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McCully - Moiliili Neighborhood Board # 8

MCCULLY/MOILIILI MEETING MINUTES

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

KING WILLIAM LUNALILO SCHOOL

The meeting was called to order by Chair Lockwood at 7:10 p.m. with a quorum present.

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: - Linda Dela Cruz, Mimi Gans, Al Furuto (arrived at 7:09 p.m.), Gordon Furuto, Les Hata, Serena Kyi-Yim, , Ron Lockwood, John Gollner, Shaunna Tabor, Michael Taleff.

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:  - Marijane Carlos, Scott Chever, Betty Lou Larson

GUESTS:  Capt. R. Amano (HFD, McCully Station), Sgt. H. Ishida, Sgt. E. Egami, Capt. T. Grossi, Sgt. B. Mahi, Officer A. Kahapea (HPD, District 7); Pat Lee (Honolulu High Capacity Transit Corridor Project), Susan Miyao (Representative from Senator Brian Taniguchi’s office), Councilmember Ann Kobayashi; (Board of Water Supply); Mark Oto (Mayor’s Representative, Department of Community Services); Jim Manke (UH-Manoa Chancellor’s Representative), Councilmember Ann Kobayashi, Daisy Murai, Jean Sato, Mel Murakami, Sandra Fulton, Alice Hiroshima, Dale So, Craig Hiroshima, June Matsumoto, Lance Kodo, Richard and Jane Ohara, Louis and Jacki Parrish, Carl and Lillian Novak, Raymond Lalosin (McCully Citizen’s Patrol); Jean Peters, S. Crisp, Dave Chun, Clement Kondratovich, Bonnie Trustin (Neighborhood Commission Office staff).

BOARD VACANCIES:   - 1 in Sub District 1 and 2 in Sub District 2 – There were no volunteers who came forward so the item will be on next month’s agenda.

PUBLIC SAFETY & COMMUNITY LIAISON

Honolulu Fire Department – I have to fill in rank Capt. R. Amano (McCully Fire Station) reported the following:

1.   The statistics for March were 2 structure fires; 59 medical alarms, 6 miscellaneous alarms and no major nor any unusual incidents. 

2.   Fire Tip of the month:  Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires and the second major cause of death among older adults.  If you are cooking and must leave the room for a few minutes, be sure you turn off the stove.  Also keep a fire extinguisher with a minimum rating of 2A 10BC in or near your kitchen and learn how to use it.  Check the extinguisher regularly to insure it will work if there should be a fire.

Questions, answers and concerns:

1. Explained that a fire extinguisher rated 2A 10BC is recommended by their department; it determines the size of fire you can put out with it.

2. McCully’s station’s move is being delayed because they are having trouble getting water to the area.  They keep saying “a month from now” but we have heard that for a long time.

3. He will ask his administration if they can store car batteries that are collected when neighborhoods have big recycling cleanups. 

4. Their temporary quarters will be at Date Street at the Ala Wai Golf Course maintenance yard.

Honolulu Police Department – Sgt. Ishida from District 7, East Honolulu handed out their statistics report and information on pedestrian safety laws with diagrams to help clarify the laws. 

Questions, answers and concerns:

1.   He replied to Kyi-Yim that the acceptable noise level of her neighbor’s music is louder in the morning and less noise is acceptable in the late evening.

2.   Regarding the young girl walking home from Ala Wai Elementary who was grabbed from behind, they have no suspect but there is an ongoing investigation and he has his officers in the area when children walk home from school.  Tabor is still concerned about this instance seeing an increasing number of people living under the bridges not only between Kaimuki and Iolani schools but also in the Ala Wai Community Park between the Marco Polo condominiums and the Ala Wai Towers.  Sgt. Ishida reported during the day the homeless can be there because it is a public park but if they are camping there at night, all terrain vehicles (ATV) are out tonight writing camping citations and warrants for their arrest. 

3.   He reported to A. Furuto that noise offenses were always decided according to what noise level is prudent for the time of day.

4.   He doesn’t know if pedestrian accidents are the leading cause of death for the elderly.

5.   He responded to Takamura that night police patrol is done in between their cases and enforcing traffic violations, but there is no specific schedule.  If there was a schedule, criminals would know it.

