Guam Raceway still faces uncertain future
Tuesday, 12 January 2010 03:22
by William Martin | Variety News Staff
The fate of the Guam International Raceway and Jose and Hermenia Off Road Park is still up in the air as discussions continue between the Department of Defense and park officials.
The local community has been in an uproar regarding possible plans – outlined in the recently released Environmental Impact Statement, which assesses possible ramifications of Guam’s upcoming military buildup – to acquire additional, non DOD land for the construction of a training complex on eastern coastal lands off Route 15 in Yigo.
The land in question contains the raceway, as well as closely held ancestral sites Marbo and Pagat Caves, also including some privately owned land.
Last Friday, park officials began talks with the DOD on the future of the park, according to Henry Simpson, president of the Guam Racing Federation and general manager of the raceway.
He said park officials remained steadfast in talks that if the DOD is in need of the land, a new raceway must be built for Guam.
“If they still want it and aren’t willing to build us a new park,” he said. “They’re going to have to take it through imminent domain.”
Simpson said the difficulty in finding a new park lies in locating an area far enough away from the general public that noise generated from racing activities won’t become a nuisance to those residing nearby – a quality the current site possesses. The land was licensed to the federation for a period of 21 years nearly a decade ago by the Chamorro Land Trust, Simpson said.
He estimates some $7 million in cash has been put into the raceway, not including some $5 million in volunteer efforts by the non-profit federation, adding that raceway officials are also willing to neighbor the training complex if possible.
The third in a series of DOD-hosted public hearings on the matter took place last night at the Yigo Gymnasium, during which local residents attended to make their voices heard regarding the areas in question.
Many residents took the opportunity to make impassioned testimonies about their feelings on the buildup and plans for DOD to acquire the land.
Capt. Neil Ruggerio, public affairs officer for the Joint Guam Program Office declined comment to the Variety on the raceway’s future while attending the hearing, saying only that it was the local residents’ time to speak.
Bob Bucek, spokesman for the raceway said park personnel now plan to prepare and submit written testimony to the JGPO, and asks anyone interested in the park to do the same.
He said that while he was concerned about the raceway, the possibility of some of Guam’s historical sites is also cause for concern.
“If those areas are lost forever,” he shared. “It’s not just the people of Guam, but everybody that will lose.”
The next hearing is scheduled for today at Okkodo High School, with an open house segment from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by a public comment allotment ending at 9 p.m.
For more information regarding the statement or future related events, including an option to submit a statement about the buildup, please visit www.guambuildupeis.us.
Showing posts with label Route 15. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Route 15. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Mayors back land resolution
Mayors back land resolution
Friday, 08 January 2010 00:16
by Zita Y. Taitano | Variety News Staff
THE Mayors Council covered a lot of ground yesterday morning during their first official meeting for 2010. [Village mayors buckle down to work on Thursday during the Mayors Council’s first official meeting for 2010. Zita Taitano]
Upon Yigo mayor Robert Lizama’s motion, the mayors unanimously voted to support Sen. Judy Guthertz’s Resolution 258, which would prohibit the federal government from imposing eminent domain to acquire private property along Route 15 in Pagat for the use by Marines as a firing range.
A public hearing was held on the resolution and drew more than 100 residents, 44 of whom spoke in support of the legislation. There was only one opposition to the resolution.
Presenting the reasons for the resolution was Guthertz chief of staff, Dr. Richard Wyttenbach-Santos, who indicated that there are other areas the Marines could utilize such as Naval Magazine, but had learned that the area was too far to travel. Other sites also usable include near Ritidian Point and also on Andersen Air Force Base.
Lizama also suggested that a petition be drafted for each village in support of Resolution 258-30. “I think we’d be making a statement in getting our people involved and getting our ‘familia’ network and friends,” he said.
Several other items were also discussed including the continuing problem with the streetlights and the appointment of the Mayor’s Council to head this year’s 66th Liberation Day festivities.
