A MAN, A PLAN, A DEBACLE- RAPOZO: After decades of problems keeping the rain off the Kilauea Gym floor, the Director of the Kaua`i Parks and Recreation (P&R) Department, Lenny Rapozo, has finally come up with what many in the administration are calling a "brilliant" multi-pronged approach to fixing the structure which includes covering the current leaky roof with pili grass and moving the whole building 90 degrees to aviod the wet, easterly winds.
"A pili grass roof was good enough for the ancient Hawaiians so it should be good enough for us" said Rapozo, "especially if it's not raining."
The roof has never in human memory actually kept water out- which is thought by many in the Buildings Division of the Department of Public Works to be the main function of a roof- despite 137 attempts to replace it based on 373 different consultants' plans.
Rapozo also had a plan for the leaky door that faces into the rainy trade winds.
"We have hundreds of balloons and dozens of tanks of helium left over from the mayor's last campaign so we can just fill them up and float the building. And the beauty of it is that we can use all those political appointees and mayoral-approved civil servants who owe their jobs to him to turn the whole building, moving the door to a more desirable orientation... whichever way, after trial and error, that turns out to be."
According to Rapozo his own recent research has apparently shown that the current structure sits on the footprint and is a renovated version of the ancient "Kilauea Himanekium" where "pre-western-contact kanaka would go for drink beer." But, Rapozo said he discovered that during a 19th century renovation the building was inadvertently spun around sideways by witches, who were brought over for just such jobs by missionaries who were seeking to allow the structure to receive bigger shipments of bibles they could exchange for surrounding farms and home-sites.
"We're excited by the discovery" said Rapozo whose engineering expertise goes back to his days at Kapa`a High School where he lettered in "Pick-up Sticks" and "Tiddlywinks." He also studied basket-weaving, a skill he said may prove useful in the pili roofing project.
"I think I've got something here that nobody else could- or would- have come up with," Rapozo boasted with a straight face.
There are also plans to replace the wooden basketball floor with concrete and then put down lauhala mats in order to absorb any rainwater in case the pili grass leaks. "But the mats are only for when it rains because no one plays basketball in the rain anyway," said Rapozo. "Besides, the plan is all up here," Rapozo said pointing to his head "so we can save money on design consultants if the pili grass has to be replaced. Since everyone is used to paying over and over for consultants every year or so, we have an unending source of funding for the project, 'cause grass stay cheap, eh?"
Rapozo did not at first indicate where the cheap pili grass would come from since it is an all but extinct species but when asked of his plans for future recreational projects Rapozo said he's thinking of a Youth Program where students grow can pili grass on county land, then sell the product to the county for other roofing projects.
His boss, Mayor Bernard Carvalho applauded Rapozo's ingenuity. "That's why I hired him- since he has no expertise in any one particular area, he tends to think, not just outside the box but outside the entire realm of human endeavor and experience."
Rapozo also talked about- but didn't explain- either using the remaining balloons and helium to actually move Moran Pond at Lydgate or filling the balloons with the mud that now befouls the once popular swimming pools after a previous Rapozian plan to dredge the pools want awry... for some unfathomable reason.
"Then maybe the mud balloons will just float away," he said wistfully
Council Chair Jay Furfaro was cautiously enthusiastic over the plan saying "it wouldn't be the absolute stupidest thing we've ever approved- but it'd be close."
Councilperson JoAnn Yukimura was apparently skeptical but said she would have to see the plans in writing before she could really comment and recommend a thorough study of the project.
But Councilmember Mel Rapozo was both for it and against it, making sure that he didn't state a position until he figured out what the political implications were.
Blogger Andy Parx but did manage to wake up long enough to backhandedly mumble an ambiguous complement saying "it sound just like something Lenny would come up with since no one in the county is smarter or more suited to his job than he is."
Showing posts with label Kauai Department of Public Works. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kauai Department of Public Works. Show all posts
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
OF SEWERS AND SKEWERS
OF SEWERS AND SKEWERS: The characterization of Kaua`i County government as an open cesspool has been more than appropriate for as long as we can remember. Sometime we feel like our function in life over the past few decades has been to observe the surface and provide commentary on the largest and smelliest of the visible and odoriferous of contents--the "turd de jour" if you will.
But there is one exemplary piece of excrement that seems to resurface with regularity: the gold-plated, iconic fecality of the re-re-re-roofing of the Kilauea Gym.
When we saw it on the county council agenda a few weeks back we assumed our recent cataract surgery had been a failure. Surely the leakiest roof in the west had been fixed "once and for all" the last time it was fixed "once and for all."
That was back in 2003 when, after at least two previous attempts at stopping the perennial waterfall that flooded the basketball court with every precipitation, the county hired an independent consultant to watch over the other consultants that watched over the buildings division that watched over the Public Works Department that watched over the contractor that built the roof that covered the house that built Jack-sh*t.
The first re-roofing was done after Hurricane `Iniki knocked off the original one- which we can remember leaking in the 70s. But that "new" roof stopped fulfilling it's function (if it ever "filled" it in the first place as some old-timers speculate) as soon as the FEMA warranty ran out after two years in 1999, Council Chair Jay Furfaro told the assembled last Wednesday. Attempts at fixing it, including first patching it followed by a brilliant scheme to build a roof covering the leaky roof, finally culminated in the county getting, well, Jacked-up, as we described above
Actually back when it had only been re-roofed twice it had become so archetypical of Department of Public Works' (DPW) incompetency that it was the key factor in various schemes by the council to "launch and investigation" into DPW under Charter section 3.17- the only provision in the guiding county document that allows the council to "interfere" in the functions of the administration.
The matter appeared on the council agenda repeatedly. This was during the "fog" years when a thick layer of snooze-inducing, mumbling whispers from DPW engineers and assorted functionaries routinely caused the council to react like Dorothy and her crew entering the poppy fields upon their first glimpse of Oz.
After hagglin' and stragglin'- mostly over how to proceed with an "investigation" thus allowing stonewalling by councilmembers, especially those who routinely addressed DPW officials as "my good friend"- it all culminated in a charter amendment setting up the Office of the County Auditor.
The Auditor, who serves at the pleasure and under the direction of the council, has actually completed an audit of the "re-roofing" of the Kilauea Gym. But it was published before the current leak was discovered during the recent big rains in March. And nobody really knows what it says because it doesn't seem to be posted at the Auditor's page on the county web site.
But guess what? The DPW- specifically the buildings division which is the place that building projects are overseen- has "handed off" the Kilauea Gym to the newly created Department of Parks and Recreation overseen by the usually stumblin' and bumblin' Lenny Rapozo, whose main qualification for the job was that he managed the campaign of Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. in the last election.
But never fear. Even though shovels of money have been poured into past efforts, the latest answer to the musical question, "Who'll Stop The Rain?" is "Lenny," who says he has $120,000 floating around in his budget to hire (drum roll please) another consultant--one who this time will certainly figure out what to do about the the fact that the old man has apparently been snoring while it's raining and pouring.
Oh yeah, we forgot, turns out the front door of the gym also leaks when it rains hard because not only was the entire gym designed improperly with the door facing windward (the direction from which rain usually comes) but there is no "awning" or "eave" over the door and apparently the door is not water tight either. So the rain comes through the door and the floor is now "cupping" where the rain has blown in and pooled.
Oh, and the "warranty" on the labor on the current roof? Wouldn't you know it, darn the luck. it's just run out because somehow, despite the fact that there had been nothing but problems with the leaky roof for decades, the county failed to obtain a "lifetime" warranty.
It would seem that if there is indeed another "design flaw" someone- perhaps the contractors and/or consultants- should be held responsible. But of course the county will most likely only be able to prove this if we hire outside attorneys, and that would probably cost ten times what a new roof would cost.
The council has instructed Rapozo to report back in July. That should give us plenty of time to get a new pair of binoculars and a set of top-of-the-line nose plugs. We'll leave it to the council to purchase diving equipment- that's why they get the big bucks.
But there is one exemplary piece of excrement that seems to resurface with regularity: the gold-plated, iconic fecality of the re-re-re-roofing of the Kilauea Gym.
When we saw it on the county council agenda a few weeks back we assumed our recent cataract surgery had been a failure. Surely the leakiest roof in the west had been fixed "once and for all" the last time it was fixed "once and for all."
That was back in 2003 when, after at least two previous attempts at stopping the perennial waterfall that flooded the basketball court with every precipitation, the county hired an independent consultant to watch over the other consultants that watched over the buildings division that watched over the Public Works Department that watched over the contractor that built the roof that covered the house that built Jack-sh*t.
The first re-roofing was done after Hurricane `Iniki knocked off the original one- which we can remember leaking in the 70s. But that "new" roof stopped fulfilling it's function (if it ever "filled" it in the first place as some old-timers speculate) as soon as the FEMA warranty ran out after two years in 1999, Council Chair Jay Furfaro told the assembled last Wednesday. Attempts at fixing it, including first patching it followed by a brilliant scheme to build a roof covering the leaky roof, finally culminated in the county getting, well, Jacked-up, as we described above
Actually back when it had only been re-roofed twice it had become so archetypical of Department of Public Works' (DPW) incompetency that it was the key factor in various schemes by the council to "launch and investigation" into DPW under Charter section 3.17- the only provision in the guiding county document that allows the council to "interfere" in the functions of the administration.
The matter appeared on the council agenda repeatedly. This was during the "fog" years when a thick layer of snooze-inducing, mumbling whispers from DPW engineers and assorted functionaries routinely caused the council to react like Dorothy and her crew entering the poppy fields upon their first glimpse of Oz.
After hagglin' and stragglin'- mostly over how to proceed with an "investigation" thus allowing stonewalling by councilmembers, especially those who routinely addressed DPW officials as "my good friend"- it all culminated in a charter amendment setting up the Office of the County Auditor.
The Auditor, who serves at the pleasure and under the direction of the council, has actually completed an audit of the "re-roofing" of the Kilauea Gym. But it was published before the current leak was discovered during the recent big rains in March. And nobody really knows what it says because it doesn't seem to be posted at the Auditor's page on the county web site.
But guess what? The DPW- specifically the buildings division which is the place that building projects are overseen- has "handed off" the Kilauea Gym to the newly created Department of Parks and Recreation overseen by the usually stumblin' and bumblin' Lenny Rapozo, whose main qualification for the job was that he managed the campaign of Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. in the last election.
But never fear. Even though shovels of money have been poured into past efforts, the latest answer to the musical question, "Who'll Stop The Rain?" is "Lenny," who says he has $120,000 floating around in his budget to hire (drum roll please) another consultant--one who this time will certainly figure out what to do about the the fact that the old man has apparently been snoring while it's raining and pouring.
Oh yeah, we forgot, turns out the front door of the gym also leaks when it rains hard because not only was the entire gym designed improperly with the door facing windward (the direction from which rain usually comes) but there is no "awning" or "eave" over the door and apparently the door is not water tight either. So the rain comes through the door and the floor is now "cupping" where the rain has blown in and pooled.
Oh, and the "warranty" on the labor on the current roof? Wouldn't you know it, darn the luck. it's just run out because somehow, despite the fact that there had been nothing but problems with the leaky roof for decades, the county failed to obtain a "lifetime" warranty.
It would seem that if there is indeed another "design flaw" someone- perhaps the contractors and/or consultants- should be held responsible. But of course the county will most likely only be able to prove this if we hire outside attorneys, and that would probably cost ten times what a new roof would cost.
The council has instructed Rapozo to report back in July. That should give us plenty of time to get a new pair of binoculars and a set of top-of-the-line nose plugs. We'll leave it to the council to purchase diving equipment- that's why they get the big bucks.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
YOU WANT IT WHEN?
YOU WANT IT WHEN?: We tried- we really did.
But once again, like clockwork, our "little buddy" Leo Azambuja, apparently watched a different county council committee meeting than we did a week ago Wednesday (October 28).
Although the agenda item was a report on the new landfill, what actually happened apparently went completely over Azambuja's head.
The acronym MRF- standing for Materials Recovery Facility- never saw the light of day in the article on the meeting. But it was the central topic of discussion after it was discovered that, despite the desperate need for a MRF to move forward on curbside recycling, the administration, as many have feared, is apparently going to wait for the process of siting the new landfill and completing an environmental impact statement to even start actually building a MRF.
That's because, according to Councilperson JoAnn Yukimura, the administration of Mayor Bernard Carvalho is apparently so enamored of their vision for a Resource Recovery Facility at the same location as the new landfill that they won't even consider anything else.
Rather than starting the process now separately from the landfill siting- which won't be done until at least 2020 according to the administration's presentation- there were no plans presented to indicate that the administration even considered trying to get the MRF "done yesterday" so to speak, in order to divert trash from the old, nearing-capacity landfill so as to buy time for siting a new one.
That would mean construction of an MRF won't even start until June of 2016, Yukimura indicated after looking at the administration's timeline.
Not only that but siting the MRF and other resource recovery facilities inland and near the new landfill is a numbskull idea for a number of reasons despite widespread claims that it "sounds logical."
First of all, as Yukimura and Councilperson Tim Bynum both pointed out, hauling the recyclables far inland- where the presumed new landfill site is- and then back to the harbor will increase costs immensely. But siting the MRF near the harbor would actually make sense so apparently it wasn't considered by the administration.
What no one mentioned is the massive mix of trucks going in and out will cause unneeded congestion costing time and money. And of course if the facilities are too close to the landfill itself, it would put the kibosh on expansion into the area where the facilities are sited.
The reality is that, despite the fact that a MRF was supposed to be completed this year according to the Integrated Solid Waste Program the county approved years ago- and that the "pilot" curbside recycling program had to be suspended for lack of a MRF- there is apparently still no fire under the butts of the Department of Public Works to get the process started except as part of the landfill siting process.
County Engineer Larry Dill did come forward to say that the administration was supposedly working separately on a MRF but it seems like a CYA afterthought. It came only after former County Engineer and current Environmental Services Officer Donald Fujimoto seemed incredibly befuddled by the criticism, apparently because the administration has been so stuck on the concept of putting all the trash-related stuff in one place that they didn't see the need for a MRF as being the most important solid-waste-related project for the county right now.
The whole matter will be back on the agenda soon because the discussion was continually being cut short since the subjects of the MRF and the old landfill weren't even on the agenda.
But the fact that even after the embarrassment of having to cut short the pilot curbside recycling program, even after the passage of a new zero waste resolution by the council AND administration, even though the current landfill's life apparently won't get us to the opening of a new landfill and it's filling up faster than it was supposed to and even though all those recyclables are going into the current landfill because there is no MRF, the administration is still in la-la land with their grand plan for their one-stop opala palace.
Excuse us while we look for a place to get sick.
But once again, like clockwork, our "little buddy" Leo Azambuja, apparently watched a different county council committee meeting than we did a week ago Wednesday (October 28).
Although the agenda item was a report on the new landfill, what actually happened apparently went completely over Azambuja's head.
The acronym MRF- standing for Materials Recovery Facility- never saw the light of day in the article on the meeting. But it was the central topic of discussion after it was discovered that, despite the desperate need for a MRF to move forward on curbside recycling, the administration, as many have feared, is apparently going to wait for the process of siting the new landfill and completing an environmental impact statement to even start actually building a MRF.
That's because, according to Councilperson JoAnn Yukimura, the administration of Mayor Bernard Carvalho is apparently so enamored of their vision for a Resource Recovery Facility at the same location as the new landfill that they won't even consider anything else.
Rather than starting the process now separately from the landfill siting- which won't be done until at least 2020 according to the administration's presentation- there were no plans presented to indicate that the administration even considered trying to get the MRF "done yesterday" so to speak, in order to divert trash from the old, nearing-capacity landfill so as to buy time for siting a new one.
That would mean construction of an MRF won't even start until June of 2016, Yukimura indicated after looking at the administration's timeline.
Not only that but siting the MRF and other resource recovery facilities inland and near the new landfill is a numbskull idea for a number of reasons despite widespread claims that it "sounds logical."
First of all, as Yukimura and Councilperson Tim Bynum both pointed out, hauling the recyclables far inland- where the presumed new landfill site is- and then back to the harbor will increase costs immensely. But siting the MRF near the harbor would actually make sense so apparently it wasn't considered by the administration.
What no one mentioned is the massive mix of trucks going in and out will cause unneeded congestion costing time and money. And of course if the facilities are too close to the landfill itself, it would put the kibosh on expansion into the area where the facilities are sited.
