Council wants study of O'ahu light-rail plan

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Following a governor's task force recommendation for a $2.6 billion light-rail transit system for O'ahu, the City Council yesterday called for a study of the proposal that would connect West O'ahu to downtown Honolulu.

Transportation Chairman Nestor Garcia said the study would help the council make an informed decision.

Councilman Gary Okino said the purpose of the study was to pull together ideas and gain city support for fixed-rail. Advertiser library photos

But Councilman Gary Okino said the purpose of the study was to pull together ideas and gain city support for fixed-rail.

"We need to find a way to get this implemented," he said. "If not, within the next 10 to 20 years this island is going to be in big trouble. There's going to be so much growth out there that there's literally going to be gridlock."

Okina said it was important to start the study now, because it would take 10 years to get a fixed-rail system in place.

Cheryl Soon, director of the city Department of Transportation Services, said her department would build on a 1992 study of fixed rail, with changes reflecting the recommendations of the governor's task force.

Gov. Linda Lingle and the task force, made up of elected and appointed state, city and federal officials, announced plans Oct. 27 to build the light-rail transit system, which they said would require a tax increase. The new rail line would run 22 miles from Kapolei to Iwilei, where riders would board buses moving throughout urban Honolulu.

While the council unanimously passed the resolution for the rail study, members could not support two bills that would cap city borrowing and spending. The members voted 8-1 to send the proposal back to the Budget Committee for more work, with Okino rejecting it entirely.

Bill 61 would limit the city's debt payments to 20 percent of average operating budget expenditure. Bill 62 would limit expenditures by a formula based on population plus growth.

The administration argued that the limits would hamstring the city and require the council to grant exceptions for construction projects already approved. City Managing Director Ben Lee told the council yesterday that the bills also could have a negative effect on the city's bond rating.

But Lowell Kalapa, head of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, said dictating how much of the budget could be used for debt service probably would enhance the city's rating.

Nevertheless, Kalapa pointed out flaws in the bill and suggested that the city improve certain sections, such as clarifying under which conditions the council would vote to exceed the cap.

Councilman Charles Djou, who introduced the bills, suggested that the committee look for a way to address concerns to set a debt ceiling and "put some spine and teeth into fiscal discipline."

But Okino, Councilwoman Barbara Marshall and Councilman Mike Gabbard said the council should show self-restraint instead.

In other council business, members gave final approval to a resolution to give the North Shore Country Market six more months to move, and another that calls for the city auditor to investigate the Honolulu Liquor Commission.

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