Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Wednesday, June 29, 2016

      About 60 Ocean View residents at the meeting were unanimous in their message – the temporary transfer station is temporary, and the permanent one should be completed without further delay. 

Greg Goodale, the county’s Solid Waste Division Chief, joined Leithead-Todd and David in fielding questions about why plans for a permanent transfer station were abandoned and the temporary transfer station was substituted.
      Leithead-Todd opened with reasons for the long delay in developing a permanent facility makai of the Hwy 11 and establishment of a temporary one on land earmarked for “recreational” use among homes and adjacent to a park. She stated that although the facility was important, other projects with greater priority had intervened. She added that priority is usually given to wastewater projects in lieu of solid waste.
      She said the transfer station at Wai`ohinu has top priority because fire in rubbish containers damaged wooden beams supporting the retaining wall, risking collapse. The Ocean View transfer station should have been the next priority, she said. However, permanent transfer station plans were derailed by the state, according to Leithead-Todd.
      “We did not factor in the state Department of Transportation, which will eat up $2 million,” she said, going on to explain that Department of Transportation engineers wanted the county to pay for a left-turn lane and traffic lights. 

      Goodale said it was at that point that he started thinking of ways the temporary site could be improved with more services, such as HI5 services, which have been installed. 

      Linda Shutt questioned the need for “all these turning lanes and lights” and the high cost estimate.

      “Something is not right,” she said, to which another resident commented that if the usual cost of new roads is about $1 million per mile, why $2 million for a short widening?

      Ranchos resident Ann Bosted urged the county officials to make it easy and convenient for all residents to responsibly dispose of their trash, including computers, TVs, refrigerators, stoves and tires.

      “People should have more than a single day each month to legally discard a computer,” she said. 

      Bosted pointed out that members of Cave Conservation of Hawai`i, a nonprofit that owns lava tube properties in Ocean View, used to have to regularly clean out pukas two or three times a year. Since the temporary transfer station had made disposing of trash a lot easier, the natural pits are no longer being used as dumping grounds.

      Loren Heck, a member of the steering committee that drafted the Ka`u Community Development Plan, told the officials that the temporary transfer station could be shut down legally by anyone challenging it. 

      “We were not allowed to put a well there or a water tank,” he said. “Read the deed. It’s for recreation. It could be shut down any day.”
      Ocean View resident Tim Ent said, “I see big trucks turning left from the highway onto Aloha; I see cars turning left onto other HOVE streets. Everything is OK. Why is the DOT making such a fuss? Does this mean nothing new can be built? This stinks!”
      County Council candidate Raina Whiting asked about the interim options, to which Goodale replied that he could provide two-bin recycling in the short term and increased staffing, if approved by the next administration.
      Ocean View resident Mike Du Bois suggested that a bin large appliances should be provided at least once a month.
      Maria Schenkeir pointed out that dumped appliances, tires and large items, which are difficult to dispose of under current county rules, are lining the driveway on land that was purchased for the permanent facility.
      “This is just the same as your old-fashioned dump that was open 24/7,” she said.
      “Why are we spending money on the temporary transfer station when we could be building a permanent one?”
      “We need to get going on a new site, regardless,” Goodale answered.
      Shutt cautioned Goodale against expanding the facilities at the temporary site. “We don’t want the temporary one to be too comfortable,” she said. “This is a residential neighborhood. It’s next to a park – a really bad location. Keep your eyes on the goal,” she concluded, referring to the permanent site, which already has an approved building plan and a completed archaeological study.