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Palolo Neighborhood Board April 2021 Minutes
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NEXT MEETING - Click here to read next meeting agenda scheduled for 5/12/2021.

With Permission / Courtesy of: City and County of Honolulu Neighborhood Commission Office

Palolo Neighborhood Board No. 6

April 2021 Minutes

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021

VIRTUAL WEBEX MEETING

CALL TO ORDER: Chair Frost called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Quorum WAS ESTABLISHED with seven (7) members present. Note - This 13-member board requires seven (7) members to establish a quorum and to take official Board action.

Board Members Present: Jesus Arriola, Joshua Frost, Beverly Mau, Darlene Nakayama, Rusti Onishi, Derek Turbin (arrived at 7:10 p.m.), Earl Shiraki, and Jessica Welch.

Board Members Absent: Frank Farm.

Guests: Captain Chris Miller (Honolulu Fire Department); Lieutenant Taro Nakamura (Honolulu Police Department); Councilmember Calvin Say, Janel Denny (Councilmember Say's Office); Cat Awakuni Colon (Governor Ige's Representative); Representative Jackson Sayama; Alex Kozlov (Department of Design and Construction); Randall Wakumoto, Cami Kloster (Department of Facility Maintenance); Dave Watase, Randy Hack, Cory (Residents); Lindon Valenciano (Neighborhood Assistant) were among the 25 total in attendance virtually.

CITY MONTHLY REPORTS

Honolulu Fire Department (HFD): Captain Chris Miller reported the following:

• March 2021 Statistics: 1 cooking fire, 1 activated alarm, 1 motor vehicle crash collision, and 37 medical emergencies.

• Safety Tips: Fire escape tips were provided.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed: Rescue: Shiraki inquired and Captain Chris Miller replied that they responded to a call from Kaau Crater, adding that people are hesitant to call for help then after nightfall

Honolulu Police Department (HPD): Lieutenant Taro Nakamura reported the following:

• March 2021 Statistics: 7 motor vehicle thefts, 7 burglaries, 11 thefts, and 17 unauthorized entries into a motor vehicle, and 9,826 total calls for service.

• Safety Tip: Honolulu 311 application tips were provided.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed: Support: Shiraki apologized about HPD Chief Ballard's resignation and noted his support for HPD.

Turbin entered the meeting at 7:10 p.m.; eight (8) members present.

Board of Water Supply (BWS): Dominic Dias reported the following:

• March 2021 Main Breaks: No main breaks reported.

• General Water Announcements:

o Suspension of Water Shut Offs: BWS will extend the suspension of water shut-off for non-payment of bills through Wednesday, June 30, 2021, due to the pandemic.

o Water Conservation Week: The 43rd annual Water Conservation Week is from Sunday, May 2, 2021 to Saturday, May 8, 2021.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed: Red Hill: Shiraki urged BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau to support moving the gas tank at Red Hill.

FILLING OF VACANT BOARD SEATS: There is one (1) Subdistrict 1 vacancy and two (2) Subdistrict 2 vacancies. No volunteers were available.

ELECTED OFFICIALS

Councilmember Calvin Say: Councilmember Say provided updates regarding the Palolo District Park project, restaurant economic revitalization, and the newsletter.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi's Representative: No representative present, no report given. Neighborhood Assistant (NA) Valenciano noted that a replacement representative is needed.

Governor David Ige's Representative: Cat Awakuni Colon shared the newsletter, highlighting the American Rescue Plan Act, the Covid-19 dashboard and Unemployment Insurance (UI).

Questions, comments, and concerns followed:

1. Rental Moratorium: Mau inquired and Awakuni Colon clarified that the rental moratorium was extended to Tuesday, June 8, 2021 with the 19th Proclamation signed.

2. Vaccine: Chair Frost inquired and Awakuni Colon replied that they are waiting on the President to lower the vaccine age to those 50 or older. Resident Randy Hack added that those with serious conditions are legible.

3. Salary: Chair Frost expressed gratitude for the salary increase suspension.

4. Vaccine Passport: Chair Frost inquired and Awakuni Colon noted the intention to expand the Safe Travels program, however there will be an intercounty pilot program to forgo quarantine for vaccinated travelers.

5. Essential Work: Turbin inquired about an exemption for those vaccinated and traveling for essential work because there are restrictions for the current essential work exception.

Representative Jackson Sayama: Representative Sayama provided legislative updates such as public testimony during conference, the unsuccessful catalytic converter bill, vaccine day programs, and Covid-19 testing.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed: Representative Sharon Har: Shiraki suggested that Representative Sayama support Representative Har for her traffic incident and Representative Sayama replied that support should come from the constituents.

Senator Les Ihara Jr.: No representative present; no report given.

