Unlike his last omnibus bond authorization request before a prior county council, it was full steam ahead Tuesday for Mayor Billy Kenoi’s request to borrow $61 million for 23 projects countywide.
Unlike his last omnibus bond authorization request before a prior county council, it was full steam ahead Tuesday for Mayor Billy Kenoi’s request to borrow $61 million for 23 projects countywide.
The Finance Committee, meeting into the evening, unanimously agreed to forward Kenoi’s bond package to the full County Council with a positive recommendation.
The 8-0 vote, with Puna Councilman Zendo Kern absent, came after South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Brenda Ford, noting there were no projects proposed for her district, added three more at a total cost of $494,000. Her fellow council members reluctantly backed Ford’s request, with Kern, Puna Councilman Greggor Ilagan and Hilo Councilman J Yoshimoto voting no.
About a dozen members of the public testified about the bond issue and different projects on the list, with none opposing borrowing the money. Kona projects such as a $9 million upgrade for Old Kona Airport Park and $500,000 for Kealakehe Regional Park drew the largest crowds. The smallest proposed bond allocation — $40,000 for the tiny Kaipalaoa Landing park — drew the most testimony in Hilo.
Former county planning director Chris Yuen praised the inclusion of $100,000 to purchase the Papaikou Mill Beach trail, as well as the bond authorization in general. The county is buying an easement to the shoreline after tremendous community uproar about a possible lack of access.
“This proposed trail is just one of many worthwhile investments in our future,” Yuen said.
County administration advised Council it’s a good time to borrow, and the county’s fund balance, the accumulation of revenues minus expenditures, is at its highest level ever at $37.3 million as of June 30. The bonds would raise annual debt service — the payments on the bonds — to 13.4 percent of total annual expenditures, below the 15 percent ceiling recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association.
Kenoi has cited the need to improve county facilities that have been neglected for many years and provide new infrastructure in rapidly growing areas such as Puna.
“Now’s that time,” Kenoi told Stephens Media Hawaii last month. “We’re committed to a very aggressive schedule. We’re not going to ask for authorization and create an expectation without getting it done in a timely fashion.”
The largest amount of the requested bond authorization, $20 million, would go for a new park on county-owned property in Pahoa Village. The first phase of a district park in Waimea would receive $2.5 million, as would the Honokaa rodeo arena. There’s $1.5 million to replace the clubhouse at Hilo Municipal Golf Course and $1 million for a park in Alii Kai subdivision in Kona.
Ford added $250,000 for a children’s playground at Naalehu Park, $150,000 for a water main extension at Kahuku Park and $94,000 for an Ocean View park-and-ride lot.
Other projects include road extensions and repairs, new and renovated playgrounds, upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and repair for neglected parks facilities and money for sewer improvements and land purchases.
The bond request is Kenoi’s third since taking office in 2008, following a $56 million authorization for a variety of projects in 2011 and a $31 million authorization for a police radio system upgrade last year.
The $56 million bond authorization became controversial after some members of the former county council accused Kenoi of asking for the money in time to get new projects on the ground to bolster his re-election bid. The council delayed the authorization more than six months before approving it.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.