Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PWMTC 2021/07/06 2020-2022Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit Stn Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii July 6, 2021 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit ORDER: was called to order at 11:07 a.m. in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather Kimball, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: CC)N4N4T TNr- CATIONS: The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. (There were none.) CHR. LEE LOY: With that, I'll be closing public testimony, and if we could just jump right into Communications. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Communications. Comm. 295: REQUESTS AN UPDATE FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR REGARDING STATUS OF FUEL TAX PROGRAMS ORDINANCE NO. 19-107, EXHBIT A, AND FUEL TAX RESOLUTION NO. 212-17 From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated June 9, 2021. (Note: Comm. 295.2, from Council Member Susan L. K. Lee dated July 6, 2021, transmitting supplemental information, to include Fuel Tax Revenue Reports for fiscal years 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020, was circulated.) PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 295. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Ikaika Rodenhurst came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you everyone. I'm going to go ahead and level -set. And with us, we have Director Rodenhurst with us today. Council Members, you have in your Communication file, Communication 295.2, and then this ordinance and then the subsequent reports actually sets the foundation on what Director Rodenhurst will be providing to us. Back in 2017, the Council passed a fuel tax, and it was kind of an escalated step- up process. With that resolution, we had asked for the department to provide us a plan, a forecast—still thinking through how we're going to call this but what the fuel tax would be utilized for, and identifying various roadways throughout the island that these funds would be utilized for. And so back in 2017, we got a report, 2018, 2019; but we did not get one in 2020, which is why I reached out to the Director to kind of provide an update for us. So with that, Director Rodenhurst, please identify yourself and share with us the information you have. MR. RODENHURST: Thank you. Director Rodenhurst, Public Works, here to provide an update on the projects listed under Exhibit A for Ordinance 19-107. Just to get into it, you know, we have various categories under this. I'll start with the Bridge Inspection, Repair & Replacement Program. Under that program we have Opea Stream Bridge, that is currently in the design. We have Kaiwilahilahi Gulch Bridge, that is currently in design. We have Kaiwiki Bridge 41, that is currently in design; and Honoli`i Stream Bridge, that is currently in design. Moving on to the Federal Highways Pavement Restoration Projects, as some of you know we have: Henry Street - resurfacing Kuakini Highway to Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway, currently in construction; Kilauea Avenue - resurfacing Wailoa Bridge to Puainako Street, currently in construction; Kawili Street – resurfacing Lanikaula Street to Kapi `olani Street, that is currently in the planning stage; Lanikaula Street – resurfacing Manono Street to Ululani Street, that is currently in the planning stage. Page 2 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 We have no current activity on the Mamalahoa Highway, Phase 1 of , Mile Post 109.49 to 110.99, Kiloa Road to Ke6puka Heights Road. Next one the list, is we have— MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: Excuse me, Chair, were we provided a copy of Exhibit A? Where? I don't have it. I just wondering if I didn't get it. I didn't see one. Could be in the papers. I was looking for it while he was reading. CHR. LEE LOY: Yeah, so in Communication 295.2—oh I'm sorry, it's not in there. You're right. You're absolutely right. MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: Okay, thanks. CHR. LEE LOY: That's the resolution. MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: Okay, that was all. CHR. LEE LOY: I'll have staff make copies of that particular ordinance, that the Director is speaking of, and get it down to us. I hope staff is listening. MR. RODENHURST: Okay, so I just said it a little bit more specific then. These are listed under the Exhibit A Fuel Tax Program. It lists out roadway projects under Engineering. It breaks down into Federal Highway Preservation Restoration, and other various categories including Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Program, Roadway Capacity Improvement Program, Roadway Drainage Improvement Program, Roadway Encroachment Program, Roadway Safety Improvement Programs, State DOT (Department of Transportation) administrative service charges, utility relocations and agreements, and that's what I'm talking about, on this, right now. I left off—at Palani Road and Alii Drive. That is currently Phase 1 of 2, that is in the planning stages, and it incorporates Kuakini Highway Route 11 to Royal Ponciana Drive. I apologize if I mispronounced any one of these. Next one on the list is: Kamehameha Avenue: Ponahawai Street to Waianuenue Avenue, that is currently has no action at this time; Kilauea Avenue: Ponahawai to Keawe Street, that is currently in design; Keawe Street: From Kilauea Avenue to Waianuenue Avenue is currently in design; Page 3 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 Kino`ole Street: Phase 1 of 2 — Wailuku