|
Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Bulky rubbish in Kahaluu
will be cleared
Question: About two months ago, someone dumped bulky rubbish near my home in Kahaluu, in front of an empty lot at 47-745 Kamehameha Highway. It is on state or county property on the highway. The Kaneohe bulk rubbish office said the owner is responsible. We have tried numerous times with no success to get the bulky rubbish people to pick up these items. More and more people see this and bring more rubbish. What is the job of the bulky item people? They just try to pass the buck. Can you get this matter taken care of? We are people of Hawaii who pay taxes, and this trash is along the main highway where tourists pass by every day.Answer: The trash was to have been carted away by the bulky item crew of the city's Division of Road Maintenance by today, or at least this week.
The situation was similar to a dumping problem nearby on Ahaolelo Road, which the crew had already disposed of, according to a staff member in the Road Maintenance Division.
"It is a problem," he said. "Once people have dumped (trash at a certain spot), then it tends to attract more people dumping. They figure it's an OK place to dump. Unfortunately, the city has to come in and take away crews from other jobs for this work."
However, he pointed out that, under city ordinance, a property owner is responsible for maintaining the area fronting his/her property. That not only includes the sidewalk area (either improved or grassy), but also the gutter portion of the street.
Road maintenance officials were consulting with the city Department of Planning and Permitting, which has the authority to cite property owners for not maintaining the frontage area, to clarify the issue of responsibility in both the Ahaolelo Road and Kamehameha Highway cases.
While the city Refuse Division handles bulky item pickups in urban Honolulu, the Road Maintenance Division has that responsibility for rural districts. One designated bulky item pickup truck, plus a couple of flatbed trucks, handle bulky item pickups generally about every two weeks in rural Oahu.
While the city will clear up the mess on Kamehameha Highway, "unfortunately, it's almost like we're rewarding (the illegal dumpers)," the road maintenance official said.
Because it is becoming such a problem, his office has been working with police to more frequently monitor the known dumping grounds and cite people for littering.
He said the public can help by calling police at 911 and reporting any such sightings.
Auwe
I had a senior moment Sunday, June 22, when I left our video camera, bag and four months of memories on the roof of my pickup truck near Windward Mall in Kaneohe. I drove by City Mill and Koa House and ended up at Roy Sakuma Ukulele Studio around 9:30 a.m., when I discovered my stupidity. -- Ed Tilton (478-6784 cell)Readers: Kokua Line doesn't normally publish lost-and-found items, which are handled in the Star-Bulletin's classified advertising section. In the future, call 529-4800. There is no charge for "found" ads; it costs $12.95 to place a "lost" ad (four lines/seven days).
|
Useful phone numbers
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com