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Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board Meeting OCTOBER 2023 Minutes
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With Permission / Courtesy of: City and County of Honolulu Neighborhood Commission Office

DOWNTOWN-CHINATOWN NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD 13

October 2023 Minutes

DRAFT WRITTEN SUMMARY FOR VIDEO RECORD

THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2023

PRINCESS RUTH KE�ELIK LANI MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY & WebEx

6:00 PM

The video record of this meeting may be found on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeWr-eKeeFU.

Referenced reports and other meeting materials may be found in the month-specific folder of the NB 13 public-facing Google Drive on https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1F4DdI9R8Er12TNf6Bl-yb4p4EW0-68vu.

I. CALL TO ORDER - [0:00:03]: 6:00 pm

Chair Ernest Caravalho called the Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board 13 meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Quorum was established with six members present; this nine-member Board requires five members to establish quorum and to take official Board action.

Members Present: Robert Armstrong, Ernest Caravalho, Sean Fitzsimmons (6:16 pm), Ross Isokane, Kevin Lye, Lori McCarney, Travis Thompson.

Members Absent: Kevin McDonald and Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock.

Guests: Firefighter III Hyrum Nihipali (Honolulu Fire Department); Sergeant Brandon Shiraishi (Honolulu Police Department); Leonard Kam (Chinatown808 & Chinese Chamber of Commerce); Corrane Park-Chun, Teresa Fonseca (Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency); Shawn Hamamoto (Office of the Governor); Richmond Luzar (Office of Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam); Sara Thron (Office of Senator Karl Rhoads); Iris Oda (Honolulu Board of Water Supply); Harry Cho (Hon-olulu Authority for Rapid Transportation); Greg Payton (Mental Health Kokua); Lee Stack (Chinatown Improvement District); Laura Sturges, Ronald Higa, Elizabeth Conklin, Patrick Smith, Germaine Meyers, Charles Jonsson, Chang Chang, Janice (resi-dents); Kevin McDonald (present but not acting as a member of NB 13), Dylan Buck (Neighborhood Commission Office). Names were not included if not recognized or not legible on the sign-in sheet; there were as many as 40 unique attendees.

II. PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTS - [0:00:40]

Honolulu Police Department (HPD) - [0:00: 53]: Lieutenant Shiraishi reported the following:

• September 2023 statistics: Seven motor vehicle thefts, 4 burglaries, 33 thefts, 4 unauthorized entries into motor ve-hicles (UEMV), 9 assaults, 2 sexual assaults, 8 drug offenses, and 1,664 total calls for service. Crime mapping statistics may be found on https://www.honolulupd.org/information/crime-mapping/.

• Safety Tip: Driver & Pedestrian Safety - As pedestrian traffic increases on Hallowe'en, please be cautious of pedestri-ans crossing behind parked vehicles and shrubbery; slower speeds save lives.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed [0:03:03]. Resident Janice inquired about addressing noisy vagrants and re-quested evening foot patrols. Isokane again requested additional historical data about staffing for HPD foot and beat patrols. Lye complimented the recent re-illumination of the HPD Chinatown substation foyer but noted officers watching a game show on one of three wide-screen monitors ostensibly installed for monitoring live video feeds from the new security camera sys-tem, and conveyed a series of "Which is more illegal?" slides for review by Lt. Shiraishi.

Fitzsimmons joined the meeting at 6:16 pm; seven members present.

Fitzsimmons asked for updates about a recent gunshot-incident injury within the district and asked why statistics supporting claims of recent decreases in crime in the district were not readily available.

Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) - [0:20:31]: Firefighter III Nihipali spoke to a report and relayed the following information:

• September 2023 statistics: One structure fire, 3 nuisance fires, 7 activated alarms (no fire), 109 medical emergencies, 1 motor vehicle crash/collision with pedestrians, and 10 motor vehicle crashes/collisions.

• Safety Tip: Fire Prevention Month - This year's theme for Fire Prevention Week is "Cooking Safety starts with You"; for more tips and information, visit https://fire.honolulu.gov/.

