November 15, 2020 BOD Report Update

This project, which began in 2019 completed all of the actual paving work by last November.  HSCA crews continued work related to this project which included painting all of the lot numbers and lane lines and back filling shoulder edges in the upper portion of the subdivision.  Our crews have completed all of the painting work and have only two more streets than need to have the shoulders backfilled.  This project will be completed ahead of its schedule and quite a bit under the project budget, reducing our loan liability with the USDA.

April 15, 2020 BOD Report Update

USDA and HSCA staff conducted the Yamada Contract close out inspection. It appears all documents are in place to allow USDA to authorize us to make the final payment to Yamada and this payment will basically close the contact and pay the contingency.
HSCA crews finished painting all lot numbers, private property lines, stop bars and centerlines. We should begin limited roadway shoulder dressing/banking in the very near future and are looking at the Hawaiian Beaches trailer to see if we can modify so it can “side discharge” cinder soil.

March 19, 2020

January 29, 2020 BOD Report Update

Yamada and Sons Inc. completed all paving work, including our Honu Park parking lots in November.    This allows Yamada to submit their final bill which will include their retainage.      HSCA crews have completed 60% of the lot number and private property line painting, which takes us up to Manini. HSCA crews will also need to do some shoulder dressing/banking on some of the upper streets of the subdivision as the initial roadside cutback width and depth was larger than what was actually needed and we did not discover this until the first street was paved.  This work will be charged back to the USDA loan and should be completed by June.

It is clear that we will not need to borrow the entire amount of the USDA loan for this project and the new amount could be lower by approximately $300,000.  The loan term, payment amount, and whether or not we should consider adjusting payments and/or making annual additional principal only payments will be reviewed and options presented to the Board for the March, 2020 meeting. 

August 21, 2019 BOD Report Update

• Yamada crews have been on other projects since the last Board meeting. They plan on resuming paving work sometime during the last week of August.  I have reminded them that we also need to get from them pricing for the Puna Parkway change order as well as pricing for the parking lot paving and tennis court sealing.
• The traffic sign order has been placed with GP Roadway Solutions which will allow us to correct certain sign deficiencies and install no through truck signs in an effort to keep trucks off of our newly paved streets. Work also continues on lot number painting when it is not raining.
• I remain in contact with Alan Simeon from Hawaii County concerning the details related to the repaving of Papio Street and we have verbally discussed how our Yamada paving should be tapered/wedged to allow a smooth transition to meet their profile on Papio Street. Further conversations are anticipated as the work on Highway 132 progresses.  

May 19, 2019 BOD Report Update

• The Road Paving Project started with the installation of the project sign on May 7, 2019. Yamada has paved all streets between Aama Street and Hee Street and Hou Street and Kumu Street.  They also paved a short section of Mahimahi Street.  This basically puts them well ahead of their schedule and they are about 1/3 finished.   During the paving of the above streets Yamada noticed that there were certain areas where small humps could not be rolled out effectively.  It has been determined that this occurs whenever paving over excess amounts of crack seal material. Although, Yamada is smoothing these humps out manually with a plate compactor to meet the pavement smoothness specification a better surface will be achieved if minimal amounts of crack sealing material is present.  We have therefore decided to only seal dead end portions of certain  streets where there are a lot more cracks and to also seal the seams in the pavement that occur mostly at the intersections.  If any crack seal material is left after this it will be placed on the Honu tennis court before it is sealed.  HSCA crews continue work on roadway edging with work complete from Aama Street to Papai Street.  The edging work will be completed in June. Crews will also be documenting lot number locations and painting lot numbers/private property markings at least one week after paving as this time is required for the surface to be ready to paint.
• Hawaii County has agreed to repave Papio Street, replace the speed humps and the pavement markings after the completion of the temporary road along the State Route 132 alignment. This permits us to move forward with a change order to Yamada to pave Puna Parkway. We will also be placing no thru truck signs along certain streets after they are paved to ensure that Sanford/other large trucks do not drive on the new pavement and stay on Papio Street until the temporary road for State Route is opened.  

