The Hawaii County Council voted Wednesday to reject $1.5 million for a study of possible alternate routes into Puna before immediately calling for a do-over and accepting the funds.
The council ultimately voted to approve Bill 107, a measure that would accept $1 million in state grants and $500,000 in county funds to develop a Puna Makai Alternate Route Study — a long-requested project that could eventually reduce traffic congestion and improve emergency access in Puna.
Puna Rep. Greggor Ilagan, who was instrumental in allocating the funding in 2021, told the Tribune-Herald he expected Wednesday’s meeting to be a simple matter, a quick formality during which the funds would be accepted. But council members initially voted to refuse the money before taking an unusual second vote in favor of the bill.
Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, who introduced the bill, was joined by Kohala Councilwoman Cindy Evans, Kona Councilwoman Rebecca Villegas and Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy to vote down the bill for various reasons.
Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said he voted against the measure on the grounds that the study would only encompass lower Puna and not upper Puna areas such as Volcano and Kurtistown.
“We all end up on the Pana‘ewa stretch, no matter what route you take,” Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said. “That’s everyone coming from Ka‘u, Volcano, Mountain View, Pahoa — we all end up at the Shipman intersection, together. … Puna’s one district, we all use one road to get in and out of Hilo.”
Evans was critical of the measure, saying it doesn’t clearly define the scope of the project, while Villegas did not give a reason for her no vote.
Lee Loy said her vote stemmed from concerns about the impacts of any alternate route on Hawaiian Home Lands in Pana‘ewa.
After the initial vote to reject the bill — and a 10-minute break — Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder immediately moved to reconsider the measure, nullifying the results of the previous vote.
“My feelings haven’t changed, but there is a need in our community,” Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said. “I’m hoping that what was said today was heard, but I also don’t want to jeopardize state funding for such an important issue.”
Following that motion, Villegas and Evans also walked back their votes, although Lee Loy again voted no.
Villegas summarized the “pickle” the council put itself in: “(We’re) trying to make a statement, but also don’t want to bite off the hand that feeds us.”
Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz chided her fellows for how they handled the vote, saying that such posturing sends a message to state government about whether the council is willing to collaborate for important projects.
That message was evidently heard loud and clear: Ilagan told the Tribune-Herald after the meeting that the turn of events was bewildering and frustrating.
“I wanted to do my best to partner with the county. I went to the meeting to answer their questions,” Ilagan said. “To go before the County Council and get that kind of response, shows a lot of disrespect.”
Ilagan said it was “not an easy process” to get the state funding allocated to the project in the first place, and for a simple bill to accept that funding to be disrupted by a rhetorical vote based on concerns that can be addressed once the funding is in place was “not professional.”
“I wanted to be as productive and collaborative with the county as I could,” Ilagan said. “Bringing a new road to a community is hard enough anyway.”
The bill must still pass a second reading at a future County Council meeting.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.