Report Title:

CIP; Kauai County

Description:

Authorizes capital improvement projects on the county of Kaua'i. (Drainage master plan, new Kapa'a fire station, solid waste facilities, Waimea sewer system, Līhu'e sewer system, Wailua houselots drainage facilities and emergency homeless shelter).

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2313

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE cOUNTY OF KAUA'I.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The director of finance is authorized to issue general obligations bonds in the sum of $3,806,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be appropriated for fiscal year 2004-2005, for the following projects for the county of Kaua'i:

FY 2004-05

A. DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN $175,000

(Kapa'a/Wailua Area)

The county's comprehensive zoning ordinance requires the development of a detailed drainage master plan to supplement the general plan. With the completion of the master plan, a sound capital improvement program can be formulated. Also, the master plan will be useful for various agencies in their review of new subdivision and building developments. The drainage master plan will include boundaries of watersheds one hundred acres or larger, stream capacities, limitations on existing channel capacities, proposed channel modifications, and new drainage facilities and appurtenances. Preparation and development of ortho-photo maps for the major urban areas of Keālia-Kapa'a, Wailua; Hanamā'ulu-Līhu'e-Nāwiliwili; Kalāheo-Lāwa'i-Kōloa-Po'ipū; and Kekaha-Waimea-Hanapēpē-'Ele'ele has been completed. The use of the maps is immeasurable. The maps facilitate design work for improvements to roadways, drainage, sewers, and water facilities. Comprehensive planning for these facilities cannot be completed without adequate mapping that provides ground topography. The necessity of these maps was demonstrated by the participation of the state highways division for mapping the areas. Once the drainage manual has been developed and accepted by the county, the next order of work will be to develop the master plan of drainage and flood control systems for the urban areas of Kaua'i. The master plan will be developed for the urban areas of Kapa'a, Līhu'e, Po'ipū, Kalāheo, Hanapēpē, Waimea, and Kekaha.

B. NEW KAPA'A FIRE STATION $815,000

Kapa'a fire station's response area is from the Kaua'i community correctional center to west of the Moloa'a stream. The Kapa'a district is much too large and densely populated for one station, especially with the remoteness and growth of the Wailua Homesteads area. It is the busiest station on the island and at times, in the whole State. A viable location for a new Kapa'a fire station is on land managed by the department of land and natural resources where the old Mahelona hospital and Kapa'a school's wastewater treatment plant was located. An alternate location is a site near the Mahelona hospital and close to Kapa'a high school which is a designated disaster shelter. The Hawai'i health service corporation owns this area. Both of these locations provide for good access to Kapa'a town (quick response), quicker and better response to Anahola, upper Kawaihau, and the Kapahi area. It is also a tremendous insurability benefit for the Anahola community because it is within the five-mile radius requirement of the Hawai'i Insurance Bureau.

C. SOLID WASTE FACILITIES $216,000

(Design New Disposal Facility)

This project is needed to identify and evaluate disposal alternatives, selection of preferred disposal method, site selection, environmental assessment, and permitting. Strict federal standards (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act "Subtitle D") regulate the design of landfills constructed after October 1993, in the United States. The project will require execution of specific planning and construction tasks necessary to have future municipal solid waste landfill disposal capacity on-line when the Kekaha landfill phase II reaches its design capacity. The new landfill will provide a thirty-year municipal solid waste disposal capacity for the island of Kaua'i. The county is currently performing necessary planning and permitting tasks for a vertical expansion to increase the final elevation from sixty feet to an elevation of seventy-five feet, allowing an additional four to five years of additional solid waste capacity. Future landfill capacity must be developed within the next four years to meet the solid waste disposal needs of the island of Kaua'i, prior to the Kekaha phase II reaching its capacity.

The project scope will include tasks such as: an island wide siting study for a new municipal solid waste landfill, environmental impact statement and initial site report, a site feasibility study, obtaining land use permits, land acquisition, design, obtaining construction and operations permits, and construction to have future landfill capacity on-line when the Kekaha landfill phase II reaches capacity. The environmental impact statement is a more detailed disclosure document that is required under chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that analyzes the effects of the proposed project on the surrounding environment. The environmental impact statement identifies environmental concerns, conducts additional studies as necessary to obtain various relevant data, receives public input, evaluates alternatives, and proposes measures for minimizing environmental impacts. The feasibility report will provide an in-depth assessment of site specific information needed to determine an optimal design for the landfill. Activities under this task will include a topographic survey, hydrogeologic analysis, detailed geotechnical evaluation, and an engineering analysis and report to address grading, drainage, liner design, leachate, and gas collection. Land acquisition and design tasks will include facility design per state and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act subtitle D standards and obtaining construction and operating permits.

