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$311K allotted to operate visitor center
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Posted on Apr 19 2005
The U.S. National Park Service has allocated $311,000 solely for the operation of the new American Memorial Park Visitor Center, park ranger Chuck Sayon reported yesterday.
Sayon said the amount would bring the park’s annual operating budget to $1.1 million, a seven-fold increase from the facility’s budget when Sayon took over 10 years ago.
Under construction for the past year and a half, the Visitor Center is expected to open its doors to the public on May 28, the Saturday before Memorial Day.
“We are on the verge of opening Saipan’s newest institution, [which will] have the most comprehensive collection of World War II materials. It will be a very nice statement of what Saipan is about,” said Sayon, the guest speaker at yesterday’s Saipan Rotary Club at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.
Construction of the Visitor Center has now cost the CNMI and federal governments $5.7 million, a $1.7 million increase from its original budget.
According to Sayon, about $900,000 of the total expenses went to exhibit materials, which include artifacts, maps, and pictures depicting the history of the Northern Marianas.
The new facility will also have a 120-seat theater and a mock-up of the cave where some local and Japanese people took refuge during the World War II bombings.
Sayon also reported that more projects are underway for the American Memorial Park.
He said the park is currently working on a five-year master plan that includes expansion of the wetland, as well as sports facilities within the park.