Mayors Council executive director Angel Sablan brought up of the matter of the Department of Public Works’ plan to outsource the streetlights maintenance, which he said is of great concern. Sablan has asked for a detailed listing from Guam Power Authority on all streetlights on Guam.
With regard to the Liberation Day activities, Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares, newly elected president of the Mayors Council, said the council will start getting ready early this year for liberation and that includes recruiting for candidates for the 2010 Miss Liberation Pageant.
“We want to start planning for the vendors. We want to have a big Chamorro concert for the Liberation Day Committee to draw the people out,” she said.
The council’s new officers will be sworn in at 5 p.m. on Jan. 19 at the Asan/Maina Community Center.
Friday, 08 January 2010 00:16
by Zita Y. Taitano | Variety News Staff
THE Mayors Council covered a lot of ground yesterday morning during their first official meeting for 2010. [Village mayors buckle down to work on Thursday during the Mayors Council’s first official meeting for 2010. Zita Taitano]
Upon Yigo mayor Robert Lizama’s motion, the mayors unanimously voted to support Sen. Judy Guthertz’s Resolution 258, which would prohibit the federal government from imposing eminent domain to acquire private property along Route 15 in Pagat for the use by Marines as a firing range.
A public hearing was held on the resolution and drew more than 100 residents, 44 of whom spoke in support of the legislation. There was only one opposition to the resolution.
Presenting the reasons for the resolution was Guthertz chief of staff, Dr. Richard Wyttenbach-Santos, who indicated that there are other areas the Marines could utilize such as Naval Magazine, but had learned that the area was too far to travel. Other sites also usable include near Ritidian Point and also on Andersen Air Force Base.
Lizama also suggested that a petition be drafted for each village in support of Resolution 258-30. “I think we’d be making a statement in getting our people involved and getting our ‘familia’ network and friends,” he said.
Several other items were also discussed including the continuing problem with the streetlights and the appointment of the Mayor’s Council to head this year’s 66th Liberation Day festivities.
Mayors Council executive director Angel Sablan brought up of the matter of the Department of Public Works’ plan to outsource the streetlights maintenance, which he said is of great concern. Sablan has asked for a detailed listing from Guam Power Authority on all streetlights on Guam.
With regard to the Liberation Day activities, Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares, newly elected president of the Mayors Council, said the council will start getting ready early this year for liberation and that includes recruiting for candidates for the 2010 Miss Liberation Pageant.
“We want to start planning for the vendors. We want to have a big Chamorro concert for the Liberation Day Committee to draw the people out,” she said.
The council’s new officers will be sworn in at 5 p.m. on Jan. 19 at the Asan/Maina Community Center.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Make your voices heard: Dededo, Yigo mayors urge residents to testify on buildup
Make your voices heard: Dededo, Yigo mayors urge residents to testify on buildup
By Erin Thompson • Northern Weekly • January 6, 2010
Fears of condemnation of private property, inaccessible hiking trails, a proposed firing range and the relocation of Route 15 are some of the buildup issues worrying residents in the northern part of Guam, according to Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares and Yigo Mayor Robert Lizama.
Residents in the northern part of the island will have an opportunity to voice concerns about how the buildup will affect their community at two public hearings next week. The first will happen on Monday at the Yigo Gymnasium, the second at Dededo's Okkodo High School on Jan. 12.
The hearings are a part of an island-wide process allowing residents to make comments in response to the draft Environmental Impact Statement released in November. The 11,000-page EIS, which is available for review at the University of Guam Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Mangilao and the mayors' offices in Yigo, Dededo, Barrigada, Agat and Mangilao, provides a break-down of the social and environmental impact of the buildup.
Yigo Mayor Robert Lizama says that while only four people to date have come by to browse the EIS and take home a copy of the available CD, he has heard many residents express "frustration" over some of the proposed changes to the area, which include the construction of a firing range along the island's northeast coast. The range would require the leasing or condemnation between 1,100 and 1,800 acres along Route 15 in Mangilao and Yigo, according to the Northern Weekly files.