6.   Undercover police citing pedestrians is a program they are conducting now, which is probably reliant on funding; it is a hot topic they want to address. 

UH Manoa, Chancellor’s Representative: - Jim Manke reported the following:

1.   Their Board of Regents has recently approved the appointment of a new Chancellor, Virginia Hinshaw.  She is currently a senior administrator at the University of California at Davis and has previous administrative service at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.  Chancellor Hinshaw begins her duties at the University of Hawaii at Manoa July 1, 2007 at which time the interim chancellor Konan begins a year long sabbatical before returning to her faculty position in the Economics Department.

2.   This month’s centennial activity highlights the College of Tropical Agriculture that will hold their annual banquet honoring a large number of distinguished alumni.

3.  In May the University will have their Spring Commencement and the UH Alumni Association will hold its alumni dinner.

4.   U.S. News and World Report gave college ratings for a number of categories.  The Richardson Law School was ranked in the top 20 for diversity, low faculty to student ratios and in the top 100 schools in the country overall.  The international business programs at the Shidler College of Business are ranked 21^st in the country.  For the first time the Geriatric Medicine Program at the medical school is rated 12^th in the nation which is a tribute to Dr. Patricia Blanchette who has run the program for many years.

5.   The UH marching band was listed as one of the top five bands in the country according to the College Band Directors National Association.

Questions, answers and concerns:

1. He explained the Kennedy Center proposal, as Dean Bingham had presented it at the last meeting, will have six stories - three for parking beneath three stories of classroom/performance space and rehearsal halls.  It will sit on top of an existing parking lot so those spaces will be gone but there will be a net gain of about 350 parking spaces offered to faculty during school hours which will clear out the parking structure in the quarry so students have more spaces and can park there.  The performances are in the evening so the new spaces will be for public parking during those hours.

2.   He sent A. Furuto an email reporting on the bird flu vaccine, as requested from the last meeting, with a copy to Chair Lockwood the day after the meeting was held.  Chair Lockwood said the topic will be discussed under “Unfinished Business.”

3.   Manke reported the Board of Regents has approved a proposal to acquire 100 acres for the West Oahu campus.  He thinks they want to increase the student population there by three times what it is now in the next two years.

4. There will be extensive landscaping done at the lower campus gate going into the quarry with water brought in to keep the land green.  This gate will become a major alternate entrance to the campus.  Chair Lockwood suggested Manke email Laura Ruby, with the UH Art Department, to advise her of what is proposed.

Kamehameha Schools - Chair Lockwood reported their representative could not be here tonight.  They have no new updates.  Kamehameha Schools is allowing the group Totally Against Graffiti (T.A.G.) to use one of their renovated spaces in McCully to store their extra paint and other sundries until the next T.A.G. paint out.

Mayor’s Representative - Mark Oto reported on the issues from last month:

1.   Regarding the lights that needed fixing, the crosswalk button for the light across from McCully’s Zippy’s, the light control box at Pawaa and King and Fern and Kalakaua were all tested by the Department of Transportation Services (DTS).  They are all working correctly and the timing meets DTS’s standards.

2.   The potholes at Pumehana and Citron and Kinau Street in front of the Beretania Times Supermarket were both filled on March 9^th.

3.   The SUV parked at Lokahi Street was declared a derelict and will be removed.

4.   The Ala Wai Neighborhood and Community Park’s basketball courts were turned over to the Department of Parks and Recreation for management on February 20, 2007 and were inspected at that time.

5.   Reported to Chair Lockwood regarding Bill 89, concerning reporting dog bites, Deputy Chief Kajiyama reported police are currently responding to all notifications by Medical service providers and documenting the incident via a police report.  Kajiyama reported on Bill 91 that officers are being sent to any reported incident to make an assessment as to whether or not the vehicle is “dangerous.”  If verified as dangerous, HPD cites the vehicle and notifies Customer Services who then tows the car.

6.   Announcement:  The Mayor is beginning a series of public meetings on his recycling proposal.  One of which will be on May 8, 2007 in the Mission Memorial Auditorium.  Check the other scheduled meetings times on the City & County of Honolulu’s website at www.honolulu.gov.

