Plants and Watering on Lanais

House Rule III.B.5 states:
“Containers must be placed under all pots in order to avoid the dripping of water. In cleaning lanais and watering of plants, residents shall prevent water from running down the exterior of the building or damage resulting from leaks into apartments below.”

Remember that damage applies to parked cars, too!

To prevent water from dripping over the lanai, here are some suggestions:

1. Water plants in the sink or shower. Take hanging plants down and wait for excess water to drain before hanging them back.
2. Don’t over water. Grow plants that don’t require much water like orchids.
3. Don’t use pots with drainage holes for plants that like moisture, such as anthuriums.
4. For pots with drainage holes, use a saucer. Be careful not to water more than the saucer can hold. It is also a good idea to drain the saucer afterwards rather than letting the water sit. You can also double pot plants where the larger outer pot doesn’t have drainage holes.
5. Use light-colored pots. Dark pots tend to absorb heat, which causes water to evaporate faster.
6. Use self-watering containers to avoid plants from getting root rot from sitting water. For an ornamental touch, you can also try self-watering globes.

For tips on cleaning your lanai while preventing muddy water from dripping over the edge, we found this excellent article:
https://balconyguide.com/how-to-clean-apartment-balcony/

Support for Bill 23

Bill 23 basically states: No trash pickup from private refuse companies before 6 a.m.

Bill 23 must be placed on the agenda for the Transportation, Sustainability and Health Committee by Wednesday August 17. The hearing date for the committee is August 23.

Here are a few reasons why:

1) If council members would not tolerate being abused by way too early morning trash pickup, as early as 2:30 a.m., then neither should anyone else.

2) This is an embarrassment to city council members as Honolulu may be the only city in the country that allows trash pickup as early as 2:30 a.m.

3) It is a no-brainer that residents should be protected from way too early morning trash pickup, as early as 2:30 a.m.

4) It is simply the right thing to do.

5) No one deserves the abuse of being awakened as early as 2:30 a.m. by the beeping, banging, and clanging of private refuse trucks.

6) Any objection that private refuse companies may have against trash pickup beginning at 6 a.m. can be resolved.

7) Sleep deprivation has a profoundly harmful impact on health and quality of life.

8) If the city can pick up trash beginning at 6 a.m. for its tens of thousands of households, then private refuse company owners can do the same for their much smaller number of clients.

Greater action is needed from all of us to move the bill forward.

Information about Bill 23 is on the website: www.TheTrash.us

A special thank you to Carlino Giampolo for composing this article.

April Is Earth Month!

Earth Day occurs every year on April 22nd. However, you can participate in helping the environment year-round by remembering to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Did you know you can recycle your cans and bottles right here in our building? In case you missed it, you can read all about our recycling program in a previous blog: Happy Earth Day!

Here are Earth Day events happening in and around our community published by the City and County of Honolulu.

CELEBRATE EARTH MONTH
Throughout the month of April, residents can visit www.maukatomakaiexpo.com for activities, educational materials, and to view upcoming events. Kama’aina can also complete a scavenger hunt while visitng the Waikīkī Aquarium to receive a free swag bag full of educational goodies, limited to one per household while supplies last.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Join us April 9th at the Waikiki Aquarium
Come view as volunteers create a chalk mural and banner! Guests will also have the opportunity to “stop, drop and chalk” to create their own drawings on the sidewalks within the aquarium.



April 23rd with FREE admission to the Waikiki Aquarium for first 100 kama’aina.
Enjoy educational activities from a number of local organizations and earn a free native plant (one per household, while supplies last).



Get into the Earth Day spirit on April 22nd with the Waikīkī Aquarium! Contribute to ocean conservation by removing litter along the Waikīkī coastline!
Register by signing up today! 
https://forms.gle/ZEkdPHd8YFWAqnhv6



April 23rd at the Waikiki Aquarium
Free workshop with hands-on instruction on how to manage stormwater sustainability at home.  Full registration details can be found at https://bit.ly/GSIWorkshop22


Earth Month Volunteer Opportunities- Click here for details


Congratulations to those that participated in this years competition!  Tune in on April 20th to view the awards ceremony on cable channel 49 or on demand at olelo.org/49


Take the pledge and join over 300 residents who are helping to protect our local waters!
Copyright © 2022 City and County of Honolulu, All rights reserved.

Community Policing Team

HPD’s District 6 Community Policing Team (CPT) strives to be the liaison between the general public and patrol officers. According to their web page, “CPT uses the philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.”

