What a difference a year makes — a $910 million difference, which is now the estimated shortfall for Oahu’s 20-mile rail project.
In stark contrast to his State of the City address last year, which exuded optimism about building rail better, Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s speech Tuesday tried mightily to stay positive — but his dire three options outlined will surely split Oahu’s community anew over the next few months.
Calling the $6 billion rail project the "big elephant" in the room, Caldwell is pushing to extend Oahu’s 0.5 percent general excise tax surcharge past its 2022 sunset, saying it’s the only real option for the financial quandary. He might eventually be right — but despite all the mayor’s talk about project transparency, it’s deeply troubling that city and rail officials remain publicly vague on financial details and projections. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 19 to extend the rail surcharge is moving in the Legislature.
Caldwell has chosen this extension tactic rather than call on the state, as he did unsuccessfully last year, to collect the surcharge in a timely manner and turn over most of it to the city. The state has kept an unconscionable "skim" for its own coffers, to the tune of about 10 percent annually, estimated to top $400 million by 2022. A current bill seeking to give the state 25 percent of the GET surcharge has stalled in the Legislature, fortunately, but bears watching.
Clearly, Caldwell sees advantage in spinning rail’s near-term money woes further out, in hopes of securing a dedicated, longterm funding source to enable full-route "completion" past the current Ala Moana Center endpoint, out to Waikiki and the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
Caldwell on Tuesday rejected a second fund-raising option of raising island property taxes — which would put the burden 100 percent on property owners — whereas the GET is applied broadly on every business transaction, with one-third total coming from Oahu’s tourists. His rationale here is hard to refute.
The third big rail option, noteworthy for its candid inclusion in Caldwell’s speech, is to stop construction altogether. Caldwell, however, quickly and adamantly quashed this idea, saying it would set our booming island back 40 years, with no transportation relief accomplished for West Oahu people.
He had told legislative committees this month that it would cost some $2.24 billion to dismantle the project, whose pillars are already marching through Ewa fields and townward into Waipahu.
"The (option) I just don’t want to accept, but it is an alternative, is stop, don’t build anymore, tear down what you built," Caldwell said Tuesday. "That is crazy to me. We sit in gridlock every day. We made a promise to the folks on the west side."
That debate, though, is already intensifying since rail here has never been overwhelmingly popular.
In other highlights of his speech, delivered at Foster Botanical Garden, Caldwell:
» Unveiled a $2 million parks-maintenance initiative — E Paka Kakou, "parks together" — wherein two parks a month will be targeted for major repairs; in tandem, community organizations will be called upon to take ownership of their area parks. Haleiwa Alii Park, which has seen major improvement due to community efforts, was rightly hailed as a model of success. This program —which also includes refurbishing playground equipment — is promising.
» Announced the appointments of Baird Fleming as the new director of the troubled Honolulu Zoo, and Gary Nakata, deputy director of the Department of Community Services, as DCS director.
After a revolving door of four zoo directors in five years, it bodes well that Fleming, the zoo’s longtime assistant director and a veterinarian, was supported by an employees’ petition urging his appointment.
» Cited progress on the homelessness problem using "compassionate disruption."
The city’s recent sit-lie laws have allowed needed reclaiming of sidewalks for public use, but clearly, a lasting solution to the problem of nomadic tent dwellers remains elusive. Still, a new hygiene center in Chinatown allowing showers and a 24-hour public restroom in Waikiki are decent steps. Also, since funds became available in June, Caldwell noted, 31 homeless people have been housed; the goal is to have 115 people housed by year’s end, and 400 by the end of next year.
Overall, Caldwell gets style points for his spin on the state of our city and strides toward improvement. But the make-it-or-break-it debate in the next few weeks over rail’s future will be all-consuming. Already, dread is hovering over what the mayor’s 2016 speech will be forced to address.