Questions, answers and concerns:

Gans asked to check the button for the light control on the mauka side at Pawaa and King Streets across from Zippy’s the mauka side button has been completely broken.

Governor’s Representative – Sandra Kunimoto is still at a meeting that started earlier.  She gave the Governor’s current newsletter to Chair Lockwood and asked him to take any questions of which there were none.

Board of Water Supply:  - Keith Ishinaga was not present so Chair Lockwood read his report highlights:

1. There were no water main breaks this past month.

2.   In June citizens will be getting a report on the quality of their water – where the water comes from, are there any contaminants in it, are there treatment processes used to get rid of them and go to their website, www.boardofwatersupply.com , for more information.

3.   The water saving tips are:  1)Take advantage of the $100 rebate for replacing your old toilet with a new low flow one.  Go to www/boardofwatersuppy.com for more information.

2) .You can use a screwdriver as a soil probe to test soil moisture; if it goes in easily you don’t need to water.  Proper lawn watering can save gallons of water annually.  3)  For hanging basket, planters and pots, place ice cubes under the moss or dirt to give your plants a cool drink of water and help eliminate water overflow.

Councilmember Ann Kobayashi: - Councilmember Kobayashi distributed her newsletter and reported:

1.   The sewers are being worked on so there is a proposal to increase the sewer fees another 15% over the increase of 10% already in effect; last year there was a 25% increase.  Those are heavy increases but as you know, sewers have been neglected and they must be fixed especially in this area; the sewer system is so under capacity there is a building moratorium so we really have to address it.  There is also a proposal for a second day pick up of trash for a $10.00 charge per month.  They also want a camping fee which would provide monies for the maintenance of the parks.

2.   The McCully gym and pool is projecting an opening in 2010.  It is hard to find a new location because land is so scarce in this area.

Questions, answers and concerns:

1.   Responded to Gans that with graffiti on private land, if the City cleans it up then the owners of the private property won’t take responsibility to do it.

2.   Furuto suggested the City buy the Bowl-a-Drome for a new McCully recreation center.

3.   Gollner thanked Councilmember Kobayashi for her support of the projects on which the McCully Board takes action.

4.   Takamura agreed with Furuto on the Bowl-a-Drome land swap.

5. Chair Lockwood informed her that the McCully/Moiliili Board did a resolution suggesting the Bowl-a-Drome be converted for the McCully recreation center in 2001 or 2002; it can be retrieved and looked at again.  The McCully pool has been ongoing for so long; his letter to Robbie Dingman, Honolulu Advertiser Bureaucracy Buster Columnist, who answered it in today’s newspaper, said the Department of Design and Construction would complete the swimming pool in 2010 because of technical problems; it has been closed for two years this month.  The main concern is, where do children go for a summer fun program.

During the McCully pool closing people can use the pools at the Ala Wai, Kanewai Park, Sheridan and Makiki Parks.  Otherwise, rather than a $50 to $60 charge, the alternative programs would be much more expensive for a child’s summer activities.

6.   She explained that if there was a land swap for the Bowl-a-Drome it would be a location in Ewa and the Bowl-a-Drome would become a recreational or meeting site.

Representative Kirk Caldwell:   Representative Caldwell was not present.

Representative Nishimoto:   Representative Nishimoto was not present but delivered a written report.

Representative Scott Saiki:  Representative Saiki was not present but delivered a written report.

Senator Carol Fukunaga:  Senator Fukunago was not present but delivered a written report

Senator Brian Taniguchi:  Senator Taniguchi was not present but delivered a written report.

PRESENTATION:

Mr. Louis Parrish, Owner/Investor regarding vacant property at 4612 Kapiolani Blvd. Development Plans - He and a partner own two homes that they want to renovate to provide affordable housing for Honolulu.  The

neighbors are concerned about what he will be doing there, especially in regard to parking since there is so little available and the sewers could be a problem.  The zoning for the area is a maximum of 55 feet high; the properties in question are two two-bedroom homes located at the end of the cul-de-sac.  They are looking for nice renters who work downtown and would find the area amiable for their families keeping the properties clean.  There is enough off street parking for both units.  Currently they are trying to determine what the area can tolerate in the way of sewer service and plumbing needs.  He has projects that afford his company to be able to give back to the Hawaiians because a lot of companies do “give back” but I think they could be “giving back” a lot more to the Hawaiian islands.