The reality is that, despite the fact that a MRF was supposed to be completed this year according to the Integrated Solid Waste Program the county approved years ago- and that the "pilot" curbside recycling program had to be suspended for lack of a MRF- there is apparently still no fire under the butts of the Department of Public Works to get the process started except as part of the landfill siting process.
County Engineer Larry Dill did come forward to say that the administration was supposedly working separately on a MRF but it seems like a CYA afterthought. It came only after former County Engineer and current Environmental Services Officer Donald Fujimoto seemed incredibly befuddled by the criticism, apparently because the administration has been so stuck on the concept of putting all the trash-related stuff in one place that they didn't see the need for a MRF as being the most important solid-waste-related project for the county right now.
The whole matter will be back on the agenda soon because the discussion was continually being cut short since the subjects of the MRF and the old landfill weren't even on the agenda.
But the fact that even after the embarrassment of having to cut short the pilot curbside recycling program, even after the passage of a new zero waste resolution by the council AND administration, even though the current landfill's life apparently won't get us to the opening of a new landfill and it's filling up faster than it was supposed to and even though all those recyclables are going into the current landfill because there is no MRF, the administration is still in la-la land with their grand plan for their one-stop opala palace.
Excuse us while we look for a place to get sick.
Monday, September 19, 2011
MRF-FREE'S LAW
MRF-FREE'S LAW: There's a sure way to get our blood boiling- mention solid waste and Kaua`i county government in the same sentence.
Back in the early-mid 90's, when the term "zero-waste" was just a'bornin', Dr. Ray Chuan, activist extraordinaire, used to walk into the council chambers each week with stacks of papers and during the interstitial periods, start pawing through them.
Of course we couldn't resist looking over his shoulder and so much to our amazement we and eventually the rest of the "nitpickers" became experts on the last thing in which we wanted to stick our noses- literally or figuratively... trash.
It didn't take a genius to see that the costliest- and stupidest- thing that could be done was to dig a hole in the ground and bury valuable materials rather than recycle them. The solution was- and is- to make it as easy for folks to separate them out of their yucky trash, pick them up curbside and bring them to a place to separate them for shipment, as many places on the mainland were already either doing or planning to do at the time.
Now more than 15 years later and three administrations later Kaua`i not only doesn't have a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) but, according to the local newspaper- albeit buried mid-way through an article- Mayor Bernard Carvalho has no real plans to build one, making recycling as haphazard and costly as possible.
It's not like the money to plan and build a MRF hasn't been appropriated by the council at least four time we can think of since the turn of the century. Every single bond float- and restructuring of bonds- has included money for the facility which needs to be the first thing that is done in either a "zero-waste" program or the "integrated solid waste" strategy the county has embraced.
It has also been included in almost every capital improvement budget since then to no avail. If we didn't know better we'd think there was no one who knew how to both build a large warehouse and kick back money to the Department of Public Works' Solid Waste Division and the various mayors.
The article is, as usual when penned by Leo Azambuja, fairly useless in explaining why the heck a MRF is not in Carvalho's budget this year, preferring to concentrate on the reasons why the council refused to waste money by continuing to pay our state senator's brother an exorbitant rate to separate a small amount of curbside recycled materials, recovered through a now-canceled "pilot project."
It's just another textbook example of the county's "ready, fire, aim" modus operandi.
But further, the article fails to point out the massive costs of dumping most of our recyclable goods in our overflowing landfill to the point where some have suggested "mining" the old cells, not just to recover the materials discarded over the years but to open up space so as to delay for as long as decades the need to site a new one that nobody wants in their backyard anyway.
Instead Carvalho is still adamant about siting the MRF in the area in which he is proposing to put the new landfill even though planning and permitting for the dump could be a decade away. That means that in Carvalho's mind we will keep on doing what's wrong as long as we can, falling further behind the rest of the world in solid waste management.
Meanwhile the cart is not just before the horse, it's rolling down an endless hill and gathering speed with no equine activity on the horizon.
Of course if the planning and design had been done years ago the county might have even had the whole shebang paid for by the federal government when the they were looking for "shovel ready" public works projects a couple of years back- as they may be doing again next year.
Carvalho seems to have no trouble acting on a dime when it comes to hiring another suck-up crony to fill another new administration position. But when it comes to capital improvement projects the bungling seems almost intentional.
The old "is it incompetence or is in malfeasance?" question was seemingly made for the last three mayors. But the more Carvalho's administrative skills are on display, the more we have to believe it's the latter more than the former.
Back in the early-mid 90's, when the term "zero-waste" was just a'bornin', Dr. Ray Chuan, activist extraordinaire, used to walk into the council chambers each week with stacks of papers and during the interstitial periods, start pawing through them.
Of course we couldn't resist looking over his shoulder and so much to our amazement we and eventually the rest of the "nitpickers" became experts on the last thing in which we wanted to stick our noses- literally or figuratively... trash.
It didn't take a genius to see that the costliest- and stupidest- thing that could be done was to dig a hole in the ground and bury valuable materials rather than recycle them. The solution was- and is- to make it as easy for folks to separate them out of their yucky trash, pick them up curbside and bring them to a place to separate them for shipment, as many places on the mainland were already either doing or planning to do at the time.
Now more than 15 years later and three administrations later Kaua`i not only doesn't have a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) but, according to the local newspaper- albeit buried mid-way through an article- Mayor Bernard Carvalho has no real plans to build one, making recycling as haphazard and costly as possible.
It's not like the money to plan and build a MRF hasn't been appropriated by the council at least four time we can think of since the turn of the century. Every single bond float- and restructuring of bonds- has included money for the facility which needs to be the first thing that is done in either a "zero-waste" program or the "integrated solid waste" strategy the county has embraced.
It has also been included in almost every capital improvement budget since then to no avail. If we didn't know better we'd think there was no one who knew how to both build a large warehouse and kick back money to the Department of Public Works' Solid Waste Division and the various mayors.
The article is, as usual when penned by Leo Azambuja, fairly useless in explaining why the heck a MRF is not in Carvalho's budget this year, preferring to concentrate on the reasons why the council refused to waste money by continuing to pay our state senator's brother an exorbitant rate to separate a small amount of curbside recycled materials, recovered through a now-canceled "pilot project."
It's just another textbook example of the county's "ready, fire, aim" modus operandi.
But further, the article fails to point out the massive costs of dumping most of our recyclable goods in our overflowing landfill to the point where some have suggested "mining" the old cells, not just to recover the materials discarded over the years but to open up space so as to delay for as long as decades the need to site a new one that nobody wants in their backyard anyway.
Instead Carvalho is still adamant about siting the MRF in the area in which he is proposing to put the new landfill even though planning and permitting for the dump could be a decade away. That means that in Carvalho's mind we will keep on doing what's wrong as long as we can, falling further behind the rest of the world in solid waste management.
Meanwhile the cart is not just before the horse, it's rolling down an endless hill and gathering speed with no equine activity on the horizon.
Of course if the planning and design had been done years ago the county might have even had the whole shebang paid for by the federal government when the they were looking for "shovel ready" public works projects a couple of years back- as they may be doing again next year.
Carvalho seems to have no trouble acting on a dime when it comes to hiring another suck-up crony to fill another new administration position. But when it comes to capital improvement projects the bungling seems almost intentional.
The old "is it incompetence or is in malfeasance?" question was seemingly made for the last three mayors. But the more Carvalho's administrative skills are on display, the more we have to believe it's the latter more than the former.
Monday, July 11, 2011
CRETINS FORM THE BLACK LAGOON
CRETINS FORM THE BLACK LAGOON: It doesn't take an engineer to know that the county's effort to dredge and restore the Morgan's Pond's at Lydgate has resulted in a mammoth mess of suspended silt permeating the once pristine pools.
Perhaps the fact that there wasn't one there at last Wednesday's meeting is why Kaua`i County Council members and administration officials took it upon themselves to decide to do nothing about it and kick the can down the road for at least four months.
But that's what happens when you appoint your otherwise-unqualified, former campaign manager to head up the Parks and Recreation Department- as Mayor Bernard Carvalho did with Lenny Rapozo- and then fail to consult the engineers in the Department of Public Works (DPW) on a project like this.
It's no wonder County Engineer Larry Dill wasn't the the one sent in response to the council's "request... for the Administration to provide the Council with a status report on the Lydgate Pond Restoration Project" and Rapozo showed up- because Dill, who is new to the county, might have told the truth- that the ponds could be screwed up for years due to county ineptitude and negligence in allowing the project to proceed the way it did.
Rapozo tried to paint a picture of a normal result of the project, telling the council that it will only take six months to get rid of the "turbidity"- a fancy word for the mud and muck suspended in the pool- if we "let mother nature take it's course" and do nothing.
But between Rapozo's "don't worry be happy" message he also described what actually happened.
Seems that the idea was to dredge the "sand" that had accumulated over the last almost 50 years and use it to replenish the beach. But instead what happened instead, and "surprised" the county according to Rapozo, was that the "sand" only went about three feet deep and below that was pure silt and muck.
Not only that but the sand itself was so full of trash and mixed with the silt that the state Department of Health won't let them use it on the beach so it sits in a pile now- replete with "coke cans" and "cigarette butts" according to testimony- with no one knowing quite what to do with the mess.
And, according to many who have actually been in the pond, anyone attempting to stand up in it will sink at a foot or more into the bottom "like quicksand," as it was described.
So in other words despite a decade-and-a-half of planning and obtaining the permits no one bothered to take a core sample to see what was there and just assumed it would all be pristine sand, not the garbage-strewn silt-sand mix that was actually present.
The real problem in fixing it is that when they dug up the giant boulders that had fallen into the pool from the barrier "wall" that created the ponds, and piled them back on it, it created a situation where all that 50 years of silt that had come from the adjacent Wailua River mouth and flowed into the ponds is now "sealed in."
And of course it will keep out any sand needed to cover the quicksand.
The Lydgate ponds are, of course, one of the "jewels" of the island- a must see attraction for tourists and a mainstay for local parents and their keiki. It also is- or was- one of the most recommended snorkeling locales in Kapa`a/Wailua where, according to many, the Kapa`a area snorkel rental outlets are still sending their customers.
As a matter of fact the whole mess has resulted in a new activity for many local people- standing around and watching what happens when the tourists- especially those with rented snorkels and fins- come out covered in muck after 30 second dip in the muddy mess.
Apparently the project was done without involvement of the DPW building and engineering divisions and may be one of the reasons why Carvalho has recently ordered all capital improvement projects be run through DPW.
But that won't change the past or clean up the mess at Lydgate, the perusal of which was deferred without action until November by the council.
Meanwhile, for those that claim there's nothing to do on Kaua`i, there's a new show down at Lydgate... watching the pissed-off, muck-caked tourists struggle to free themselves from the quicksand.
Perhaps the fact that there wasn't one there at last Wednesday's meeting is why Kaua`i County Council members and administration officials took it upon themselves to decide to do nothing about it and kick the can down the road for at least four months.
But that's what happens when you appoint your otherwise-unqualified, former campaign manager to head up the Parks and Recreation Department- as Mayor Bernard Carvalho did with Lenny Rapozo- and then fail to consult the engineers in the Department of Public Works (DPW) on a project like this.
It's no wonder County Engineer Larry Dill wasn't the the one sent in response to the council's "request... for the Administration to provide the Council with a status report on the Lydgate Pond Restoration Project" and Rapozo showed up- because Dill, who is new to the county, might have told the truth- that the ponds could be screwed up for years due to county ineptitude and negligence in allowing the project to proceed the way it did.
Rapozo tried to paint a picture of a normal result of the project, telling the council that it will only take six months to get rid of the "turbidity"- a fancy word for the mud and muck suspended in the pool- if we "let mother nature take it's course" and do nothing.
But between Rapozo's "don't worry be happy" message he also described what actually happened.
Seems that the idea was to dredge the "sand" that had accumulated over the last almost 50 years and use it to replenish the beach. But instead what happened instead, and "surprised" the county according to Rapozo, was that the "sand" only went about three feet deep and below that was pure silt and muck.
Not only that but the sand itself was so full of trash and mixed with the silt that the state Department of Health won't let them use it on the beach so it sits in a pile now- replete with "coke cans" and "cigarette butts" according to testimony- with no one knowing quite what to do with the mess.
And, according to many who have actually been in the pond, anyone attempting to stand up in it will sink at a foot or more into the bottom "like quicksand," as it was described.
So in other words despite a decade-and-a-half of planning and obtaining the permits no one bothered to take a core sample to see what was there and just assumed it would all be pristine sand, not the garbage-strewn silt-sand mix that was actually present.
The real problem in fixing it is that when they dug up the giant boulders that had fallen into the pool from the barrier "wall" that created the ponds, and piled them back on it, it created a situation where all that 50 years of silt that had come from the adjacent Wailua River mouth and flowed into the ponds is now "sealed in."
And of course it will keep out any sand needed to cover the quicksand.
The Lydgate ponds are, of course, one of the "jewels" of the island- a must see attraction for tourists and a mainstay for local parents and their keiki. It also is- or was- one of the most recommended snorkeling locales in Kapa`a/Wailua where, according to many, the Kapa`a area snorkel rental outlets are still sending their customers.
As a matter of fact the whole mess has resulted in a new activity for many local people- standing around and watching what happens when the tourists- especially those with rented snorkels and fins- come out covered in muck after 30 second dip in the muddy mess.
Apparently the project was done without involvement of the DPW building and engineering divisions and may be one of the reasons why Carvalho has recently ordered all capital improvement projects be run through DPW.
But that won't change the past or clean up the mess at Lydgate, the perusal of which was deferred without action until November by the council.
Meanwhile, for those that claim there's nothing to do on Kaua`i, there's a new show down at Lydgate... watching the pissed-off, muck-caked tourists struggle to free themselves from the quicksand.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
WHERE'S THE PROFESSOR WHEN WE NEED HIM?
WHERE'S THE PROFESSOR WHEN WE NEED HIM?: When an illusionist plies his trade his best friend is the old diversion or the misdirection, where the eyes of onlookers are forced to observe a moving object while the prestidigitator "disappears" the object of obfuscation.
Of course it's a lot easier if you only have to deceive a single fool to make the magic happen.
But when that fool is designated to tell the whole town what an amazing trick he just saw it's easier yet to assure that everyone is bamboozled.
So when our "Little Buddy" down at the local newspaper, Leo Azambuja, saw how, as he reported, "(t)hree days waiting for an answer became five months and $28,000 snowballed into $338,500 for an upcoming stretch of the county’s multi-use path in Kapa`a" he made sure he dutifully reported only what "The Skipper" showed him- a bungling administration boondoggle.
It wouldn't be hard to believe what Chair Jay Furfaro wanted our Gilligan to report- that the council, through no fault of their own, was lied to when the usual dullards at the Department of Public Works and their equally clueless allies at the Department of Parks and Recreation misinformed them about the cost of a short stretch of the already ridiculously expensive "bike... er, multi-use path."
But even in an editorial- apparently run by Gilligan who, as first mate, had the run of the ship while Editor Nathan Eagle was away for a week- excoriating the administration for the cost overrun, there was no indication that the truth of the matter was that the council, as they have done over and over on the project, actually approved the "blank check" before they knew the amount or full extent of the work being proposed.
And that little scene has been repeated over and over with the bike path, as well as other projects.
Here's the usual script. The administration comes to the council with a "communication for approval" asking to be given the green light to proceed on, let's say, a portion of the path. The council asks them to come up and give specifics as to, not just cost but sometimes, the actual route the path is supposed to take as well as a dozen other specifics.
The administration representative- sometimes the county engineer, sometimes the head of the building division, sometimes the administrative assistant- sits there and when he's asked for answers, he doesn't really have them but says someone else will come next week to answer them.
And the council, even though they've been stood up and lied to ad nausium in the past, goes ahead and, instead of deferring the matter until they are satisfied, approves the administration's request to proceed.
Sometimes of course they remember to send a new communication "asking the administration to be present to answer questions" as to whatever information they didn't get. But usually after getting the runaround for weeks on end they give up and the matter slips off into council oblivion.
But then, sometimes a year later if we're lucky (more usually it's never), there is such a glaring problem that someone on the council gets pissed off enough to call the administration back in to explain why, as for example in this case, $28K had become $338.5K.
