For nearly three weeks there has existed a phantom lane at the intersection of Pahoa Village Road and Highway 130. Would you believe, 17 days after I first told you about it on my blog, that phantom lane is still there? Seventeen days ago there were orange cones erected to try to discourage drivers from driving into the lane. Now, those cones aren’t even there. And, for the last week, the debris that you see in the photo above, has remained there. Every time I drive by, I am both amazed and horrified at the neglect of this area by our State and County officials. Whose kuleana is it to clean up the debris from a car crash. As we know, the car crashes at this intersection are frequent. Phantom lanes and debris left in the road do not lend to public safety.
Meanwhile, on a separate but related subject, Bill 283, the ordinance granting the developer of Woodland Center a five-year time extension to fulfill conditions associated with a commercial rezoning, will be taken up on first reading at the Hawaii County Council meeting on Wednesday. More than 1,100 people signed a petition calling for certificates of occupancy not to be granted until the necessary intersection improvements are made. Among the necessary intersection improvements is that of Pahoa Village Road and Highway 130. But that is not on the State’s list of to-dos for sometime. Neither is extending Kahakai Boulevard, which fronts Woodland Center, out onto Highway 130. But the developer, Paul Ogasawara, has agreed to pay the estimated $400,000 to do the latter. Unbelievably, council members, all caught up in Ogasawara’s generosity to do the State’s job of extending Kahakai Boulevard onto the highway, merely settled for a verbal bro deal at Planning Committee level. ”Eh, Paul, you gonna get that road extended by Nov. 15?” “What you want me to say? If I don’t say yes, you won’t approve the bill. Yes.” Nothing in writing. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Eh, thanks, Paul. But you’re under no obligation to actually follow through with your word. I could not even believe the lack of professionalism on the part of our council members. And I could not even believe that Guy Enriques, the councilman who represents Upper Puna, Ka’u, and South Kona, said the 1,100 people who signed a petition calling for certificates of occupancy not to be issued prior to intersection improvements being made, did so out of “ignorance.” Obviously, Enriques really isn’t too cognizant of how many 1,100 people actually means here. Imagine if all 1,100 people who signed that petition actually showed up at a Hawaii County Council meeting to testify. (Here my testimony from Aug. 18.) With three minutes allotted for each one of them, need I compute how many days of public testimony council members would have to sit through before they even got to their own discussion of Bill 283? Let’s see, 1,100 people. I’ll get into my voter breakdown further down the line in another thread, but suffice it to say, with the voter turnout on this island, in some races, 1,100 people is all it takes for a council member to win or lose an election.
I suggest that council members do the right thing and actually get that verbal agreement from Ogasawara in writing. State in Bill 283 that if Kahakai Boulevard is extended out onto Highway 130 by Nov. 15. Long’s Drugs, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and/or Burger King can open on Nov. 16. Be responsible parliamentarians. Council members’ meeting on Thursday, Sept. 9 begins at 9 a.m. Maybe I’ll see you there.
There are about 80 people packed into the large room of the Pahoa Community Center for the mayor-hosted mangrove meeting.
