SO IF WE DIDN’T STEP IN IT HOW COME I CAN STILL SMELL IT:

SO IF WE DIDN’T STEP IN IT HOW COME I CAN STILL SMELL IT: After taking blind stabs in the dark at Tim Bynum’s proposed “Yes we don’t not allow dogs on the bike path” law Bill #2265 yesterday we finally got a hold of the actual bill and if you enjoyed what we rightly ridiculed and revealed yesterday we’ve got more to whet your dog whistle.

First of all though the public notice explains the absurdity how the Council proposes to make something that’s legal stay legal by making it illegal and then creating an exemption for that illegality that may not be it’s primary effect if not purpose.

Turns out the whole bill may dead since it is apparently illegally posted and noticed

And that’s because no one let the public know that what the bill actually does is surreptitiously give the newly Charter-created “Department” of Parks And Recreation (DP&R) and its Director the responsibility for administration of the County’s parks, taking it away from the County Engineer and the Public Works Department where the old “Office” of Parks and Recreation resided.

It does this by apparently trying to change parts of the Definitions in Chapter 19 Section 19-1.3 although it is done so ineptly as to cause more confusion than it clears up, seemingly deleting the numbering system for some insane reason and deleting at least one references to the Public Works Department or DPW (19-1.3 [3]) but apparently leaving others in (19-1.3 [2]) referring to the County Engineer. It also allows references to the old Parks and Recreation Division of Public Works to remain (19-1.3 [5]) and deletes some words from provisions that were wrongly worded in the first place to refer to a “Department” of Parks and Recreation (19-1.3 [6]) when there was no such thing as a “Department” of P&R when the original ordinance was approved.

This has to be considered a major change of law contained in bill- changing control of all County parks from the DPW to the DP&R. Yet that information does not appear on the public notice filed with the Lieutenant Governor and submitted for publication, in violation of HRS 91 (Administrative Rules) and 92 (Sunshine/open meetings).

But midway exhibit aside, step right up and have your dollar ready – there’s more bizarro-world manipulations and big contortions under the side-show big-top.

We’ve been amused for weeks as County officials have been lying in saying that the bike path was, according to the newspaper “considered a linear park”.

The problem was that no one ever bothered to go through the legal processes to declare it such in just another one of those Henry VIII “I am the law” delusional propagations that supplant promulgations and are so typical of chest-pounding Kaua`i potentates

Yesterday- after reading the public notice for the public hearing next Wednesday- we reported that the new bill is apparently at least attempting to surreptitiously and retroactively declare the bike path to be a park.

But actually we were wrong- it is not going to be a “park” but a “recreational facility” because the part being amended doesn’t refer to parks. It appears in the definition of a “Recreational Facility” (19-1.3 [9]) prospectively adding a paragraph saying

“Shared Use Path shall mean the path surface, as area up to six (6) feet in each side of the surface, immediately adjacent rest areas, and direct access from parking areas.”

This would supposedly bring the path under Section 19-1.4 refers to “General Prohibitions applicable to all Parks and Recreational Facilities” and is where the specific prohibitions are listed.

But that isn’t really clear because it just may be a dangling definition and not part or 19-1.3 [9] at all- and if it is, the term doesn’t join “swimming pools, gymnasiums, community centers pavilions, (and) picnic tables” but just kind of sits there off in the corner... much like the dog turd it seeks to regulate.

But if indeed it is a “recreational facility” the problem is, as we have stated over and over and is documented by every county official directly involved in procuring the funding for this specific path, it is not a Shared Use Path, Multi-Use Path, Dog Path, Bridle path (or for that matter a Bridal Path) elephant path or anything else

No matter what Tim Bynum, Thomas Noyes or Mayor Baptiste- or for that matter that hilariously crazy “believe me not your lyin' eyes” anonymous troll who perpetuates the big lie on various blog entries on the subject- wish it were funded as. it is was and will always be funded as a “primarily for transportation”-use path.

Although recreational use was and is permitted by federal funding law for the specific appropriation for this specific project, the bike path has to be used “primarily for transportation, not recreation” by law and it still lacks the required signature of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation declaring that the County is abiding by the “primarily for transportation, not recreation” provision.

But Bynum, who apparently wrote the bill himself if we can judge by the lack of legal acumen and bill-writing skills is one of those “don’t confuse me with the facts” people.

And it’s no wonder since he actually rode the “it’s not a bike path it’s a multi-use path” bandwagon to elective office. That’s his and their story and he and they are sticking to it, even if they have to put it in a law that could jeopardize the funding and cause the feds who audit these projects to “de-obligate” the $40 million and take it out of the pockets not of the electeds who misrepresented the use but the taxpayers.

Until now it’s been public statements and newspaper articles that left the trail of bread crumbs to our make-believe gingerbread house of a multi-use path. But now it is due to be enshrined in the Kauai` County Code via an ordinance where no one can say they didn’t mean it when they said what a great “recreational” boondoggle it is.

Finally the bill does one more thing... sort of.

Remember a few years back when the Council was going to but didn’t ban all drinking in parks but added a provision banning alcohol in parks from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. if you didn’t have a camping permit?

Well what was not publicized much at the time was that the provision had a sunset date 18 months after it was enacted. This new Bill #2265 also deletes the section containing the 11-6 provision and the sunset date clause.

This could be considered a “housekeeping measure” but if anyone wants to bring up the ban and push for a new one or a re-upping of the sunsetted provision, this bill would give them an opportunity to bring it up at the public hearing and subsequent committee and council meetings under the State Sunshine Law since the section part is being changed.

We’re also starting a pool – guess the number of people who show up and how long the hearing goes and you win. Winner gets a scoop and a bag to pick up after their kangaroo.

I say 250 and six hours.

The Zoo opens at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Hysteric County Building. Bring any barnyard beasts you wish. As a matter of fact maybe you can walk them there via the path.

They’re all apparently welcome to compete with bicyclists who whip around the corner at 50 mph while commuting to and from work... gee- wonder who’s gonna be left holding the liability bag when the ones who are legally supposed to have priority come upon your chicks and geese and ducks as well as your fringed surrey that fail to scurry.



IRREGULAR APPENDIX: For any who missed all the news and concurrent documentation regarding the funding and requirements for the coastal bike path the paperwork is available through the Department of Public Works’ Buildings Division.

Ask for Doug... he’ll fix ya up with the files for the funding mechanism and compliance with its requirements for the “coastal bike path” project. They’re public information and you can examine them or even get copies.
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But Glenn Mickens (he’s in the book) has copies of them and if you want copies yourself he’ll probably give you a kiss for caring and meet you at the copy place. I have a lot of them myself. Ask Glenn for the “Sweeny Brief” and attachments.

Then you’ll also know why our “coastal multi use path” runs through the Safeway-Foodland parking lots...and over a bridge that took 30 years to build at taxpayer expense instead of making SW and FL pay by honoring a 1978 zoning condition.