LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council unanimously approved on first reading Wednesday a bill that would release $764,194 to begin cleaning up hazardous materials at a scrap metal processing facility in Puhi on a property the county leases from Grove
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council unanimously approved on first reading Wednesday a bill that would release $764,194 to begin cleaning up hazardous materials at a scrap metal processing facility in Puhi on a property the county leases from Grove Farm Company. But the final price tag will probably nearly triple.
“That’s part of a $2.1 million cleanup bill that the vendor-operator of the site should have paid, but the county is tasked with it because we failed to properly manage our contract with the vendor,” Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura said.
Puhi Metals Recycling Center was operated by Abe’s Auto Recyclers until October 2011, when a contract was signed with a different vendor. An audit report states a $2.1 million would be needed to clean up hazardous materials left behind by Abe’s — and a legal battle to figure out who will pick up the bill is in motion.
There has been at least one executive session at the council regarding the matter — which involve private attorneys for the county.
At the crux of the matter is who is responsible to pay for the cleanup of the Puhi Metals facility.
On Jan. 14, Budget and Purchasing Director Ernie Barrera sent a letter to Honolulu-based law firm Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda LLP, notifying the firm was awarded a contract of up to $75,000 to represent the county on the matter.
Council members would not disclose any details discussed behind closed doors; they only said there will be more executive sessions on the matter. But by moving forward Bill 2474, the county is moving toward paying for the cleanup.
Bill 2474, which appropriates the $764,194, is now scheduled for public hearing and to go through the council’s Finance Committee April 24. The following step would be for the full council to take the committee’s recommendation on second and final reading before releasing the money.
Puhi Metals Recycling Center first opened under former Mayor Maryanne Kusaka’s administration about a dozen years ago to process metals and cars, and only after a lengthy planning, permitting and bidding process. Kusaka served from 1994 to 2002 as Kaua‘i’s mayor.
On Nov. 25, 1997, then County Engineer Cesar Portugal sent a letter to Gary Gill, then director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control.
He attached copies of a final environmental assessment to the Puhi Metals site that was being proposed.
“The County of Kaua‘i, Department of Public Works has reviewed the comments received during the 30-day public comment period which began on Sept. 23, 1997.
“The agency has determined that this project will not have significant environmental effects,” Portugal wrote in his letter to Gill.
Among 13 bullet points of determinations in the EA prepared by Belt Collins Hawai‘i Ltd. for the county, it was “determined: … The proposed action does not cumulatively have a considerable adverse effect on the environment, or involve a commitment to larger actions.”
After at least three repeated bid attempts to subcontract an operator for the facility in 2000, Abe’s Auto Recyclers signed a contract that was renovated once and lasted until October 2011, when a new management contract was turned over to Resource Recovery Solutions LLC.
The $764,194 approved Wednesday will come out of the county’s Beautification and General funds. If the audit report is right, the total cleanup may cost as high as $2.1 million.
“This is $2.1 million which we would not have to pay if the contract was properly managed,” said Yukimura, adding that she raised the issue because the council is currently in the process of reviewing Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which starts July 1, and the council is “struggling to make ends meet.”
“I want to emphasize to the administration that the key to a balanced budget is good management,” Yukimura said.
“Good planning and management of county operations is good management of our finances. We can’t afford to waste, and mistakes waste money.”
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