D. WAIMEA SEWER SYSTEM $450,000

(System Odor Control STP Extension & Upgrade for Reuse, Collector Rehabilitation)

There is an urgent need to plan for disposal of the additional effluent by upgrading the effluent quality for reuse through Kīkīaola's proposed master plan land use change. Pursuant to the county general plan, the Waimea treatment plan expansion is needed to support new development at Kīkīaola. Existing collector sewer lines within the Waimea area will need to be inspected and repaired as necessary. Since a high ground water table is encountered in this area, excessive infiltration will cause additional plant capacity problems. Odor control system is a primary concern that needs to be implemented.

E. LĪHU'E SEWER SYSTEM $400,000

(Upgrade Marriott Pump Station, Design Chemist Lab, System Odor Control)

In keeping abreast with stringent department of health rules regarding the safe operation of wastewater treatment plants, upgrading the Marriott pump station and plant chlorination system, and implementation of odor controls for the Līhu'e sewer system must commence soon. With the expansion of the Līhu'e wastewater treatment plant to 2.5-mgd capacity in 1996, collector sewer lines must be installed in non-sewered residential and commercial areas. The expected increase in population in the Līhu'e district will necessitate the eventual increase in plant capacity. This will require updating the facilities plan in conjunction with the island's general plan update. This long range Līhu'e facility plan will provide a strategic planning tool to focus on issues and funding priorities, give direction to programs, and provide higher level of certainty for developers and potential service customers, in addition to policies of wastewater reuse. The general plan requires that the long-range facilities plan be adopted by the county council and be updated every five years. Anticipation of additional department of health rules on the island's wastewater treatment plant operations will require a larger modernized chemistry laboratory for sampling and testing the treated water to comply with federal regulated standards on effluent discharges into the environment.

F. WAILUA HOUSELOTS DRAINAGE FACILITIES $1,100,000

(Hale'īlio, Lanakila, Ho'okipa, Nonou Roads – Remaining Phase I)

This project consists of plans, right-of-way, acquisition and construction of drainage flood control facilities and appurtenances for the Wailua Houselots area. Wailua houselots was originally subdivided by the State. Initially, the development was intended for agricultural purposes, but land use changes have resulted in urbanization. Because of the original intended use, the present drainage system consisting of open ditches and a few culverts is inadequate. Most of the storm run-off presently sheet flows through existing lots, and consequently, the houselots becomes inundated, causing damage and flood associated problems to the residents. Roadways also become inundated with storm water and access becomes limited. Construction of a drainage system and appurtenances will provide relief for all concerned. A drainage master plan for the Wailua houselots area, which was developed in 1976, consists of three increments of construction to abate the drainage and flooding problems. The county has, to date, developed construction plans and has completed the construction of phase IA of the Wailua houselots drainage system. Plans for the phase IA were developed in 1975-76 and constructed in 1976-77. Development of construction plans for the remaining portions of phase I, phase II (Eggerking, Pua and Kula roads) and phase III (Kihei and Kaulana roads) were completed in fiscal year 1976-77. An increment of phase I, called phase IA, was developed in fiscal year 1979-80.

G. EMERGENCY HOMELESS SHELTER $650,000

Kaua'i remains the only county in the State without a dedicated emergency homeless shelter. According to officials of Kaua'i Economic Opportunity, Inc., one of the few on-island nonprofit homeless program providers, between thirty-five and forty homeless help applications are processed each month. Further, in September of 2003, an estimated one hundred-eleven homeless persons took advantage of Kaua'i Economic Opportunity, Inc.'s "Care-A-Van" program that provides food, tents, clothing, medical care, and services providing assistance in filling out forms necessary to qualify for food stamps, welfare, Social Security, and rental assistance. Kaua'i Economic Opportunity, Inc. staff estimate between five hundred and six hundred other homeless persons receive various Kaua'i Economic Opportunity, Inc. services each year, with an additional two hundred "hidden homeless" who do not take advantage of these homeless services. It is estimated that the Kaua'i homeless could reach as high as one thousand persons. Kaua'i homeless figures could also be significantly impacted by those persons and families who are "at risk homeless," defined by the housing and community development corporation as, "(F)amilies or individuals who are being evicted within forty-five (45) days from private dwelling units or are being discharged within forty-five (45) days from institutions in which they have been residents for more than thirty (30) consecutive days; and (1) no subsequent residences have been identified; and (2) they lack the resources and support networks needed to obtain access to housing." Recent county efforts to reduce the homeless population in county parks and transition them into more permanent and safe living situations speak of an increasing concern to timely address this significant gap in our island's social safety net, but have also pointed out constraints caused by the lack of available and necessary support infrastructure. The county's endeavors to confront the pressing need for homeless "continuum of care" services is being coordinated with on-island private, non-profit, and community-based organizations and would be greatly enhanced by this level of State matching funding support for the establishment of a single emergency homeless shelter on Kaua'i.

SECTION 2. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the county of Kauai for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2004.

INTRODUCED BY:

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