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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/12/big-island/" target="_self">Big Island: No Aloha At These Rough And Tumble Neighborhood Meetings</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Tue, 18 Dec 2018 10:01:36 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('PUNA, Hawaii Island — When members of the Fern Forest Community Association held their annual meeting this month, someone was clearly expecting trouble: • Uniformed security guards and off-duty police were watching as over 50 residents of the subdivision in rural Upper Puna arrived at the meeting. • Displayed on the sign-in table was a pre-printed stack of trespassing notices. • A sign on the wall of the Quonset-style meeting hall announced that no video or audio recording was allowed. • In his opening remarks, the outgoing president of the association’s board of directors, Ken Gryde, announced that questions would not be taken from the floor and noted that if an association member disrupted the meeting, a sequence of three warning signs would be held up: If the third sign was raised, that member would face trespassing charges. Melissa Fletcher immediately rose from the audience. “Point of Inquiry,” she said.  “Is this the annual members’ meeting?” Hired guards watch as members enter the meeting.Courtesy of Melissa Fletcher The first warning sign went up. Fletcher repeated her question. The second sign went up. Fletcher refused to sit down, and a guard approached her. But Gryde hesitated, then said he would allow one question. “Is this the annual members’ meeting?” Fletcher asked again. “Yes,” Gryde replied. That was an important moment, Fletcher recalled afterward, because, “You get to ask questions at an annual meeting.” “Point of inquiry,” she began again. When Gryde told her she’d had her question, his assertion was met by protests from other members. “This meeting is adjourned,” Gryde declared. He and the other board members walked out. But most members kept their seats, even when security guards began removing tables and attempting to remove benches and chairs where those present, including this reporter, were still seated. Other guards pulled the meeting hall’s gates partially shut, while Fletcher, maintaining that the meeting hadn’t been legally closed without a motion and vote to adjourn, moved that another resident, Kristen McCardel, be elected chair pro tem to lead the rest of the meeting. Members vote on a resolution at the December 2 annual meeting after the board members walked out.Courtesy of Melissa Fletcher The motion passed overwhelmingly, followed by more motions, including one to nullify the election of board members that had been run by the board (which had only allowed three names, chosen by the board, on the ballot for the three open positions). The participants then elected three candidates that the board had refused to allow on the ballot, claiming that those candidates hadn’t gathered a requisite 20 signatures of Fern Forest Community Association members in good standing (a charge the candidates hotly contested). Meanwhile, someone called the police. But the officer who answered the call told the dissident members, “There is nothing wrong with what you guys are doing.”  He simply asked if they would be done by the time when the hired security guards were scheduled to leave. Fern Forest, apparently, is about to rejoin a growing list of Big Island subdivisions with two competing boards running their community associations, which have important responsibilities such as maintaining roads in substandard neighborhoods. At one point, Fern Forest had four rival community organizations. “The only thing this outlaw group will do is cost the FFCA thousands of dollars in legal fees.” — Fern Forest Community Association website On the same day, Dec. 2, West Hawaii Today announced that the assets of the road maintenance corporation at Hawaii Ranchos, in Kau, had been frozen in a dispute similar to the one at Fern Forest. At Orchidland in Puna, one group claiming to be the board is fighting both another group with the same claim and a petition by residents to put the association’s assets into a court-appointed receivership. Residents in several other subdivisions, including Hawaiian Shores and lava-ravaged Leilani Estates, have also reported major conflicts with their association boards. It’s a problem that’s been happening since at least the 1980s, when a similar battle between rival boards in Hawaiian Paradise Park had to be resolved in court. After the Fern Forest meeting, Gryde would only tell Civil Beat that his board had followed “all the bylaws” of the community association. But the board’s website went to much greater length in a Dec. 3 post, saying the board had been forced to shut down the meeting “when a group of disaffected residents created havoc at the beginning of the meeting.” The post called the residents who stayed at the meeting “lawless rabble,” and said, “The only thing this outlaw group will do is cost the FFCA thousands of dollars in legal fees….The board cautions you to beware of ‘yet another’ alternative board composed of rabble and thieves who seek to misappropriate community funds.” Members of the “rabble” insisted they’ve followed all the bylaws — and relevant state law, and “Roberts Rules of Order,” which the association’s bylaws say should be followed when the bylaws themselves don’t provide guidance. The three candidates elected at the annual meeting all say they’d sent in petitions with more than enough qualifying signatures and that they’d asked all those who signed if they had paid their association dues. The dissidents claim that the old board actually had committed numerous violations of state law, community association bylaws and Robert’s Rules in the way it conducted elections, meetings and the corporation’s business. “It’s not about disliking the people of the board and it’s not about disliking characters,” said McCardel. “We want it to be run properly. That’s all we’re trying to accomplish.” Gravel aggregate recently used on Fern Forest Roads contain large, possibly hazardous rocks. The lighter