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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-03-15 Veteran Advisory Committee MinutesPresent Absent VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, March 15, 2007, 3:00 p.m. Hawaii County Council Room (Hilo) and Kona Mayor's Office (Via Videoconferencing) Members Denny Austen Penny Fox Richard Highley Roy Hinokawa Edward Lee George Mukai Gilbert Sampaia Kona Mayor's Office (Via Videoconferencin2) Members Antonio Gaspar Minoru Hanato Guests (Kona) Boss Hanato Minoru Hanato Herb Lum Ex- Officio (Hilo) Patricia Engelhard, Director, P &R Keith Ribbentrop, OVS Also Present (Hilo) Herring Kalua, Member, State Veterans Advisory Board (Hawaii Representative) Nathalie Santos, Secretary Louis Kaoiwi Dan Kama Don Bennett Wendall Kekumu Patrick Pavao Richard Stevens Robert Welter George Yamamoto Call to Order Chairman Highly called the meeting to order at 3:10 pm - (9) members present. Membership (2 Members Sworn in Prior to Meeting.) Chairman Highley welcomed newest member Minoru Hanato of Kona and reinstated member George Mukai of Hilo. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 2 March 15, 2007 Chairman Highley thanked former member Louis Kaoiwi for his many years of dedicated service to the committee and for remaining long beyond the call of duty awaiting a replacement. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC Veterans Cemetery II - Concerns Expressed by Mary Yoshida Keith Ribbentrop of the Office of Veterans Services stated that Mary Yoshida who shared concerns with committee months ago about the items left at Veterans Cemetery II such as pinwheels, statutes, artificial flowers, loose bricks, articles of clothing, etc. is very upset that it is continuing. She would like to bring it to the committee's attention, hoping to resolve this problem. Chairman Highley said matter would be discussed under Unfinished Business. Graveliners for All Veterans Cemeteries Mr. Louis Kaoiwi asked committee to be sure and follow up on the issue of graveliners - that it should be the same for all Veterans Cemeteries and not just for Kaneohe and Kona. Chairman Highley said he wrote a summary of the February 20't' meeting held at West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery, which includes information on graveliners and lawn crypts. He will discuss further under Unfinished Business. PREVIOUS MEETINGS MINUTES — January 25, 2007 • The minutes of the January 25, 2007 meeting were approved as submitted. The meeting for February was cancelled because there was no quorum. REPORT ON CEMETERIES — STATE VETERANS ADVISORY BOARD Hawaii Island Representative Mr. Herring Kalua Mr. Kalua submitted a 4 page written report. Copies will be transmitted with the Minutes of this meeting. Please review and share any concerns at the next meeting. Mr. Kalua did not want to summarize to avoid misinterpreting what is in the report. The OVS Director asked him to reiterate the commitment of the Office of Veterans Services to well placed restroom at West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery, however, procurement of the restroom is subject to approval and funding. Graveliners Mr. Kalua responded to Mr. Kaoiwi that liners will be provided for West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery and is unsure about the rest of the cemeteries, however, he did request liners for all Veteran Cemeteries throughout the state. He spoke to Representative Cindy Evans who is working with the Director, he asked that they be sure to include all State Veterans Cemeteries. Chairman Highley said he understood at the meeting that the County was going to pay for the liners. Mr. Kalua responded that he isn't sure what they were going to do, but he Veterans Advisory Committee Page 3 March 15, 2007 thinks if the County needed it right away, it was going to come from Kaneohe Veterans Cemetery. There is so much confusion he doesn't want to misquote anything. Chairman Highley stated there are (2) different items, a graveliner and a lawn crypt (also called a cement graveliner or a vault). At the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery graveliners are necessary because there will be no soil remediation, following the geotech's survey the soil was found suitable for burials there. Chairman Highley said there is a Master Plan which will cover the next 200 years and wanted to confirm that a restroom is included in that plan. Mr. Kalua confirmed that he understood the restroom to be one of the priorities and should be a part of the master plan. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Veterans Cemetery II - Status of Expansion Project Director Engelhard reported that the County has not yet accepted the condition of the Veterans Cemetery II Expansion Project because it still has a lot of hila hila (sleeping grass) and has some drainage problems. The recommendation is that if they don't finish project by the end of April, the County will take further steps. The end of April will make it 1 1/2 years since project has been finished, but not accepted. Veterans Cemetery I and II - Columbariums Director Engelhard reported that special head screws were ordered to install a plate on the columbariums that are already there. Rather than knocking down what is there, we would first use what we have and if necessary add more later. Veterans Cemetery III - West Hawaii Reforestation Project Chairman Highley said there was another planting held recently and asked Mr. Minoru Hanato to report on project. Mr. Minoru Hanato reported there would be another planting sometime in April, but was unsure of exact date. During the last work date volunteers planted on the roadside and the hill. Unable to use as much water as before since Kukio cut down the amount of water weekly by utilizing timers. The plants are suppose to take care of itself soon and by cutting down the water, they are trying to make the plants adjust. Still working on greenhouse, just finished stitching the netting that goes right around and over. The sides and irrigation system also need to be completed. The inside reinforcements were made with PVC pipes, which will also carry water to be released via timer on the inside plants. Each pipe has an individual shut off valve to regulate water. Water Usaze /Future Restrooms Director Engelhard asked how much water was being used for Reforestation Project. Mr. Minoru Hanato responded that the amount being used was more then what was written and now they cut down the water he's unsure how much it is. Director Engelhard Veterans Advisory Committee Page 4 March 15, 2007 said Kukio promised allotting the County 3,600 gallons of water per day, however, 15,000 gallons per day was being used. This is a major concern for the VA because you can't put restrooms in if you don't have guaranteed water supply. Hopefully those dryland forest trees will take and won't have to be watered anymore as was promised. Mr. Minoru Hanato said he thinks the plants on the hill have a timer and are being watered only once a week now. He also commented that there is a tank that could handle a restroom, but it's in the wrong location. Director Engelhard agreed. Chairman Highley said that OVS Director Cruickshank said on February 20't' that the OVS and the County of Hawaii would explore possibilities of obtaining additional water for the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery. Chairman Highley asked if Polyethylene graveliners need to be discussed any further? Mr. Minoru Hanato said that on the south side of the parking lot at Veterans III, polyethylene liners would be used and they would do double burials at a depth of 9 feet. He hopes they dig deeper than that since the height of the liner is almost (3) feet, if you put two together, plus the space in between and the fill with sod, it should be deeper than 9 feet. Chairman Highley said we should continue discussing graveliners at future meetings. Veterans Cemetery III - West Hawaii Columbarium Mr. Minoru Hanato shared that there is only one niche left (which was skipped) on the first Columbarium. Doesn't understand why the last two niches were skipped. Sunken Graves Mr. Minoru Hanato reported that P &R employees fixed (4) graves that sunk. They lifted it up and it looks much better. Veterans Cemetery III - West Hawaii - Backhoe Repaired Chairman Highley reported that the backhoe has been repaired, however, they prefer the one with the hoe ram on it. Veterans Cemetery II Concerns of Mary Yoshida - Relating to Rules - Items Left on Gravesites Mr. Ribbentrop said Mrs. Yoshida is an advocate for enforcing rules at Veterans Cemetery II and her final statement to him during a telephone conversation was "there is no need to post the rules if its not going to be enforced." Director Engelhard said we have been trying our best, but there are a lot of new burials and we allow families a few months to adjust to being without their loved ones by allowing more decorations then normal. However, as is the case with all cemeteries on Hawaii island, the people would like to leave more. We periodically do a sweep, which upsets a lot of people. We are performing sweeps at the graveyard as our staffing allows, but we have 2,700 graves up there, which is a lot to have to keep clearing. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 5 March 15, 2007 Mr. Ribbentrop has gone to take photos after receiving calls and the only thing he can render from a personal aspect is the County is very compassionate in their application of the rules. Chairman Highley said we are getting people at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery to follow the rules more then in the past. If they choose to put artificial flowers, they understand that those will be disposed of. Brass Markers Mr. Kaoiwi received a call from a veteran concerning a marker for his brother, which had not yet come in after almost one year. Mr. Kaoiwi checked status and the brass marker just came in. He explained to veteran that since it is a brass marker, it would have to be mounted on a concrete block, which is not the County's responsibility. Dodo said they would do it. Sinking Graves Mr. Kaoiwi said a veteran also shared concerns about sinking graves at Veterans Cemetery IL He told veteran if there are any graves sinking to inform County employees so they could fill it in. Veterans should understand their responsibility to help inform people of rules and tell P &R staff which graves are sinking. Employees have a lot to do to maintain cemeteries and take care of burials. If we inform employees of sinking graves, this would help keep everyone safe. Funding Increase for Maintenance Cost - State Funds to County of Hawaii Chairman Highley said State Legislators are still trying to get additional funds to the County for maintenance since $22,000 annually for all three cemeteries is not enough. They are hoping to triple amount. NEW BUSINESS Membership Vacancies Chairman Highley reported on vacancies: 1) VFW - Mr. Austen does not want to continue serving on the committee. He is working on getting a replacement. 2) Club 100 3) Independent - Patrick Pavao's term ended December 31, 2006. Chairman Highly recommends we talk to people who may be interested, person does not have to belong to a veteran organization, but needs to submit an application. 4) Hilo Interpreters - George Yamamoto's term ended December 31, 2006 and he cannot be reappointed. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 6 March 15, 2007 Extension Of Road - Laimana Street - Veterans Cemetery II Mr. George Mukai brought up his previous recommendation to check on possibility of extending road from Veterans Cemetery II to Puainako Street. He said the lessee (Matsuura's) has not released property back to the state. He suggests that Herring Kalua request land at the next State Veterans Advisory Meeting. A connecting roadway would lessen the route for County employees and public who go from Veterans Cemetery I and IL It would also give additional plots to Homelani Cemetery. Mr. Kalua said he requested that portion of roadway at the January State Veterans Advisory Meeting and will bring it up again at the next meeting. Mr. Kaoiwi suggested that before asking for roadway, talk to homeowners of the Alamooko Subdivision because they were against it when it was first proposed to obtain land for a road extension. Residents fear kids will use it to race from Ponahawai Street to Waianuenue Avenue. Before wasting time on trying to obtain land, get consensus of residents. Chairman Highley asked if there is an Association and Mr. Kaoiwi responded there is one. Chairman Highley recommended they first check with the association before requesting land from the state. Korean War Veterans - Annual Volunteer Project Chairman Highley read a copy of thank you letter from Director Engelhard to the Korean War Veterans for completing their annual volunteer project of cleaning headstones and for installation of double faucets. Chairman Highley also thanked Mr. Austen and the Korean War Veterans for volunteering their time to make improvements at Veterans Cemeteries I and II. ANNOUNCEMENTS Veterans Day Parade Mr. Dan Kama said a Veterans Day Parade was initially planned for last year, but coordinators ran out of time so its being planned for this year. Began planning in January and has notified certain organizations of this parade. The Board of Directors of DAV agreed that we need a parade this year. Parade is strictly to recognize the disabled veterans, but all veterans are invited to participate. Mr. Kama said he is Vice Chairman of the East Hawaii Veterans League and Mr. Herring Kalua is the Chairperson. Contact Information for Mr. Kama if anyone would like to participate or help coordinate the Veterans Day Parade: Phone #968 -7425. Veterans Advisory Committee Page 7 March 15, 2007 EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS Memorial Day Lei Project Mr. Keith Ribbentrop reported they were contacted by Mayor Kim and Mayor Hanneman about the Memorial Day Lei Project wherein school children throughout the County of Hawaii participate in a competition to make leis to be placed at cemeteries. Due to dwindling numbers over the past few years we are trying to increase participation. Five years ago we were contributing 27,000 leis to Punchbowl and last year we contributed just 18,000 leis. We've gone from 27 schools participating to 18. If you have any influence on schools, please encourage them to participate. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on April 26, 2007. Respectfully submitted, NathalielScwitos -, Secretary ATTACHMENTS: 1 - Report - Design Partners, Inc. 2 - Report - By Chairman Richard Highley