2006-07-20 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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Mr. Sakaguchi asked what would happen if the County said it was not going to build any more, that it was going to lease —would it work if whoever builds the buildings is to take care of the maintenance? Mr. Kajikawa said he believed so and that this was a good idea, as they would not have to worry about it. He said they had a schedule of all the buildings and when they were due for certain repairs or maintenance, such as painting or roof changing. However, funds were taken out of his Division and maintenance has fallen back. At one point they were behind 15 years. Now they are over 20 years behind. If they had someone who they could lease from and who would take care of everything, that would be good. Mr. Sakaguchi said that many departments do not know how much they are spending, especially if they don't take care of their own expenses such as electricity. He said that many universities are getting out of the dormitory business and instead contracting out. It costs more, but it reduces liability and is included in the current service. Mr. Kajikawa said that when the County owns or builds, the first five years are good because there is no maintenance requirement. After five to six years, maintenance comes up. The County Building was hardly maintained, which is why they are having problems now. They encountered asbestos in the 1990's and if they had taken care of it then, it wouldn't be as big a problem as it is now. Mr. Sakaguchi said that the permitting function is important, as it sets certain living standards and is a crucial responsibility. He said that at one point there was talk about allowing licensed architects and engineers to do it. Mr. Kajikawa said that is allowed in certain situations, but for the most part he does not trust this would be good. Some architects rubber -stamp things to get income. Some do not even visit the site but will stamp approval. He knows of a situation where an inspector found the foundation floating, but the architect approved it. However, on some big projects he would allow the architect or engineer to do the inspection. An example was the police radio tower, in which the construction was fast - tracked. The contractor was allowed to get a structural engineer to do the inspection and send the report to him. But it needs to be under his control so he knows what is happening. Mr. Sakaguchi asked why architects who rubber -stamp do not behave professionally, and Mr. Kajikawa said it is because they have not been sued yet. The Chair asked whether the Building Division has specific personnel looking for illegal structures. Mr. Kajikawa said not at this point. The inspector of that district should be taking care of that. Last month 330 building permit applications came in, and he feels that since people are paying for permits, they should be serviced first. Going after illegal structures is secondary. He is hopeful that with their new inspector coming in, they can do more. Some of the illegal structures are nicely done by people who just don't want to go through the system and be bothered with it. If later on they want to get a permit, the permit fee is doubled. They do not realize that Hawaii County is one of the cheapest in the State as far as permits. There is also an amnesty program to avoid the doubled permit fee. 11