2018-03-28 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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Scales at Puʻuanahulu: The scales are old and being replaced, and the bids came in at almost double what was expected. However, they are going forward with getting new scales and a new system in place. Abandoned Vehicles: They have been meeting with Corporation Counsel and the County Council about the removal of abandoned vehicles on private roads, which is currently contrary to the County Code. Proposed modifications to the Code in order to allow towing from private property and private roads are in the process of being drafted. Pāhala and Nāālehu Wastewater Treatment Plʻants: Brown and Caldwell are the design engineers for both of the facilities and are doing public outreach. They hired Berna of Earthplan to assist. She has already met a lot of Pāhala community members and held outreach programs to find out what people are thinking, and she is starting now in Nāālehu. She and Michelle ʻ Sorensen, a design engineer with Brown and Caldwell, are reaching out to citizens to get their feelings and an understanding of the issues so the County can address them in the environmental assessments. 7. COMMISSIONERS’ DISTRICT UPDATE REPORTS AND ISSUES Vice Chair Olson: Regarding abandoned issues, Vice Chair Olson repeated his belief there should be a fee applied at the point of purchase or point of importation to cover the disposal of abandoned vehicles. It should not come from property tax funds, since there is no correlation between owing a vehicle and having a piece of property. He would like to see figures on how many vehicles were actually towed over the last ten years and ended up in the County’s hands. There was a point when the price of fuel was way up, and he’d like to compare the earlier and later figures. Vehicles have a value and are a commodity in the steel market. Regarding the operation of transfer stations, he wanted input from Director Kucharski on how the department plans to accommodate the population growth and at what point the department will start looking for a site to build a new transfer station. Director Kucharski said they look at empirical data by tracking the tonnage that comes into the transfer station on a monthly basis. When the figure start to increase, they will consider expansion or a new facility. They have not seen a significant increase in tonnage going into the transfer station in Pāhoa. However, if the figures start creeping up, they will start planning how to accommodate the increase. In his estimation, it would take about five years, possibly less, to locate, permit, fund, and construct a new facility. Vice Chair Olson said Pāhoa’s Main Street Organization and others are starting the next round of planning and looking at how things will look in 2030. Puna is different because it has a lot of vacant lots—tax map keys without a house. For the planning process they need to look at connectivity and other ancillary infrastructure. The Pāhoa transfer station was not well sited, as it is in the bushes, off the main lanes of travel, and it is not convenient to either of the two largest subdivisions in their area. 8