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Diamond Head Neighborhood Board Meeting JULY 2023 Minutes
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NEXT MEETING - Click here to read next meeting agenda scheduled for 8/10/2023.

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

DIAMOND HEAD - KAPAHULU - SAINT LOUIS HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD NO. 5

July 2023 Minutes

DRAFT WRITTEN SUMMARY FOR VIDEO RECORD

THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2023 at 6:00 P.M.

ALA WAI GOLF COURSE CLUB HOUSE, SECOND FLOOR - 404 KAPAHULU AVENUE, HONOLULU, HI 96815

AND VIA WEBEX TELECONFERENCING

Video recording of this meeting can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d9Qnr_ANs8

Reports & other meeting materials can be found at:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WKnOJqdvqoRuGhJ7E9rg5u7AtruuZZZn.

I. CALL TO ORDER - [0:00:02]: 6:08 p.m.

Chair Pro Tem Whitsell called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m. Quorum was established with 11 members present. Note - This 15-member Board requires eight (8) members to establish a quorum and to take official Board action. Board members must be in-person or have video access.

Board Members Present: Julia Allen, David Beutel, Dan Decker, Rafia Hasina, Angie Knight, Michelle Matson, Margaret Murchie, Arleen Velasco, Winston Welch, Dylan Whitsell, Bruce Wong, and Linda Wong (6:27 p.m.).

Board Members Absent: None.

Guests: Captain Kainoa Asato (Honolulu Fire Department); Lieutenant D. Toma, Lieutenant Taro Nakamura, Sergeant Kawika Nishimoto (Honolulu Police Department); Director Anton Krucky (Department of Community Services); Kathleen Elliott-Pahinui (Board of Water Supply); Dean John Richards (Kapiolani Community College); Claudia Rapkoch (Hawaii State Energy Office); Amanda Zepeda (Council Chair Tommy Waters); Councilmember Calvin Say, Janel Denny, Melvia Kawashima, Judy Hernandez; Representative Bertrand Kobayashi; Representative Jackson Sayama; Theresa Ng (Senator Stanley Chang); Senator Les Ihara Jr.; Christopher Sala (Hawaii Bicycling League); Jack James (Honolulu 7 Recall); Stanton Ching, Kirstin Downey, Tim Hahn, Richard Byron, Flo Nishimoto, Daisy Murai, Joannie Dobbs, Kendric Wong, Scott Awaya Jr., Keolu Peralto, Noela Von Wiegandt (Residents); Dylan Buck (Neighborhood Commission Office). Note: Name was not included if not legible. There were 48 total participants.

II. INITIAL CONVENING BUSINESS - [0:00:25]

Election of Officers - Chair [0:00:30]: [0:00:52] - Welch nominated Whitsell for Chair; Whitsell declined. [0:01:24] - Hasina nominated Matson for Chair; Matson declined. [0:01:52] - Murchie nominated Welch for Chair. Hearing no other nominations, the board conducted a roll call vote. Welch was elected Chair; 10-0-0 (Welch: Allen, Beutel, Decker, Hasina, Knight, Matson, Murchie, Velasco, Welch, Whitsell; Abstain: None) - [0:02:50].

Election of Officers - Vice Chair [0:04:42]: [0:04:54] - Whitsell nominated Velasco for Vice Chair. Hearing no other nominations, the board conducted a roll call vote. Velasco was elected Vice Chair; 11-0-0 (Velasco: Allen, Beutel, Decker, Hasina, Knight, Matson, Murchie, Velasco, Welch, Whitsell, B. Wong; Abstain: None) - [0:05:55].

Election of Officers - Secretary [0:06:41]: [0:06:49] - Matson nominated Murchie for Secretary; Murchie declined. [0:07:05] - Matson nominated Hasina for Secretary; Hasina declined. [0:07:17] - Welch nominated Matson for Secretary. [0:07:26] - Whitsell nominated Beutel for Secretary. Discussion followed. Hearing no further discussion, the board conducted a roll call vote. After two (2) rounds of voting, no candidate received enough votes to be elected Secretary at this time; 5-7-0 (Matson: Hasina, Matson, Murchie, Welch, L. Wong; Beutel: Allen, Beutel, Decker, Knight, Velasco, Whitsell, B. Wong; Abstain: None) - [0:18:40].

