The committee ended up unanimously approving the plan. But some council members worried about giving up powers currently vested in the county Department of Public Works.
By NANCY COOK LAUER
Stephens Media
A mishmash of newsracks cluttering Alii Drive sidewalks may soon be cleaned up, thanks to a program by the Kailua Village Business Improvement District that was advanced Tuesday by the Hawaii County Council’s Finance Committee.
The changes to county code, once approved in two future votes by the council, will allow improvement districts countywide to create megaracks that will fit numerous tourist publications as well as daily and weekly newspapers.
In Kailua-Kona, the first district to participate in the program, each publisher will pay the improvement district a $50 annual fee per rack. The program is modeled after one in Honolulu.
Those publishers insisting on keeping their own racks will be subject to removal of their racks and fines of up to $500, according to the improvement district.
But most publishers are already on board with the program, and some, such as West Hawaii Today, participated in the planning of the program, said improvement district Executive Director Debbie Baker.
“There needs to be a mechanism to encourage 100 percent participation,” Baker said of the fines.
The committee ended up unanimously approving the plan. But some council members worried about giving up powers currently vested in the county Department of Public Works.