I have been reading with interest Mr. Neves’ (Lihue Airport manager) statements about his plans for Lihue Airport, and the multi-millions of dollars he’ll need to accomplish them. Before we can accept his statements and comments, carte blanc, regarding his
I have been reading with interest Mr. Neves’ (Lihue Airport manager) statements about his plans for Lihue Airport, and the multi-millions of dollars he’ll need to accomplish them.
Before we can accept his statements and comments, carte blanc, regarding his plans for the airport, it seems appropriate he hold a news conference and field questions from the media and general public.
Over the past few years, it appears millions of dollars have been wasted on airport operations without explanation. Some of the issues Mr. Neves should reflect on are:
w A few years ago, all airport street lampposts were replaced with very pretty, old fashioned looking, green colored street lamps. Then, last year every one of these green lamps were replaced by solar lamps. What did this cost the taxpayers? Solar is the proper source but the process and expense for this conversion and the way it was handled seem poorly managed.
w The airport authorities have posted crossing, or security guards, at the center pedestrian crossing lanes outside the terminal building, despite the fact there are working traffic lights covering all lanes. Originally, the guards were posted at all three crossings but then, without explanation, they removed the crossing guards from the north and south crossings, keeping the crossing guards at the center only. Was this done for safety reasons and how much has this cost the taxpayers? There have been estimates in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and eventually millions of dollars will be spent on this. It should be noted that a security guard working for the same company the airport contracted for this work was severely injured while performing this duty at the harbor in Honolulu recently. What will this civil settlement cost the taxpayers?
w We all know the beautiful flowering trees planted along the roadway at the entrance to the airport were trimmed, some refer to them as being scalped, and that many will not recover for years, if ever. Who authorized this and was anyone in airport management held accountable? Was there any management oversight? What did this cost the taxpayers?
w There were solar panels installed on the roof line of Terminal A. What did the taxpayers pay for this installation and more importantly, is the airport generating electric from these panels?
These are just a few issues I have been made aware of. I understand there are many more that need to be made public.
No one should be making accusations and I’m certainly not doing so, but these legitimate questions deserve answers.
We are once again being asked to spend millions of dollars we probably can’t afford. Before any funds are approved for Mr. Neves’ vision, he should answer these and any other questions put to him in a public forum.
It should be noted County Councilman Ross Kagawa, in a TGI article dated Jan. 2, also questions the use of these millions of dollars and believes these earmarked funds can be used to relieve our traffic problems.
I agree.
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Bill Doherty is a resident of Kapaa.