Questions, answers and concerns from the neighbors were expressed and shown with a few photographs of the area being discussed which were distributed to the Board and are on file at the Neighborhood Commission office.

1. June Matsumoto’s family has owned their home in the lane since the 1940s.  Access to the project site is a narrow dead end lane, 17 ½ feet wide, off Kapiolani Boulevard lacking sidewalks, drains and gutters ending in a very tight, short cul-de-sac (as was seen on attachments A, B and E).

The proposed project site is at the dead end off the cul-de-sac and since both the entry and exit would be off the front of the property, it would create additional traffic concerns and congestion (which were shown by attachments B & C).

The neighborhood is densely populated with many cars and inactive parking.  Driving is hazardous because of illegally parked cars and children playing in the lane.  Children unexpectedly dart back and forth across the lane so a reduced speed limit of five miles an hour or less is required.  The City has installed “No Parking Any Time” signs but vehicles continue to park illegally.

2. Jean Sato has lived on the lane where her family has owned property for 60 years.  She knows of three incidents where illegally parked cars in this 17 ½ foot lane created a critical problem for emergency vehicles; an ambulance and two fire trucks couldn’t get access to residents who live there.  She feels more traffic and illegally parked cars cannot be added to this narrow lane because it would create a potentially unsafe situation.

3. Karen Morikami was raised on this lane and the family still maintains the property.  The City installed “No parking” signs because the refuse truck drivers said they couldn’t collect  trash with cars parked illegally but even with “No parking” signs cars are still parked illegally. A future concern is that approving any proposed project will set a precedent whereby owners of neighboring parcels might take equal opportunity to consolidate their parcels creating further density of the neighborhood.

4. Alice Hiroshima was raised on the lane and lives there today.  She is concerned because the entrance and exit of the lane are the same.  It is hazardous when vehicles converge at the entrance especially when there are illegally parked vehicles, see picture D.  This past Monday she wanted to make a right turn into the lane but had to wait at Kapiolani Boulevard for a big truck and a car behind it waiting to exit.  The danger increases during peak traffic hours and when cars speed off the Kapiolani off ramp so please consider this safety concern also.

5. Craig Hiroshima, who has lived in the neighborhood for a very long time, noticed electricians on the property and they said the plumbing will also be worked on.  Since repairs are being made, what are the plans for this property?  A neighbor recalled a number of years ago a developer wanted to build a condominium but was denied by the City and County of Honolulu but doesn’t know the reasons.  We would very much appreciate it if you would consider all of our concerns and NOT approve this project

because this residential neighborhood would be negatively impacted. 

6. Parrish responded that he and his partner could rezone all the lots in the area so there is a lower height restriction.  We would keep the homes as two single homes with six parking spaces which he thinks is the way the neighbors want to keep the properties.

7. Parrish responded to Gans that before he owned the property someone had an approval from the City Council to demolish the property but the pictures given the Board are the state of the homes currently – they were not demolished.

8. Parrish told A. Furuto the tenants they have chosen are a young couple who is pregnant to live in the back unit.  He will do a background check to make sure they are good, stable renters.  He will fix the problems the homes have which are electrical and plumbing.

9. Chair Lockwood asked to clarify the number of parking spaces for Parish’s properties.  A neighbor reported that most of the time you can only park 2-3 cars so it would be good to determine what kind of cars the renters would drive.

10. Parrish noticed the house on the corner has a lot of garbage is around it.  He doesn’t want to be part of the problem.  He might add some parking stalls depending on the profitability of doing it.  Maybe he can expand the concrete to provide more parking spaces.

11. Initially when he looked at the property, Parish wanted to be away from the neighbors and reconstruct the dwellings putting parking underneath to expand the number of parking spaces.  But he decided to use the existing structures fixing the plumbing and wiring so it meets the updated codes.

12.  Resident Murai is familiar with the area but many in the audience have no idea of the size of the property or the building they want to fix up.  You have to consider height permits, sewer capacity, the infrastructure and the area available for parking.

13. Parrish is going to keep the site the way it is.  It is a small lot with a two bedroom, 1 bath single story home on it and it sounds like it has three parking spaces from what the neighbors are saying.  It is zoned to go up to 55 feet but he isn’t going to change the structure because he doesn’t think that would be a good idea for that area.

