citizens sound off about rail

Mayor Kirk Caldwell, along with state lawmakers who soon will decide whether to approve a rail tax extension, faced a chorus of angst and frustration from residents Monday over the direction of Oahu's transit project.

At a heated town hall meeting at Washington Middle School, a mix of mostly rail opponents and community members concerned about the project's skyrocketing costs sounded off to the political leaders.

Some speakers expressed concern that extending Oahu's 0.5 percent general excise tax surcharge past 2022 would burden a community that's already challenged to make ends meet. Others questioned whether the project is being properly managed — and whether the island could afford it.

"I plead with you, the state lawmakers … I don't want this tax extension. We already have the highest taxes in the nation," Joey Brown, an 18-year-old student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, implored the panel of county and state lawmakers.

Caldwell told the crowd of 100 or so people that the rail transit system remains critical for an island that's already overrun with cars and only getting more crowded — despite the project's ballooning cost overruns and a budget gap of as much as $910 million.

"I do not want to build another freeway on this island, or another major road," Caldwell told the audience Monday. "I want to make better use of the lands that are zoned urban."

Caldwell and rail leaders have insisted that rail will need a tax extension in this legislative session to overcome the project's fiscal woes and keep construction on schedule. Legislators are weighing two bills that would grant an extension.

Gov. David Ige, meanwhile, has consistently expressed skepticism about the need to extend the tax during this session.

A group of McCully- and Moiliili-area lawmakers, including state Reps. Scott Saiki (D, Downtown-Kaka­ako-McCully), Della Au Belatti (D, Moiliili-Makiki-Tantalus) and Scott Nishi­moto (D, McCully-Moiliili- Kapa­hulu), along with state Sen. Les Ihara (Moiliili-Kai­muki-Palolo) and Hono­lulu City Councilwoman Ann Koba­ya­shi, put together the forum with Caldwell and rail officials.

The organizers were overwhelmed by about 50 written questions in addition to the constant line of residents waiting to take the microphone.