Meeting Summary of the

Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 3:30 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol, Conference Room 309
415 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, Hawaii

Members Present:

Land Use Research Foundation	David Arakawa, Chair
NB #34 Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale	Michael Golojuch, Vice Chair
AARP	Mary Protheroe
American Planning Association Hawaii	John Valera
American Society of Civil Engineers	Tiffany Hamada
Citizens for a Fair ADA Ride	Ronald Pike
Eye of the Pacific	Twila Lai
Hawaii Bicycling League	Mitchell Nakagawa
Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996	Michael Costa
Institute of Transportation Engineers	I. Robert Nehmad
Interagency COORDINATION Councils	CC Curry
League of Women Voters	Jacqueline Parnell
Leeward Oahu Transportation Management Association	Shannon Alivado
NB #01 Hawaii Kai	Greg Knudsen
NB #02 Kuliouou-Kalani Iki	Linda Starr
NB #03 Waialae-Kahala	Lester Fukuda
NB #05 Diamond Head-Kapahulu-Saint Louis Heights	Bert Narita
NB #08 McCully-Moiliili	Ron Lockwood
NB #12 Nuuanu-Punchbowl	James Marn
NB #13 Downtown	Tom Smyth
NB #18 Aliamanu-Salt Lake-Foster Village	Lorene Godfrey
NB #22 Waipahu	Robert Kakalia
NB #23 Ewa	Coby M. Lynn
NB #29 Kahaluu	Ken LeVasseur
NB #35 Mililani Mauka-Launani Valley	Pamela Young
North Shore Chamber of Commerce	Gil Riviere
Tax Foundation of Hawaii	Randall Hiu
Waikiki Residents Association	Daisy Murai

Members Absent (Reps):

American Society of Landscape Architects	Chris Dacus
Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii	Dean Minakami
Charley’s Taxi	Dale Evans
Committee for Balanced Transportation	Joseph Magaldi
E Noa Corporation	Tom Dinell
Federal Rental Assisted Tenants Agency	David Yaw
Hawaii Highway Users Alliance	Darcianne Evans
Hawaii Transportation Association	Gareth Sakakida
Honolulu Community Action Program	Val Tavai
Hui Kupuna VIP	Louise Horio
NB #09 Waikiki	Robert Finley
NB #10 Makiki-Lower Punchbowl-Tantalus	Charles Carole
NB #14 Liliha-Alewa-Puunui-Kamehameha Heights	Dale White
NB #15 Kalihi-Palama	Shane Yaw
NB #20 Aiea	Carl Jacobs
NB #21 Pearl City	Cruz J. Vina, Jr.
NB #24 Waianae Coast	David Brown
NB #25 Mililani-Waipio-Melemanu	Dick Poirier
NB #26 Wahiawa	Joseph Francher
NB #27 North Shore	Antya Miller
NB #30 Kaneohe	Wendell Lum
Pacific Resource Partnership	Mike Kido
Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter	Julie Shioshita
Waianae Coast Transportation Concerns Group	Dick Boddy

Guests Present:

Jan Bappe	Citizen
Christine Absher	Citizens for a Fair ADA Ride
Laureen Kukino	Citizens for a Fair ADA Ride
Kainoa Kaumeheiwa-Rego	Councilmember Charles Djou
Nicholas Poulos	Department of Transportation Services
Norman Ota	Hawaii Association of the Blind
Charlene Ota	Hawaii Center for Independent Living
Janet Inamine	Moiliili Resident
Tom Heinrich	NB #7 Manoa
Rich Hargrave	NB #23 Ewa
Joshua Magno	Pacific Resource Partnership
Jared Yamanuha	Senator Carol Fukunaga

OahuMPO Staff Present: Gordon Lum, Randolph Sykes, and Marian Yasuda

At 3:40 p.m., the CAC lacked a quorum; therefore, in accordance with the Bylaws for the CAC as approved by the Policy Committee on January 26, 2009, Chair David Arakawa revoked the membership of nine member organizations with the lowest attendance credits earned during fiscal year 2009. The Bylaws specifically state in Section III.C.2.:

Prior to the beginning of a meeting of the CAC at which there is no quorum present, the Chair may revoke the membership of an organization(s) with the least attendance credits earned during the current fiscal year.

Chair Arakawa called the meeting to order at 3:43 p.m. with a quorum (22 member organizations) present.

Chair Arakawa recognized Jacqueline Parnell for her years of participation in and contributions to the CAC on behalf of the League of Women Voters. It was Ms. Parnell’s final CAC meeting before her relocation to the mainland.