Drive to Lono Street, that's currently no action at this time; Komohana Avenue: Mohouli Street to Puainako Street, no action at this time; Manono Street: Kekuanao`a Street to Kuawa Street is currently in the planning stage; Mamalahoa Highway: Phase 2 of 3 is currently no action at this time; Waianuenue Avenue: resurfacing from Kaiulani Street to Rainbow Drive, that's currently out for bid; Mamalahoa Highway: Phase 3 of 3, no action at this time; Mohouli Street: Kilauea Avenue to Komohana Street, there's no action at this time; and Palani Road: Alii Drive, Phase 2 of 2, is currently in the planning stages, and that's Royal Poinciana Drive to Mamalahoa Bypass. Following that, we have: Kino`ole Street, Phase 2 of 2, currently no action at this time. That's from Manono Street to Haihai; Haawina Street/Mamalahoa Highway: Kuakini Highway to Mamalahoa Highway (Route 190) is currently in the design stage; Waik6loa Road: Phase 2 of 2 — Pua Melia Street to Mamalahoa Highway is currently one of our shovel -ready projects; Hina Lani Drive: Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway to Mamalahoa Highway is currently a shovel -ready project; And then finally, Waik6loa Road: Phase 1 of 2, Queen Ka`ahumanu to Pua Melia Street is a shovel -ready project. Besides that, for this Fuel Tax Ordinance, we have been continuing paving all the roads in all the districts, and like I mentioned before, our bridges that are under design. So if there are any questions, please let me know. CHR. LEE LOY: Yeah, thank you, Director. And I promise we'll get it to everyone so everybody can actually see the various things that are going on in Page 4 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 their district. And part of the reason I wanted to have this conversation, is there's been a lot of concern around roads and how they get paved. And so, I decided to kind of attack this conversation from the source of funding. So, Director, can you kind of describe the process of funding? We know we get fuel tax, right, but also there's funding sources that comes down from the federal government, right? And this is where we talk about our shovel -ready projects. And can you talk about the timeline, actually, that we kind of know when projects are being looked at or what we can put forward? And it's my hope that for the rest of my colleagues we can begin to look at a timeline so that when we're proposing work and proposing projects, that they align better to the various sources of funding. Director? MR. RODENHURST: Yeah, so primarily for our roads projects and primarily for Federal Highways, that's where we get a lot of the funds for our roadways, for our big roadway CIP (Capital Improvement Project) projects. Their timeline, as far as how they look into the budget and for the next year, really starts around August, September of the calendar year, and then they go through the process of their fiscal and reviewing projects. I think this year our projects were due by March for review, and then, I believe May we had the final obligation process. And that's kind of a snapshot of the timeline. You know, understanding their budget process, their budget year is a little bit different askew from our budget year. And they start looking at what's happening the next year, around August, September, and that's where all the new monies come in, and we can have the discussion with our State counterparts and with the Federal Highways Administration, about what's the criteria and how much money there is available. So, we work with DOT on all the Federal Highways' projects. They're the cardholders for this one. And so part of the STIP (Statewide Transportation Improvement Program) program, and it's really a restriction on what our engineering CIP projects are, is on the STIP list, and is it eligible federal funds. So that's aI mean is there anything else you want me to go into depth for this process or CHR. LEE LOY: Yeah, I think I've been—I'll say I've been critical about our projects not being on time or on budget. But I also recognize the source of funding is coming from very different angles. So specifically for our STIP projects, we know it to be like an 80/20 match, right? And if you could just, again, level -set. Because I'm trying to bring awareness around the complexities of the funding, identifying a project, how we leverage the money in the most effective and efficient way. And so yeah, if you could just explain that process and just help everyone because I think we all want to improve roads in our districts. And so what I want to step back from is that it's not politically motivated that there is rhyme and reason behind some of this, which we might not necessarily see on face value. Page 5 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 MR. RODENHURST: Yeah, definitely. You know, you covered the Federal Highways projects; we do have an 80/20 share in that. And it's really beneficial for these fuel tax dollars, that we're allowed to use these to put up our 20 percent. So we can use the rest of the money that we have for the pavement in our districts, because not all of the roads in our districts fall under the STIP program list. There's a requirement. They meet a certain capacity standard, and they'd be identified as being part of the STIP list; and if they're not on that list, they're not eligible for federal funds, aside from Disaster Relief, and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), and those kind of funds. So it's really key that we leverage our fuel tax dollars in that fashion and make it go as far as it can so we have money for our