L. Wong joined the meeting at 6:27 p.m.; 12 members present.

Election of Officers - Treasurer [0:21:25]: [0:21:38] - Whitsell nominated Decker for Treasurer. [0:21:44] - Hasina nominated Whitsell for Treasurer; Whitsell declined. [0:21:56] - Matson nominated Murchie for Treasurer; Murchie declined. [0:22:11] - Hasina nominated B. Wong for Treasurer; B. Wong declined. [0:22:22] - Welch nominated L. Wong for Treasurer. Hearing no further nominations, the board conducted a roll call vote. L. Wong was elected Treasurer after two (2) rounds of voting; 9-3-0 (L. Wong: Allen, Beutel, Hasina, Matson, Murchie, Velasco, Welch, B. Wong, L. Wong; Decker: Decker, Knight, Whitsell: Abstain: None) - [0:22:45].

Filling of Vacancies - One (1) vacancy in Sub-District 2 / Two (2) vacancies in Sub-District 3 [0:25:33]: No volunteers at this time. This item will be added to the next agenda.

Meeting Date, Time, Location, and Format (Online Component) [0:27:09]: [0:35:49] - Welch MOVED and Decker SECONDED to retain the previous term's meeting date, time, location, and format: Second Thursday/ 6:00 p.m./ Ala Wai Golf Course Club House/ with WebEx. Hearing an abstention, the board conducted a roll call vote. The motion WAS ADOPTED; 10-0-2 (Aye: Allen, Beutel, Decker, Hasina, Knight, Velasco, Welch, Whitsell, B. Wong, L. Wong; Nay: None; Abstain: Matson, Murchie) - [0:36:35].

Determination of Recess Schedule [0:37:44]: [0:38:35] - Welch MOVED and Decker SECONDED to meet every month without a break for this term. Discussion followed. Hearing an objection, the board conducted a roll call vote. The motion WAS ADOPTED; 8-3-1 (Aye: Beutel, Decker, Hasina, Knight, Murchie, Velasco, Welch, L. Wong; Nay: Allen, Whitsell, B. Wong; Abstain: Matson) - [0:41:08].

Adoption of Oral Testimony Rules [0:42:13]: [0:43:42] - Beutel MOVED and Decker SECONDED to retain the previous term's oral testimony rules: two (2) minutes per speaker for first- and second-time speakers on every agenda item, then the speaking limit would be reduced to 30 seconds for the third time speaker on each agenda item for the remainder of the meeting, with the understanding that two (2) minutes will be afforded to each speaker during the item "Community Concerns/Public Testimony". Discussion followed. Hearing no further discussion, the board conducted a roll call vote. The motion WAS ADOPTED; 9-1-2 (Aye: Allen, Beutel, Decker, Hasina, Knight, Murchie, Velasco, Whitsell, B. Wong; Nay: Matson; Abstain: Welch, L. Wong) - [0:52:46].

[0:54:06] - Chair Welch called a brief recess to address a technical difficulty at 7:02 p.m.

[0:56:08] - Chair Welch called the meeting back to order at 7:04 p.m.

Establishment of Committees and Membership [0:56:10]: [1:05:22] - Velasco MOVED and Decker SECONDED to establish the following committees: (1) Parks & Recreations Committee; (2) Planning and Zoning Committee; (3) Environment Committee; (4) Traffic & Public Safety Committee. Discussion followed. Hearing no further discussion, the board conducted a roll call vote. The motion WAS ADOPTED; 12-0-0 (Aye: Allen, Beutel, Decker, Hasina, Knight, Matson, Murchie, Velasco, Welch, Whitsell, B. Wong, L. Wong; Nay: None; Abstain: None) - [1:06:49].

[1:07:48] - Chair Welch appointed the following committee members: Parks & Recreations - Decker & Murchie (Co-Chairs), Hasina, Winston (Non-Voting Member); Planning and Zoning Committee - Matson (Chair), Winston (Non-Voting Member); Environment - Velasco (Chair), Knight, L. Wong, Winston (Non-Voting Member); Traffic & Public Safety - Murchie (Chair), Hasina, L. Wong, Winston (Non-Voting Member).

Whitsell left the meeting at 7:25 p.m.; 11 members present.

III. PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTS - [1:19:45]

Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) - [1:20:09]: Captain Asato reported the following:

June 2023 Statistics: There was one (1) structure fire, three (3) wildland/brush fires, one (1) nuisance fire, three (3) activated alarms without fire, 70 medical emergencies, three (3) motor vehicle collisions, three (3) mountain rescues, and one (1) hazardous materials incident.

A copy of the report can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FECTIaBPSDLwiqXZL1R61dtTxVWB90Nn/view?usp=drive_link

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:22:22].

