Minutes of the

Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

 

POLICY COMMITTEE

 

Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 1:00 p.m.

City Council Committee Room 205

Honolulu Hale, 530 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii

 

Members Present:

Senator Will Espero, Chair

Representative Joseph Souki

Councilmember Nestor Garcia, Vice Chair

Senator Carol Fukunaga

Councilmember Charles Djou

DOT Director Barry Fukunaga

Councilmember Gary Okino

DTS Director Melvin Kaku

Representative Marilyn Lee

 

 

Member(s) Absent:  Councilmembers Todd Apo and Rod Tam, Representative Ryan Yamane, and Senator J. Kalani English

 

Guests Present:

Hiroko Nakamura (Councilmember Cachola)

 

Bert Narita (NB #5, CAC)

Stan Fichtman (Councilmember Djou)

 

Charles Carole (NB #10, CAC)

Robert Sato (Councilmember Okino)

 

Cruz J. Vina, Jr. (NB #21, CAC)

Jacce Mikulanec (Councilmember Dela Cruz)

 

Rich Hargrave (NB #23, CAC)

Mark Au (DTS)

 

Wendell Lum (NB #30, CAC)

Glenn Soma (DOT, TAC)

 

Michael Golojuch (NB #34, CAC)

Patrick Tom (DOT)

 

Pamela Young (NB #35, CAC)

Ronald Tsuzuki (DOT)

 

Gil Riviere (NSCC, CAC)

Darrlyn Bunda (CBT, CAC)

 

Rich Kane (PRP, CAC)

Frank Genadio (CBT, CAC)

 

Robert Kessler (WRA, CAC)

Joseph Magaldi, Jr. (CBT, CAC)

 

Alan Gano (Leeward Infrastructure Coalition)

Kristi Schulenberg (HBL, CAC)

 

John Ridings (Makakilo resident)

Michael Costa (HI Teamsters Local 996, CAC)

 

Carl Jacobs (NB #20)

CC Curry (ICC, CAC)

 

Doug Eisinger (UH) & students

Jacqueline Parnell (LWV, CAC)

 

Polly Grace (Waianae resident)

 

OahuMPO Staff Present:  Gordon Lum (Executive Director), Lori Arakaki, Marian Yasuda, and Pamela Toyooka

 

Chair Nestor Garcia called the meeting to order at 1:11 p.m.  A quorum was present.

 

I.          ELECTION OF THE FY 2008 CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR

 

Chair

Senator Carol Fukunaga nominated Senator Will Espero for the office of Chair for FY 2008; Representative Joseph Souki seconded the nomination.  A vote was taken.  Senator Espero was unanimously elected Chair.  Senator Espero assumed the position of Chair.

 

Vice Chair

Councilmember Gary Okino nominated Councilmember Nestor Garcia for the office of Vice Chair for FY 2008.  Department of Transportation Services (DTS) Director Melvin Kaku seconded the nomination.  A vote was taken.  Councilmember Garcia was unanimously elected Vice Chair.  Councilmember Garcia assumed the position of Vice Chair.

 

Chair Espero presented former Chair Garcia with a resolution signed by all the members, recognizing him for his work and commitment to resolving Oahu’s transportation issues and problems.

 

II.        MINUTES OF THE MAY 22, 2007 MEETING

 

Representative Joseph Souki moved and Vice Chair Garcia seconded that the May 22, 2007 minutes be approved as circulated.  There being no objections, the motion was unanimously carried.

 

III.       CAC CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION

 

Chair Espero and the Policy Committee members recognized and presented certificates of appreciation to the following Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) member organizations for their commitment to and participation in the metropolitan planning process in FY 2007 (organizations’ representatives present to accept certificates in parentheses):

·        Committee for Balanced Transportation (Darrlyn Bunda & Frank Genadio)

·        Diamond Head-Kapahulu-Saint Louis Heights Neighborhood Board (NB) No. 5 (Bert Narita)

·        Ewa NB No. 23 (Rich Hargrave)

·        Eye of the Pacific

·        Hawaii Bicycling League (Kristi Schulenberg)

·        Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996 (Michael Costa)

·        Interagency COORDINATION Councils (CC Curry)

·        Kaneohe NB No. 30 (Wendell Lum)

·        League of Women Voters (Jacqueline Parnell)

·        Liliha-Alewa-Puunui-Kamehameha Heights NB No. 14

·        Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale NB No. 34 (Michael Golojuch)

·        Makiki-Lower Punchbowl-Tantalus NB No. 10 (Charles Carole)

·        Mililani Mauka-Launani Valley NB No. 35 (Pamela Young)

·        North Shore Chamber of Commerce (Gil Riviere)

·        Pacific Resource Partnership (Richard Kane)

·        Pearl City NB No. 21 (Cruz Vina, Jr.)

·        Waialae-Kahala NB No. 3

·        Waikiki Residents’ Association (Bob Kessler)

 

IV.       FYS 2008, 2009, 2010, AND 2011 TIP

 

Handout(s):  Draft FYs 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP); Intergovernmental Review comments and summary of comments; Public Review comments and summary of comments; HDOT & DTS criteria; written testimony

 

Gordon Lum gave a presentation on the draft FYs 2008-2011 TIP (“TIP”) – its contents; how the TIP is Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act:  A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) compliant; a summary of the financial plan; the changes made to the TIP revision procedures and terms; the results of the technical analyses performed; and a summary of the intergovernmental review and public review comments received. 

