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McCully - Moiliili Neighborhood Board # 8

Regular Meeting Minutes

Washington Middle School

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order at 6:37 p.m. by Chair Lockwood with a quorum of 9 members present. (The board has 15 members needing 8 members for a quorum.)

Members Present:  Marijane Carlos, Judy DeVilbiss, Les Hata, John Kato, Serena Kyi-Yim (arrived at 6:49 p.m.), Klement Kondratovich, Betty Lou Larson, Ron Lockwood, Clifton Takamura, Loren Tilley.

Members Absent:  Mimi Gans

Guests:  Mark Oto for Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Councilmember Ann Kobayashi, Sandra Kunimoto for Governor Linda Lingle, Jim Manke for the Chancellor, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Senator Carol Fukunaga, Sgt. K. Kalani (Honolulu Police Department/Dist 1); Ofc. A. Kahapea, Lt. G. Lum Lee 7, Sgt. A. Rivers (Honolulu Police Department/District 7); Capt. D. Bechert (Honolulu Fire Department/McCully Fire Station); Mr. Serge Krivatsy (THM Partners); Miwon Choe, Frank Leslie, Anthony Huynh, Dolores Newcomb (Concepts Unlimited); Brad Santiago, Kathy Camp (Kamehameha Schools); Sandy Edrich (Ala Wai K-9 Playground Association); Hung Wu, Carl and Lillian Novak (McCully Citizen’s Patrol), Tom Heinrich (Manoa Neighborhood Board), Larke Golaski, Bonnie Trustin (Neighborhood Commission Office staff).

PUBLIC SAFETY & COMMUNITY LIAISON

Honolulu Fire Department (HFD):  The Fire Department was not present at this time.

Honolulu Police Department (HPD):

Sgt. K. Kalani, District 1, gave the following statistics for June:

·       Assaults went from 1 to 7 this month, burglaries went from 10 to 5 this month because a suspect was identified, DUIs went from 4 to 3, drug offenses stayed the same at 2, family offenses went from 3 to 1, graffiti incidents went from 1 to 6 now that school is out, motor vehicle collisions went from 34 to 30, motor vehicle thefts went from 2 to 1, property damage went from 3 to 7, robberies stayed at 2, sex assaults went from 0 to 1 and car break-ins went from 2 to 4.

·       July 4th: aerial fireworks not allowed; fireworks only allowed between 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or it is a citable offense;  cannot be ignited or discharged anywhere above the first floor;cannot be thrown in or out of vehicles; can only be used on private property located 1,000 feet from schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly, and the zoo.

There were no questions for District 1.

Lt. G. Lum Lee, HPD/District 7, distributed his report with statistics for June. At their website, www.honolulupd.org/patrol/d7, are updated statistics for different neighborhoods for the past week by clicking on the map at the bottom of the page shows the number of offenses by month with increases or decreases.

Tip of the Month:  This covers business fraud, fraudulent invoices and embezzlement and what you can do to secure your business from burglary because burglaries increase in the summer months. Email HPD long standing problems at their website or call 911 in case of emergencies.

Questions, answers and concerns:

1.   A person can only be citied for a fireworks offense if they are seen setting them off.

2.   A parked car that blocks a driveway is tagged and towed when HPD is notified. HPD is noted of offenses according to severity and will arrive on the scene as soon as they are available.

3.   Chair Lockwood noted the Washington Middle School Principal’s Newsletter advised two students who crossed the street from the school to Jack-in-the -Box not in a crosswalk were fined $182.00. Lt. Lum Lee noted in a business district pedestrians must cross in a marked crosswalk. In a residential district pedestrians must cross within 200 feet of a marked crosswalk, basically from corner to corner. Some places are both business and residential so an officer would have to evaluate the situation in that case.

4.   When you see people smoking pot, call 911 rather than asking people who work in the area to report it.

Kyi-Yim arrived at 6:49 p.m.

UH – Manoa:  Jim Manke, representing the Chancellor, reported the following:

·         This is the last day of the first summer session; the second summer session starts July 7th and the fall semester will start August 25th.

