|
BR: OK. Well, why it says words, words, words is because, um, you know how many presentations
<br />kinda are like that – just a bunch of words, words, words on the slide – this one I made a photo-
<br />story for you to catch up on what we’ve been up to over the last handful of years and where
<br />we’re currently at with Laupahoehoe but I do want you to – I would love your questions to
<br />further guide me as far as like where are you unclear on what’s going on or, typically, I get a lot
<br />of questions that are actually under the kuleana of like Hawaii County and not like various
<br />aspects of the, um, how do you call it – of the project but there’s, you know, certain County
<br />pieces and there’s the Army Corps piece and so I just wanted – today’s a great opportunity – I’ve
<br />never met any of you and so I just want to hear like where your questions are, your confusion so
<br />if I can share these slides successfully it will be a good day. I’m gonna give it one more go and I
<br />think what’s gonna help is if I close everything and give it minimal options.
<br />
<br />AA: Ah, Abraham, District – 5. So the way the Laupahoehoe issue came up to the Game
<br />Management Commission was – I took a trip down there and I seen the boat ramp was closed
<br />and decrepit, right, so we brought in Maurice Messina and I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with
<br />him and just to give us an update of what’s the project, what’s happening and then with his
<br />presentation he began talking about the seawall that’s kinda like the holdup of the whole
<br />project so now we got recently our District – 1 representative, which is Robert Duerr – which
<br />created a PIG to go back and investigate and see where is the problem and what’s taking so long
<br />and that, in the short stance, that’s what pretty much brought you here today,
<br />
<br />BR: Thank you for that background.
<br />
<br />AA: Besides the community down there having questions and concerns about it and like what’s
<br />taking so long basically is the main question, I think, right?
<br />
<br />RD: Yeah, yeah, Ben, hi. Robert Duerr. Outdoor writer, I’ve written for Hawaii Fishing News since
<br />1986, basically the Laupahoehoe project boat ramp essentially has never worked and I think
<br />from what County told me that it’s technically been shut down since 2009. But I do recall it was
<br />put in place and then the failure was addressed by then Representative Dwight Takamine – who
<br />was Hamakua representative – and then they had a project to upgrade it or to try to make it
<br />work which I think at the time was about 5 million. Essentially, the questions that are coming
<br />from some of the community members in Laupahoehoe is, hey, this thing has never worked why
<br />is it gonna work now? And as you know, Laupahoehoe is an exposed point to really harsh, and
<br />it’s really where the trade winds go unimpeded and it’s a major fact. So, I guess, that’s basically
<br />the, um, I mean, that’s basically what I’m hearing from people in Laupahoehoe and that’s what I
<br />know.
<br />
<br />BR: Yeah, I appreciate that, I also want to say we do have our Operations and Maintenance Program
<br />Manager on the line as well – Nani Shimabuku – she’s present and she can definitely help field
<br />the questions if they’re needed, but we’re definitely tracking as we say here or, yeah, our
<br />coastal engineers are very familiar with this project and noting the angle of exposure – it’s just a
<br />super challenging environment and I actually don’t need to tell you all that. So let me get
<br />through my story here and then let’s see where we’re at. So Laupahoehoe, of course, we’ve
<br />working on repairs for a bit now, I joined Honolulu District around 2018 – it was around that
<br />time that I know there was some serious efforts underway – just a few more shots here – but all
<br />is to say that it’s – the project even when it was built – I’m not sure it operated in its peak
<br />10
<br />
<br />
<br />
|