maintenance, for our maintenance of roads and bridges. Because it's a two -prong problem, where we have our aging infrastructure. We already have our existing problems that we need to fix, but we also need to make sure that we maintain our current our roads, as well, and that will really drive down the cost of these major fixes. So looking at different methods as far as how we improve our roads and how we preserve roads, and trying to reduce the cost of these major CIP projects is key. So, spending that money, with the maintenance as well as the CIP projects is crucial for this. Incorporating that on to the list with the State Highways, with DOT Highways and how they divvy out the money and how we apply for that, and keeping that relationship with them, put it in the open, and we have that dialogue with them, is important. Because it also ties into how our roads feed into the DOT highway system, and it really does help us out. So understanding where they're at and where the Federal Highways are at with their fiscal is important, and tying it up is important, as well. I know our CIP isn't just our roads. This is talking about the Highways CIP right now. You know, an overall scheme of things, our buildings have issues as well, and we want to make sure that we tie them up how we use our CIP monies, effectively and efficiently. CHR. LEE LOY: Great, Director. And thank you for demonstrating that, right. We get fuel tax. They come in at a certain time; we do our budget at another time. We get federal funds at a different time, and this all has to align with the State. And so thank you for just kind of describing the complexities. With that, I'm going to open it up to my colleagues. Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Aloha, Director, great to see you. Thanks for being here. I didn't hear it in your presentation, and maybe you said it and maybe you just need to repeat it for me. What is the process the department uses to identify which roads are going to be added to this list? Page 6 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 MR. RODENHURST: So the process we use to determine our road projects, it differs fromoh, for this list, primarily it's our Engineering Division. So we use the Mandli software. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: What is that? MR. RODENHURST: It takes the existing condition of the roads. They come out with these big trucks. They have a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) capacity and other different ways of getting data on the roads that gives youa road conditioning system: how deep the cracks are on the road, what types of cracks there are. And the system also allows feedback, as far as recommendations on what should be done with the road, potential alternative methods of how to effectively preserve the pavement. Some of those aren't available to us on island. We're looking into what is available. This includes crack seal, fog seal, and other ones, other than your typical paving, where you just overlay. Or you can do reconstruction, rehabilitation, different methods of cutting out the exiting pavement and putting back a more structurally sound package. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So that's available through the Mandli software? MR. RODENHURST: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And how long have we had the Mandli software available to the County of Hawaii? MR. RODENHURST: I know it's been around for at least a decade. As far as the iteration of what it was back then to what it is now, I'm not 100 percent clear when we got the LiDAR capacity on this, I believe it's fairly recent. But it has been around for some time. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Sorry, continue. You were getting into the system, Engineering Division leveraging that to identify road priorities. MR. RODENHURST: Correct. So they use that software to look at the condition of the road, because otherwise previous times, it's just kind of take a look at the road as you go by it. Not a very effective method, but a method, nonetheless. Checking if the road is on a STIP list. Checking our annual bridge reports, because we have annual bridge inspection reports. Checking what funding is available through that STIP program, Federal Highways funds, FEMA funds. And then if necessary, we get a traffic study. So that's typically how, for the Engineering Division side, how the projects are determined. Now we go into the maintenance side. Our Highways Division, per district because we have our registered overseers, they review the roads. They check to Page 7 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 the status of it. They grade it on a system, one through five: Is it good, no repairs needed? Good, little maintenance? Fair, schedule for resurfacing? Are there visible defects, resurfacing needed? Or is it poured, it's been overdue for resurfacing, it's already been identified and hasn't gotten to? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And so Engineering Division has Mandli System? MR. RODENHURST: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Highway Division, do they plug that information into the Mandli System, or is there a separate software to house how roads are rated? MR. RODENHURST: They have access to the Rating System and the Mandli System. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So do they put it in the Mandli System? MR. RODENHURST: My understanding, there was some miscommunication on the accessibility of the Mandli software, so we are recently using that Mandli System for our Highways Division. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: How recent? MR. RODENHURST: I would say in the past few months, I confirmed that we have use of it. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So we had something for about a decade, and to your best knowledge, Highways wasn't plugging their information into the system? MR. RODENHURST: My knowledge is that we have had Mandli for around a decade. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: The County? MR. RODENHURST: Now what level of Mandli did we have when it started 10 years ago? My understanding is it is significantly different than what we have now. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: But primarily used by Engineering Division? MR. RODENHURST: My understanding, yes, correct. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I'm just—there's so many silos, so I'm just trying to understand where they exist so we can knock them down. MR. RODENHURST: Yeah. Page 8 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MR. RODENHURST: So under our current contract with Mandli, the system is available. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: What do we pay them every year, for the software and the technical assistance? I'm just—I'm curious. MR. RODENHURST: So access to the site, I think it'sI apologize, I'm blanking on the exact system, but if it'sI think it's every two years we get a resurveying of our roads with the system, identifying what the current status is, and it's in conjunction with the DOT contract, that DOT has with Mandli. We use some of the data that they collect under their contract, and we're able to get access to that for where our roads overlap. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And that's so that we can hopefully time County and State projects, right, so that we're more efficient with our resources and not burdening community with all that construction? MR. RODENHURST: Correct. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MR. RODENHURST: So that gives us the data. And they gave us access to the data. In previous iterations, we were given—well, the contract allowed for the hard -drive to be shared, they include the GIS (Geographical Information System) data. Under the current one, it is a web -based data system, and I believe we have access to that, to provide to our GIS to incorporate that data into our GIS system. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. You know, Sue, thank you for putting together this fuel tax revenue report. It has the list of different resurfacing safety projects, but it doesn't tell much other than where and the projected start date. And unless you save every single one of these reports, you don't know how long that road has actually been on the list and what progress has been made. For instance, Post Office road in Pahoa has been there forever, and to this day I still don't understand what else needs to be done in order for us to pull the trigger on resurfacing an extension. So I'm just wondering if the working group that Sue and I proposed is a place to figure out a way where we can present this information out to this body and the community so that they know where progress is made and where we are in terms of meeting the priorities that we're articulating over here. MR. RODENHURST: And it's definitely an avenue for that, for sure. And if you want an update on Post Office Road, I can get you an update on Post Office Road. I just don't have it at this moment. Page 9 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, we talked about it, and you and I did several rides along that road, so you can see the urgency and the need to get that done. You know, we go to the pump, we pay so much, and there's this expectation, right? You're fueling up the fuel tax are going up, and so people just want to see better roads. So, just looking for more information on how we can communicate that out to the public. That list that you've shared with us would be really helpful, but I just think we need more information in terms of what the priorities are, the progress, and the progress made. I think that would be very helpful. Thanks for bringing the discussion forward, Sue. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Director. When you're talking about the Mandli software, last Council we were told that there's a joint venture between the County and the State DOT concerning some sort of mobile assessment, that they were surveying the State highways and they're also going to look at our County highways, and the report would be available this Spring, but I haven't seen anything as of yet. Did that report get actually get completed? MR. RODENHURST: I don't believe that report got completed; but the data is available on the system, so I can get on that and get you that. I just need to know parameters of what the report was, and we could look up where that got left off. MR. RICHARDS: Yeah. It was this was explained to us from previous administration. It would be an objective assessment as opposed to what you're describing the subjective assessment of the highways and what would make sense to prioritize the STIP funding going forward. I was just wondering where that report was, and I think that may help characterize the conversation here of what we're talking about, and using technology efficiently to help us make those decisions. So just posed that question. I think everybody on the Council would like to see that report. Thanks, Chair. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? So I'm going to Mr. Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Okay, so I just need to make sure I'm understanding this because it's going to previous fiscal years. Is this where we are right now? What is this, 20 something cents per gallon? Okay, and Director Rodenhurst, just being that you shared some of the projects, one of them being Hina Lani, I just see a discrepancy. Sorry, this is just—really quick. What was there's two different boundaries for the project, one says Ane Keohokalole to Hina Lani. So is that—are we paving Hina Lani? Because it needs to be paved. I've shared this before, you know, my constituents always say, "The County's letting it go back to Page 10 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 a gravel road," and I drive it every day to get to work. So where are we going to pave there? MR. RODENHURST: So it's from Hina Lani Drive to Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway to Mamalahoa Highway, so it would be the entire of it. MR. INABA: Alright. You know what? That's all I have for now. I'll come back. Thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Ms. Kimball, go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director, for being here. Just a couple of follow-up questions. What kind of frequency on that LiDAR assessment? MR. RODENHURST: So it's in line with when they take the data. Right now, I believeI apologize, I believe it's every two years we have that assessment, where they check they redo they recollect data on our roads. MS. KIMBALL: And what level of roadway is that utilized for? Is that just the highways or surface streets there? MR. RODENHURST: That's for all the roads that they collect along our roadways. My understanding is it doesn't reach to every single one of the roadways. It does reach to all the major roadways we have, and we're looking into expanding that to reach all of the roadways. MS. KIMBALL: This is a the LiDAR, a vehicle that's driving around like an aerial. Okay, about the bridge inspections, what's the frequency on that? MR. RODENHURST: If I'm not mistaken, the bridge inspections are annual, and that's for all the ones that are listed on the national database. MS. KIMBALL: Okay, is that—you say all the bridges, is that both the? MR. RODENHURST: It's not—it's all the bridges on the national database. We have 129 bridges on the national database, and we have a good amount of bridges that are not on that database that are below the threshold for the national database. MS. KIMBALL: What's that threshold? MR. RODENHURST: I believe, if I'm not—it was explained to me it was bridges that are greater than 20 feet, and it primarily encompasses the ones that aren't on the database are primarily older wooden bridges. MS. KIMBALL: And do you provide that as a report to Council? Page 11 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 MR. RODENHURST: I'm not aware right now if we do. MS. KIMBALL: Okay. MR. RODENHURST: But I do know we have to submit that report annually to that bridge database. MS. KIMBALL: Okay. I think that's all for now. Oh, Kahakini, is that on the list? MR. RODENHURST: Not on this one. MS. KIMBALL: The funding from others, is that because that's from FEMA? MR. RODENHURST: Sorry, I'm trying to remember the exact details for Kahikini right now. If I'm not mistaken, Kahikini is not under FEMA, and it is currently one of our CIP projects, outside of this particular fuel tax ordinance. MS. KIMBALL: Do you have any sort of mandatory obligation to split the fuel tax funds between repaving projects and bridge repair projects? MR. RODENHURST: I believe MS. KIMBALL: You're the Clerk is saying "yes." MR. RODENHURST: Yes. MR. RODENHURST: Okay, yes we do. MS. KIMBALL: And what is that? MR. RODENHURST: Trying to remember off the top of my head, exactly which one that designation we have. I know for our upcoming fuel tax revenue, which is a separate communication, we do have money split out as far as the percentage, that number is escaping me right now. I'll get you the number asap (as soon as possible). MS. KIMBALL: Okay, thank you. Great. You know, I am looking forwardI think we're going to have more of a discussion about the working group that you guys are wanting to set up, and these analysis of how we make determinations about where to work on—or provide our Public Works. And I do feel the need, even with the information today, to better understand that decision-making process. I understand we have the software tool. It's not clear to me how well it is utilized, and how much of it is the more—still valuable, but more categorical analysis rather than this definitive quantitative analysis. Page 12 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 It might be useful to have a demonstration, and actually give us a chance to see the tool that you're utilizing. That would be my recommendation moving forward. I'll leave that to you, Sue, to determine how that might happen. But I still have some questions about how these decisions are made. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you. Mr. Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: Thank you, ma'am. Thank you for being here today, Director. So I asked David Yamamoto this the last time this came up, but for the 2019 report zero of those roads—although there's Puna and Lower Puna listed, zero were in Upper Puna or District 5, so I asked him why. And we talk about not being political, you know, when you see no roads in your district, you've got to wonder why. So I'm going to ask the same thing of you, any of those roads in the current report that you have, that we don't have a copy of, any of those in Upper Puna? MR. RODENHURST: Not to my knowledge, no. MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: Okay. So it makes, well—point being made. I've had many discussions about roads. In this communication that was put forward, Communication 295.2, you can see a progression from 2017, from 8.8 cents to 2019-2020 to 23 cents per gallon being paid by our residents at the pump. There has to be a fair distribution of those funds. What I find interesting about my district specifically, and perhaps others, is for the most part the roads being driven by our residents are State Highways and private roadway systems, but the collection of taxes at the pump does not take that into account. The roads that are being utilized for this fuel tax revenuesorry, the funds being utilized and provided by the fuel tax revenue, I don't feel are adequately distributed, if you look at the disbursement of State and private roadways that are being utilized by the citizens, maybe more so in Puna than other places. But I don't know if that can be included into your software. And that would be tremendous for some of our more rural areas, where we have increasing density, and yet some very distraught roadway systems. So if that can be included in your software, or in the approach towards figuring out which roads need to be resurfaced or repaved, I think that could be amazing for the rural districts. I did want to ask, you know, what that fuel tax revenue is based on. It is it up to the County of Hawaii? Is there a national standard we follow as far as our tax rate? And I'm looking at 2021, 2021-2022, with that kind of an increase. MR. RODENHURST: So my understanding is it's set by these ordinances, fuel tax. Page 13 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: So by the Council? MR. RODENHURST: Correct. So touch on what—you bring up the fact that a lot of the roads in the Puna district are state roads, that's one of the reasons why on this Federal Highways Pavement Preservation Restoration Projects list we don't see so much of the Puna roads because we don't have as many that qualify on the STIP project list. And that's not the only place the fuel tax money goes to, it also goes to the maintenance of our roads, and that's where it really funds a lot of the maintenance programs for our Highways Division, when they go out and they resurface roads in the community, in the districts. MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: Understood. But I do have to make a point, you know, of seeing no roads, and specifically my district, and that's important point to be made and put on the record. So going forward, knowing that you live in Puna, I just would hope that there's a more equal distribution. And I'm not saying that to point out that Puna needs more. I'm saying it has to be equal across the board. And that's why we're here today, is discussing how these are picked, what roadways are picked, and how there is a fair distribution of funding across all the roads. Because our roads in Hawaii County, they're kind of bust. And I don't think it's the fault of your guy's department, although you're in charge for Highways, it's just the truth. We have a huge amount of roadways, and we don't have that much funding and we need help. I had a resident call me and just gave me an earful, and he's from Hilo; and I was, "I know, I know it's bad." And I want to fix it, but I also know you guys are kind of in a pinch. Before I'm done—(timer beeps) if you would, Chair, a little latitude? I was in a Community Watch meeting, a Puna Neighborhood Watch meeting, and Senator San Buenaventura had said that there was a survey done for STIP funding for the roads in Puna specifically, and I was unaware that needed to be done at that time, to make sure that we had funding on the backend for State funding for our highways and for our roads. And that bothered me, because without having the community's input, she has no ability to base what roads she wants done in her district. Yet, it was so last minute that it really put our entire community at a disadvantage for not being part of that. So, there's got to be a better way of approaching that, at that level too, at the State level, to make sure that we can get funding for our County projects that we want to get done with their help. And if you're aware of those timelines, those deadlines, please let us know, so we can let our community know so that we can make sure we can get all the funding that we can for our community. Because that was sore for me to hear, is that we missed the boat for this year's coming funding. Page 14 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 So, thank you for the latitude. Appreciate it. And then, please address, I'd say, what I see as an inequity in the districts, island -wide, when it comes to how we allocate the fuel taxes. MR. RODENHURST: I appreciate that, and I will be you know, sometimes it's very important to me in how we do, what we do at DPW, and making sure there is a method to the madness. One of the things I want to make very clear is the distinction between the Highway CIP versus the Highways Maintenance. It's two different routes. Highway CIP, it's based off of what we put out here, the STIP list for Highways Preservation Restoration Projects. As far as the funds for maintenance, that's proportionate to the amount of County roads that are in each district. It's not reliant on this STIP list. So there's two parts of that. And then if we're talking about how we decide which road within that, that gets decided on what level of care is necessary. That's where the Mandli System come in, and determining our level of condition of the road; and you know, looking at the traffic study maintenance records, those kinds of things to determine what takes priority off of that list. So, it's a multi -tiered approach. There is some method to the madness, and we're going to clear that up for everybody. MR. KANEALI`I- KLEINFELDER: Yeah, mahalo. Thank you. Thank you, Director. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you. Ms. David, go ahead. MS. DAVID: Mahalo, Director, for being here. And thank you for answering all the questions from Council Members, because it gives some clarity. Yeah, as Ms. Kimball said, I'm still kind of confused of what the entire process entails. My question basically is maybe not necessarily related directly to the resurfacing roadway maintenance. So those two different the CIP section, and then you said the regular roadway maintenance, does the fuel tax fund include not only resurfacing but other types of roadway maintenance? Specifically, our sad situation of guardrails that needs to be fixed. They're deteriorating before our eyes. And my question is, does this fuel tax fund have a percentage that will go directly to your maintenance fund, that includes repairs of our guardrails? There are some serious safety issues in my district as well as others, where there's no shoulders, and the guardrail is basically the—it's the only thing between you and a drop. So that's my question, how much, if anything? MR. RODENHURST: So as far as the exact percentage per year, it does differ. We take the fuel tax revenue. We do split it, 50 percent between Engineering and Page 15 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 50 percent between our Highways Maintenance Division. We do cover road maintenance, resurfacing, and materials as part of that fund, so guardrails would fall under part of that. We have it split out to road design, bridge inspection and repair, road maintenance, resurfacing materials. It also incorporates our traffic signals and streetlights, and our traffic signs and markings, as well. So it does get MS. DAVID: It does. MR. RODENHURST: Yeah, it does get to there. MS. DAVID: Okay. And then my next question is basically similar to what everyone else is wondering, how does that get prioritized? Because I know that we've requested a particular installation in several, and some repairs, and basicallyI'm not sure how they get prioritized. But just food for thought, as we do our roadway maintenance, these other things, like guardrails, are very important for the public safety. So in prioritization, I think that's a critical thing to include. Might be a little bit manini, but it's huge. And those things, I think, the people can really see what their money is paying for, okay. I thinkI remember—road resurfacing, all I can say is I remember a resurface job once every so many years, right? Guardrail, people will notice that because it just stands out, and that makes them feel a little bit safer. And so I think if you could consider that, I think that would make a huge impact on our communities knowing and feeling better about what their money is being used for. So I appreciate you considering that. MR. RODENHURST: Definitely. And we'll put that consideration into the criteria, for sure. MS. DAVID: Thank you. Mahalo, I yield. Thanks, Chair. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. David. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thanks, Chair. And just, Director, a little follow-up based upon some of the comments my fellow Council Members made. With that report that you're looking at, if I recall right, I think this goes back to the first term we were in office. And I think it was then Director Frank DeMarco who made the comment—that at that time the current resurfacing cycle, we would resurface our County roads once every 65 or 70 years, based upon that cycle, but with the increased funding, we cut that in half. That's still only once every 35 years. Based upon the program funding and all that, that might not be a bad metric to put out, so the public understands the challenges. Again, this is off the top of my head, but I believe our State has about 900 miles of highway, of which, over 500 Page 16 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 are on this island, but our County highways, I think we have 1,000 miles of paved road— MR. RODENHURST: Approximately. MR. RICHARDS: that we try to take care of, and so that's where we run into the problem. So I think communicating that message is helpful, so people understand the challenges that we face. Thanks, Chair. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Ms. Kimball, go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, thank you, Chair. And I'm just going to use this opportunity to implore you for very clear metrics, because I'm hearing political decisions, fairness, equal distribution. Those are all qualitative things. Looking at fairness around this, you know, how many miles somebody drives, is that the metric? Is the need the metric? You know, that's why there is this important emphasis on clear metrics that are based on real data that are transparent, because I think that's what you're hearing mutually across this dais today. So I hope that we can continue this conversation, either through the working group that Ms. Lee Loy and Ms. Kierkiewicz are intending to form, or just through further discussion. I look forward to some of these reports, It's very clear to me that there's a missing link here, that I just want to take one chance to say, "Hey, can we really focus on that?" And I know your background, so I know you all share that concern. Thanks, Chair. