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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAC Minutes 10March2015 DRAFT William P. Kenoi Duane Kanuha Director Mayor Bobby Command Deputy Director County of Hawai‘i PLANNING DEPARTMENT PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE  Aupuni Center 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720  Phone (808) 961-8288 Fax (808) 961-8742 Tuesday, March 10, 2015 DRAFT Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Patti Pinto called the Puna Community Development Plan (PCDP) Action Committee ' (AC) to order at 3:00 p.m. in the Keaau Community Center. The following persons were present: Action Committee: June Conant, Sharon Daun, Farris Etterlee, Patti Pinto, Oshi Simsarian, René Siracusa, and Elmer Solis. Susan Osborne arrived at 3:07pm. Leila Kealoha was absent. Staff: Hans Santiago – PCDP Planner and Keiko Mercado – PCDP Planning Assistant. Members of the public: 5 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: NONE ANNOUNCEMENTS: th 1. June announced that she attended the March 5 Planning Commission meeting, where it was decided that the proposed LUPAG amendment would be continued, however no date was set as to when it would be agendized again. 2. Sharon announced the ‘Ohana Fun Fair happening on March 29, 2015 at Shipman Park from 10am-2pm. 3. Hans announced that per the last AC meeting, a sample motion has been drafted and has been included in each AC member’s packet. The sample motion may be used as appropriate by AC members to allow for non-substantive changes on draft letters. 4. Hans also announced that the Special Permit (SPP 14-000168) allowing for a dental clinic on TMK 1-8-021;029 was approved with conditions by the Windward Planning Commission. PUBLIC TESTIMONY: One person signed up to testify and chose to testify at the start of the meeting rather than at the time of their agenda items. 1. Jon Olson testified on agenda items #1, #2, #3, #4, #7 and #8. a.Agenda item #1, Connectivity and Emergency Response Subcommittee, Jon feels that this is a function of government and feels the subcommittee has done their work and have established that there is definitely a need. He encouraged the AC to write a letter encouraging the government to fulfill their roll. b.Agenda item #2, Mass Transit Subcommittee, Jon stated that everyone has a right to services and that services are to be delivered based on population. Mass Transit doesn’t seem to have the funding, regardless, services need to be provided. c.Agenda item #3, Pāhoa Regional Town Center Plan Subcommittee, Jon testified that as far as he knew, a Consultant for the Town Center was hired but the contract was put on Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer hold due to the threat of the lava. He encouraged conversation about moving forward with the consultant. d.Agenda item #8, Impact of the Lava, Jon stated that the only remaining impact of the lava is the uncertainty continuing to be created by whether the access roads are open, available and usable. Access roads are not paved, trees continue to fall damaging power lines and blocking roads. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Sharon moved to approve the minutes of the February 10, 2015 meeting as submitted. Second by June. The motion to approve the minutes as submitted passed with 7 votes aye, 0 votes nay and 1 vote to abstain (Susan voted to abstain due to his absence at the last meeting). NEW BUSINESS: 1.Communication No. 2015-13 – Connectivity and Emergency Response Subcommittee (CERS): Marlene reported on the activities of the subcommittee. The subcommittee will continue to schedule meetings with elected officials to share community input that has been collected and to encourage working in partnership with one another. With now being the ideal time for action, the subcommittee is in favor of reaching out to Councilmen Ilagan and Paleka to encourage the formation of an ad hoc committee. René requested that Kaohe Homesteads, Apa‘a Street be moved up in priority due to the lava crossing one side and albizia trees threatening the other side. Oshi asked if Marlene had any āā information regarding the permanent opening of Railroad, specifically from Nnwale to HPP. It is the CERS’s view to recommend permanently opening the roads. Elmer asked if the CERS would be asking the AC for a letter supporting the formation of an ad hoc committee. Marlene reiterated that they were in the very beginning stages of planning and would inform the AC as things become more concrete. The full CERS report (Communication 2015-13) can be viewed and downloaded from the following website, http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/Weblink8/1/doc/71694/Page1.aspx 2.Communication No. 2015-12 – Mass Transit Subcommittee (MTSC): June reported on the activities of the subcommittee. Her report included information from her meeting with Councilman Ilagan, Councilman Paleka and Mass Transit Administrator Tiffany Kai, along with the subcommittees next actions based on the information gained. Tiffany stated that the MTA is now under mandate from the Federal Transit Authority to provide paratransit for Hilo and Kona or they lose federal funding. Points of discussion included but were not limited to the following: a.Airport/Post Office Service: The Hilo airport schedule will be incorporated into the Keaukaha route and they are hoping to have it