1999-10-27 Charter Commission Minutes

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minutes 10-27-99Page 19 of 48 HERKES: Most? I didn’t know that. Most is not - SANTANGELO: The same reason you have your bathroom elsewhere in your house and your dining room sits next to your kitchen. It’s just two different things. The point is that we have to look at the practicality of it all, so again, I don’t even think this should be discussed here, but we’re on it. You start recycling water. You have a lot of trouble recycling water except for during drought periods in Hilo. I mean, let’s just get real. And then you’ve got to haul it up a mountain. They’re just two different problems. I go back to environmental, and again that’s why I say it’s administrative. Frankly, in my opinion, and I said so when I was on the Council, the expense of taking care of this waste should be an expense to the entire county because we all enjoy the environmental impact of sewering, but this county, and the administrative part of this county, and the people have yet to decide whether we’re going to sewer or not. You have a lot of problems in that area, and I really, really caution us to even get involved. Again, I think it’s at the family feud stage, and it really shouldn’t be here. Billing’s different. SUMADA: Mr. Chairman, may I respond? RAY: Sure. SUMADA: Commissioner, I don’t know all the history behind how the Charter was established, but in my view, our island, at one point in time , was of a size that required government to be not as complex as it needed to be, so that we could combine all the different agencies that are within Public Works. At one point in time, wastewater and solid waste were not major issues. Before EPA came about with their big role in the nation, those divisions within the Public Works were not major issues, or major concerns. But now, because of Federal requirements and the mandates we have to face, they are, and we have to deal with them. So, I think it’s like a normal evolution that we’re going through now, that from a functional standpoint, and Peter touched on it too, is it practical to have the diverse number of divisions within Public Works under one chief, or one agency head, and are there different mechanisms to separate it out to become more efficient, and to be more responsive to the public needs? SANTANGELO: I don’t argue that point. That’s a really good point, and you’re exactly right. In most municipalities, solid waste and wastewater are not part of Public Works. They’re their own environmental division, but putting it in a semi-autonomous agency that can barely - I mean, we don’t have problems with water on this island. We have problem with money getting to it. Milton happens to be a friend, and he did good things for our community and other peoples’ community, but if anybody can be criticized, it’s Water, for not getting enough water. We need to drill more wells, hook more into it, and they can’t. Taking this, because it doesn’t belong with Public Works, and I agree, and moving it somewhere where we take it completely out of any ability to subsidize it, or to help it, from the General Fund, and putting it in something that’s totally self-contained. Gee, I really wonder if that’s wise. SUMADA: In response to those comments, Commissioner, I think it’s just a matter of perspective. You feel very strongly about what you just said, and having water stay in the mode they’re in, however, if you want it to be, it can be combined. It’s just a matter of perspective, and when you talk about treating water as a resource, on this side of the island, maybe there isn’t a great concern, but on the other side of the island, you know, there is a great need, or rather it can be sold as a commodity as opposed to selling clean water to irrigate a golf course. SANTANGELO: Sure, and Jiro, again, I didn’t want to get into the argument. file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 10-27-99.html7/1/2011