Answer confuses Hawaiian Shores man at Puna CDP meeting
Keaau, Hawaii – Video by David Corrigan
During a Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee meeting this week, Hawaiian Shores resident Mark Mallory asked county engineer Galen Kuba if the rumor is true: Is the Department of Public Works suddenly listing private roads in county inventory?
Kuba surprises Mallory by answering “yes”… for the first time, in the hopes of getting the most federal funding possible, the county is counting private roads with public roads. Kuba says the amount of dollars received from the Federal Highways Administration is partially based on the miles of roads counted in Hawaii’s “road census”, of sorts.
The funds must go through the state of Hawaii, and Kuba admits he can not say if any of the funds will be used to help the ailing private roads on the island.
The lack of funding from the government to maintain the private roads on the island, many of which exist in Puna subdivisions used by the public, has been a hot issue for years.
