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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / OCT. 24, 2018
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell holds a press conference to oppose the City Council’s proposed move to Alii Place from Honolulu Hale.
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So many political kerfuffles, so little time.
The City Council continues to be at odds with Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration over the need to renovate Council offices at Honolulu Hale — which, if it happens, would necessitate Council members’ offices to be temporarily relocated for the estimated two-year job.
Of course, the posh Alii Place at Alakea, Hotel and Richards streets, already home to the city Prosecutor’s Office and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, is being eyed.
Two snags: Caldwell is unconvinced about the need to renovate, despite Council members’ concerns about a “sick building” that they believe has caused ailments; and balking from Alii Place landlord, Bristol Group, about lease terms.
First off: There seems enough concerted concern about the workplace environment that Caldwell should take it seriously and not ignore it, as he seems wont to do.
As for the Alii Place rental contract: Taxpayers would prefer humbler, affordable digs in the interim. But if Alii Place offers decent rates, Bristol Group should drop its hardball, five-year mandatory term and sign the lease, with the Council’s at-will termination. The Honolulu Hale renovation is a city project, after all, and taxpayers know, sadly, that government projects do not come in on budget, or on time.