The council of course is then "outraged" to find that they were flim-flammed. But the most important fact- that the project could not have proceeded without their original approval without sufficient information- is buried in their indignation.
That may just be why Furfaro was elected chair- he is the master of the misdirected outrage, puffing out his chest and holding everyone and their uncle (actually when it comes to public works and parks and rec, in many cases they ARE each others' uncles) responsible... except of course the councilmembers who were so diligent in uncovering the latest pig in a poke they had approved.
So join us here next week my friend, you're sure to get a smile, from seven elected stumblebums here on Council's Isle.
Of course it's a lot easier if you only have to deceive a single fool to make the magic happen.
But when that fool is designated to tell the whole town what an amazing trick he just saw it's easier yet to assure that everyone is bamboozled.
So when our "Little Buddy" down at the local newspaper, Leo Azambuja, saw how, as he reported, "(t)hree days waiting for an answer became five months and $28,000 snowballed into $338,500 for an upcoming stretch of the county’s multi-use path in Kapa`a" he made sure he dutifully reported only what "The Skipper" showed him- a bungling administration boondoggle.
It wouldn't be hard to believe what Chair Jay Furfaro wanted our Gilligan to report- that the council, through no fault of their own, was lied to when the usual dullards at the Department of Public Works and their equally clueless allies at the Department of Parks and Recreation misinformed them about the cost of a short stretch of the already ridiculously expensive "bike... er, multi-use path."
But even in an editorial- apparently run by Gilligan who, as first mate, had the run of the ship while Editor Nathan Eagle was away for a week- excoriating the administration for the cost overrun, there was no indication that the truth of the matter was that the council, as they have done over and over on the project, actually approved the "blank check" before they knew the amount or full extent of the work being proposed.
And that little scene has been repeated over and over with the bike path, as well as other projects.
Here's the usual script. The administration comes to the council with a "communication for approval" asking to be given the green light to proceed on, let's say, a portion of the path. The council asks them to come up and give specifics as to, not just cost but sometimes, the actual route the path is supposed to take as well as a dozen other specifics.
The administration representative- sometimes the county engineer, sometimes the head of the building division, sometimes the administrative assistant- sits there and when he's asked for answers, he doesn't really have them but says someone else will come next week to answer them.
And the council, even though they've been stood up and lied to ad nausium in the past, goes ahead and, instead of deferring the matter until they are satisfied, approves the administration's request to proceed.
Sometimes of course they remember to send a new communication "asking the administration to be present to answer questions" as to whatever information they didn't get. But usually after getting the runaround for weeks on end they give up and the matter slips off into council oblivion.
But then, sometimes a year later if we're lucky (more usually it's never), there is such a glaring problem that someone on the council gets pissed off enough to call the administration back in to explain why, as for example in this case, $28K had become $338.5K.
The council of course is then "outraged" to find that they were flim-flammed. But the most important fact- that the project could not have proceeded without their original approval without sufficient information- is buried in their indignation.
That may just be why Furfaro was elected chair- he is the master of the misdirected outrage, puffing out his chest and holding everyone and their uncle (actually when it comes to public works and parks and rec, in many cases they ARE each others' uncles) responsible... except of course the councilmembers who were so diligent in uncovering the latest pig in a poke they had approved.
So join us here next week my friend, you're sure to get a smile, from seven elected stumblebums here on Council's Isle.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
THE CUL-DE-SAC OF THE GOLDEN ROAD TO UNLIMITED DEACCELERATION
THE CUL-DE-SAC OF THE GOLDEN ROAD TO UNLIMITED DEACCELERATION: Glenn Mickens thought after 17 1/2 years he finally had 'um.
Silly coach.
For almost two decades the former Brooklyn Dodger pitcher and UCLA coach pitched the council a scandal of major proportion, occasionally bringing the mountain to Mohammad by hauling in pieces of asphalt and dumping them on the council's table to show that, not only our our potholed roads in terrible shape but someone was skimming said asphalt off the top resulting in the county getting less coverage per ton than the standard- as we described in detail a couple of years ago.
But that was only the beginning. Mickens suggested that- gasp- politics might be determining the way the roads made the yearly county repaving list after Hale `Ilio Road, where both Mayors Marianne Kusaka and Bryan Baptiste lived, made the list over and over during their years in office while his own Waipouli Road remained on the Tire Warehouse Enrichment and Preservation list.
Over the years, each time the yearly road resurfacing list came up for council approval Glenn tried to corral at least one councilmember into championing his cause and to get to the bottom of the apparent corruption- all to no avail.
Until, it seemed, this year.
For the last few years Coach had been unusually silent on his pet peeve. The reason? The list was never on the agenda. And the reason for that was that, while the council dutifully appropriated money for resurfacing no one in Public Works even bothered to make a list much less spend the money.
So now there was a cool $8 million accumulated in the fund. And that got someone's attention.
After hounding Chair Jay Furfaro for months to find out why on February 23 Mickens tenaciousness was rewarded with an item on the council's agenda saying
C 2011-76 Communication (02/16/2011) from Council Chair Furfaro, requesting the Administration's presence to provide the Council with an update on the County's Islandwide Road Resurfacing Program.
But as we reported on March 16 and again on March 22 new County Engineer Larry Dill didn't seem to be coming up with answers to satisfy anyone so Furfaro kept deferring the matter on March 9, March 23, April 6, April 20, and Dill kept coming up with excuses for why he couldn't answer the questions fully.
So Furfaro finally put them in writing and came up with a list of 8 questions based on Mickens' evolving 17 1/2-year-old list of queries.
And, as county engineers have done for decades, Dill kept stalling whether by just not showing up or pulling the old shuffle saying someone else had to answer the question but that person was (check one) in `O`ahu, on vacation, busy in an important meeting or some other lame excuse in the official County Engineers' Big Book of Bullsh*t Answers.
On May 3 Furfaro gave Dill two weeks so of course on May 18 Dill himself was off island.
And finally, last Wednesday, when the agenda item was called by the clerk (not in advance) the sheet with answers to the eight questions was distributed to councilmembers... all SIX of them.
Seems that June 1 was the day that, as everyone in the county knew- including of course Dill- Furfaro was in San Francisco negotiating a lower rate on the county's bonds.
The answers themselves were absurdly brief and non-responsive such as #2 which read
Q- Who is responsible for compiling and maintaining the data regarding paving and repaving
County roads?
A- The Roads Maintenance Division of the Department of Public Works.
The answer to Question #7 was quite revelatory regarding how the roads were chosen for repaving
Q- How does the Department of Public Works determine which roads should be resurfaced?
How are these roads prioritized and what type of criteria is followed?
A- A list of roads to be considered for resurfacing is maintained by the Roads Maintenance
Division. Roads are added to this last due to input from Roads Maintenance personnel or the
public. The Division Head inspects all the roads and prioritizes the roads for resurfacing,
considering:
* Pavement condition
• Volume of traffic
• Potential liability if deferred
• Grouping of roads
In other words using a totally subjective method leaving out "the ones the Mayor wants done".
The rest were a combination of double-talk and non-answers.
You'd think the six remaining councilmembers, having sat through all the crap of the past few months would be champing at the bit to tear Dill a new one. But this being Kaua`i, you'd be thinking wrong.
With Furfaro gone, a quick "Thank you Mr. Dill. Any questions? Hearing none we'll take a vote on the motion to receive this matter. All in favor say aye Motion carried" from Acting Chair Yukimura which brought an end to Mickens' hope that this year- his 80th- might be the one that yields answers and, god forbid, better roads.
Meanwhile back in his labyrinth, the Minotaur turned over, munched a few bones and went back to sleep thinking "life is good"
Silly coach.
For almost two decades the former Brooklyn Dodger pitcher and UCLA coach pitched the council a scandal of major proportion, occasionally bringing the mountain to Mohammad by hauling in pieces of asphalt and dumping them on the council's table to show that, not only our our potholed roads in terrible shape but someone was skimming said asphalt off the top resulting in the county getting less coverage per ton than the standard- as we described in detail a couple of years ago.
But that was only the beginning. Mickens suggested that- gasp- politics might be determining the way the roads made the yearly county repaving list after Hale `Ilio Road, where both Mayors Marianne Kusaka and Bryan Baptiste lived, made the list over and over during their years in office while his own Waipouli Road remained on the Tire Warehouse Enrichment and Preservation list.
Over the years, each time the yearly road resurfacing list came up for council approval Glenn tried to corral at least one councilmember into championing his cause and to get to the bottom of the apparent corruption- all to no avail.
Until, it seemed, this year.
For the last few years Coach had been unusually silent on his pet peeve. The reason? The list was never on the agenda. And the reason for that was that, while the council dutifully appropriated money for resurfacing no one in Public Works even bothered to make a list much less spend the money.
So now there was a cool $8 million accumulated in the fund. And that got someone's attention.
After hounding Chair Jay Furfaro for months to find out why on February 23 Mickens tenaciousness was rewarded with an item on the council's agenda saying
C 2011-76 Communication (02/16/2011) from Council Chair Furfaro, requesting the Administration's presence to provide the Council with an update on the County's Islandwide Road Resurfacing Program.
But as we reported on March 16 and again on March 22 new County Engineer Larry Dill didn't seem to be coming up with answers to satisfy anyone so Furfaro kept deferring the matter on March 9, March 23, April 6, April 20, and Dill kept coming up with excuses for why he couldn't answer the questions fully.
So Furfaro finally put them in writing and came up with a list of 8 questions based on Mickens' evolving 17 1/2-year-old list of queries.
And, as county engineers have done for decades, Dill kept stalling whether by just not showing up or pulling the old shuffle saying someone else had to answer the question but that person was (check one) in `O`ahu, on vacation, busy in an important meeting or some other lame excuse in the official County Engineers' Big Book of Bullsh*t Answers.
On May 3 Furfaro gave Dill two weeks so of course on May 18 Dill himself was off island.
And finally, last Wednesday, when the agenda item was called by the clerk (not in advance) the sheet with answers to the eight questions was distributed to councilmembers... all SIX of them.
Seems that June 1 was the day that, as everyone in the county knew- including of course Dill- Furfaro was in San Francisco negotiating a lower rate on the county's bonds.
The answers themselves were absurdly brief and non-responsive such as #2 which read
Q- Who is responsible for compiling and maintaining the data regarding paving and repaving
County roads?
A- The Roads Maintenance Division of the Department of Public Works.
The answer to Question #7 was quite revelatory regarding how the roads were chosen for repaving
Q- How does the Department of Public Works determine which roads should be resurfaced?
How are these roads prioritized and what type of criteria is followed?
A- A list of roads to be considered for resurfacing is maintained by the Roads Maintenance
Division. Roads are added to this last due to input from Roads Maintenance personnel or the
public. The Division Head inspects all the roads and prioritizes the roads for resurfacing,
considering:
* Pavement condition
• Volume of traffic
• Potential liability if deferred
• Grouping of roads
In other words using a totally subjective method leaving out "the ones the Mayor wants done".
The rest were a combination of double-talk and non-answers.
You'd think the six remaining councilmembers, having sat through all the crap of the past few months would be champing at the bit to tear Dill a new one. But this being Kaua`i, you'd be thinking wrong.
With Furfaro gone, a quick "Thank you Mr. Dill. Any questions? Hearing none we'll take a vote on the motion to receive this matter. All in favor say aye Motion carried" from Acting Chair Yukimura which brought an end to Mickens' hope that this year- his 80th- might be the one that yields answers and, god forbid, better roads.
Meanwhile back in his labyrinth, the Minotaur turned over, munched a few bones and went back to sleep thinking "life is good"
Monday, June 6, 2011
JUST DO IT
JUST DO IT: You'd think we were too old for hope to spring eternal. And we shoulda known better with a council like this.
But when we saw that the issue of the Pono Kai seawall was slated for diccussion at last week's council meeting we idiotically looked forward to a few of the fireworks that went off the last time the issue came before them.
It never ceases to amaze us how short memories are, especially when it comes to the people who are trying to ensure we forget. So when we awoke Thursday morning- before we'd had a chance to see the council's grilling of the county's always incompetent Public Works department- and took a gander at the local newspaper's coverage we wern't surprised to see that the "old concerns" referred to in the kicker to the headline was the placement of the bike path just a few feet from the decrepit crumbling ocean-blocking structure.
Apparently the project to "fix" the seawall is a go despite the fact that seawalls are generally frowned upon these days, as UH experts told the council in testimony in 2008. But the fact is that this didn't even come up wasn't even the coverup.
We strongly suspect the reason was because, as we described in detail at the time, it was discovered that the Pono Kai seawall was illegally constructed, without any permits, right after Hurricane `Iniki, despite warnings from the Army Corps of Engineers to the county- in writing- essentially saying "don't you freakin' dare."
But the county, thinking that in the post-hurricane confusion and shuffle it could get away with building the seawall without permits, decided to do just that, as pre and post hurricane aerial pictures presented in 2008 showed.
Although the laws regarding seawalls allow for maintenance and even sometimes a major fix to those legally constructed- or those "grandfathered in"- it does not allow repairs of illegal ones to go forward unless they're treated a new project.
What we did learn last week was that the current go-ahead still lacks state and, more to the point, federal permits which means that the administration is apparently going to try to bluff their way through the ACofE review and hope no one remembers what happened back when they were emphatically told not to build it in the first place.
It's even more bizarre that this issue didn't even come up last Wednesday since four current councilmembers- Tim Bynum, JoAnn Yukimura, Mel Rapozo and current and then-acting Chair Jay Furfaro were on the council at the time and at the meeting and so were- and are- very aware of the issue.
Ordinarily we'd excerpt a snippet of our prior coverage but the story of then-Councilmember Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho's prosecutorial treatment of county administrative personnel was so outrageous we're going to re-post it in full today.
------
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
DOGGED PERSISTENCE: In an absurdist little drama last Wednesday the Kaua`i County Council finally got County Engineer Donald Fujimoto to admit what everyone has known for a long time- the Pono Kai seawall was illegally constructed and there never have been any permits or exemptions for it.
And he came close to acknowledging his Department of Public Works (DPW) attempts to cover it up by refusing to answer questions about it and asking any investigation be done in secret executive session (ES).
Fujimoto wouldn’t even admit it all until grilled for 15 minutes in a prosecutorial manner by prosecutor-to-be Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho who finally broke him down and forced the admissions.
The revelation of the illegal construction goes back a couple of years to a council session discussing shoreline certifications for the bike path during which experts told the council of the problems with the seawall and during subsequent meetings where the lack of any permits was revealed.
The seawall was constructed after the Hurricane `Iniki which itself took the council weeks to ascertain due to stonewalling and sketchy answers from Fujimoto and other DPW personal who conveniently couldn’t remember how long it had been there.
Finally pre and post hurricane pictures were shown to the council on a slide projector to clear up the 1993 construction date.
Apparently the story is that DPW engineers decided that in all the post hurricane confusion and “emergency permitting” they could construct a seawall to “protect” Pono Kai with no approval whatsoever.
This was done, according to testimony a couple of years ago, despite a 1993 letter from the Army Corps of engineers warning them that it was highly illegal to build the wall.
Fujimoto was not the county engineer at the time of the construction and did not come to that position until the Baptiste administration.
Yet Fujimoto clung to the story saying that it “may have been intentional or unintentional- I’d like to think it was unintentional”, although how the county engineer who routinely processes permits could have unintentionally constructed an illegal sea wall wasn’t clear.
What is clear is that Pono Kai resort had always been worried about it’s proximity to the ocean and wanted the wall, going back years before the hurricane when it tried and failed to build one but especially so after the hurricane battered the place and severely eroded the shoreline.
Fujimoto’s attempt to put the genie back in the bottle continued with him trying to cover-up the information even as the meeting began.
He started by refusing to talk about it at all in open session- after his request last month for an ES was turned down by Public Works Committee Chair Mel Rapozo- by saying he want to “wait for the EA (environmental assessment) to discuss it”.
An EA is currently being conducted by DPW to determine what the environmental impacts of any action on the sea wall would be
Previously Fujimoto tried to blow smoke and cast the usual fog machine the PWD has been famous for since well before his tenure.
He has claimed that the wall was legal under various erroneous propositions and obfuscations, first saying there were permits then when asked to produce them saying he had an exemption due to the governor’s emergency declaration after the hurricane, neither of which was true.
