Hele-On like the Department of Water Supply is obviously in trouble. Both operate autonomously. Part of the problem is selling a $7 ride for $2. Mayor Harry Kim appointed Mr. Curt Sharp to fix Hele-On. You must ask: How did
Hele-On like the Department of Water Supply is obviously in trouble. Both operate autonomously. Part of the problem is selling a $7 ride for $2. Mayor Harry Kim appointed Mr. Curt Sharp to fix Hele-On. You must ask: How did it get so bad? Wasn’t anyone watching? Isn’t there supposed to be a supervisory commission? Guess what? There is. The trouble is the commission is kept at sword’s length and gagged. Former Mayor Billy Kenoi appointed me to the Transportation Commission four years ago. Not my thing, didn’t even know what it did but it was a civic duty and opportunity to maybe improve something. Officially, the Transportation Commission is responsible for carriers (buses) and taxis.
The County Code says “The commission shall have general supervision over carriers including taxicabs… In addition, the commission may serve as an advisory body to the mass transit agency and, upon request of the mayor or council, advise on other transportation-related matters.” Corporate Council emphasizes that the commission is advisory.
Law Dictionary, commissioner: A person charged with the management or direction of a board, a court, or a government agency.
The first meeting was a revelation. They only meet four times a year for two hours max; don’t always have a quorum. The only thing on the agenda, the permanent agenda, was rubber stamping of taxi licenses. Each application is a separate item requiring the full voting procedure, maybe 40 items, but with no significant discussion between “I second” and “All in favor…” No license was ever denied. We were told that applicants and cars were already thoroughly vetted so there were no grounds for denial. Hele-On office staff did a good job with meeting logistics, but the hollow agenda made no sense. After a few of these meetings, some commissioners tried to ask questions. Like the old issue (going back to my 2008 complaint), the inscrutable nature of the Hele-On Bus schedules. Attempts to streamline the procedure, met stiff resistance from Corporate Counsel. Attempts to add a few items to the agenda, met stiff resistance from Corporate Counsel. According to counsel’s interpretation of Roberts Rules, a commissioner could only request a new item under new business. The chairperson would then take until the next meeting to decide whether to vote on whether to add the item. If it passed then it could be discussed on the next agenda. This process requires a full quorum at each step and can take over a year.
A few free-discussion items were added to the agenda. Corp Counsel gave an intimidating lecture about Roberts Rules and Hawaii’s most intimidating Sunshine Law. He sounded like commissioners were on the edge of jail time.
Occasionally, the commissioners got a one directional presentation from the Hele-On director, but no mention of maintenance troubles. Answers to questions were vague. Apparently, in the past a decision was made to allow Hele-On to manage its own schedules. This seems to have morphed into let Hele-On operate autonomously. Hele-On bought the unique half million dollar double decker dysfunctional disabled bus without commission input.
There is an opportunity for public comment at each meeting but only comment on agenda items. The agenda is “published,” maybe on a bulletin board deep in the County Administration Building.
It would be more efficient and in the public interest to have a central taxi dispatch but the taxi operators resist. They oppose any loss of insider connection even if it will save them time and improve public experience.
We have a new mayor and a new Corp Counsel. But everything new is old again with personnel recycled from 2007. Maybe there could be an improvement but it was made even more clear that procedural rules will be used to keep the commissioners from doing anything but rubber stamping. Yet, we wonder why half the buses are inoperable, the other half don’t run on time, if at all, on schedules that malahini (newcomers) can’t hope to understand.
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a semi-monthly column for West Hawaii Today. Email obenskik@gmail.com.
