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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/25/2010 Public Hearing Transcript re: BILL#2369PUBLIC HEARING AUGUST 25, 2010 A public hearing of the Council of the County of Kauai was called to order by Daryl W. Kaneshiro, Chair, Budget & Finance Committee, on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, at 1:43 p.m., at the Council Chambers, 3371-A Wilcox Road, Lihu`e, Kauai, and the presence of the following was noted: Honorable Tim Bynum Honorable Dickie Chang Honorable Daryl W. Kaneshiro Honorable Lani T. Kawahara Honorable Derek S. K. Kawakami Honorable Bill "Kaipo" Asing, Council Chair EXCUSED: Honorable Jay Furfaro The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following: BILL NO. 2369 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. B- 2010-706 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE CAPITAL BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2010 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2011, BY REVISING THE SURPLUS AND APPROPRIATIONS ESTIMATED IN THE GENERAL FUND ($70,000.00 - Hanapepe Bridge Pedestrian Walkway Repairs) which was approved on first reading and ordered to print by the Council of the County of Kauai on July 28, 2010, and published in The Garden Island newspaper on August 10, 2010. The following communication was received for the record: • Hanapepe Professional & Business Community Association testimony, dated August 25, 2010 The hearing proceeded as follows: ABBY SANTOS: Aloha. Mr. Kaneshiro: Aloha. Ms. Santos: Hi, I'm Abby Santos and I'm speaking for the Hanapepe Professional & Business Community Association. We gave you written testimony, but I just wanted to read it for the record... my group back there said we should do that. So... Mahalo Councilmember Kaneshiro for introducing Bill No. 2369; and to the Council for your attention at this Public Hearing and for your ongoing support of this important historical community investment related to funding for the restoration of the "1911 old Hanapepe River Bridge" project. There are photos attached, if you wanted to look at the bridge or actually, how it looked before we painted it. As the photos clearly illustrate, the years have caught up with the Bridge and it has fallen into disrepair and funding is critical to its restoration. In 2008, the Hanapepe Professional & Business Community Association started an organized effort to bring attention to the plight of this wonderful Bridge. We found support in the Hanapepe Community and the County Administration and today Bill No. 2369 has come to you for consideration. We are so pleased that the Council has the opportunity to join the effort by providing the funding to make the restoration a reality. We all know how charming the "1911 old Hanapepe River Bridge" is and we have a common experience of waiting on one side or the other for a car to pass over... it brings us back to a time when life was simple and unrushed. By providing this funding you will ensure that generations going forward will continue to experience the simple beauty of Kauai and the charm of Hanapepe Town as found in the "1911 old Hanapepe River Bridge." This Bridge has deep cultural significance to the Hanapepe community and is the historical link between East and West Hanapepe Town. On Earth Day 2010, No Ka Oi Landscaping, the Hanapepe Community Association, led a community project, Joining Together East and West Hanapepe with Aloha. The goal was to clean along Hanapepe Road, clear the way to the Japanese Cemetery and paint the Bridge. Just a little facelift to the area. This project gave us a glimpse of how the bridge improvements would directly enhance the Hanapepe community and Kauai as a whole. We are so pleased and rewarded that the effort is moving forward. Looking forward, the Hanapepe Professional & Business Community Association is planning an event in Spring 2011 to celebrate the centennial of the original bridge construction. With this Council's funding support, we anticipate the restoration project will be completed by Spring 2011. The planned event will complement the annual Hanapepe Orchid Fair and the Hanapepe Arts Council exhibition. We are excited to know that we have the support of this Council. Mr. Kaneshiro: Thank you Abby, any questions by Committee members? If not... Ms. Santos: We also just wanted to make one (1) other comment that the county has... since we did our Earth Day project, they've been very helpful and have taken a lot more care of that side of town and have been mowing the grass and watering the bouganvillias for us, so it really looks a lot better and we painted... when we painted the bridge, there was graffiti on the bridge... so the community kind o£.. they kept it pretty clean. It's really nice, so thank you very much. Mr. Kaneshiro: Thank you. Anyone else in the Chamber that wanted to speak on .Bill No. 2369? Please come forward and state your name for the record please. DOROTHY HAYASHI: Dorothy Hayashi from Hanapepe, Hawaii. Mr. Kaneshiro: Thank you. Ms. Hayashi: First of all I wanted to... well I'm sure we're going to get your support because this is a project that has been festering in our 2 community for many, many years. I'm very happy to say that this Administration has responded positively to us, we were able to get together with the County's Engineering Department at least three (3) times. At first, it was kind of confrontational because we were waiting so many years to have this project done, but then after we sat down and we're able to talk, talk it out... we finally came to a compromise and I think this is a win-win situation for the people in Hanapepe that need to use this road. From the Valley, this road comes directly out from Hanapepe Valley and is a vital link for the people of the Valley and also from Hanapepe Heights. When you know there is traffic congestion, or if we wanted to just go into the town, this is the simplest way. This road has been our first road in Hanapepe so we didn't want to see this bridge destroyed, so we're very happy that the effort is being done to restore this bridge and we would like to ask for your support of this project. Thank you very much. Mr. Kaneshiro: Thank you very much, any questions for Kako? Mr. Bynum. Mr. Bynum: Thanks for coming today... Will part of this include restoring the pedestrian access as well? Ms. Hayashi: .Yes, that's a compromise that we came to. We didn't realize the history to all of this and through the County's Engineering Department, we were able to... they drew plans and they really went overboard to show us what could be done, so we'd like to thank them also. Mr. Bynum: Great. Ms. Hayashi: At this time, we would like to thank everyone but especially the guys that came down three (3), at least three (3) times to speak directly to us. Mr. Bynum: Nice. Ms. Hayashi: Thank you. Mr. Bynum: Nice to hear about win-win and compromise yeah? Ms. Hayashi: Yes. Mr. Kaneshiro: Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak on this item regarding the Hanapepe Bridge Pedestrian Walkway Repair? Welcome and please state your name for the record, thank you. ELSIE GODBE: My name is Elsie Godbe, I think Kako kind of covered a lot of it but anyway I'll read what I wrote... Hanapepe is not a plantation owned town, it developed with small business people and I'm sure you've heard many times about how great it used to be. One of the busiest and liveliest towns in the old days. Now, mainly owned by descendents of the original owners who come out to support things for development or restoration and preservation and are already too tired or too new, to the town to come out to these hearings. So we're not here to ask for money for new development, we're here for repairs to our hundred year old bridge that is the main stay (inaudible) of the town. I've been in the main street program about twenty (20) years ago and the goals then are the same today... so far repair and restoration have been... have been done again by the small 3 business owners and the ranchers to their own properties and the town has improved, but slowly. Now that. we have funding available to repair our hundred year old bridge, please approve it. The County, the Mayor, the Engineering Department, the Department of Public Works have worked together... I mean the community has worked together on this project. After several meetings, although we wanted the design of the building as it is today, the "1911 bridge" did not have the elevated pedestrian walkway. Also, the design would have required ADA improvements and would have ruined what we wanted to save. So the information from the County... with the information from the County we decided to repair it to its "1911" original design and thank you and please release the funds. Mr. Kaneshiro: Thank you for your testimony. Any questions by Committee members? If not, thank you very much. Anyone else in the Chambers wanting to speak on this item? Seeing none, this public hearing is now adjourned. There being no further testimony on this matter, the public hearing adjourned at 1:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~'` ' ~--~ PETER A. NAKAMURA County Clerk /ds 4