Kaimuki Neighborhood Board - Minutes Of February 18th, 2009 Posted - Kaimuki

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Kaimuki Neighborhood Board - Minutes Of February 18th, 2009 Posted
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Courtesy of Neighborhood Commission Office
Source Neighborhood Commission Office

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Lili'uokalani Elementary School Cafeteria

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chair Vernon Tam at 7:15 p.m. with a quorum of eight (8) members. Note: This board of 11members needs a quorum of six (6) members to have quorum and take action.

Board Members: John Cater, Abigail Leong, Ginny Meade, Sharon Schneider, Dori Smith, Leonard Tam, Vernon Tam, and Mark Terry.

Members Absent: Daniel Carvalho, Lori Yamada.

Guests: Lieutenant Roy Hayamoto, Sergeant Calvin Tong (Honolulu Police Department, District 7), Ann Wong (Board of Water Supply), Candace Van Buren, Lydia Chock (Leahi Hospital), Glenn Yamasaki, Susan Jackson (Governor’s Representative), Donne Dawson, Representative Barbara Marumoto, Gordon Tam, Aisha Olivas, Jay Ishibashi (Mayor’s Representative), Bertrand Kobayashi (Staff of Duke Bainum), Dylan Nonaka (Staff of Charles Djou), Anthony Aalto, Representative Lyla Berg, S. Sonoda, Carol Hoshiko and John Lane (Neighborhood Commission Office).

Filling Vacancies: There were no volunteers for the open seat in Sub District 1.

PUBLIC SAFETY/ COMMUNITY AGENCY REPORTS:

Honolulu Police Department (HPD): Lieutenant Roy Hayamoto, District 7, distributed the January statistics sheet and noted there is a comparison sheet that covers different neighborhoods in this district for the last six months.

Burglaries 20, Thefts 37, Unauthorized Entry into a Motor Vehicle (UEMV) 28.

For solutions to longstanding problems, report it on their website, www.honolulu.org/patrol/d7 and they will respond within 48 hours.

Questions, comments, and concerns:

A resident reported a commercial white Chevy van that parks on 15^th avenue for days at a time. Hayamoto said that he will check on it.

Honolulu Fire Department (HFD): None

Board of Water Supply (BWS): Ann Wong reported:

· No water main breaks in the month of January.

· The BWS is pleased to announce that Wayne Hashiro has recently joined the BWS as the new manager and chief engineer. As manager, Hashiro will be responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of the BWS, with a focus on furthering the departments mission, “Water for Life — Ka Wai Ola,” and expanding its efforts to become a truly world class water utility.

Questions, answers and concerns:

Schneider stated that there is a lot of construction going on at Lurline Street. Wong answered that yes there is a new main installation there.

PUBLIC INPUT AND CONCERNS:

Carol Hoshiko, the Kapiolani Community College Dean of Advancement, mentioned that the school is building an advanced culinary institute. John Martin is handling the Environmental Assessment and a copy of it will be given to the Board.

Leonard Tam commented that he is concerned about the number of pedestrians injured while crossing the street. Yesterday, a 23 year old woman was struck while crossing Pi’ikoi Street at 9 am. The driver of the vehicle said that she did not see the pedestrian. The police said that the sun may have obscured the driver’s view of the pedestrian. The young lady would not have been injured if she had continued to check oncoming traffic, and not walked in front of the oncoming SUV. Tam notices many people crossing the street without checking for traffic. He himself was almost killed while crossing Pahoa Avenue at 13^th Avenue last year. He had checked for oncoming vehicles and one vehicle was about two blocks away. While crossing he looked at the vehicle and noticed that it was very close to him. He ran to the sidewalk as it zoomed past him. The driver was speeding and did not see anyone. If he had not continued to look, he would have been killed. The legislature should change its priority and encourage pedestrians to check for oncoming traffic and walk defensively. Tam would like the Board to address the issue of pedestrian safety.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Update on refurbishing of Kaimuki Christmas Tree. L.Tam reported that, on February 11^th, Mike Hall of the Department of Facilities Maintenance sent two crews to disassemble the Kaimuki Christmas Tree. One crew used a large boom truck and the other crew used a smaller boom truck. The vinyl coating on the steel cables was cracked in places and was broken off where the cables rubbed against the pipe tees. Since both the rope lights and the vinyl coated steel cables were in bad condition, Tam decided not to salvage them. The crews cut the steel cables, which made the disassembly of the tree easier. It took the two crews about three hours to dismantle the tree. The pipes, collars, and bolts were moved to Tam’s house where he will treat the corrosion. They will be stored at Kaimuki Park when he is finished refurbishing them.

NEW BUSINESS:

QEXA (Quest Expanded Access Program): Aura Wilson Presented: Ohana Health Plan provides managed care services to seniors, people with disabilities, and the blind. They have been contracted by the State of Hawaii to provide managed care services for this population group. Department of Health awarded them the new Medicaid program. They have a very experienced leadership team. They are a mainland-owned company that is managed locally. The nice thing is that it is more comprehensive then other programs. The other nice thing is that people who are isolated have a service coordinator to advocate for them. It is income-eligible: $12,460 for a single person and $16,700 for a family. Smith asked where the funding comes from and Wilson answered from the federal government.