After badgering he finally admitted that at some point he spoke to Sam Lemmo at the State DLNR who told him it was possible someone had thought there might have been an exemption at the time.
Still Fujimoto refused at first to admit the sea wall was illegally constructed in hopes that it would be able to be repaired.
Under the federal law, as well as a “zero tolerance” for un-permitted construction by the state and county, the sea wall would have to be removed although there could be an exemption federally if the damage of removing it would be greater than leaving it in place.
The sea wall is currently a public nuisance and in horribly dilapidated condition and according to what UH experts Dolan Ebersole and Chip Fletcher told the council is making a mess of the whole Kapa`a shoreline.
Both told the council and Fujimoto two years ago that reconstructing an illegal sea wall was not legal under any circumstances. Yet Fujimoto continues to conduct an EA to fix the wall.
Whether the best scientific path is to remove it, rebuild it or leave it alone is a question no one so far has been able to determine.
Fujimoto adamantly maintained that the EA would answer all the legal questions even though everyone knew it was illegal, at first saying “I can’t say if it was legal or illegal”
But despite repeats of this lies Iseri persisted and finally got the truth out of Fujimoto.
She reviewed Fujimoto’s actions and words in claiming there was a permit and then that they didn’t need one and then that they were going to get an “after the fact” one, before she finally asked “You have no evidence to show this wall is legal?”
Fujimoto finally said “That’s correct.” though still maintaining the EA will address that.
Then Iseri focused in on the EA-legalities claim asking “So the EA will look into all the illegalities?”
Fujimoto said “Yes- it will address the impacts”.
After a lot of back and forth finally, after maintaining more than a half a dozen times in direct answers to direct questions that the EA would look a legal questions Fujimoto admitted it wouldn’t and that the County Attorney will address those.
“I stand corrected” he finally said.
What was astonishing was that a couple of months or so ago when being questioned on the sea wall Fujimoto refused to answer the questions in open session asking the council to place the matter on the their executive session agenda.
“Speaking to the County Engineer about DPW’s illegal actions” is not on the list of Sunshine Law exemptions to the open meeting requirements.
This was despite the fact that about two years ago it was widely discussed by the council and they learned in public session of not just the illegal nature of the wall but of the warning letters from the Army Corps of Engineers saying basically “don’t you dare”.
Councilman Ron Kochi was somewhat bemused by Fujimoto shaking his head and saying “you can’t unring the bell” and headscratchingly pondering what Fujimoto thought he was trying to do.
Finally Chair Rapozo summed it up -somewhat haltingly- by saying “It’s no secret that the wall is illegal. I shouldn’t say illegal- it’s un-permitted”, drawing derisive laughter from those gathered.
Believe it or not the council committee concluded it’s session by making plans to take the public knowledge of the illegal wall into executive session to figure out if Kaua`i County will have to repay the state and possibly the feds who financed the project on Kaua`i County’s assurance that they had the permits or an exemption.
Iseri repeated several times that we needed to “come clean” and maybe they’d let us off the financial hook.
No plans were made to investigate the Public Works Department to uncover what most suspect was collusion by Pono Kai and some in the DPW to pull a fast one after the hurricane by building an illegal sea wall.
It only took 15 years to figure out what happened. We’ll be lucky if after 15 years more we catch the culprits because, as has happened dozes of times before- most notably after the Pflueger-McCloskey “Developers Gone Wild” sessions- the Council refuses to investigate the DPW, arguably the most corrupt county department in the state.
But when we saw that the issue of the Pono Kai seawall was slated for diccussion at last week's council meeting we idiotically looked forward to a few of the fireworks that went off the last time the issue came before them.
It never ceases to amaze us how short memories are, especially when it comes to the people who are trying to ensure we forget. So when we awoke Thursday morning- before we'd had a chance to see the council's grilling of the county's always incompetent Public Works department- and took a gander at the local newspaper's coverage we wern't surprised to see that the "old concerns" referred to in the kicker to the headline was the placement of the bike path just a few feet from the decrepit crumbling ocean-blocking structure.
Apparently the project to "fix" the seawall is a go despite the fact that seawalls are generally frowned upon these days, as UH experts told the council in testimony in 2008. But the fact is that this didn't even come up wasn't even the coverup.
We strongly suspect the reason was because, as we described in detail at the time, it was discovered that the Pono Kai seawall was illegally constructed, without any permits, right after Hurricane `Iniki, despite warnings from the Army Corps of Engineers to the county- in writing- essentially saying "don't you freakin' dare."
But the county, thinking that in the post-hurricane confusion and shuffle it could get away with building the seawall without permits, decided to do just that, as pre and post hurricane aerial pictures presented in 2008 showed.
Although the laws regarding seawalls allow for maintenance and even sometimes a major fix to those legally constructed- or those "grandfathered in"- it does not allow repairs of illegal ones to go forward unless they're treated a new project.
What we did learn last week was that the current go-ahead still lacks state and, more to the point, federal permits which means that the administration is apparently going to try to bluff their way through the ACofE review and hope no one remembers what happened back when they were emphatically told not to build it in the first place.
It's even more bizarre that this issue didn't even come up last Wednesday since four current councilmembers- Tim Bynum, JoAnn Yukimura, Mel Rapozo and current and then-acting Chair Jay Furfaro were on the council at the time and at the meeting and so were- and are- very aware of the issue.
Ordinarily we'd excerpt a snippet of our prior coverage but the story of then-Councilmember Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho's prosecutorial treatment of county administrative personnel was so outrageous we're going to re-post it in full today.
------
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
DOGGED PERSISTENCE: In an absurdist little drama last Wednesday the Kaua`i County Council finally got County Engineer Donald Fujimoto to admit what everyone has known for a long time- the Pono Kai seawall was illegally constructed and there never have been any permits or exemptions for it.
And he came close to acknowledging his Department of Public Works (DPW) attempts to cover it up by refusing to answer questions about it and asking any investigation be done in secret executive session (ES).
Fujimoto wouldn’t even admit it all until grilled for 15 minutes in a prosecutorial manner by prosecutor-to-be Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho who finally broke him down and forced the admissions.
The revelation of the illegal construction goes back a couple of years to a council session discussing shoreline certifications for the bike path during which experts told the council of the problems with the seawall and during subsequent meetings where the lack of any permits was revealed.
The seawall was constructed after the Hurricane `Iniki which itself took the council weeks to ascertain due to stonewalling and sketchy answers from Fujimoto and other DPW personal who conveniently couldn’t remember how long it had been there.
Finally pre and post hurricane pictures were shown to the council on a slide projector to clear up the 1993 construction date.
Apparently the story is that DPW engineers decided that in all the post hurricane confusion and “emergency permitting” they could construct a seawall to “protect” Pono Kai with no approval whatsoever.
This was done, according to testimony a couple of years ago, despite a 1993 letter from the Army Corps of engineers warning them that it was highly illegal to build the wall.
Fujimoto was not the county engineer at the time of the construction and did not come to that position until the Baptiste administration.
Yet Fujimoto clung to the story saying that it “may have been intentional or unintentional- I’d like to think it was unintentional”, although how the county engineer who routinely processes permits could have unintentionally constructed an illegal sea wall wasn’t clear.
What is clear is that Pono Kai resort had always been worried about it’s proximity to the ocean and wanted the wall, going back years before the hurricane when it tried and failed to build one but especially so after the hurricane battered the place and severely eroded the shoreline.
Fujimoto’s attempt to put the genie back in the bottle continued with him trying to cover-up the information even as the meeting began.
He started by refusing to talk about it at all in open session- after his request last month for an ES was turned down by Public Works Committee Chair Mel Rapozo- by saying he want to “wait for the EA (environmental assessment) to discuss it”.
An EA is currently being conducted by DPW to determine what the environmental impacts of any action on the sea wall would be
Previously Fujimoto tried to blow smoke and cast the usual fog machine the PWD has been famous for since well before his tenure.
He has claimed that the wall was legal under various erroneous propositions and obfuscations, first saying there were permits then when asked to produce them saying he had an exemption due to the governor’s emergency declaration after the hurricane, neither of which was true.
After badgering he finally admitted that at some point he spoke to Sam Lemmo at the State DLNR who told him it was possible someone had thought there might have been an exemption at the time.
Still Fujimoto refused at first to admit the sea wall was illegally constructed in hopes that it would be able to be repaired.
Under the federal law, as well as a “zero tolerance” for un-permitted construction by the state and county, the sea wall would have to be removed although there could be an exemption federally if the damage of removing it would be greater than leaving it in place.
The sea wall is currently a public nuisance and in horribly dilapidated condition and according to what UH experts Dolan Ebersole and Chip Fletcher told the council is making a mess of the whole Kapa`a shoreline.
Both told the council and Fujimoto two years ago that reconstructing an illegal sea wall was not legal under any circumstances. Yet Fujimoto continues to conduct an EA to fix the wall.
Whether the best scientific path is to remove it, rebuild it or leave it alone is a question no one so far has been able to determine.
Fujimoto adamantly maintained that the EA would answer all the legal questions even though everyone knew it was illegal, at first saying “I can’t say if it was legal or illegal”
But despite repeats of this lies Iseri persisted and finally got the truth out of Fujimoto.
She reviewed Fujimoto’s actions and words in claiming there was a permit and then that they didn’t need one and then that they were going to get an “after the fact” one, before she finally asked “You have no evidence to show this wall is legal?”
Fujimoto finally said “That’s correct.” though still maintaining the EA will address that.
Then Iseri focused in on the EA-legalities claim asking “So the EA will look into all the illegalities?”
Fujimoto said “Yes- it will address the impacts”.
After a lot of back and forth finally, after maintaining more than a half a dozen times in direct answers to direct questions that the EA would look a legal questions Fujimoto admitted it wouldn’t and that the County Attorney will address those.
“I stand corrected” he finally said.
What was astonishing was that a couple of months or so ago when being questioned on the sea wall Fujimoto refused to answer the questions in open session asking the council to place the matter on the their executive session agenda.
“Speaking to the County Engineer about DPW’s illegal actions” is not on the list of Sunshine Law exemptions to the open meeting requirements.
This was despite the fact that about two years ago it was widely discussed by the council and they learned in public session of not just the illegal nature of the wall but of the warning letters from the Army Corps of Engineers saying basically “don’t you dare”.
Councilman Ron Kochi was somewhat bemused by Fujimoto shaking his head and saying “you can’t unring the bell” and headscratchingly pondering what Fujimoto thought he was trying to do.
Finally Chair Rapozo summed it up -somewhat haltingly- by saying “It’s no secret that the wall is illegal. I shouldn’t say illegal- it’s un-permitted”, drawing derisive laughter from those gathered.
Believe it or not the council committee concluded it’s session by making plans to take the public knowledge of the illegal wall into executive session to figure out if Kaua`i County will have to repay the state and possibly the feds who financed the project on Kaua`i County’s assurance that they had the permits or an exemption.
Iseri repeated several times that we needed to “come clean” and maybe they’d let us off the financial hook.
No plans were made to investigate the Public Works Department to uncover what most suspect was collusion by Pono Kai and some in the DPW to pull a fast one after the hurricane by building an illegal sea wall.
It only took 15 years to figure out what happened. We’ll be lucky if after 15 years more we catch the culprits because, as has happened dozes of times before- most notably after the Pflueger-McCloskey “Developers Gone Wild” sessions- the Council refuses to investigate the DPW, arguably the most corrupt county department in the state.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
THIMK
THIMK: Not much happens news-wise on Kaua`i that isn't fairly predictable. But sometimes the level of incompetence and downright stupidity in county offices is so outrageous as to force its way into the headlines.
Their latest hair-brained action was to remove the congratulatory banners for high school graduates that hang on the fences at the ball parks this time of year, spurred by an alleged "complaint" supposedly based on the county's sign ordinance.
Of course the mindless Greek Chorus - with 40 comments and counting at press time- complained about the "exemption" to the ordinance for political signs, even though the allowance for them is derivative of a court ruling...
But not-so-oddly enough, if the Department of Public Works, (DPW- the seat of all things lunatic in administrative governance on the island) had bothered to ask the county attorney they might have discovered that the the same first amendment free speech rights that protect political signs apply to other non-commercial expressions of speech.
First of all the county's sign ordinance is isn't operative here since it doesn’t apply to temporary signs. That's why many of those ugly banners in Kapa`a are allowed to exist as long as they are not fixed to the ground.
The real controlling legislation comes from the state where even temporary signs are banned on state-funded roads like Kuhio Hwy and Olohena Rd where the Kapa`a signs were located.
While political speech receives the highest free-speech-rights protection other non-commercial speech is also given protection as we found out when, back in the 80's, the country- and the island- was visually polluted by the famous "yellow ribbons" during the Iran Hostage Crisis and Ronnie Ray-Guns feel-good mini-wars.
As a young anti-war journalist activist we checked out the state law, called the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and got a statement from them that the yellow ribbons did indeed violate state law and would have to be removed. However when we plastered the news on the front page of the Kaua`i Community College newspaper it wasn't long before the attorney general stepped in to say that expressions of free speech were exempt from the state law on signs on state-funded highways.
Had the peabrains at the DPW bothered to stop and think for a minute- or better stopped to check with anyone- they might have saved the administration another black eye.
But then what would we do for something to kvetch about on an otherwise newsless Thursday?
Their latest hair-brained action was to remove the congratulatory banners for high school graduates that hang on the fences at the ball parks this time of year, spurred by an alleged "complaint" supposedly based on the county's sign ordinance.
Of course the mindless Greek Chorus - with 40 comments and counting at press time- complained about the "exemption" to the ordinance for political signs, even though the allowance for them is derivative of a court ruling...
But not-so-oddly enough, if the Department of Public Works, (DPW- the seat of all things lunatic in administrative governance on the island) had bothered to ask the county attorney they might have discovered that the the same first amendment free speech rights that protect political signs apply to other non-commercial expressions of speech.
First of all the county's sign ordinance is isn't operative here since it doesn’t apply to temporary signs. That's why many of those ugly banners in Kapa`a are allowed to exist as long as they are not fixed to the ground.
The real controlling legislation comes from the state where even temporary signs are banned on state-funded roads like Kuhio Hwy and Olohena Rd where the Kapa`a signs were located.
While political speech receives the highest free-speech-rights protection other non-commercial speech is also given protection as we found out when, back in the 80's, the country- and the island- was visually polluted by the famous "yellow ribbons" during the Iran Hostage Crisis and Ronnie Ray-Guns feel-good mini-wars.
As a young anti-war journalist activist we checked out the state law, called the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and got a statement from them that the yellow ribbons did indeed violate state law and would have to be removed. However when we plastered the news on the front page of the Kaua`i Community College newspaper it wasn't long before the attorney general stepped in to say that expressions of free speech were exempt from the state law on signs on state-funded highways.
Had the peabrains at the DPW bothered to stop and think for a minute- or better stopped to check with anyone- they might have saved the administration another black eye.
But then what would we do for something to kvetch about on an otherwise newsless Thursday?
Thursday, April 7, 2011
UNSUFFOCATINGABLE
UNSUFFOCATINGABLE:Babooze-In-Chief Mel Rapozo's attempt to reverse the so-called "plastic bag ban" has gone down to its inevitable defeat but after sitting through hours- nay months- of yammering it was both refreshing and, at the same time, distressing to have seen those who weren't going to vote for a change in the first place just sit there and say nothing as disinformation flowed like a beer keg at a toga party.
Not once was the fact that we don't really have any "ban" on Kaua`i mentioned in debate.
As we wrote in February when the bill was first introduced
(Rapozo's) bill strikes the definition of a plastic checkout grocery bag that, in Ordinance 885 made for a “de facto” ban by requiring, not just that they are compostable or biodegradable but that they not contain any fossil fuel polymers, since no such bag currently exists. Unlike the outright ban on Maui our bill allows the bags if and when a bag that meets this requirement becomes available.
So the bill simply changes the definition removing the “fossil fuel polymers” part.
And, as we wrote the day before after an nation-wide investigation by our friend Brad Parsons- later confirmed by the Department of Public Works (DPW)- although material exist that would meet the standard no one is making bags out of it.
It was like sitting through one of those horror movies and wanting to scream "look out" as the knife wielding villain sneaks up on the protagonist from behind, as the plastic bag industry lobbyist- who failed to declare that fact in each of his appearances despite council rules requiring that disclosure- told the council that the only problem with the bill was that silly inconsequential "no fossil fuel polymers" provision, which he asked to be removed so his "new science" plastic could be sold.