14. Parrish answered Murai that the lot size is 5,000 sq. ft. with each lot being just under 1,000 square ft. and he will not change the homes structurally.

15. Alice Hiroshima is concerned about the size of the cars that will park there and the qualification of affordable housing.

16. Parrish suggested all the property owners in the lane band together to ask for a change in the zoning so someone can’t come in and build at a height of 55 feet.  When he met with Councilmember Kobayashi and told her his goals, she suggested he come to a Board meeting and let the neighbors know his plans and work things out with them and he wanted to do that so he is here tonight.

17. Parrish told Takamura he is the current owner, with the Fishers, of the property and wants to leave it as one parcel and have  the community work on getting the zoning changed to eliminate future problems.

18. Mel Murakami reported whenever a developer comes before a board, he doesn’t want something within the legal limits of the building process; at least 90% of the time they want to do things beyond what they are presenting – a special permit, a variance or rezoning to increase the density.  The Board cannot deny what meets the requirement and conversely, they cannot do anything beyond what is allowed.  They have to be able to determine whether a project is major or minor to the community and what it will look like on that site.  This is Hawaii, if it’s minor, give ‘em, if it’s major you got to think about it.

19. A. Furuto suggested if people on the lane have parking problems, tell the police and they will go to your area to ticket and tow cars.  Residents don’t mind visitors parking on their front yard for a short visit and it is not obstructing any emergency vehicles.

20. Craig Hiroshima invited the Board to take a look at the property to help them make a decision if they are unsure of how to vote on the issue.  Chair Lockwood reported he drove down there a couple weeks ago and invited Board members to go.  He invited the neighbors who testified to meet with Mr. Parish and Chair Lockwood to talk story about this issue and notice the topic was listed for discussion only.  They appreciated the opportunity to share their feelings.

21. Mr. Parrish, as an investor and developer, wants to benefit his investors but also be concerned with the needs of those living in the neighborhood.

The meeting took a recess at 8:21 p.m. and came back to order at 8:30 p.m. with 9 members.

HOUSEKEEPING: - the following items were presented by Chair Lockwood:

New Items since the Agenda was published:

1.   Neighborhood Board elections have started so please vote by April 16, 2007.  Voting is available on line at www.nbvote.com.  Go to “Do I need a voter Number” filling in your name and address, submit it and it will come in the mail.

a.   Resident Kondratovich voted on line on a MacIntosh computer and can access the site but he can’t read it.  When he called the Neighborhood Commission office he was told to upgrade the browser which would require upgrading the operating system and it is turning into more trouble than it is worth.

      Trustin reported the software works fine with a Windows operating system but there is a glitch with some MacIntosh systems.  He and Chair Lockwood are waiting for a voter number to come in the mail so they can vote.  Trustin explained the next mailing will be Monday for voter numbers.

b.   Chair Lockwood reported to A. Furuto that the McCully/Moiliili Neighborhood Board does not have contested races but you can exercise your right to vote. 

2. There will be a new site for the Blood Bank of Hawaii at 1907 Young Street one block west of McCully and Artesian Streets, on a 9,500 square foot parcel with sufficient space for parking and easy freeway access.  It could take a few years to complete the building but it will provide increased collection capacity and a convenient donation location in town.

3. The next group of meetings for the Hawaii 2050 Plan will be at Kapolei Elementary on April 14^th from 8:30 – 11:30.  At Kailua High School on April 21^st from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. and at McKinley High School cafeteria on May 5 from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.  For more details go to www.hawaii2050.org.

4.   Kuhio Elementary School was one of three elementary schools to receive $25,000 worth of musical instruments from VH1 Foundation, Oceanic Time Warner and the University of Phoenix, to make sure music is still taught in the schools.

Kyi-Yim and Tabor rejoined the meeting at 8:40 p.m.

Neighborhood Commission Meeting Report:  At the last meeting of the Neighborhood Commission, it was decided that the Neighborhood Commission Chair Grant Tanimoto and Executive Secretary Joan Manke will be coming to our meeting May 3^rd to explain the new sub district boundaries for the McCully/Moiliili area.  They could not do it earlier because they did not meet the 30 day legal notification.  Chair Lockwood passed out a drawing showing the new proposed three subdistrict areas which was passed by this Board two years ago.

