Office of Grants Management & State Clearinghouse Administrator Epiphanio E. Cabrera Jr. smiles during a meeting with senators in Nov. 2023.
THE Office of Grants Management & Clearinghouse on Wednesday submitted to the Department of Public Works and the Division of Parks and Recreation the proposed federally funded contracts for the construction of pavilions on Saipan and Rota.
OGM-SC Administrator Epiphanio E. Cabrera Jr., in an interview, said they sent the contracts in response to the recommendation of Attorney General Edward Manibusan, who earlier returned the contracts to OGM-SC. The AG said the grants office lacked jurisdiction over the projects.
The pavilions will be constructed at Koblerville Children’s Inclusive Park, Pakpak Beach Park in San Antonio as well as As Matmos Park and Pena Point Park on Rota.
Cabrera said a total of $1.9 million was awarded to the CNMI by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Services for these pavilion construction projects under the Land & Water Conservation Fund State Assistance program. The goal is to help the Commonwealth preserve and develop outdoor recreational facilities.
OGM-SC allotted $900,000 for the pavilion project at Pakpak Beach Recreational Park; $645,600 for Koblerville Recreational Park; $177,800 for As Matmos Park; and $177,800 for Pona Point Park.
Cabrera said all these projects went through the proper invitation-to-bid process last year.
He said Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog, Department of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Sylvan Igisomar and elected officials on Saipan are pushing for the construction of the projects.
In his letter to Cabrera last week, the AG said, “It is unclear on the basis of the contracts whether the Division [of Parks and Recreation] authorized the projects.”
Manibusan said the OGM-SC administrator is also identified as both the expenditure authority and the contracting officer for the Commonwealth. The identification of the OGM-SC administrator as the contracting officer for the Commonwealth appears “to be overly broad,” the AG added.
To resolve the matter, he said the contract must be revised so that the signatory line for the Commonwealth contracting is deleted. Doing so, he added, would make the contracts conform with the contract review process and oversight of the procurement regulations.
In addition, the AG said, if the OGM-SC has not already done so, it must obtain the approval of the Division of Parks and Recreation and DPW before proceeding with the projects.
To minimize the risk of dispute, the AG added, the contracts should also be revised to specify that any material deviation from the contracts is subject to the approval of the Division of Parks and Recreation given its jurisdiction over the proposed construction.
