I urge the council to support the 56 million bond float on Wednesday. There is a pervasive opinion against the county spending money in an economic downturn. These individuals believe the county should wait until the economy rebounds in two to three years.
This stance is absolutely ridiculous on several levels. For starters, bids on county projects have come in much lower than expected (e.g Makalei Fire Station, Ane Keohokalole Highway). Contractors have submitted very competitive bids due to downturn in the construction industry. Nevertheless, this likely won’t last forever. Taxpayers will have to cover these increased costs if projects, such as the La’aloa Avenue Extension, are delayed.
The rehabilitation of the Kalanianaole Avenue sewer line is also included in this bond float. This sewer line could fail at any time. 2.5 million gallons per day of sewage would be dumped into the beautiful Hilo Bay as a result. Hawaii County is facing fines of $25,000 a day if this happens.
The recent tsunami which hit Kona is another wakeup call. Residents of Ali’i Drive need more mauka/makai connector roads (e.g La’aloa Avenue Extension) to safely evacuate this area.
I firmly believe these projects will likely cost more if they are delayed. In addition, the public’s health and safety will be put at risk. However, these allegedly fiscally responsible individuals would rather be penny-wise, pound-foolish and continue to let our infrastructure deteriorate.
Update: The council approved Bill 311 draft 2 7-2 today (Councilmen Pilago and Yagong voted against this bond float).
Related item:
Council gives nod to $56M bond, but not easily
April 18th, 2011 at 6:42 PM
Always better to spend capital infrastructure money at the lowest points in the economy when the contractors are hungriest. Money better spent.
Many folks simply don’t understand Economics, Aaron, and that is the real problem. Their opinions are born of ignorance, and in today’s world it is considered bad form to call somebody on their ignorance.
April 18th, 2011 at 7:06 PM
Hi Aaron,
Happy 2,000 blog comment!
I’m not sure where I stand on the 56 million dollar bond float.
I can see both sides of the argument.