·         The Chancellor is going on her first trip to Asia.

·         Freer Hall will be completed July 15th and the board will be invited to the neighborhood dedication Tuesday, August 12th.

·         The Chancellor will be requesting input through the end of July asking suggestions for a Hawaiian name to rename Lower Campus Road. When a new name is chosen, UH-Manoa will notify first responders and the U.S. postal service of the change.

·         Responding to the suggestion to call the road Ala Kea A Nui Nui, it is a bit long but would consider it.

The agenda was taken out of order when Capt. D. Bechert of the McCully Fire Department arrived, however he was paged by the station so Chair Lockwood read their report as follows:

Honolulu Fire Department (HFD):  Statistics for June were as follows:

·         There were 3 structure, 1 rubbish, 1 vehicle, 58 medical calls and 12 miscellaneous calls. There were no major incidents.

·         Safety Tip: 1) With keiki on summer break, review home surroundings for potentially dangerous situations and childproof your home. Check for situations that may cause electrical shock, accidental falls, and/or poisoning from unsecured medications, cleaning products, and/or houseplants. 2) Ensure swimming pools are properly fenced and gated. An alarm on the door from the house to the pool can help prevent unattended keiki from drowning. 3) Keep matches and lighters in a safe, secured place away from children.

Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate – Brad Santiago introduced Kathy Camp, Rainbow Vista Project Director. Dust screens and black netting went up recently and will be in place until the demolition of the units is completed. There are homeless people living in the vacant units which have been cleaned up on the exterior; the entire interior has graffiti everywhere. Demolition should end in three weeks, including asbestos abatement. Tonight they are asking the board’s support for their variance on the development. They are within the height limits of the project but the roofline sits within the setback zone, therefore, it is more to the front than it should be and they want to shutter the windows to make it look more like Old Moiliili Town.

Questions, answers, and concerns:

1.   When residents move into the building, management will ask them to act as security guards; when they see something they are asked to call the management office or 911. There will be no guard on duty.

2.   Their parking area will be well lit and include trees. The variance they are requesting has more street lighting to brighten the area including the park across the street.

3.   A landscape architect is consulting with them regarding trees but the front of the building will not have trees because it would interfere with the sewer system. Trees will be planted in the parking lot and on the other side of the bus stop.

4.   Kato moved, seconded by Carlos, to allow the Resolution to Support Kamehameha Schools’ request for a Variance from Certain Land Use Ordinances be added to the agenda. With no discussion, the motion was adopted by unanimous consent.

5.   Larson moved, seconded by Takamura, to adopt the Resolution Supporting Kamehameha Schools’ Request for a Variance from Certain Land Use Ordinances. There being no discussion, the motion was adopted by unanimous consent. 

Mayor Mufi Hanneman’s Representative:  Mark Oto noted that last month Councilmember Kobayashi reported the City Council adopted the Mayor’s City budget that goes into effect July 1st. Subsequent to the adoption of the budget, the City received new revenue estimates due to increasing costs of fuel and electricity. Responses to residents’ requests were as follows:

·         Lester Chang, Director of Parks and Recreation (DPR), committed to amend the rules to change the sign and allow dogs with leashes on the bike path as requested by the Ala Wai K-9 Playground Association. The Board’s letter to the Mayor that made that request will be responded to by the Mayor.

·         The City found Mrs. Shirai’s driveway situation has a distance double the minimum requirement of four feet between it and the nearby parking space. She noted that she was satisfied with the City’s finding; she only wanted the safety issue for her apartment building recognized and had no objection to the City’s findings.

Questions, answers, and concerns:

1.   A resident asked why there is a contra flow lane in the left turn lane for afternoon traffic at McCully Street and Kapiolani Boulevard going ewa because it causes people to cut through the Ala Wai Manor parking lot going the wrong direction for a one way drive which is hazardous. The resident suggested the contra flow lane start across the intersection to free up the left turn lane to help the traffic. 

