LIHU’E – After a lengthy discussion, the Kaua’i County Council Wednesday afternoon decided to spend between $50,000 and $100,000 to try and ascertain what Kaua’i Electric is really worth. Before the unanimous vote, a parade of citizens told the Kaua’i
LIHU’E – After a lengthy discussion, the Kaua’i County Council Wednesday
afternoon decided to spend between $50,000 and $100,000 to try and ascertain
what Kaua’i Electric is really worth.
Before the unanimous vote, a parade
of citizens told the Kaua’i County Council yesterday afternoon that they
supported Mayor Maryanne Kusaka’s desire to obtain an appraisal of the fair
value of Kaua’i Electric.
The administration sought the appraisal after its
Mainland owner Citizen’s Utilities set an asking price of $270 million.
The
$270 million deal to sell the power company to Kaua’i Island Utility Co-op
needs state Public Utilities Commission approval to be finalized and that
hasn’t happened yet although a PUC decision is expected next week according to
county officials.
The county has consistently criticized the price and an
appraisal might be the first step in an effort to lower the purchase price or
even in the county condemning the utility.
Representatives from Kaua’i
Electric, Citizens Communication Company and the Kaua’i island Utility Co-op
met for discussions last weekend in California.
But the council’s approval
of the Mayor’s request for an appraiser wasn’t immediate.
First the council
wanted to know where the $50,000 to $100,000 was coming from.
“We have a
fund in the county attorney’s office that provides for contingencies like this.
The fund is in excess of a half million dollars,” Wally Rezentes Sr., the
Mayor’s Administrative Assistant told them.
Council member Billy Swain then
wanted to know the difference between the Mayor’s seeking the council’s
concurrence from seeking it’s approval.
“My thinking, and the Mayor’s
thinking is we are seeking the council’s concurrence to go down this path,”
Rezentes said.
“If the Council didn’t concur … you could still do
this?”
“If the county attorney says so … yes,” Rezentes
answered.
Rezentes explained the administration’s reasoning.
“It’s
obvious to the administration and the people of Kaua’i that Citizen Utilities
is on a path to sell Kaua’i Electric … Price is a significant factor …
nobody has come forward to do what we feel is very necessary for us to
represent the people in a responsible way (to determine) what a fair price for
this utility should be?” Rezentes explained.
Council Chair Ron Kouchi
explained why an outside appraiser was needed.
“We don’t have any book data
… our employees don’t do appraisals,” he said.
“Should the county pay for
it (the appraisal)?” Billy Swain asked.
“If everything was done properly,
maybe we wouldn’t be here,” Rezentes answered.
The next step will be
finding an appraiser.
“We have to go through a procurement process. We will
be advertising (for the appraiser) this Sunday in your newspaper and, I believe
the Advertiser (Honolulu),” Rezentes said.
Rezentes said the appraisal
could serve many purposes.
“The intent … it can be used for anything. We
don’t know what Citizens (Utilities) can or will do,” he said.
“The people
of Kaua’i deserve to know what the fair value of the utility is. Everything
else would be a guess,” he concluded.
Dennis Wilken can be reached at
245-3681, extention 252, or via e-mail [
HREF=”mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net”>dwilken@pulitzer.net]