Chair Lockwood explained the Neighborhood Commission is coming to do their due diligence on this issue and get a reading from the Board asking if there is further discussion on the issue and they will take that back to their Commission meeting and advise us of their decision to approve these changes.

Stream Cleanup:  The Makiki stream cleanup will be April 14^th, next week in the morning on Saturday at 8:00 a.m..  Park at Washington Elementary School or on South King Street and meet at Jack in the Box.

OMPO Committee Report:  There is a Transportation Enhancement Program employed to beautify the environment with the help of $500,000 in federal money.  One of the final 11 projects chosen was presented by this Board in 2004 to beautify the University/Varsity Avenue on-ramp pushing the fence back, put in some trees and make it very green.  The Old Town Moiliili Business Group said they will adopt it as a park and maintain it. 

OMPO is only funding the first five projects with the most popular votes so by April 30 you can vote for the University beautification project to vote that it be the chosen project at 587-2015.  You can also go to OMPO001@hawaii.rr.com to vote for your choice.

Questions, answers and concerns:

Furuto asked if this money being spent will affect the closing of the Bingham off ramp.  Chair Lockwood has a graduate student in urban planning working on that interchange right now to plan its improvement.

High Capacity Corridor Project:  The scoping report will be complete by the 13^th of April so you need to comment by then via email or regular mail.

Congratulatory Resolutions:

1. The Kaimuki Basketball Team has taken the State Championship.  This team was made up of students all from the Moiliili, McCully and Palolo neighborhoods.  Chair Lockwood would like a resolution of congratulations to go to them which was approved unanimously by the Board.

2. Washington Middle School 7^th and 8^th graders are the State Champions at Math Meets having eliminated 32 public and private middle and high schools.  They will be participating in the National Math Meet in Ft. Worth, Texas during the week of May 8-13.  Ms. Ching, their teacher and coach, has been at the school for over 20 years and was named Math Coach of the Year..  The Board unanimously approved sending them a congratulatory resolution.

The T.A.G. Clean Up Report Event, March 10:  It was well publicized and well attended.  Led by Pastor Joe Elias of Hope 968, over 150 volunteers showed up working from Ala Wai in Moiliili to Stadium Park in Moiliili.  Chair Lockwood had fund-raising t-shirts for $10.00 to help defray costs.  Raymond Lalosin, Carl and Lillian Novak, Tom Heinrich, Mimi Gans, John Gollner and others put in a lot of time to make it successful.  The next T.A.G. event will be Saturday May 5^th at Kuhio School.  To help us you can pass out water and other things, there is more to do than just paint.

Neighborhood Board Task Force:  This was created by the City Council Resolution to review and evaluate the Neighborhood Board System and the audit.  The next meeting will be April 9, 2007, Monday, at 4:00 p.m. and anyone can attend.

Recognition of Board Member as 2007 Small Business Journalist of the Year:  Linda Dela Cruz, with the Midweek Magazine, will be honored as the Small Business Journalist of the Year.  This award will be presented at a luncheon April 27^th at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Residents’ Concerns:

A. Furuto is happy we are giving Certificates of Appreciation to the schools but he is concerned about why they haven’t been given to the people who offered their land and backyards and all the effort they gave for the stream cleanup last spring.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Transportation:  

1.  See Gans who has an email from Carlos on the scoping process on transit.

2.  Lee reported there is also information on the scoping process on the website at www.honolulutransit.org or you can mail in comments to the Department of Transportation Services.

3.  Murai commented on the HHCTCP scoping project presented at McKinley, Salt Lake and Kapolei Hale.  She heard there were different visual presentations given by different consultants who had different answers for the same project.  There will still be electrical tracks.  She suggested there be roadways instead because it is less expensive.

Kennedy Theater Renovation and Parking Resolution:  Gans distributed the Resolution in support of the Kennedy Theater Renovation and Parking she drafted which is in support of the presentation Dean Bingham made at the last meeting.

Kyi-Yim moved to support the resolution and Gollner seconded it.