June 19, 2019 BOD Report Update

• The Road Paving Project started with the installation of the project sign on May 7, 2019. Yamada has paved all streets between Aama Street and Hee Street and Hou Street and Kumu Street.  They also paved a short section of Mahimahi Street.  This basically puts them well ahead of their schedule and they are about 1/3 finished.   During the paving of the above streets Yamada noticed that there were certain areas where small humps could not be rolled out effectively.  It has been determined that this occurs whenever paving over excess amounts of crack seal material. Although, Yamada is smoothing these humps out manually with a plate compactor to meet the pavement smoothness specification a better surface will be achieved if minimal amounts of crack sealing material is present.  We have therefore decided to only seal dead end portions of certain  streets where there are a lot more cracks and to also seal the seams in the pavement that occur mostly at the intersections.  If any crack seal material is left after this it will be placed on the Honu tennis court before it is sealed.  HSCA crews continue work on roadway edging with work complete from Aama Street to Papai Street.  The edging work will be completed in June. Crews will also be documenting lot number locations and painting lot numbers/private property markings at least one week after paving as this time is required for the surface to be ready to paint.
• Hawaii County has agreed to repave Papio Street, replace the speed humps and the pavement markings after the completion of the temporary road along the State Route 132 alignment. This permits us to move forward with a change order to Yamada to pave Puna Parkway. We will also be placing no thru truck signs along certain streets after they are paved to ensure that Sanford/other large trucks do not drive on the new pavement and stay on Papio Street until the temporary road for State Route is opened.  

May 15, 2019 BOD Report Update

• The Road Paving Project is just underway and Yamada has installed the project sign and plans to begin paving on during the week of May 13, 2019. HSCA crews continue work on roadway edging with work complete from Aama Street to Manalo Street. The second crack sealing machine and the crack seal material also arrived and crews continue work on crack sealing. This work is completed from Aama Street to Lakakea Street. We do need to place another order for the crack seal material as we use it up much faster with two machines. Crews will also be documenting lot number locations and painting lot numbers/private property markings at least one week after paving as this time is required for the surface to be ready to paint.
• The large parking lot at Honu Park has been crack sealed and probably should be either sealed or repaved. Repaving the lot would cost $27,000 at the current contract price. We also should get a price from Yamada to slurry coat/slurry seal the Honu tennis courts and compare this with the price to recoat/paint using our crews and Sealmaster products. The Sealmaster estimate was previously sent to the Board and totaled $13,000 to seal, paint green background/white lines, and add new posts and nets for both Honu Courts.

March 20, 2019 BOD Report Update

• The Road Paving Project loan did close on 2/22/2019. This has allowed us to meet with Yamada and they will begin paving on or around May 1, 2019.   Yamada estimates that they could conceivably finish the work in 3 to 4 months.  We will need to expedite our crack sealing effort to keep up with this aggressive schedule.   Therefore, the Board was asked via email vote to approve the purchase of a second crack sealing machine which would then be sold once we finish the work.

March 7, 2019

Road Resurfacing Project Update

HSCA has successfully negotiated a contract with Yamada and Sons Inc. for the resurfacing of the subdivision streets.  Yamada and Sons has indicated that they will be prepared to start paving roads on or around May 1, 2019.   They will begin work at the top of the subdivision between Aama Street and Ina Street.

HSCA crews are now preparing streets for paving by removing vegetation from cracks in the street, sealing the cracks and removing sod and vegetation from the street edges.   The removal of about 9 inches of sod from the street edges must be done to ensure edge to edge repaving.  It also must occur just prior to paving, with HSCA crews focusing on the section between Aama Street and Ina Street during the month of March.  Our crews will make every effort to clean up after this work and Yamada and Sons is tasked with sweeping or flushing the street just prior to placing the asphalt surface.

It is expected that all streets can be paved in a four to six-month time period, weather depending, and members will be given 3 days advance notice before their street is repaved.   Each street should be paved in one day and although emergency access will be provided, there will be times when the street is unavailable due to the paving operations.  We ask for your cooperation in coordinating your activities the day your street is paved. Please call of office at (808)965-8140 if you have any questions or concerns.

February 20, 2019 BOD Report Update

• The closing of the Road Paving Project has been scheduled for February 22, 2019. The USDA has approved the contract with Yamada and Sons and I am scheduling the preconstruction meeting during which we will set the notice to proceed.

January 16, 2019 BOD Report Update

• The contract for the Road Paving Project with Yamada and Sons Inc. still requires USDA state engineer approval. Although this may have been granted in December of 2018 I cannot verify its status until after the Federal shutdown.
• The closing of the Road Paving Project loan will most likely take place in January but this time frame will also be governed by the Federal shutdown.
• HSCA crews have removed and restored several areas of roadway where removing tree roots from our roadways is necessary. Work also continues on weed killing/sealing all cracks that have grass growing in them.  Once this work is done, the crews will resume crack sealing until the paving work begins.

December 20, 2018 BOD Report Update

• • The closing of the Road Paving Project loan will most likely take place in January but all paper work etc. has been submitted with the only remaining item the actually scheduling of the signing date.
  • The contract for the Road Paving Project with Yamada and Sons Inc. is nearly complete and only requires sign of by USDA which will happen at any time now. Yamada agreed to extending the time to fully execute this contract. Once this is done we will schedule the Pre-Construction Conference and establish a Notice to Proceed date. USDA is currently using the services of a State Engineer from Wisconsin and have added one additional staff member to their Hilo office.
  • HSCA crews are working on removing tree roots from our roadways and focusing on weed killing/sealing all cracks that have grass growing in them. Once this work is done, the crews will resume crack sealing until the paving work begins.