Honolulu Police Department (HPD) District 6 - [1:24:19]: Lieutenant Toma reported the following:

June 2023 Statistics: There were four (4) robberies, 12 burglaries, 171 thefts, 14 unauthorized entry into motor vehicle (UEMV's), 39 assaults, six (6) sex crimes, 29 bike/skate on sidewalk citations, 13 speeding citations, 1,960 parking citations, 50 loud mufflers citations, 112 park closures citations, 15 park closure arrests, and 5,303 total calls for service. More information can be found at: https://www.honolulupd.org/information/crime-mapping/

Honolulu Police Department (HPD) District 7 - [1:26:10]: Lieutenant Nakamura reported the following:

June 2023 Statistics: There were eight (8) motor vehicle thefts, two (2) burglaries, 22 thefts, 17 unauthorized entry into motor vehicle (UEMV's), and 6,537 total calls for service. More information can be found at: https://www.honolulupd.org/information/crime-mapping/

Emergency Preparedness: Lieutenant Nakamura provided an informational flyer, which can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F6XMBXydJlY5WvV8DCNcdwck2TBU4VUT/view?usp=drive_link

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:29:30].

IV. COMMUNITY CONCERNS / PUBLIC TESTIMONY - [1:40:54]

Honolulu 7 Recall - [1:41:44]: James announced that he is heading an organization, Honolulu 7 Recall, and will be working in the Diamond Head/Kapahulu Neighborhood to recall seven (7) City Councilmembers for their support of the proposed 64% salary increase.

Honolulu Century Ride - [1:42:50]: Salas (Hawaii Bicycling League) announced that the 40th anniversary of the Honolulu Century Ride is scheduled for Sunday, September 24, 2023. The ride starts from Kapiolani Park, takes you past Diamond Head just after sunrise, out to Sandy Beach, through backroads of Waimanalo, through Kailua and Kaneohe, with the 100-mile turnaround point at Swanzy Beach Park, and then returning to finish at Kapiolani Park. Salas noted that Monsarrat Avenue and Paki Avenue will experience brief road closures the day of the event. More information can be found at: https://hbl.org/hcr/

Affordable Housing Concerns - [1:45:44]: Murai, in discussions regarding the proposed Kuilei Place Development, raised concerns regarding another proposed high-rise affordable housing development: Pahoa Ridge Development. Murai commented that the Pahoa Ridge Development is not widely discussed in comparison to the Kuilei Place Development, and that while she is in support of affordable housing projects, she believes the proposed 28-story development is too large for the location.

V. GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION REPORTS - [1:47:55]

Mayor Rick Blangiardi's Office - [1:47:57]: No representative available at this time. A report was submitted, which can be found at: https://www.oneoahu.org/newsletter. Follow-up responses to questions raised at the previous meeting are available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1onYU3Bgot4A7ru7TeqgQs3BxBQhowC3S/view?usp=drive_link

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:48:08].

Board of Water Supply (BWS) - [1:53:54]: Elliott-Pahinui provided the report, which can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WqKD1HFWK0lbUlrU_nmEKWb6Q5x-ko8r/view?usp=drive_link. Elliott-Pahinui highlighted that there were two (2) water main breaks in this community in June 2023, and after a three-year hiatus the BWS will be bringing back the 2023 Annual Halawa Xeriscape Garden Unthirsty Plant Sale on Saturday, August 5, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Elliott-Pahinui also announced the upcoming Diamond Head Water System Improvement Part III construction project.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:56:50].

Kapiolani Community College (KCC) - [2:03:53]: Dean Richards (Career & Technical Education) announced that newly appointed Chancellor Takabayashi has been in place for four (4) months, and the campus is excited to return to full life following Covid-19. The Culinary Institute of the Pacific (CIP) held one of their quarterly townhall construction updates last week, and another is scheduled in October 2023 before opening the campus in January 2024.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [2:06:40].

Governor's Representative - [2:07:48]: No representative available at this time. A report was submitted, which can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15S_1ZxdgMIGWF1-E94NpYJiflUFoMRPB/view?usp=drive_link

VI. BOARD BUSINESS FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION - [2:08:39]

Kuilei Place Development - Request for Honolulu City Council to reconsider approval of the Kuilei Place Development citing sea-level rise and infrastructure concerns - [2:08:43]: Vice Chair Velasco introduced the discussion, and spoke to reports which can be found at: https://www.pacioos.hawaii.edu/shoreline/slr-hawaii/ & https://sealevelrise.org/states/hawaii/#:~:text=Scientists%20now%20forecast%20that%20in,for%20various%20locations%20around%20Hawaii.

