Guam - With Governor Felix Camacho calling on a special session to discuss a bill he introduced on Tuesday regarding the construction of a new John F. Kennedy High School campus, lawmakers, JFK stakeholders and those involved with negotiations to build the campus gathered to discuss issues surrounding the project.

JFK High students and stakeholders are growing impatient as they wait for word on when their school will be rebuilt.  It's been two years since the Upper Tumon campus was shut down and students like Michi Sasai say all the debate and now discussion on new legislation is taking too long. "Well, then again, it would put a delay on it even more and we wouldn't know when our school will be built and we just want to make sure it happens soon rather than later on," she told KUAM News.

The Camacho Administration contends that lawmakers must pass Bill 1 (5-s) in order to prevent any further delays in the construction of the new campus.  The legislation seeks to clear up concerns about bond financing through certificates of participation.  Senators expressed concerns about how much the Government of Guam would have to pay to build the campus and wondered why it's take so long for a contract to be awarded.

Senator Judi Guthertz (D) said, "The protest has been over for quite a while. Why is it taking your department so long to negotiate an agreement?" to which Department of Public Works Director Andy Leon Guerrero replied, "The agreement is not so much the problem, senator. The problem is that bond counsel needs to go out into the market and give an unqualified opinion. Now that unqualified opinion comes with the fact that he needs to state that the RFP is sound."

Acting Attorney General John Weisenberger and Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks were also in attendance, assuring lawmakers that the legislation needs to be passed.  "Is this the best procurement we've ever done? No. Does it comply with the law of Guam on the request for proposal, senator, in my opinion, it does," the AG said.  "I'm backed by the Public Auditor, who I might indicate to you, takes a look at these with a very conservative eye."

Weisenberger stressed that the bill wouldn't just benefit International Bridge Corporation, but the other two companies that submitted proposals for the JFK project should negotiations with IBC fall through.  Speaker Judi Won Pat, meanwhile, questioned how much it's going to cost the government for IBC bc to build the new campus, saying, "Only to find out that the 25, went up to 49, and just this morning I received a call from a reputable person who is part of this whole process when I was saying $69 million I was told, he said absolutely not. We thought we were going to pay for that total amount of $88 million and it's going to be over $200 million," he said.

Senator Tom Ada (D) also expressed concerns that if the bill was passed, it could set precedence for future RFPs by removing checks and balances in the procurement process.  "If the options are to eliminate that opportunity to protest after an award is made, and that not being an option, I would say yes, we have to go out and rebid it and let's do it right this time," he stated.

Guam Community Improvement Foundation legal counsel Mike Berman tells KUAM News his client strongly objects to the legislation, saying it is an attempt to undermine the procurement laws and would likely lead to more "complicated and protracted legal proceedings".