REPORT TO THE
MAKAKILO/KAPOLEI/HONOKAI HALE
NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD NO. 34
May 25, 2005
Dear friends and neighbors, the 2005 Legislative session has ended.
Many of the important issues were decided, many others never received the needed hearings, and died without ever being voted upon by the Legislature.
This report contains some items of interest to the residents of Kapolei.
Items discussed in this report include:
State Capitol, Room 310 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
586-8500 (Office) 672-8550 (Res) 586-8504 (Fax)
- Funding Highlites
- Megan's Law
- DNA Testing of Convicted Felons
- Traffic Enforcement Update
- Traffic Light Installation
- Hawaii SuperFerry
- East Kapolei Development
State Capitol, Room 310 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
586-8500 (Office) 672-8550 (Res) 586-8504 (Fax)
Funding Highlites:
Important safety and infrastructure issues were successfully decided this session. Some examples are:
My Original Request(January 25) /
Final Budget
Kapolei High School Athletic Facilities / $5,300,000 / $5,300,000Makakilo Drive Extension Planning Funds / $2,000,000*
*Planning & Design / $500,000*
*For planning
Kapolei Judiciary Complex / $67,000,000*
* Judiciary later requested increase to $95M / $95,000,000
Leeward Community College
2nd Access / $500,000 / $5,000,000
Grant-in-Aid Funding:
Leeward YMCA:The YMCA is in the fund-raising phase of constructing a new full-featured facility in Leeward Oahu. I am a member of the fund-raising committee, and as you know I have supported the YMCA for many years.
Although the new full service "Y" will be built primarily with private funds, they asked the legislature for assistance, and I am happy to report that the YMCA has received $500,000 grant in aid for the construction.
Seagull Schools:The Seagull Schools has long provided high-quality primary and pre-school education for keiki in Hawaii. They came to me earlier this year for support with their request for a grant-in-aid to build new school facilities in Leeward Oahu, which I was glad to support.
I am happy to report that their request was honored in the legislature, and that Governor Linda Lingle has released a $1,000,000 grant-in-aid for Seagull Schools to design and construct two new preschools on two separate one-acre parcels of donated land in Ko Olina and `Ewa Beach. The estimated total project cost including the land is $10,699,197.
The first phase of construction at each school will result in classrooms for 100 children, an administration office building, and parking spaces. The second phase will provide classrooms for an additional 80 children at each school. When completed, the two preschools will provide care and early education for 360 children ages two to five, and employment for 30 full-time employees.
“The demand for these centers is so great in West O`ahu that we expect the facilities to be at capacity with keiki from the first day we open,” said Chuck Larson, Seagull Schools executive director. “We appreciate the Governor’s efforts to expand early education programs.”
“Focusing on a child’s first five years is critical to future academic success, for in these formative years, a child’s interactions and experiences strongly influence brain development and shape the way they learn, think and behave for the rest of their lives,” said Governor Lingle.
Transportation Improvement Funding:
As you know, I sit on the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee (OMPO). OMPO is the coordinating organization between City, State and Federal transportation construction on Oahu. All major transportation construction projects on Oahu go through the OMPO planning process before being approved.
There are several improvements to traffic for the residents of West Oahu contained in the latest draft of the OMPO "Transportation Improvement Program". Some of them are:
Makakilo Drive Extension. The latest Constrained TIP includes a provision to begin planning roadway extension alternatives, recommend a preferred alternative, and prepare a State/Federally compliant environmental assessment based on the preferred alternative.
The extension, running from the Mauka end of Makakilo Drive to the new H1/North South Road interchange would provide a second entry/exit to Makakilo, and would divert much of the traffic from the current Makakilo Drive/Farrington Highway intersection. The road remains in City jurisdiction, but I may have found a mechanism whereby we can get State and/or Federal money to aid in construction.
Repairs to the roadway on the H-1 Airport Viaduct.$ 5,000,000
H-1 Widening, Eastbound Waiau toWaimalu$10,6000,000
Repairs and improvements to the roads in and near Kalaeloa.$ 3,300,000
The completion of Phase 1 of the North-south Road.$38,500,000
Construct Phase 1 of the Leeward Bikeway, running along the old OR&L right-of-way between Waipio Point Access Road and the Hawaiian Railroad Society Train Station.
An operational demonstration of a ferry system$ 7,100,000
Kalaeloa and Downtown Honolulu.
These projects must still win approval in an upcoming Policy Committee meeting, but I strongly support them and I believe that they will help reduce our traffic problems.
Megan's Law:
This law, which gives the public access to the locations of convicted sex offenders, is a safeguard for our children and our families that is long overdue.
