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Downtown Neighborhood Board

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2009

PAUAHI COMMUNITY CENTER

I.  CALL TO ORDER: Chair Frank Lavoie called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. with a quorum of nine (6) members present. This nine-member Board requires five (5) members to establish a quorum and to take official Board action. 

Members Present: Anthony Chang, Frank Lavoie, Lynne Matusow, Carl Middleton, Dolores Mollring, Tom Smyth.

Members Absent:   Stanford Yuen, Alvin Au, T.A. Ruby.

Guests: Firefighter James Andrade (Honolulu Fire Department); Aaron Agmata, Clayton Saito (Honolulu Police Department); Bill Brennan (Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s Office); Representative John Mizuno; Diane Dunphy (Representative Karl Rhoads Office); Kathy Xian (P.A.S.S.); Marsha Joyner (Arts District Merchants Association); Alan Feliciano (Safe Haven); Al and Diana Ronquillo, Barbara Huo (Citizen Patrol Group); Gary Omori (Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project); Alan Stack Jr. (Chinatown Improvement District); Kekoa McClellan (Senator Galuteria’s Office);  Andrea Kirby (University of Hawaii); Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock (Chinatown Business and Community Association); Connie Geisler (OH-NO); Gary Complin, Gaven Abella, Tyler Burner; Theona Kapoi (Neighborhood Commission Office Staff). 

II. INTRODUCTION OF ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS:  Board members introduced themselves at this time.

III. PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTS:

A.  Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) - Firefighter Andrade reported the following:

·         August 2009 Statistics – Included 3 structure fires and 1 rubbish fire, 83 medical emergencies, 1 search/rescue and 25 miscellaneous calls. 

·         Community relations –

o    The National Fire Protection Association has selected “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned” as the theme for the Fire Prevention Week on October 4-10, 2009. This year’s campaign will focus on burn awareness and prevention, and keeping homes safe from the leading causes of home fires.

o    HFD encourages every family to take the necessary steps to ensure that your home is safe from fire hazards and that your family is prepared to escape when alerted by your smoke alarm. Practice your family fire escape plan and designate a safe meeting place outside of your home.

o    In October, children attending elementary schools state wide will receive a Fire Fighter’s Safety Guide (FFSG) from their teachers. We encourage parents to review the FFSG with their child, create or revisit your family fire escape plan, practice your plan, test your smoke alarms, and consider the other safety tips in the guide.

B. Honolulu Police Department (HPD) – Officer Aaron Agmata and Major Clayton Saito reported the following:

·         August 2009 Statistics – Included 16 assaults, 7 burglaries, 9 drug offenses, 14 DUI (driving under the influence) offenses, 8 family offenses, 1 graffiti offense, 87 MVC (motor vehicle collisions), 5 motor vehicle thefts, 8 property damage offenses, 1 robbery offense, 3 prostitution offenses, 9 UEMV (unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle) offenses, and 135 miscellaneous service calls.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         All of the surveillance cameras are working.

·         The click it or ticket campaign continues to be a success.

·         A concerned resident would like HPD to patrol the smoking area near Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) at the top of Fort Street Mall, as he has noticed there has been a lot of unwelcome activity and drug dealing occurring.

C.  Neighborhood Citizens Patrol – Mollring reported the past few patrol nights have been quiet.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         There are three separate patrols. The River and Pauahi patrol meet at Kekaulike Mall on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. There are 15-20 people in attendance.

IV. COMMUNITY CONCERNS:

A.  Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) – The HPU representative reported the following:

·         HPU Center of Student Life and First-Year Programs will feature “The Haunting in Connecticut” on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 6 p.m. as part of its 2009 ‘Movie on the Mall’ outdoor film series.

B.  Arts District Merchants Association (ADMA) – Marsha Joyner circulated a handout and reported the following:

·         First Friday will occur tomorrow. There will be port-a-potties for event attendee’s convenience. Please bring canned food to support the Meals on Wheels program.

