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01/04.99 )10? 15:07 FAX 808326,5697 - JW I-X3.1-' 9'? 3u: 7-f9U5HF!USH :"j- vZd, ~ ~'f I~ ~ January 3, 19999 ?~.?~p~,.,~,• Honorable Mr. Curtis Tyler Councilman County of Hawaii Fax: 969-3291 Dear Curtis: Alo'-ia! While I did attend the Council Mc-:.ting on 12/29/98 at the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kona, th> combination of my infer- ior hearing and the poor acoustic; and FA system in the meet- ing resulted in-no ability on my ;.art to follow the proceedings.. After reading about the meeting i.i, r_he West Hawaii Today issue of 12/30/98, I thought it might b> instructive to recite some of the basics followed by busines:es in considering Capital investments. Basically, running the County is i.milar to a business; tax income is used for expenses and, if any remains, the rest is for Capital investments (or impro'-eraents). As a 12-year resi- dent'with a long history in bus nr:ss, it seems to me there is no effort made in the County to look at the cost-benefit aspect of expenditures. A multitude of a-_w subdivisions are author- ized wil1Y-nilly imposing intrasti-cture obligations, yet exis- ting "old' subdivisions remain ar•,.:.:,upied. Why increase dhat inventory) (As an aside, why a v,,--ve sub-standard and inade- quate developer furnished infra. 1cture? Is there some un- announced benefit to th•a resaae,tr or taxpayers or County officials?) "There is a plethora of monument.,:] ^oofs attributable to plan- ning driven by politics and gree=d instead of real needs. Some projects, such as the showerles:; Bona gymnasium and a sewage disposal plant without effluent i!)!tL, come to mind. Regarding roads, Palani Road ar.`.(i . ;i.miNani Drive are two bad examples of using local "access sC as "Thoroughfares" The many driveways, and blind i.nZ-<,:ections, lack of shoulder areas and walkways on both of t'aese narrow roads clearly convey the impression that neither the St to nor the County planners and administrations car•> anythin bout safety of the citizens residing in those areas. It seems to me that the planninly h?ald be constrained by im- mutable guidelines specifying mi.niraum standards for infra- structure for any development. Net, roads should be built only to satisfy nee s, not merely to benatit construction companies or their unio employees. The Can tal improvements should be judged on the basis of cost v3. 1=-,t-.fit to the tax-payer.