Inside Honolulu: November 29

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Reading time: 8 minutes.

There’s always something interesting going on at Honolulu Hale.

Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

5:33 p.m. No Sewage Retort From Mayor, Yet

Inside Honolulu asked the administration for a response to the Honolulu City Council‘s letter urging that the contract to plan and design a second Synagro digester be cancelled (See the 11:54 a.m. post below).

Here’s the email reply from Carlisle spokeswoman Louise Kim McCoy:

The Department of Environmental Services is preparing a response to Council Communication 312 which will address their inquiry. Until that letter goes out, with respect for the City Council, it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.

4:17 p.m. Ansaldo’s Financials, Distributed

Ansaldo was able to successfully convince the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation that its financials are in order. How did they do it?

John Temple explored that question over the weekend. Some readers remain puzzled, and were asking today for more information.

Bowing to popular demand, Inside Honolulu is now sharing one of the documents provided to members of the media at Friday’s meeting. It includes background on Ansaldo and some details about its financial capacity.

Is it enough to make you feel secure about the $1.4 billion contract?


2:03 p.m. We’re Number One

Honolulu has the country’s highest quality of living, according to a new survey.

Mercer‘s global rankings have Honolulu No. 29 worldwide, good enough for the best in the United States.

Read the .

1:20 p.m. HART Pleased With Federal Funding Announcement

A statement from Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Interim Executive Director/CEO Toru Hamayasu:

We are pleased to hear the news about the available federal funds. Senator Inouye and our entire congressional delegation have worked tirelessly to make this happen and we are truly grateful. We understand that Honolulu is a strong candidate for this appropriation. This also underscores the fact that both Congress and the White House recognize the importance of rail transit as a green, effective and efficient transportation option during these tight economic times. The project remains on track in terms of meeting the deadlines and guidelines in obtaining our Full-Funding Grant Agreement and we will continue to work hard to make that happen. In addition, our GET revenue for the last two quarters has come in higher than we had projected, which positions us well to complete the project.

12:45 p.m. Clock Ticking on Federal Rail Funding

From Civil Beat in Washington:

If the city does not enter into a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the federal government by Dec. 31, 2012, the funding eligibility will be removed, according to a wide-ranging spending bill that President Barack Obama signed into law on Nov. 18.

Read the full story, with updates coming soon: Clock Ticking on $510M in Honolulu Rail Funding

12:32 p.m. Harimoto: Delete the Purple Spot

The Honolulu City Council went out for a rare meeting in Kapolei earlier this month.

Now, one member has been swayed by community input and wants to change the regional development plan for the Waianae Coast.

In the days after the meeting, Breene Harimoto submitted a to the Waianae Sustainable Communities Plan. The subject of his letter makes his goals clear: “DELETION OF THE INDUSTRIAL DESIGNATION (PURPLE SPOT) IN LUALUALEI VALLEY”

Harimoto’s proposed changes would delete a number of references to the creation of a light industrial park.

“The proposed light industrial use will have significant adverse impacts on traffic, particuarly (sic) at the intersection of Lualualei Navel Access Road and Farrington Highway,” Harimoto wrote in his justification for the amendment. “In addition, both the Navy and the City have indicated that they will not be responsible for the cost of any traffic improvements necessitated as a result of this project.”

11:54 a.m. Cancel the Second Digester?

The sewage sludge fight flared up this summer. Mayor Peter Carlisle and the Honolulu City Council traded barbs over who was responsible for the funding decisions that left the Sand Island treatment plant over capacity, forcing the city to truck raw sewage around the island.

Some Council members have concerns about the company, Synagro, that’s currently turning it into fertilizer pellets. The battle quieted down for a spell, while the administration conducted research on alternate technologies to treat the sewage.

But the Council isn’t satisfied with the current course of action, and is demanding a change — immediately.

In sent to Carlisle, Chair Ernie Martin as well as Ann Kobayashi and longtime Synagro critic Romy Cachola urged the immediate termination or suspension of the contract to plan and design a second digester.

