Communication No. 2022-06 -Letter to Director Infrastructure Priorities

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Communication No.2022-06 Nvv os h1 Mitchell D.Roth `'+, Zendo Kern Mayor Director Lee E.Lord Managing Director o. Jeffrey W.Darrow �rE uc•M�r+ DeputyDirector WestHawai`i Office 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole HwyG Bast Hawaii Office Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 County Hawaii 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 Phone(808)7-3-4770 HiloPLANNING DEPARTMENT Phone 808 96Hawai'i1-8288 6720 Fax(808)327-3563 ( ) 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 regarding infrastructure and emergency preparedness needs, along with priority projects that have been identified through extensive community meetings since. The list below does not cover things that have come up in the interim 14 years since that plan was developed, such as the much-needed resolution of traffic control at the Waikoloa Road/Paniolo Avenue intersection, which was not specified in the SKCDP, but was noted in the last Hawaii County General Plan of 2005, stating that"the Waikoloa Intersection needs a Stop Light." Specifically, 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 planning(a�hawaiicounty.gov