06-23-2016, 10:41 AM
dakine
Harry's hires are criticized because they did not equate to an improvement in services. There was a perception that various departments were not being responsive to the expanding population even as their rosters expanded with all the new hires. This was especially true in Public Works, Planning, and Parks & Rec. The one department that was extremely responsive was Real Property, that administration incorporated a number of new policies that led to a large increase in collections.
On the other hand any visit at that time to Public Works was essentially a visit to the doldrums. A visit to Planning was a visit to a Gulag. And a visit to local gyms or parks was overflowing opala and unkempt weed patches. Management of those agencies was spotty at best, and poor on average.
You say the Planning Dept was "measured growth". Okay, I guess that suits your philosophy about what constitutes suitable "growth". I'll say that the Department swelled with new hires and every significant decision bottlenecked at the top. Simple Parcel Consolidation & Subdivisions took months and months. I went through one that took two years. New subdivisions became onerous. New golf course developments were halted. The larger pre-zoned projects in Kona that went through subdivision at that time, Hokulia, Kohaniki and Palamanui, were all hamstrung and yoked by an administration that thought the geese would come forever and the golden eggs were endless. They thought that their role was to see how much they could squeeze out of every project in the short term. They bankrupted Hokulia due to delays that they engendered leading to court decisions that choked the progress and ruined the economics. Same with Kohaniki, the off sites became so expensive that the initial investor had to discount the project by 50% to find new investments so that they could continue. That was over $75mm lost. Palamanui was saddled with so many conditions that it still hasn't turned a single shovel for development, other than building out the West Hawaii campus of the University, the road to access it and the various utility improvements to support it, all without being able to sell even one house lot. They have over well over $50mm sunk and really no hope of a payback. Makes you wonder about a fool and his money? Well the reality is that the investors entered a process that became a bear trap as the County government transitioned from one administration to the other. It will happen again if we go backwards to a "measured growth" administration, and even worse if we institute concurrency as a planning principle.
The reason this County is as prosperous as it is are the RPT collections. Roughly 65% come from West Hawaii. The majority of that comes from North Kona and South Kohala. Those "unbridled development" projects, the luxury home enclaves, the hotels, golf courses, etc. pay the taxes that subsidize all of the island. They have a low impact on our services and they create the majority of our private sector jobs. And those projects were primarily the result of one administration, Steve Yamashiro. His "selling to the highest bidder" is your interpretation, I think a more "measured" assessment is that his administration, during a period that was not blessed with a single "boom economy" created more wealth on this island, leading to more benefits for every citizen, than any other administration, ever. Woe the day this island splits into two counties, Puna will NOT be happy.....
So when you ask at the end of the post "how are we going to provide the services we want" I can provide you with an answer. Have an administration that doesn't kill and eat the goose.
Harry's hires are criticized because they did not equate to an improvement in services. There was a perception that various departments were not being responsive to the expanding population even as their rosters expanded with all the new hires. This was especially true in Public Works, Planning, and Parks & Rec. The one department that was extremely responsive was Real Property, that administration incorporated a number of new policies that led to a large increase in collections.
On the other hand any visit at that time to Public Works was essentially a visit to the doldrums. A visit to Planning was a visit to a Gulag. And a visit to local gyms or parks was overflowing opala and unkempt weed patches. Management of those agencies was spotty at best, and poor on average.
You say the Planning Dept was "measured growth". Okay, I guess that suits your philosophy about what constitutes suitable "growth". I'll say that the Department swelled with new hires and every significant decision bottlenecked at the top. Simple Parcel Consolidation & Subdivisions took months and months. I went through one that took two years. New subdivisions became onerous. New golf course developments were halted. The larger pre-zoned projects in Kona that went through subdivision at that time, Hokulia, Kohaniki and Palamanui, were all hamstrung and yoked by an administration that thought the geese would come forever and the golden eggs were endless. They thought that their role was to see how much they could squeeze out of every project in the short term. They bankrupted Hokulia due to delays that they engendered leading to court decisions that choked the progress and ruined the economics. Same with Kohaniki, the off sites became so expensive that the initial investor had to discount the project by 50% to find new investments so that they could continue. That was over $75mm lost. Palamanui was saddled with so many conditions that it still hasn't turned a single shovel for development, other than building out the West Hawaii campus of the University, the road to access it and the various utility improvements to support it, all without being able to sell even one house lot. They have over well over $50mm sunk and really no hope of a payback. Makes you wonder about a fool and his money? Well the reality is that the investors entered a process that became a bear trap as the County government transitioned from one administration to the other. It will happen again if we go backwards to a "measured growth" administration, and even worse if we institute concurrency as a planning principle.
The reason this County is as prosperous as it is are the RPT collections. Roughly 65% come from West Hawaii. The majority of that comes from North Kona and South Kohala. Those "unbridled development" projects, the luxury home enclaves, the hotels, golf courses, etc. pay the taxes that subsidize all of the island. They have a low impact on our services and they create the majority of our private sector jobs. And those projects were primarily the result of one administration, Steve Yamashiro. His "selling to the highest bidder" is your interpretation, I think a more "measured" assessment is that his administration, during a period that was not blessed with a single "boom economy" created more wealth on this island, leading to more benefits for every citizen, than any other administration, ever. Woe the day this island splits into two counties, Puna will NOT be happy.....
So when you ask at the end of the post "how are we going to provide the services we want" I can provide you with an answer. Have an administration that doesn't kill and eat the goose.