In just five days, members of the House of Representatives minority bloc and their staff, with the help of the Tan Siu Lin Foundation and other partners, completed a major restoration of the Dandan Children\u2019s Park within the Dandan Homestead. <\/p>\n
The restoration work\u2014called the House Minority\u2019s First Unified Community Project\u2014began on Monday, Feb. 1, and was completed last Friday.<\/p>\n
The park used to be covered with overgrown vegetation, the pavilions filled with graffiti. The basketball court was not functional and its floor was stained with debris from many months of soil buildup. Now the area is cleared of vegetation. The pavilions are newly painted and covered with beautiful murals. The basketball court\u2019s boards and rims are new. The court\u2019s floor is newly painted with thermoplastic paint. The parking lot is also newly painted.<\/p>\n
Minority bloc members said the restoration project marked their first ever inter-precinct collaboration for the community.<\/p>\n
Minority bloc spokesman Rep. Angel Demapan (R-Saipan) told reporters at the park Friday afternoon that shortly after the inauguration of the 22nd Legislature, they got together under the leadership of minority leader Rep. Ivan A. Blanco (R-Saipan) and they talked about some of their goals and plans for this term. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what you\u2019re seeing today is the community outreach project aspect of our plans,\u201d Demapan said. <\/p>\n
TanHoldings president and chief executive officer Jerry Tan said they learned about the restoration project early last week. \u201cWe actually stopped by and took a look at what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Tan, who is also chairman of the Governor\u2019s Council of Economic Advisers.<\/p>\n
He said they learned that the park has been out of commission for many years. \u201cI looked around the neighborhood and said, \u2018Wow! There must be a lot of kids here.\u2019 So, we said, \u2018Yeah, let\u2019s get involved and help out,\u2019\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n
Tan said he gave the group a lot of credit because they restored the park in just a matter of days. <\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been here at night, but I understand the lights were turned on and the kids were already flooding the place,\u201d said Tan, adding that basketball courts should be restored so children can come out, enjoy playing basketball, and just stay active and healthy.<\/p>\n
Demapan said they plan to move into every precinct, represented by the minority, to work together with their field staff to bring positive change to the villages of their precincts.<\/p>\n
Demapan said that, as a representative of Precinct 1, together with his three colleagues from Precinct 1\u2014Reps. Joseph Lee Pan Guerrero (R-Saipan), Roy Ada (R-Saipan), and Joseph Flores (Ind-Saipan), they\u2019re very proud to begin this project here in Dandan, with the support of their minority colleagues from other precincts. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis project also would not have been possible without the support of our partners,\u201d said Demapan, mentioning the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, the Governor\u2019s Council of Economic Advisers\u2019 Public-Private Partnership, the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office, and the Department of Corrections.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tan Siu Lin Foundation\u2026made a significant contribution to help us defray the costs of transforming this children\u2019s park to what you see today,\u201d Demapan said.<\/p>\n
He said the mayor\u2019s office provided equipment, while DOC also partnered with the project. \u201cSo it has been a really collaborative effort by so many stakeholders. And we\u2019re very proud to present this project to all of you today and in particular to the community of Dandan, where today the office of minority is pleased to return the park back to the people of Dandan,\u201d Demapan said.<\/p>\n
He said a lot of the work was done primarily by the community workers of all minority offices, as well as the minority members themselves.<\/p>\n
Demapan said they also put a lot of their own personal touches. The \u201cSo we welcome you all to Dandan Children\u2019s Park, reborn and ready for the community once again,\u201d said Demapan drawing applause from lawmakers, their staff, partners, and some community members.<\/p>\n
When asked about the costs of the restoration, the lawmaker said \u201cit\u2019s priceless\u201d and that they haven\u2019t quantified everything. \u201cBut just to see the kids come back last night and play and express their happiness and their joy about having their park and their basketball court back, you cannot put a price tag on that,\u201d Demapan said.<\/p>\n
He said there was no appropriation for this project as it was all funded by their work and their staff, as well as the contributions of private partners, government agencies and the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n
As to why they chose the children\u2019s park as their initial project, Demapan said they believe that investing in a facility like the park help nourish and develop children. <\/p>\n
\u201cInvesting in a facility like this will not just bring the camaraderie and the spirit of unity to the children of the village, but pride to the village so that the people of this community have something to be proud of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Demapan said they started work last Monday and that day, Friday, was only their fifth day. \u201cBut if you see some of the pictures, the before pictures and the before video footage that we\u2019ll be sharing with you guys, you probably think that today was Day 14,\u201d Demapan said.<\/p>\n
He said the whole facility from the pathways to the basketball court, was water-blasted. The basketball court was completely coated with thermoplastic paint, then the backboards and the rims were donated. All the pavilions have been restored. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we came here, the pavilions were covered in graffiti. So in the spirit of the graffiti, we decided to put murals up,\u201d said Demapan, adding that Rep. Joel Camacho (R-Saipan), who is known for making popular murals in the north side of the island, was able to bring that spirit here to the south side. <\/p>\n
Saipan Mayor David Apatang said the minority bloc and their staff did a super job and he recommended that they also restore the San Antonio basketball court and its premises.<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed the basketball court is down. We need to refurbish that so that young kids can play basketball, take their time and spend their time after school,\u201d Apatang said.<\/p>\n
Demapan said Flores has already brought that up so they are going to calendar the project as the minority bloc moves from precinct to precinct. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to also have to manage the timeline for each project so that we can schedule the next project,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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