Of course this had nothing to do with "food safety" as Rapozo claimed was the sole purpose of the bill. As a matter of fact the words "food safety" barely left anyone’s lips after the first couple of times the bill was on the council's agenda.
Also unmentioned was the fact that any allowance for establishments that purveyed hot food would have allowed any supermarket with a deli- which includes almost every one on the island- to again provide plastic bags.
The expected attempt from "the compromiser," rookie Councilperson Nadine Nakamura to amend the bill also reflected facts missing from the week upon week long gab-fest.
Although we're reluctant to accept as fact anything written by Leo Azumbuja in the local newspaper he wrote
Nakamura introduced an amendment Wednesday in an attempt to offer a compromise between an “outright ban on biodegradable bags” and Rapozo’s proposal.
She said her amendment, which tightened the broad definition of “biodegradable bags” in Rapozo’s amendment, would have required ready-to-eat food establishments to use compostable bags that meet specifications of the American Society of Testing and Materials Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics D6400.
“Progressive cities like San Francisco and Santa Monica use this standard in defining biodegradable bags,” she said.
The problem is that these bags don't really biodegrade like organic materials but rather break into itsy-bitsy little pieces which still litter the roads, are swallowed by birds and turtles and generally don’t break down into their component chemicals for a bazillion years.
Unbelievably, rather than spend all that time asking those we identified in February as having materials that are made without fossil fuel polymers to produce plastic bags that fulfill our unique ordinance, councilmembers all sat there like bumps on a log and allowed Rapozo to hijack the staff, the viewing public and the public access camera time for a self-aggrandizing appeal to idiocy filling the room and everyone's ears with utter bullsh*t.
And when one did do some "research" she came up with a totally unacceptable change.
Yes Rapozo is a boob. But to allow him to spout his drivel without any corrections for almost three months doesn't speak well of the others who had already decided how they would vote the day the bill hit the table.
Not once was the fact that we don't really have any "ban" on Kaua`i mentioned in debate.
As we wrote in February when the bill was first introduced
(Rapozo's) bill strikes the definition of a plastic checkout grocery bag that, in Ordinance 885 made for a “de facto” ban by requiring, not just that they are compostable or biodegradable but that they not contain any fossil fuel polymers, since no such bag currently exists. Unlike the outright ban on Maui our bill allows the bags if and when a bag that meets this requirement becomes available.
So the bill simply changes the definition removing the “fossil fuel polymers” part.
And, as we wrote the day before after an nation-wide investigation by our friend Brad Parsons- later confirmed by the Department of Public Works (DPW)- although material exist that would meet the standard no one is making bags out of it.
It was like sitting through one of those horror movies and wanting to scream "look out" as the knife wielding villain sneaks up on the protagonist from behind, as the plastic bag industry lobbyist- who failed to declare that fact in each of his appearances despite council rules requiring that disclosure- told the council that the only problem with the bill was that silly inconsequential "no fossil fuel polymers" provision, which he asked to be removed so his "new science" plastic could be sold.
Of course this had nothing to do with "food safety" as Rapozo claimed was the sole purpose of the bill. As a matter of fact the words "food safety" barely left anyone’s lips after the first couple of times the bill was on the council's agenda.
Also unmentioned was the fact that any allowance for establishments that purveyed hot food would have allowed any supermarket with a deli- which includes almost every one on the island- to again provide plastic bags.
The expected attempt from "the compromiser," rookie Councilperson Nadine Nakamura to amend the bill also reflected facts missing from the week upon week long gab-fest.
Although we're reluctant to accept as fact anything written by Leo Azumbuja in the local newspaper he wrote
Nakamura introduced an amendment Wednesday in an attempt to offer a compromise between an “outright ban on biodegradable bags” and Rapozo’s proposal.
She said her amendment, which tightened the broad definition of “biodegradable bags” in Rapozo’s amendment, would have required ready-to-eat food establishments to use compostable bags that meet specifications of the American Society of Testing and Materials Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics D6400.
“Progressive cities like San Francisco and Santa Monica use this standard in defining biodegradable bags,” she said.
The problem is that these bags don't really biodegrade like organic materials but rather break into itsy-bitsy little pieces which still litter the roads, are swallowed by birds and turtles and generally don’t break down into their component chemicals for a bazillion years.
Unbelievably, rather than spend all that time asking those we identified in February as having materials that are made without fossil fuel polymers to produce plastic bags that fulfill our unique ordinance, councilmembers all sat there like bumps on a log and allowed Rapozo to hijack the staff, the viewing public and the public access camera time for a self-aggrandizing appeal to idiocy filling the room and everyone's ears with utter bullsh*t.
And when one did do some "research" she came up with a totally unacceptable change.
Yes Rapozo is a boob. But to allow him to spout his drivel without any corrections for almost three months doesn't speak well of the others who had already decided how they would vote the day the bill hit the table.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
THE GOLDEN ROAD TO UNLIMITED DEACCELERATION
THE GOLDEN ROAD TO UNLIMITED DEACCELERATION: The resurfacing of county roads- or we should say, the lack of it- is back on the council's agenda tomorrow with new County Engineer Larry Dill once again taking the hot seat.
And although the council has taken a we-don't-want-to-hear-it stance on the past alleged boondoggles and apparently downright corrupt practices regarding the repaving of our decrepit roads- as we detailed last Wednesday- it's hard to see how they go forward without looking at the past, even with the new handy dandy expensive "MicroPaver" software that Dill has touted as the answer to all our problems.
The man who has doggedly pursued the issue for the past 15 years- even bringing in portions of pavement and plopping them on the council's table- Glenn Mickens, has detailed why the past is prologue and today we present his testimony for tomorrow's meeting.
----
First I want to once again thank Chair Furfaro for keeping this roads paving and repaving issue on the agenda.
Obviously after 15 years of trying to find out why we have been wasting millions of tax payers dollars on wrongly paved and repaved roads with no results, you can understand why I am so happy to see this issue being addressed.
Until I see concrete results, I will remain cautiously optimistic with our new "sheriff" in town, Larry Dill, and be hopeful that he can rectify a long time bad situation.
As far as the Micropower system that Larry wants to implement. I am sure that he knows as well as you, Jay, that any computer program is only as good as the information that is put into it----it cannot "solve" any problem by itself.
So the big question and problem is where are we going to get the road by road, mile by mile report from on current conditions and past maintenance?
We need to have the list that has the up-to-date information on the condition of each road containing the condition of the base, the shoulder, the square footage, the thickness plus the last time it was resurfaced.
There is a saying about computers---"garbage in garbage out" and those words will so well fit this issue if proper data is not fed into the computer.
And the bigger question is, where is that data and who's got it or does it need to be gathered? If so, who is gathering it and what kind of accountability is there for whomever is collecting it? I mean will the information come from a political source as was done with Haleilio Road and Kealia Road where picks of roads were totally NOT in the public’s interest.
Plus, if this information is now available, as it certainly should be, then we certainly don't need a new computer program. All that is necessary is to look at this compiled data and use HAPI standards to correct what was wrongly done and pave and repave by HAPI in all work going forward.
And if this data is not available then Larry's job will be monumental in gathering the information necessary to put in his computer in order to do his job. In fact it could take years taking core samples from our roads to diagnose what has been done and what needs to be done.
Whatever course of action Larry chooses to do will take a HUGE budget. Check the equipment HAPI uses in doing their roads and Larry will need this same equipment when paving and repaving. And as he answered in one of the questions given to him, HAPI will definitely cost more initially but will save a lot more money in the long run with the longevity it gives.
Past and present administrations can shoulder the blame for allowing this deterioration to reach such a high level and council's can also share in that blame for funding this illegal (not done by code) work. But what is done is done and from here on the tax payers want to see their dollars used properly and Larry's past experience in Princeville gives me hope that this can be done.
I don't have the time to question our wrong methods of paving---i.e. our using 1 ton of AC to pave 90 square feet needing 1 1/2" compacted instead of using 1 ton of AC to pave 108 square feet for 1 1/2" as this slide rule shows and that all national paving contractors use. Or why we are still dumping cold mix in pot holes instead of using methods stipulated by code.
The problems are many as I have pointed out for so long and, again, if Larry is going to address them he will need a large budget to do it.
And hopefully the administration can tell us why they have changed their method of resurfacing our roads on a yearly basis to one where they "accumulated" or "saved" budgeted money from one or two years and used it in one given year as they have done in the 09-10 budget. It seems to me that there is something very wrong with that methodology.
----
Correction: Yesterday we wrote that the county had paid Sunrise Capitol the $250,000 promised in the settlement agreement. Although we made plain in the body of the article that payment was predicated on the provision of receipts we should have said "agreed to pay up to $250.000." We regret the error.
And although the council has taken a we-don't-want-to-hear-it stance on the past alleged boondoggles and apparently downright corrupt practices regarding the repaving of our decrepit roads- as we detailed last Wednesday- it's hard to see how they go forward without looking at the past, even with the new handy dandy expensive "MicroPaver" software that Dill has touted as the answer to all our problems.
The man who has doggedly pursued the issue for the past 15 years- even bringing in portions of pavement and plopping them on the council's table- Glenn Mickens, has detailed why the past is prologue and today we present his testimony for tomorrow's meeting.
----
First I want to once again thank Chair Furfaro for keeping this roads paving and repaving issue on the agenda.
Obviously after 15 years of trying to find out why we have been wasting millions of tax payers dollars on wrongly paved and repaved roads with no results, you can understand why I am so happy to see this issue being addressed.
Until I see concrete results, I will remain cautiously optimistic with our new "sheriff" in town, Larry Dill, and be hopeful that he can rectify a long time bad situation.
As far as the Micropower system that Larry wants to implement. I am sure that he knows as well as you, Jay, that any computer program is only as good as the information that is put into it----it cannot "solve" any problem by itself.
So the big question and problem is where are we going to get the road by road, mile by mile report from on current conditions and past maintenance?
We need to have the list that has the up-to-date information on the condition of each road containing the condition of the base, the shoulder, the square footage, the thickness plus the last time it was resurfaced.
There is a saying about computers---"garbage in garbage out" and those words will so well fit this issue if proper data is not fed into the computer.
And the bigger question is, where is that data and who's got it or does it need to be gathered? If so, who is gathering it and what kind of accountability is there for whomever is collecting it? I mean will the information come from a political source as was done with Haleilio Road and Kealia Road where picks of roads were totally NOT in the public’s interest.
Plus, if this information is now available, as it certainly should be, then we certainly don't need a new computer program. All that is necessary is to look at this compiled data and use HAPI standards to correct what was wrongly done and pave and repave by HAPI in all work going forward.
And if this data is not available then Larry's job will be monumental in gathering the information necessary to put in his computer in order to do his job. In fact it could take years taking core samples from our roads to diagnose what has been done and what needs to be done.
Whatever course of action Larry chooses to do will take a HUGE budget. Check the equipment HAPI uses in doing their roads and Larry will need this same equipment when paving and repaving. And as he answered in one of the questions given to him, HAPI will definitely cost more initially but will save a lot more money in the long run with the longevity it gives.
Past and present administrations can shoulder the blame for allowing this deterioration to reach such a high level and council's can also share in that blame for funding this illegal (not done by code) work. But what is done is done and from here on the tax payers want to see their dollars used properly and Larry's past experience in Princeville gives me hope that this can be done.
I don't have the time to question our wrong methods of paving---i.e. our using 1 ton of AC to pave 90 square feet needing 1 1/2" compacted instead of using 1 ton of AC to pave 108 square feet for 1 1/2" as this slide rule shows and that all national paving contractors use. Or why we are still dumping cold mix in pot holes instead of using methods stipulated by code.
The problems are many as I have pointed out for so long and, again, if Larry is going to address them he will need a large budget to do it.
And hopefully the administration can tell us why they have changed their method of resurfacing our roads on a yearly basis to one where they "accumulated" or "saved" budgeted money from one or two years and used it in one given year as they have done in the 09-10 budget. It seems to me that there is something very wrong with that methodology.
----
Correction: Yesterday we wrote that the county had paid Sunrise Capitol the $250,000 promised in the settlement agreement. Although we made plain in the body of the article that payment was predicated on the provision of receipts we should have said "agreed to pay up to $250.000." We regret the error.
Monday, March 21, 2011
(PNN)AGREEMENT SHOWS COUNTY PAID SUNRISE SHRIMP FARM $250G TO MITIGATE SPREAD OF "WHITE SPOT" DISEASE FROM LANDFILL
AGREEMENT SHOWS COUNTY PAID SUNRISE SHRIMP FARM $250G TO MITIGATE SPREAD OF "WHITE SPOT" DISEASE FROM LANDFILL
(PNN) -- The County of Kaua`i paid the Kekaha shrimp farm $250,000 in Oct. 2009 to settle a claim that birds were libel to spread the "white spot" virus from the county landfill to the adjacent aquaculture project, according to a settlement agreement released by the county late last week.
The disease shut down a prior attempt at shrimp farming at that location but the landfill was never identified as the source of the virus.
The agreement between farm owners Sunrise Capitol and the county contained a stipulation that the settlement remain confidential unless the information release was prompted by a request under HRS 92F, the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA)- a request that was filed by community watchdogs Glenn Mickens and Ken Taylor last week.
The settlement came after "Sunrise Capital, requested a contested case hearing with the Hawaii Department of Health relating to the application filed by the county for a Solid Waste Management Permit for the Kekaha Landfill" and sought "the imposition of permit conditions on the basis of risks to Sunrise’s shrimp farm" according to the agreement.
Under the settlement the county recognized "the immense economic and community benefit that the aquacultural industry provides to the Kekaha area, the Island of Kaua`i, and the State of Hawai`i as a whole" and "the need for support toward securing agricultural and aquacultural activities on Kaua'i."
It goes on to state that:
In conjunction with the termination of the contested case hearing against county, and in consideration of Sunrise's other agreements herein, the Agreement Between Sunrise Capital, hie. and County of Kaua`i County shall provide and pay to Sunrise the sum of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars And No/100 ($250,000.00) by way of reimbursement for costs and expenses incurred by Sunrise In risk mitigation measures to protect its shrimp farm from shrimp diseases.
The $250,000 is a cap to liability under the agreement meaning Sunrise cannot extract any more money from the county due to contamination from the landfill. Sunrise also had to provide the county with documentation and receipts to prove that the money was indeed spent for mitigation however no receipts were provided along with the settlement agreement released by a county council attorney, Legislative Analyst Peter Morimoto.
The agreement stipulated that:
Preliminary to the execution of this Agreement by the county and Sunrise, Sunrise has provided to the county documentation and studies related to the spread and outbreak of the white spot syndrome virus in shrimp. Sunrise has further represented to the county that Sunrise believes that the risk mitigation measures that Sunrise plans to undertake are appropriate given concerns with the expansion of the Kekaha Landfill and will help promote the security of Sunrise's shrimp aquaculture activities in Kekaha.
The settlement also calls for "an ordinance to ban commercial and nonresidential raw, uncooked shrimp from the Kekaha Landfill and landfills operated by the county concern with potential contamination."
An ordinance was passed shortly after the agreement was signed with that provision buried in an otherwise unremarkable bill dealing with the landfill and the county's Solid Waste Division under the Department of Public Works.
The agreement calls for the county to:
instruct its site controllers at the Kekaha Landfill and transfer stations to inspect and spot for incoming loads of raw, uncooked shrimp. Before disposal thereof, county site controllers will strongly urge a disposer to boil the raw, uncooked shrimp. Should a disposer decline, the site controllers will order a disposer to place the raw, uncooked shrimp in sealed containers and double bag them before it is accepted into the landfill. This process is similar to what county site controllers require for the disposal of asbestos, dead animals, and offal.
The county has however never publicized the disposal procedures or announced any "ban" on raw shrimp from the landfill.
The confidentiality section states that:
Unless disclosure is required by HRS Chapter 92F or other applicable law, the Parties agree and hereby acknowledge that the alleged facts and circumstances giving rise to any and all Claims being released herein and the fact that the Parties have agreed to forever resolve and compromise a dispute between them, and the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall, except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph 12, remain strictly confidential.
As to other information pursuant to the Mickens/Taylor request, "Council Services will be providing you with a written response within ten business days as required by 92F," according to an email from Morimoto accompanying the settlement.