Dededo resident Anthony Artero, who is planning on attending the hearing next week, told Northern Weekly that he is concerned about how the increased population could strain water and power infrastructure and increase traffic flow on the island. He also pointed to fears about how the rights of property owners would be affected, citing his family's own personal experience.
According to Artero, whose family owns land at Urunao in the Ritidian area, prior to World War II the family owned the land at Anderson Air Force Base, only to see it condemned after the war and bought for a fraction of its value.
"The U.S. military on this island has a track record of treating the people locally unfairly, in terms of taking their land away," says Artero, who says he fear islanders could face land condemnations or restrictions on land development following the buildup.
His biggest concern, however, was that the U.S. military was "not giving the local people an opportunity to be part of the buildup," he says.
As one of the key opportunities for islanders to get their voices on the record about the buildup, Savares says that the Dededo's mayor's office is working hard to get the word out about the hearings.
"We're trying aggressively," says Savares, who says her office is reaching out through media, at public events and by word of mouth, and even sending home messages through school children to get parents to attend.
"It's important that individuals, that residents come out to these hearings, and be heard and see what the EIS -- the findings, the draft studies -- are," says Savares.
"Because it's in draft form now and all comments will really be taken into consideration once final decision is made," she says.
"We want our residents who live here to be heard, make a difference making comments."
By Erin Thompson • Northern Weekly • January 6, 2010
Fears of condemnation of private property, inaccessible hiking trails, a proposed firing range and the relocation of Route 15 are some of the buildup issues worrying residents in the northern part of Guam, according to Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares and Yigo Mayor Robert Lizama.
Residents in the northern part of the island will have an opportunity to voice concerns about how the buildup will affect their community at two public hearings next week. The first will happen on Monday at the Yigo Gymnasium, the second at Dededo's Okkodo High School on Jan. 12.
The hearings are a part of an island-wide process allowing residents to make comments in response to the draft Environmental Impact Statement released in November. The 11,000-page EIS, which is available for review at the University of Guam Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Mangilao and the mayors' offices in Yigo, Dededo, Barrigada, Agat and Mangilao, provides a break-down of the social and environmental impact of the buildup.
Yigo Mayor Robert Lizama says that while only four people to date have come by to browse the EIS and take home a copy of the available CD, he has heard many residents express "frustration" over some of the proposed changes to the area, which include the construction of a firing range along the island's northeast coast. The range would require the leasing or condemnation between 1,100 and 1,800 acres along Route 15 in Mangilao and Yigo, according to the Northern Weekly files.
Dededo resident Anthony Artero, who is planning on attending the hearing next week, told Northern Weekly that he is concerned about how the increased population could strain water and power infrastructure and increase traffic flow on the island. He also pointed to fears about how the rights of property owners would be affected, citing his family's own personal experience.
According to Artero, whose family owns land at Urunao in the Ritidian area, prior to World War II the family owned the land at Anderson Air Force Base, only to see it condemned after the war and bought for a fraction of its value.
"The U.S. military on this island has a track record of treating the people locally unfairly, in terms of taking their land away," says Artero, who says he fear islanders could face land condemnations or restrictions on land development following the buildup.
His biggest concern, however, was that the U.S. military was "not giving the local people an opportunity to be part of the buildup," he says.
As one of the key opportunities for islanders to get their voices on the record about the buildup, Savares says that the Dededo's mayor's office is working hard to get the word out about the hearings.
"We're trying aggressively," says Savares, who says her office is reaching out through media, at public events and by word of mouth, and even sending home messages through school children to get parents to attend.
"It's important that individuals, that residents come out to these hearings, and be heard and see what the EIS -- the findings, the draft studies -- are," says Savares.
"Because it's in draft form now and all comments will really be taken into consideration once final decision is made," she says.
"We want our residents who live here to be heard, make a difference making comments."
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Military to hikers: Take up indoor hobbies
Military to hikers: Take up indoor hobbies
Friday, 18 December 2009 04:21 by Jude Lizama | Variety News Staff
SINCE bonnie stompers are likely to lose access to jungles and cultural sites on island, the military is suggesting that hikers switch to indoor hobbies.