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Sure, Ms. Kimball. Go ahead, Ms. Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha, Mr. Rodenhurst. Thanks for being here. I just had a quick question. Because there are a couple of different projects in my district that are actually Parks and Rec, the potholes at Old Airport, and the resurfacing of the Walua Road Trail, I wonder how or where these fall. MR. RODENHURST: So the funding would come from the department requesting us to help them service it, but we would do the work. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. MR. RODENHURST: So that's where that falls. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. And then as far as scheduling and where it lands on the list of priorities, I mean you have so many lists of all these places, so MR. RODENHURST: I'd have to meet with our Highways Division Chief, to discuss how that really gets prioritized. There are few different metrics on that. It's, you know, obviously the need, and you know, what's the availability? I Page 17 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 would assume probably when we're in that area, but we don't want to be waiting all year to be in that area. So I can't really speak much on it without having further discussion with him on how MS. VILLEGAS: With Neil Azevedo? MR. RODENHURST: Yeah. MS. VILLEGAS: Fantastic, he's been really, really great to work with. So attentive. Those guys get things done fast and efficiently, and people are always thrilled to then get to drive on the roadways. Lunapule was a really big one for those in Kona town. That one was beginning to be a gravel road, as well. So, I just had a quick question. Because Henry Street, that resurfacing took quite a while. Now, Grace Pacific managed that, correct? Do you guys contract out then, if the County just how does that work? MR. RODENHURST: They're the contractor for that job. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, great. I know that we are almost there, and which I am very grateful for, because that one needed some love as well. And getting those manholes covered, we got a lot of phone calls on that. So thanks for clarifying how that lines up. And I'll reach out to Neil as well, and hopefully we can find some alignment for those smaller projects while working on the roadways in Kona, as well. Thank you. MR. RODENHURST: Sounds good. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Anyone else? Thank you, Director Rodenhurst for being here. And I'm so glad that my colleagues really dove in. In the prioritization, we're all trying to figure it out because we want to be able to manage expectations within our community. And so if there is a way for us to help develop not only the stacks of funding, but the different tools that we have like the Mandli System. I'd also like to offer and suggest we should take a good hard look at our Mass Transit Master Plan because those roads have been identified as commuter routes and/or various blue-line/red-line routes; and if that's a way for us to leverage our GE (General Excise) along with other funding, I think that would also be a very efficient and effective way. And then our Safe Routes to School programs, we were big champions. I know Ms. David was a real big champion of our safe routes to school, especially up mauka, for her. Those are other tools that we have in our toolbelt to provide some of the guardrails, or just striping to slow our cars down around schools. Page 18 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 And I'd actually—and maybe privately we could have this conversation and then share it with the Council. I've been trying to do some research, just around when fuel tax started and how many miles of road we had. And, if we could actually demonstrate the metrics from the `80s, when fuel tax was a tool that we adopted. How much we got, how many roads we had to pave—miles of road we had to pave, and how many miles a car got per gallon? And then forecast that to now, what we're charging. How many miles of road we have, how fuel-efficient our cars are. And then maybe even jump forward at looking at a different tool that we might need in the future because we have so many cars that are fuel-efficient, or we're hoping to build a mass transit bus system, where we won't be collecting as much through fuel tax. So we might actually see this fuel tax top off, and have to look at other tools that we need in the future. But, Ms. David really captured it. We want to know how to prioritize so that we can let our constituency know that they get what they pay for, and they're paying for, you know, better roads. So with that, we have Communication 295 to close file, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 295: The motion to close file on Comm. 295 was carried Filed by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Lee Loy – 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Director Rodenhurst, for being here. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (There were none.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (There were none.) CHR. LEE LOY: With that, we're at the end of our agenda. Page 19 PWMTC-8 July 6, 2021 ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 11:57 p.m., Ms. David moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Lee Loy — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. LEE LOY: Meeting adjourned, Clerk, at 11:57 a.m. Thank you everyone. ved: -AA S:h n L. K. Lee Lo !Public o and Mass SL/na (Date) Page 20