HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0341.010 1996-1998 u8 lb' 87 1:'. aJ $ 808 929 8919 AECOS Leh of HI. ppl
AECOS LABORATORY OF HAWAII
Frame 10 Center • 75-5586 Ololi Rd. Suite 207 . Itailua-Kona, HI 96740
Telephone (8081 3 29-84 1 1 • Fax (808) 329-6343
f)6/l5/97
Mr. lohn Aay
County Councilmen- Kohala
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI %720
Sl1B1ECT: HAWAU C,OIIN'IY CONTRACT SUSPENSION AND IT'S IMPACT ON THIS
SMALL BUSINESS.
Aloha Councilman Ray.
I want to describe to rho County of Hnuaii the impact oC the decision ro immediately suspend convacu
with private sector businesee has had on my pattiwlar business.
AECOS Iainratory of Hawaii began in a small shed in Holualoa in 1991. The business has grown steadily
end in 1996 a stau of Ute art analytical chemistry facility was established in dowvloun Kailua-Kona. The
swpe of the work is u CoUowc: wastewater compliance ksting requirod for our resort dec(inalio¢s es well
es small wastewaer trwtaseN plmts such as those along Alii Drive, drinking water wmpUance les¢ng
for small w.rrv purveyors and oearshorc and odsltore marine pollulion monitoring. All three of these
acnr,uts are mandated by Stare of HewaU Thpar~eat of Health aM arc under the Fedcrel umbrella of Ne
Emmoamemal Proration Agency. Private contracts iwolve dye testing, Uopdwaur compliance design
plans, Private baseline nearshore monitoring, sm•emI school and student projects tmrolving eavironmemal
monitoring and marine education, catchment tank surveitlaace, hotel water features and grneral
information distribution to the public corarndng water quality and envLoanrental issues of diverse
sublect5 are among our tuks.
We submitted low bid Cor the NPDES permit mmimring for the County of Hawai in 1995.The RFP was
publicizsd statewide. Tlda pemdt allows Uie wunry b depose of the !reeled a®utnt from tlu'ee
~ wastewater ueamtrnt plants (Hilo, Kuhtimeno and Papaikou7 into the ocean This permit requires monthly
,y -apes Doan menimriag aCshnre of the wastewalu treamrent pW
W and alw an erztensive [ozicity testing
i ~ :o(the waalewereT e9lrmat. We signed this three year wntract in good (aitl4 compUed ui[h the Gooneys
T - _~instrrance requirements aM purchased regtrircd EPA eapeosive wmputcr softwvre all m put the County
-'-into complimce with EPA.This is a large oontrem far us wmprising 35-00%of our monthly gross
_ C1 income.
r__
Suddenty on 05/29/97 wt rcoeive vtia facsimile the message that om mnoact has beau suspended.
G~ Apparently our services stem to have been per[orroed custornarily and histonwlly by civil service
I .y
L, - cmpkry~ep somewhere. Not on the Big Island.Thm aMr two woks of phone rolls with variow wrrlliming
( i ~ opinions from a generous sprialdng of County employees we tearer that we are not even Boing to be
-7 V Q compensated for the work eubmitlM and inwiced in early May bJore the contract suspenmon.
U To be treated in such a utannu is uawmprthWSible end outrageous. We cwrenUy are not sure of the long
C7J
term impact this suspension will have nn this burinpa. The immediate impaq was to lay off tun
experienced and educated personnel that provide the bulk of the expertise needed for this DrojafThc
financial impact is severe rnough; howwer, the pychological impact is overwhelming. There were do
personal phone rolls from the County personnel expressing anything, much less conwm over rtes actions
that had ocemred. The lines oCeommuniwfion seemed to be blocked among the County people as well.
AECOS LABORATORY OF HAWAII
Frame 10 Center • 75.5586 Ololi Rd. Suite 207 • I<ailua-Kona, HI 96740
Telephone (808) 329-8411 • Fax (808) 329-6343
This, was to uc, the more awry of events. Where U the Itadershlp we have elocled and appointed1 And I W
where is the State end thew concem7 Leadership as Depumunt Chiefs or COry0181e Cowteel could have at Isi!R, i~J.
lean made some rolls of reaanuance or rympathy or something. There were only a taw more that aoo 1 r, C
cootracta Jos dump all these aoatrae[ Iaberees and businesses wilhwt a word oFCOacern7 ~ ' 'vr''... L G:
The County aiU soon be out oCwmplianw with Ure permits being that no one in the County can pro.tide C. TOI
rhea wrvi~ and ac soon as the Stau aM the Federal gowernmenk arc rwafi W of aonwmpliancc, Tl,
severe! a~eaU may happen. Om being a hdty fine rosy M: imposed at a daily nu upon the County' and FLE?. I i Br,Q~, r)(~i i j - 7 I~:J J
We sxoad a probable withdrawal of the permits authorizing the disPOCa! of the tBlucnt. - ~ -
Also sorry to say that when or howevv Ibis issue of privitizalion is resolved that the conGdentt in the
Couory as a bucinesc partner sill be almost nonexictant. We have purposely stayed ow of State wnuacu
for at various renso~ d now whatever our future is here eb a busineses, [doubt tha onding to a
County 12PP will be .at future.
Mahelo.
Karen Kleiq Dim:Inr