s Environmental and Historic Preservation approval, and performance bond. I would be remiss if I fail to mention that, among top priority projects, the Hopwood Middle School project is FEMA’s No. 1 priority. Hence, I hope to see this project break ground by October, if not sooner,” Governor Palacios added.
Last May, CJ Innovation, the contractor for the Hopwood Middle School project, stated that “It will complete the construction of Admiral Herbert G. Hopwood Middle School’s new 40-classroom main building in 365 days or in one year.”
Governor Palacios is pulling out all the stops to move critical FEMA projects — especially PSS and NMC projects — by way of assigning key staff from his office to guide and assist the CNMI Public Assistance Office and PSS, which again received the largest allocation of FEMA-PA funds.
“PSS must continue this momentum of moving at an accelerated rate to ensure the timely completion of these disaster recovery and mitigation projects not only to prevent forfeiture of FEMA funds but most importantly, to build a robust infrastructure critical to student learning and student success,” Governor Palacios stated.
