Guam Election Commission Executive Director Maria Pangelinan on Tuesday said GEC is proceeding with drafting a contract for a lease for office space, at nearly $14,500 a month, with The Westin Resort Guam, the site for early voting in the 2022 elections.
Monday’s deadline passed without any protest filed against GEC’s May 2 intent to award the contract to the Tumon hotel.
The contract would cost $72,500 for five months to accommodate early voters for the primary and general elections.
Pangelinan said GEC is now putting together the contract, based on Westin’s bid submission of $3.58 per square foot for 4,050 square feet of space to accommodate early voting.
All requirements for occupancy also need to be met, she said.
The plan is for GEC to occupy the space from July 1 to Nov. 30.
July 28 is the first day of early voting for the primary election.
Besides Westin, Goodwind Development’s Micronesia Mall and Bridge Alliance, which owns the former Guam Greyhound Raceway Park, submitted bids for the commercial lease space procurement. After a review of the bids and site inspections, GEC concluded Westin was the responsive and lowest bidder.
However, GEC had to wait at least 14 days from the release of its May 2 intent to award the contract to Westin, to see if any procurement protests would be filed.
The deadline was the same day senators asked Pangelinan about the decision to pick the Westin as the site for early voting, during a public hearing on a bill that would appropriate $609,000 to GEC to help fund the early voting and the primary election.
During that hearing, Pangelinan assured senators the specifications for the early voting site were written to accommodate early voting as best as possible.
Meanwhile, only five individuals have filed their formal candidacy with GEC for the primary elections, with about five weeks left until the June 28 deadline.