is included for a sense of scale.Courtesy of Melissa Fletcher Some also have questions about the road maintenance. One resident elected after the old board walked out is Bill Gray, who is also a county building inspector who worked on highway, bridge and water projects in Las Vegas before moving here. Speaking as a private citizen, Gray observed that “The roads in the subdivision have deteriorated in the past three years.” While the old board claims to have met county specifications for aggregate on gravel roads, Gray said, the county actually had no such specifications. Federal guidelines for such roads, he noted, stated that “100 percent of the material should pass through a 1-inch screen or sieve; 80 percent should pass through a quarter-inch sieve.” But the mix he’d observed being used in Fern Forest roads, he said, contained much larger rocks, which could damage the road surface, damage vehicles, and roll on the road surface like “marbles or ball bearings,” creating a hazard for motorcyclists. “They’re putting this rocky junk out there,” he said, “and it’s not right.” “Every member of the board should have to take a day class on parliamentary procedure.” — Melissa Fletcher The roots of the community associations’ problems may extend back to the 1960s and ’70s, when county and state officials allowed a series of subdivisions with substandard roads to be created on the Big Islands. The maintenance for those roads was left up to the community associations: private corporations run by unpaid boards elected from among the lot owners themselves. With a few exceptions such as Gray, they’re not engineers or experienced CEOs, and may never have run a large meeting before. “We have to make sure that when elected, every member of the board should have to take a day class on parliamentary procedure,” said Fletcher. McCardel noted another problem: “There doesn’t appear to be an agency or entity that is tasked with oversight of these organizations or with enforcing the statutes and rules that govern them.” During the 2018 legislative session, Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, D-Puna, introduced House Bill 2570 to address that problem by making counties responsible for establishing “rules and procedures” for such subdivision community associations, conducting audits of them, establishing an “oversight agency” for them, and even, if a majority of subdivision lot owners approved, to take over fee collection and road maintenance itself. The bill failed to cross over to the Senate. San Buenaventura hopes to try again next year. Meanwhile, at least three Fern Forest meeting participants have received letters from Gryde, saying they were banned from all FFCA meetings and from the lot where the meeting hall sits. “You and your cohorts shouted interruptions, refused to accept rulings from the chair, and voiced intimidating threats,” the letter said. Fletcher said Gryde’s term was supposed to expire the night of the meeting, so he had no right to write anything on FFCA stationery. One of those receiving a letter was Gypsy Young, who’d said she’d never been to an FFCA meeting before that day. “I really don’t think I said anything,” she said.  “I don’t appreciate when people say things about me that aren’t true.” The post Big Island: No Aloha At These Rough And Tumble Neighborhood Meetings appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/12/the-soul-crushing-experience-of-city-crosswalks/" target="_self">The Soul-Crushing Experience Of City Crosswalks</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Tue, 18 Dec 2018 10:01:36 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('Editor’s note: This Community Voice was one of numerous entries in our recently concluded Emerging Writers Contest. One of the most devastating types of news that anyone can receive is that their loved one was involved in a traffic-related accident such as a pedestrian hit-and-run. Oh, if I was on the receiving end, my soul would be severely crushed. Living near town for many years has opened my eyes to a much wider perspective pertaining to peoples’ driving habits and their awareness on safety. Many motorists are very careless and it’s scary. Of all the various types of traffic infractions, the one that hits home is not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks — at signalized intersections and at unprotected ones between intersections. This infraction is my pet peeve. Why, you might ask? It’s because I not only witnessed many close calls of other people, but I had many close calls myself. If it wasn’t for the grace of God, the other people and I wouldn’t be here today. Well, I’ve had it. Enough is enough. A city crosswalk walk downtown. Remember to look both ways!cory Lum/Civil Beat Here’s an example of what it’s like at a signalized intersection. I’m standing at the intersection of Nuuanu Avenue and School Street heading southbound. The light turns green, then the walk symbol appears. You would think that I have the right of way, right? Legally I do, but not according to many motorists. There were many times even after making eye contact, they still didn’t let me cross. Hawaii Revised Statutes 291C-33 protects pedestrians at intersections. Once the word “walk” or the symbol of a walking person appears, all motorists shall yield to pedestrians so they can proceed to cross. Regarding unprotected crosswalks between intersections, it’s unbelievable how many motorists won’t stop. There were many times that I and many other people had to step into crosswalks so the motorists would stop. It was as though they refused to notice us as we waited to cross. And I bet you that some, if not all of them had only one thing in mind: to reach their destinations. Well, here’s a news flash for them: We would like to reach our destinations, too. What The Law Says The following statutes will verify my experience. I’ve decided to leave both in its entirety to show its in-depth definition — HRS 291C-72 Pedestrians’ right-of-way in crosswalks: [291C-74] Drivers to exercise due care. Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway and shall give warning by sounding the driver’s horn when necessary and shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any obviously confused or incapacitated person upon a roadway. [L 1971, c 150, pt of §1; gen ch 1985] Section 291C-72(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, has been amended by the 2005 Legislature and now states that “the driver of a vehicle shall stop and yield the right of way to pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.” Regarding pedestrian safety improvements, Pali Highway is my location of interest because it’s considered to be one of the more critical danger stretches on Oahu. Witnesses of pedestrian fatalities reported that many motorists speed. I can vouch for this because my family and I reside on Pali Highway near the Punchbowl on-ramp. They don’t care about the pedestrians. Their main concern is to get from point A to point B. Residents and organizations such as AARP Hawaii have been pushing for improvements for years, such as a light system or an overpass. Back in 2010, state transportation officials were considering removing bus stops and crosswalks in the upper part of the highway where over a dozen accidents occurred over a 10-year period. Here’s a news flash: Pedestrians would like to reach their destinations, too. The problem with this is these much-needed and extensively used crosswalks are between signalized intersections. If removed, can you imagine how difficult it would’ve been for the elderly in regards to distance to the nearest intersection then to cross the street, whether to catch the bus or to return home? Sometimes elimination doesn’t necessarily mean better. The recent pedestrian fatality on Pali Highway and near Wood Street occurred in an unprotected crosswalk, where the new safety measure was recently installed. When state transportation officials were confronted about this accident, they stated their concern about the recent pedestrian accidents statewide. Expressing their concern was nice, but it’s not what Nuuanu residents want to hear. What they want and highly deserve are permanent improvements now. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen anytime soon. The state planned a two-phase Pali Highway improvements program. Phase 2 includes evaluating pedestrian facilities on Pali Highway from Waokanaka Street to Vineyard Boulevard. Designs to improve the facilities are in the making. They plan to inform the community once the designs fall into place. The anticipated date to start is June 2019 and the anticipated end date is December 2020. Let’s hope that the recently installed safety measure is successful. In the meantime, everyone must do their part by being very attentive and looking out for each other. Everyone has the right to be safe. Strive to stay alive. The post The Soul-Crushing Experience Of City Crosswalks appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/12/sylvia-luke-wants-to-change-the-way-the-state-spends-money/" target="_self">Sylvia Luke Wants To Change The Way The State Spends Money</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Tue, 18 Dec 2018 10:01:26 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('The leader of a key legislative committee overseeing the state budget is calling for major reforms in the way the Legislature spends money. Lawmakers should have more oversight in crafting performance measures the executive branch use to show how effectively it’s using taxpayer money, said House Finance Committee chair Sylvia Luke. State agencies currently set the measures and report how well they’re meeting them, typically with no independent review. Luke also wants to implement “zero-based budgeting” in which agencies would start each two-year budget cycle from scratch and justify every dollar they’re requesting. “We cannot continue to provide these services just because we’ve been doing it,” Luke said. “We need measurables.” House Finance Committee Chair Sylvia Luke plans to push for major changes in the state budgeting process.Cory Lum/Civil Beat It would probably be 2020 before lawmakers could begin pushing through the sweeping changes, said Luke. But she hopes to begin laying the groundwork during the 2019 session that starts Jan. 16. Luke’s call for greater accountability comes as Gov. David Ige presented his proposed budget for 2019 through 2021. And it presages a battle between lawmakers and the executive branch heading into the session. Luke’s Senate counterpart, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, did not return calls for comment. However, Luke said she had spoken to Dela Cruz and that he generally supports the ideas. Ige was also unavailable for comment Monday, a spokeswoman said. Gov. David Ige arrives at a press conference Monday to unveil his two-year budget plan. Luke wants to reform the system so that legislators have more spending oversight.Cory Lum/Civil Beat Luke has repeatedly pushed to get a better handle on government spending that bypasses the Legislature. For example, in 2013 she helped push through legislation to stop the proliferation of special and revolving funds, which allow money to be steered straight to executive agencies without approval by the Legislature. State special funds, along with federal money, make up about half of the roughly $14 billion the state spends every year. Luke also has been working to monitor tax credits and exemptions, which are in essence another form of expenditures that bypass the legislative budget process. But attaching funding to meaningful performance measures may be the most ambitious change Luke has proposed. In theory, executive agencies already track how well they’re achieving performance goals in documents known as variance reports. Critics say the system is full of holes. Rachel Hibbard, a former Hawaii state budget analyst and government auditor, noted that the agencies set their own performance measures, the results of which they report themselves without third-party verification. “Her idea certainly has merit in improving accountability,” said Hibbard, who now works for the California state auditor. Marion Higa, a former longtime Hawaii state auditor, echoed the criticism of the current system. “So many of the documents