Requests for hundreds of thousands of dollars for equipment for the county Department of Environmental Management led to frustration at Wednesday’s County Council meeting.
Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder introduced six resolutions authorizing the mayor to enter five-year lease agreements for new equipment to manage waste at county waste management facilities. But council members balked almost immediately at the associated costs, which totaled nearly $850,000 per year.
Of the six resolutions, five were for leasing trucks or trailers for Environmental Management: a $109,000-a-year proposal for a semi truck and two trailer-mounted bins, a nearly $170,000-per-year request for three semi trucks, a request for four walking-floor trailers for more than $175,000 a year, three boom trucks for $165,600 a year, and four 48-foot compacting refuse trailers for $210,000 a year.
The sixth resolution was for a $37,200-per-year deal to lease a roll-off trailer and dewatering bin to dehydrate “liquid and solid slurries generated from sewer maintenance activities.”
Eric Takamura, deputy division chief for the county Wastewater Division, said that last request is necessary because the county must dispose of the sludge from East Hawaii wastewater facilities at the West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill, and that being able to dehydrate the slurry beforehand will lighten those loads, allowing more to be disposed of over fewer trips.
But because of the long-term nature of the five-year leases, many council members were frustrated that the matter was not discussed at a committee level before going to the full council.
“This is a shitshow,” said Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz. “We have got to do this sort of discussion in committee.”
County Finance Director Deanna Sako said most similar lease-related resolutions get waived through committee hearings as a matter of course, but Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy said the council was simply not prepared for a full discussion of the matter Wednesday.
In particular, Environmental Director Ramzi Mansour said that, because of current supply chain disruptions and the reality of living on an island, the county won’t even get most of the equipment for about a year. Lee Loy noted that the ramifications of the resolutions will outlast many of the council members’ terms.
On the other hand, Mansour said the requested trucks and trailers are intended to replace a fleet of aging and decrepit vehicles.
Some of Environmental Management’s trucks are from 2005 and 2006, he said, but others are from as far back as the late 1990s. Mansour said two of the department’s trucks broke down Wednesday on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway.
Lee Loy said the truck resolutions need to be acted on quickly so that the county does not run afoul of state Department of Health regulations.
After a long discussion, the council ultimately voted to pass all five of the truck- and trailer-related resolutions, although one of those resolutions was briefly voted down before the council reconsidered it.
The dewatering bin resolution, however, was postponed until the next full council meeting.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.