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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-27-2012 SKCDP AC Minutes - Final SOUTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OF MEETING Held February 27, 2012 A regular meeting of the South Kohala Community Development Plan Action Committee was held on February 27, 2012. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. at The Hamakua Macadamia Nut Factory, located at 61-3251 Maluokalani Street in Kawaihae, pursuant to notice. The following members of the Committee were present when the meeting was called to order: Loreli Eberhardt Mike Fischer John Hoover Robin Inaba Chris Roehrig Achahn Schulze Nancy Carr Smith Committee member Margaret Horwatt was absent. Also present were Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, Project Manager Rosalind Newlon and Terry Dunlap from the Office of the Hawai’i County Planning Department. The Chairman called the meeting to order and noted that a quorum of the Committee was present. Mike Price delivered a statement as a member of the public. He discussed the upcoming meeting concerning long range transport planning for the County of Hawaii and its impact on Kawaihae and the harbor and stressed that this meeting presented an opportunity for input from the public on this subject. Margaret Wille then spoke about the importance of Kawaihae and the likely growth that will occur in and around Kawaihae in the near future. She noted the plan to cut all eucalyptus trees from the Hamakua coast and store the debris in Kawaihae during the next seven years before it will be shipped off island from the Kawaihae Harbor. Finally, Ms. Wille urged that the Waimea subcommittee focus on issues like domestic violence and child abuse and the middle school governance problem that has arisen recently. The members of the Committee then considered the draft of the minutes of the meeting held on January 23, 2012, and, in the absence of any comments or proposed amendments or modifications, the Chairman deemed the minutes approved in the form distributed to the members in advance of the meeting. 1 The Kawaihae Subcommittee then made a presentation concerning the Kawaihae Community Plan section of the South Kohala CPD. The subcommittee included members Diane Kanealii, Mike Luce, Paul Fischer, Susan Fischer, Jojo Tanimoto, Lorelei Eberhardt, Bill Moore and Nancy Carr Smith, and had prepared a written presentation, a copy of which is appended to these minutes. There were no proposals for amendments to the Kawaihae Community Plan section of the CDP. Among other things, the subcommittee stressed the need for coordination among the various government agencies in planning for the future of Kawaihae harbor, the threat of significant water shortages, the need for civil defense planning, and concerns about environmental and archaeological matters. Upon a motion by Ms. Smith and seconded by Mr. Hoover, and following discussion, the Committee unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the creation of a Kawaihae harbor task force to coordinate efforts for planning the future of Kawaihae harbor. Ms. Newlon then delivered the Land Use Permit Activity Report. She distributed information summarizing recent land use permit activity and responded to inquiries from the Committee members. Ms. Leithead-Todd also addressed the status of the Aina Lea project, including the recent court ruling overturning the Land Use Commission modification of the land use categorization. The Committee then heard Subcommittee reports. Mr. Hoover reported for the Puako Subcommittee and indicated that Puako Community Association representatives will be meeting in early March with County Wastewater Division representatives and County Councilman Pete Hoffmann to begin planning a wastewater facility for Puako. Mr. Hoover also reported on efforts to have the waters off Puako designated as a “no- catch” zone. Ms. Leithead-Todd informed the Committee that Mayor Kenoi has requested that certain parcels of land at the end of the road in Puako be made into a park facility. In light of its presentation earlier in the meeting, the Kawaihae Subcommittee made no further report. Mr. Fischer then reported for the Waikoloa Subcommittee. He advised the Committee that the County Mass Transit Administrator, Tom Brown, had agreed to relocate the proposed site for a bus stop shelter in Waikoloa to resolve a disagreement with the Waikoloa Village Association. Mr. Fischer also discussed recent efforts to ensure that the fire break surrounding Waikoloa Village and the emergency escape road were being maintained and noted that a brush fire very close to the Village had occurred during the past week. He also noted that arrangements had been made for repairs to playground equipment at a County park in Waikoloa Village and that efforts were continuing to have Paniolo Road extended to the north to provide access to the new County park facility near the affordable housing development. Mr. Fischer also referred to on-going efforts regarding the control of donkeys in the Waikoloa Village area, including a meeting held in February featuring the Equine Director of the United States Humane Society, both the Executive Director and the Senior Development Coordinator of the United State Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust, and elected Hawaii state officials. Finally, he noted that informational meetings in Waikoloa were being planned with the new community police 2 officer, the new police captain and the new county director of civil defense. There also was a brief discussion concerning the provision of information about safety precautions that might be advisable in light of the “vog” issues in the Waikoloa area. There was no report for the Waimea Subcommittee. Ms. Eberhardt then reported for the District-Wide Subcommittee. She has continued planning an information and planning meeting regarding water resources and delivery with the goal of finding the best approaches to ensure that adequate water supplies are made available to the Kawaihae community and throughout the South Kohala District, taking into account the history and traditional water uses and distribution methods in the area, future harbor expansion, population increases and commercial development. The Committee then considered priorities for the Subcommittees for 2012 and agreed to discuss the matter in greater depth at the next meeting. There were no proposals for additions to the CIP budget. The next item on the agenda was a discussion of the implementation of the South Kohala CDP and the responsibilities of the Committee. Ms. Newlon led a discussion on the subject and suggested that the Committee identify projects that are achievable on a short-term basis and then establish a strategy to pursue to support the projects. Ms. Leithead-Todd then distributed to the members a summary of proposed legislation intended to modify part I of chapter 92 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (commonly known as the “Sunshine Law”). The Chair then invited comments from the public. Mike Price reiterated the need for one government agency which possesses appropriate authority to take the lead as project manager in planning for the future of Kawaihae harbor. Diane Kanealii emphasized that all decisions concerning future development in and around Kawaihae must be made in a responsible manner and used the term “pono“(which is generally defined as goodness, moral, fitting and proper) as a more appropriate way of describing this requirement. Margaret Wille suggested that the proposed amendments to part I of chapter 92 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes be added to the Committee’s agenda for the next meeting and urged the Committee to consider the use of the aquifer located at the development commonly referred to as 1010 Puako. She also made an inquiry about a cell tower to be placed in Waimea and touched on several additional issues. Jojo Tanimoto then suggested that the Committee resume the use of name plates for Committee members and make name tags available for members of the public at future meetings. 3 The Chair noted that Ms. Smith’s term as a member of the Committee had terminated and thanked her for her service to the Committee and the community, and wished her luck in her future endeavors. The Committee then noted that the next meeting was scheduled for a holiday and voted to change the date of the meeting to March 19. It is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. and will be held in Puako. A discussion of the agenda for that meeting followed. There being no further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. ______________________________ Michael B. Fischer Chairman 4