LIHU‘E — More than two years ago the Kaua‘i County Council approved a significant amount of money for the Kekaha community to put towards town improvements for hosting the island’s only landfill.
The fund grows annually and currently totals $810,000. But the money has already created division and controversy in the Westside town.
Members of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee were supposed to give Kaua‘i County Council members an update June 23 on a list of final recommendations for the Host Community Benefits program.
The session at the Council Chambers, however, turned into a frustration-venting experience for the residents who testified.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. last year appointed nine Kekaha residents to serve on the CAC board. In addition, four county employees; Jeff Kaohi, Kekaha landfill manager; and Neil Pflum, from a consultant firm hired by the county; also served as advisers and non-voting members.
Some community members, including a few CAC members, said the final recommendations fail to accurately mirror the community’s desires and some of the proposals should be projects funded by the county or state without using HCB money.
CAC member Evelyn Olores said at the meeting that only the head of the household was able to answer questions, which left out input from other family members.
Barbara Bulatao, whose brother is CAC member Jose Bulatao, shared Olores’ frustration.
Others who testified, including Kekaha Community Association President Mary Jean Buza-Sims, called the survey vague, non-representative of the community, and asked that residents be given another chance to provide input.
Another complaint was that only homeowners received the survey; renters did not get to say what projects they would like to see in Kekaha.
A different story
CAC member Bruce Pleas, an active voice and volunteer in many Westside community projects, wasn’t at the June 23 meeting, but after reading what has been said by other CAC members and Kekaha residents he chose to respond.
Pleas said CAC members decided to mail surveys only to homeowners because those are the ones who pay Real Property taxes.
There was only one survey per household, but it didn’t mean the rest of the household was not allowed to give input, he said.
“If the head of the household wants to answer it, that’s the way it comes in, or if the whole house gets to do it, that’s the nature of the beast. We can’t control it,” Pleas said. “If that’s the way you run your household, that’s the way the survey will be answered.”
More than 1,300 surveys were mailed to homeowners. Some CAC members went door to door in Kekaha, gathering an extra 75 surveys.
In the end, a total of more than 400 surveys made it back to the hands of CAC members.
Pleas said the community helped the CAC come up with 60 project ideas. The CAC then combined the 60 ideas into the 25 items in the survey. At the bottom of the survey residents could write any new ideas.
After the CAC processed the surveys, more discussion and community input went into the final recommendations.
There were originally five CAC meetings scheduled, but its members decided to hold three more, Pleas said.
“The public had a pretty good input into the process,” Pleas said, adding that during the meetings any member of the public could raise a hand and immediately make comments.
County Executive Assistant Beth Tokioka sat on the CAC board as a non-voting member and adviser. She attended all but one of the eight meetings and said the committee followed the recommendations of the survey.
“It really was the committee deciding, and they did that in a very democratic process,” Tokioka said. “Everything was done within the meetings.”
Tokioka said the minutes from all the meetings are posted online and the community can verify, from those minutes, what went on during the meetings.
Funding management
Pleas said managing the HCB funds through a CAC is probably one of the better processes for the distribution of such money.
“The funds are held by an entity that has federal and state laws that make sure it can’t be scattered or spent without checks and balances. It’s a governmental committee which by law has sunshine law,” he said.
He said the Kekaha Community Association wanted “the money in their hands.”
Pleas said the county attorney, however, repeatedly told the CAC that giving the money to a private organization cannot be done legally without an ordinance passed by the county council. “The CAC never voted to follow that path.”
“I feel much safer with that being done that way than by having a private organization or non-profit organization spending the money how they feel like it,” Pleas said.
Another concern brought up during the June 23 meeting was that the money is sitting in county coffers without collecting interest.
The funds, however, are collecting interest, but they go, by law, to the county’s general fund.
“The CAC needs to go before the county council and get an ordinance passed that the interest from the HCB fund be given to the HCB fund,” said Pleas, adding that the administration has indicated that if such an ordinance passes, the CAC would likely receive retroactive interest.
Pleas said he would like that the interest collected be used to fund CAC meetings.
Using HCB money to fund Capital Improvement Projects that should already be government’s job brought “very long” discussions to CAC meetings, Pleas said.
“How long have we been waiting for Kekaha Gardens Park? That’s 30 years,” Pleas said.
If the HCB funds are not used for the projects, they may never get done. And if they ever do, the county would have the final word on the design, according to Pleas.
By using HCB funds, the projects will “definitely get done,” he said.
Next steps
Pleas said the list has been approved. “What we have now is the draft report to the mayor,” he said.
The final report will include the list of recommendations, with a detailed summary of all the meetings, the estimated cost of each project, plus the future goals of the CAC.
Once the mayor approves the list, the CAC will have to go through the council to create ordinances to implement projects.
Pleas said after the ordinances pass, he estimates three months of preliminary designs, six months to obtain permits, nine months to put out bids, and about one year of construction.
“If you don’t set it by ordinance it could take 45 years,” he said, adding that he plans to suggest a timeline to be set by ordinance. “I know how this process works, and I’m not going to sit around.”
Tokioka said the price tag on the list of recommendations comes “pretty close” to the HCB total amount of funds. If the administration gives the CAC different numbers, then some projects may have to be prioritized.
The CAC will meet again at 6 p.m., July 19, at the Kekaha Neighborhood Center to approve and present the final report to Carvalho.
“It should be a good, lively discussion,” Tokioka said.
Visit www.kauai.gov/publicworks/solidwaste for more information.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
