LIHUE >> Kauai County Council Chairman Ron Kouchi yesterday pulled the plug on any county efforts to purchase Kauai Electric Co. for at least 14 months. Kauai Council postpones
plan to purchase utility firmBy Anthony Sommer
tsommer@starbulletin.comThe Council received a county attorney's opinion stating any county Charter amendments to create a county power authority could not go before the electorate until the November 2002 general election.
Kouchi announced no further money would be spent on the possible purchase.
Mayor Maryanne Kusaka repeatedly has stopped short of saying she wants to buy the power company being sold by Citizens Communications of Stamford, Conn.
But the county has spent about $200,000 to hire consultants and attorneys to determine whether the county should either make an offer or to try to take control of Kauai Electric through condemnation.
The county's interest in a possible purchase followed a decision in the summer of 2000 by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to reject a proposal by a group of Kauai businessmen calling themselves the Kauai Island Utility Co-operative to buy the company for $270 million. The commission said they were offering too much.
The co-op and Citizens have continued to negotiate a new deal. Gregg Gardiner, chairman of the cooperative, said yesterday he is hopeful of reaching an agreement with Citizens "in the near future."
The Kauai County Council has been wary of the mayor's interest in acquiring the utility.
Last May, the Council rejected her request for $2.1 million in general fund money to hire more consultants and attorneys.
Instead, they gave her only $1.2 million and then parked it in the county's capital improvement budget rather than in the general fund. That move required the mayor to come back to the Council if she wanted any of the money shifted to the general fund so she could spend it.
Yesterday, Kouchi made it clear the $1.2 million is not going to be sent until the electorate approves a charter amendment giving the county the authority to operate a utility. "We are basically on hold until an election can be held," Kouchi said.
He also urged the co-op to meet with the county the work out its differences.
Wally Rezentes, Kusaka's administrative assistant, said the council's decision means little because no decision has been made for the county to acquire Kauai Electric or to compete with the cooperative.
"It's not a race," he said.
Kauai County