[2:11:04] - Velasco MOVED and Decker SECONDED to request the Honolulu City Council to reconsider approval of the Kuilei Place Development citing sea-level rise and infrastructure concerns. Discussion followed. [2:17:14] - Velasco amended her original motion. [2:17:52] - Velasco MOVED and Decker SECONDED to request the Honolulu City Council to reconsider approval of the Kuilei Place Development citing sea-level rise, infrastructure, traffic/safety concerns, the displacement of existing residents in existing affordable housing units, and other issues previously brought up in the board's previously adopted resolution on Kuilei Place. Hearing no further discussion, the board conducted a roll call vote. The motion WAS ADOPTED; 10-0-0 (Aye: Allen, Beutel, Decker, Hasina, Knight, Matson, Murchie, Velasco, Welch, L. Wong; Nay: None; Abstain: None) - [2:18:24].

Proposed Ala Wai Canal Project Being Advertised - [2:21:37]: Murchie introduced the discussion on recent, locally televised, advertisements for two (2) projects: (1) Blue Ala Wai Canal and (2) Royal Waikiki Gardens. A copy of the Blue Ala Wai Canal commercial can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atgujzXw1hA. Information on the Royal Waikiki Gardens proposal can be found at: https://www.royalwaikikigarden.com/. Murchie announced that the intent of this agenda item is to inform the public that the project is not real, in other words not on the table, as it has not approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Public testimony followed - [2:24:25].

VII. ELECTED OFFICIALS - [2:29:04]

Council Chair Tommy Waters - [2:29:10]: Zepeda provided the report, which can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18ovmIZJvoHW68X1akoYah_UGLXfHE5NL/view?usp=drive_link. Zepeda highlighted the following: the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) proposed Outdoor Court Rules changes - https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpr/progsclasses_docs/DRAFT_Honolulu_DPR_Outdoor_Courts_Rules__June_2023.pdf; the Real Property Tax Division (RPT) Tax Credit Brochure - https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/bfs/treasury_docs/2023TaxCreditBrochure06.23.2022.pdf

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [2:31:51].

Councilmember Calvin Say - [2:41:50]: Councilmember Say provided his report, which can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HCtFgBoQ0a3_QNR9z4xub8kIsKfwghEp/view?usp=drive_link. Councilmember Say highlighted the following: Blue Zone Keiki to Kupuna event on Saturday, July 22, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Harding Avenue speeding project; Pahoa Ridge Affordable Housing Development at 2779 Waialae Avenue; the Department of Planning & Permitting (DPP) issued citations to the owners of 2505 Saul Place for the unpermitted demolition of a home.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [2:45:47].

Representative Bertrand Kobayashi: Postponed to the next meeting. A report was submitted, which can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c3lt8CulSJHqtINNwJ8qv20fdONF-cnG/view?usp=drive_link

Representative Jackson Sayama: Postponed to the next meeting.

Senator Stanley Chang: Postponed to the next meeting.

Senator Les Ihara, Jr.: Postponed to the next meeting.

VIII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Regular Meeting Minutes - Thursday, February 9, 2023; Thursday, March 9, 2023; Thursday, April 13, 2023; Thursday, May 18, 2023; Thursday, June 8, 2023: Postponed to the next meeting.

IX. SUB-DISTRICT REPORTS

St. Louis Heights: Postponed to the next meeting.

Kapahulu: Postponed to the next meeting.

Diamond Head: Postponed to the next meeting.

X. COMMITTEE REPORTS

Leahi Avenue: Postponed to the next meeting.

Parks, Recreation & Environment: Postponed to the next meeting.

Planning & Zoning: Postponed to the next meeting.

Traffic & Public Safety: Postponed to the next meeting.

XI. REPORT OF BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDING OTHER BOARD MEETINGS: Postponed to the next meeting.

XII. ANNOUNCEMENTS - [3:08:40]

Next Meeting - [3:08:43]: The next Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board No.05 regular meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 10, 2023 at the Ala Wai Golf Course Clubhouse and virtually via Webex.

Archive: Find an archive of handouts and referenced materials concerning to the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board No.05 at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WKnOJqdvqoRuGhJ7E9rg5u7AtruuZZZn

XIII. ADJOURNMENT - [3:08:55]: The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Submitted by: Dylan Buck, Neighborhood Assistant

Reviewed by: Naomi Hanohano, Community Relations Specialist

Finalized by:

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Diamond Head Neighborhood Board Meeting JULY 2023 Minutes

DIAMOND HEAD - KAPAHULU - SAINT LOUIS HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD NO. 5

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