·         October is mid autumn and there will be a moon fest celebration and moon cakes will be sold.

·         October 3-4, 2009, the Splendor of China will occur at the Neal Blaisdell Center.

·         October 9, 2009, there will be an Alternative Taste Street Festival.

·         The second annual Hallowbaloo Music and Arts Festival will occur on Saturday, October 31, 2009.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         The map on the Hallowbaloo handout is not to scale. There is an accessible fire lane as required.

·         Hawaii Theater has been notified about where all the stages will be during the Hallowbaloo event and their exits will not be blocked.

·         There still have been no police problems with the First Friday event. It seems as the event gets bigger, the better things get.

C. Safe Haven – Alan Feliciano, residential service coordinator reported the following:

·         In the month of September, two residents have moved out of Safe Haven and one more resident plans to move out on October 3, 2009 into permanent housing.

·         Feliciano focuses on showing the men at Safe Haven how to be gentlemen and asks them to help keep their surrounding area as neat as possible. Feliciano asked the community if there are projects the Safe Haven men could assist with. He can be contacted at 524-7233 and at 41 South Beretainia Street.

·         Feliciano will continue to shoo people in the surrounding alley ways.

·         Feliciano commented they found bed bugs in the area and there are a lot of people in common areas, he asks the community to be aware of that.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         A resident suggested as a community clean up project, Safe Haven men could pick up small rubbish items at the corner of A’ala Park and Richard Street and place those bags in the dumpsters.

·         A resident suggested Safe Haven possibly trying to adopt a park and cleaning the surrounding area parks.

D. Honolulu Rail Transit – Gary Omori reported the following:

·         The Honolulu Advertiser chooses to put a negative spin on the August 2009 financial plan. The plan actually has a lot of good news about rail:

o        Tax collections for Fiscal Year 2009 were $12 million more than anticipated.

o        It is expected to receive about $200 million more in tax revenue in total.

o        Ridership forecasts have increased to about 116,000 rides a day. More people will use the rail – that means about 40,000 fewer cars on the roads.

·         General Execise Tax will be collected over 16 years. The Council on Revenues has forecast that state tax revenues will begin increasing in Fiscal Year 2011.

·         The initial review of construction proposals shows that building costs will be lower than expected.

·         The City can pay for rail construction and operation without compromising bus service, raising taxes, or taking money from other city operations.

·         Mayor Hannemann has made it very clear- there will be no compromise of TheBus to fund rail. Mayor Hannemann understands the importance of the bus system to residents.

·         The City has no plans to use federal funds for TheBus for the rail system. That option is included in the August 2009 financial plan because the FTA wants the city to explore all options.  

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·             There has been a ground breaking for TheBus transit station, not for the rail.

·             There was a refinement in the forecasting of ridership which is why there was an increase in the number of riders predicted to use rail. The new forecast reflected more traffic congestion and the prior forecast underestimated future congestion.

·             The rail team will and has been working with the community as to how each station will look. As for the historic Chinatown area, there will be no major changes. The rail team goes through an extensive process called the transit orient development. This is a community based planning system that will not be brought to the Chinatown area for a few months.

·             The station for the Chinatown area is planned to go right into the parking lot at Kekaulike Mall. This seemed like the best placement to where the transit will meet with the ground.

E. Chinatown Business and Community Association (CBCA) – Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock reported the following:

·         A request to the City Department of Transportation Services (DTS) has been given to return the parking meters and stalls to park on Pauahi Street.

·         CBCA would like to request the camera on River Street be relocated for better surveillance.

·         CBCA is working closely with DTS on various projects in the Chinatown area; 1) to find what is best for the crosswalk at Kekaulike Mall. CBCA suggested the crosswalk be gold colored to represent the Chinatown area. 2) Sites for loading and unloading zones for handicap passengers. 3) CBCA would like to thank DTS for lowering and adding in Chinese to the ‘No Dumping’ sign.

