THE Marianas Public Land Trust is asking Gov. Arnold I. Palacios for a “working plan proposal” for the $20 million line of credit that he requested last month.
The governor said the line of credit will cover the reimbursable costs of the initial stage of the federally funded capital improvement projects administered by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
In his letter to the governor last week, MPLT Chairman Phillip Mendiola-Long said he and his fellow trustees are reviewing the request.
To help them better understand it, specifically the timeline of the projects, Mendiola-Long said they would like to see a working plan proposal with the following details:
• Current outstanding/ongoing projects and their progress.
• Priority project listing and cost estimates.
• Details of the architectural and engineering work that have been performed to date, and if none, when will it be completed and who is performing the project.
• Details of the cost budget and estimated completion timeline.
• The status of the procurement process for each project.
• Funds drawdown timeline.
• Are any of the interest costs on the line of credit eligible for grant reimbursement?
• Letter from USEDA stating that the CNMI is currently in compliance with the grant terms; USEDA confirming that the proposed line of credit does not violate the terms of the grant agreement; and whether or not reimbursements for these grants can be assigned and paid directly to MPLT as settlement for the line of credit extended to the CNMI government.
Mendiola-Long said these pieces of information will be the basis of their decision on the governor’s request, as part of the trustees’ due diligence process.
Phillip Mendiola-Long
