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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/19/2014 Public Works/Parks & Recreation Committee minutes MINUTES PUBLIC WORKS / PARKS & RECREATION COMMITTEE February 19, 2014 A meeting of the Public Works / Parks & Recreation Committee of the Council of the County of Kauai, State of Hawai`i, was called to order by Ross Kagawa, Chair, at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, February 19, 2014, at 11:13 a.m., after which the following members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Mason K. Chock, Sr. Honorable Gary L. Hooser Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable Mel Rapozo, Ex-Officio Member Honorable Jay Furfaro, Ex-Officio Member Excused: Honorable Tim Bynum Minutes of the February 5, 2014 Public Works / Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting. Upon motion duly made by Councilmember Chock, seconded by Councilmember Hooser, and carried by a vote of 4:0:1 (Councilmember Bynum was excused), the Minutes of the February 5, 2014 Public Works / Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting was approved. The Committee proceeded on its agenda item, as follows: PWPR 2014-02 Communication (01/31/2014) from Council Chair Furfaro, requesting the presence of the County Engineer, to provide an update on the status of safety improvements for Lae Road and Wawae Road in Kalaheo, efforts to address safety concerns relative to draining and runoff, and the need for a guardrail across the property at 2963 Wawae Road. (Deferred.) Chair Kagawa: At a later point I would like to ask the Committee to defer this item because the County Engineer has requested more time to do his report back to us but before that I think we have someone from the public who really has put in a lot work on this matter with Chair Furfaro. If we can have the rules suspended and if you can come up, please state your name, and I will give you six (6) minutes to update us. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public comment. PWPR COMMITTEE MEETING 2 FEBRUARY 19, 2014 ANNE JANELLE: Anne Janelle, Kalaheo, Wawae Road. Chair Furfaro and Council, just kind of an update, I just found out after I got here that we were deferring for two (2) weeks. Ed Renaud came to my house on Thursday. We did the whole gammite from Puuwai all the stretch of Wawae Road, all the way around to the highway and up Kuli Road, and the cement drive. They took all kinds of photos and assessed damage which you will see. They found more things than I did. While we were out there two (2) residents have contacted me. One (1) is at the address across from the fire and they have adamantly stated that they do not want any of those plastic guardrails that you fill with water there. They will oppose it and they are really upset about it. Also, Bernie Robinson, she is the daughter of the Fernandez who own the valley, she is quite upset of the condition of the road, also that residents are dumping the trees that were cut down. I think you saw the stump. They asked to throw one (1) branch and they threw all the tree in the valley plus that they broke the road. This is becoming an issue that everyone is getting more and more concerned about. The rains have caused a lot more damage to the road. The dirt is coming down onto the road from the hillsides that have no protection from growth. Also there is where they cut down the tree on Wawae Road and there is also another tree that is dead. I think I pointed that out and there is the picture. One (1) of the branches broke off and it was in the road and somebody had to move it. So the continuous rain is having more problems on the road. I see way more ponding down by the corner of Wawae and Kikala split, right before the Fernandez property. The water is completely across the road today from no drainage. So it is just sitting there until it dries up. Also, I saw some new cracks in the road from the continuous rain and it is getting much, much worse and I am really concerned. I really wanted to bring this to you guys attention today. I think Ed Renaud did some good work with taking the photos and they are doing the measurements to figure out exactly what is needed. LORI L. MARUGAME, Council Services Assistant: Three (3) minutes. Ms. Janelle: Also, he thinks there is going to be more guardrail needed right past my house at 2820 Wawae Road all the way down to the Fernandez property past the fire area because of the danger if somebody goes off the side of the road they are going down into the valley. There is really not much protection there so if somebody goes down there, somebody is going to get hurt really bad or die. I wanted to bring this back up to you guys again. I know, Ross, you have not had your meeting yet. I would like to kind of know when that is going to be or if you need me to be there. I would be happy to attend if there is anything that I can do. My continued persistents in trying to get this continued. I am worried about the budget. That we are not going to get into the budget stage and we are going to get looked over again. I am not sure...it is mid March for the budget, is that correct? That we are going to get really close to that and I do not know where the cut off time is going to be for us to get help for our road in the budget timeframe. I know we are being deferred, is that right for two (2) weeks? PWPR COMMITTEE MEETING 3 FEBRUARY 19, 2014 Chair Kagawa: Thank you, Anne. For me, I wanted to hold off for any personal meetings I had with Public Works. I just wanted them to have the time. They saw all of your pictures, they heard all of the Councilmember's