04-15-2009, 06:28 PM
Earlier tonight I attended the HPP regularly scheduled Board meeting. It was well attended, with more than the usual amount of owner input and some very exciting guest presentations. Councilwoman Emily Naeole was in attendance, and she made some helpful comments.
During Owner Input, proposed organizational changes for Neighborhood Watch were discussed. I will describe these in a separate posting later since I have a special interest in this subject.
The County Planning Department announced that they are pursuing a grant for Town Center Development Planning and Study for one of the 20 acre HPPOA owned parcels of land. This will be done as part of the Puna Community Development Plan, and the idea was well received. I hope this gets somewhere.
The HAAS Charter School is putting forward a proposal for a charter elementary school on HPPOA owned property. They presented a well-articulated plan, even down to having stamped architectural drawings for a building. An invitation was made for HPP residents to visit their current campus in Pahoa to get an idea of the sort of facility envisaged. This was also well received, and Ms. Naeole spoke in support of it, even suggesting that a County gym promised for Puna might be located alongside it. With money being scarce, that part could take a while, though. None-the-less, HAAS has a good reputation, and HPP would be fortunate if they locate a branch here.
On the road paving front, the Board (very wisely, IMHO) has voted to not award any more paving contracts until the bids for much-needed repairs and overlays on the lower trunk roads are received. This will enable them to budget more effectively by knowing how much money will have to be devoted to the trunk roads and how much will be left for the side roads. Hopefully, a comprehensive plan for spending the remaining bond money will evolve out of this process. The Consulting Engineer supported this move, and he seemed to have acquired a more in-depth knowledge base of the methods and cost-cutting possibilities available after meeting with some of the contractors and reviewing their methods and technology. This is still a complicated and emotional issue, but I saw some real hope for sensible planning tonight.
Unfortunately, I had to leave after the road discussions, so that's all I have for now. If someone else has any later observations or corrections, please post.
Cheers,
Jerry
During Owner Input, proposed organizational changes for Neighborhood Watch were discussed. I will describe these in a separate posting later since I have a special interest in this subject.
The County Planning Department announced that they are pursuing a grant for Town Center Development Planning and Study for one of the 20 acre HPPOA owned parcels of land. This will be done as part of the Puna Community Development Plan, and the idea was well received. I hope this gets somewhere.
The HAAS Charter School is putting forward a proposal for a charter elementary school on HPPOA owned property. They presented a well-articulated plan, even down to having stamped architectural drawings for a building. An invitation was made for HPP residents to visit their current campus in Pahoa to get an idea of the sort of facility envisaged. This was also well received, and Ms. Naeole spoke in support of it, even suggesting that a County gym promised for Puna might be located alongside it. With money being scarce, that part could take a while, though. None-the-less, HAAS has a good reputation, and HPP would be fortunate if they locate a branch here.
On the road paving front, the Board (very wisely, IMHO) has voted to not award any more paving contracts until the bids for much-needed repairs and overlays on the lower trunk roads are received. This will enable them to budget more effectively by knowing how much money will have to be devoted to the trunk roads and how much will be left for the side roads. Hopefully, a comprehensive plan for spending the remaining bond money will evolve out of this process. The Consulting Engineer supported this move, and he seemed to have acquired a more in-depth knowledge base of the methods and cost-cutting possibilities available after meeting with some of the contractors and reviewing their methods and technology. This is still a complicated and emotional issue, but I saw some real hope for sensible planning tonight.
Unfortunately, I had to leave after the road discussions, so that's all I have for now. If someone else has any later observations or corrections, please post.
Cheers,
Jerry
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