Gathering Places
Gathering Places
GOVERNOR Cayetano says that privatizing the Ala Wai and Keehi small-boat harbors would "generate enough revenue to upgrade the facilities in the other small-boat harbors throughout the state. Include boaters in
planning private harborsThis claim goes counter to the fact that, despite the current low revenue rates, revenues from the Ala Wai and Keehi facilities cover all of their own expenses and generate a surplus that is used to pay the overhead costs of the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DBOR). The Ala Wai is the top "excess revenue provider" for the system and Keehi is fourth.
The top four harbors listed in order of excess revenue are (according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources' boating division revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 1999):
Ala Wai and Keehi combined contributed $2.35 million in the 1999 fiscal year toward other DBOR expenses. This substantial and vital DBOR revenue will be lost through privatization, and therefore should be compensated for by the privatizer as a premium, just to keep our state boating program from getting worse than it is now.
Ala Wai $1,853,932 Lahaina $640,512 Honokohau $607,831 Keehi $497,242 When the normal business costs of lease rent, operations, maintenance, debt service, insurance, taxes and the extensive cost of renovating facilities are added -- along with profit -- the fee rates paid by our boaters may become astronomical. We need to know what the numbers are in this privatization venture to fairly analyze it.
The public perception now is that the state administration is unilaterally pursuing harbor privatization based solely on how it might benefit the administration by perhaps relieving it of the responsibility for allowing the state boating facilities to decay to its current deplorable condition, and also coming up with the estimated $140 million to restore these facilities.
It appears that the effect of privatization on the boaters themselves is of little concern to the state. The popular feeling is that the state doesn't care how high the privatization boaters fees would go, as long as it can escape the responsibility for causing and correcting the boating facilities problems.
Privatization is a viable means of addressing the problems. However, if the state is not going to look after the boaters' interests -- which appears to be the case -- then the boating community should be given an opportunity to become involved in the privatization plan through meetings and to look out for themselves.
We are not against the concept of privatization. In fact, most of us support it. We just want to see this 2001 version of harbors privatization defined by giving us the numbers that can be used to determine: How much is it going to cost me, and what am I going to get for that cost in terms of facilities and amenities?
Only then can we decide whether we are for or against harbors privatization. We need this information and the opportunity to become involved in the privatization planning.
William E. Mossman is with the Hawaii
Boaters Political Action Association.