“We believe it would be foolhardy for the City to proceed with planning and design for a second digester,” they wrote. The technology would cost the city $1.55 million, but it can still cancel the deal.

The Council members want to see a full list of all the alternative technologies considered by a consultant, as well as evaluations of all the companies that have submitted information to the city.

Some of those companies have come before the Council with, shall we say, ambitious proposals.

Where’s Carlisle?

At 9 a.m. today, Mayor Peter Carlisle presents a proclamation at the KCAA Muriel Preschool and City and County of Honolulu Arbor Day Tree Planting Ceremony. Ala Moana Regional Park.

At 6 p.m., Carlisle is a guest at the National Philanthropy Day Banquet. Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

Programming Note

You might have noticed that Inside Honolulu took a break during Thanksgiving week. Thanks for your patience.

In no particular order, here are some of the stories you would have seen in this space had we been here:

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

November 18: ‘The Right Company’; Ansaldo Cooperating With HART; Occupy to Council: We’ll Be Back; Where’s Carlisle?

November 17: Sidewalk Bill Advances; Occupy Honolulu Has Arrived; Berg: Redistricting Plan ‘Reeks’; HART Will Delay Ansaldo Contract; General Plan Survey Results Are In; Applicant Toru Steps Outside; Berg, Harimoto Add Their Manao; Council to HART: Slow Down; ‘Human Mic’ at Honolulu Hale?; Headhunter Wants HART CEO Approved By March 1; Here Comes The Tree; Today’s Meetings; Where’s Carlisle?

November 16: More Drug Charges For Indicted Police Major; Carlisle Hopes ‘Attractive’ World Leaders Model Aloha Shirts At Home; Rail Tax Revenues Up, Again; Carlisle, Obama Talk Hoops; APEC Victory Lap; Rail Construction Three Months Away?; Makana Sings, Speaks at Occupy; Enomoto’s ‘Long Political Record’; Thank You Press Conference; Martin Unsure About Ansaldo; Today’s Meetings; Where’s Carlisle?

November 15: Occupy Protesters Worried By Sidewalk Bill; Indicted HPD Major Caught With Methamphetamine; Makana At Occupy Honolulu; It’s Really Starting to Look A Lot Like Christmas; Caldwell: No Formal Announcement Yet; Sidewalk Possessions Bill Discussion Continues Thursday; To Label GMOs?; Mayor: Thanks For APEC Support; Occupy Honolulu Hale?; Ethics On The Agenda; Where’s Carlisle?

November 14: One Year, 18,000 Tons of Recyclables; City Department of Tree-Cutting; Full Slate of Government Meetings; Back To Normal; Where’s Carlisle?

November 7: Tuesday Events; The County of West Oahu?; APEC Press Briefing; Until the Fat Lady Sings; Tales From Washington; Where’s Carlisle?

November 4: Carlisle’s Weekend Sked; News Before Breakfast; Honolulu a Digital City; City’s Energy Consumption; Occupy Honolulu Saturday; City’s Final ORI Plan; From $2,500 To $560 Million; Alternate Sludge Technologies: The Response; Where’s Carlisle?

November 3: Laulani Village Shopping Center Breaks Ground; Two In, Two Out; City Meets HUD Deadline; ‘I Wouldn’t Be Surprised’; Rematch: Caldwell Running For Mayor; ZBA, Finally; HART Meetings This Morning; Where’s Carlisle?

November 2: Homeless Possessions Bill Advances; APEC Reimbursement Reso Adopted; Airport Sheriffs Get Pepperball, Too; Berg’s Rail Charter Amendment Dies; Sign Bill Deferred; ‘An Unsuccessful Third Generation Real Estate Developer’; Lecture From A Freethinker; $37 Million, Please; Missed Deadline?; Berg: Split Up Ewa Beach; Two Days; Kauai Hiking Water Rates, Too; On The Agenda; Today’s Council Honorees; Where’s Carlisle?

November 1: Rod Tam Sentencing Today; Where’s Carlisle?

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