To keep up with the latest policing events happening in our neighborhood, check out their web page:

Every month, CPT publishes a newsletter containing useful and important information. Check out this month’s edition here:

https://oahusurf2.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/February-2022-Newsletter-with-Flyers.pdf

Get involved and help make our community and safer place to live.

Amending the Fire Safety Ordinance

The surge in costs resulting from the pandemic impacted our building’s spalling repairs and painting project. Combined with the current Fire Safety ordinance, these large expenses have put a financial strain on budget projections. This is why your Board of Directors is in favor of amendments to Bill 37, currently pending in the City Council. The ordinance being proposed by Bill 37 requires high-rise buildings to install fire sprinkler systems or pass a Life Safety Evaluation (LSE). The amendments will provide some relief to associations that are facing financial challenges. Here is an article published in Building Management Hawaii that goes into detail about amending the Fire Safety ordinance:

https://oahusurf2.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2021-12-Bld-Mgn-mag-FSE-Jane-Sugnura.pdf

Love Our Trash Chute?

The trash chute is now open again!  It was closed due to misuse. To avoid a permanent closure and/or a fine, use the trash chute in a proper manner.  Remind neighbors if you witness them breaking any of the following rules:

• NO BOXES.  No pizza boxes, no shoe boxes, no Amazon boxes. Take them down to the dumpster and break all boxes down flat. Put Styrofoam peanuts and packing material in a bag and dispose of in the dumpster. We don’t get trash service on Sunday mornings, so especially on weekends, PLEASE BREAK DOWN YOUR BOXES FLAT AND CARRY IT DOWN TO THE DUMPSTER.

• NO LOOSE ITEMS.  BAG ALL TRASH.  Don’t like roaches and rats? Do not dump trash down the chute without a bag. Any infestation will cause an immediate closure for cleaning and fumigation.

• NO FULL 13 GALLON KITCHEN BAGS.  If you have to shove it through the door, IT WILL NOT GO ALL THE WAY DOWN. The chute will be stopped up, another reason for roaches and rodents. If it happens, the chute will be closed immediately and perhaps permanently.

• NO BAGS OF DOG POOP AND KITTY LITTER.  To dispose of these items, take them directly down to the dumpster.

• NO LEAKY BAGS.  Is your bag dripping? DOUBLE BAG IT! An extra bag is cheaper than a fine. After this building remodel, hallways will be maintained for cleanliness. Make sure that all bags are securely sealed.

• FOR LARGE ITEMS, GO ONLINE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.  If your trash is large like pieces of furniture or things that won’t crush (metal, wood, etc.), go to Opala.org to schedule a bulky item pick up.

Mahalo for your cooperation!

Be Safer with AlohaSafe

When you live in a condominium, you’re bound to come within 6 feet of other residents in the lobby, elevator, and other common areas. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we all must wear masks when outside (at least for the next 100 days, President Biden’s first executive order). There are people carrying the coronavirus that won’t know it until they get tested and are notified with a positive test result. Once they do, they are advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and notify people they’ve been in close contact with. The Department of Health will notify the places they’ve visited as part of their contact tracing procedure. Strangers who have had close contact with the infected person may never get notified. However, thanks to technology, there’s a solution.

AlohaSafe is a mobile app for iPhone or Android that will notify you if you were in close proximity to someone who reported being tested positive for COVID-19. It uses your mobile phone’s low-energy Bluetooth running in the background to detect your proximity to others and doesn’t share any of your personal information. The AlohaSafe Alert app is the official app of the Department of Health and is based on Google/Apple’s Exposure Network (GAEN). To download the app, go to https://alohasafealert.org or search for “AlohaSafe” in the App Store or Play Store.

For exposure notification to work effectively, everyone must use the app. Therefore, let’s spread the word and not the virus.

Monthly Professional Pest Control

In an earlier blog, we mentioned various DIY treatments to rid an apartment of ants and roaches. If the “pesty” problem still persists after trying those techniques, we recommended hiring a professional licensed exterminator.

Well, this year we’ve made it convenient for our residents to have a professional treat your bathrooms and kitchen, if needed. For the special price of $20 per treatment, you can signup to have the exterminator service your apartment on a 2nd Tuesday of the month. The exterminator will be on premises from 9 AM to 12 PM.  Simply sign up for service using the signup sheet in the lobby, or text the RM your unit number and the month you would like service.

For the most effective treatment, please empty your kitchen and bathroom cabinets prior to the service time, so that they can be treated as well. Payment (cash or check) will be collected when they service your unit. If paying by check, make it payable to “Able Pest Management LLC”.  Therefore, please be home during the service time if you signed up for treatment.

Treatment Schedule for 2021 (9 AM to Noon):  January 12, February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14, October 12, November 9, and December 14.