III. PRESENTATIONS - [0:22:54]

Event Announcements - Chinatown Open House/Choy Cheng, Chinatown New Year Celebration, Night in Chinatown Festival and Lunar New Parade - [0:23:04]: Leonard Kam (President of Chinatown808 and Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii Event Chair) announced the following:

• Annual Open House/Choy Cheng Night - Friday 2 February 2024 (6:00 pm to 10:00 pm): Most Chinatown streets will be closed during the event.

• Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration - Friday 2 February 2024 (5:00 pm to 10:00 pm) and Saturday 3 February 2024 (9:00 am to 10:00 pm): Chinatown Cultural Plaza.

• Night in Chinatown Festival and Lunar New Year Parade - Saturday 3 February 2024; see https://chinatown808.com/nightinchinatown/.

o Festival (7:00 am to 10:00 pm): At �A�ala Park and along the closed portion of Beretania Street.

o Parade (4:30 pm to 6:00 pm); route: start at State Capitol, along Hotel Street, end at River Street.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [0:28:00].

Honolulu City Lights - [0:31:59]: Coranne Park-Chun and Teresa Fonseca (City and County of Honolulu) relayed information about the Honolulu City Lights Public Workers' Electric Light Parade; see https://www.honolulucitylights.org/.

• Date/Time: Saturday 2 December 2023 at 6:00 pm; staging and drop-off is at �A�ala Park.

• Parade Route: start at 'A'ala Park, along King Street, end at Alapai Street; street closure information is being finalized. Food and activity vendors will be stationed along Punchbowl Street.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [0:34:45].

Installation of a Plaque on Fort Street for Dolores Mollring for her 27 years of service as a Downtown-Chinatown Neighbor-hood Board Member - [0:36:34]: Laura Sturges highlighted the history and accomplishments of her late mother, and an-nounced that the Chinatown Business Community Association and Councilmember Dos Santos-Tam plan to install a ground-level plaque near Fort Street to honor Dolores Mollring.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [0:42:34].

[0:44:25] - Isokane MOVED and Armstrong SECONDED to support the installation of a plaque dedicated to Dolores Mollring. The motion WAS ADOPTED 7-0-0 (Aye: Armstrong, Caravalho, Fitzsimmons, Isokane, Lye, McCarney, Thompson; Nay: None; Abstain: None) - [0:44:38].

IV. PUBLIC CONCERNS - [0:45:01]

Cancellation of Hallowbaloo 2023 - [0:45:55]: Chair Caravalho announced that Hallowbaloo 2023 had been cancelled.

Additional items and public testimony are presented as labeled IV. within the NB 13 public-facing October 2023 Google Drive folder.

V. ELECTED OFFICIALS - [0:46:17]

Mayor Rick Blangiardi - [0:46:34]: No representative present; a newsletter and a memorandum addressing announcements and certain questions posed at prior meetings were submitted.

Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam (District 6) - [0:47:08]: Richmond Luzar spoke to a report, highlighted Bill 44 (relating to monster homes), and requested support from the community regarding upcoming legislation against game rooms.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [0:49:24].

Senator Karl Rhoads (District 13) - [1:05:06]: Sara Thorn spoke to a report and highlighted the following: the State did not re-ceive federal funding for the H-1 Cap Park project; the Red Light Safety Program (RLSP) only issues citations for running red lights (and not for illegally turning on red) and 6,877 RLSP citations have been issued to date; and COVID-19 cases are on the rise again.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:07:04].

Representative Scott Saiki (District 26) - [1:09:22]: No representative present, no report submitted.

Representative Daniel Holt (District 28) - [1:09:33]: No representative present, no report submitted.

Governor Josh Green - [1:09:49]: Shawn Hamamoto spoke to a report, highlighted a flyer about the Hawaii Fire Relief Housing Program, and provided responses to certain questions raised at the prior meeting. To receive the Governor's newsletters, contact (808) 586-0034 or gov. communications@hawaii.gov.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:14:43].

McCarney left the meeting at 7:16 pm; six members present.