2.   Member Tabor saw ADA work had started at Kapiolani Boulevard and University Avenue. She is concerned that on the makai ewa corner, just past the Marco Polo building, it is already very dangerous because people turn right onto University going Koko Head from Kapiolani Boulevard on a free right hand lane before the intersection so they are not required to stop since they do not go all the way to the corner. The ADA ramp being built is back further from the corner so drivers going fast around it cannot see anyone in the crosswalk. Tabor feels the new ADA layout will increase the potential danger of more people being hurt.

3.   Requested work on Kapiolani Boulevard at University Avenue because the street is very uneven.

4.   At the corner of Philips Street and Kalakaua Avenue there is a sign that says “No Parking any Time” but a car can back up next to the sign in the spot that was Dave’s Ice Cream. Since the sign is five feet from the corner and two cars can park there, people driving who turn on that street do not stop and there are pedestrians there.

5.   Please install lights on the Diamond Head side of the McCully Rec Center. Neighbors have seen graffiti there, people drink in the alley and it is noisy. She is also concerned about safety of the Boy Scouts and other groups who use the facility after dusk.

Governor Linda Lingle’s Representative - Sandra Lee Kunimoto, Director, Department of Agriculture, distributed the Governor’s report and advised the request to fix the wall at Ala Wai Park is state property so it was checked by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) who found many holes in the wall but they were there at high tide. They do not see it as a safety issue and will follow up.

Questions, answers, and concerns:

1.   The Governor’s report distributed tonight has worthy projects and bills on her veto list concerning senior services, keeping housing in perpetuity and agriculture bills but the State has to be balanced in their fiscal choices. The public can contact the Governor’s office before Tuesday to give support for certain bills.

2.   When citizens give comments on vetoed bills, ask what the legislature is doing to help the economic situation related to that issue.

3.   It is a little early to know if the State will give funding to support the Hawaii 2050 Project.

4.   She is not aware if the relationship between the Mayor and the Governor is strained due to the mass transit issue.

Board of Water Supply (BWS):  There was no representative present.

RESIDENTS’ CONCERNS

1.   A resident requested passing out draft resolutions to the attendees at board meetings.

2.   Sandy Edrich announced the Ala Wai K-9 Playground Association received a letter from Lester Chang, Director, Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), regarding their proposal for an off-leash dog park adjacent to the Community Gardens near the University Street bike path. He requested they submit all required documents and DPR will pursue it. The Ala Wai K-9 group appreciates the support of the McCully-Moiliili Neighborhood Board, councilmembers and community.

3.   At South King Street and Pawaa Lane the homeless are leaving food in the lane which is attracting rats at 1750 South King; a resident thinks she saw over 25 rats when she was there recently by Zippy’s and Premier Realty. She talked with Zippy’s management and the realty company; Premier Realty is working on the problem but it still exists, especially for the elderly who cannot walk quickly through the area.

4.   A resident who lives at the end of University Avenue by the Ala Wai Neighborhood Park had the following concerns: 1) asked the community to be more proactive about graffiti and not just wait for the legislature to change the laws. 2) daily noise from cars playing loud music with their windows down and loud speakers in

      the park. Although the police are called, he has never seen them cite anyone for the offense. Chair Lockwood noted there will soon be an announcement about police being proactive in regard to graffiti.

ELECTED OFFICIALS

Councilmember Ann Kobayashi distributed her newsletter and reported the following:

·         Bill 35 prohibits activities at bus stops. They are sympathetic for the homeless but many riders cannot sit down at the stops with homeless people sitting there.

·         The Council sent a letter to the Director of Transportation Services requesting a pedestrian activated light by Times Supermarket on King Street to make it safer because cars travel so fast there.  DTS said they would investigate, but there was no response.   She will watch the issue.

Questions, answers and concerns:

1.   A councilmember introduced a bill to consider congestion pricing for Honolulu where cars that come into the inner city during busy times of the day are charged; Seattle and New York City are considering it. There was opposition at the hearing of the bill.

2.   The City Council is looking at traffic calming measures in residential neighborhoods. Emergency vehicles are slowedgoing over the round-about. Another alternative to slow traffic costs about $300,000 each.

