Clock ticking on Guam's Covid funds

Governor seeks to commit $100 million in unspent federal grants to utility projects at the proposed hospital site in Mangilao

By Jayvee Vallejera

With the plan to build a new hospital in Mangilao at a stalemate, Guam Gov. Lou Leon-Guerrero wants the 38th Guam Legislature to put that aside for now and instead pass the bill to jumpstart the construction of utilities infrastructure for the village using over $100 million in unspent federal funds.

Building the power, water and wastewater infrastructure itself will benefit Mangilao residents whether or not the planned hospital happens, Leon-Guerrero said in a letter to Sen. Christopher Duenas.

Using these unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds is even more critical now because it will be returned to the U.S. Treasury if it is not spent by Dec. 31, 2026, she said. That gives Guam about 15 months to spend the money.

Leon-Guerrero pointed out that the money has already been allocated for the construction of utility infrastructure in Mangilao and the deadline to reprogram these funds has already passed. That means the Mangilao infrastructure project “is the only eligible path forward.”

“We simply cannot afford to waste over $100 million that has been committed to a project that will, without question, improve the lives of so many in our community. We cannot lose this opportunity,” Leon Guerrero said.

Leon-Guerrero assured that using the over $100 million, which Guam received during the Covid-19 pandemic, will not violate ARPA rules.

She added that federal rules allow these funds to be spent on infrastructure even if the medical campus is not ultimately built in Mangilao, where the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority seeks to condemn private properties for the stalled hospital project.

Lou Leon Guerrero

Where is the proof of that? asked Attorney General Douglas B. Moylan.

If the governor believes her and GHURA's actions did not violate ARPA funding requirements, “then produce a letter from the Treasury secretary to that effect,” he added.

“I cannot allow my client to pay back $105 million for useless massive infrastructure expenses to an empty lot when that money was illegally encumbered in the darkness of night and which the senators could rightfully use to decide how to stop our hospital from burning down,” he said.

Douglas Moylan

Moylan also took issue with Leon-Guerrero committing ARPA funds to a proposed facility that he said has no detailed plans, will take a decade or more to design and construct, and for which only $105 million is available for a project estimated to cost about $1.5 billion.

He said Guam needs to have the Guam Memorial Hospital upgraded now.

“Her letter ‘buries her head in the sand’ when we need leaders to help us now,” he added.

Moylan claims his many efforts to meet with Leon-Guerrero have been ignored.

He argued that only the legislature can decide how much debt Guam can incur, the size of medical facility the island can afford and how soon it needs a new hospital, “especially since our current one is literally in danger of burning down.”

Sen. Jesse A. Lujan, majority leader, is optimistic that Moylan and the governor’s office can have an open dialogue on this matter.

In a letter to Moylan, Lujan said he was disappointed that the legislature’s efforts to mediate the stalemate have not yielded a consensus and called for cooperation between the executive branch and the Office of the Attorney General.

The governor wants to build a new hospital medical complex on 102 acres of property in Mangilao. Some lawmakers and the medical community want a hospital built on a 35-acre old hospital site at Oka Point in Tamuning. Others maintained that the government must focus its resources on Guam Memorial Hospital.

In her letter to Duenas on Wednesday, Leon-Guerrero urged the Guam Legislature to pass Bill 1-S swiftly to authorize the installation of utility infrastructure in Mangilao.

She said the legislature can approve the installation of infrastructure for which ARPA funds have been obligated without having to approve the construction of the medical complex in Mangilao.

“While I remain committed to building a hospital in Mangilao, I understand that addressing these issues may allow the legislature to fully consider the initial step of installing infrastructure in the area,” she said.

The governor noted in her letter that ARPA guidelines allow broad flexibility for governments to use these funds. Since the Mangilao infrastructure project qualifies, it stands as an eligible use regardless of the outcome of the larger medical campus project.

“I urge the Legislature to do everything in its power to support our timely expenditure of these monies, starting with passing Bill [1-S],” the governor said.

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