Friday, February 10, 2012

City and County of Honolulu News

 
Official website of the City and County of Honolulu
 
  You are here:  Main / Customer Services / Public Communications Division / 2012 / 02/10/12 Mayor Carlisle To Join Philippine Trade Mission
 

MAYOR CARLISLE TO JOIN PHILIPPINE TRADE MISSION

 

(Fri., Feb. 10, 2012)—Mayor Peter Carlisle will participate with the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii in the 22nd Annual Trade Mission to the Philippines from Sunday to Wednesday to promote Honolulu and encourage investment, tourism and cultural exchanges.

 

"Honolulu's historic, cultural and family ties with the Philippines are deep and strong. The annual trade mission is a very successful program that the City is proud to support," Carlisle said.

 

The event is sponsored by the Filipino Chamber and will include workshops co-sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Economic Development to help entrepreneurs from both countries learn about business and investment opportunities.

 

Carlisle will meet with officials and business leaders in Honolulu's five Philippine sister cities: Baguio, Cebu, Laoag, Manila and Vigan. He will also attend similar meetings in Badoc and Pasuquin, meet in Manila with U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas, and tour Manila's rail transit system.

 

The mayor will return to Honolulu on Thursday, February 16.

 

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Media contact: Louise Kim McCoy, Mayor's Office, 768-7798.

 

City and County of Honolulu News

 
Official website of the City and County of Honolulu
 
  You are here:  Main / Customer Services / Public Communications Division / 2012 / 02/10/12 2012 Affordable Housing Income Limits
 

 

2012 AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCOME LIMITS

 

(Fri., February 10, 2012) — The Department of Planning and Permitting has released the 2012 affordable housing income limits, which are used to qualify purchasers and set prices for affordable units as part of Unilateral Agreement conditions adopted in zone change amendments.

 

            The information is key because it is used by developers to set home sale prices based on income groups and household size. Developers are typically required to provide a certain percentage of affordable units in a housing project when land is rezoned to permit the residential community.

 

            The income limits are determined annually based on the annual median income set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This year, HUD determined that the city's median income is $82,700, up from $81,600 last year.

 

            A complete list of the 2012 affordable housing income limits and maximum prices by income groups and household size is available at the DPP website, www.honoluludpp.org/Planning/AffordableHousing/AHWebPage.pdf.

 

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Media contact: DPP Planner Eugene Takahashi, (808) 768-8035.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

City and County of Honolulu News

 
Official website of the City and County of Honolulu
 
  You are here:  Main / Customer Services / Public Communications Division / 2012 / 02/09/12 City Rolling Out Online Camping Permit System
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                         February 9, 2012

 

 

CITY ROLLING OUT ONLINE CAMPING PERMIT SYSTEM    

 

(Thurs., Feb. 9, 2012)—Mayor Peter Carlisle announced today that the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) will implement an online camping permit reservation system on March 9, 2012. Camping permits are issued two weeks in advance and this new application will allow users to apply online for individual campsites in the City's 17 parks that allow camping. Once the system begins, users can apply online every Friday at 5:00 p.m.

 

            Effective March 9, 2012, camping permits will no longer be issued at Satellite City Halls due to the availability of the online system. However, camping permits will continue to be issued in person at the DPR's Permits Section, located on the first floor of the Fast Municipal Building, 650 S. King Street. 

 

            "Online camping permits offer flexibility, increase efficiency and reduce the need to stand in line for camping permits," said Department of Parks and Recreation Director Gary Cabato. "We want to thank the Department of Information Technology for their part in developing this online system and the Customer Services Department for their assistance over the years in issuing these permits through the Satellite City Halls."

 

            For more information about the online camping permit system, you can call DPR at 768-3001 or go to http://www1.honolulu.gov/parks/camping.htm

 

 

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Media contact: Albert Tufono, Department of Parks & Recreation Deputy Director, 768-3002

 

 

 

City and County of Honolulu News

 
Official website of the City and County of Honolulu
 
  You are here:  Main / Customer Services / Public Communications Division / 2012 / 02/09/12 Mayor Carlisle Announces City Savings on APEC Event
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                  February 9, 2012

 

MAYOR CARLISLE ANNOUNCES CITY SAVINGS ON APEC EVENT

 

(Thurs., Feb. 9, 2012)—Mayor Peter Carlisle today announced that hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November cost the City less than $21 million—which is less than half the $43 million that had been budgeted for the prestigious international event.

 

"Hosting APEC was a challenging task, and Honolulu did a remarkable job," Carlisle said. "We made sure everything was in place to ensure a safe, smooth event that made Honolulu proud, while keeping expenses to a minimum."

 

Final costs for hosting APEC were calculated this week. The savings will offset increased electricity and fuel costs for other City operations, which have risen substantially due to increased world energy prices.

 

The money spent on APEC paid primarily for supplies, equipment and personnel from the Police, Fire and Emergency Services departments to ensure the safety of President Obama and other visiting dignitaries from APEC's 21 participant economies, and to minimize traffic disruptions. The City has applied for reimbursement from the federal government for some APEC-related costs.

 

The Honolulu Police Department expended $10.5 million of the $18.3 million allotted for APEC in fiscal years 2011 and 2012. "Due to excellent city, state, federal, and private sector partnerships and extensive preparation, Honolulu was fortunate that we did not have any large protests, allowing for the $7.8 million savings," said Police Chief Louis Kealoha.

