Question: Who owns any property set out for bulky item pickup? We left things out twice and someone took them.

Answer: You’d think if someone left unwanted items out for disposal that it wouldn’t matter who carted them away.

But a city ordinance limits collection of bulky items, as well as refuse, to city employees, collection companies licensed by the city and the property owner, said Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services.

Licensed companies include Rolloffs Hawaii, Kings Disposal, Honolulu Disposal Service and SD Systems. Companies also are licensed through a procurement process when help is needed with bulky item collection.

"The department has seldom made an issue of this matter," Owens said.

However, the city received "a number of complaints" when scrap metal prices soared three years ago and "scavengers were going through peoples’ trash," he said.

At that time the city asked scrap companies not to buy scrap steel from such sellers.

VEHICLE INSPECTIONS

The state Department of Transportation is set to advertise a "Request for Proposal" for a statewide Electronic Periodic Vehicle Inspection Reporting program "soon — before the end of the year," a spokeswoman said.

The new electronic program would require all safety inspection stations to computerize their inspections — instead of using paper as they’ve done since 1968 — and reduce the time it takes to update records to possibly 24 hours.

As explained in "Kokua Line" Friday, there had been a long delay in updating the city’s safety inspection records, causing problems for some people.

The current contractor, Perfect Image of Kirkland, Wash., was given a warning letter about its "failure to meet the minimum requirements of the delivery schedule," said Dennis Kamimura, chief of the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division.

It now takes about four weeks to record a vehicle safety inspection, a time frame that is acceptable under the current contract and which is based on the number of safety inspection forms picked up, he said.

Perfect Image’s key-punch contract, which began in January, expires Dec. 31.

However, the city may have to extend the contract another six months while it waits for the state Transportation Department to finalize details of the new electronic program, Kamimura said. (Each county administers the safety inspection program on behalf of the department.)

Once a contract is awarded, it will take time to install computer equipment at all inspection stations. Even with a delay, "This will be a positive step forward in bringing modern technology to this 1968 program," Kamimura said.

The current city contract pays 8.9 cents per form, Kamimura said, noting that the expiration date is only one data element that has to be key-punched into the computer system.

In 2009, 607,922 safety inspections were done by 345 safety inspection stations on Oahu.

NEED A STATE ID?

State ID personnel will be on the road, processing applications for ID cards from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 23 at Mililani High School’s cafeteria, 95-1200 Meheula Parkway.

Applicants are required to bring certain certified documents. To find out what’s needed, call 587-3111 or go to www.stateid.hawaii.gov. The cost is $10 for seniors 65 years and older and $15 for all others; cash only. ID cards will be mailed within 10 business days.