·         CBCA does notice there is a big rubbish problem in the area. They are working with the City Department of Environmental Services (ENV) to assess how many merchants could utilize the gray bins in their business space. They are working on a survey for who would like to participate and the type of fee businesses would be charged.

o        CBCA does not feel once a month pick up is sufficient for bulky items.

o        Suggested to have a weekend space all business could leave rubbish for a Monday pickup.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         There are currently no funds to have bulk item pick up more than once a month

·         The Safeway on the corner of Pali Highway and Vineyard Boulevard has a Hi-5 recycling center.

F.  Public Concerns:

·         Alan Stack Jr. and Lee Stack, with Chinatown Improvement District (CID), clarified the national heritage boundaries. A handout was circulated and noted there will be meetings the public may attend.

V.  ELECTED OFFICIALS:

A.  Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s Representative – Bill Brennan reported the following:

·         Majority of the issues are with the City Department of Transportation Services (DTS) and they are here to clarify some concerns the community has.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         A resident asked if the City Department of Facility Maintenance (DFM) or the City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) could unlock the storage unit at Smith and Beretania Park.

·         The lights are not working at the top of Fort Street Mall near HPU. The HPU security and Citizen Patrol groups have noticed the light and would like them to be fixed.

·         A resident thanked DPR for fixing the water faucet at Kamalii Park, however it still slightly leaks.

·         There is a need for signs near HPU to indicate what is and is not allowed in the area.

·         The ground breaking for the rail transit will be at the end of this year.

·         A resident requests the relocation of the River Street surveillance camera to an area better lit.

      Wayne Yoshioka, Director of the Department of Transportation Services continued:

·         The bus sign routes for First Fridays are currently going through a process to possibly make them permanent. DTS is looking diligently into the situation and will follow up with the board on any changes.

·         The list created by CBCA, DTS is able to address the following:

o        The crosswalk at King Street and Kekaulike Mall may not be completed until 2010. There is a scheduled waterline rehabilitation project and DTS is working with the Board of Water Supply (BWS) so the road is not under construction at two different times. The Maunakea Street mid block crosswalk between King and Hotel Streets will remain where it is. The King Street, Kekaulike Street to Pauahi Street crosswalk will remain as is. The Hotel Street and Kekaulike Street crosswalk has more visibilty in that area and should be completed in six months. A section on Pauahi Street is currently being assessed for how to modify different driveways to meet ADA requirements.

o        Assessing loading zones in the Chinatown area will be looked into. Reconfiguring the loading zones will take a while to do and when DTS gets to it the end results will be seen.

·         The removal of parking meters on Pauahi Street near River Street was at the request of the State Prosecuting Attorney. They requested to have that section of Pauahi Street a no parking zone. DTS does not have a problem with replacing the meters, but there does need to be an understanding between all parties involved.

·         The parking meter times are set to one hour to encourage turnover for surrounding businesses. However, restaurant businesses have been saying customers have to rush. DTS will try a temporary project on the makai side of Pauahi Street between Bethel Street and River Street for two-hour parking slots. If this is a positive change DTS will look into expanding the extended two-hour parking meter time to various meters around the Chinatown/Downtown area. DTS will also be looking into extending Smith Street and Bethel Street parking meters.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         A resident thanked DTS for making it clear as to why parking meters were removed on Pauahi Street. DTS is willing to take suggestions for changes to the Pauahi Street parking meters although it will not be under review until 2010.

·         DTS is working with the community and business owners to have areas for loading and unloading zones for deliveries.

·         DTS will keep the board informed about updates of parking zones being reviewed by a consultant of management parking. The parking zones, along with the temporary parking meter time extensions will be addressed as an over all study.

·         The request has been made to DFM to extend the parking structure time to 2:00 a.m. on Smith Street and Beretania Street. DFM is looking into the costs to make the time extension possible.

