HPP Grading And Paving

[JerryCarr]

I'll be there. I'm the guy in the burnt orange Texas Longhorns cap.

Cheers,
Jerry

[JerryCarr]

Well, I just got back from the HPP Board meeting. At least one other Punawebber (Daniel, nice to meet you) was there . . . along with a lot of angry people. Members got three minutes each to speak at the beginning of the meeting. Several decried the poor state of the roads, one (the guy waving the sign the other day) complained about how many of the first roads scheduled to be paved happen to have board members living on them, one didn't want any paving at all, one expressed concern about the interest differential on the bond issue, and a few spoke on topics unrelated to roads. I used my three minutes to point out that the membership was led to believe that ALL the roads were going to be paved, but that is not what is happening. No one on the board chose to answer that, although they did address some other members' comments later in the meeting.

Unfortunately the member's comments were only allowed at the beginning of the meeting and not when the particular topics were being discussed by the board. Thus interactive debate was minimal, except among the board members. The Paving Committee report by Mr. Higgins was instructive, though. He states that the original estimate for cost was under by about a factor of two due to the fact that it called for pouring asphalt over cinders without deep base work. Instead of $100,000 per mile, it will cost as much as double that to do it right. This would allow for the $12 million bond issue to pave about 45 miles of side roads plus improvements for the main roads down to the shore and intersection improvements. The first roads to be paved will be 22nd (gives fire department access from Makuu to Shower,) 16th (passes by the maintenance baseyard,) 7th, 1st, and part of K. The first phase will consist of these roads for a total of 10 miles. The improvements to the main roads and intersections as well as paving of additional cross roads will come in later phases. A motion passed to hire an outside contractor/supervisor and to get a legal review of the bidding and supervision process. I got the impression that they will be seeking bids soon.

There is a general membership meeting which allows a more open format for member participation on February 20 at 6pm. I plan to be there.

Cheers,
Jerry

[Daniel]

Aloha all,

Like Jerry said I was there and able to meet him. Jerry, I liked what you had to say, I was very impressed. The people that first told me about punaweb were also there, as well as several past customers of mine, so I felt comfortable there. There was a lot of bickering at first and some people that were obviously uninformed, but as the meeting went on there were some more positive comments made and I was able to learn a few things about what is going on.
What I got out of the meeting:
-A new very nice lawnmower tractor like the ones the state uses to mow the roadsides has been purchased and will soon be in use to tame the HPP roadside jungle. It will have a full time operator. I think this was a good move and will be a good investment for us.
-The roads will be paved in phases beggining with the fore-metioned roads and will posibly cost 25 million dollars to finish.
-there is HPP money in an account in the eastern united states earning 4.55%.
-There are a lot of people who seem to have solutions about this "problem", some of which I didn't even understand...and even more people who don't have a clue about what is going on.

I don't feel too bad about our situation, I think things will soon get better.

Thanks for reading,



Daniel R Diamond

[Seeb]

as far as businesses look at the zoning in the Puna Community Devolepment Plan

The devil is in the detail

[Daniel]

Paved roads will help keep dust off of flowers. Other than that I dont see much benefit to business. The UPS will have a better roads and might be able to get around easier.

Daniel R Diamond

[John S. Rabi]

quote:

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Originally posted by Buzz

This is a question for the realtors. Do you think that given the added traffic the hpp proposed paved roads will generate will benefit homebase businesses. I'm thinking ag concerns like plant nurseries or any other type of small business where ease of access and road exposure might enhance sales.

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I personally don't think the repaving will do much good except better driving conditions. I think the HOA would serve the members much better by getting light CC&Rs approved for the subdivision.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"

[Kelena]

Thank you Jerry and Daniel for going to the meeting, for those of us who could not. I found it interesting that the most important question remained unanswered: Is the Association preceding with a plan that he membership did not vote for? Did they interpret the vote as license to build as many roads as they possibly could for a given amount of money?

This appears to be millions for absolutely nothing. I agree with Rabi, that what should happen in HPP is the development of light CCR's. It is apparent to me that HPP is too large and too diverse to be manageable. It should be divided into smaller subdivisions and associations.

Of course, what should happen and what are actually feasible are two different things.

However, I am beginning to wonder if the road plan shouldn't be challenged.

[JerryCarr]

Glen, the format of the meeting did not really allow for give and take debate and discussion. They allowed all the owners who wished to speak three minutes at the beginning of the meeting to make statements. The road paving item was moved down the agenda to near the end, and when it came up, no discussion was allowed. (Quite a few people did not even stay until it came up.) We just got to hear Mr. Higgins' report on the plan being moved forward and some board discussion of nuts and bolts type things. I mentioned in my statement that what we are getting is not what many of us believe was actually proposed. No one on the Board chose to address or rebut this concern.

Buzz, I also mentioned the "funneling" effect of having four of the cross-subdivision roads paved. I even said I was glad I wasn't on one of the roads chosen because I expect a lot of heavy traffic on them at greater speeds than are now common. Again, no one on the Board chose to address or rebut this.

The February meeting will be a "General Membership Meeting," and should allow for more give and take discussion. I plan to be there, and urge anyone with an interest in this or any other community issues to be there and participate. Of course, off-island property owners (Glen, I wish you articulate self could be there) are at a big disadvantage, but this is the only venue we have to influence the process.

Cheers,
Jerry

[Greg]

Does the "General membership meeting" in February include the election of board members?

If members are not happy with their representation, this would be the time to act.

[Daniel]

I dont think the traffic will be much worse than it is now. For example I wouldnt drive all the way from 5th to 16th to go back down to 7th. Besides those 4 roads are only the beggining, others will follow. After attending the meeting last week I dont feel like there is much of a problem here concerning paving , just a little lack of communication on the part of the assco. and lack of involvement from the members, myself included. I think there is room to improve in road maintenence, sign repair, and road-related tree removal. No CC&Rs except noise and saftey related issues (i.e. albizia tree dangers) I dont want someone telling me how to live or what to do with my land or house.

Daniel R Diamond