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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary Progress Report.pdfNeighborhood Watch Bill Council Member Greggor (lagan is signs may be posted unless 60 percent working on a bill to encourage the of homes within the boundaries of an formation of Neighborhood Watch area participate in the program. programs. The bill that is under development will attempt to solve these problems. It will allow signs to be purchased, construct- ed and installed on private roadways that are open to the public, includ- ing many private roads in Puna. It will give community policing officers a role in certifying that the neighborhood watch is active. A Puna Watch meeting with Neighbor- hood Watch members from all around Puna Last May, $15,000 in Council District 4 contingency funds were used to purchase supplies for Neighborhood Watch programs in Puna, including 100 signs. However, for various reasons the signs could not be installed. The current law, enacted in 1987, requires signs to be posted on public property, which is a problem in Puna. Also, no Community Policing Officer James Pa- checo attends a community meeting watch members about drug use Representatives of each of the Neigh- borhood Watches throughout Puna gather once a month in a "Puna Watch" meeting to share information and to coordinate their efforts. At the Feb. 4 meeting, attendees offered sugges- tions and unanimously supported the bill, which had been developed with input from the Police Department. FEBRUARY REPORT 2015 DISTRICT 4 Hawaiian Paradise Park, Hawaiian Beaches, Makin of Patios Town, Namwale Estates, Leilani Estates, Pohoiki, Kapoho greggonilagm@hawaiicounty.gov wwwha ncountygov/districA "If you treat people right they will treat you right... ninety percent of the time." — Franklin D. Roosevelt A I hope you have had a productive February, because it blew by. How- ever, the Puna community is resil- ient and the people continue to pull through during tough times. Even as the movement of the lava remains uncertain, stores are re- opening and the village of Pahoa is returning to the way things used to be. Toward the end of February, I at- tended the annual National As- sociation of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. I participated in many workshops and met with dozens of elected of- ficials. We discussed many issues regarding the federal government, the states and the counties. With the knowledge I gained from the conference, my team and I will be working in March on legislation that will help our County be better prepared for future disasters. I appreciate you taking the time to hear from me. As your Council Member] will continueto keep you informed about issues surrounding the community you elected me to serve. �7 Sincerely, [fie-S,G,on u�.�r, G_reggor IIlagan Council Member Updates on Past Articles Updates on topics covered in the January issue: Invasive species - SB 591, an appropriation to cut Albizia trees along highways, is still ad- vancing through the Legislature Highway 130 - Construction continues. In late February, the Department of Transportation opened a new permanent Hilo - bound lane to traffic and also opened a portion of the Pahoa- bound shoulder lane to traffic for the afternoon rush hour. Puna ambulance -Two bills, SB 1016 and HB 851, are still ad- vancing through the Legislature. The Council passed Greggor lagan's Resolution No. 70-15 in support of these bills at the Feb. 18 meeting. Makalei ambulance -Two bills, SB 298 and HB 851, are still ad- vancing through the Legislature. The Council passed Greggor lagan's Resolution No. 79-15 in support of these bills at the Feb. 18 meeting. —'REMSF a' Geothermal drilling - Greggor Ilagan withdrew Res. No. 58-15, requesting that Puna Geother- mal Venture comply with the County's nighttime drilling ban, during the Feb. 4 Council meet- ing. At the same meeting, the Council voted down Ilagan's Res. No. 59-15, requesting Corpora- tion Counsel to take legal action to determine whether the night- time drilling ban applies. PLANNING PAhoa Village Design District A community -led effort is working to establish the Pahoa Village De- sign District to ensure that Pahoa retains its rural charm. the historic section of the town. But because it is a resolution, the guide- lines are voluntary. Approval of Bill 282 (establishment of the Pahoa Vil- lage Design District and the Design Review Committee), Bill 283 (es- tablishing a process for the review of development districts proposed within a special district) and Bill 291 (regulating signs in the Pahoa Village Design District) will give those design guidelines the force of law. Finally, after much behind -the - Examples of old architecture in Pahoa Once established, the ordinances will guide the design of buildings located off Pahoa Village Road and Post Of- fice Road. In line with the Puna Community Development Plan, Planning Depart- ment staff formed the Pahoa Regional Town Center Plan Steering Commit- tee in 2011 and have done exten- sive surveys throughout Puna to de- termine what people want to see in Pahoa. Some 700 responses were re- corded, and the one consistent mes- sage was: Preserve the village. Many residents felt that some of the new developments that were coming into Pahoa would forever change the character of the rural plantation vil- lage they once knew. In 2014, the County Council passed a resolution (Res. No. 454-14) that ad- opted the design guidelines to give new developments the same look as The store fronts of Historic Pahoa Village scenes work and with favorable rec- ommendations from the Windward and Leeward planning commissions, the bills were ready to be introduced to the Council's Planning Committee in late 2014. But an active lava flow was threatening to swallow the entire town, so the bills were shelved. With the flow trending farther north and away from the center of Pahoa, residents and merchants asked Coun- cil Member Greggor Ilagan, as Plan- ning Committee Chair, to bring them forward. They sailed through the Feb. 17 Planning Committee meeting and will next be