Notes of Waimea Trails and Greenways - 6/1/09
Attendance:  James Komata, Bob Fitzgerald, Leningrad Elarionoff, Deborah Chang, Clemson Lam, Peggi Kamisato, Keith Wallis & Avi Okin

 

Purpose of Meeting:  To be updated on the status of all funding sources; David Imata's work; the Waimea Lodge easement; and the fencing needed prior to a community work day.

 

► The trail section past Kanu o Ka `Āina by the residential area and the stream will need to be realigned to higher along the stream bank.  Unfortunately this will bring the route closer to the homes (which won't please the homeowners). This is because the new County Flood Ordinance is very strict about filling in the flood zone.  Permits are now much more difficult to obtain to do anything in the flood zone. The trail must meet more regulations to do anything in the stream and the adjacent flood zone that qualifies as fill.
► Bike Fund is $155,000. Although the unused portion lapses at the end of the fiscal year, the fund gets replenished in the new fiscal year. This fund has been tapped to pay David Imata for some additional work.  It is also potentially for the fencing project.
► $2 million of County money is secure for the trail project.
► $3 million appropriation in CIP money has been requested.  However in order to obtain these funds, the County would need to float a bond.
► Increment 1 is from Lindsey Road to Kahawai Road. $600,000 of federal stimulus money (ARA) has been earmarked for the trail.  However, this is subject to satisfying the State DOT managers of  Federal Hwys. funding. WT&G must be put back on the STIP in order to receive the ARA (federal stimulus) money.  There is a deadline of the end of August to advertise for contractors. The state DOT managers need to be satisfied that the trail can meet that deadline in order to be eligible for the ARA $.
► David Imata is working with a hydrologist, structural engineers, landscape architect etc. to prepare the various permits required for work in and around the stream. These include CLOMAR (when building in the floodway); SCAP (from State Water Commission); 401 (State Dept. of Health-Water Quality); 404 (Army Corps); and NPDES. Stream work involved in Increment 1 includes two stream crossings (at Catholic Church and Lalamilo Research Station) and a stream embankment support needed at Carter Center.
► Mike Krauss completed his tree survey and out of 499 trees, he is recommending more than half be removed. This includes many invasive species as well as trees that vary greatly in size and height.  Many are already dead and/or dying.  All of the trees are marked and numbered.  However, removal of trees will affect the stability of stream banks which in turn may require amendments to all of the other stream-related permits. For example, the roots are helping to hold the more vertical banks together.  What will happen as the roots die?  What sort of mitigation measures should be taken, plantings? stream bank hardening? riprap?
► None of the stream-related permits have been submitted yet, and changing regulations and trail alignments and treatments often mean that the permit applications need to be amended to reflect those changes. Although the intended trail route has been known for a long time, actual trail locations and permit requirements have been changing.
► Fencing would need to be in the flood zone and partly in stream banks. County Dept. of Public Works will need to approve this.
► Archaeological Requirements:  This part of the EA was done by Gerald Park. At that time an archaeological survey was recommended by SHPD which included the Lalamilo Field System which is actually outside of Increment 1. Burials are possible. Camp Tarawa sites will be affected in Increment 1.  Federal Hwys. requires a Section 106 approval.  Will SHPD agree to doing the archaeological survey incrementally? Will they agree to construction monitoring? According to James, it appears that they won't agree to this. According to Deborah, SHPD seems willing to be more flexible. Deborah and James agreed to arrange a meeting with SHPD to clarify just what their requirements are for Increment 1. In two weeks, Federal Hwys. needs to be shown that permit applications are about ready to submit. This will affect the trail's eligibility for the $600,000 federal stimulus money. David has asked Cultural Surveys Hawaii for a proposal for a scope of work to do the required archaeological work.
► From Opelo Rd. → Kahawai Stream, the stream bank repair will need a CLOMAR, SCAP, 401, 404, etc.
► $600,000: if this money is lost to the trail, the Federal Hwys. local representative, Pat Phung, says he's committed to helping WT&G to be restored to the STIP list and regain federal funding.
► Question:  In the interest of getting started on the work and meeting the upcoming deadlines, can the focus be on satisfying all of the requirements for the stream crossings first? Work on the trail in-between the stream crossings can be pursued on an on-going basis. When culverts are planned, they need to make sure that the top of the culvert will be above the flood level. To do that, stream banks will need to be elevated. James will talk to David Imata about the idea of starting with the stream crossings.  David will need to talk to the hydrologist about the feasibility of this idea. Gerald Park will need to talk to SHPD about construction monitoring if just the stream crossing work is done to begin with.
► Question: Can the entire fence line be constructed? Need to talk to the Ag Station regarding where to put the fence. A blockage of the stream is there and needs to be cleared. Clearing would help to clarify where the natural stream flow is in relation to where the fence should go.  No one said they would follow-up with the station.  Parker Ranch has said it is OK to put the fence anywhere in the easement, but they will naturally be asked to approve the fence location ahead of its construction. The EA stated that Increment 1 would be entirely ADA accessible. This means strict limitation on the % slope for the trail tread. James will talk to David re: fencing at the two problematic areas.
► Lodge:  Greg said the easement matter is "in the trustees court."  James will call Greg for an update. Waimea Lodge has no incentive to grant the trail easement across their property.  County is willing to purchase an easement.  Condemnation is seen as a last resort by Parks & Rec. - an adversarial action that would be better to avoid.

 

By Deborah Chang