Chair Lockwood read the resolution and discussion ensued.  The consensus was to accept the following additions:

Kyi-Yim suggested adding “post secondary” after “any secondary” in paragraph two.

Kyi-Yim suggested adding Chancellor and Dean Bingham to the list of recipients of the resolution after Saiki, Dean Bingham and Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.

Hata suggested adding the Governor before the Mayor in the last paragraph of recipients.

Adding the Board of Regents after the Governor was also suggested.

Gollner called for the question and the amended resolution was passed unanimously.  (See Resolution, Attachment A)

Bird Flu:  A. Furuto reported that he had a short discussion with Sandra Kunimoto,

Director of the Department of Agriculture, who assured him research would not have been approved on the bird flu virus without the proper precautions being in place.  As far as what Mr. Manke had provided, he didn’t receive that via his email so asked Chair Lockwood to read it to the Board.  Chair Lockwood’s summation was that the bird flu virus being studied on the UH School of Medicine campus is at Kaka’ako so it is not in our neighborhood.

Chair Lockwood suggested A. Furuto follow up on the following items related to bird flu: 1) What laws does Hawaii have for social distancing, isolation or quarantining people who have bird flu?  2) What programs does Hawaii have for providing food or drink to people isolated with the disease?  3) What percent of the population have to be sick before the Governor or the Department of Health declares a health emergency?  4) What percent of the population has to be sick before martial law and homeland security laws would take affect?

Graffiti Resolution:   Bill 6 is still going through the City Council and the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee heard on April 3, 2007 HB 451 House Draft 1 which provides special sentencing of a graffiti offender through community service by graffiti eradication which would be cleaning the walls.  The Board chose not to do a Graffiti resolution.

Questions, answers and concerns:

Chair Lockwood responded to A. Furuto that he could contact the Ala Moana/Kaka’ako Neighborhood Board and find out if they have any concerns since the bird flu research is being done in their area.

Sunshine Law:  Chair Lockwood reported that since the bills to propose changes did not pass in the legislature and consequently are dead for this year, it makes no sense to write a resolution at this time.

NEW BUSINESS:

Community Sustainability Workshop:  This will be held April 14, 2007 involving AARP, the Department of Health and the McCully/Moiliili Neighborhood Board  from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Washington Middle School Library with lunch provided.  People will learning about design barriers that keep people from walking and biking into the street, changes to increase safety for everyone and how to influence changes and take this information to other organizations.  So far Gans and Lockwood have signed up for two years of dedicated work.

Lunalilo School:

1.       Some 46 kilovolt transmission lines were proposed to be installed in 2003 by HECO

to provide power running from the Don Quijote store area and bringing it to the street in front of King Lunalilo Elementary School.  HECO has not answered Chair Lockwood’s questions about this project so he asked three news reporters to investigate.  He brought it up again because construction was supposed to be in 2007-2008 on Lime, Makaloa, Fern and Pumehana Streets on the sidewalks affecting this school area.

2.       King William Lunalilo School is still blacked out at night.  Chair Lockwood reported there has been no response from the Board of Education regarding the resolution they were sent adopted by the Board to turn the lights back on. He feels Estelle Wong, Complex Superintendent, is supporting her principal.  The following are the Board’s responses:

a.   There have been further incidents at the school since the information was mailed.  People are sleeping here, there has been vandalism, a couple thefts, people have run around the roof because they stole purses and threw them up there so they can go through them stealing what is in them; two teachers working at school late at night have had their purses stolen.  We can get the police reports to substantiate these incidents up.

b.       Tabor asked to write a letter to Pat Hamamoto, Superintendent of Department of Education.  She and Gollner feel the Board should follow up with the people who received the resolution telling them we have exhausted all reasonable means to be heard on this issue.

c.       Chair Lockwood reported the newspapers have not been contacted about the situation yet.

d.       Takamura was told a petition with over 100 signatures of people living around the school was sent to Estelle Wong and Pat Hamamoto in January.

e.       A. Furuto would like to hear from the people who could overturn the principal’s decision to turn the lights back on, why they refuse to respond.

f.         Gollner, as a member of the Citizen’s Patrol, reported that the number of Citizen Patrols in this area has doubled so the increase in crime would be a lot larger without it those forces.

g.        Tabor suggested a copy of police reports be sent to Wong and Hamamoto.

h.       Chair Lockwood will write a letter to Estelle Wong, the Complex Superintendent, and Pat Hamamoto, expressing the Board’s stated concerns and if that doesn’t bring a change the issue will be released to the public via the media.

