Inside Honolulu: October 6
There’s always something interesting going on at Honolulu Hale.
Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.
11:57 a.m. Second Committee Posted
The agenda for Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Safety, Economic Development and Government Affairs Committee has been posted. The most interesting items:
- A bill restricting the use of any machine or device that produces sound on public property.
- A bill establishing a procedure for the removal and disposal of personal property stored on public property.
- A resolution relating to visa waivers for visitors from China. (Note: It’s Stanley Chang‘s version, not Tom Berg‘s version, that’s getting the hearing.)
11:41 a.m. Ansaldo Contract Not Signed Yet
Perhaps the juiciest item on either of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation meeting agendas for today was the “Update on Core Systems Contract.” Interim Executive Director Toru Hamayasu told the Board of Directors that he hoped to have the Ansaldo contract finalized by now, but he’s still waiting for some paperwork to clear.
“The fact of the matter is that we’re still waiting for some information,” he said, carefully noting that “I don’t anticipate any problem.”
He said he would request a special meeting of the HART Board when it’s time to execute the $1.4 billion contract to design, build, operate and maintain the rail cars and train system. Finance Committee Chair Don Horner and other members said they want to see information about the bond before signing off.
Here’s the sequence of events, should everything go smoothly:
- The administration validates Ansaldo’s financial stability
- Hamayasu comes back to the HART Board
- HART sends Ansaldo a contract package
- Ansaldo returns the signed contract, plus a bond guarantee
- The HART Board reviews the signed documents and bond guarantee
- HART signs the contract within 30 days of receiving it from Ansaldo, and the contract is executed
10:08 a.m. Zoning and Planning Meeting Monday, Not Thursday
The agenda for the first of next week’s Honolulu City Council committee meetings is already out, and that’s because it’s scheduled for Monday morning rather than its usual Thursday slot.
The Zoning and Planning Committee, chaired by Ikaika Anderson, has a number of items to consider. One of them is the resolution introduced by Tom Berg that would allow temporary shelters in shipping containers. There’s a proposed set of amendments that the committee will take up.
Other committees are scheduled to gather Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, though no agendas have been published online yet.
9:56 a.m. Rail Opponents To Speak at Rotary Club
Three of the four major rail opponents will be speaking to Honolulu’s business leaders next week.
Randy Roth, Cliff Slater and Walter Heen “will present their case against the city and its elevated heavy rail plan” next Tuesday at the Rotary Club of Honolulu. Ben Cayetano won’t be there. The event is open to the public, according to a press release.
The following Tuesday, Oct. 18, Mayor Peter Carlisle “is scheduled to give his own view of the rail project and rebut the assertions made by the project’s opponents.”
Today’s HART Meetings
There are two different meetings Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation meetings today. Here are the agendas:
- 8 a.m. — Finance Committee
- 10 a.m. — Board of Directors
Where’s Carlisle?
Mayor Peter Carlisle has no official events on his public schedule for today. But Carlisle will hold a commemoration ceremony in the Honolulu Hale courtyard from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to honor veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team as part of the city’s celebration of 50 years of friendship with the city of Bruyères, France.
Read the city’s press release here.
Hawaii News Now had a nice look back on the liberation of Bruyères last night. Read the story and watch the video here.
Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu
October 5: Police For Sale?; Cameras Coming for APEC; Sidewalk Property, Noise Control Bills Advance; Private Possessions, Public Property; Today’s Honorees; Today’s Council Meeting; Where’s Carlisle?
October 4: Fifty Years Of Friendship With The French; ACLU Scolds HPD; FACE Rail Rally Today; Station to Station; Public Hearing, No Public; Where’s Carlisle?
October 3: Carlisle Responds, Others Attending; Carlisle Attending “Upscale” Condo Groundbreaking; Former DLNR Chair Thielen New City Ag Liaison; HART On Rail Costs; Archaeological Work Begins; Overcharging at Landfill; Carlisle Eats Local; HART Meetings Thursday; Where’s Carlisle?