 

Fire Chief Kenneth Silva said the Honolulu Fire Department saved approximately $2 million through prudent planning, management and implementation of its APEC security plan. HFD strengthened relationships with other government agencies, added new equipment, and implemented new policies that have improved the department, he said. "In short, HFD's participation in APEC benefitted Oahu's citizens and visitors by creating a more robust and dynamic emergency response force," Silva said.

 

Department of Emergency Management Director Melvin Kaku similarly attributed the savings in his agency to carefully coordinated joint training exercises among stakeholders.

 

The Department of Transportation Services spent approximately one third of its $1 million budget for the APEC conference, resulting in a savings of more than $600,000. "This budget reflected assumptions for an event of a magnitude never before held in Hawaii," said DTS Director Wayne Yoshioka. "As such, the amounts estimated for APEC were based on conservative estimates of cost, both in labor and current expenses."

 

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Media contact: Louise Kim McCoy, Mayor's Office, 768-7798.

City and County of Honolulu News

 
Official website of the City and County of Honolulu
 
  You are here:  Main / Customer Services / Public Communications Division / 2012 / 1/09/12 Mayor's Statement Regarding Ethic's Advisory Opinion
 

MAYOR'S STATEMENT REGARDING ETHICS ADVISORY OPINION NO. 2011-6

 

(Thurs., Feb. 9, 2012)—Mayor Peter Carlisle provided the following statement regarding Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 2011-6:

 

"Making sure that all of us in the City and County of Honolulu comply with the city's ethical standards is a top priority for me. Last May, the Taiwan and Chinese governments invited me as the Mayor, my wife as First Lady, City Councilmember Stanley Chang, and two staff members with the City Office of Economic Development to promote Honolulu in their cities and enrich bilateral interactions during the month of June. The Taiwanese and Chinese generously offered to pay for these trips through a gift to the city.

 

"I immediately initiated an inquiry on May 9, 2011, with our ethics commission to confirm that Mrs. Carlisle's travel expenses could be paid via the gift. The commission noted that no prior administration consulted with them on this issue and there was no procedure in place to address travel by a spouse of an officer or city council member. The Ethics Commission did not provide their advice until now. In the meantime, I had notified the City Council that Mrs. Carlisle would participate in the delegation and the City Council unanimously approved the travel gifts. Mrs. Carlisle accompanied me on the June 2011 trip and appeared at events as Honolulu's First Lady.

 

"The commission concluded that it was 'reasonable for a city official to think that the Council Gift Policy might permit gifts to the city for the use by the mayor's spouse if that use is related to some event.' However, the commission recommends that because the City Council's approval did not explicitly state that the travel for the mayor's wife was for a public purpose, that I reimburse the city for my wife's travel or in the alternative, have the City Council make a specific determination that Mrs. Carlisle's travel was for a public purpose.

 

"The invitation for Mrs. Carlisle did not originate with me or my staff, but with the foreign governments. I understand that international protocol, particularly in Asian countries, considers the mayor's wife a part of the leadership team of the city. Having her attend an economic and cultural exchange, which is what happened here, demonstrates an interest in building relationships between governments. I was advised by both the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and Chinese Chamber of Commerce that Judy's presence was important to the donors as they viewed her as the First Lady for Honolulu. It is my understanding that prior city officers had accepted similar gifts for travel for themselves and their spouses without ethical repercussions.

 

Monday, February 6, 2012

City and County of Honolulu News

 
Official website of the City and County of Honolulu
 
  You are here:  Main / Customer Services / Public Communications Division / 2012 / 02/06/12 Rail Project Receives Green Light from FTA to Advance Construction
 

HONOLULU RAIL PROJECT RECEIVES GREEN LIGHT FROM

FTA TO ADVANCE CONSTRUCTION TO NEXT LEVEL

 

(Monday, February 6, 2012) − The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) received permission today from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to move forward with the next phase of construction of Oahu's rail system.

 

The FTA's approval was announced by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, who said he would continue do everything that he can to support the project and to direct federal funds to ensure its timely completion.

 

"We would like to thank Senator Inouye and our congressional delegation for their strong support. We also appreciate the FTA's willingness in working collaboratively with us to keep this project moving forward," said Toru Hamayasu, HART's Interim Executive Director and CEO. "This means we will begin to move to the next phase of construction, which includes work on the foundation and pillars for the guideway along the first half of the rail alignment, as well as work on our maintenance and storage facility."

 

The latest federal approval clears the way for additional construction on the first half of the elevated guideway from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, as well as work on the project's Maintenance and Storage Facility and three of the project's stations in Waipahu.

 

Work on the rail system's foundation and columns is scheduled to begin shortly, Hamayasu said. The City last year began relocating utilities along the Ewa portion of the rail route from East Kapolei to Pearl City as part of preliminary construction.

 

"We are pleased to receive this latest approval from the FTA that allows us to keep the project on track," said Damien Kim, chairman of HART's Project Oversight Committee. "With revenues coming in higher than projected, and costs running below our estimates, the rail project is moving in the right direction. This project will provide a much-needed boost to our local economy and create thousands of jobs. Once completed, rail transit will be the heart of an efficient multimodal transportation system to help deal with our island's increasing traffic congestion in a way that is consistent with Oahu's development plan."

 

The 20-mile rail transit system from East Kapolei to Ala Moana is expected to open in 2019. For a copy of the FTA's latest approval and for updates on construction work days and times, visit the project website at www.honolulutransit.org or contact our hotline at 566-2299.

 

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Media Contact:  Scott Ishikawa, (808) 768-6172, cell: (808) 227-2350.