Saturday, June 27, 2015

Neighborhood Board Hears Residents' Concerns About Elder Care, Trucks, Alcohol & Drugs

Local residents brought a variety of concerns to the June meeting of the Kaneohe Neighborhood Board.

Elder-Care Appeal

Norman Kawamoto made an impassioned plea to allow his parents to live together in the care home of their choice, and passed out a petition asking Board members and the audience to sign it. Mr. Kawamoto's parents, Noboru and Elaine Kawamoto, would like to use their own funds to live together in a state-subsidized care home. State law limits such homes to one private-pay client. If the Kawamatos qualified for Medicaid, the restriction would not apply.
The Legislature considered the Kawamotos' situation earlier this year but took no action. The Kaneohe Neighborhood Board approved a resolution in May urging Gov. David Ige to intervene in the situation, but there has been no action by the Governor's Office.

Truck Traffic Complaint

Residents complained about large trucks traveling at high speed on old Kaneohe Bay Drive. A representative from the Mayor's Office said that placing weight limits on the road would prevent many services from being provided to K-Bay Drive homes. However, a Board member noted that exemptions for local deliveries have been made on other streets.
Heavy trucks also have drawn complaints from residents along Kulauli Street, which gets regular use related to construction of a sewer tunnel from Kaneohe to Kailua. The city has said the extent of the damage has led it to accelerate plans to repair the street.

Worries About Alcohol, Drugs

A local resident complained about the 4 a.m. official closing time for bars. He testified that late night fights are common, as are drug dealers servicing clients in bar parking lots. 
Board member Bill Sager brought up the problem of a local resident who is being impacted by a marijuana farm and related drug activities in her neighbor's yard.  She said that late at night, the neighbor burns rubber, probably to mask the odor of a meth lab. Another resident testified that he has four drug houses in his neighborhood and asked the police to deal with them.
Board Chairman Mo Radke recommended re-establishing the Board's Cabaret License Committee. No one stepped forward to volunteer during the meeting.

1 comment:

Kaneohe Neighborhood Board said...

A recent check shows the contractor for the Kaneohe/Akahi tunnel project responded quickly to the traffic complaint. Project trucks hawling spoils from the tunnel project are well within the posted speed limits. All trucks are covring their loads and the water truck is careful to cut off the watering while passing parked vehicles. The road has been patched and is in reasonable shape except in front of Puahala School where it badly broken up and is patches on top of patches.