 

In explaining the changes made to Chapter 10 (Revisions to the TIP), Mr. G. Lum noted: 1) that the term “revision” is now being used to be consistent with SAFETEA-LU terminology; 2) which reviews or actions (Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) review, public review, and Policy Committee action) were required for “pre-approved”, “expedited”, and “amendment” revisions; and 3) changes to conditions prompting the three categories of revisions.

 

The technical analysis included discussion on the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) and City DTS internal prioritization criteria, detailed TIP project evaluations, consistency check with the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan, consistency check with the Oahu Regional Intelligent Transportation System Architecture, Congestion Management Process analysis and ranking, Title VI and Environmental Justice analysis, and TAC’s recommendation. 

 

Mr. G. Lum stated that the TIP is now financially constrained.  The DOT agreed to find savings elsewhere in the Statewide TIP, thereby increasing the estimated funds available for Oahu.

 

Mr. G. Lum summarized the intergovernmental review comments submitted by six agencies and noted that 17 agencies had no comments.  For the public review comments, Mr. G. Lum summarized the public comments received by project.

 

Mr. G. Lum noted that one of the major things the OahuMPO concentrated on in updating the TIP was to ensure that the TIP is SAFETEA-LU compliant.  The OahuMPO accomplished this by increasing the TIP time period from three years to four years; including a financial plan; and using visualization techniques.  The information provided for each project was increased by creating individual project information sheets for each project.  Project location maps were included on each project information sheet; and interactive maps were posted on the OahuMPO website.  The TIP revision procedures were modified in order to use terminology consistent with the federal regulations and to clarify the procedures.

 

Questions and Answers

In response to Representative Joseph Souki, Ronald Tsuzuki stated that DOT had met via video conference with their county counterparts to discuss the status of their projects in the Statewide TIP (STIP).  Some of the very, big projects on the neighbor islands were not ready-to-go, so they were deferred in the STIP.  Mr. Tsuzuki assured the members that the important projects for the neighbor islands are still going forward.  No additional Oahu projects were deleted.

 

Vice Chair Garcia requested a follow-up on which neighbor island projects were deferred and which Oahu projects were helped by these deferrals.  Mr. Tsuzuki stated that there were no specific Oahu projects that were helped.  DOT Director Barry Fukunaga explained that the funds became available due to timing; neighbor island projects were not ready-to-go.

 

In response to Vice Chair Garcia, Mr. Tsuzuki stated that federal funding that is currently being projected for future years may not actually come through.  As discussed at a recent Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conference, the national outlook seems to be that there will be less federal funds available in the future.

 

[Councilmember Charles Djou arrived at 1:59 p.m.]

 

Testimony

Frank Genadio (Committee for Balanced Transportation, CAC), Alan Gano (Leeward Infrastructure Coalition), John Riding (Makakilo resident), and Darrlyn Bunda

Mr. Genadio, Mr. Gano, Mr. Riding, and Ms. Bunda spoke in support of Project C06 (Makakilo Drive Extension), asking that construction be moved up to FY 2009 and for it to be completed as soon as possible.

 

CC Curry (Interagency COORDINATION Councils, CAC) – Ms. Curry testified in support of pedestrian safety.

 

Charles Carole (NB #10, CAC) – Mr. Carole testified in support of Project S22 (Interstate Route H-1, Lunalilo Street Off-Ramp and On-Ramp).

 

Polly Grace (Waianae resident) – Ms. Grace testified, on behalf of all the blue collar workers from Waianae, in support of transit.

 

Rich Hargrave (Ewa resident) – Mr. Hargrave testified in support of adding a new project to the TIP – the addition of dedicated bus lanes along Fort Weaver Road.

 

Vice Chair Garcia moved and Councilmember Gary Okino seconded that the FYs 2008-2011 TIP be approved.

 

Representative Marilyn Lee moved to amend the motion to include Project S67 (Kamehameha Highway, Improvements, Waipahu Street to Ka Uka Boulevard) in the FYs 2008-2011 TIP, and try to find the monies to fund it.

 

Mr. G. Lum stressed the importance of approving a financially constrained TIP and cited an example where the federal government did not approve the package of Oahu projects because it was not financially constrained.

 

Representative Lee’s motion died for lack of a second. 

 

A vote was taken on the first motion.  The motion was unanimously carried.

 

V.        BRIEFING ON SITE VISIT OF PUERTO RICO’S RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM

 

Handout(s):  Hawaii can learn transit lessons from Puerto Rico’s “Tren Urbano”

 

Representative Lee gave a brief description of her site visit of Puerto Rico’s rapid transit system – the “Tren Urbano”.  Photos of her visit were passed around to the members.

 

VI.       OTHER BUSINESS

 

Chair Espero gave a brief description of his site visit of the Shanghai, China rail system.  Photos from his visit were shown.

 

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:28 p.m.