1. New Business

“Update on the Honolulu Rail Transit Project”

Chair Arakawa introduced Jim Van Epps, Project Manager, Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Scott Ishikawa, Public Information Officer, Rapid Transit Division, Department of Transportation Services (DTS). Mr. Van Epps presented the proposed alignment for the rail project and the 22 stations proposed along that alignment. The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was completed in the fall of 2008 and released for public review. During that public review period, about 626 letters were received with a total of about 3,200 comments. The draft EIS has since been edited, based on the comments received, and will be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for their comments.

Mr. Van Epps detailed some of the potential benefits of having the rapid transit system built. On a two-car train, each car of the train will carry about 150 people, which, in total, could replace approximately 200 cars on the road. This can reduce the traffic congestion that Oahu will experience in 2030 with baseline conditions (nothing built) by 20 percent. The planning, design, and construction of the rail are projected to create about 10,000 jobs per year (approximately 1,500 jobs per $1 billion project size).

The contracts for construction of the rail will be divided into four segments: 1) East Kapolei to Pearl Highlands, 2) Kamehameha Highway, 3) Airport, and 4) City Center. There will be concurrent work occurring throughout the process, with completion of the project in 2019. It is expected that the final EIS will be released the summer of 2009; the Record of Decision (ROD) is expected in the fall of 2009. The City anticipates that FTA will commit Federal monies to this project in the spring of 2011. Service between two stations in Waipahu is expected to begin in 2012; full service may begin in 2019.

Discussion Highlights:

[Note: Unless otherwise noted, all questions were answered by Mr. Van Epps.]

In response to a question by Tom Smyth: The City is allowed to have up to four proposals selected for the short list of design-build contracts for the first segment of the rail.
In response to a question by Linda Starr: Construction of segments will not be done sequentially; the initiation of one segment is not reliant upon the completion of prior segments.
In response to a question by Pamela Young: This project is high on the list of projects for funding by the FTA. The FTA administrator, the Chair of the Congressional House Transportation Subcommittee, and Hawaii’s two senior Congressional Senators all support the funding of this project.
In response to a question by Daisy Murai: At the Pearl Highlands Station, there will be a 6-story parking structure in the “Banana Patch” area, with a ramp coming from the south‑bound side of the H-2 Freeway.
In response to a question by Kainoa Kaumeheiwa-Rego: The Governor’s signature and the FTA’s approval of the EIS are independent of each other.
In response to a question by Tom Heinrich: There is no timetable for any extension to the system.
In response to a question by Ms. Starr: Oversight of the construction of different segments will be conducted by a firm subcontracted by the City.

2. Approval of the March 18 and April 15, 2009 Meeting Minutes

Vice Chair Michael Golojuch moved and Mr. Smyth seconded that agenda items 2 and 3 be deferred until the next meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

3. Other Business

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

4. OahuMPO Meeting Highlights - Policy Committee & Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

Ms. Yasuda announced the following:

· There had been no meeting of the Policy Committee since the CAC last met on
April 15, 2009. The Policy Committee was scheduled to meet on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. in the State Capitol, conference room 309. At that meeting, it was anticipated that the Policy Committee would:

o Take action on the vision, goals, and objectives for the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan (ORTP) 2035 effort;

o Take action on the FY 2010 Overall Work Program (OWP);

o Acknowledge receipt of the early input on the FYs 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program from the CAC and the freight movers’ survey and forward them to DTS and the Hawaii Department of Transportation; and

o Consider the applications for membership to the CAC by the Hawaii Centers for Independent Living and Manoa Neighborhood Board #7.

· There had been no meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee since the CAC last met on April 15, 2009. The TAC was scheduled to meet on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. in the Department of Transportation 5th floor conference room. At that meeting, it was anticipated that TAC would:

o Make a recommendation to the Policy Committee on the vision, goals, and objectives for the ORTP 2035 effort;

o Endorse the performance measures for the ORTP 2035 effort;

o Make a recommendation to the Policy Committee on the FY 2010 OWP; and

o Approve the Revised Rules of Procedures for the OahuMPO TAC.

5. Announcements

Mr. Smyth announced that Senate Bill 718, the Hawaii Complete Streets bill, was signed into law and is now known as Act 54. The bill requires the Department of Transportation and the Counties to establish a policy to reasonably accommodate all users of the road, including pedestrians, cyclists, and people of all ages and abilities.

Mr. Heinrich announced a joint meeting of the McCully-Moiliili, Makiki-Tantalus, and Manoa neighborhood boards on Tuesday, June 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Central Union Church Parish Hall to hear the long-range development plan of the Kapiolani Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:31 p.m.