another $10M "recovery" grant

[kalakoa]

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2018/11/2...-recovery/

The county previously received $12 million from the state for disaster response, of which about $4 million is left, said Deanna Sako, county finance director.

The combined $22 million received from the state so far will help cover the county's "immediate needs" through the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2019, according to a draft aid request Takemoto provided to the Tribune-Herald.

Sako told council members that the latest grant would go toward economic impact and relocation studies and housing vouchers.

Uses for the grants, according to the draft aid request, include sustaining emergency operations, planning studies for recovery and mitigation, potential temporary housing site and Section 8 vouchers, economic recovery plan and emergency shelter restoration.

Seems to me the money would be better spent "doing something" instead of "studying how we might do something" -- actually "doing something" would generate additional revenue for everyone, not just the consultants.

[Lolo]

Think of all the "friends and family" that would not be able to buy that new Tacoma if they actually acted instead of studied!
I think the County Council should, as their parting shot, require a line item accounting of every single dollar spent, and that accounting should include listing all relatives of County officials who receive

[Chas]

“The county previously received $12 million from the state for disaster response, of which about $4 million is left...”

How did they spend the $8 million? Is there any way to find out?

[Rob Tucker]

Someone should go down and ask them. It is public record.

[kalakoa]

It is public record.

Assuming the Kim administration doesn't hide behind its "emergency" declaration, I suspect the answer will be an opaque "overtime and costs".

It's really too bad there's no requirement that (at least some) grant money be invested in things that will generate revenue. Example: create a lava viewing area to increase tourism.

"Relocation studies" are especially insulting: by the time the studies are finished, nobody will care, they will all have moved on. It's really not reasonable to expect people to put their lives on hold for a year or three while County figures out that they might want to move away from Leilani.