Kaimuki Neighborhood Board - Minutes Of August 20th, 2009 Posted - Kaimuki

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Kaimuki Neighborhood Board - Minutes Of August 20th, 2009 Posted
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Courtesy of Neighborhood Commission Office
Source Neighborhood Commission Office

KAIMUKI NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2009
LILI'UOKALANI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAFETERIA

CALL TO ORDER: Chair Vernon Tam called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. with a quorum of nine (9) members present. Note - This 11-member Board requires six (6) members for a quorum and to take official Board action.

MEMBERS PRESENT: John Cater, Daniel Carvalho, Ginny Meade, Daniel Nahoopii, Sharon Schneider, Leonard Tam, Vernon Tam, Lori Yamada, and Abigail Leong.

MEMBERS ABSENT: None.

VACANCIES: There is one vacancy in Subdistrict 1 and one vacancy in Subdistrict 3, due to Mark Terry moving out of the District.

GUESTS: L. Hashimoto (Honolulu Fire Department); Lorrin Kim (State Department of Health); Ann Kobayashi (Councilmember); Ward Almeida; Harriet Young; Glenn Yamasaki; Caron Wilberts; Lieutenant A. Kurosu, Sergeant M. Asato, Officer K. Takamiya (Honolulu Police Department); Candace Van Buren (Representative Nishimoto); Kainoa Kaumeheiwa-Rego (Councilmember Djou); Karen Nakagawa; Roy Ohye; Gail Sugita; Debbie Sekire; Lorna Heller (Board of Water Supply); Dori Smith; Lynn Nakagawa; Barbara Marumoto (Councilmember); Richard Young; Lydice Chock; Calvin Say (State Representative); Lyla Berg (State Representative); Les Ihara, Jr. (Senator); Stanley Chang; Trevor Ozawa; S. Sonoda, Nikki Robinson, Tim Robinson and Theona Kapoi (Neighborhood Commission Office).

BOARD ORGANIZATION:

Filling of Vacant Board Seat – Tim Tybuszewski announced reasons for wanting to be apart of the Board. Schneider moved, and Meade seconded Tim Tybuszewski be nominated to fill the vacancy for sub-district 3. There was one objection. The seat was filled by ADOPTION, 8-1-0. (AYE: Cater, Leong, Meade, Nahoopii, Schneider, Yamada, Carvalho, V. Tam) (NAY: L. Tam) Kapoi administered the Oath of Office to Tybuszewski.

MOTION – Meade moved, Yamada seconded, the Proposed Zone Change topic be added to the agenda knowing no formal vote may be taken. With no objections, the motion was ADOPTED by UNANIMOUS CONSENT, 10-0-0; and with the necessary two thirds vote required to add items to the agenda (AYE: Cater, Leong, Meade, Nahoopii, Schenider, L. Tam).

PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTS:

Honolulu Police Department (HPD) – Lieutenant Kurosu, Sergeant Asato, Officer Takamiya present and reported:

• There is a new format for the monthly report and to go online or e-mail HPD at:

www.honolulupd.org/patrol/d7. All information on the report is broken down by date, location and time.

Questions, comments and concerns:

1. HPD is monitoring the homeless man on 21st Avenue and the area by the transformer on Wai'alae Avenue.

1. Gypsies on Ekaha Street. A couple and one child asking to use the residence’s bathrooms. HPD asked they get a description of the couple and to call 911 so they can be stopped.

1. Resident commended HPD and their narcotics for their prompt services and for getting rid of the open drug use in the area.

Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) – L. Hashimoto reported:

· Statistics: There were no major incidents.

· Fire Safety Tip: The Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) investigates reports of smoke to determine if a fire exists. While some fires are allowed or authorized under county and state regulations, more are unauthorized. When the HFD encounters an unauthorized fire, the Fire Captain will request that the fire be extinguished or have the fire crew extinguish it. If the fire is allowed, the Captain must determine if the fire is safe, properly contained, and not a nuisance to others.

Questions, comments, and concerns:

· Is cooking allowed in the parks? Yes, cooking is allowed during park hours as long as it is small and controlled.

Board of Water Supply (BWS) – Lorna Heller reported:

· General Water Announcements: Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention – Keeping Oahu’s drinking water safe is a top priority of the Board of Water Supply (BWS). If there is a main break or sudden drop in pressure, there is a small chance that water from your pipe could backflow and contaminate the BWS system. To prevent this from happening, the BWS works hard to educate and work with the community to prevent backflow. The BWS’s staff is eager to talk with customers one-on-one as well as conduct informative presentations tailored to your neighborhood board’s specific community concerns. If you have any questions, feel free to give them a call at 748-5470.

· Monthly Water Main Report: 4 main breaks in the month of July.

