2017-07-24 South Kohala Community Development Plan Action Committee Minutes - DRAFT

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2. Presentation by James Hustace (South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee): Guest speaker James Hustace, chair of the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee, presented about a survey they conducted to gather community input on traffic safety issues within the South Kohala district. Recurring survey response topics indicated need for: a Waimea/Kawaihae bypass, Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway/Kawaihae road intersection improvements; overall road maintenance (resurfacing, repair, replacement of safety measures in the timely fashion, repainting of lines); bike lanes; sidewalks/trails; traffic circulation studies; Wai'aka Bridge repair/replacement; enforcement of traffic laws; Paniolo Avenue intersection, and emergency roads. Mr. Hustace said the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee will publish the survey results in August and present them to the County's administration. He stressed Action Committee awareness on three important safety issues in particular: the Mauna Lani Resort Intersection, Paniolo Avenue Intersection, and the Kawaihae Road - Akoni Pule Highway intersection. He addressed additional topics which he believes are pertinent to the Action Committee: a demand for industrial zoning in Waimea, Waimea Post Office and Lindsey Road Development, and various emergency roads throughout the district. Committee members engaged in discussion and raised several issues including the need for a storage lane for the Puako northern exit, a request for a copy of the Waimea Traffic Circulation Study, and a request to see the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee priorities separated by State/County jurisdiction. A community member raised the concern about the increase of road development and concurrent increase in urbanization in the South Kohala district. The Waimea Traffic Circulation study may be found here: http://www.hawaiicountvcdp.info/south- kohala-cdp/public-planning-resources/waimea-traffic-circulation-study-2008/at download/file 3. Presentation by Elizabeth Pickett and Pablo Beimler (Hawai'i Wildfire Management): Guest speaker Pablo Beimler gave an overview of the major wildfire hazards along with wildfire management strategies and efforts island wide. Mr. Beimler presented trend data showing that wildfires tend to occur in populated or commuting areas. The Hawaii Wildfire Management organization defines various hazards as a means to measure fire risk in an area, these include past incidents, vegetation, environment, building, subdivision, and fire protection capability hazards. Committee members asked clarifying questions about interagency response to wildfire threats which led to a discussion about the Pohakuloa Military base fire response as compared to those led by the State or County. A Committee Member proposed a project with the Hawaii Wildfire Management organization to maintain the grass on the sides of the highways to further prevent wildfires. Concern was raised about a previous wildfire in Kawaihae which happened just before a heavy rain event that resulted in erosion runoff leading into the ocean. A concern was further raised about how this affects the watershed on the Kohala Mountain running towards Kawaihae and how we can mitigate these issues in the future. Mr. Beimler named a reference titled the "Community Wildfire Protection Plan for Northwest Hawaii Island" which is a document created in 2007 and currently under revision. An overview of the Plan can be found here: www.cohplannin,-dept.com plannin�ahawaiicounty.,-ov Page 3