Council pursues creative funding measures

LIHU’E — The County Council yesterday approved two measures aimed at funding

needed capital improvement projects.

One is a $28.5 million bond issue. The

other, a resolution calling for three state agencies to pick up the cost of

various projects.

The Council is pursuing a creative funding route because

Gov. Ben Cayetano has said he will not release any funds for public improvement

projects on the Neighbor Islands due to budget constraints.

The resolution,

which was introduced by Council Chair Ron Kouchi, asks the state Legislature to

support a plan that would shift responsibility for $2.1 million of Kaua’i

capital improvement projects to three state agencies.

The measue has no

force of law and merely expresses the sentiment of the Council on the

issue.

Councilmembers said the state Department of Education, the state

Department of Transportation and the state Department of Land and Natural

Resources should cover the cost for various improvements within their

jurisdictions.

But some state officials have objected to the resolution,

saying use is not restricted to their jurisdiction, that the facilities are

shared with the general public.

The resolution calls for:

* The state

Department of Education to fund the installation of lights and a rubber track

at the Antone Vidinha Stadium at a cost of $500,000, installation of lights at

Hanapepe Stadium at a cost of $400,000 and the renovation of the Waimea High

School Swimming Pool at a cost of $600,000.

Another $700,000 in state funds

also would be available for the installation of lights at the Hanapepe Stadium,

according to county officials.

The county contends DOE should cover the

costs for these projects because they are used primarily for DOE football

games, track meets and swim meets.

* The state Department of

Transportation and state Department of Land and Natural Resources to fund the

renovation of portions of Koke’e Road at a cost of $600,000.

Mayor

Kusaka’s Administration said the DOT should maintain the road because it is

part of the state roadway system.

Kusaka also said DLNR should pay for its

share of the maintenance of the road because it leads to the Koke’e State

Park.

In the case of the DOE facilities, Kapa’a resident Robert Measel Jr.

said the state agency has an obligation to fund the work.

“This element of

the DOE — the swimming pool, the activity ball fields – these belong to the

state, and directly or indirectly,” Measel said. “And they have an obligation

and responsibility and are accountable to us people to maintain those.”

In

other matters, the Council approved floating up to $28.5 million in bonds for

13 construction projects, including the new headquarters for the Kauai Police

Department, the county Civil Defense Office and the county Prosecutor’s

Office.

The largest of the proposed projects, the new headquarters, would

be built at an estimated cost of $15 million.

The county was forced to

float the bond for this facility because state funds are not available to build

it, county officials said.

The county is floating the bonds to build the

facility and upgrade others.

Some of the big projects to be funded through

the bond include:

* Lihu’e Civic Center. $1.4 million for repairs the

Federal Emergency Management Agency determined was not related damage by

Hurricane Iniki.

* Kekaha Landfill. $1.4 million.

* A computer system

for the county’s Real Property Tax Division. $1.9 million.

* Project

contingency funds.

* Work related to American with Disabilities Act. $2.3

million.

The amounts for the projects could be higher or lower, depending

on the interest rates related to the bonds, county officials have said.

Kusaka, James Tokioka, who heads the County Council’s Finance Committee, and

Deputy Finance Director Wallace Rezentes Jr. are currently in San Francisco

meeting with Fitch Investors Service to determine the county’s bond

rating.