Lisa: What's being done by the City Council to help with affordable housing? There isn't enough affordable housing and people are suffering for it.

Cachola: We're in the process of reviewing the city's five-year consolidated plan for affordable housing to see where we can put affordable housing projects where needed. This is very important, since there is a move to sell all the city's affordable rental projects. We cannot sell all these properties at the same time. Spacing is needed in the sale, so that the money realized will be used for affordable housing and not given back to the federal government. Lastly, the sale should be subject to keeping those units affordable in perpetuity.

Tina: Since Salt Lake is not even a 10-minute drive away from town, do you really believe Salt Lake residents would give up their cars to ride rail?

Cachola: Absolutely yes! Members of the Salt Lake Neighborhood Board went out in the community to poll residents on whether they would ride the fixed rail, and the response was an overwhelming yes.

I believe the number of riders would be even greater if the Salt Lake Boulevard alignment is given the same number of stations (four) as the airport.

Tracy: Do Salt Lake residents know what kind of negative impacts the rail will have on their community?

Cachola: As to negative impacts, most if not all residents are negatively impacted by noise and traffic delays caused by construction projects. In the long run, I believe the benefits of the fixed guideway system will far outweigh the negatives.

Also, Salt Lake Boulevard has one distinct advantage over the other alignment. Since Salt Lake Boulevard is owned by the city, there will be less obstacles to overcome such as right of way acquisition (condemnation of private property) and other possible issues.

Jason: What's your justification for going through Salt Lake rather than the airport? That seems to be something more important to you than it is to the general public. Also, what makes you more qualified to select the technology needed for this project over the proposed panel of experts?

Cachola: For the record, I have always been in full support of a fixed guideway system for O'ahu through Salt Lake Boulevard.

The city administration has proposed the establishment of a panel of experts to select the technology for Honolulu's primary corridor rapid transit project. Although the city could benefit from the knowledge and experience of such a panel, two aspects of the current plan are troublesome.

First, under the current plan, the panel's project technology selection would be final. The council cannot and should not abdicate responsibility for the ultimate selection of transit technology. The council retained this authority in Ordinance 07-01.

Second, the current plan cuts the public completely out of the project's technology selection process. Those with the greatest stake in the project outcome, O'ahu's people, must be given, at a minimum, a chance to provide the panel its input on transit technology options that are consistent with the locally preferred alternative.

In the interests of having the best technology selected for this $5 billion project, O'ahu's residents must be given an opportunity to comment on transit technologies before the technology selection by the council becomes final.

Ed V: It seems to me that most drivers clog up the freeways when going to and from their work. The major employment industries seem to be the tourist (aka Waikiki), defense (aka Pearl Harbor, etc) and probably UH. Why isn't the rail designed to areas where people need to get to work?

Cachola: The alignment covers most of those areas you just mentioned. Pearl Harbor, based on my independent research, has approximately 9,500 civilian employees. Hickam has roughly 2,900 civilian employees and the airport has about 2,000 public and private employees. These numbers pale in comparison to Salt Lake Boulevard's 70,000 strong residents who represent a solid ridership base and who pay the lion's share of the funds needed for the fixed guideway system.

As for Waikiki, it is still undetermined where the route will go. Because of this uncertainty, the airport alignment should be built in the future, concurrently with a spur into Waikiki. That, also, I would fully support.

June C.: I've lived in the Foster Village-stadium area for more than 30 years. I would like to know how you stay connected with your constituents. What concrete things have been done for my area? Crime is higher and the races at the stadium are terrible for residents living nearby. Why can't something positive be done with Stadium Mall? There is so much potential there, but where are the innovative ideas?

Cachola: I have a full-time staff assigned to cover the Foster Village-Aliamanu-Salt Lake-Lower Halawa community. She goes out into the community at least two times a month in response to various constituent concerns. I also send annual newsletters to residents in Council District VII to update them on projects and concerns my staff and I have been working on. I and my staff also attend monthly neighborhood board meetings to listen and respond to the community's concerns.

As for crime, I have worked closely with several neighborhood security groups in my district. HPD officers regularly attend the neighborhood board meetings and are very aware and responsive to crime and other concerns.

Unfortunately, development of Stadium Mall is not the responsibility of the city, so I cannot comment on that.

KailuaMom: What are the city's plans to expand its recycling program? In many other places around the world, residents dutifully recycle and can live with trash pickup twice a month.

Cachola: The city is now in the midst of two recycling pilot projects in Mililani and Hawai'i Kai. The plan is to implement a citywide recycling program after a review of the two pilot projects.

Jo: Why are the property taxes so high? What's being done to help the low-middle income families?

Cachola: Property taxes are dictated by current market conditions. In spite of this, the council has reduced property tax rates for owner-occupied homes, as well as for ag properties and other residents whose incomes are less than $50,000 per year.

Debra K.: What are your key priorities for the coming year? There are some pretty hefty issues facing taxpayers out there and I'd like to hear what you think about them.

Cachola: First, to increase the number of affordable housing units. Second, to pursue the fixed guideway system for the city and county. Third, to ensure that core city services, such as public health and safety, are funded in the city's next budget cycle.

All of these need funding and therefore we should look at all available federal and city funds, as well as public-private partnerships.

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