• •  

October 17, 2018 BOD Report Update

• The notice of award has been sent to Yamada and Sons Inc. and they are currently working on completing their portion of the contract. The contract is then reviewed by our corporate counsel and sent along to USDA for their final sign off.
• Spoke with USDA about their progress in acquiring some type of “State Engineer” sign off. They indicated that their state engineers are now being regionalized into pools which should help improve access to this service.   We have until November 12, 2018 to execute the contract and will request assistance from Senator Schatz’s office should USDA be unable to acquire state engineer sign off in a timely manner.

September 19, 2018 BOD Report Update

• The bids were opened on September 12, 2018 and the apparent low bidder is Yamada & Sons, with a total bid price of $1,828,105. The bid tabulations have been sent to USDA for their review and approval which is required before we can execute a contract
• Still waiting to hear if USDA has retained the services of a state engineer which will be required before we can sign a contract with the successful bidder. We have 60 days after the bid opening date of September 12, 2018 to execute a contract.  This time frame can be extended but only if the contractor agrees to hold their price.

August 15, 2018 BOD Report Update

• USDA has advised we are ready to close the road paving loan. The projects bid announcement was published on 8/8/2018 with a private bid opening date of 9/12/2018.
• Conducted conference call with USDA staff on 8/8/2018 and we discussed loan closings for both the roadway paving project and the water system cost overrun. The local USDA office still does not have their own state engineer and so these services may continue to be “farmed” out to another state office.

July 18, 2018 BOD Report Update

• Still waiting to hear about the outcome of the OGC’s review of the closing package. The closing date for the road loan can be set upon approval of the closing packet by the Office of the General Counsel.

June 20, 2018 BOD Report Update

• The preliminary title reports have been reviewed by local USDA staff and they have sent and are sending documents to the Office of the General Counsel for review. We did need to resend, previously submitted documents, as local USDA staff could not locate them.  The closing date for the road loan can be set upon approval of the closing packet by the Office of the General Counsel.

May 16, 2018 BOD Report Update

• TG Title has completed all of preliminary title reports. We will be coordinating the submission of documents required for review by the Office of the General Council with local USDA staff that has indicated that this submission might take place the week of May 21, 2018. The closing date for the road loan can be set upon approval of the closing packet by the Office of the General Counsel.

April 18, 2018 BOD Report Update

• TG Title has completed all but one of the preliminary title reports. As soon as they are done, the submission of documents required for review by the Office of the General Council can occur.  We are hopeful that a closing date for the Road Project will be set within the next two months.

March 21, 2018 BOD Report Update

• TG Title has been authorized to complete the preliminary title reports that were being delayed because of issues and concerns USDA was having with the security we were proposing for the road loan. The resolution of these issues permit the title work to continue and TG has finished four of the seven title searches that are required.  We expect that the Preliminary Title Reports will be completed in March which should permit setting the long awaited closing date for the road loan.  We also learned that both water parcels and both “Community Center” parcels were all combined into one TMK many years ago but the TMK maps were not updated. All four of these former parcels are now consolidated within one TMK.  We will need to separate out the larger of the parcels should HSCA decide to develop the land that is directly behind the Community Center.

February 21, 2018 BOD Report Update

• We finally spoke with USDA on 2/5/2018 and came to an agreement on using our land parcels are security for the road paving project loan. The USDA is now assembly documents for the Office of the General Council.  A closing date can be set after the Office of the General Council reviews and approves these documents.

January 17th, 2018 BOD Report Update

• USDA recommended to us that we submit to them a list of all of our property parcels, except for the roadway parcel and that we include in this list, the Hawaii County valuation and also what we believe each parcel is worth, including any facilities on the parcel. We also estimated the value of our water system and had this checked by EPI to establish a basis for further loan collateral.  USDA is reviewing this information and is supposed to contact us late this week to see if they are comfortable moving forward with the loan closing and whether or not more title work is needed.
• Crack sealed two streets since the last Board meeting and also cracked sealed the Honu Park parking lot since we were sealing Honu Street.

December 20th, 2017 BOD Report Update

• Contact with USDA seems to indicate that they should be able to work with us to resolve the remaining issues related to security for the road loan and their ability to place mortgages on all our parcels except for the roadway parcel. We continue to consult and meet with them and also continue to keep our congressional delegation informed and involved as needed.
• Crack sealing will resume in January provided that we do not have to provide a great deal of time assisting Isemoto crews with the lateral end cleanout installation.

