Communication No. 2022-06.1 -Letter to Director Infrastructure Priorities

Home

Communication Number 2022-06.1 JNtV OF M,� Mitchell D.Roth ?.'� +, Zendo Kem Mayor ��'I''? Director ♦t ;♦ Lee E.Lord Managing Director Jeffrey W.Darrow Deputy Director West Hawaii Office 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole HwyG East Hawaii Office Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 County Hawaii 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 Phone(808)323-4770 HiloPLANNING DEPARTMENT Phone 08 961-8288 6720 Fax(808)327-3563 ( ) 8288 Fax(808)961-8742 DATE: March 14, 2022 TO: ZENDO KERN Planning Director, Planning Department FROM: SOUTH KOHALA CDP ACTION COMMITTEE SUBJECT: South Kohala CDP Infrastructure Priorities Dear Director Kern: At the South Kohala Community Development Plan's Action Committee meeting today, we voted to request your advocacy to the Mayor on our behalf to prioritize funding for infrastructure projects in our district. This is intended to guide allocation of the substantial federal dollars that were allotted in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed with bipartisan support in the last Congressional session, and was signed into law by President Biden. Hawaii State is receiving $2.8 billion. This unprecedented influx of funds is for long-delayed infrastructure repairs of roads and bridges,plus new traffic infrastructure needed in areas of population growth. In the County of Hawaii,the distribution of the funds will ultimately come down to Mayor Roth's decision on which community projects get funded. We ask you to advocate on behalf of the priorities that are documented in the South Kohala Community Development Plan,and have been identified through extensive community meetings since, regarding infrastructure and emergency preparedness needs. The list below does not eoveF*1,:,,,.S that have eome" in the intefim 14 yeafs sinee that plan was developed, stleh as the fntleh Specifically, from the 2008 SKCDP, our community requests include: 1) To mitigate the risk of natural disasters,the Puak6 community requested the construction of the Paniau Evacuation Route and considered it a"top priority." (P.138) 2) To provide transportation and circulation, "Plan, Fund, and Construct a Second Access Road to Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway" as a"top priority"both to accommodate increasing traffic volumes...and more importantly, to provide a second emergency egress www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer planningghawaiicoun ov