Governor signs HOT bond; tourism projects to begin
With his signature on two documents, Governor Eddie Baza Calvo made history and approved the bonds that will build Guam’s first permanent museum.
The signing of the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) bond indenture with bond counsel Stan Dirks and the bond trustee signatory, Bank of Guam President Lou Leon Guerrero, now releases the funding into the trustee account and for the government’s use.
The government now can use $55 million in bond proceeds on a host of cultural- and tourism-related infrastructure improvements. A large part of this money will be used to build the museum.
“This is a proud day for Guam,” Governor Calvo said. “It was such an honor to sign these documents. Now there’s nothing standing in the way of building our first permanent museum. It’s been a long time coming. This is for both our children and our ancestors. It’s truly a bridge from our past to our future.”
The government of Guam has mulled over plans to build a museum for decades. The recently-created Guam Museum Foundation pushed the issue into public focus and has been aggressive in its planning and fundraising efforts. The Thirtieth Guam Legislature, in its last days, passed the authorization for the bond. The Calvo Tenorio administration, through the Guam Economic Development Authority pursued the bond sales in New York and successfully sold the bond recently.
“We’ve seen since the Japan tragedy how we really need help to shore up our tourism industry,” Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio said. “We will improve Product Guam using this bond so we can attract more tourists to Guam and ensure they have a world-class destination experience.”