November 15, 2017 BOD Report Update

• • • Title Guaranty omitted items from their original title searches and both they and USDA wrongly concluded that we did not have clear title to the roads. Their confusion was based on the fact that the roads were quit claimed deeded to us as a part of an bankruptcy reorganization and not transferred via a typical warranty deed.  This has again delayed the closing but we are hoping to get the process moving along again.
    • Crack sealing is set to begin again in late November and early December with a goal of completing one street each week

    October 18, 2017 BOD Report Update

    • Title Guaranty has just completed preparation of the preliminary title reports for the loan closing and these have been forwarded to the USDA for their review. We continue to closely monitor the progress toward setting a closing date but progress since out meeting with the USDA over two months ago has been fairly slow.
    • The bid package for the road paving is ready to go out with just a few minor date changes required and the 30 day advertising period will begin the minute we are made aware of the road loan closing date.
    • Crack sealing was put on hold this past month, given that the road loan closing has been delayed and also because of other crew work priorities and the demands placed on crews for assisting Isemoto staff as we are required to show them where certain components within the “thick” jungle are and we must also escort them across private property to access the water easement. Crack sealing work will resume in November and we will need to order more crack seal material at that time as well.

    September 20, 2017 BOD Report Update

    • USDA continues to work with Title Guaranty to assemble the closing package for the Road Paving Project. It appears that the closing for this loan will now more likely be in October.   We will advertise for bids as soon as the closing date is determined.
    • I attended and briefly spoke at an information meeting on the condition of private roads within subdivisions that was sponsored by State Representative Joy San Buenaventura. The discussion included an update on the Highway 130 project, the process to make private roads public, an update on the area planning documents and brief comments from a few HOA’s related to how they currently maintain their roads.
    • Crack sealing is completed through Hee Street and crews will be working from the top to the bottom of the subdivision, as weather permits.

    August 16, 2017 BOD Report Update

    • The status of the road paving project loan was also discussed with USDA on August 10, 2017. USDA indicated that they had all the information they needed to request loan closing instructions and that they expect the loan closing date to be in late September or early October.
    • The bid package an specifications for the road paving project have been reviewed and approved by the USDA. We will be prepared to advertise for paving bids as soon as the closing date is determined.
    • Crack sealing is completed through Au Street and crews will be working from the top to the bottom of the subdivision, as weather permits. Additional crack seal material has been received and the crews are getting a great head start on completing this work.

    July 19, 2017 BOD Report Update

    • Board President worked with Senator Schatz’s office in an effort to contact USDA and move the road paving project closer to a closing date and to ensure that the water project cost overrun funds are available before the funds currently allocated run out. This effort has resulted in a closing date in about 60 days for the road loan and one in 3 to 6 months for the water project cost overrun which should be sufficient to meet our needs.
    • The Project Manual/Bid Packet has not been reviewed by USDA and we believe that the
      state engineer who would have reviewed them is no longer with USDA. We are in the
      process of trying to determine how this review will take place and if we should be
      working with another USDA office that has a state engineer able to complete the review
      in a timely manner.
    • Crack sealing is completed through Aholehole Street and crews will be working from the
      top to the bottom of the subdivision, as weather permits. Additional crack seal material
      has been order and will be shipped directly to the warehouse.

    June 21, 2017 BOD Report Update

    • Have been working with USDA the past several months trying to ensure they have everything they need to set up a closing for the USDA low interest loan for the road project. We believe we have submitted most everything they require and have asked Title Guaranty Co. to set up escrow.  We are awaiting confirmation from USDA that they have requested closing instructions from their legal counsel and have been advised that this is among their work priorities but that it is also not currently at the top of the list.
    • Completed the preparation of the Project Manual/Bid Packet and have submitted this to USDA for their review. This document must be reviewed and approved by the USDA and we also have to have a closing date established for the loan before we can go out to bid.
    • Crews have begun to prepare the streets for paving by both edging away any vegetation from the roadside edges and filling any large cracks with crack seal material. Work is beginning at the top of the subdivision and will proceed toward the ocean with a plan of staying at least 30 days ahead of the paving contractor.

    March 13, 2017 Update

    The low interest loan application for USDA assistance in repaving the 11.5 miles of streets within our subdivision has been approved in the amount of $2,050,000. We are working closely with the local USDA office to set up a closing date for this loan. We will be able to advertise for bids for the repaving work as soon as the loan closes which we anticipate will occur in mid to late summer of this year. This work will move along quite quickly once the loan is approved as there is not a need for the preparation of design plans. We already have our specifications prepared and are working on the bid package.   We also now believe, after meeting with a contractor, that this work could be completed within a calendar year of the notice to proceed.