2011-10-25 Water Board Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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which has federal grant money available. Maui and Kauai are doing watershed initiatives, and DWS is looking to do something along the lines of Kauai's model,through education, sign placement, etc., Mr. Okamoto said. Mr. Perry said there was a speaker on watershed protection at the recent Farm Bureau convention; Ms. Emma Yuen(former Planning Director Chris Yuen's daughter) agreed to speak on the subject to DWS. Mr. Perry said that two counties are making voluntary contributions for fencing and other kinds of things that keep animals out of the watershed. Mr. Perry suggested that DWS look at that as another way of funding watershed protection. The Manager-Chief Engineer said that there had been bills before the Legislature to generate funds for watershed protection, but none passed. Mr. Perry said that his impression is that the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR)thinks that they do not have to go to the Legislature to start charging water users. Mr. Kaneshiro said that the County has a Commission on public access, open space and natural resource preservation, and there is an initiative to earmark 2 percent of the budget by law. DWS may be able to propose that some of the money go toward watershed protection. Mr. Kaneshiro said that most of the Commission's land acquisitions have been along the coast; he thought that the watershed is very important in protecting the coastal environment and in groundwater recharge. Mr. Perry said that he talked with USDA's Mr. Tim McConnell about grants or loan programs regarding water, and Mr. McConnell said there were lots of loans and grants out there. Mr. Perry said this was worth checking out. The Manager-Chief Engineer said that he, the Deputy and other engineers would be meeting tomorrow with the new head of USDA in Hilo,to explore ways of getting loans and grants. USDA seems to think that the process of getting funds can be speeded up; in the past,the process was painfully slow. USDA programs like the one at Pu`ukala/Kona Ocean View mentioned earlier tie in with the Improvement District process, and residents benefit greatly because they end up paying a fraction of what the improvements cost. Mr. Inaba noted that two USDA people presented at the HWWA conference. 6) Employee of the Quarter for Third Quarter 2011 —Ms.Hudman,the Customer Service Supervisor, introduced Ms. Noyes, who joined the Department just over a year ago. She said it is most impressive to be recognized like this after such a short time of service. Ms. Hudman said that Customer Service is very proud to have Ms. Noyes as part of the family. Chairperson Mukai said Ms. Noyes should be sure to attend the Board's end of the year luncheon, among this year's Employees of the Quarter. Ms. Noyes said it was an honor to work for DWS, and thanked the Board for the recognition. H. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: No report. 10) DISCUSSION OF PROCEDURES AND TIME FRAME TO SELECT NEW MANAGER-CHIEF ENGINEER: Chairperson Mukai reported that 15 or so letters were submitted to the Board from DWS employees regarding the desired qualities for the next Manager-Chief Engineer. Ms. Garson reported that on November 1, 2011,the nominations of two new Board members will go before the Planning Committee of the County Council, and the nominations go for a vote in Council on November 16, 2011. Assuming that both of the nominees are approved,they can be sworn in, in time for the November 22, 2011 regular Board meeting. Ms. Garson said that the Board might want to consider holding another Special Meeting in early December; otherwise the only remaining meetings will be on November 22 and December 20. Chairperson Mukai proposed setting up a date for a Special Meeting in December today. Page 17 of 21 10-25-11—Water Board Minutes js