APPROVE MINUTES

November 2, 2006 Minutes:   Previously we agreed to change the date on page 2 under UH – Manoa from “Autumn 2007” to “Autumn 2008” and to change the spelling from Mark Ota to “Oto”.

Tonight hearing no further changes Takamura moved to accept the minutes as corrected and Gans seconded the motion.  The motion carried with a vote of 9-0-2.  A. Furuto and G. Furuto abstained.

December Minutes:  There were none while the Board was on recess for the holidays.

January 4, 2007 Minutes:  Previously we agreed to change on page 8 “the ugly view” to “because of concerns about the negative impact to the Moiliili community - the obstruction of the view plain, the construction of huge bases (of the elevated system) going up University Avenue, the loss of on-street parking and the loss of tranquility in the community by the elevated system running  almost 24 hour a day.”  Hearing no further changes Takamura made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected, seconded by Gollner.  The motion carried with a vote of 10-0-1. A. Furuto abstained.

February 1, 2007 Minutes were approved at the March 2, 2007 meeting.

March 1, 2007 Minutes:  A. Furuto requested a change for the February minutes which Chair Lockwood asked to be submitted in writing and we can add them to the February minutes.  A correction on page 2 under UH Manoa, Questions, answers and concerns, #1 to replace “bird bank” to “the Board of Agriculture”.  In the next sentence change “Dr. Duane Kubler” to “Gubler”.

Gollner moved to accept the March 1, 2007 minutes as corrected and it was seconded by Takamura..  The motion carried with a unanimous vote.

TREASURER’S REPORT:  Kyi-Yim read the Treasurer’s Report which reported as of April, 2007 there is $3,509.85 in the Operating and Publicity Account and the Refreshment account has $105.03 to spend by the May meeting.

Kyi-Yim moved the Board have refreshments at the next meeting not to exceed the $105.00 in the Refreshment Account which was seconded by Gollner.  The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-1.  G. Furuto abstained.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Board Member Gollner announced this is his last meeting because he will be leaving the neighborhood to help his boss, who needs his assistance at this time and lives in Ewa.  He sincerely thanked everyone and told them what a great pleasure it has been to serve with them.  He was told getting on the Neighborhood Board was the best place to make a difference and that is absolutely correct.  He looks forward to this Board recruiting more people to continue helping.  He hopes everyone supports Chair Lockwood because of the other Boards he has seen, this Board is really lucky to have him.  Everyone on this board has helped Gollner out and hopefully they have helped the community as well.

Upcoming Meeting:  The Affordable Housing Committee will be having a meeting April 11, 2007 at Care-a-Van.

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

Submitted by,

Bonnie Trustin

Neighborhood Assistant

ATTACHMENT “A”

Kennedy Theater Renovation & Parking Resolution

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa is the premier institution of higher learning in our community and in our state, and

WHEREAS, any secondary and post secondary education is incomplete without instruction in the arts, and

WHEREAS, the use of the facilities at Kennedy Theater has far outgrown the original capacity of the Theater, including parking spaces; and

WHEREAS, the various departments that make use of the Theater facilities have no central location for classroom instruction and faculty offices, and

WHEREAS, said departments are currently – and have been for many years – holding classes in portable classrooms scattered across the University Campus, some within earshot of the H-1 Freeway; and

WHEREAS, the productions put on by Kennedy Theater reach a much broader audience than just the faculty and students  - namely, members of the greater community; now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the McCully-Mo’ili’ili Neighborhood Board #8 supports the plans of the University of Hawaii at Manoa to renovate the existing Kennedy Theater facility, as well as construct a new adjoining building with parking garage for classroom and office space; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution go to: the Governor, the Board of Regents, the Mayor, all Councilmembers, all Neighborhood Boards, Senators Fukunaga and Taniguchi, Representatives Caldwell, Nishimoto and Saiki, University of Hawaii’s Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw and Dean Bingham.

Adopted April 5, 2007

Chair Ron Lockwood