VI. MONTHLY REPORTS - [1:18:50]

Board of Water Supply (BWS) - [1:18:58]: Iris Oda spoke to a flyer about the BWS �Imagine a Day without Water' event on Sat-urday 21 October 2023 at Wahiawa Freshwater State Recreation Area from 10:00 am. to 2:00 pm.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:20:07].

Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) - [1:22:22]: Harry Cho reported lane closures in the Downtown-Chinatown community as HART's contractor continues utility relocation work: Nimitz Highway (Mondays through Saturdays from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm), various right-turn lanes from Nimitz may be closed intermittently, and Nimitz cut-off to Iwilei Road (Mondays through Saturdays from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm).

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:26:08].

Safe Haven - [1:33:58]: Greg Payton spoke to a report and highlighted that Safe Haven (Mental Health Kokua) has officially moved out of Pauahi Hale (126 Pauahi Street) so that the City can repurpose the building, Safe Haven has downsized its pres-ence in the community by about 50%, and all residents of Pauahi Hale have been relocated to other housing facilities.

Chinatown Improvement District (CID) - [1:35:21]: Lee Stack reported that CID received positive feedback from its Autumn Moon & Lantern Festival (held Friday 29 September 2023) with over 500 attendees, highlighted that it was great to see the park being properly utilized by the community, and noted that the event resulted in the creation of more than 130 lanterns which will be strung throughout Chinatown. Photos from and more information about the event may be found on https://www.facebook.com/ChinatownImprovementDistrict/.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:37:29].

Chinatown Business Community Association (CBCA) - [1:40:57]: Chair Caravalho spoke to a report and highlighted that the CBCA 14th Chinatown Heroes banquet is scheduled for Saturday 21 October 2023 at 6:00 pm at Legend Seafood Restaurant.

Neighborhood Citizen Patrol - [1:42:18]: Kevin Lye presented images and reported observations by the patrol from July and August 2023, including pedestrians improperly impeding bus traffic, civilian vehicles in restricted areas of Hotel Street, a sten-torian homeless individual requesting pharmacologic assistance for a diagnosed neurologic disorder, concepts for later locat-ing homeless individuals seeking assistance when the CORE program employees are off duty, sundry incidents of ostensible trespassing across the Downtown-Chinatown region, total sidewalk obscurations and bike-lane blockades by apparently illegal homeless encampments, flesh wounds sustained from a dog owned by the occupant of such an encampment, a curiously ele-vated fire hydrant extension on a lower Pali Highway sidewalk, homeless encampments outside the middle school hosting the Neighborhood Board meeting, presumably absconded shopping carts, a cache of supplies on a pedestrian bridge across Queen Emma Street near Royal Elementary School, illegal feeding of feral birds throughout the district, shattered door-pane glass, brazen and increasingly vulgar graffiti, a growing homeless encampment on the grounds of the State Capitol, discarded belong-ings lining the pathway to kauhale in the Department of Health parking lot, and public urination near the bus stop at Beretania and Punchbowl Streets. Lye announced that there will be no hosted patrol for the months of October and November 2023; the patrol is scheduled to resume in January 2024 on the second Tuesday of every month, departing at 7:00 pm from outside the Diamond Head Tower lobby of Kukui Plaza [GPS: 1261 Fort Street]. Please bring a friend and a camera, join the patrol, and help identify areas of concern within the community.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [1:48:44].

VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - [1:52:49]

Resolution 2023-006 - Regarding Preliminary Social Media Tenets for the Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board 13 - [1:52:54]: The draft resolution proposes clear rules and guidelines for the Board to adhere to regarding the operations of their Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board 13 Facebook Group. [1:53:11] - Isokane MOVED and Fitzsimmons SE-CONDED to defer this resolution indefinitely. Discussion followed; Isokane and Fitzsimmons recommended deferring action. Lye noted that it was not clear if, for example, the NB 13 Facebook Group permitted anonymous posting, and that Board mem-bers without Facebook access would need to rely on other members with such access in order to serve as Group administra-tors as established earlier. Thompson noted that pre�mptive action appeared to be a better policy. [2:02:02] - Without ob-jection, Isokane withdrew his motion with the understanding that this resolution will be discussed at the December 2023 reg-ular meeting.

