Letters for Monday, January 16, 2012

• School buses and competitive bidding • Bike safety rules

needed for multi-use path • Help keep our beaches safe and

beautiful •

School buses and competitive bidding

Regarding the article, “Taken for a ride: School bus business may get new competition” (The Garden Island: Jan. 4), five years without a contract renewal is, respectfully, irresponsible insofar as best business practices are concerned – competitive bidding being its cornerstone.

It can mean the difference, in both the public and private sectors, of funding jobs, and jobs are critical to our economy. Surely an honest oversight, but a very serious one.

It invites federal scrutiny for misappropriation. And the spikes in operating costs throughout those five years draw a lot of attention.

A federal audit/investigation may start out with a single entity, but that single audit/investigation always branches out to other public entities, then private entities.

Next thing you know, they are looking for price fixing, nepotism, cronyism and the like.

Even to the most innocent and honest, this can be an inconvenience, slowing down the business of public administration. 

There should be mandatory contract renewal at least every two years through competitive bidding – with the routes revised to attract mainland companies. (No worries – though “mainland,” they always hire local.). 

Mandatory quarterly internal audits should be instituted not only in the public sector, but also the private sector, with the public auditors given access to all data from the private sector having to do with public contracts awarded to them. They should be “transparent.”

The appropriate, responsible parties should be educated in best business practices concerning watching over hard-earned tax monies from the kama‘aina, and the importance of competitive bidding.

We cannot afford these errors.

Christopher Schaefer, Kapa‘a

Bike safety rules needed for multi-use path

The Department of Parks and Recreation has characterized the major problem with the multi-use path as being lax etiquette, alluding to bikers’ behavior.

Etiquette reflects one’s personal standards, but the danger their riding style poses is actually a safety issue for which the county is responsible.

One consistently sees behavior that no responsible official would tolerate.

While there have been no reported collisions, it’s a matter of time before both a pedestrian and perhaps the offending biker will sustain injuries that will raise the question of why the dangerous situation was permitted to exist.

Questions by the attorney for an injured party will include: Who permitted the unregulated use of the path that led to the inevitable and predictable injury? Were there controls that could have prevented a pedestrian from being run down from behind by a speeding bicycle with no warning of proximity?

Cyclists seem to enjoy dazzling a surprised walker with a display of speed as they zip past unannounced.

Having no injuries to date is due to the wariness by local walkers, not by care exercised by cyclists. The likely victim will be an unwary tourist.

A mourning cross placed beside the path by a grieving family will be a grim statement of government’s disregard for public safety.

 Irrespective of which supervisor will be found negligent, the county’s liability will be easily proven by a plaintiff seeking damages, probably punitive damages, as this is a known hazard easily fixed by a bike bell ordinance and enforcement, saving a life cheaply.

Dan Riley, Kapa‘a

Help keep our beaches safe and beautiful

I moved here in 1973 from O‘ahu to raise my children on the Garden Island. It is beautiful and peaceful, and the people are so kind to us. It’s been a wonderful 38 years.

We started going to Kealia Beach with my sisters and friends and all their children.

We would park, not on the sand, but nearby in the parking area, and we would carry our things to the spot where we would spend the day.

Some days only a few families and surfers would be there. Our island has grown, so the beaches are more crowded. So we all should help keep the beaches beautiful and safe.

Now people park everywhere on the sand. Dogs are not on leashes. I was on the beach the other day when two trucks parked on each side of me. So rude! One truck left the engine running the whole time.

Please park in the parking area. Carry your things to the beach. There’s hardly any room on weekends with cars, trucks and tarps and dogs. Where can our children run and play?

There was a dog named Jack at the beach with no leash. He kept trying to fight other dogs not on leashes. His owner kept saying how nice he was. Why is no one checking the leash law?

Remember when the beach still had room to sit without the fear of being run over? It was beautiful. Now it looks like a big parking lot. Please think about it.

Rachael Hawelu, Kapa‘a