The release of the document came last month after Taylor noticed a small blurb in the paperwork for a money bill, unrelated for the most part to the settlement that referred to the $250,000 "extracted" from the county using the word settlement, as reported (here here and here) by PNN over the past two weeks.
Taylor had to go to Lihu`e to retrieve the paperwork because, despite promises to the contrary by the county council, they still do not post the paperwork for agenda items on-line and rather require an in-person visit to obtain a paper copy.
(PNN) -- The County of Kaua`i paid the Kekaha shrimp farm $250,000 in Oct. 2009 to settle a claim that birds were libel to spread the "white spot" virus from the county landfill to the adjacent aquaculture project, according to a settlement agreement released by the county late last week.
The disease shut down a prior attempt at shrimp farming at that location but the landfill was never identified as the source of the virus.
The agreement between farm owners Sunrise Capitol and the county contained a stipulation that the settlement remain confidential unless the information release was prompted by a request under HRS 92F, the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA)- a request that was filed by community watchdogs Glenn Mickens and Ken Taylor last week.
The settlement came after "Sunrise Capital, requested a contested case hearing with the Hawaii Department of Health relating to the application filed by the county for a Solid Waste Management Permit for the Kekaha Landfill" and sought "the imposition of permit conditions on the basis of risks to Sunrise’s shrimp farm" according to the agreement.
Under the settlement the county recognized "the immense economic and community benefit that the aquacultural industry provides to the Kekaha area, the Island of Kaua`i, and the State of Hawai`i as a whole" and "the need for support toward securing agricultural and aquacultural activities on Kaua'i."
It goes on to state that:
In conjunction with the termination of the contested case hearing against county, and in consideration of Sunrise's other agreements herein, the Agreement Between Sunrise Capital, hie. and County of Kaua`i County shall provide and pay to Sunrise the sum of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars And No/100 ($250,000.00) by way of reimbursement for costs and expenses incurred by Sunrise In risk mitigation measures to protect its shrimp farm from shrimp diseases.
The $250,000 is a cap to liability under the agreement meaning Sunrise cannot extract any more money from the county due to contamination from the landfill. Sunrise also had to provide the county with documentation and receipts to prove that the money was indeed spent for mitigation however no receipts were provided along with the settlement agreement released by a county council attorney, Legislative Analyst Peter Morimoto.
The agreement stipulated that:
Preliminary to the execution of this Agreement by the county and Sunrise, Sunrise has provided to the county documentation and studies related to the spread and outbreak of the white spot syndrome virus in shrimp. Sunrise has further represented to the county that Sunrise believes that the risk mitigation measures that Sunrise plans to undertake are appropriate given concerns with the expansion of the Kekaha Landfill and will help promote the security of Sunrise's shrimp aquaculture activities in Kekaha.
The settlement also calls for "an ordinance to ban commercial and nonresidential raw, uncooked shrimp from the Kekaha Landfill and landfills operated by the county concern with potential contamination."
An ordinance was passed shortly after the agreement was signed with that provision buried in an otherwise unremarkable bill dealing with the landfill and the county's Solid Waste Division under the Department of Public Works.
The agreement calls for the county to:
instruct its site controllers at the Kekaha Landfill and transfer stations to inspect and spot for incoming loads of raw, uncooked shrimp. Before disposal thereof, county site controllers will strongly urge a disposer to boil the raw, uncooked shrimp. Should a disposer decline, the site controllers will order a disposer to place the raw, uncooked shrimp in sealed containers and double bag them before it is accepted into the landfill. This process is similar to what county site controllers require for the disposal of asbestos, dead animals, and offal.
The county has however never publicized the disposal procedures or announced any "ban" on raw shrimp from the landfill.
The confidentiality section states that:
Unless disclosure is required by HRS Chapter 92F or other applicable law, the Parties agree and hereby acknowledge that the alleged facts and circumstances giving rise to any and all Claims being released herein and the fact that the Parties have agreed to forever resolve and compromise a dispute between them, and the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall, except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph 12, remain strictly confidential.
As to other information pursuant to the Mickens/Taylor request, "Council Services will be providing you with a written response within ten business days as required by 92F," according to an email from Morimoto accompanying the settlement.
The release of the document came last month after Taylor noticed a small blurb in the paperwork for a money bill, unrelated for the most part to the settlement that referred to the $250,000 "extracted" from the county using the word settlement, as reported (here here and here) by PNN over the past two weeks.
Taylor had to go to Lihu`e to retrieve the paperwork because, despite promises to the contrary by the county council, they still do not post the paperwork for agenda items on-line and rather require an in-person visit to obtain a paper copy.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE
YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE: If drivers on county roads have had an easy time of it for the past few years with seemingly no delays there's a reason for it.
Because, as revealed at a couple of recent council meetings, the county has failed to do any of it's regular road repaving for at least the past three financial three years, possibly longer.
That's what new County Engineer Larry Dill reluctantly admitted to the council last Wednesday after councilmembers finally examined the budget and found that the monies they appropriated over the last two-plus budget years went unspent, including a "extra" almost two million dollars so that we could "catch up" on the routine maintenance that extends the life of roads.
It all started at the February 23 council meeting with an agenda item asking Department of Public Works (DPW) to discuss road resurfacing.
Our regular readers might remember that, as we wrote in August of 2009, something has been fishy with the contracts for road resurfacing for many years. But at least it was getting done.
According to Council Chair Jay Furfaro there is still $7.9 million sitting there that was supposed to be used for resurfacing to keep county owned roads- as opposed to the state roads- from deteriorating to the point where it would cost many times that amount to fix them.
But the preventive maintenance hasn't been performed in years although no one will quite admit to why.
Dill claims he's too "new" to be able to say what happened after he replaced former County Engineer Donald Fujimoto earlier this year. And long time DPW engineer Ed Renaud, who is now in charge of road resurfacing, was his ever-evasive self, repeating that he "can't" or "won't" answer the council's questions regarding why.
All the council could get out of Dill and Renaud is that a new era is at hand- again- and that all problems will be solved through the purchase of an expensive piece of software called "Micropaver" which will track what roads have been resurfaced and when and what condition all the county's 300 some odd miles of roads are in.
Always quite the character, Renaud claimed he was also "new" although he was apparently able to answer many questions in excruciating detail about how county crews have been doing the actual road resurfacing over the years in conjunction with the contract awardees.
Of course the council wasn't interested in going back and finding out why we were being short changed on the road resurfacing contracts for many years as council watchdog Glenn Mickens has pointed out for the last 15-odd years.
As we wrote in 2009 in describing his research:
To try to be brief, a few years back- make that more than a decade ago- council “nitpicker” Glen Mickens began to notice that, as he took his daily walks pieces of broken off pavement sat by the side of the road which upon measurement were apparently thinner than the standard and required 1 ½ inches thick.
He made it his quest- one that, despite detailed presentation to the council no one so far seems to want to hear- to inform the council about how not only is the county paying for 1 ½ inch paving and not getting it but that, for some reason no one can adequately explain, on Kaua`i the standard of 90 sq. ft. of asphalt per ton is used while the national standard is 120 sq. ft. per ton to get that 1 ½”.
That means that, if anything, we should be getting roads that are 33% thicker than 1 ½” or 2” thick.
The question is, where is the extra asphalt going- a question the Public Works Department has been unable to answer.
You can also read Mickens' more detailed account contained in the same post.
Supposedly a contract for a good portion of the money available- $5.4 million- has gone out to bid and will be awarded by the summer according to Dill and Renaud. But as far as accountability for the past we'll have to wait and see what County Auditor Ernie Pasion comes up with in his performance audit of the road resurfacing program that's due later this year.
Because, as revealed at a couple of recent council meetings, the county has failed to do any of it's regular road repaving for at least the past three financial three years, possibly longer.
That's what new County Engineer Larry Dill reluctantly admitted to the council last Wednesday after councilmembers finally examined the budget and found that the monies they appropriated over the last two-plus budget years went unspent, including a "extra" almost two million dollars so that we could "catch up" on the routine maintenance that extends the life of roads.
It all started at the February 23 council meeting with an agenda item asking Department of Public Works (DPW) to discuss road resurfacing.
Our regular readers might remember that, as we wrote in August of 2009, something has been fishy with the contracts for road resurfacing for many years. But at least it was getting done.
According to Council Chair Jay Furfaro there is still $7.9 million sitting there that was supposed to be used for resurfacing to keep county owned roads- as opposed to the state roads- from deteriorating to the point where it would cost many times that amount to fix them.
But the preventive maintenance hasn't been performed in years although no one will quite admit to why.
Dill claims he's too "new" to be able to say what happened after he replaced former County Engineer Donald Fujimoto earlier this year. And long time DPW engineer Ed Renaud, who is now in charge of road resurfacing, was his ever-evasive self, repeating that he "can't" or "won't" answer the council's questions regarding why.
All the council could get out of Dill and Renaud is that a new era is at hand- again- and that all problems will be solved through the purchase of an expensive piece of software called "Micropaver" which will track what roads have been resurfaced and when and what condition all the county's 300 some odd miles of roads are in.
Always quite the character, Renaud claimed he was also "new" although he was apparently able to answer many questions in excruciating detail about how county crews have been doing the actual road resurfacing over the years in conjunction with the contract awardees.
Of course the council wasn't interested in going back and finding out why we were being short changed on the road resurfacing contracts for many years as council watchdog Glenn Mickens has pointed out for the last 15-odd years.
As we wrote in 2009 in describing his research:
To try to be brief, a few years back- make that more than a decade ago- council “nitpicker” Glen Mickens began to notice that, as he took his daily walks pieces of broken off pavement sat by the side of the road which upon measurement were apparently thinner than the standard and required 1 ½ inches thick.
He made it his quest- one that, despite detailed presentation to the council no one so far seems to want to hear- to inform the council about how not only is the county paying for 1 ½ inch paving and not getting it but that, for some reason no one can adequately explain, on Kaua`i the standard of 90 sq. ft. of asphalt per ton is used while the national standard is 120 sq. ft. per ton to get that 1 ½”.
That means that, if anything, we should be getting roads that are 33% thicker than 1 ½” or 2” thick.
The question is, where is the extra asphalt going- a question the Public Works Department has been unable to answer.
You can also read Mickens' more detailed account contained in the same post.
Supposedly a contract for a good portion of the money available- $5.4 million- has gone out to bid and will be awarded by the summer according to Dill and Renaud. But as far as accountability for the past we'll have to wait and see what County Auditor Ernie Pasion comes up with in his performance audit of the road resurfacing program that's due later this year.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
SAY WHAT?
SAY WHAT?: As readers well might surmise we spend our early mornings perusing the local newspapers and it doesn’t seem a day goes by without one of those “that can’t possibly be true” moments that, more often than not, turn out to be anything but erroneous.
One subset generally reserved for county governments is the “what did you think would happen” story typified in a story picked up by both the local and Honolulu papers from a Kaua`i Department of Public Works’ press release.
The release began unremarkably saying
(t)o prevent flooding from occurring in the Waimea area, the Kikiaola irrigation ditch was opened this morning allowing storm water mixed with treated wastewater also known as effluent to flow into Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor.
Now we can understand sewage spills in heavy rains. The storage areas- usually concrete “ponds” become deluged and an intentional release, if required to make sure it doesn’t just spill all over the place, is common. And it would be reasonable to directed the spill into the ditch.
But then, if you read further you find out that
(o)fficials estimate that up to 2.25 million gallons of treated wastewater had been stored in the irrigation ditch (emphasis added).
That of course means that, as a matter of practice the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant stores its effluent in an ditch that naturally leads to the ocean.
We’re not sure of the legality of that practice but can certainly challenge the wisdom.
Another subset is the “how could they really not know?” which is also usually also related to a government function.
Hard to say why we actually read the article in Sunday’s Honolulu paper headlined “No legal aid for officer accused in HPD scandal” regarding the overtime abuse among DIU checkpoint officers on O`ahu.
But we did- and even got through a six paragraphs before reading:
The seven officers work for the Selective Enforcement Unit, part of the Traffic Division that organizes roadblock checkpoints to catch motorists under the influence of alcohol or drugs (emphasis added).
Do they really not know what the term “selective enforcement” means?
According to Wikipedia
Selective enforcement is the ability that executors of the law (such as police officers or administrative agencies, in some cases) have to arbitrarily select choice individuals as being outside of the law. The use of enforcement discretion in an arbitrary way is referred to as selective enforcement or selective prosecution.
Historically, selective enforcement is recognized as a sign of tyranny, and an abuse of power, because it violates rule of law, allowing men to apply justice only when they choose. Aside from this being inherently unjust, it almost inevitably must lead to favoritism and extortion, with those empowered to choose being able to help their friends, take bribes, and threaten those they desire favors from.
As a matter of fact when the use of DUI checkpoints first began they were set up using “selective enforcement” tactics, picking those who appeared drunk at the checkpoints for further scrutiny. But the courts told them they couldn't do that specifically because it was a form of illegal selective enforcement.
That begat the practice of stopping every “X” number of cars and assessing the driver for alcohol and/or drug use- which the courts okayed.
Although the loophole allows the checkpoints, many civil liberties groups still think it reeks of selective enforcement- a term which, along with “selective prosecution” is used pejoratively to denote an illegal practice of favoritism in the administration of justice.
We can understand maybe the guy who named the unit didn’t know but the fact that apparently this didn’t raise any eyebrows among the rest of HPD is kind of unfathomable.
One subset generally reserved for county governments is the “what did you think would happen” story typified in a story picked up by both the local and Honolulu papers from a Kaua`i Department of Public Works’ press release.
The release began unremarkably saying
(t)o prevent flooding from occurring in the Waimea area, the Kikiaola irrigation ditch was opened this morning allowing storm water mixed with treated wastewater also known as effluent to flow into Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor.
Now we can understand sewage spills in heavy rains. The storage areas- usually concrete “ponds” become deluged and an intentional release, if required to make sure it doesn’t just spill all over the place, is common. And it would be reasonable to directed the spill into the ditch.
But then, if you read further you find out that
(o)fficials estimate that up to 2.25 million gallons of treated wastewater had been stored in the irrigation ditch (emphasis added).
That of course means that, as a matter of practice the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant stores its effluent in an ditch that naturally leads to the ocean.
We’re not sure of the legality of that practice but can certainly challenge the wisdom.
Another subset is the “how could they really not know?” which is also usually also related to a government function.
Hard to say why we actually read the article in Sunday’s Honolulu paper headlined “No legal aid for officer accused in HPD scandal” regarding the overtime abuse among DIU checkpoint officers on O`ahu.
But we did- and even got through a six paragraphs before reading:
The seven officers work for the Selective Enforcement Unit, part of the Traffic Division that organizes roadblock checkpoints to catch motorists under the influence of alcohol or drugs (emphasis added).
Do they really not know what the term “selective enforcement” means?
According to Wikipedia
Selective enforcement is the ability that executors of the law (such as police officers or administrative agencies, in some cases) have to arbitrarily select choice individuals as being outside of the law. The use of enforcement discretion in an arbitrary way is referred to as selective enforcement or selective prosecution.
Historically, selective enforcement is recognized as a sign of tyranny, and an abuse of power, because it violates rule of law, allowing men to apply justice only when they choose. Aside from this being inherently unjust, it almost inevitably must lead to favoritism and extortion, with those empowered to choose being able to help their friends, take bribes, and threaten those they desire favors from.
As a matter of fact when the use of DUI checkpoints first began they were set up using “selective enforcement” tactics, picking those who appeared drunk at the checkpoints for further scrutiny. But the courts told them they couldn't do that specifically because it was a form of illegal selective enforcement.
That begat the practice of stopping every “X” number of cars and assessing the driver for alcohol and/or drug use- which the courts okayed.
Although the loophole allows the checkpoints, many civil liberties groups still think it reeks of selective enforcement- a term which, along with “selective prosecution” is used pejoratively to denote an illegal practice of favoritism in the administration of justice.
We can understand maybe the guy who named the unit didn’t know but the fact that apparently this didn’t raise any eyebrows among the rest of HPD is kind of unfathomable.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
INTO THE WAY BACK MACHINE
INTO THE WAY BACK MACHINE: Not much happens at the legislature between sessions especially things that concern little Kaua`i.
