Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cemetery Expansion Lot 258 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to transfer Lot 258 to Parks to expand Tiguan Cemetery as burials near capacity
Summary
Lawmakers and Parks and Recreation officials told a Guam legislative committee that Vicente A. Limtiaco Memorial Park (Tiguan Cemetery) is near capacity and asked to transfer adjacent Lot 258 to the Department of Parks and Recreation; the mayor of Piti opposed the measure, citing current cemetery upkeep and unclear funding for improvements.
The Committee on Land, Environment, Housing, Agriculture, Parks, and Infrastructure held a public hearing May 13 on Bill 49-38 COR, which would transfer Lot 258 in Nimitz Hill to the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to expand the Vicente A. Limtiaco Memorial Park, commonly known as Tiguan Cemetery.
Senator Tina Rose Muñoz Barnes, the bill’s author, told the committee the request came from DPR after its staff showed her the cemetery had reached a critical level of capacity. "Transfer a lot directly adjacent to the cemetery into its inventory, a property that is already owned by the government but is not assigned to any agency and a lot that has already been surveyed," Barnes said, summarizing the measure’s purpose.
Why it matters: DPR and its administrators said the cemetery has little remaining space for adult burials and that transferring the adjacent, surveyed government lot is a necessary first step before DPR can seek funds and develop a management plan. "We are down to less than maybe a month of burials left at TiGuac," Director Angel Sablan told the committee, explaining that the bill would give DPR the authority to plan and later seek appropriations for roads, pathways or crypt construction.
What DPR officials told the committee: Deputy Director Warren Pelletier and Acting Parks Administrator John Glenn Tydegui described the operational limits and options. Pelletier said ground burials in the additional lot could provide "5 plus years" of space, and that building multi-layer crypts could extend use "20, 25 years," while Tydegui said the cemetery has "over 5,000 burials dating back from 1966 to present." DPR staff said they lack some equipment and dedicated personnel—DPR currently borrows backhoe equipment from the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs for burials—and that the department has not included specific improvement costs for the expansion in its FY‑26 budget request.
Opposition and concerns: Mayor Alec, president of the Mayors' Council and mayor of Piti, testified in opposition, saying the cemetery’s current condition is unacceptable and that transferring more land without a concrete funding and maintenance plan would repeat past problems. "If our intentions are to provide this space for our loved ones, then before we continue to give more property to the department, perhaps we need to fix up the cemetery first," the mayor said.
Land status, survey and federal funding: Joe Borja of the Department of Land Management told the committee Lot 258 has been surveyed (survey completed January 2024) and is an unassigned government lot of about 45,793 square meters as shown on the map presented at the hearing. Borja recommended submitting the lot to land registration; committee members and staff noted that unregistered government parcels can complicate eligibility for some federal grants and repairs after disasters.
Operational and planning details raised at the hearing: DPR said the current cemetery lot (Lot 273) is roughly 30 acres but that about half of that area is unusable because of steep topography and creek channels. DPR said approximately eight adult plots remain available in the current footprint and that infant plots are more numerous (DPR estimated "maybe 50 to 100" infant spaces). DPR witnesses said past burials under utility easements and decades-old unauthorized encroachments create additional legal and logistical complications that could require family contact and relocation work if mitigation is necessary.
Committee direction and next steps: No vote was taken; the hearing was an opportunity to gather information. Committee members asked DPR and Land Management to supply written follow-ups: (1) a land-management assessment of adjacent lots and topography; (2) confirmation of survey and land‑registration steps and timeline; and (3) a clearer cost estimate and timeline for the infrastructure and equipment needed to put an expanded footprint into operation. Senator Barnes and DPR leaders emphasized the transfer is an administrative step that "does not require any funding for this initial step," while also acknowledging future appropriations would be necessary for construction and maintenance.
The public hearing record will remain open for seven days for written statements, and the committee will reschedule the second bill on the agenda at a later date.
