Minutes of the
Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Thursday, December 15, 2005 1:00 p.m.
Department of Transportation Fifth Floor Conference Room
869 Punchbowl Street , Honolulu, Hawaii

Staff Present : Gordon Lum, Shevaun Low, Laureen Brennan, and Pamela Toyooka

The meeting was called to order at 1:07 p.m. by Chair Toru Hamayasu. A quorum was present. The attendees introduced themselves.

MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 8, 2005 MEETING

Dick Poirier moved and Vice Chair Glenn Yasui seconded that the minutes of the December 8, 2005 meeting be approved as circulated. The minutes were unanimously approved.

PRELIMINARY DRAFT OF THE FINANCIALLY CONSTRAINED 2030 OAHU REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN (ORTP)  

Dick Kaku, of Kaku Associates, gave a presentation on the preliminary draft of the financially constrained 2030 ORTP plan.

Discussion Highlights:

Gordon Lum said that he wanted TAC’s comments on a number of assumptions, including the following:

• A minimum of 34% developer contribution for regional projects in new developments.

• Funding for system preservation would increase to $75 million during the first five years of the plan, and then decrease to current levels during the later years.
  
• An increase in some combination of the gas tax, vehicle registration fee, and/or rental car fees.

If the Policy Committee should decide that one or more of these assumptions is not acceptable, then an option could include decreasing the number of projects. Another option would be to increase Oahu’s share of the STP Flexible Funds.

• Chair Hamayasu asked what the magnitude was of the tax increases. Mr. Scheibe responded that similar assumptions, as were used in the previous ORTP, had been used for the 2030 forecast. For example, one scenario of the increases could be with the gas tax increasing by 6 cents a gallon, the vehicle registration fee increasing by $20, and the rental car fee increasing by $1. Regardless of the combination of tax increases, the total additional revenue that is required is $500 million.
  
• Kathy Sokugawa asked if the list was only the “must have” projects that the TAC selected at the last meeting. Mr. Kaku said the draft financially constrained list of projects also includes a few projects that the consultant felt were necessary to accommodate growth, such as the Central Mauka Road and widening Moanalua Freeway.

• Mr. Poirier asked if another list could be prepared that identifies the “Ideal Plan” projects that are not included in the financially constrained list of projects with a one sentence explanation of why the projects are not included. Mr. Kaku agreed to develop such a list.

• Mr. Poirier asked if another list could be prepared that constrained the projects to the amount of revenues that would be available without the tax increases and the lower system preservation amount. Mr. Hamayasu responded that the majority of projects on the current list were TAC’s “must have” projects. He recommended that TAC should make an attempt to decide which projects were of a lower priority.
  
• Ms. Sokugawa pointed out that the Central Oahu Development Plan does not include the Central Mauka Road. The City supports a second access road in this area, but found that it was infeasible, because the cost to build bridges that would span two gulches was so exorbitant. Additionally, she said that it is very unlikely that such a project would be constructed in the next 25 years; and as such, it should be deleted from the 2030 ORTP.

Vice Chair Yasui said that the State would like the 2030 ORTP to include the reservation of the corridor as part of the plan in order to preserve the right-of-way when the Planning Commission makes a decision on future development in Central Oahu. Mr. Lum responded that the 2030 ORTP could include preservation of Central Mauka Road right-of-way, especially if this project is needed but construction of the project is not anticipated in the next 25 years.

Ms. Sokugawa restated that the Central Mauka Road should be dropped from the constrained list of projects. Mr. Poirier responded that over 24,000 housing units were planned for that area. If the assumptions made by the consultant are kept, there is no need to eliminate the Central Mauka Road from the plan.

• Vice Chair Yasui felt that the present State administration will not support a tax increase to financially constrain the 2030 ORTP. Mr. Kaku responded that the funding assumptions could be modified to increase the amount of federal funding that are set aside for planning purposes to Oahu projects to 55%. Vice Chair Yasui said that he would agree to that if it was clearly stated that the percentage used was for “planning purposes” only and did not commit Hawaii Department of Transportation to a set percentage in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

Mr. Poirier moved and Vice Chair Yasui seconded that the TAC recommend that the Policy Committee accept the draft financially constrained list for the 2030 ORTP. The motion passed, with two abstentions (Nakagawa, Yasui).

•   Mr. Poirier said that he had a problem using 34% as the percentage for developer contributions to projects. He felt that if the number were included in the ORTP, it would be cited by the developers as a limit. Ms. Sokugawa felt that Appendix F should be deleted from the report. It not only lists the percentage but also designates projects that should qualify for developer funding. She felt this would be detrimental to the City’s and State’s efforts to have the developers contribute to the costs of the projects.

Mr. Poirier moved and Dean Nakagawa seconded that Appendix F be deleted from any subsequent copies of the report. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Poirier left the meeting.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:04 p.m.