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minutes 10-27-99Page 10 of 48
<br />have our own lab here that the vast majority of all our testing would be done at. It’s just you have some
<br />obscure tests that need to be performed and it has certain specialized equipment, particularly as time
<br />goes on and EPA comes down with more and more requirements, these tests become really obscure and
<br />require very expensive equipment. So I think that’s what I’m really, kind of, referring to is some of the
<br />more specialized testing and we only have one chemist. If our chemist, for some reason, gets in an
<br />automobile accident, or for some other reason, is going to be out long term, we’re in trouble right now.
<br />If we were combined, well, perhaps somebody from Water could shift over and help out a while. That
<br />sort of sharing is what I’m more referring to.
<br />RAY: Is it totally unrealistic, if the departments are separate, to have shared laboratory functions?
<br />Private laboratories are contracted out, aren’t they, to do certain things? In other words, if you’re still a
<br />separate division, whichever way it would go, is there a reason why your laboratory, or their laboratory,
<br />couldn’t perform tests on -
<br />BOUCHER: Each other.
<br />RAY: I’m just trying to understand that.
<br />PAVAO: May I make a comment? Laboratories that we contract with in the mainland, because they’re
<br />commercial laboratories, they’re divided into separate areas. Our laboratory, here, is geared only for the
<br />testing of domestic water. Now, if we were to look at testing sewerage, we may need to isolate an area to
<br />do so. It’s not saying we can’t do it, but we’re not geared to do those types of tests now, the way we
<br />operate, because the entire lab is opened and geared only for domestic water testing.
<br />RAY: Okay. Sorry. Go ahead, Peter.
<br />BOUCHER: Beyond that, the recyclable water distribution, I think, has been touched on already.
<br />Increasingly, we’re moving toward re-use, particularly in Kona, and as I start the planning for it right
<br />now, which we’ve been doing for the last few years, I’m rapidly discovering this is a whole new animal.
<br />This water distribution is quite different than wastewater collection and treatment, and there would,
<br />certainly, be a benefit there. Although, looking from Milton’s perspective, perhaps some agreement
<br />could be worked out there also, whereas we handed the water over to them at our plant boundary and
<br />then they become responsible for distribution of some sort. Irregardless, I put here ‘paradigm of the
<br />water cycle management’. Again, Jiro talked about it. The whole concept of what we’re doing is looking
<br />at it as a whole water. We’re treating it from coming up out of the ground, taking it, using it, and
<br />ultimately re-using, and disposing of it. Can be thought about in a holistic fashion, in one respect. And
<br />last, but certainly not least, I put ‘reducing the politics in decision making’ which, as many of you are
<br />aware, is a concern. It’s often very difficult to accomplish even some basic things. Witness the recent
<br />attempts to get the sewer exemption for private extensions passed through Council. Had every reason in
<br />the world to remove the exemption but the decision wasn’t taken.
<br />Disadvantages, again, echoing Milton, while the chance may be slight, there is always the opportunity
<br />for cross-contamination. We have some seriously hazardous materials, if you will, and from an interest
<br />of trying to maintain the integrity of his system, I can certainly understand his concerns in that regard.
<br />The more serious issues, getting down to the nitty gritty, is what do we do with the debt load of all our
<br />capital facilities. Milton kind of talked about this. I think he is of the understanding that our operations
<br />are subsidized by the General Fund, when currently they are not. We are strictly on Sewer User Fees as
<br />of this year, although we may be going in for an increase in rates because the administrative portion of
<br />that was eliminated last year. But we feel our operations are funded by the sewer fees. However, the
<br />debt load is not, and that’s not insignificant. I don’t know the total amount, but I would suspect it’s in
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