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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Pierluisi Visits Yabucoa and Humacao

Yabucoa/Humacao- Resident Commissioner Pierluisi visited two Municipalities today as part of an effort to better understand the needs and priorities of the Island’s mayors.

Pierluisi visited Yabucoa during the morning, and guided by Mayor Angel “Papo” Garcia, visited several projects in need of federal funding. One of these was the Marta Sanchez School, which is part of a pilot program to promote education commencing at the pre-kindergarten level.

The Resident Commissioner also visited a $5 million housing complex currently under construction, which will be comprised of 38 housing units. Mayor Garcia has also requested a relocation of his Municipality’s post office, which the Resident Commissioner has supported.

Other priority projects include the construction of a fishing village both at Camino Puerto Nuevo in the Playa Lucia neighborhood and at the Playa Guayanés neighborhood. These sites suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Hugo. In order to rehabilitate the area, the Municipality could apply for a grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Garcia also requested the Resident Commissioner’s support to acquire an amphitheatre and parking area for the Municipality, in order to rehabilitate the Félix Millán Stadium.

“Papo has shown me the projects in his Municipality that are in greatest need of federal funding. I have pledged to follow up on each of these requests and assist in communicating with federal agencies in order for him to fulfill his promises to the people of Yabucoa,” the Resident Commissioner said.

Also present during his visit to Yabucoa were Representatives Mariita Santiago and Ramón Díaz.

During the afternoon, the Resident Commissioner will meet with the Mayor of Humacao, Marcelo Trujillo Panisse, as part of his commitment to attend to the needs of all the Municipalities on the Island, regardless of political affiliation.

Mayor Trujillo has presented the Resident Commissioner with his plan to establish a new Fine Arts and Multi-use Coliseum, which will cost nearly $70 million. The Mayor is requesting funding to move forward with phase 3 of the project, which consists of the construction of a bridge to connect the Center and the Coliseum. This would cost approximately $5.5 million.

“On September 29, I sent a letter of support for the Municipality of Humacao’s project to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which I will be following up on,” Pierluisi said.

Mayor Trujillo also requested the Resident Commissioner’s support for the construction of a cemetery on some recently-acquired land. This project will have a total cost of $1.7 million.

The Mayor of Trujillo has requested funding from the federal government to construct a building to house the four Head Start centers that are currently spread out throughout the urban center of the city. These offices would also house the administrative offices of Head Start centers of Humacao, Las Piedras and Yabucoa. On October 15, the Resident Commissioner sent a letter in support of this proposal.

The Resident Commissioner has visited nearly 60 Municipalities in order to learn first-hand about their needs.

“These visits are very important to both me and my staff, which follows up on requests for federal funding within each Municipality. They can all count on my support,” the Resident Commissioner said.