THE Rotary Club of Saipan has donated playground materials for Laly 4 in Chalan Kanoa, Division of Parks and Recreation Director Mike Cruz said.
“Our data indicated that it’s about time to replace the Laly 4 playground. It was the Jones family that donated the existing playground way back,” Cruz said on Saturday.
He said Parks and Rec signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rotary, which donated the playground including the labor for its construction. In turn, Parks and Rec will be responsible for repairs and maintenance.
As part of their responsibility, Cruz said they are currently procuring solar lights for the playground.
“This is the first Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant playground, and the construction started on April 7, and it will be done in about two weeks,” Cruz added.
Vandalism
He also told Variety about the three picnic shelters at Sugar Dock that had been vandalized.
“Somebody cut the line connecting the solar panels to the solar lights,” he said. “It’s very frustrating because we just installed that a couple of months ago. It was working properly, until someone tampered with it.”
Cruz said at the two other picnic shelters, “the solar lights and panels were unplugged, so they cannot charge …. I’m not sure if these individuals do not want light or what. We’ve installed solar lights for everyone’s use. If the light is bothering them, please move or go to another area where it’s darker. Don’t use the pavilion or picnic shelters if you are going to tamper with the lights.”
Cruz said he has been working with Precinct 2 Rep. John Paul Sablan on the Sugar Dock pavilion renovation project.
“We do a lot of work to get these upgrades for the community, so it is very frustrating to see these projects being vandalized,” he added. “This is all taxpayer’s money. We have to make sure we take care of what we have now because we don’t know if in the future we will have money for these projects. Community members keep saying to upgrade. How can we do that if people are …vandalizing what we have right now?”
Parks and Rec Director Mike Cruz points to the construction of a new playground at Laly 4 in Chalan Kanoa.
The wiring for a solar light in one of the picnic shelters at Sugar Dock was cut.
