The deadline has been extended to sign the controversial Eagles Field lease, after the governor made a last-minute appeal to the admiral Friday. Lou Leon Guerrero now has until April 30 to try and get a deal done for her preferred site for the billion-dollar medical campus.

The deadline came and went friday with no word from Adelup on the status of the lease signing. The Governor's Office had repeatedly refused to say if it was seeking an extension of the April 14 deadline set by the US Navy.

As it turns out, they did, releasing copies today of letters to and from Rear Admiral Benjamin Nicholson, who approved an extension till the end of the month. He had said it wasn't up to him to grant one, but a spokesperson confirmed that, "Upon the governor’s request, the assistant secretary of the Navy delegated their authority to [Joint Region Marianas] to approve or deny the extension."

Prompting all this was Attorney General Douglas Moylan's rejection of the 50-year deal, in part because of the lack of legislative involvement in the appropriation process. He also objected to giving up control of the hospital to the military during national emergencies which he believes is inorganic.

"That's a very standard lease provision in almost all the federal leases that I'm aware of," said Moylan. "And so it's nothing unusual. but the ag was concerned about who's authority will that fall under and federal laws say, of course, its the president of the United States. So we're just clarifying that part."

The Eagles Field site has also come under fire from the legislature's coalition majority who want greater oversight of the billion-dollar project.

The Governor's Office though has not consulted with lawmakers during the current review, and does not plan to. "Lease signing has always been an executive authority," said Leon Guerrero. "And so I have just been executing my executive authority in negotiation of leases for any leases in the government that comes through my office."

She added, "If the legislature wants some involvement, they certainly can create their plan. I've never heard a plan from the legislature about this hospital we need to build and certainly that's within their authority; their authority is appropriating and policymaking."

A Joint Region Marianas spokesperson says Navy lawyers in Washington are reviewing the lease terms and will be meeting with local navy and the governor's attorneys later this week.