• Voice support for housing project • County has much to work to do Voice support for housing project Kauai’s new general plan will eliminate Kapaa housing opportunities. The planning department is no longer recommending Hokua Place as a location for
• Voice support for housing project • County has much to work to do
Voice support for housing project
Kauai’s new general plan will eliminate Kapaa housing opportunities.
The planning department is no longer recommending Hokua Place as a location for much-needed Kapaa housing and affordable housing.
Supposedly, this is due to negative public comments. However, there is a strong consensus that housing is desperately needed in this area. Most people are in favor of Hokua’s residential subdivision being developed. Many of their comments are even published on the county’s website at plankauai.com.
It is well-known that the Kapaa corridor needs traffic improvements. The state, county and developers all play a part in providing these solutions. You can see the traffic plans already in place that will remedy traffic concerns at HokuaPlace.com.
Ironically, the original plan was to divide this property into 50 agricultural lots. The county strongly suggested and supported plans for a residential development instead. The understanding has been and should remain that we work together to provide housing for our community.
Please do you what you can to assure that our planners don’t throw away our housing opportunities.
Support housing!
You can sign a support letter at HokuPlace.com.
E-mail this to your friends and family.
Attend upcoming planning discussion open house meetings.
Greg Allen, Wailua
County has much to work to do
In his recent column in TGI, Jerome “Da Shadow” Frietas asks a number of good questions (to our elected officials) that get either vague answers or no answers at all. And, remember that Jerome is one of the most dedicated, volunteers for public safety that this island has ever had — using his own time and money uncovering problems that need attention.
His one question, “At the intersection of Kukui St and Ulu in Kapaa, the intersection road surface is very bad. Can this intersection road (heavily used) be improved even on a temporary basis until road resurfacing can be done?”
Answer. “Public works will investigate this concern and schedule if necessary.”
Really! This intersection has been in horrible shape for years and we now hear public works say they will investigate this concern and schedule if necessary!
When Olohena road was recently resurfaced from the roundabout to Kapaa middle school, Grace Pacific (the contractor who won the roads repaving bid) verbally told me that it would be far more economical to pave this intersection (about 100 yards from where they repaved) while their equipment was there than if they had to come back — a simple change order was all it would take. With a job that needed doing and with savings to be made what happened — nothing, absolutely nothing.
So while auto tires and front ends are being ruined, we drivers keep wondering where our gas tax, registration fees, and weight tax are going and gross inefficiency continues. Our roads continue to be the worst in the state and yet our elected officials refuse to use section 3.17 of our Charter to fully investigate and correct this glaring problem as well as many more.
Where is the leadership on Kauai — administrative or legislative? We watch both branches of government point the finger at each other over whose problem it is with stagnation taking place and nothing getting done for the people. Traffic, new development with no infrastructure in place to handle it, no true low income housing, no new landfill, homeless people and on and on.
We had a golden opportunity to reverse this island’s downward spiral by getting a county manager style of government on the ballot for a vote of the people. But politics, lack of will and a legal problem that could have been easily solved stopped it and the problems continue. A few council members are still willing to pursue getting a manager and are certainly to be commended for their efforts. And, ironically, none of those who oppose trying this new style of government have any other solution to offer.
And, Shadow, keep up your great work and doing all you can to hold those responsible for tacking care of the safety problems that we citizens deserve.
Glenn Mickens, Kapaa
