Petition can't keep Waipahu city hall open

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

A last-minute petition drive to save the Waipahu satellite city hall has come too late to prevent the facility from permanently closing its doors on Monday, the city administration said yesterday.

Councilman Nestor Garcia and Waipahu Neighborhood Board Chairman C.O. Andy Anderson brought more than 5,000 signatures to Mayor Jeremy Harris yesterday morning, asking him to reconsider the closing of the Waipahu satellite or find a more affordable and accessible site for it.

"It is my sincere hope that after the mayor looks over these signatures, he can urge his people to meet the Waipahu community halfway and that we can all work together to find a more affordable and accessible site for the Waipahu satellite city hall," Garcia said.

However, Carol Costa, director of the city Department of Customer Services, said the satellite is closing because of a policy decision by the City Council, which deliberately cut the budget in order to close one satellite, then reduced the overtime pay so much that the city will have to close another site. At this point, it is too late to save the satellites, she said.

"There is no way because the money for the rent, the janitors, the courier and all the other operating expenses for a satellite city hall was deleted by the council," Costa said. "They made a policy decision that one satellite should go."

Harris will announce soon which will be the second satellite to close, she said.

Garcia said he started his petition drive to test public sentiment after hearing concerns from Neighborhood Board members on June 19.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.