But while the state’s eyes are focused on the senate hearings for the next Hawai`i supreme court chief justice one of our favorite senatorial rabblerousing monkey-wrenchers is holding a hearing of her own with an agenda that will certainly pop some local eyes.
Next Tuesday at 1 p.m. Chair Donna Mercado Kim’s Senate Ways and Means Committee will holding an Informational Briefing (click for testimony just before the hearing) investigating, among other things,
6. Lihue Airport –
a. Status of the employee embezzlement investigation
b. Explanation of the overpayment, reinstatement, and settlement of the employee that walked off the job
c. Status of the Mitigation of TSA (Transportation Security Administration) fines on Kauai – mitigation
d. Costs to the State, airlines, and travelers from the security breach at Lihue Airport on September 11, 2009
7. Grove Farm – status of the helipad expansion and status of information requested by the Committee in letter dated July 22, 2010, regarding enhancements to the access points for the Grove Farm land , the value and costs of the enhancements, and whether an enhancement fee was negotiated as part of the contract
Many on Kaua`i have heard about the Grove Farm (GF) fiasco where former county Director of Finance and now GF vice president Mike Tressler bamboozled the state into paying way more for a parcel of land than it was worth leading to the resignation of the state airports operations chief.
But the previously unreported incidents such as embezzlement and the other cryptic references to TSA misconduct are not any surprise to those who’ve followed the origins and evolution of the security crew at Lihu`e airport since the federalization of airport safety.
It’s no shock that there’s apparently elevated if not rampant corruption to those who remember how the TSA was originally staffed in the days after 9/11.
The administration of Mayor Maryanne Kusaka was coming to an end and there was no dearth of disgraced henchmen and women who had served the queen and worn out their welcome in county government, even with Kusaka’s handpicked successor Bryan Baptiste taking office in December of 2002.
There was even talk of mass indictments with then-new Councilperson Mel Rapozo telling the public that he had spoken to then-Prosecutor Michael Soong who was ready to prosecute Kusaka and her cronies for a plethora of alleged crimes from Kusaka’s personally-directed illegal grubbing and grading above Kuna (Donkey) Beach to her alleged instructions to Department of Public Works officials to ignore any violations of law by land-raping developers like Jimmy Pflueger and Tom McCloskey- both of whom had contributed nicely to Kusaka’s favorite charity.
It was then that Kusaka used her Republican connections to clear the way for members of the exodus to find a path to the new George W. Bush administration-created TSA offices at the airport where scandal-tainted Kusaka cronies found employment despite their misdeeds.
The Lihu`e Airport TSA has drifted in and out of the headlines for cronyism, nepotism and the resultant corruption ever since. We’ll be eager to see what Senator Kim has to say about the latest outrage but we suspect that it just might be a symptom of the Lihu`e TSA’s origins almost a decade ago.
But while the state’s eyes are focused on the senate hearings for the next Hawai`i supreme court chief justice one of our favorite senatorial rabblerousing monkey-wrenchers is holding a hearing of her own with an agenda that will certainly pop some local eyes.
Next Tuesday at 1 p.m. Chair Donna Mercado Kim’s Senate Ways and Means Committee will holding an Informational Briefing (click for testimony just before the hearing) investigating, among other things,
6. Lihue Airport –
a. Status of the employee embezzlement investigation
b. Explanation of the overpayment, reinstatement, and settlement of the employee that walked off the job
c. Status of the Mitigation of TSA (Transportation Security Administration) fines on Kauai – mitigation
d. Costs to the State, airlines, and travelers from the security breach at Lihue Airport on September 11, 2009
7. Grove Farm – status of the helipad expansion and status of information requested by the Committee in letter dated July 22, 2010, regarding enhancements to the access points for the Grove Farm land , the value and costs of the enhancements, and whether an enhancement fee was negotiated as part of the contract
Many on Kaua`i have heard about the Grove Farm (GF) fiasco where former county Director of Finance and now GF vice president Mike Tressler bamboozled the state into paying way more for a parcel of land than it was worth leading to the resignation of the state airports operations chief.
But the previously unreported incidents such as embezzlement and the other cryptic references to TSA misconduct are not any surprise to those who’ve followed the origins and evolution of the security crew at Lihu`e airport since the federalization of airport safety.
It’s no shock that there’s apparently elevated if not rampant corruption to those who remember how the TSA was originally staffed in the days after 9/11.
The administration of Mayor Maryanne Kusaka was coming to an end and there was no dearth of disgraced henchmen and women who had served the queen and worn out their welcome in county government, even with Kusaka’s handpicked successor Bryan Baptiste taking office in December of 2002.
There was even talk of mass indictments with then-new Councilperson Mel Rapozo telling the public that he had spoken to then-Prosecutor Michael Soong who was ready to prosecute Kusaka and her cronies for a plethora of alleged crimes from Kusaka’s personally-directed illegal grubbing and grading above Kuna (Donkey) Beach to her alleged instructions to Department of Public Works officials to ignore any violations of law by land-raping developers like Jimmy Pflueger and Tom McCloskey- both of whom had contributed nicely to Kusaka’s favorite charity.
It was then that Kusaka used her Republican connections to clear the way for members of the exodus to find a path to the new George W. Bush administration-created TSA offices at the airport where scandal-tainted Kusaka cronies found employment despite their misdeeds.
The Lihu`e Airport TSA has drifted in and out of the headlines for cronyism, nepotism and the resultant corruption ever since. We’ll be eager to see what Senator Kim has to say about the latest outrage but we suspect that it just might be a symptom of the Lihu`e TSA’s origins almost a decade ago.
Monday, April 19, 2010
BIN THERE, DUNCE THAT
BIN THERE, DUNCE THAT: The news that the mayor’s proposed budget contains a provision to start charging for curbside trash collection in 2012 is certain to cause the knee-jerked feet of the “I don’t want to pay for the services I demand” crowd to start up their usual dance of the demented dimwits.
But for anyone who’s paid attention to the last few years of council wrangling over the final R.W. Beck report’s solid waste plan it’s yet another “can’t anyone here play this game” moment from Bernard the Big Babooze’s “ready, fire, aim” compatriots.
Although much to it’s discredit it ain’t no “Zero Waste” study, the final Beck report did manage to include at least one Zero Waste concept on recycling- one that was changed after almost two years of recent community and council criticism that spurred the consultants to go back and recommend a curbside recycling and central sorting process for waste stream reduction.
After endless hours the final report called for the county to first build what’s called a MERF – a materials recycling facility- and then implement a curbside recycling program with separate bins for all recyclables.
Then and only then- once citizens are given the opportunity to easily reduce their and the county’s waste stream- was a plan to implement a fee system for curbside trash pickup to be started.
But one of the council’s recommendations was that the fees should be collected only on a second bin each week in order to incentivize recycling.
The savings in this system are well established. Not only is the trash stream greatly diminished due to the decreased need for landfilling- including all the ancillary operations such as transportation- but the process yields a commodity in the recycled materials.
It’s call a "integrated” process for a reason- each element is based on the other with each one dependant on doing it in the right order- first the facility, then the recyclables collection, then the fees.
But the ever-incompetent Department of Public Works dunderheads first went out and bought a half a million dollars worth of recycling bins and set up a “pilot project” in Lihu`e with no place to bring the collected recyclables. Then instead of using the process to give people a cash reason to recycle they are not only going to charge everyone for the first bin but are going to further remove it from the users’ consciousness by adding it onto the real property tax of the property owners.
While a MERF and island wide curbside recycling is on the horizon they surely won’t be ready by the time the fees kick in.
But why should this time be any different than the others in a series of ignored and un-acted-upon Beck reports we’ve paid for over and over for the past decade or so?
But for anyone who’s paid attention to the last few years of council wrangling over the final R.W. Beck report’s solid waste plan it’s yet another “can’t anyone here play this game” moment from Bernard the Big Babooze’s “ready, fire, aim” compatriots.
Although much to it’s discredit it ain’t no “Zero Waste” study, the final Beck report did manage to include at least one Zero Waste concept on recycling- one that was changed after almost two years of recent community and council criticism that spurred the consultants to go back and recommend a curbside recycling and central sorting process for waste stream reduction.
After endless hours the final report called for the county to first build what’s called a MERF – a materials recycling facility- and then implement a curbside recycling program with separate bins for all recyclables.
Then and only then- once citizens are given the opportunity to easily reduce their and the county’s waste stream- was a plan to implement a fee system for curbside trash pickup to be started.
But one of the council’s recommendations was that the fees should be collected only on a second bin each week in order to incentivize recycling.
The savings in this system are well established. Not only is the trash stream greatly diminished due to the decreased need for landfilling- including all the ancillary operations such as transportation- but the process yields a commodity in the recycled materials.
It’s call a "integrated” process for a reason- each element is based on the other with each one dependant on doing it in the right order- first the facility, then the recyclables collection, then the fees.
But the ever-incompetent Department of Public Works dunderheads first went out and bought a half a million dollars worth of recycling bins and set up a “pilot project” in Lihu`e with no place to bring the collected recyclables. Then instead of using the process to give people a cash reason to recycle they are not only going to charge everyone for the first bin but are going to further remove it from the users’ consciousness by adding it onto the real property tax of the property owners.
While a MERF and island wide curbside recycling is on the horizon they surely won’t be ready by the time the fees kick in.
But why should this time be any different than the others in a series of ignored and un-acted-upon Beck reports we’ve paid for over and over for the past decade or so?
Monday, September 15, 2008
DIGGIN’ IN THE CESSPOOL
DIGGIN’ IN THE CESSPOOL: A few light bulbs went on when the inner machinations of the nepotism and cronyism in Kaua`i county government were revealed as never before at last week’s council meeting after a little known recent ploy by the council came to fruition.
Trying to find out exactly how and why the county hires people has been a mystifying process for as long as the Kaua`i has had a government, especially in the mammoth Department of Public Works and more so in its Solid Waste Division.... that and why they always seem to be incompetent
Threatened council audits and investigations have been aborted attempts at accountability for 10 years although most suspected what exposition of the scheme would reveal..
But during this year’s budget discussions the council finally included in the ordinance a requirement that, when the administration changes a council-funded position to another job, they must at least notify the council.
And the first such transfer was contained in a brief communication (2008-256) requesting a “reallocation” of the position of a “Solid Waste Program Assistant (SWPA)” to a position for a “Senior Account Clerk”.
Solid Waste’s Personnel Director Crystal Fujikawa, flanked by Personnel Director Mel Fernandez, sat before the council and was asked to explain why they were asking for a change a mere three months after they requested the SWPA in the budget that the council approved..
Fujikawa explained that since the SWPA had left the job- although she amazingly couldn’t remember when- this change was a “downward reallocation” to an “entry level” position, raising some eyebrows and objections, especially from the Council Vice Chair, mayoral candidate Mel Rapozo and his ally Shaylene Iseri Carvalho.
“We just budgeted that position” said Iseri. And knowing how badly the Solid Waste Division have been in need of expertise she wondered aloud why personnel didn’t recruit for and fill the position instead of hiring just a clerk.
What Fujikawa said next reveled the true nature of cronyism in Kaua`i government and showed exactly how powerful the mayor is in terms of patronage even though legally he or she only gets to hire department heads.
According to Fujikawa when a county position opens up the first thing they do is to try to see if there is a current county employee with the required expertise who wants to fill it. Nothing wrong with that, as all councilmembers agreed.
But then, if there is no county employee with the specific qualifications who wants the job, instead of trying to recruit someone qualified to fill the position from those on the island or, if not, elsewhere- one who might be able to, as Rapozo said, “hit the ground running”- the county simply eliminates the skilled position and downgrades it to fit the qualifications of the employee they want to promote or hire.
And, if necessary they’ll even make it an entry level job to accommodate someone’s auntie or uncle... or campaign supporter.
And while this type of decision is at the discretion of the department head it’s the mayor who gives- or can instantly take away- the department heads their job.
According to Fujikawa it usually takes at least a year or two to “train” the new person, assuming they have the ability to learn the new job in the first pace.
In the case of the SWPA the job requires at least a year of solid waste experience. Give how important such a position is- especially with the solid waste crisis in the county being such that it caused the approval of another reluctant expansion of the Kekaha landfill at the same meeting- the council funded it in a budget line item.
And if not for the new notification law, as in past years the council and the public would never have known about the plans to hire a clerk instead.
Rapozo was livid. “So we don’t even try to find out if there’s someone on the island that’s qualified to take the job?” he asked. “That makes no sense.”
“They do this so they can pick someone they want that doesn’t have the requirements.” he concluded.
Iseri was equally aghast at the revelation as she wondered aloud if the system is such that, someone applies, they are told they’re not qualified and then they lower the standard for the position so someone else can get the job even though they’re not qualified and can't actually do the job.
“It’s a very unfair process for the pubic that does want county jobs” said Iseri.
Council Chair Jay Furfaro was equally if not more outraged because it happened to someone in his family who applied for a skilled planning position was and told she was unqualified. Now, with the same qualifications, she works in that same area of expertise on Maui.
But this is certainly nothing new for anyone who has been paying attention over the years.
Glenn Mickens came up to the hot seat Wednesday to tell the story of Troy Tanigawa, current head of our Solid Waste Division. Back in the adolescent years of our solid waste crisis in the mid 90’s he was the young relative of a big supporter of then Mayor Maryanne Kusaka.
When Kusaka took over from former mayor, now councilperson and mayoral candidate JoAnn Yukimura, one of her first moves was to fire Yukimura’s solid waste people who had put together a solid waste management plan and were just ready to implement it after having to take two years off from implementation due to Hurricane `Iniki.
Kusaka had convinced the council to move from “line item” budgeting to a “program based” budget allowing her to shift around finds within departments willy-nilly. And one shift was to put the young, unskilled, untrained Tanigawa in charge of the Solid Waste Division where he remains today.
Famed Kaua`i activist Ray Chuan used to refer to Tanigawa as one of Kusaka’s “chosen people- the untouchables” as he railed against Troy’s appointment and bumbling incompetence at council meetings for years.
Finally Kusaka agreed, not that she would fill the position with someone competent but, that she would “send Troy back to school” and teach him how to do the job... while he remained in the position..
And of course she never did this but Tanigawa has remained in the position for the last 14 years throughout the Baptiste administration too. And so of course we are now not just ankle or waist deep in rubbish but up to our eyeballs, all under Tanigawa.
We can only hope for someone who will clean out the barn when the new mayor takes over in November. Many assume that will be the case under Rapozo or Yukimura. But if you like things the way they are Bernard Carvalho can be counted on to keep the same people under the same patronage system to stay in office for 10 years and hiring in his own cronies as is the tradition.
Of course if the proposal for a “county manager” system gets some wings over the next two years as letter-to-the-editor writer Larry Arruda says in today’s local paper, that may not be the case.
We’ll leave you with his words.
Even as much as 15 to 20 years ago, many times while visiting here at home on Kaua`i, I would mention to my parents or to friends that I would like to come home and work for the county. Their response to me was always the same, “You gotta know somebody to get in.”
However, I’m sure that all of the council realize that anything and everything that was said will not change anything.
After watching Kaua`i Council meetings for almost six years, it is very obvious to me that the County Council very seldom has any power and any say so over the administration and/or staff. There is no continuity, and because of that, there is no accountability.
After working for a very organized city in California for 30 years, I can guarantee that this would not happen if the County of Kauai’s was governed under a county manager type of government.
Trying to find out exactly how and why the county hires people has been a mystifying process for as long as the Kaua`i has had a government, especially in the mammoth Department of Public Works and more so in its Solid Waste Division.... that and why they always seem to be incompetent
Threatened council audits and investigations have been aborted attempts at accountability for 10 years although most suspected what exposition of the scheme would reveal..
But during this year’s budget discussions the council finally included in the ordinance a requirement that, when the administration changes a council-funded position to another job, they must at least notify the council.
And the first such transfer was contained in a brief communication (2008-256) requesting a “reallocation” of the position of a “Solid Waste Program Assistant (SWPA)” to a position for a “Senior Account Clerk”.
Solid Waste’s Personnel Director Crystal Fujikawa, flanked by Personnel Director Mel Fernandez, sat before the council and was asked to explain why they were asking for a change a mere three months after they requested the SWPA in the budget that the council approved..
Fujikawa explained that since the SWPA had left the job- although she amazingly couldn’t remember when- this change was a “downward reallocation” to an “entry level” position, raising some eyebrows and objections, especially from the Council Vice Chair, mayoral candidate Mel Rapozo and his ally Shaylene Iseri Carvalho.
