THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

96

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

REquesting the TIMELY PROCESSING OF EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES PROJECTS and the development of new school construction.

 

WHEREAS, repair and maintenance of existing facilities and construction of new facilities must be accomplished in a timely and responsive manner to keep pace with the increasing size of the school age population, over-crowded school facilities, and aging and obsolete infrastructures; and

WHEREAS, one of these areas, the second city in Leeward Oahu, is one of the fastest growing areas in the State, with many large residential projects being completed and young families with school-age children purchasing homes in the area; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education (DOE) has identified the construction of Royal Kunia Elementary School as one of its top priorities and has identified a particular site for the school’s construction; and

WHEREAS, notwithstanding the substantial justification for financial plans and agreements to consummate the planning, designing, and construction of a proposed Royal Kunia Elementary School the Senate is also cognizant of the need to support continuing efforts to address the $640 million repair and maintenance backlog in all public schools; and

WHEREAS, Act 316, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, created a comprehensive new system to manage the repair and maintenance process, including a key component of the system, which would require the development of a comprehensive six year plan to repair and maintain public school facilities in the State of Hawaii through the coordinated joint efforts of the Department of Education and Department of Accounting and General Services; and

WHEREAS, to address the community’s urgent need for a school in the Leeward area, the Royal Kunia School, LLC, a local developer, will work with the DOE and the State to obtain title to the site and remove the current encumbrances. In consideration for such assistance and to facilitate construction of the school, the DOE will grant a lease for the site to Royal Kunia School, LLC, and enter into a financing agreement under Chapter 37D, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), for the design, development, and construction of the school on the site by Royal Kunia School, LLC, in accordance with DOE standards; and

WHEREAS, the DOE shall use all possible alternatives to expedite the financing of design, construction, and acquisition of the school through a financing agreement pursuant to Chapter 37D, HRS, which will facilitate the construction of the school on an expedited basis and achieve cost savings and efficiency; and

WHEREAS, Act 316 established the State Educational Facilities Repairs and Maintenance Account to handle repairs identified as of June 30, 2001, and the School Physical Plant Operations and Maintenance Fund to complete repairs identified after June 30, 2001, and to allow appropriations to be placed into either fund, according to needs; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that Department of Budget and Finance is requested to enter into a financing agreement with Royal Kunia School, LLC, or its designee on behalf of DOE for the design, construction, financing, lease, and land acquisition for Royal Kunia Elementary School, and issue tax-exempt certificates of participation to provide the necessary funds for the project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these entities, the Legislature, which is responsible for appropriating the necessary funding, the Department of Education, which is responsible for identifying educational needs, and the Department of Accounting and General Services, which is responsible for ensuring that the work gets done, are encouraged to work collectively together to implement the intent of Act 316 and initiate expeditious procedures to create innovative funding mechanisms, a state of the art capital improvement program, repair and maintenance database, and facilities management system to facilitate the inspection and generation of work, processing of work requirements, and accomplishment of essential repairs and maintenance in a timely and responsive manner; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this

Resolution be transmitted to the Comptroller, Director of

Finance, Superintendent of Education, and Chairpersons of the

Board of Education, and the Department of Land and Natural

Resources.

 

 

Report Title:

DOE; Facilities; Timely Processing