RESIDENTS/COMMUNITY CONCERNS:

Kuahea Street/Waiomao Road Update: The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Director Kozlov reported that the property owner Fong has not signed the agreement, so it will be taken to court in order to take possession of the property which could take up to a month.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed:

1. Permission: Onishi inquired and Kozlov replied that permission is holding the project back because a deal was not made with Fong, adding that they have worked as far as allowed.

2. Crevice: Representative Sayama reported that there is a long crevice that is getting wider on Lamaku Street.

3. Assessment: Resident Cory reported that there was supposed to be a walk-around to assess the property, adding that the sidewalks on both sides has been closed for over a year.

BOARD BUSINESS

City & County of Honolulu Storm Water Quality Division: Update on the Storm Water Utility Study: Randall Wakumoto, the Department of Facility Maintenance (DFM) Storm Water Quality Division, and Cami Kloster invited the public to attend their virtual meetings to provide feedback; they presented information about the storm water utility feasibility study to determine a proposed fee rate in order to have a dedicated funding for improved water quality management and leverage grant funding.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed:

1. Property Owners: Shiraki inquired and Wakumoto replied that the fee would apply to property owners. Shiraki is against fees for property owners.

2. Inclusion: Mau inquired and Wakumoto replied that the Storm Water Utility fee includes all properties, including those properties that are currently exempted. Mau is not favorable toward more fees.

3. Maintenance: Onishi inquired and Wakumoto replied that DFM maintains the storm drain system on City property while the State and Federal Governments are responsible for their properties. Onishi inquired and Wakumoto replied that there is a maintenance record.

4. Funds: Onishi inquired and Wakumoto replied that currently without dedicated funding, it is difficult to do the work and plan future projects. Kloster noted that they are trying to keep ahead of the stringent requirements of the Clean Water Act.

5. Fee Increase: Resident Dave Watase commented that the bottom-line is an increase to fees and raised concerns for churches and non-profits. Wakumoto shared the possible options including credit reduction.

6. Vacant Properties: Chair Frost inquired and Wakumoto replied that fees on vacant properties depend on the amount of impervious area present.

7. Rate: Chair Frost inquired and Wakumoto replied that the rate was proposed from a lengthy study based on funding for storm water maintenance.

8. Grants: Chair Frost inquired and Wakumoto replied that the Storm Water Quality Division loses out on a lot of State revolving grants because there is no dedicated revenue to repay the loan.

9. Climate Change: Chair Frost inquired and Wakumoto replied that the City is actively engaged in mitigating and addressing the impacts of climate change.

10. Educate: Councilmember Say noted that Josh Stanbro of the Resiliency Office was in favor of the program and added that there is a need to educate the community about how important this issue is.

11. Other Municipalities: Councilmember Say inquired and Wakumoto replied that over 2000 municipalities have adopted similar programs and learned from them.

12. Prevention: Resident Say noted that this program could be beneficial in preventing monster homes.

13. Funding: Onishi suggested that the answer to funding would be legalize gambling like a lottery.

Approval of Minutes from Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Regular Meeting:

Mau MOVED and Onishi SECONDED the Motion to Approve the Minutes from Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Meeting as written. The Motion PASSED by UNANIMOUS CONSENT, 8-0-0; (AYE: Arriola, Frost, Mau, Nakayama, Onishi, Shiraki, Turbin, Welch; NAY: None; ABSTAIN: None).

Resolution Requesting the Honolulu City Council to Commission an Independent Study of Rail Alternatives: Chair Frost introduced and summarized the resolution. Discussion followed:

• Handling: Chair Frost is not against the rail, however raised concerns that the Honolulu Authority of Rapid Transportation (HART) handled the rail poorly.

• Expansion: Onishi hoped that the rail would be expanded to East Honolulu.

Mau MOVED and Shiraki SECONDED the Motion to Approve the Resolution Requesting the Honolulu City Council to Commission an Independent Study of Rail Alternatives. The Motion PASSED by UNANIMOUS CONSENT, 8-0-0; (AYE: Arriola, Frost, Mau, Nakayama, Onishi, Shiraki, Turbin, Welch; NAY: None; ABSTAIN: None).

Treasurer Report: No report was given.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Farmer's Market: Nakayama noted that the Farmer's Market might be closed because they are doing renovations.

Excused: Nakayama noted that Board members who missed the March 2021 meeting should be excused because the rough weather caused a power outage in Palolo Valley.

P lolo Neighborhood Board's Next Meeting: The P lolo Neighborhood Board's Next Meeting will be on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. at a location to be determined.

ADJOURNMENT - The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Submitted by: Lindon Valenciano, Neighborhood Assistant

Reviewed by: Brandy Clark, Neighborhood Assistant

Finalized by: Joshua Frost, Chair

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Palolo Neighborhood Board April 2021 Minutes

Palolo Neighborhood Board No. 6

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