“We just budgeted that position” said Iseri. And knowing how badly the Solid Waste Division have been in need of expertise she wondered aloud why personnel didn’t recruit for and fill the position instead of hiring just a clerk.
What Fujikawa said next reveled the true nature of cronyism in Kaua`i government and showed exactly how powerful the mayor is in terms of patronage even though legally he or she only gets to hire department heads.
According to Fujikawa when a county position opens up the first thing they do is to try to see if there is a current county employee with the required expertise who wants to fill it. Nothing wrong with that, as all councilmembers agreed.
But then, if there is no county employee with the specific qualifications who wants the job, instead of trying to recruit someone qualified to fill the position from those on the island or, if not, elsewhere- one who might be able to, as Rapozo said, “hit the ground running”- the county simply eliminates the skilled position and downgrades it to fit the qualifications of the employee they want to promote or hire.
And, if necessary they’ll even make it an entry level job to accommodate someone’s auntie or uncle... or campaign supporter.
And while this type of decision is at the discretion of the department head it’s the mayor who gives- or can instantly take away- the department heads their job.
According to Fujikawa it usually takes at least a year or two to “train” the new person, assuming they have the ability to learn the new job in the first pace.
In the case of the SWPA the job requires at least a year of solid waste experience. Give how important such a position is- especially with the solid waste crisis in the county being such that it caused the approval of another reluctant expansion of the Kekaha landfill at the same meeting- the council funded it in a budget line item.
And if not for the new notification law, as in past years the council and the public would never have known about the plans to hire a clerk instead.
Rapozo was livid. “So we don’t even try to find out if there’s someone on the island that’s qualified to take the job?” he asked. “That makes no sense.”
“They do this so they can pick someone they want that doesn’t have the requirements.” he concluded.
Iseri was equally aghast at the revelation as she wondered aloud if the system is such that, someone applies, they are told they’re not qualified and then they lower the standard for the position so someone else can get the job even though they’re not qualified and can't actually do the job.
“It’s a very unfair process for the pubic that does want county jobs” said Iseri.
Council Chair Jay Furfaro was equally if not more outraged because it happened to someone in his family who applied for a skilled planning position was and told she was unqualified. Now, with the same qualifications, she works in that same area of expertise on Maui.
But this is certainly nothing new for anyone who has been paying attention over the years.
Glenn Mickens came up to the hot seat Wednesday to tell the story of Troy Tanigawa, current head of our Solid Waste Division. Back in the adolescent years of our solid waste crisis in the mid 90’s he was the young relative of a big supporter of then Mayor Maryanne Kusaka.
When Kusaka took over from former mayor, now councilperson and mayoral candidate JoAnn Yukimura, one of her first moves was to fire Yukimura’s solid waste people who had put together a solid waste management plan and were just ready to implement it after having to take two years off from implementation due to Hurricane `Iniki.
Kusaka had convinced the council to move from “line item” budgeting to a “program based” budget allowing her to shift around finds within departments willy-nilly. And one shift was to put the young, unskilled, untrained Tanigawa in charge of the Solid Waste Division where he remains today.
Famed Kaua`i activist Ray Chuan used to refer to Tanigawa as one of Kusaka’s “chosen people- the untouchables” as he railed against Troy’s appointment and bumbling incompetence at council meetings for years.
Finally Kusaka agreed, not that she would fill the position with someone competent but, that she would “send Troy back to school” and teach him how to do the job... while he remained in the position..
And of course she never did this but Tanigawa has remained in the position for the last 14 years throughout the Baptiste administration too. And so of course we are now not just ankle or waist deep in rubbish but up to our eyeballs, all under Tanigawa.
We can only hope for someone who will clean out the barn when the new mayor takes over in November. Many assume that will be the case under Rapozo or Yukimura. But if you like things the way they are Bernard Carvalho can be counted on to keep the same people under the same patronage system to stay in office for 10 years and hiring in his own cronies as is the tradition.
Of course if the proposal for a “county manager” system gets some wings over the next two years as letter-to-the-editor writer Larry Arruda says in today’s local paper, that may not be the case.
We’ll leave you with his words.
Even as much as 15 to 20 years ago, many times while visiting here at home on Kaua`i, I would mention to my parents or to friends that I would like to come home and work for the county. Their response to me was always the same, “You gotta know somebody to get in.”
However, I’m sure that all of the council realize that anything and everything that was said will not change anything.
After watching Kaua`i Council meetings for almost six years, it is very obvious to me that the County Council very seldom has any power and any say so over the administration and/or staff. There is no continuity, and because of that, there is no accountability.
After working for a very organized city in California for 30 years, I can guarantee that this would not happen if the County of Kauai’s was governed under a county manager type of government.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
DOGGED PERSISTENCE
DOGGED PERSISTENCE: In an absurdist little drama last Wednesday the Kaua`i County Council finally got County Engineer Donald Fujimoto to admit what everyone has known for a long time- the Pono Kai seawall was illegally constructed and there never have been any permits or exemptions for it.
And he came close to acknowledging his Department of Public Works (DPW) attempts to cover it up by refusing to answer questions about it and asking any investigation be done in secret executive session (ES)..
Fujimoto wouldn’t even admit it all until grilled for 15 minutes in a prosecutorial manner by prosecutor-to-be Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho who finally broke him down and forced the admissions.
The revelation of the illegal construction goes back a couple of years to a council session discussing shoreline certifications for the bike path during which experts told the council of the problems with the seawall and during subsequent meetings where the lack of any permits was revealed.
The seawall was constructed after the Hurricane `Iniki which itself took the council weeks to ascertain due to stonewalling and sketchy answers from Fujimoto and other DPW personal who conveniently couldn’t remember how long it had been there.
Finally pre and post hurricane pictures were shown to the council on a slide projector to clear up the 1993 construction date.
Apparently the story is that DPW engineers decided that in all the post hurricane confusion and “emergency permitting” they could construct a seawall to “protect” Pono Kai with no approval whatsoever.
This was done, according to testimony a couple of years ago, despite a 1993 letter from the Army Corps of engineers warning them that it was highly illegal to build the wall.
Fujimoto was not the county engineer at the time of the construction and did not come to that position until the Baptiste administration.
Yet Fujimoto clung to the story saying that it “may have been intentional or unintentional- I’d like to think it was unintentional”, although how the county engineer who routinely processes permits could have unintentionally constructed an illegal sea wall wasn’t clear.
What is clear is that Pono Kai resort had always been worried about it’s proximity to the ocean and wanted the wall, going back years before the hurricane when it tried and failed to build one but especially so after the hurricane battered the place and severely eroded the shoreline.
Fujimoto’s attempt to put the genie back in the bottle continued with him trying to cover-up the information even as the meeting began.
He started by refusing to talk about it at all in open session- after his request last month for an ES was turned down by Public Works Committee Chair Mel Rapozo- by saying he want to “wait for the EA (environmental assessment) to discuss it”.
An EA is currently being conducted by DPW to determine what the environmental impacts of any action on the sea wall would be
Previously Fujimoto tried to blow smoke and cast the usual fog machine the PWD has been famous for since well before his tenure.
He has claimed that the wall was legal under various erroneous propositions and obfuscations, first saying there were permits then when asked to produce them saying he had an exemption due to the governor’s emergency declaration after the hurricane, neither of which was true.
After badgering he finally admitted that at some point he spoke to Sam Lemmo at the State DLNR who told him it was possible someone had thought there might have been an exemption at the time.
Still Fujimoto refused at first to admit the sea wall was illegally constructed in hopes that it would be able to be repaired.
Under the federal law, as well as a “zero tolerance” for un-permitted construction by the state and county, the sea wall would have to be removed although there could be an exemption federally if the damage of removing it would be greater than leaving it in place..
The sea wall is currently a public nuisance and in horribly dilapidated condition and according to what UH experts Dolan Ebersole and Chip Fletcher told the council is making a mess of the whole Kapa`a shoreline.
Both told the council and Fujimoto two years ago that reconstructing an illegal sea wall was not legal under any circumstances. Yet Fujimoto continues to conduct an EA to fix the wall.
Whether the best scientific path is to remove it, rebuild it or leave it alone is a question no one so far has been able to determine.
Fujimoto adamantly maintained that the EA would answer all the legal questions even though everyone knew it was illegal, at first saying “I can’t say if it was legal or illegal”
But despite repeats of this lies Iseri persisted and finally got the truth out of Fujimoto.
She reviewed Fujimoto’s actions and words in claiming there was a permit and then that they didn’t need one and then that they were going to get an “after the fact” one, before she finally asked “You have no evidence to show this wall is legal?”
Fujimoto finally said “That’s correct.” though still maintaining the EA will address that.
Then Iseri focused in on the EA-legalities claim asking “So the EA will look into all the illegalities?”
Fujimoto said “Yes- it will address the impacts”.
After a lot of back and forth finally, after maintaining more than a half a dozen times in direct answers to direct questions that the EA would look a legal questions Fujimoto admitted it wouldn’t and that the County Attorney will address those.
“I stand corrected” he finally said.
What was astonishing was that a couple of months or so ago when being questioned on the sea wall Fujimoto refused to answer the questions in open session asking the council to place the matter on the their executive session agenda
“Speaking to the County Engineer about DPW’s illegal actions” is not on the list of Sunshine Law exemptions to the open meeting requirements,.
This was despite the fact that about two years ago it was widely discussed by the council and they learned in public session of not just the illegal nature of the wall but of the warning letters from the Army Corps of Engineers saying basically “don’t you dare”..
Councilman Ron Kochi was somewhat bemused by Fujimoto shaking his head and saying “you can’t unring the bell” and headscratchingly pondering what Fujimoto thought he was trying to do.
Finally Chair Rapozo summed it up -somewhat haltingly- by saying “It’s no secret that the wall is illegal. I shouldn’t say illegal- it’s un-permitted”, drawing derisive laughter from those gathered.
Believe it or not the council committee concluded it’s session by making plans to take the public knowledge of the illegal wall into executive session to figure out if Kaua`i County will have to repay the state and possibly the feds who financed the project on Kaua`i County’s assurance that they had the permits or an exemption.
Iseri repeated several times that we needed to “come clean” and maybe they’d let us off the financial hook.
No plans were made to investigate the Public Works Department to uncover what most suspect was collusion by Pono Kai and some in the DPW to pull a fast one after the hurricane by building an illegal sea wall.
It only took 15 years to figure out what happened. We’ll be lucky if after 15 years more we catch the culprits because, as has happened dozes of times before- most notably after the Pflueger-McCloskey “Developers Gone Wild” sessions- the Council refuses to investigate the DPW, arguably the most corrupt county department in the state.
And he came close to acknowledging his Department of Public Works (DPW) attempts to cover it up by refusing to answer questions about it and asking any investigation be done in secret executive session (ES)..
Fujimoto wouldn’t even admit it all until grilled for 15 minutes in a prosecutorial manner by prosecutor-to-be Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho who finally broke him down and forced the admissions.
The revelation of the illegal construction goes back a couple of years to a council session discussing shoreline certifications for the bike path during which experts told the council of the problems with the seawall and during subsequent meetings where the lack of any permits was revealed.
The seawall was constructed after the Hurricane `Iniki which itself took the council weeks to ascertain due to stonewalling and sketchy answers from Fujimoto and other DPW personal who conveniently couldn’t remember how long it had been there.
Finally pre and post hurricane pictures were shown to the council on a slide projector to clear up the 1993 construction date.
Apparently the story is that DPW engineers decided that in all the post hurricane confusion and “emergency permitting” they could construct a seawall to “protect” Pono Kai with no approval whatsoever.
This was done, according to testimony a couple of years ago, despite a 1993 letter from the Army Corps of engineers warning them that it was highly illegal to build the wall.
Fujimoto was not the county engineer at the time of the construction and did not come to that position until the Baptiste administration.
Yet Fujimoto clung to the story saying that it “may have been intentional or unintentional- I’d like to think it was unintentional”, although how the county engineer who routinely processes permits could have unintentionally constructed an illegal sea wall wasn’t clear.
What is clear is that Pono Kai resort had always been worried about it’s proximity to the ocean and wanted the wall, going back years before the hurricane when it tried and failed to build one but especially so after the hurricane battered the place and severely eroded the shoreline.
Fujimoto’s attempt to put the genie back in the bottle continued with him trying to cover-up the information even as the meeting began.
He started by refusing to talk about it at all in open session- after his request last month for an ES was turned down by Public Works Committee Chair Mel Rapozo- by saying he want to “wait for the EA (environmental assessment) to discuss it”.
An EA is currently being conducted by DPW to determine what the environmental impacts of any action on the sea wall would be
Previously Fujimoto tried to blow smoke and cast the usual fog machine the PWD has been famous for since well before his tenure.
He has claimed that the wall was legal under various erroneous propositions and obfuscations, first saying there were permits then when asked to produce them saying he had an exemption due to the governor’s emergency declaration after the hurricane, neither of which was true.
After badgering he finally admitted that at some point he spoke to Sam Lemmo at the State DLNR who told him it was possible someone had thought there might have been an exemption at the time.
Still Fujimoto refused at first to admit the sea wall was illegally constructed in hopes that it would be able to be repaired.
Under the federal law, as well as a “zero tolerance” for un-permitted construction by the state and county, the sea wall would have to be removed although there could be an exemption federally if the damage of removing it would be greater than leaving it in place..
The sea wall is currently a public nuisance and in horribly dilapidated condition and according to what UH experts Dolan Ebersole and Chip Fletcher told the council is making a mess of the whole Kapa`a shoreline.
Both told the council and Fujimoto two years ago that reconstructing an illegal sea wall was not legal under any circumstances. Yet Fujimoto continues to conduct an EA to fix the wall.
Whether the best scientific path is to remove it, rebuild it or leave it alone is a question no one so far has been able to determine.
Fujimoto adamantly maintained that the EA would answer all the legal questions even though everyone knew it was illegal, at first saying “I can’t say if it was legal or illegal”
But despite repeats of this lies Iseri persisted and finally got the truth out of Fujimoto.
She reviewed Fujimoto’s actions and words in claiming there was a permit and then that they didn’t need one and then that they were going to get an “after the fact” one, before she finally asked “You have no evidence to show this wall is legal?”
Fujimoto finally said “That’s correct.” though still maintaining the EA will address that.
Then Iseri focused in on the EA-legalities claim asking “So the EA will look into all the illegalities?”
Fujimoto said “Yes- it will address the impacts”.
After a lot of back and forth finally, after maintaining more than a half a dozen times in direct answers to direct questions that the EA would look a legal questions Fujimoto admitted it wouldn’t and that the County Attorney will address those.
“I stand corrected” he finally said.
What was astonishing was that a couple of months or so ago when being questioned on the sea wall Fujimoto refused to answer the questions in open session asking the council to place the matter on the their executive session agenda
“Speaking to the County Engineer about DPW’s illegal actions” is not on the list of Sunshine Law exemptions to the open meeting requirements,.
This was despite the fact that about two years ago it was widely discussed by the council and they learned in public session of not just the illegal nature of the wall but of the warning letters from the Army Corps of Engineers saying basically “don’t you dare”..
Councilman Ron Kochi was somewhat bemused by Fujimoto shaking his head and saying “you can’t unring the bell” and headscratchingly pondering what Fujimoto thought he was trying to do.
Finally Chair Rapozo summed it up -somewhat haltingly- by saying “It’s no secret that the wall is illegal. I shouldn’t say illegal- it’s un-permitted”, drawing derisive laughter from those gathered.
Believe it or not the council committee concluded it’s session by making plans to take the public knowledge of the illegal wall into executive session to figure out if Kaua`i County will have to repay the state and possibly the feds who financed the project on Kaua`i County’s assurance that they had the permits or an exemption.
Iseri repeated several times that we needed to “come clean” and maybe they’d let us off the financial hook.
No plans were made to investigate the Public Works Department to uncover what most suspect was collusion by Pono Kai and some in the DPW to pull a fast one after the hurricane by building an illegal sea wall.
It only took 15 years to figure out what happened. We’ll be lucky if after 15 years more we catch the culprits because, as has happened dozes of times before- most notably after the Pflueger-McCloskey “Developers Gone Wild” sessions- the Council refuses to investigate the DPW, arguably the most corrupt county department in the state.
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