· Follow up from July concerns:

a. At Mau’umae Park: The BWS contacted the City Department of Parks and Recreation, who is the government entity responsible for maintaining Mau’umae Nature park. The BWS's primary concern is the water waste, so we asked if maintenance staff could be reminded to be mindful of turning off water hoses/sprinklers at this park. We also alerted them about the grounds maintenance issue. DPR staff assured us that they would follow up on both of these concerns. If there are any questions, please contact the DPR's East Honolulu District Office at 973-7250.

b. The BWS contacted Tamura's Fine Wine & Liquors regarding inefficient watering times. The store manager shared your concern about conserving our water resources and assured us that they would advise their maintenance staff to irrigate during BWS-recommended hours.

c. Noeau St between 15th & 16th Avenue: It was a service lateral break for 1 ½” size. 8 Feet of that service lateral was replaced. The reason why it wasn’t mentioned in the main break report is that we typically only mention the breaks on mains greater than 4”.

Questions, comments, and concerns:

1. Feel free to let the community know that the BWS has a Water Waste Hotline where the community may report a broken water pipe, a malfunctioning irrigation sprinkler, a faucet left running, or other similar instances of water waste at 748-5041. Please provide information such as the location of the problem, the type of waste occurring and any additional information you might have. Board of Water Supply employees will follow up on the problem and see that it is corrected. Mahalo for your concern in stopping water waste.

2. BWS will follow up on all concerns regarding emergency generators for sub-stations.

PUBLIC INPUT AND CONCERNS:

Announcement: Glenn Yamasaki does not want to leave the Kaimuki area. He is being asked to leave his current rental residence. If there is any one who knows of a place he can stay or how he can remain in Kaimuki, please let him know.

NEW BUSINESS:

Coring Practices of City & County of Honolulu – L.Tam is concerned with the coring practices on Kaimuki streets. The concern is that improper tamping of the coring site will eventually create a dip in the roadway.

MOTION – L. Tam moved, Carvalho seconded, that the Kaimuki Neighborhood Board No. 4 ask the Department of Design and Construction to give us a list of all coring sites on the island and to give us a map showing all coring sites in the Kaimuki Neighborhood Board No. 4 area so that we can monitor the coring sites. When questioned it was asked in opposition to the motion and FAILED TO BE ADOPTED: 7-2-1 (AYE: Carter, Leong, Meade, Nahoopii, Schneider, V.Tam, Tybuszewski) (NO: L. Tam, Carvalho) (ABS: Yamada)

AMENDED MOTION – Carter moved, Nahoopii seconded, that the Kaimuki Neighborhood Board No. 4 ask the Department of Design and Construction to give us a list and a map showing all coring sites in the Kaimuki Neighborhood Board No. 4 area so that we can monitor the coring sites. Motion was ADOPTED: 9-0-1 (AYE: Carter, Leong, Meade, Nahoopii, Schneider, L. Tam, Carvalho, V. Tam, Tybuszewski) (ABS: Yamada)

Proposed Closure of Kaimuki and Kahala Post Office Stations – No need for discussion, the Post Office Stations will remain open.

Proposed Zone Change – Board is unable to vote or take action on the matter due to the Sunshine Law. The Proposed Zone Change was added to the agenda the night of the meeting. Both sides are represented tonight regarding the proposed zone change at address 1049 12^th Avenue, TMK: 3-2-014:010.

1. Applicant Requesting: Tim Robinson, owner of “Stitch This” would like to rezone 1049 12^th Avenue.

A. Prior Concerns were addressed –

a. Use: The current commercial use is a sewing business that provides custom made canvas and plastic covers and has been in operation in Kaimuki for the past 10 years. One possibility for the future is to demolish the existing structures and construct as small two story commercial structure with on-site parking.

b. Parking: Any business use on the site will need to provide on-site parking as required by the Land Use Ordinance. Additional public parking is available at the City parking lots.

c. Traffic: A Traffic Impact Assessment was reviewed by the City Traffic Review Branch that concluded that any increase in traffic from the existing use or future development would not be enough to warrant any mitigation. The City Fire Department has confirmed that the turn around is adequate.

d. Noise: Any noise generated by the sewing business is well below acceptable noise standards. There have been no complaints registered with the City.

B. New Concerns –

a. Types of chemicals being used? No major chemicals. Restrictions and Regulations will be followed.

b. What will the environmental impact be? There has not been an assessment.

c. Have there been recent zoning changes to the area? Not for a while. 1980’s most recent.

d. Why if the business has been going on for 10 years why is there a need to rezone? Wants to expand.

e. Is the business currently allowed to conduct its business? Yes, under repair work.

f. Will the property tax increase? Not sure if this will affect property taxes.

2. Opposition: Residents of 12^th Avenue.

A. Reasons for opposition –

a. The rezoning intent was misrepresented at the August 20, 2008 neighborhood board presentation.

b. B-2 zoning is inappropriate for a small street.

c. Dead end streets in Kaimuki are not zoned B-2.

d. There are many commercial spaces available in the area, business could be moved there.

e. Rezoning to B-2 would open the door to more intensive, inappropriate uses.

