New Council committee
heads named

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

City Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann has sealed his grip on the legislative branch with a new committee lineup.

Under the scheme, Councilman John DeSoto takes over the powerful Planning Committee.

DeSoto was ousted by Hannemann as Council chairman in May following a feud, but the two have apparently made up.

Council members Duke Bainum and Steve Holmes, who are on the outs with Hannemann, are relegated to heading newly created specialty committees.

Hannemann said seven members talked to him about what roles they wanted to play "as part of the team."

While he did not approach Bainum or Holmes, he said, "I think there was an open door." He noted that other Council members he did not approach took the initiative to talk to him.

The new organization is expected to be formalized in a resolution signed by the seven majority members and likely to be voted on at the Dec. 2 Council meeting:

Planning: DeSoto takes over from Rene Mansho, who headed the committee since taking over from Hannemann in May.

Zoning: Donna Mercado Kim holds on to the committee she's held for a number of years.

Budget and Public Works: Vice Chairman John Henry Felix retains Budget and takes on the added function of overseeing the sewer, waste water and solid waste operations.

Transportation: Andy Mirikitani, who asked for the function of dealing with traffic, bikeways, roads and, most likely, a proposal for a light-rail line.

Parks, Health and Community Services: Mansho switches back to the committee she chaired prior to heading up the Planning Committee and now will take on the added duties of overseeing community services.

n Policy: Jon Yoshimura retains the chairmanship he's held since first joining the Council in 1994, overseeing legal matters that appear before the Council.

Executive Matters and Economic Development: Hannemann continues to oversee nominations to executive positions and appointments to boards and commissions. It has the added function of overseeing economic development, a Hannemann specialty.

Customer Services: Bainum oversees the new Department of Customer Services, which will carry the responsibilities of satellite city halls.

Culture and Arts: Holmes takes over oversight of the city's culture and arts programs, including the Royal Hawaiian Band.

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Contentious sewer-rate plan
spurs talk of fee for
garbage pickup

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Another hearing on a controversial sewer fee plan will be reheard possibly as soon as next month, City Council Budget Chairman John Henry Felix says.

Felix failed to get a quorum of three on his five-member committee to move the sewer bill, expected to increase fees for condominium owners but lower them for single-family homeowners.

Debate over the bill yesterday also likely will result in a serious study over whether Oahu residents should pay a fee for garbage pickup.

As expected, the sides of the sewer fee debate quickly developed into Council members in condo-intensive districts vs. those whose districts are made up primarily of single-family homes.

The administration estimates the average condo owner would pay $5 more a month while the average single-family homeowner would pay $3 less.

Felix and Rene Mansho were in favor of advancing the plan. Donna Mercado Kim was against it.

Members Andy Mirikitani and Jon Yoshimura weren't present as Felix was about to take a vote, leaving the committee deadlocked without a clear majority.

Kim, Mirikitani and Yoshimura all represent districts heavily populated by condominium and apartment dwellers.

Kim and Yoshimura said condo owners have their own fairness issue. City garbage pickup is paid for through property taxes even though most condos don't get city garbage service.

Mansho countered that most condo owners have been unwilling to pay for large enough pickup areas to allow city garbage trucks to go in.

Environmental Services Director Kenn Sprague said a study on garbage pickup fees is "something we're going to look at" in the coming year.

But while a study into the possibility of garbage pickup fees is ongoing, the sewer equity bill should move forward, he said.

"I don't think it's appropriate to put them together," he said.

The sewer fee bill was initiated by the administration of Mayor Jeremy Harris after Councilman John DeSoto, who represents the largely rural Waianae district, complained that sewer fees aren't fairly calculated. That's because sewer fees are based the amount of water used, not on the amount they put into the sewer system.

Under the proposal: the monthly base rate goes up for condos from $17.40 to $24.85, the current charge for single-family homes; the per gallon usage goes down from $1.05 to $0.55; and an 18,000-gallon cap is established to acknowledge that there is a limit on water going into the sewer from a residence.

Felix said the bill "may need some major surgery" before resurfacing but expects to hear it again, possibly as soon as December.