Letters to the Editor: 4-13-16
Kenoi hard-working, fine individual
Having been a friend of Mayor Billy Kenoi for virtually all my life, my friendship with him has never wavered and we will be friends forever. I, for one, know that Billy works hard and has a great personality. Even Councilwoman Margaret Wille has said Mayor Billy Kenoi has got a lot accomplished during his tenure as the mayor of Hawaii County and virtually everyone from every district of Hawaii County knows he has done a lot for their given areas.
Mayor Billy Kenoi is there when it comes to time of storms, which was readily evident in the one that severely hit Puna. Billy has built five brand new roads including two that were built when the lava flow was approaching Pahoa. Under the Kenoi administration, the island of Hawaii has seen two new district parks and 12 new playgrounds built for the treasured keiki. The Parks and Recreation Department has seen a lot of improvements to gyms which is great for the community. All in all, Mayor Billy Kenoi has done a titanic job for the island of Hawaii and negatives should not outshine honorable Mayor of Hawaii County Billy Kenoi’s great accomplishments.
From my perspective and heart and soul, everyone should be forgiven for nobody is perfect. To think one is perfect is fooling yourself. Kenoi has done a lot for the island of Hawaii and it will be hard for any predecessor to top his achievements. Everyone makes mistakes on a daily basis and it should not preclude them from doing anything good in the future. Engineers, doctors and computer specialists have told me business has picked up on the island of Hawaii due to Billy Kenoi’s hard work.
Dean Nagasako
Honokaa
Only a few good reasons for OT
I have written a couple of letters to this paper, prior to this one, but they were not published. Upon inquiring why, I was told that I was writing too often and you needed to give others a chance to express themselves. It has now been months since. But the headline “County overtime up” in a recent West Hawaii Today is a subject that few may choose to comment on for a number of reasons I will not mention.
Being a retired police captain/district commander, I think I understand the overtime situation better than most people. There are valid reasons for overtime and employees should be compensated for working overtime. There is something to be said for those who go beyond the call of duty to make life better for all who live in the community served by the employee who claims the overtime. Many of us volunteer our time to make things better.
Collecting in excess of $50,000 for overtime a year has its implications. The first implication is that the individual, in this case the fireman on the top of the overtime list, is soooo important that no one else can take his place requiring that he respond to every fire and emergency islandwide, creating the overtime. The second implication is that his subordinates are untrustworthy and cannot function without his supervision. The third implication is that his supervisor does not monitor his overtime, allowing him to rack up the hours unnecessarily. The fourth implication is that he is nearing retirement and being that his retirement pay is based on his highest few years of salary, he racks up the overtime hours to increase his retirement pay. The fifth implication is that he looks at his job and position as just a means by which to enrich himself, screw the community!
My hope is that his reasoning is that he is soooo important.
Leningrad Elarionoff
Waimea
Diligence needed for Keauhou Bay mooring project
Anchor QEA is the consulting firm engaged by the DLNR to assist them in their Keauhou Bay project. Anchor QEA is an excellent major international firm who, among other services, specializes in coastal and waterfront engineering. It is shocking to me to see their name attached to the offshore mooring plans proposed to the DLNR as these plans reflect a significant lack of study of both weather and sea conditions that occur specifically in Keauhou Bay. This firm is capable of doing far better work.
The funnel shape of this bay rapidly compounds the constructive interference of inbound subsurface wave energy. This was demonstrated just recently, March 30, when a mild weather event caused dangerous wave conditions to boats and boaters with both primary and reflective waves. No one could have safely entered or exited these mooring plans on March 30.
This bay is also subject to occasional excessive wind shear conditions as has been experienced in the past. Studies of the wind rose diagrams collected for the design of the Kona International Airport will provide this data. I am sure Anchor QEA is aware of the dangers significant wind shear will do to high-profile boats in these mooring plans.
Anchor QEA also knows weather conditions here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean cannot always be targeted well enough in advance to enable captains to get their vessels out to sea in advance of a major weather event. I believe to be caught in these moorings plans during a major weather event will be catastrophic to both boats and boaters.
Anchor QEA also knows that they cannot abdicate their responsibility for these mooring plans by requiring boaters to sign releases prior to using the moorings plans they designed. Drivers do not sign releases before they use our public roads and people do not sign releases before they use the buildings I design.
I believe Anchor QEA must stand up to the responsibility for these mooring plans unless they declare they were submitted for political purposes only.
I am a register architect and engineer with open ocean experience. For these reasons I believe Anchor QEA should remove the mooring plans they have submitted for the safety of the public and the integrity of their firm.
Chad Walter
Kailua-Kona