B. Residents are not opposed to an expanding business. It would make more sense to move the business to a commercial space that is already zoned as such.

3. September 1, 2009 there will be a meeting for further review of the proposed zone change with the Department of Planning and Permitting.

ELECTED OFFICIALS OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES:

Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s Representative – Jay Ishibashi reported:

• “The rail vehicles are part of CORE SYSTEMS DESING-BUILD-OPERATE-MAINTAIN CONTRACT Request for proposal No. RFP-DTS-198413. The solicitation for this contract is still alive. Until contract award, Purchasing Division is unable to provide the names of the firms who responded.

• The buses on route #14 are always later than the schedule. To help DTS investigate this issue, please provide specific information. Recent checks showed three of the four buses were on time. For further inquiries/concerns contact 848-4500 or email via www.thebus.org.

• DFM will report to the board in October regarding the Kaimuki Christmas tree and the mahogany tree leaves to be cleaned up.

Questions, comments, and concerns:

1. When will we be getting the benches back on Wai’alae Ave and 12^th Ave.? It’s been 2 and ½ years since its removal. (Located on the mauka side).

1. Is there any way the bus routes can be rerouted to where there could be a quick restroom stop? And are there going to be other bus routes that will run later?

1. Board would like a list and a map showing all coring sites in the Kaimuki Neighborhood Board No. 4 area so that we can monitor the coring sites.

City Councilmember Ann Kobayashi – Senior Advisor Torin Ching present. Announced Kobayashi will be sworn in on August 28, 2009.

City Councilmember Charles Djou – Legislative Aide Kainoa Kaumeheiwa-Rego present. Reported that Councilmember Djou is in opposition to the proposed rezoning of 1049 12^th Avenue. A newsletter was circulated.

Governor Linda Lingle’s Representative – Lorrin J. Kim present. Reported the Governor wanted to highlight The Department of Land and Natural Resources ‘Plan B’ which will improve state recreational facilities. Also Stimulus update – The state has received a little over $356 million in fiscal year 2009.

Questions, comments, and concerns:

1. Parts of the stimulus package involve match funding, however it is highly dependent on the agency or program which also are maintained by grants.

1. How can we get homeowners who buy on the island, to stay on the island? Concern will be looked into.

State Senator Les Ihara – reported three major concerns regarding the Kaimuki community:

• The senate went into special session and voted to confirm Craig Nakamura as chief judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals.

• Sent out the concern of there being too many care homes in the community.

• The senate will have two meetings to understand the budget stimulus plan.

State Representative (House Speaker) Calvin K.Y. Say – Addressed his concerns for the up coming legislative meetings and the topics that will be in discussion. Representative Say announced the 6^th Annual Community Clean Up on Saturday, October 17^th at Kaimuki High School. A newsletter was circulated.

Questions, comments, and concerns:

1. Rising cost of property tax for senior citizens can that be changed? No response at the time.

1. There will be a school supply drive this weekend, Saturday and Sunday.

1. Rising cost of health care, is there a way to share the cost fairly. Response was that it is difficult to regulate.

State Representative Barbara Marumoto – Addressed her concern for the proposed rezoning of 1049 12^th Avenue. She will be withdrawing her name from the petition that was for the rezoning to B-2. After listening to community concerns, she felt it necessary to withdraw her name and is now in opposition to the proposed rezoning. A newsletter was circulated.

State Representative Scott Nishimoto – A newsletter was circulated.

State Representative Lyla Berg – A newsletter was circulated.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JULY 15, 2009 MEETING: The meeting minutes of July 15, 2009 were APPROVED AS CORRECTED by UNANIMOUS CONSENT (10-0-0) (AYE: Carter, Leong, Meade, Nahoopii, Schneider, L. Tam, Yamada, Carvalho, V. Tam, Tybuszewski), with the following corrections –

• Page 1, Election of Chair: L. Tam nominated, and Cater seconded that Vernon Tam...”

• Page 2, HPD comments followed: should read 21^st Avenue not 2^nd Avenue.

• Page 2, Public Input and Concerns: name should read Mark Gardner not Garner.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Yamada reported: The Previous Balance was $3,011.00 with $46.17 in Current Expenses and now a balance of $2,964.83. The Treasurer's Report was filed.

ANNOUNCEMENTS –

The next meeting of the Kaimuki Neighborhood Board No. 4 will be September 16, 2009, 7:15 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m.

Submitted by: Theona Kapoi, Neighborhood Assistant

Reviewed by: Vernon Tam, Chair

Thursday, September 10, 2009

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Kaimuki Neighborhood Board - Minutes Of August 20th, 2009 Posted

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