The Hawaii Supreme Court, some of whose members apparently live on another planet, had struck down our original law, making Hawaii one of only two states in the nation without a publicly available sex offender registry.
It took your support of a Constitutional Amendment, and a new law which we passed this session, to return the sex offender information to the citizens. I have been a strong advocate for this law for many years. During this session I supported it in both Standing and Conference Committees, and its passage gives me a strong sense of satisfaction.
The information is now available on the internet at . The site has proven very successful. The large numbers of visitors to the site show how important this information is, and having the information will help keep our Keiki and our neighborhoods safer. Visit the site and enter your zip code for a real eye opening experience.
DNA Testing:
We passed another bill this year to require DNA testing of convicted felons. This law will be of great help in convicting the guilty and exonerating the innocent.
Some have criticized this law an intrusion into peoples privacy, but is little different than fingerprinting, which we have long required of all arrested persons, and DNA testing is only required of convicted felons. I have been a strong advocate for this law as well, supporting it in the Standing Committee and on the Floor of the Legislature. I believe that its passage will provide our police and courts with a powerful tool for preserving the peace.
Traffic Enforcement Update:
In discussions with Governor Lingle prior to this years legislative session, we agreed upon a two-pronged strategy to end the problems with HRS Section 201G (the enabling legislation for the VOK development) which the City Corporation Counsel interpreted as prevented the police from enforcing traffic ordinances within the Villages.
That bill has passed, and soon, police will be able to enforce traffic ordinances in the Villages, improving safety for residents and keiki.
Traffic Light Completion:
Concrete work for the traffic light installations at Kapolei Elementary, Middle and High Schools has begun. The ADA compliance ramps are being poured at the intersections of Kama’aha/Kumu Iki and Kama’aha /Kuloa, and preparatory work has begun for the Kapolei Parkway/Kama’aha and Kapolei Parkway/Maluohai intersections.
The contractors are still waiting for delivery of materials from the mainland. Installation completion is expected this summer.
Hawaii SuperFerry:
The future for the Hawaii SuperFerry appears bright, with the Legislature passing an appropriation for $40 Million in harbor improvements.
I believe that the SuperFerry will provide a valuable inter-island transportation alternative for Hawaii, especially for local residents, and that it will restore the easy inter-island travel that has been lost due to high airline prices.
East Kapolei Development Parcel B:
The State of Hawaii, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) proposes to develop a community with single-family residential, office, and park and/or recreational uses in Kapolei for qualifying native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Parcel B consists of 92 acres Makai of the new University of Hawaii West Oahu Campus.
The development will include 67.6 acres (400 lots) for single-family residential use for qualifying native Hawaiian beneficiaries, 9.3 acres for a DHHL “headquarters” office, 10.7 acres for a community center that will be open to all, and 4.5 acres for park use.
The proposed office facility would be approximately 40,000 square feet for up to 150 employees. The community center would be developed and operated by the Salvation Army, and would be available to homestead families as well as the general public. The community center may include facilities such as a swimming pool, performing arts center, childcare center, gymnasium, chapel and worship center, education center, game and recreation areas, commercial kitchen and dining areas, and family service offices.
This project is designed to help meet the growing demand for residential land by providing much needed single-family residential units for qualifying native Hawaiians. The project will also help to ease the statewide shortage of housing, as residences will become available to the general population once DHHL beneficiaries move to their homestead lots.
The Hawaii Office of Environmental Quality Control has issued a Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the project.
Those wishing to comment should contact either:
State Capitol, Room 310 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
586-8500 (Office) 672-8550 (Res) 586-8504 (Fax)
State of Hawaii, Dept. of Hawaiian Home Lands
P.O. Box 1879, Honolulu, HI 96805
Contact: Darrell Ing (586-3844), or
:PBR Hawaii
ASB Tower, Suite 650,1001 Bishop St,
Honolulu, HI 96813
Contact: Vincent Shigekuni (521-5631)
State Capitol, Room 310 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
586-8500 (Office) 672-8550 (Res) 586-8504 (Fax)
You may call my office at 586-8500, FAX 586-8504, or you can email me at . I look forward to hearing from you.
Join me Saturday mornings from 7 to 8 am on “The Voice of the Majority" at 1080
on the AM dial. Call me at 524-1080 to share your comments, concerns, and opinions.
Always remember,
GOOD THINGS DON'T JUST HAPPEN – THEY ARE MADE TO HAPPEN
TOGETHER WE DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS AMERICA
State Capitol, Room 310 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
586-8500 (Office) 672-8550 (Res) 586-8504 (Fax)