Personnel of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources main office have been occupying an old warehouse in Lower Base that has a leaking roof, whose office front constantly has water ponding.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt smells like a sewer right in front of our office,\u201d DLNR Secretary Anthony Benavente told members of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee during a hearing Wednesday on DLNR\u2019s budget request for fiscal year 2023. <\/p>\n
Benavente underscored the need for DLNR\u2019s main office to relocate after Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Donald M. Manglona (Ind-Rota) questioned the department\u2019s budget request \u201cfor all others\u201d in the amount of $269,000. Manglona pointed out that the request differs from other DLNR divisions, where \u201call others\u201d in the operational budget were categorized.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder this Natural Resources Division, it was just lumped into \u2018all others\u2019 at $269,000. Would you happen to know what those are for?\u201d Manglona asked.<\/p>\n
Benavente said he would be grateful for that funding as they\u2019ve set aside that money for a new office. He said DLNR has been in that warehouse for the longest time and that it\u2019s time to do something since it\u2019s always leaking and flooding. <\/p>\n
He noted that across their building is a brand-new office of the Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority. <\/p>\n
Benavente said it\u2019s shameful that their office has water leaks and that he believes the warehouse has been there for over 35 years. <\/p>\n
He disclosed that the administration has given them two buildings on Capital Hill. <\/p>\n
The DLNR secretary said he is hoping that the $269,000 might be sufficient to renovate the two buildings on Capital Hill for the DLNR office and for the Division of Land Registration and Survey to occupy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese two offices are in that warehouse facility, [which has] constant overflow, rats dying on the roof, and leaks every rainy season. I mean, we need to get away from that building,\u201d Benavente said.<\/p>\n
For next year, that\u2019s their main goal, Benavente said, to fix the two buildings on Capital Hill and move out from the unsafe structure in Lower Base for the safety and health of their employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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