The Marine Corps Community Service has proposed various quality of life facilities such as hobby shop, indoor physical fitness centers, indoor recreational resources such as bowling, skating rink, youth center, theater and recreational pavilion.
These are among the alternative recreations cited by the military in the draft environmental impact statement.
“By presenting alternate recreational options to the potential users, impacts to the recreational resources on non-DoD lands in north Guam could be lessened,” the study cited.
A significant portion of nonmilitary acreage on the east coast of the island, in addition to the loss of some of the island’s recreational and cultural sites, may be confiscated as a result of the training range complex construction alternatives proposed within the draft environmental impact statement.
According to the impact study, “There are several recreational resources that the public would lose the access to, and the use of the features if the proposed action were implemented: Guam International Raceway, Marbo Cave, Pagat Trail and associated trails near it, cultural gathering activities (suruhana), and off-shore fishing near Marbo Cave.”
Through the possible implementation of Training Complex Alternative A, the U.S. military would look to acquire 921 acres of nonmilitary land located east of both Andersen South and Route 15. This alternative would also require 1.7 miles of Route 15 to be realigned. Alternative B could possible would see the military take 1,129 acres with no realignment to Route 15.
If conducted, both of the training facility options would consist of live fire ranges under the classifications of known distance, unknown distance, pistol, square-bay, and machine gun; in addition to range control, range roads, range towers, and proposed special use airspace.
Additionally, the study cited that “Implementation of [Main Cantonment] Alternative 1, regardless of the Training Complex Alternatives A or B, would cause the cessation of the present activities at all the resources mentioned because the Known Distance Range Complex is proposed in that location. The loss of Guam International Raceway land and use would be an adverse impact. Therefore, [Main Cantonment] Alternative 1 would result in significant impacts to recreational resources.”
“Heightened awareness and education about environmentally sensitive areas,” will contribute toward “minimizing deterioration of resources,” the draft study says. “The general wear and tear of the amenities available and the conditions of the recreational resources would likely be accelerated due to the presence of potential users.”
Friday, 18 December 2009 04:21 by Jude Lizama | Variety News Staff
SINCE bonnie stompers are likely to lose access to jungles and cultural sites on island, the military is suggesting that hikers switch to indoor hobbies.
The Marine Corps Community Service has proposed various quality of life facilities such as hobby shop, indoor physical fitness centers, indoor recreational resources such as bowling, skating rink, youth center, theater and recreational pavilion.
These are among the alternative recreations cited by the military in the draft environmental impact statement.
“By presenting alternate recreational options to the potential users, impacts to the recreational resources on non-DoD lands in north Guam could be lessened,” the study cited.
A significant portion of nonmilitary acreage on the east coast of the island, in addition to the loss of some of the island’s recreational and cultural sites, may be confiscated as a result of the training range complex construction alternatives proposed within the draft environmental impact statement.
According to the impact study, “There are several recreational resources that the public would lose the access to, and the use of the features if the proposed action were implemented: Guam International Raceway, Marbo Cave, Pagat Trail and associated trails near it, cultural gathering activities (suruhana), and off-shore fishing near Marbo Cave.”
Through the possible implementation of Training Complex Alternative A, the U.S. military would look to acquire 921 acres of nonmilitary land located east of both Andersen South and Route 15. This alternative would also require 1.7 miles of Route 15 to be realigned. Alternative B could possible would see the military take 1,129 acres with no realignment to Route 15.
If conducted, both of the training facility options would consist of live fire ranges under the classifications of known distance, unknown distance, pistol, square-bay, and machine gun; in addition to range control, range roads, range towers, and proposed special use airspace.
Additionally, the study cited that “Implementation of [Main Cantonment] Alternative 1, regardless of the Training Complex Alternatives A or B, would cause the cessation of the present activities at all the resources mentioned because the Known Distance Range Complex is proposed in that location. The loss of Guam International Raceway land and use would be an adverse impact. Therefore, [Main Cantonment] Alternative 1 would result in significant impacts to recreational resources.”