·         The City will update the Board regarding the Christmas Electric Light Parade at the next meeting as the Board will expect no major street problems.

B.  Councilmember Rod Tam – Al Canopin circulated a newsletter and reported the following:

·         Bill 69 (2009) Prohibits sleeping, sitting, or lying down on public sidewalks. This bill passed first reading and now goes to Public Safety and Services Committee for discussion. There are exceptions to this bill that will have to be addressed for example waiting for concert tickets. Councilmember Tam asks people to speak out about issues such as the concert tickets so laws will not be broken.

·         Illegal vending will be cited by HPD.

·         The Kekaulike garage will keep the Maunakea Street door closed.

·         City Villa, Laulau properties will be held accountable for rubbish in its surrounding area and assessed any necessary fees.

C.  Governor Linda Lingle’s Representative – No representative present.

D. Senator Brickwood Galuteria – Kekoa McClellan circulated a newsletter with nothing specific to report. McClellan did thank Matusow for Senator Galuteria.

E.  Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland – Kekoa McClellan circulated a report highlighting the calendar of events and the upcoming Children and Youth day on October 4, 2009. This is a State and City sponsored event.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         Taxes should not be raised to help with the state deficit. Relief funds should also be left alone.

·         The State Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) is not in support of the Children and Youth Day being held at the capital. DAGS felt the State Capitol should not be seen as a big playground. DAGS felt the location is dangerous although the event has insurance. The consensus of the Board and residents present was to support the continued the use of Capitol grounds for the event.

F.  Representative Karl Rhoads – Diane Dunphy reported that DTS will not extend the tow away zone time on the Diamondhead side of Nu’uanu Avenue to 6:00 p.m.

VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

A.  Queen’s Medical Center Plan Review Use report – Comments were taken:

·         The president of the Apartment of Association Owners (AOAO) Lunalilo Tower opposes the Queens’ Medical Center Plans.

·         The AOAO Lunalilo Tower President met with DTS two weeks ago and were informed the project will begin in January with no public input or discussion and there will be no limits for noise restrictions. Residents of the area feel the intersection of Kinau Street, Alapai Street, and Lusitana Street is dangerous and the residents are opposed to the plan. A suggestion was made for the AOAO Lunalilo Tower President go directly to the head of the Department of Health with the noise concern.

Chair Lavoie apologized they were not contacted by Keith Kurahashi explaining his absence. Chair Lavoie feels they have been given more than enough time to report to the Board. The Board will be making a vote at the next meeting regardless of a presentation from Keith Kurahashi.

B.  Adopt-A-Park – Chair Lavoie noted the Board is able to adopt a park. To adopt a park official paper work would need to be filed and the park can be taken care of as little or as often as the group decides to work on it.

·         A resident visits the Smith/Beretania Park every Saturday to clean the graffiti and stickers left at the neighborhood park. The resident is concerned that more people have to care to take a part of cleaning our parks.

·         A resident feels the adopting a park would be beneficial for an organization like Safe Haven or an AOAO to be involved.

·         Chair Lavoie stated should a Board Member vote to adopt a park, the member should be a willing participant of the park clean up.

·         The Board should not look for people to adopt a park, if the Board wants to adopt a park, the Board should do so and possibly co-adopt a park with another organization.

Middleton moved, and Smyth seconded, that the Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13 request Safe Haven to be a co-adopter of the Smith Beretania Park. Discussion followed:

·         The motion should not include specifically who should co-adopt the park with the Board.

·         Matusow expressed that the board should not actively seek co-adoption of the park and if someone requests to adopt the park then the Board should put that request into discussion.

The amended motion that the Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13 seek co-adoption of the Smith Beretania Park FAILED TO BE ADOPTED, 2-2-2 (AYE: Middleton, Smyth; NO: Mollring, Matusow; ABS: Lavoie, Chang).

