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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0711.241 2008-2010ris a o p POLL, Connect to your community online. On the site today: UNSPENT MONEY The state economic development de- partment has spent _\ only $446,964 and created 12 jobs with its $37.3 mil- lion in federal stim- ulus funds. What do _ you think? CSI.- 4flTflC 75. NATURE'S FILTER Green Machine makes waste- water suitable for irrigation ISLAND LIFE Adverti SONDAY The Honolulu Adverti Sri MAY 24, 2010 > CALL 538 - NEWS TO SUBSCRIBE11 75( OAHU, $1 NEIGHBOR ISLANDS > STATE EDfrION NIRO DBEDT slow to use s Administrator blames sluggish procurement processes, complexity of energy reform BY SEAN HAO Advertiser Staff Writer Hawai' received $13 billion of fed- eral stimulus money as of March 30 SENIORS, DISABLED 1 , • &1cc l f Hi lo Publi Lib 4/47 ((( 300 Waianuenue Ave. Hilo, HI 96720 -2447 MAMA UP NEXT Rainbow Wahine crush 5 homers, Texas Tech to win regional title SPORTS and has spent $584 million. The cash was credited with saving or creating 2,566 jobs in the first quarter. Congress approved the stimulus money in February 2009 and intend- ed it to be used on "shovel- ready" projects to help jump -start the na- tion's stalled economy. Excluding en- titlement programs such as food stamps and jobless benefits, Hawaii agencies, on average, have spent 21 percent of the funds allotted. How- ever, some agencies have lagged in their efforts to get the money out. One of those is the agency charged with watching over the economy, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, or DBEDT. So far, DBEDT has received $37.3 million in stimulus money, but spent only $446,964, or 2 percent. The PALO LO HOUSE INVADED 2 suspects still at large after brazen attack HAWAII money created 12 jobs. DBEDT officials say they have been slow to spend the money in part because they want to use it to ad- vance a specific goal — cutting the state's dependence on crude oil. That has meant the agency is moving more slowly to make sure the money is used wisely. SEE STIMULUS, A2 fletiin rPC»ltc chnw Tlin»'c A2 I Moriday, `May 24, 2010 Stimulus STATE STIMULUS SPENDING BY AGENCY CONTINUED FROM Al "We are in the process of transforming our energy system, so we needed to take this funding and not waste it quickly by just getting it out there," said Ted Peck, DBEDT's energy adminis- trator. The money in question is aimed at projects that in- crease energy efficiency and reduce reliance on imported energy. That includes pho- tovoltaic rooftop power sys- tems, efficiency retrofits for buildings, and solar water heaters. In Hawaii that mon- ey also is aimed at projects meant to "transform" the state's energy sector by spurring the development of an underwater power cable, and investments in electric vehicles and chargers. Much of that transforma- tion has yet to occur. STRICT DEADLINES Peck acknowledged that some projects are behind schedule but blamed chang- ing federal guidelines, slug- gish state procurement processes and the complex nature of Hawai'i's plan- ned energy projects for the delays. "We're not last to get our money out but we're cer- tainly not first," he said. "A number of states did a very simple set of programs — they put all their chips in one type of project or one type of program." States face strict deadlines for spending stimulus mon- ey, or risk losing it. Last year, the state De- partment of Agriculture for- feited $119,826 in federal stimulus aquaculture grants that it was unable to use be- fore a federal deadline. Overall, Hawaii is expect- The Honolulu Advertiser DBEDT spent just 2 percent of its stimulus grants through May (the deadline to spend the funds is March 2012). Here's how other agencies fared: AGENCY Accounting & General Services Attorney General Budget & Finance Business, Economic Development & Tourism Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corp. Commerce & Consumer Affairs Defense Education Executive Office Health Hawaiian Home Lands Human Services Hawaii Public Housing Authority Labor & Industrial Relations Land & Natural Resources Public Safety Transportation – Highways Transportation – Airports Transportation – Harbors Transportation – Planning University of Hawaii ed to get $129 billion in stim- ulus money. That includes money for capital improve- ment projects, tax breaks, unemployment insurance and food stamps. Despite the large infusion of federal money that started last summer, there were 14,740 fewer jobs statewide during the first quarter ver- sus the first three months of 2009, according to the Uni- versity of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization. Most of the money award- ed to DBEDT comes from two main grants, including PERCENTAGE AWARD SPENT