Pahoa residents came to an informal consensus Wednesday regarding their preferred location for a planned new library and transit hub.
Both a new public library and a bus hub have been planned for Pahoa for years, with both projects eventually consolidated into a single site last year. Since then, a list of 13 potential locations was whittled down to 11, and then three final candidates.
At a public meeting Wednesday, community members narrowed those three down to one superior option, while voicing their other desires for how the site is developed.
The three sites presented to attendees Wednesday were all very close together: Site 2, located in between Puna Kai Shopping Center and Pahoa Marketplace; Site 8, just south of Puna Kai; and Site 9, just south of that Site 8. The first two candidates are similarly sized at about 10 acres, while the third site had only about half that.
But after a brisk discussion, attendees agreed that Site 2, between Puna Kai and Pahoa Marketplace, is the only option worth considering.
“It isn’t like we’re sitting here with a choice,” said resident Jon Olson, explaining that the first two proposed sites are directly adjacent to a state-owned forest reserve that could be tapped for expansions of the project, or could serve as an alternate project location should the owners of the proposed site decline to sell.
Olson also claimed that Kahakai Boulevard marks the boundaries between Lava Zones 2 and 3, and that only Site 2, which is north of Kahakai, would therefore be eligible for federal funding that is unavailable to sites in Lava Zone 2. However, government maps indicate that Kahakai Boulevard and all three proposed sites are squarely within Lava Zone 2.
Resident Amedeo Markoff added that Site 2, being located on Kahakai, will keep large buses from taking up limited road space further south on Keaau-Pahoa Road.
A majority of the roughly 20 residents attending Wednesday’s meeting favored Site 2 through a show of hands — as did County Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh.
After attendees hashed out their site preferences, the discussion turned to preferred features of the project. While Melissa May, an outreach lead for contractor SSFM International, said that no design work has begun because the site selection has not been finalized, she presented a list of possible amenities for both the transit hub and the library for attendees to choose from, such as outdoor meeting spaces, playgrounds, e-bike charging stations, gardens and more.
“Every one of those options should be here,” Markoff said, to applause from the audience. “Pahoa is underserved as it is.”
A draft environmental assessment for the project is currently being developed, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of July, when another community meeting will be held. The final draft should be completed by the end of the year.
Residents can learn more about the project and submit feedback and ideas at pahoatransithub.info.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.