C.  Human Trafficking Update – Kathy Xian from the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery (PASS) reported the following:

·         The Human Trafficking Resolution has been redrafted.

·         Hawaii is still one of eight states left that has no law against human trafficking.

·         PASS would like to see that the crime be punished as a felony offense. The most recent local crime was to a 15 year old girl.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         A resident commented that it is scary to know this is not just an international or national problem; it is a local problem that seems to be growing.

·         A resident commented that society has gone downhill if a resolution has to be passed for something that seems like a ‘no brainer’.

Mollring moved, and Matusow seconded, that the Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13 adopt the Human Trafficking Resolution. The motion was ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY, 6-0-0 (AYE: Middleton, Smyth, Mollring, Matusow, Lavoie, Chang).

VII. NEW BUSINESS:

A.   “Victory Over Violence” Sculpture – State Representative John Mizuno (represented himself) circulated a handout and highlighted the following:

·         Mizuno would like to get support from the Board and the City to have the Bronze Nonviolence Sculpture placed in the Downtown district. The sculpture is to inspire people and reduce violence.

·         The statue is not very big in size. It statue itself is about 3.5 feet long and 2.1 feet wide and tall. The statue would be placed on a pedestal. With the support from the Board, the City can place the statue by January.

·         The locations of possibly placing the statue are at the Honolulu Airport, the King Street and Fort Street Mall intersection, or across Aloha Tower at Walker Park. Gene Lacoy suggests the King Street and Fort Street intersection would be the best location for the statue.

Questions, comments and concerns followed:

·         The statue is the same statue found around the world.

·         A resident suggested the statue be placed a Kamalii Park

Chair Lavoie passed gavel to Smyth.

·         Lavoie feels the statue is loaded with many agendas. Violence is not only found with guns, but in various other forms. In Hawaii, the violence is more likely to involve hands, knives and other implements besides a handgun. Lavoie feels the city should not accept a slanted view of violence.

·         The sculpture emphasizes people using guns to shoot people. Resident emphasizes as a mother and grandmother she would not like the younger generation grow up seeing that statue.

·         It was suggested to have the statue go to the HPD Headquarters.

Lavoie moved, and Matusow seconded, that the Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13 oppose the resolution and location of the Bronze Nonviolence Sculpture. The motion FAILED TO BE ADOPTED, 4-2-0 (AYE: Mollring, Matusow, Lavoie, Smyth; NO: Chang, Middleton).

Gavel was returned to Chair Lavoie.

B.  Oahu Bike Plan – Tom Smyth reported the following:

·         The City will continue to take comments for the Oahu Bike Plan. The Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District does not support the section on Fort Street Mall that is proposed in the Bike Plan.

·         The Oahu Bike Plan is as follows:

o        The first level is a 5-10 year period which will begin where Nimitz Highway ends and Ala Moana Boulevard begins and goes all the way to Kalakaua Avenue as a bike route. At Aloha Tower there will be a path that will allow cyclists to get to Kakaako Waterfront Park. The Civic Center Shared use path  that runs from Punchbowl Street to Alapai Street (behind Iolani Palace and the State Capitol) they will up grade the path there.

o        The second level is 6-11 year period. One route will be the “Fort Street Mall Bike Route” and will run from Nimitz Highway to Beretania Street. It will be striped near the trees and will indicate the bikes are designated to ride there, which will give safety to cyclists and pedestrians. The question for the board was whether or not to support this particular route.  There will be a King Street bike lane which would run from River Street to Kapiolani Boulevard. There will be a bike lane from Queen Street starting at Fort Street Mall Path to Ala Moana Center. There will also be a bike lane on South Street going mauka to Beretania Street.

o        The third level would be about 15 years from the start of the project. There will be a bike route on Alakea Street that will go from Nimitz Highway to School Street. This is a dangerous route because it is heavy with city buses and it is not specific to where the bike lane will go. There will be a bike lane on Bishop Street from Queen Emma Street to Nimitz Highway. There will be a bike route called the “Chinatown Bike Route” that will start at the King/Beretania Street split and will go to the River Street Bike lane. There will be a bike route on Punchbowl Street from Nimitz Highway to Vineyard Boulevard.