“Heightened awareness and education about environmentally sensitive areas,” will contribute toward “minimizing deterioration of resources,” the draft study says. “The general wear and tear of the amenities available and the conditions of the recreational resources would likely be accelerated due to the presence of potential users.”
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Lack of consultation results in wrong info
Lack of consultation results in wrong info
Tuesday, 15 December 2009 00:40
by Mar-Vic Cagurangan | Variety News Staff
THE draft environmental impact statement contains some inaccurate information about Guam because military planners failed to engage local participation during the assessment process, according to Henry Simpson, president of Guam Racing Federation.
Simpson pointed specifically to the proposed layout of the Marines’ firing range project on Route 15, which marked the Yigo Raceway Park as an “abandoned raceway park.”
“No one even bothered to ask me if it is indeed abandoned. Have they consulted us, they would have found out that the Yigo raceway is not an abandoned facility,” Simpson said.
“I wasn’t aware of this map layout until somebody came up to me and said ‘sorry that you’re going to lose the race park.’ That had me concerned,” he added.
The Navy is seeking to secure undeveloped properties on Route 15, commonly known as “Andy South,” to build a training complex for live and inert munitions practice and that requires safety buffers, known as surface danger zones and special use airspace. The properties are also being eyed as a possible site for aviation training and exercises for landing and takeoffs.
Most of the properties in the target area are part of the Chamorro Ancestral Lands Commission’s inventory. The racing federation is leasing a government property where the race track is situated.
Simpson said the raceway federation is seeking audience with the Navy officials to discuss possible options that include allowing the race track to stay in the area, which is a safe distance away from the firing direction.
“We can be good neighbors. We’re tying to get the military to embrace the race track as a recreation for troops who will come to Guam,” Simpson said.
But the military must propose a relocation site for the race track if it is bent on acquiring the property where the race facility is located, Simpson said.
“If they really need this area, we are willing to move out. But they should come up with a mitigation plan. Unfortunately, no one is talking to us,” Simpson said. “We don’t want this to be an adverse issue with the military but we don’t want them to run us over.”
Tuesday, 15 December 2009 00:40
by Mar-Vic Cagurangan | Variety News Staff
THE draft environmental impact statement contains some inaccurate information about Guam because military planners failed to engage local participation during the assessment process, according to Henry Simpson, president of Guam Racing Federation.
Simpson pointed specifically to the proposed layout of the Marines’ firing range project on Route 15, which marked the Yigo Raceway Park as an “abandoned raceway park.”
“No one even bothered to ask me if it is indeed abandoned. Have they consulted us, they would have found out that the Yigo raceway is not an abandoned facility,” Simpson said.
“I wasn’t aware of this map layout until somebody came up to me and said ‘sorry that you’re going to lose the race park.’ That had me concerned,” he added.
The Navy is seeking to secure undeveloped properties on Route 15, commonly known as “Andy South,” to build a training complex for live and inert munitions practice and that requires safety buffers, known as surface danger zones and special use airspace. The properties are also being eyed as a possible site for aviation training and exercises for landing and takeoffs.
Most of the properties in the target area are part of the Chamorro Ancestral Lands Commission’s inventory. The racing federation is leasing a government property where the race track is situated.
Simpson said the raceway federation is seeking audience with the Navy officials to discuss possible options that include allowing the race track to stay in the area, which is a safe distance away from the firing direction.
“We can be good neighbors. We’re tying to get the military to embrace the race track as a recreation for troops who will come to Guam,” Simpson said.
But the military must propose a relocation site for the race track if it is bent on acquiring the property where the race facility is located, Simpson said.
“If they really need this area, we are willing to move out. But they should come up with a mitigation plan. Unfortunately, no one is talking to us,” Simpson said. “We don’t want this to be an adverse issue with the military but we don’t want them to run us over.”
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