by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - Tebo Development, working for Jortberg Properties, LLC, is in receipt of a cancellation notice sent by the Guam Economic Development Authority on their billion-dollar deal officially being off the table. Joel Tribaudini is the company's Guam representative and issued the following statement on behalf of the developer.

"We are formulating a response to GEDA's recent letter. Our response will indicate that we accepted the terms of GEDA's most recent offer prior to the passing of Public Law 30-158 and we had therefore entered into a contract. On June 19, 2007 after a thorough review of our proposal, including an exhaustive review of financial disclosures, references and qualifications, GEDA requested the commencement of negotiations with Jortberg Properties, LLC. Response to the RFP was long before the military identified the FAA property, during the course of these negotiations, it is important to point out that we responded to GEDA's RFP before any potential military base locations had been identified, and at that time the relocation from Okinawa was not a certainty.

"Our response was based on the fundamentals of the FAA site and our estimate of the likely long term trends in the Guam real estate market. We proposed and still maintain that the development of a market-based development on the FAA site could maximize revenues for the members of the GALC. The creation of a special purpose entity for the military could also be highly beneficial for the members of the GALC. We will review both alternatives to maximize revenues for the GALC based on our acceptance of the terms of GEDA's most recent offer.

"Finally, I'd like to add that there is no military or ex-military person involved in any company affiliated with Rich Jortberg, the lead negotiator. While his uncle was an admiral and his father (deceased) was a captain in the Navy, neither has or had any involvement in any of his real estate development entities. We will limit communication regarding this contract, as the real focus of the FAA site should be on the members of the GALC who appear to be the biggest victims of Public Law 30-158."