3.   City Motor Vehicle Division handles licensing for new drivers but the State decides laws regarding age of drivers and for how many years a license is valid. A traffic management center will be built soon with the help of the federal government, City and State to make the roads safer for drivers, pedestrians and bicycles.

·         The issue of allowing dogs into camping sites has a national effort to keep dog parks and parks for people separate because so many children are allergic to animals.

·         Seeing a painted optical illusion on the highway that looks like an arrow pointing as if the driver will be hitting a bump, is to help traffic to slow down but it could anger people for that very reason and they could speed up right after the “bump” which could be unsafe.

·         Chair Lockwood noted that two years ago EMS announced their headquarters was planned for a location on Young Street but they need State funds to make it happen.

Representative Kirk Caldwell: His newsletter was distributed and he was not present.

Representative Scott Nishimoto:  He was not present.

Representative Scott Saiki:  His newsletter was distributed and he was not present.

Senator Carol Fukunaga distributed her newsletter and reported the following:

·         Supporting energy conservation, the Governor signed the first solar water heater bill into law requiring all new single-family homes built from January 1, 2010 meet established solar water standards; Hawaii is the first state in the country with this bill.

·         Encouraged people to contact the Governor to support the Electronic Waste Recycling Act making retailers responsible to provide collection services for their products keeping recycled items out of the landfill.

·         Congratulated the board and volunteers who worked on the June 21st T.A.G. event.

·         Responded to Takamura’s experience as a pedestrian when he was almost hit by a young driver on South King Street who was talking on a cell phone. The Department of Education offers driver’s education classes to educate young drivers. There were bills introduced in the last three legislative sessions banning talking on cell phones while driving, one supported by students advocating it but no bill was adopted.

Senator Brian Taniguchi:  His newsletter was distributed and he was not present.   

FILLING OF VACANCIES:  There were no volunteers to fill one vacancy in Sub District 1 and two vacancies in Sub District 2, an area from Kaimuki High School to past the McCully/Moiiliili Library.

PRESENTATION: 

1315 Kalakaua Avenue, Holomua Project:  Representing THM Partners, Serge Krivatsky presented their affordable to moderate priced condominiums of which 51 percent will be priced at 140% of the median income or less targeting the affordable and moderate priced market. The site is next door to the Store by the intersection of Kalakaua Avenue and Beretania Street, slightly makai of Beretania and mauka of Young Street on the Koko Head side by the 7 Eleven. The following are facts about the building:

·         Proposing a 24 story building with eight levels of parking holding 245 parking stalls.

·         Apartments will be on 16 floors of the building with limited amenities, including no pool. Units will be smaller in size to keep the price and maintenance fees down attracting affordable and moderate priced buyers.

·         80 one-bedroom units with average apartment size of 500-525 square feet priced around $250,000.

·         96 two-bedroom units average size will be 700-750 square feet priced in the high $300,000s.

·         The project is being developed with the help of two Hawaii programs:  1) The Dwelling and Revolving Fund Program provides construction fees in exchange for affordable housing units and 2) The 201H Program provides certain exemptions on the zoning codes in exchange for affordable housing. They want a height exemption from 150 feet to 220 feet, providing seven more floors of apartments, and to develop at a higher density than usual. They asked for the option to take out one floor of parking leaving 211 parking stalls in case their construction fees become exorbitant. They are also asking for an exemption for setbacks for the parking structure and the front yard. 

·         Their applications were submitted to the State for review and approval and their architectural plans are almost complete. Their environmental assessment is out for comment until July 7, 2008.

·         Construction projected to begin January 2009 with completion in mid 2010.

Questions, answers and concerns:

1.   The proposed building will be narrow using about 16,000 square feet of the 23,000 square feet lot. The entrance and exit to parking will be on to Kalakaua Avenue.

2.   The State created the programs mentioned because the high real estate prices in urban Honolulu can be offset by the height variance doubling the number of units they can construct that cuts the land costs in half and passes the savings on to the buyers. The land is fee simple.

3.   The project was approved by the Waste Water branch for the sewer hook up so they will have sufficient capacity resources.