are just paper exercises,” Higa said of the variance reports. Luke said she would like the Legislature to be more involved in setting the measures and verifying that the departments are meeting their goals as a condition of giving the agencies more money. She pointed to early education. Ige on Monday proposed $200,000 in additional funding to staff the state’s pre-kindergarten program, and some $14.3 million for capital improvements to pre-kindergarten classrooms. The governor said that research shows such programs produce better outcomes for students and save the state money in the long run. But he acknowledged the administration doesn’t have data on students now in the program. The administration’s current measures of effectiveness focus more on how many students are participating and the number of qualified teachers than how well the program is educating children. Luke noted the first group of students to go through the program will be in third grade this year and will take standardized tests. How well they perform, she said, will be a meaningful measure the state should look at when deciding whether to expand the program. “I’m so rooting for those kids,” she said. “I just want the (Department of Education) to identify those kids.” But challenging individual budget requests may be easier than making a sweeping reform to the process. Higa, who was state auditor for more than 20 years, said the Legislature now has little “capacity to challenge what the executive puts forth as a measure of itself.” To build that capacity would require funding and experienced people, Higa said. And it would have to be rolled out in phases. “It’s too much to gobble up all at once,” she said. The post Sylvia Luke Wants To Change The Way The State Spends Money appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/12/pod-squad-cbs-wayfinder-peddles-his-views-on-pedaling/" target="_self">Pod Squad: CB’s Wayfinder Peddles His Views On Pedaling</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Tue, 18 Dec 2018 10:01:05 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('Reporter Marcel Honore talks about “Wayfinding,” Civil Beat’s new transportation column. Also, why it is still crazy to bike in some parts of Honolulu. Transportation columnist Marcel Honore starting his bike ride across Oahu at the Kapolei Transit Center. Subscribe to the Civil Beat Pod Squad on iTunes or Stitcher. The post Pod Squad: CB’s Wayfinder Peddles His Views On Pedaling appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/12/ige-proposes-spending-125-million-for-ala-wai-canal-flood-control/" target="_self">Ige Proposes Spending $125 Million For Ala Wai Canal Flood Control</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Tue, 18 Dec 2018 04:21:35 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('Calling the document a reflection of “the values we share as a community,” Gov. David Ige on Monday unveiled a proposed budget for the next two years that focuses on public education, housing and initiatives to protect the environment and promote agriculture. Among other highlights, Ige is looking for $315 million for affordable housing and $125 million in matching funds for a flood mitigation project on the Ala Wai Canal in Honolulu for which the federal government has already appropriated $345 million. Although the state’s overall operating budget is more than $15 billion, only about $7.5 billion comes from general funds controlled by the Legislature and about half is taken off the top for big-ticket fixed costs like debt service, Medicaid, and health and pension benefits for state workers. That leaves a relatively small amount of discretionary funds that Ige and legislative leaders will decide how to spend over the next several months. Gov. David Ige said his proposal reflects “the values that we share as a community.”Cory Lum/Civil Beat Ige’s proposal, which he outlined at a Capitol news conference, includes about $400 million for education infrastructure improvements, $14.3 million to renovate pre-kindergarten classrooms and $6 million for school repair and maintenance. In addition, the governor has proposed expanding a program that offers free community college tuition to low-income students. Ige is asking for $19 million for the endeavor, which is called the Hawaii Promise Program. Also in the request is just over $10 million for watershed protection and $13.1 million for irrigation system improvements. One of the biggest items aside from education is housing. Ige wants $315 million for affordable housing over the next two years, including $200 million to build rentals and $40 million for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to help pay for infrastructure needed to develop lands for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. That’s on top of $15 million for homeless services. High water levels due to king tides along the Ala Wai Canal last August, when Hurricane Hector was skirting Honolulu.Cory Lum/Civil Beat Rep. Sylvia Luke, chair of the House Finance Committee, said she had concerns with a number of requests. For example, she said, taxpayers doled out $235 million last session to develop rental housing. And she wants to know what happened to that before the state commits $200 million more. Luke said she also had questions about the Ala Wai flood mitigation. She has had a testy relationship with Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell over using state tax money to help finance the Honolulu rail project, and she questioned whether the state should pay for what she said is essentially another Honolulu city works project. The $125 million request is about 10 percent of the total $1.3 billion capital improvements budget request, Luke said. Even if the state does foot the bill for the matching funds, Honolulu residents will have to pay for ongoing repair and maintenance. “It’s going to be the city taxpayer who will have to pay for this, and they need to be up front about it,” she said. The post Ige Proposes Spending $125 Million For Ala Wai Canal Flood Control appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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