Proposed Film and Digital Media Center at the Hawaii Film Studio. George Atta Presenting. This project is being proposed on the existing film studio site. The studio has SME approval and special district approval. The project will replace an existing, large warehouse-like structure. They are staying within the 25 foot height limit. They will have a three-story structure built that will not affect the existing view plane because they will be cutting down into the hillside. The traffic study has been done and the traffic impact should not be significant. People who are concerned about parking can feel good to know that the master plan calls for a two-story parking structure to replace the existing surface parking.

ELECTED OFFICIALS:

Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s Representative: Jay Ishibashi reported: The bus stop benches that we have been discussing have been removed because they are a safety hazard until they can be fixed. There has been a lot of talk about the state of the economy and that is one of the reasons why the Mayor went to Washington, D.C. last month to get our part of the stimulus package. He will go again on Friday to meet with Obama and Biden to discuss new details. Hopefully, we get all or a good part of the allotted 700 million. The Mayor is having his 5^th State of the City Address tomorrow at the municipal auditorium. Anybody who is interested in running for the Neighborhood Board needs to register by the deadline date, Friday, February 20, 2009..

City Councilmember Duke Bainum: Bert Kobayashi passed out a report and highlighted: that budget numbers have not been released yet, but they should be tomorrow at the State of the City Address. Rapid transit is the big issue around the City with many wondering if it should even be built. Bill 7 states that people with building permits need to finish their work or their permits will be canceled. Bainum was pleased to confirm the appointment of both Kirk Caldwell and Joan Manke to their City posts.

The Kapiolani Park Trustees met last week to consider Bill 2(2009), which seeks to restrict camping at Kapiolani Park. Action was deferred until next month.

City Councilmember Charles Djou Representative: Dylan Nonaka passed out a report and highlighted: Bill 067 has been vetoed by the Mayor and has returned to City Council. It would have banned text messaging while driving. Djou supports the Honolulu rail route that includes the Airport and Pearl Harbor. This would connect the two largest sectors of our local economy to the rail system.

Governor Linda Lingle’s Representative: Susan Jackson passed out a report and highlighted: The State is following the stimulus package very closely. People are counting on it to be the magic bullet but it isn’t. It will have restrictions and a time limit on the money. So far the stimulus package already is several hundred pages in length. It will provide low interest loans to counties for their transit projects. Each department has been charged with following their areas special interest. The short form bills are to add things after the deadline. The governor left for Washington D.C. today with Duke Aiona for a meeting with Obama. Everyone wants to know how the Governor is going to close the budget deficit, and the Governor is working with the legislature to do so. Terry asked if the Governor intends to use money from the rail transit fund to close the State deficit. Jackson answered that she has no public position.

State Senator Les Ihara (9th District): Senator Ihara passed out a report and highlighted that Smith testified on Senate Bill 673. There are some constitutional problems that stopped the bill last time. The current bill will authorize the counties to regulate care homes themselves. Schneider asked if someone wanted to build a house would they have to jump through all of these hoops. Ihara stated no, only building a care home should trigger these extra steps.

State Representative (House Speaker) Calvin K.Y. Say (20th District): None.

State Representative Barbara Marumoto (19th District): A report was circulated and Marumoto highlighted: U.S. Navy Lieutenant Andy Baldwin, M.D., from the “Bachelor” TV series, was featured at Wai’alae Elementary School. He told kids to eat healthy and to get out and exercise often. At the same event, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognized the Hawai‘i State Department of Health’s Healthy Hawai‘i Initiative (HHI) for its work to combat childhood obesity in Hawai‘i. The award was presented to Health Director Chiyome Fukino, M.D.
Marumoto said that House Bill 22 will make it a misdemeanor for individuals such as Kawamoto to keep neglecting his properties.

State Representative Scott Nishimoto (21st District): A report was circulated: No representative.

State Representative Lyla Berg (18th District): Passed out her report and highlighted: The attorney General is in Washington, D.C. to represent the State in the Ceded Lands issue that is going to the Supreme Court. Representative Berg submitted testimony in early January to the Wailupe Consolidation Task Force in which she suggested the task force consider other perspectives than simple financial calculations when making decisions regarding the future of the school.

The Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps (HYCC) is a hands-on education and service learning program for young people to learn the principles of natural resource stewardship and the importance of sustaining Hawaii’s unique natural environment. The HYCC offers a summer program in which students work to protect and preserve Hawaii’s unique environment.

Charter schools are public schools, funded on a per pupil allocation which is separate from the Department of Education. They are state-legislated, legally independent, innovative, outcome-based schools that operate under contract.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER, 2008 REGULAR MEETING corrections followed:

· Page 1 – Should read January and not October in several announcements.

There were no objections to the minutes being adopted as amended.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Balance of $2651.31

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Chair Tam announced the following:

· The next board meeting will be March 18, 2009.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m.

Submitted by:
John Lane, Neighborhood Assistant

Reviewed by:
Vernon Tam, Chair

Friday, March 13, 2009

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Kaimuki Neighborhood Board - Minutes Of February 18th, 2009 Posted

Kaimuki, Hawaii
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