4.   The average setback will be 40 feet from Kalakaua Avenue because the building will be built at an angle.

5.   The height of other buildings in the area are the Banyan Tree Plaza at 35 stories or about 350 feet; 1450 Young Street is 27 stories or about 250 feet; One Kalakaua is about 15 floors at 138 feet and Puana Hale is about 107 feet high.

6.   Planned parking is up to code but if the costs come in higher, the option might be a little under code. They are comfortable with that arrangement because the area has so much public transportation. They will still provide one stall per unit and at least 10 guest stalls.

7.   Their architectural and sound studies found the extra cars to be at the site during construction will be a small percentage of cars in the area. Car access onto the property will be right in and right out only.

8.   Chair Lockwood has the project study for which comments are due in five days. The June 30th copy of the Honolulu Advertiser covered the project. THM made their presentation at the Makiki Neighborhood Board meeting at which time the board did not take a position for or against the project but commended their efforts for creating affordable housing.

HOUSEKEEPING

·         HECO has started a project in front of Lunalilo School causing delays for the next six weeks. Call 295 – 5422 available 24 hours a day to make complaints or get information.

·         The next board meeting will be August 7th; there will be no meeting in September.

·         The yellow flags, available here tonight, are from “Walk-Wise Hawaii” to wave as people cross the street. They presented a program for seniors at Kuhio School last Saturday for pedestrian safety, ID fraud and the fire department talked about accidents in the home. The presentation will also be given in Kailua and at Farrington High School. 

·         At 2626 South King Street, Diamond Head of University Avenue,  Kohnotori Restaurant is asking for a liquor license. Their hearing will be at the Liquor Commission July 10th at 4:00 p.m.

·         Bon Dancing will be at Moiliili Community Center tomorrow night starting at 7:30 p.m.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

·         A letter to the Mayor was sent by Chair Lockwood regarding the Ala Wai K-9 Dog Park as per Board action at the June meeting.

·         T.A.G. Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club:  The McCully – Moiliili Totally Against Graffiti (T.A.G.) group partnered with Hui ‘o Makiki on June 21st. Over 140 people worked in the area bounded by Kalakaua Avenue, Kapiolani Boulevard, Sheridan Street and South King Street. The Bus volunteers cleaned and painted bus stops. Wal-Mart/Sams Club provided delicious bentos, Senator Fukunaga’s staff took great pictures, Councilmember

      Kobayashi gave monetary and cheerleading support, and Representative Della Au Bellatti painted numerous bus stops. The next clean up will be September 27th at 8:00 a.m. at Prince Kuhio School.  

·         Sunshine Law Changes:  Some of the significant changes adopted were 1) The board can start the meeting. without a quorum, hear reports and receive public input on issues even if they are not on the agenda. 2) With a quorum the board can conduct official business and take action on items on the agenda. 3) PIG

      groups are not as necessary because one less than quorum, seven people for this board, can attend public information meetings, discuss things there that refer to board issues but they cannot say how they will vote. They are asked to report back to board meetings. 4) Unanticipated events may be discussed if it is necessary for the public health, welfare and safety on which the board would want to take action.

·         HB 357 Pedestrian Safety Up-date: There is no update on what the Governor wants to do on the issue that this board passed a resolution on last month.

NEW BUSINESS:

·         Night Court:  Holding a night court could immediately remove criminals from the street as they may be held for trial overnight. Some questions from Chair Lockwood were: 1) Where would the courts be located? 2) The cost to operate and staff the court(s)? 3) How to make visitors responsible for their action before they left the island? 4) Could the Legislative Reference Bureau present some figures for it?

Discussion, answers and concerns:

1.   A board member suggested night court could support the adoption of the state to have a four day work week, lessening commute time; it would fit into a 10-hour work day.

2.   Kato noted night court used to take care of overages during day court, i.e. for taxi companies.

3.   Chair Lockwood will send this to the board’s Public Safety Committee.

·         Constitutional Convention:  Board members were forwarded information on the issues that will probably be discussed at the coming con cons. In the 1978 meeting they came up with 13 or 14 issues, one was OHA. Kato feels the 1978 con con was mainly involved in different groups not feeling represented but he feels a lot of constituency groups do not have the desire for it as they did before. Takamura feels there are some issues that could be worked out in a new con con.