in place within 2 months. b.Kea‘au Bus Shelter: The CIP was to build a bus shelter in Kea‘au, Kurtistown and 2 in Na‘alehu, however the funding never came through. It was requested that Tiffany determine the status of this specific CIP. c.Mass Transit Plan: The Mass Transit Plan was not part of the recent budget, however Tiffany acknowledged the need to get it done. June will send the original CIP request to Councilman Paleka. d.Bus Racks: Tiffany has been working on procurement for larger bike racks on the Puna buses. e.Hub and Spoke: Discussion took place on the complexities of both upper and lower Puna with regards to bus routes and several scenarios were discussed at length. The subcommittee will continue to gather information and will provide said information to Tiffany. f.MTA and the DOE: Councilman Ilagan will look into the issue of public buses being used for DOE student transportation. The subcommittee will be drafting a letter to Tiffany asking more specific questions and sharing considerations the subcommittee thinks MTA needs to take into account. The full MTSC report (Communication 2015-12) can be viewed and downloaded from the following website, http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/Weblink8/1/doc/71693/Page1.aspx 3.Pāhoa Regional Town Center Plan Subcommittee (PRTCPSC): Oshi reported on the activities of the subcommittee. The subcommittee is united in their feelings that Pāhoa is standing strong and continues to have the same needs as it did before the threat of lava. They would like to see forward movement in the hiring of a consultant and inquired about the acquisition of Luquin’s parking lot. The subcommittee has several ideas about increasing parking areas and public rest stops within Pāhoa Town and will draft a letter to Parks and Recreation in time for the next AC meeting. 4.Communication No. 2015-11 – AC-PD Draft Letter Regarding a Consultant for the Pāhoa Regional Town Center: René moved to accept Communication 2015-11. Second by Susan. Discussion ensued, questioning the current availability of the original consultant and the status at which the contract stands. Patti moved to add a sentence before the closing of the letter “As this will be on our next Action Committee Agenda please inform us as to the status of your deliberations by March 31, 2015.” Second by Sharon. Motion passed with 8 votes aye and 0 votes nay. Original motion as amended passed with 8 votes aye and 0 votes nay. The full DRAFT letter (Communication No. 2015-11) can be viewed and downloaded from the following website, http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/Weblink8/1/doc/71654/Page1.aspx 5.Volcano Long Range Plan Subcommittee (VLRP): Dan Taylor reported on the activities of the subcommittee. The VLRP is looking forward to receiving a response from the Planning Department with regards to their plan. Dan reports that they have been discussing the revision of certain parts of the plan and persons who were once adversary to the plan have now become a part of the working groups. The community is coming together. Viki Milon spoke to the village core part of the plan and the working group’s decision to move away from the use of “historical” connotations and more towards the use of “Volcano Style”. Current discussions revolve around land use and design guidelines. Linda Pratt spoke to the forest protection overlay part of the plan. Workings groups have been well attended and productive. Current discussions include education and planning that would lead to eventual ordinance. At this time they are looking for an experienced planner to assist them. 6.Mt. View Village Center Plan Subcommittee (MTVS): Patti reported on the activities of the subcommittee. The MTVS did not meet in February, however the working group of the MTVS has been meeting and work continues on combining the elements of the PCDP that apply to Mt. View with the responses from their community survey. Work also continues with the asset survey. There continues to be between 6 and 12 active members. 7.Grubbing and Grading Brochure: Elmer presented the first draft of the “Building in Puna” brochure and asked for feedback and editing ideas from the AC. Brought up through discussion were conflict of interest concerns, suggestions for links to be added, formatting and photo requests. Elmer will present an edited draft at the next AC meeting. The AC is excited to move forward with this project and thanks the Volcano Community Association for allowing the AC to build off of their template for use through all of Puna. 8.Impact of the Lava: The AC discussed the impacts that the lava flow is having on the Puna Community and the potential short term and long-range effect it may have on implementing the Puna CDP. Oshi shared her thoughts that the idea that things need to be put on hold in Pāhoa due to the lava needs to stop. The community is continuing to move forward. René announced ā that Puna Medical Center is going to reopen soon as is Mlama Market. AC members agree that the traffic is still terrible. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING: (April 14, 2015) 1. CERS Report 2. VLRPS Report 3. Budget Subcommittee Report 4. MTS Report 5. MVPS Report 6. PRTCPSC Report 7. Building in Puna Brochure 8. General Plan Update Report 9. Oshi – Draft letter to Parks and Rec 10. Lava Impact ADJOURNMENT: The Chair, without objection, adjourned the meeting at 4:51 p.m.