on the Council agendas on March 4 and March 18. A drawing of a future commercial development in Pahoa In late February, the lava remains a mile or so from Highway 130 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Kalani Ho nua market When Tropical Storm belle struck Puna last August, Kalani Honua answered. The nonprofit retreat and wellness center off Highway 137 threw open its doors to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency as a supply depot and re- lief center for ice, water and food. At the same time, there have been calls over the years for a market in the underserved area. Kalani, now entering its 40th year, always had a long-term plan to establish a market on its 120 -acre property, but the threat of lava crossing Highway 130 Digital diagram of The Kalani Homm Market June 27th Lava Flow Pahoa lives - despite the certainty that the village was on the brink, against all odds, it exists. With one wary eye on the eruption that continues to broaden the flow field and continues to threaten Highway 130, resi- dents, businesses and visitors to Puna continue to count their small blessings. Among them: • The imminent reopening of Apa'a Street and the Palma Transfer Station -The reopening of Malama Market and the Malama Gas N Go, targeted for March 18. -The reopening of Lex Brodies Tires, Long's Drugs, Ace Hardware, SuperCuts, and Subway • All the businesses that have considered the risk and have decided to stay open for the people of Puna. At the end of February the flow remains active about a mile from Highway 130. Civil Defense continues its daily over- flights, and the public will be kept in- formed of any changes. forced an acceleration of those plans. As a result, the manage- ment team is planning to convert the building at its entrance into The Mar- ket at Kalani to serve the people of Puna makai.The market will also be able to serve as a disaster relief center. A fundraising drive is underway and Kalani is working with the Planninc Director to amend the special use permit. A drawing of The Kalani Homm Market The market will sell pre- pared foods, hot and cold foods and the basic household staples. Kalani can use its bulk buying power to get people a good deal. U Bates III, the executive director, says the buying club will be a nominal membership fee that will be assessed upon every visit to The Market, or through an annual membership,"which saves you much more money." Customers would pre -order from a distributor such as Costco or Suisan, and the items would be delivered to Kalani two weeks later. "As we supported our community so heavily during natural events, we want to be ready to do that every single time; Bates said."And at our present situation Weare not prepared. market With a marketplace like this we will be" Food Safety Modernization Act In his meeting with Council Member Greggor Ilagan in Honolulu in Janu- ary, Board of Agriculture Chairman Scott Enright shared the concerns that fanners will be facing as a result of the most comprehensive overhaul of food safety legislation in 70 years. Signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 4, 2011, the Food Moderniza- tion Safety Act (FSMA) aims to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it. A papaya tree from a small farm The law grants the Food and Drug Ad- ministration new authority to ensure the safety of the food supply, includ- ing the ability to issue a mandatory recall for all food products if necessary, among many other things that will re- quire some farmers on Hawai'i Island to restructure many aspects of how they operate and to provide additional doc- umentation of their work. "Farmers are affected by what the govern- ment does, and also they are affected by what the government does not do." —Councilman Ilagan The FDA is currently developing new rules and regulations that govern the growing, packing and processing of food nationwide. The Hawai'i Depart- ment of Agriculture expects that the rules will result in significant impacts on Hawaii agriculturalists, particularly those with small farms who are unable to make the investment to bring their facilities into compliance. CD Sign-up Hawaii County Civil Defense Alerts and Notifications Self Enrollment. Go to the following website: www.hawalicounty.gov/ civil -defense/ 808-935-0031 civil defense6havraiicountygov Ilagan will shortly be proposing an ad hoc committee of council members to look into what the requirements of FSMA will mean for Hawai'i County's farmers and other stakeholders, and how they are preparing for its imple- mentation. Adequate Disclosure for SuperPAC Council Member Greggor Ilagan Is in support of two bills moving through the Legislature that will Increase transparency in campaign spending. In the coming weeks he will be in- troducing a resolution in support of Senate Bill 1344 and its companion legislation, House Bill 1491. Both bills were still alive at the end of February, and moving through their respective committees. The legislation is needed because of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which has led to the explosive growth of Super Political Ac- tion Committees ("SuperPACs") and millions of dollars of untraceable cam- paign contributions. Current campaign finance laws do not �7_07 - �M: �74RJa7 "Equal justice under law" is engraved on the facade of the Supreme Court building "Farmers are af- fected by what the govern- ment does, and also they are af- fected by what the govern- ment does not do," said Ilagan. allow adequate disclosure, as one Su- perPAC will donate to another with no real names attached to the donation. HB 1491, as amended by the House Judi- ciary Committee, will require additional reporting requirements by a SuperPAC if a contribution of more than $10,000 is received. Among other things, the dis- closure must state the name, address, occupation and employer of any fund- ing source of $100 or more since the last election. Council Member Greggor Ilagan 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawafi 96720 Phone: 1-808-965-2712 greggor.ilagan@hawaiicounty.gov www.hawaiicounty.gov/district4