·         Parking along University Avenue going to Manoa:  The Manoa Neighborhood Board has discussed parking of the ingress and egress to the UH Manoa campus on University Avenue by Maile Way and this effects this neighborhood. The area just past Schidler Business School is also used by the Mid Pac and St. Francis School daily. Between the School of Architecture and Business Administration are metered parking stalls that people can use starting at 7:00 a.m. and when used it ties up traffic for those turning right. Chair Lockwood suggests prohibiting parking in these stalls until 8:30 a.m. so it allows traffic to have a right turn lane onto Maile Way so traffic can flow. Chair Lockwood will give this issue to the Planning, Zoning and Transportation and Public Safety committees.

·         Bingham Street Off-Ramp:  When UH-Manoa is in session, Dr. Panas Prevedouros found over 70% of the traffic using this off ramp is UH-Manoa traffic. Chair Lockwood suggested Kamehameha Schools and UH-Manoa add to their 15-20 year plan the continuation of Bingham Street to go in between Church of the Crossroads and the Varsity Building that lines up with the traffic light. Then make Coyne Street into a public walkway closing it from University Avenue to Burger King, for one block. Lastly have the UH-Manoa second parking structure accessible via Varsity Place and the Moiliili Gate. This board’s Public Safety and Transportation committees can consider these ideas.

·         Resolution 08-148 Traffic Calming:  Referred to Public Safety and Planning and Zoning Committees.

·         Bill 45-Traffic Administration:  Referred to Public Safety and Planning and Zoning Committees.

APPROVAL OF MAY 1ST AND JUNE 5TH, 2008 MINUTES

June 5, 2008 Minutes

Page 1 – Change header date from June 9, 2008 to June 5, 2008

Page 1 - Change Gans for Second Vice-Chair seconded by Carlos, should be seconded by Larson. Change the vote to 9-0-2 with Kyi-Yim abstaining.

Page 2 - Under UH Questions, answers and concerns No. 2 – Change Varsity Theatre to

              to Varsity Place.

Page 3 – Under Kamehameha Schools change Bruce Santiago to Brad Santiago.

Page 3 -  Under Board of Water line one deleted the word “May”.

Page 4 – Under questions and answers No. 2 delete the word “at” at the end of the sentence.

The minutes were accepted as corrected.

May 1, 2008 Minutes:

Page 3 – Board of Water Supply Questions and answers No. 1 should read:

            “While the approved annual rate increases implemented beginning in 2006 accounted for some projected electrical cost escalations, unexpected and dramatic increases in fuel prices caused the actual electrical costs to far exceed projections. The power cost adjustment of 9.4 cents for every 1,000 gallons of water used is needed to pay for unexpected energy cost increases that occurred in 2007. The BWS will annually review and modify the Power Cost Adjustment. The adjustment amount will be limited to the actual audited increases in energy cost for the prior fiscal year.

The minutes were approved as corrected.

Treasurer’s Report: Loren Tilley read the Treasurer’s Report as follows: There is a current balance of $2,924.50, charges of $500 for facility rental for March, April, May and June and printing of agenda and minutes for May and June totaling $40.90. Postage for May and June was $93.22. Booth rental for Moiliili Day was $20.00. There was a deficit of $173.52 to fund the Operating Budget leaving the Publicity Account with a balance of $2,906.88 and the Refreshment Account with a balance of $18.02. The Treasurer’s Report was accepted as read.

Committee Reports:

·         The Affordable Housing/Homeless Committee is on break for next month.

·         The Public Safety and Legislative Affairs Committee will meet July 17, 2008, 7:00 p.m. at the Moiliili Community Center, Room 102.

·         Planning, Zoning and Transportation will be meeting July 15, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall at McCully at the Ala Wai Bridge.

·         Schools and Community Outreach at July 14, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. location to be announced.

The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Submitted by:

Bonnie Trustin

Neighborhood Assistant

Reviewed by:

Ron Lockwood, Chair