VIII. APPROVAL OF WRITTEN SUMMARY OF VIDEO RECORD - [2:02:30]

Thursday 3 August 2023 and Thursday 7 September 2023 Regular Meeting Written Summary for Video Record - [2:02:36]: Updated drafts of the written summaries were posted for review by members [August and September 2023]. [2:02:53] - Lye MOVED and Isokane SECONDED to approve both Written Summaries for Video Record as amended by Lye. The motion WAS ADOPTED 6-0-0 (Aye: Armstrong, Caravalho, Fitzsimmons, Isokane, Lye, Thompson; Nay: None; Abstain: None) - [2:04:54].

IX. NEW BUSINESS - [2:05:01]

Board Concerns - Communication with Chair to request items of business to be placed on the agenda per Neighborhood Plan section 2-14-11C(1), C(2) in order to create more efficient and effective meetings - [2:05:03]: Chair Caravalho introduced this item and explained that he would appreciate the Board's cooperation in submitting their agenda item requests in a timely fashion to create more efficient and effective meetings, and commented that in the past, members would use the �Community Concerns' section of the agenda to discuss their Board-related concerns and emphasized that if such concerns were properly listed on the agenda they would eligible for deliberation and potential action.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [2:05:40]. Lye presented an explanation of the apparent misunderstanding by OIP regarding an earlier request to consider inclusion of a period allocated to expression of Board Members' Concerns on future agenda documents, and noted an errant removal of a pertinent and critical carriage return in Neighborhood Plan §2-14-111(c)(2).

Board Concerns - Motion to request Board members to not edit nor tamper with files uploaded to the Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board's Google Drive, including but not limited to renaming of files uploaded by others - [2:07:44]: Chair Cara-valho introduced this item and explained that all board members have the ability to edit the Board's Google Drive by uploading any appropriate meeting materials, and requested that board members refrain from editing items in the Google Drive that they did upload themselves, including the renaming of files without consent of the member who originally uploaded the file.

Questions, comments, and concerns followed - [2:09:22]. Lye expressed grave concerns about the logistics of the request inasmuch as such relates to renaming files posted to a public-facing Google Drive folder, noted impracticalities in tracking down timely permission of a file-poster to relabel a file after the monthly meeting agenda is published�or if additional files are posted to the public-facing Google Drive folder after the agenda is posted�in order to synchronize filenames with agenda enumerators (to facilitate review of same and ease progress through a given meeting of the board), and proposed a return to the Google Drive lockbox system employed in prior terms, which preserves the ability of all members to submit files to a Google Drive as requested, and permits the assigned Neighborhood Assistant to scan and submit surface mail addressed to the Board or the Chair in care of the NCO office. Char Caravalho noted that he would consider the recommendation.

X. ANNOUNCEMENTS - [2:14:35]

Next Regular Meeting - [2:14:35]: The next meeting of the Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board 13 is scheduled for Thursday 2 November 2023 at 6:00 pm at the Princess Ruth Ke�elik lani Middle School and by Webex.

Rebroadcast - [2:14:48]: Rebroadcasts of Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board 13 meetings are scheduled on � lelo channel 49 every third Thursday at 9:00 pm, as well as 9:00 am on the third Saturday of each month. An archive of past meet-ings may be found on https://olelo.org/olelonet/ by searching on . A subset of video records of NB 13 meetings may be found on https://www.youtube.com/@cityandcountyneighborhoodc2559/search?query=downtown%20chinatown.

Archive: Find a trove of handouts and referenced materials appurtenant to Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board 13 on https://tinyurl.com/ycksd4e7.

XI. ADJOURNMENT - [2:15:20]: The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm.

Submitted by Dylan Buck, Neighborhood Assistant

Reviewed by Naomi Hanohano, Community Relations Specialist

Finalized by Kevin Lye, Secretary, Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board 13

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First Friday Hawaii News Item

Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board Meeting OCTOBER 2023 Minutes

DOWNTOWN-CHINATOWN NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD 13

First Friday Hawaii
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