concerns/suggestions and I just wanted to allow them to have a response and from there we will go with more dialogue but I wanted to wait until they responded. So hopefully in two (2) weeks we will have a presentation of some sort and suggestions. I think it will be perfect timing going into the budget for us so it is at a good time. Ms. Janelle: I am worried about the money that is going to be needed to address these issues. It sounds like it is going to be more intensive because there is two (2) culverts that we found, actually one (1) is by my road and some of the water that piles up in front there has destroyed the bottom of two (2) driveways and the road there. The water does not go into the culvert so it is going to need a lot of additional work. One (1) more thing, on Kuli Drive I showed you guys pictures of the new house with the driveway that had filled with rocks, dirt, and stuff, they actually had put cement there today. So that is a good thing. Chair Kagawa: Members, questions? Chair. Mr. Furfaro: Thank you for being here. First, I want to say that it is not within the Council's charter authority to mandate to the Mayor's staff. So we are honoring the request. And as Mr. Kagawa said I think he is looking forward to an action plan in two (2) weeks. I want to caution us all that what I heard from Larry, the first time we had the presentation and this was my correspondence to then, the guardrail installation might have to be phased in over a three (3) year period because he said that they had over four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($45,000) of forecasted cost associated with doing all of those so it might be multiple years. Your point about getting it ahead of the budget and that is my point too that is why I put it on the agenda when I did. Budget will start March 15, 2014 but there will be a specific date when the Roads Department is here and we will keep you posted through Ross. And I think Ross' assumption is exactly correct. He wanted to see the plan and then kind of respond to what the phasing work is. Unfortunately, when it comes to the temporary guardrails with the plastic and the water and so on that might actually be a public safety issue that is driven by insurance not by anyone else. If it is that serious that it needs that and some of these other items on the roads might really need the discussion and CIP needs to be expanded, which is the Capital Improvement Plan where these reserves come from. It is going to be a little process but I do want you to know that you folks are definitely on the Council's radar screen and we will continue to stay in touch with them through Mr. Kagawa. PWPR COMMITTEE MEETING 4 FEBRUARY 19, 2014 Ms. Janelle: I do want to mention one thing that Ed Renaud told me. When they were measuring the road, as we went along they were measuring the width, it does not look like there is going to be a lot of road to put a guardrail at the fire position. It may end up having to be a one-way, in other words people cannot pass. They are going to have to...I do not know how they are going to do it. He thought that the road in that area was not going to be wide enough for a guardrail so I do not know all these details. He will express all of that but I am very concerned about the continuous rain and what is going to happen in that area. I am also wondering when maintenance is going to come out and clean the side of the road. You cannot see anything there. You cannot even see that the road drops in that particular area. It makes the road look narrower, and if somebody thinks that there is a shoulder there to go off they are going to go down. I am concerned that happens within a reasonable period of time and the more the rain comes the higher the guinea grass grows. Mr. Furfaro: Mr. Kagawa, if I may. I will send a communication about the bush on the maintenance side and Mr. Kagawa the way this works is I put together a draft schedule that goes over to the Mayor's Office on Public Works and tentatively I asked Scott what date Roads will be on the agenda and tentatively it is April 1, 2014 for Roads. So if you can block that in your calendar. Thank you, Mr. Kagawa. Chair Kagawa: April 1, 2014, so you might be kidding. Mr. Furfaro: I did say tentatively. Chair Kagawa: I meant because April Fool's Day. Any more questions, Members? No more questions? If not, thank you, Anne. Ms. Janelle: Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. People are starting to come to me now that... Chair Kagawa: It is good. You are fighting for your community and it is a dangerous situation so thank you. We will try to have staff at least give you a...because you never know with Public Works as far as if they will ask for another deferral but we will try to get to you as fast as we can. Ms. Janelle: I was kind of aware that we might be in that situation yesterday. I was trying to get in here so at least I could give my two (2) cents for the week on the update after the meeting and also, the new conditions of the road. Chair Kagawa: Thank you. Is there anybody else from the public wishing to speak? Okay. PWPR COMMITTEE MEETING 5 FEBRUARY 19, 2014 There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Upon motion duly made by Councilmember Hooser, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura, and carried by a vote of 4:0:1 (Councilmember Bynum was excused), PWPR 2014-02 was deferred. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:27 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lori L. Marugame Council Services Assistant I APPRO 1 ,t the Committee Meeting held on March 5, 2014: ROS' KAGAWA CHAIR, PWPR COMMITTEE