Letters for Thursday, January 11, 2007

• On Mel’s finger-pointing to the people

On Mel’s finger-pointing to the people

I recently read Councilman Mel Rapoza’s letter (“Letter to the people of Kaua‘i,” Letters, Jan. 8) to the editor in which he strongly criticized the opinions I expressed regarding solving the perceived permitting and approval problems on the new bike path pavilions.

I suppose I should not be too upset with Councilman Rapozo’s critical comments of me as in this same letter he spreads his criticism around by attacking the county administration, the Planning Director, the Public Works Department as well as the Planning Department. To complete his marathon of criticism, Rapozo then goes on to complain about the reporting job done by The Garden Island. Councilman Rapozo suggests in his letter that it is somehow the paper’s fault that we poor ignorant taxpayers are so uninformed about his position on the subject matter.

Councilman Rapozo suggests in his letter that I am either uninformed or perhaps misinformed because I disagreed with him and certain of his cohorts about spending taxpayer dollars wastefully. Councilwoman Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, apparently with Councilman Rapoza’s support, had previously suggested going to court to settle internal county questions about whether certain permits or certifications were required or received for the public works bike path pavilion construction. I stated in my letter that the idea of the county suing the county over a county public works project was, in my opinion, a waste of money and indicated a certain lack of common sense on the part of some of our elected officials. I further suggested that if permits are required for the pavilions, that they be issued,; and if it is shown that there were internal procedural problems in the processing of the construction project at county departments, that new procedures be put in place so the error is not repeated.

I find it quite amusing that politicians immediately assume that you are uninformed or misinformed if you disagree with them. Since Councilman Rapozo deemed it necessary to use my name in his letter to the editor at least three times, I want to assure him that I am neither uninformed nor misinformed. I simply believe that he and Councilwoman Iseri-Carvalho are wrong. I also believe that many other county residents agree with me as I have received a number of calls from people thanking me for the letter and stating that they agreed with my position.

Some of the council are taking what seem to be county department construction management problems, or perhaps procedural problems, and using the issues as an excuse to engage in political infighting at the expense of the taxpayers. The after-the-fact finger pointing and playing the blame game is a huge waste and takes time, money and attention away from the serious issues that the county has yet to solve.

If some of the councilmembers still feel that they absolutely need to blame someone for the problems of this project, perhaps they should look a little closer to home. The County Council is ultimately responsible for the smooth and efficient running of the county government and the various county departments. Councilman Rapozo states in his letter that he long “suspected that there were deep-rooted problems in our Public Works and Planning Departments.” My question is, if you truly believed that there were problems in these departments, why was it allowed to continue during your watch?

Councilman Rapozo is on record as being in favor of tearing down the newly constructed pavilions because of the yet to be resolved permit and approval issues, a position that I believe most would find premature, wasteful and some might say lacking in common sense.

If you asked local residents if they would support spending county time and tax money assigning blame to construction processing errors, tearing down newly constructed pavilions or suing ourselves to settle internal county issues, what do you think the response would be? I suspect that most people in the county would not believe you would even consider such an absurd waste of public assets. I further suspect that most residents would much prefer to spend their tax dollars on solving housing and traffic issues or perhaps providing additional police or fire protection.

In the overall scheme of things the “Permitgate” controversy is, in my opinion, a relatively minor matter that should first be addressed at the department level. I again suggest that if legally possible, the permits and certification be reviewed and if possible, the permits issued and the completion of the project expedited, freeing the council to work on other matters. I would like to think that our council representatives have more important issues to address on our behalf such as housing, traffic and growth.

I think that all of our councilmembers are good people; simply because I do not agree with the positions some of them have taken on this matter does not mean I think they are anything but well-meaning public servants. But I think in this particular instance some of our councilmembers have become a bit carried away with the politics of the situation and have taken positions that are too extreme. May I suggest that all concerned take a step back, get a fresh look at the facts and then agree to work together to fashion a solution that will be in the best interests of the residents.

We don’t need politicians — what we need are leaders. Leaders are those individuals who can define the important problems, prioritize the problems and then solve the problems. It will take real leadership to solve our county housing, traffic and growth issues. I truly hope that our elected officials will be leaders and will turn their attention to solving some of the issues that are really important to the residents of Kaua‘i and not waste time and taxpayer money by inadvertently getting caught up in the politics of relatively minor matters.

Princeville