Minutes

The Lake has not been opened in November and will probably not be opened this month. The permit only allows for emergency openings. Bob will send a letter to the Corp of Engineers citing a decrease in water quality and an increase in algae and requesting an opening. He will include a new calendar with optimal opening dates. The last clean-up had a few more volunteers. Frank Schumann has donated use of a large container and Dan O’Brien has donated a back hoe which cuts the work in half. Cindy reports that the 6 acres of land next to the wetlands have been purchased by Richard Wheelock and zoned R-5. As many as 42 homes may be developed. There is some discrepancy in the criteria for what qualifies as a wetland. Because the wetland protects the lake from sediments and pollutants in residential runoff, it is important that the wetland portion of the lots is preserved. Cindy will draft a letter from ELRA emphasizing the need to protect the function of the wetland as it relates to the watershed. Sue will sign the letter and it will go to the Corp of Engineers, City Building Dept and DOH. It was emphasized that the draft of the amendments is a work in progress and it is important to get feedback. Discussion included comments on having more then we need rather than finding we needed more later.

A mediator has been selected and a meeting should take place within two weeks regarding the Delta Claim. DOH has yet to respond to the violation of the Clean Water Act. The Facebook site is up and running. The General Lake Liability plan has been increased with now 5 million coverage. The siphon project has not moved forward. The City has a new drainage permit. The berm has not been opened this month and optimum opening dates will be the week of the 21st. Lake elevation is currently 1.52 ft. which is average.

Pono Pacific has completed the clean-up with the removal of 1200 cubic yards of algae. They worked a total of 1707.25 hours on 43 days. Kelly showed the board the Facebook page which she has designed and will debut at the annual meeting. The berm was opened on schedule and allowed for a fair flushing. Bob shared a letter he sent to Thomas Takeuchi which described the water levels connected with the opening. The opening may have aided in decreasing the algae. Bob is scheduled to remove sandbags placed in an effort to control sediment run-off during Delta construction.

Board members viewed the day’s harvest of algae which had been delivered to Cindy and Hugo’s property. There was much discussion about the extension of Pono Pacific’s contract and what can be accomplished in the time remaining. $40,000 has been spent with another $10,000 due to complete the contract. Bob B and Bob S met with Delta and the attorneys in August. Claims totaling $250,000 were presented. No settlement response has been received. It was decided that the board would like more information from the attorney as to the cost of legal actions and the percentage of a successful conclusion. Bob will set up a meeting for the board with the attorney. Ron submitted a permit draft and received a response which asked for more modifications. Kelly attended the KNB meeting and was able to make contact with a representative from the mayor’s office. The Dept of Facilities has promised a berm opening in September. Optimum dates would be Sept 26, 27 or 19th in that order. The siphon project needs to be rewritten.

Bob B circulated a lake map which indicates which areas have been cleared of algae by Pono Pacific. They are approximately 50% finished. Bob has been coordinating with Pono Pacific daily and the goal is to remove 20 cubic yards/day. There will be a meeting on Wednesday with the attorney, Bob B and Bob S to submit a total to Delta for the clean-up which includes $190,000 for 3 months of cleaning. A settlement would stipulate no further contamination of the Lake. Bob S has contacted American Marine for a dredging estimate. Ron Rickman received a letter from the Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism stating that the Coastal Zone Management requires mitigation proposals and plans and monitoring plans for the permit. Bob B sent a letter to the Army Corp of Engineers and was told that the deadline for comments on the berm openings was last December. There is a permit ready to be signed but no bulldozer can be used. Work must be done with a long reach backhoe and it is broken. Kelly will contact the enforcement officer.

Kelly reported that Pono Pacific was the only company to provide a bid for the algae removal. A contract which includes removal and disposal for under $30,000 has been signed with ELRA providing some of the labor. They are scheduled to begin orientation this week and start work on Monday 7/18/11. The work should take 25 days. We have not heard from Delta recently and the 10 day deadline for a response will be next week. There have been four Lake clean-ups to remove algae. One clean-up was covered on KITV news. Bob B has invented a scooping method using fencing on the front of the boat which works well. Kukilakila has been very helpful in assisting with the clean-ups and allowing use of the boat ramp and disposal bin.

Bob B reports the result of a test harvest in two areas, by Kukilakila and Kimo’s Cove. They were able to harvest 3 cubic yards per hour. There is an estimated 500 cubic yards of algae in the Lake which would fill 50 dump trucks. The algae may double every 4-10 days. The recent rain affected the water but not the algae. Use of our emergency funds for cleanup of the algae was discussed. Ron and Nicole took 20 bags to the dump (with many problems) and state that it smells really bad. The algae dries to a 10%weight. Efforts to be reimbursed through the attorney will continue and she is meeting with Delta on Thursday. Analysis of the soil and algae collected by the drain closest to the construction run off showed increased iron content. There was a motion from Franklin to commit up to $30,000 for work to clean-up the algae bloom. Bob S has suggested that we offer forgiveness of past fees and penalties for residents in exchange for a commitment to keep current on fees for 5 or 7 years. He feels that now is a time when we must present a united front to the public as well as maintain revenues. Bob B reports that the initial mangrove is 75-80% removed.

Bob B has had conversations with several City officials about the berm situation. KNB also had committed to sending a letter to the City. Bob B was able to coordinate a project with about 75 marines to clean up the park at the entrance to Kailua. There was a clean-up last month. There will be another one this week which will concentrate on the algae bloom in an attempt to quantify the problem. Bob B states that history supports the conclusion that the algae are a result of the construction run-off from recent storms.

Ron reported discussing the dredging project with Farley Watanabe and he states that an agency coordination letter will go out this week. We are asking for a letter of permission which gives us 5 years to complete the project. There is no permit on the horizon for the berm openings but the Lake is currently healthy from the rains. There have been two mangrove clean-ups on the stream and participation has been poor.

Bob B will send a letter to Kioke Miyamoto of the City Division of Facilities Maintenance outlining reasons for pushing the permit process forward. Copies will also be sent to the Army corps of engineers and the politicians. Bob B attended a seminar off island today on BMPs and was able to share frustrations over the Koapa subdivision problems. Bob B and Cal attended the March Community meeting and reported on the Koapa issues and our attempts to contact the DOH about the failure of their BMPs. KNB members have been invited on a Lake tour and Cal and Bob will take some out on Saturday.

Board members shared their ideas on what we want the public to know. The berm was opened by tractor and firemen last week during a rain event.

There was discussion about a recent blog from Malia Zimmerman which contained much misinformation. Bob B did send her an email and asked her to contact him with no reply. It was felt that responding further to her would not be productive. Her information did not include steps for preventing sewage spells or dealing with the fragile ecosystem. Bob S suggested that the association should send out regular press releases that should also include a mission statement. The berm opened naturally and with some assistance during the recent storm and was open for 14 days. The opening was 150 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Right now the Lake level is down as a result of dropping tide levels. The sand has been shifting as the surf directions change and has resulted in more sand in the mouth of the canal.

Bob B has a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for dredging of the boat ramp. It is good for 1 year. The Lake must dispose of the solids up to 25 cubic yards. Kukilakila has agreed to the dredging as long as there is no cost to them. Ron shared a “Public notice of request for permit”. Nicole sent a response letter emphasizing the importance to the Lake.

An archive of older minutes. Click the links on this page to read minutes from ELRA board meetings that took place between March 2006 and November 2010.