• Thanking our fellow officers • A $2.1M cleanup is unnecessary • Taxpayers need a break Thanking our fellow officers I would like to give a sincere thank you to the Kaua‘i Police Department for its extremely quick response and
• Thanking our fellow officers • A $2.1M cleanup is unnecessary • Taxpayers need a break
Thanking our fellow officers
I would like to give a sincere thank you to the Kaua‘i Police Department for its extremely quick response and peaceful resolution to a situation which could have escalated to a much bigger problem.
I arrived on island to find squatters residing in what should have been an empty house.
They responded within minutes and tactfully diffused the situation. They were courteous and professional and there when I needed them.
I am sure they rarely get the appreciation they deserve. Thanks again.
Leo Vanderbosch, Kapa‘a
A $2.1M cleanup is unnecessary
On April 12, TGI ran a front page article “County begins paying for $2.1M cleanup of Puhi Metals Site.”
Wow. Did anyone on Kaua‘i read this? If so, where is the outpouring of disbelief and horror. In the absence of such public reactions, I can only assume that the good people of Kaua‘i are accustomed to such blunders and that no fiscal transgression is a surprise.
Councilwoman Yukimura stated, “…we failed to properly manage our contract with the vendor.” But that’s only part of the problem.
Even though there was a lengthy process (1994-2002) of planning, bidding and permitting, why would anyone in their right mind believe or accept a report or recommendation that stated, “… this project will not have significant environmental effects.”
During the 30-day period of public comment, was there not one citizen or public official who recognized the potential hazards of this project? Even in 1997, toxic waste was not a foreign concept. This is not rocket science. This is common sense, i.e., metal disposal = toxic waste.
The lack of proper oversight will be a costly lesson. Those elected officials who dropped the ball are not the ones who will pick up the $2.1M tab for the cleanup.
Exactly which part of the county’s budget will feel the effect, due to the short fall of funds, because of the price tag for this cleanup?
Exactly what is the county doing to assure Kaua‘i taxpayers that someone is watching over their money? It’s simply not good enough to state “We can’t afford to waste…”
In addition to the obvious solutions of more attention to detail, being responsible and doing one’s job, perhaps it’s time to change the way our county government is managed and consider a city manager.
Michael Diamant, Kalaheo
Taxpayers need a break
The packed EIS scoping meeting (April 11, 2013) resounded with “no” horizontal drilling into sacred Wai‘ale‘ale.
Everyone, at least 100, repeated: The public doesn’t want this. Kaua‘i Department of Water refuses to accept the will of the people.
Again Kaua‘i County acts like a spendthrift with big taxpayer money for numerous consultants, the facilitator, Roxanne MacDougall, expert at censorship, as well, having the driller from Mears Group, Inc. Did he fly in from Texas on the taxpayer dime?
We’ve got furloughs, pay cuts, sequestration. Still, the county of Kaua‘i continues milking the teat of the taxpayer.
Taxpayers of Kaua‘i hardly can afford $630 a month for preschool, rent and utilities hovering above $2,000 a month, being slammed with an increase in taxes on gas and registration fees for their cars/trucks.
How will the administration of Kaua‘i County hear the taxpayers as they convene in the $6 million refurbished Historic County building?
Taxpayers sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic in the Kapa‘a Crawl or the highway congestion going to the West side as they go work at least two jobs to provide the unlimited cash flow to the county. Is something wrong with this picture?
Bonnie P. Bator, Anahola
