City Council Approves Resolution For BWS Audit

City Councilman Ron Menor

October marks my 10th month serving as City Councilman for District 9, which includes the West Oahu communities of Ewa, Ewa Beach, Waipahu, Waikele, Village Park and Royal Kunia.

I also chair the Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee, am vice chairman of the Parks Committee, and sit on committees of Zoning and Planning, Public Works and Sustainability, and Transportation.

As a City Councilman, I’ve been working hard to address the many issues affecting my constituents in West Oahu.

Resolution calls for Board of Water Supply audit

One of the more recent issues involves the Board of Water Supply (BWS) and the numerous calls I’ve received from constituents who have complained about their bills and the long delays they’ve experienced when calling the BWS customer service department.

Please let me know if this has happened to you, and I’ll try to contact a BWS customer service representative on your behalf.

To address these concerns, I introduced Resolution 13-201, which requests that the city auditor conduct a comprehensive management and performance audit of the BWS. Such an audit would ensure that the board is being run efficiently and effectively.

The resolution was approved by the Public Works and Sustainability Committee and was subsequently voted on by the full Council at its Oct. 9 meeting. The City Council also approved the resolution.

A related measure that would give the City Council control over the governance and financial decision-making authority of the BWS has been deferred for now. We always can revisit the issue later, but for the time being, the City Council has decided that putting the measure before voters in the November 2014 election would be premature without first conducting a thorough and comprehensive review of the current procedures and practices at the BWS.

Improving Pedestrian Safety

In other news affecting West Oahu, I have been working with the city Department of Transportation Services to improve the safe crossing for pedestrians at the intersection of Fort Weaver Road and Makule Road in Ewa Beach. On the morning of Sept. 25, for example, an Ilima Intermediate School student was injured in a traffic incident at this intersection.

If you drive by this area during the mornings, please be on the lookout for pedestrians and drive with aloha.

Weed and Seed Program funding

Lastly, I sent a letter signed by myself and City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine to Mayor Kirk Caldwell asking him to release the $200,000 earmarked in the city’s FY 2014 budget for the Weed and Seed program. Many of you are familiar with the program and how its many outreach activities have improved the quality of life for residents throughout Ewa, Ewa Beach and Waipahu.

If you support the Weed and Seed program and believe in its mission, please call or write to the mayor and urge him to release the much-needed funds for this vital program.

In closing, thank you for allowing me to serve as your City Councilman. I will continue to work hard to effectively represent you here at City Hall.

If you have a concern or request for assistance, I can be reached at 768-5009 or via email at rmenor@honolulu.gov.

For updates, visit facebook.com/RonMenorHawaii