AS OF AMOUNT SPENT MARCH 31 $292,900 $153,500 52% $8,521,232 $590,756 7% $782,834 $0 None JOBS (FIRST QUARTER) 19 28 0 $37,327,696 I $446,964 2% 12 $12,028,498 $169,815 1% 50 $1,949,940 $0 $1,750,000 $1,750,000 100% 21 $78,357,795 $25,146,964 32% 45 $140,301,593 $53,051,033 38% 1,219* $61,889,143 $12,459,936 20% 81 $10,200,000 $2,522,753 25% 2 $8,940,778 j $5,960,011 67% 35 $18,245,443 $601,688 4% 0 $24,674,602 $4,974,236 20% 85 $5,420,000 $441,813 8 25 $115,642 $87,477 76% 0 $125,746,380 $13,283,160 11 % 54 $46,813,943 $8,297,920 18% 29 $1,432,500 $0 None 0 , $2,933,345 $0 None 0 $42,519,465 $3,529,992 '8% 57 Hawai'i Commission for National & Community Services $1,288,274 $538,364 42% 49 ' Jobs were created at BOE and UH Note: Awards figures include only awards subject to added transparency and accountability disclosure rules. Source: hawaii.gov /recovery The Honolulu Advertiser $25.9 million for energy pro- grams and $9.6 million for energy efficiency programs. The energy programs in- clude: • About $5 million for con- sultants and studies of pro- posed undersea cables to transfer wind - generated electricity from L'ana'i and Molokai to O`ahu. • About $4 million for electric vehicle and charger system rebates and grants. Energy efficiency pro- grams include: • About $3 million for so- lar water heaters for Hawai- ian homesteads residences. • About $3 million for a state rooftop photovoltaic power system. Contracts for the two en- ergy- efficency projects have been awarded, according to DBEDT. Additionally, there are 10 energy program deals in place involving $16.7 mil- lion, according to DBEDT. Eight of the deals awarded were to other local govern- ment agencies including the University of Hawaii. There is also a recently awarded $2.99 million contract with AECOM Technical Services Inc. to conduct environmen- tal studies for the undersea cable. ELECTRIC CARS DUE While contracts have been awarded, the money hasn't been spent yet. In addition, DBEDT has more than a dozen other contracts that need to be awarded by the end of Sep- tember and spent by May 2012. The agency also needs to award $3 million in grants for electric vehicle charger systems before Sept. 30. DBEDT plans to solicit ap- plications for those grants in mid -June. Those grants, along with approximately 200 electric vehicle purchase rebates worth $4,500 each, and $500 charger rebates also must be spent by the end of April 2022. The rebates, which can be combined with a $7,500 federal tax incentive, are aimed at stimulating de- mand for electric vehicles. Just when electrical vehi- cles will arrive in volume in Hawai'i remains unclear. However, one major manu- facturer — Nissan Motor Co. — has said Hawai'i will be one of the initial markets next year to receive the highly anticipated Leaf, a mass - produced electric car. The company expects to produce about 50,000 Leafs during the first year. Projects such as the un- dersea power cable are a good use of stimulus money, said Jennifer Sabas, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye's chief of staff in Honolulu. "If we' are going to suc- ceed in the Hawaii clean en- ergy (initiative), that is a key requirement to have a re- newable resource on O'ahu," she said. "These (stimulus) dollars provided the perfect opportunity for the cash - strapped state to do this. So we will try to push them to try to keep it moving for- ward." However, Sabas also ex- pressed concern that DBEDT isn't deploying money quickly enough to create jobs that are needed now. "It just doesn't seem like (DBEDT) has moved for- ward with as much speed as I think we would like them to, especially even on the ef- ficiency" projects, Sabas said. RULES TUGGING' DBEDT should be able to spend all stimulus money in a timely fashion, Peck said. The agency is prepared to pump unused money into easier -to- accomplish energy efficiency projects, if need- ed, to ensure that stimulus money is not forfeited back to the federal government. "I'm not going to let that happen," Peck said. "We're committed to not spending this money ill - advisedly, so we're going to make sure we maximize the benefit and get it out in a timely fashion." Most state agencies face challenges spending stimu- lus money on time and effi- ciently, said Mark Anderson, the state's stimulus fund- ing coordinator. That's be- cause it isn't easy to spend money both quickly and effi- ciently. The stimulus program "has the job creation aspect to it and they want us to spend the money quickly," Anderson said. "At the same time, there's this unprece- dented transparency effort under way, and they want us to take all actions to avoid waste, fraud and abuse. "These requirements are sometimes tugging at each other." Reach Sean Hao at shao @honoluluadver tiser.com or 525 -8093.