Ah, so much can happen in 10 months — the added time Mayor Kirk Caldwell wants the Federal Transit Administration to give the city to come up with its “recovery plan” for Oahu’s over-budget rail project.

Politically, the fall elections could usher in a new mayor, up to four new City Council members and some new state legislators.

Taxation-wise, an extended FTA deadline would come at the end of the 2017 Legislature, where funding ideas would keep things lively. And there’s always the annual city budget cycle.

As for the rail project, let’s just hope another 10 months won’t bring more sticker shock. Today’s $8 billion project estimate, with a $10.8 billion “upper bound,” is all the shock we can take.

Seeing it work elsewhere helps

It certainly must have been enlightening for the three City Council members who just returned from Seattle to see how that city approaches its homelessness crisis.

The term “tent cities” conjures images, not all of them pretty. So a realistic view of how they can be organized and maintained will be essential to presenting the option to the communities.

The Council seems on board with the concepts of hygiene centers and crisis centers. But as member Carol Fukunaga said, it’s all about location, location, location.

Settling on even one of those locations will involve a lot of outreach, and a lot of persuasion. Let the discussion about such specifics — and the persuading of the concerned neighbors — commence.