Smyth moved, and Matusow seconded, that the Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13 support the Oahu Bike plan for added signage and Priority Sections 1, 2 and 3 except the section in Priority Section 2 regarding Fort Street Mall. Discussion followed:

·         The Downtown district is labeled an unfriendly bike district. The streets are not built for bike accessibility. There would be a lot of improvement because the roadways would be re-striped for bike lanes and bikes are safer on the street than they are for pedestrians on the sidewalks.

·         There doesn’t seem to be any plans of reducing auto lanes to accommodate the bike lanes. This plan will easily integrate the bike and bus system.

·         Business owners on Fort Street Mall also disagree with the bike path on Fort Street Mall indicating it would create a pedestrian/bike rider hazard.

The motion to support the Oahu Bike plan with the exception of the “Fort Street Mall Route” was ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY, 6-0-0 (AYE: Mollring, Matusow, Lavoie, Smyth, Chang, Middleton).

VIII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The September 3, 2009 Regular Meeting minutes were unanimously approved with the following corrections:

·         Page 2 – item five, the last sentence insert an apostrophe in the word months.

·         Page 7 – The third bullet the sentence should end “… properties, which is most if not all of the Downtown Neighborhood Board area.

·         Page 9 – The bulleted point under the third item, the last sentence should omit “with this information”.

·         Page 9 – The third bullet under the fourth item should read “There was a complaint to the Office of Information Practices (OIP) against the Commission. OIP ruled that the Commission violated the Sunshine Law when discussing the minutes taking template and received a complaint that the Neighborhood Commission has gone into executive sessions illegally at least 25 times.”

·         Page 10 – The bolded motion should omit “for further discussion in support of the plan”.

The July 29, 2009 Special Meeting minutes were unanimously approved with the following correction:

·         Page 2 – item number three, the word ‘quested’ should be “requested”.

·         Smyth would like to note on page two item number eight Local HUD is not encouraging cities to tear down low income housing, rather they are giving the Public Housing Authority the option to do so. HUD has a manual that may assist low income housing residents and a $1.6 billion budget for 2010. Having this said it seems to be that HUD is in favor of projects such as the River Street project.

IX.  BOARD REPORTS:

A. Chair’s Report – Chair Lavoie circulated to the Board Member’s Mayor Hannemann’s response to the Board’s actions opposing the River Street Housing Project. The letter’s intent was to indicate there will be no Community Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment done as the Board requested. The letter also indicated the project’s RFP has been postponed.

1.       Liquor License Applications or Street Closures – Won Kee Seafood Restaurant on 100 North Beretania Street is applying for a category one general liquor license.

2.       Future Agenda Items – Downtown Parking, Bronze Nonviolence Statue and Honolulu City Lights.

3.       Neighborhood Commission and Office of Information Practices Reports – No report.

B.  Treasurer’s Report – Mollring reported the balances from July, August and September as $3,245.68, $3212.82 and $3,170.70 respectively. Matusow requested the June statement for the 2009 fiscal year.

C.  City and County Affairs – No Report. 

D.  Metropolitan Planning Organization (OMPO) – Smyth reported that OMPO will operate on a new calendar year.

X.  ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• The next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2009, Pauahi Community Center, 171 North Pauahi Street at 7:00 p.m.
• The Neighborhoods Citizen’s Patrol meets each Tuesday on the Diamond Head side of Kukui Plaza at 8:00 p.m. Please consider joining the patrol and supporting its efforts as they express their service and pride in our Downtown/Chinatown community.

XI.  ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Submitted by: Theona Kapoi, Neighborhood Assistant      

Reviewed by: Frank Lavoie, Chair