RFP out for permitting and licenses
The Government of Guam is soliciting for a “licensing and permitting system,” and the Request for Proposal can already be obtained from at https://governor.guam.gov/request-for-proposals-rfp/.
The closing date to obtain copies of the RFP is March 18 and the closing dates for submissions is March 25.
The permitting system was initially supposed to be up and running by December 2021, according to Journal files.
Funding will come from a U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs grant.
Hawaii company bags MilCon in Guam
Engineering Concepts Inc., of Honolulu was awarded Feb. 5 CHamoru Standard Time a $30 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity, architect-engineering contract for environmental investigations, permit applications and related studies at various locations, with 25% of the work to be performed in Guam, 50% in Hawaii and 25% in Japan. Naval Facilities Engineering and Systems Command Pacific made the award; six bids were received.
Engineering Concepts was founded in 1986 and provides civil and environmental engineering services. ECI has completed multiple projects in Hawaii for federal and other clients. It completed one project for the Navy in Guam in 2004 according to its website.
Contractor rebuts OPA statement and will proceed to court
Further to the release by the OPA on Feb. 3 regarding the AB Won Pat International Airport Authority Guam’s award to Menzies Aviation and subsequent procurement protest by JMI-Edison, JMI-Edison issued its own release on Feb. 4 Eduardo R. Ilao, president.
“Contemporaneous with that procurement appeal, JMI-Edison alerted the Guam Contractor’s Licensing Board about the airport’s proposed contractor, and the CLB initiated an investigation. The CLB received arguments on the issue from both that contractor’s lawyers, and ours. When the public auditor decided that he wanted to hear about the CLB proceedings before moving forward with the procurement appeal that was before him, JMI Edison informed the CLB investigators about that fact,” the JMI-Edison release said.
“Not unlike proceedings before the Superior Court and the OPA where proposed Orders or proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law are offered to assist those bodies in their decision-making process, JMI also provided through public means a draft of proposed findings and facts for the agency to adopt if it so chose,” JMI-Edison said.
“The allegation is also hurtful, since the claim of fraud is based upon the friendly use of the word “bro” in our open communications with the CLB executive director– a fellow Guamanian of Filipino descent,” the release said.
Such usage is common according to Ilao.
“Our lawyers were never provided the opportunity to correct the record. That matter will now be moving on to the Superior Court of Guam so that the OPA’s gross errors can be addressed,” the release said.
When Menzies obtained its CLB certification is not clear.
The airport’s Request for Proposals said, “Offerors must show evidence of their license authorizing the Offeror to provide the solicited services in Guam at the time of contract signing.” The awardee must obtain any license by the time of the contract signing according to the RFP.
In related news, the Office of the Governor advised Feb. 4, that it had – as requested received the resignation of Cecil Orsini, executive director of the CLB – and had passed it to the CLB board, “for their disposition.”
(See Feb. 4 story “Omicron spread, procurement update, war games, and more” on www.mbjguam.com)
Comment period opens for further Marine base construction
Joint Region Marianas announced Feb. 4 that a Programmatic Agreement memo in support of the Marine Corps relocation Guam is open for comments until March 21.
The memo “provides new cultural and natural resources information associated with planned construction projects” and is available on the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific
Cultural Information webpage at http://go.usa.gov/kZWG, a case-sensitive URL.
Projects include the Physical Training Complex, the Education Center, Public Works/Maintenance Shops, and the Base Motor Pool, for which “design studies and vertical construction to support future operations of Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz,” will be conducted.
Members of the community may submit comments via email to [email protected].
Saipan manpower agency owner sentenced for fraud
Alejandro T. Nario, owner, president, and manager of A&A Enterprises CNMI LLC was sentenced to 21 months, three years of supervised release, and a $7,000 fine for fraudulently petitioning the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “for at least 99 foreign citizens,” according to a Feb. 4 release from the U.S. Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
After paying $1,500 to $2,000 for their CW-1 visas, once in the NMI, the foreign workers would gain nondocumented jobs such as in construction, groundskeeping, and housekeeping, and then pay A&A Enterprises a fee of $194 every two weeks to keep their status.
Rosalee Bangot Abejo was sentenced to six months of home confinement and 36 months of probation for Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, plus 72 months of supervised release, and 50 hours of community service “for assisting the company by providing documents and other templates included with fraudulent visa petitions by A&A Enterprises,” according to the release.
Another Guam residential relief fund launched
The Guam Homeowner Assistance Fund received more than 650 pre-applications from homeowners seeking financial assistance in the first five days since opening on Jan. 31, according to a Feb. 4 release from the Office of the Governor. The fund aims to provide similar relief to hard-hit homeowners as the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, with homeowners potentially qualifying for up to $15,000, with the first batch of payments anticipated to be paid by the end of February. Applications will close Feb. 11.
“The ERA Program has obligated $10.2 million in rental relief to 2,500 households to date,” the release said. mbj
