State of Hawai'i County 2005 Year in Review/2006 Looking Forward

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State of the County 2005 - The Year in Review 2006 - Looking Forward: Projects and Issues Mayor's Office Roy Takemoto, Executive Assistant The Mayor's goal is to make the Big Island a better place to live (and thereby making it also a better place to visit). But how does that goal translate into action? It requires focused attention (so that assignments do not fall through the crack) and coordination (because projects usually involve the interaction of multiple departments). My job is to focus and coordinate the following priority projects to make these happen: Kona road projects. There are several road projects in Kona intended to relieve congestion and improve connectivity. These projects involve coordination among the Department of Public Works, Planning Department, Finance Department, State Department of Transportation, affected landowners, and of course the community. The planned outcome will be to achieve as appropriate for each project, one of the following targeted stages: plan-ready, design-ready, construction-ready, or actually constructed. Maps are available showing the 3-year goal for each project. Affordable housing. With the housing market fueled by a high external demand for second homes, the cost of housing is soaring out of reach of the local residents. Government does not pretend to be the answer or have the answers to this complex problem. The challenge is for government to work in partnership with the private sector, nonprofits, and others within a coherent framework. In coordination primarily with the Office of Housing and Community Development and the Planning Department, the planned outcome is to develop an overall strategy. Community and infrastructure planning. Directing growth to existing urban areas and away from sensitive environmental and cultural areas, ensuring that infrastructure (e.g., roads, water, drainage) and public services (e.g., fire, police) are adequate and keep pace with growth, and paying attention to our quality of life are some of the issues and objectives of the general plan and community development plans. The Planning Department in coordination with the Department of Research and Development are attempting to develop plans that are action-oriented, use state-of-art technology to analyze and visualize change, and meaningfully involve the community in a way that builds the community's capacity to participate effectively in decisionmaking and to be more self-reliant Multi-hazard mitigation. The Big Island is unique in its exposure to all of the major natural hazards: tsunami, hurricane, earthquakes, lava flows, flooding, wildfires, and drought. We take pride in the teamwork system, preparedness, and training of the multiple agencies involved in hazard response spearheaded by the Civil Defense Agency. But we can and need to do more to mitigate risks and educate the public. The planned outcome is to effectively leverage available funding to "harden" our critical facilities, provide adequate emergency shelters, and to have the most educated and prepared public that calmly responds to emergencies.