Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi today delivered his second annual State of the City address.
Blangiardi discussed the city’s top priorities, which include homelessness, affordable housing and the rail.
Budgets for public safety and infrastructure projects are also prime concerns for the 2022 calendar year.
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The budget is designed to restore confidence, faith and trust in the city and county of Honolulu, Blangiardi said.
Homelessness was the first issue discussed. The mayor detailed the Crisis, Outreach, Response and Engagement program, or CORE, which launched in October.
The program, which focuses on medical, social and mental health resources, involves separate teams of first responders that respond to nonviolent emergency calls involving the homeless. 17 community health workers are now working on CORE, with that number expected to expand by the end of the year.
Blangiardi also offered an update on the rail. The original full-funding grant agreement (FFGA) signed by Mayor Peter Carlisle in 2012 called for 21 stations, 20 four-car trains and 20 miles of track that would run from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.
A plan announced today, subject to authorization by the Federal Transit Administration, provides for 19 stations and 18.75 miles of track that spans East Kapolei to Civic Center Station in Kakaako. The new downtown endpoint is 1.25 miles and two stations short of the primary design.
So far, 75% of the guideway is complete and 18 car trains have been received.
Blangiardi anticipates the first operating segment to be turned over to the city by the end of 2022 or early 2023. Following a 90-day trial running period, the project is expected to provide service from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium.
Solutions have also been reached for wheel-rail alignment problems and manganese weld repairs, Blangiardi said.
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Blangiardi said affordable housing demand exceeds housing inventory at all income levels. Among other measures, the administration is targeting land acquisitions for future development, as well as purchasing existing properties for renovation and adaptive reuse.
Blangiardi urged lawmakers to forward Bill 41, which lays out rules for short-term rentals. Under the proposition, all bed-and-breakfasts and transient vacation rentals will be banned except for those with legal permits. The bill’s objective is to stop the expansion of short-term rentals into residential neighborhoods.
Emergency Medical Services, which has played an important role in Hawaii’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will transition to a city funded and operated agency, away from the state.
Despite ramped-up recruiting efforts across all city department, there are approximately 322 openings in the Honolulu Police Department. On a wider scale, the City and County of Honolulu has more than 3,000 vacancies. Blangiardi plans an aggressive recruiting campaign to fill the open positions.
Watch the livestream video above.
