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4. OLD BUSINESS: <br />a. Review and comment on Bill 13, Draft 3 — An ordinance amending Ch. 20 by adding a <br />new article relating to reduction of polystyrene foam "Styrofoam" food containers and <br />food service ware <br />o No discussion <br />5. NEW BUSINESS: <br />a. Discuss how to resolve the extent of unsewered dwellings in the Alii Drive area mauka and <br />makai, and to the south of Queen Kalama <br />o Commissioner Olson stated this has been a topic of discussion for over 40 years now but <br />nothing of significance has been done. We need to move this along in any way possible. <br />o Commission Chair Fritz asked Director Kucharski what the first step would be to extend a <br />sewer line. Director Kucharski stated there are two things that come in to play. One thing <br />is the Community Development Plans (CDPs) that calls for sewered areas within a mile of <br />the coastline. Meetings are being set up with the Planning Department and Mayor to <br />discuss what the department's approach will be. Funding is also an issue. Structuring out <br />our priorities for our expenditures is difficult. <br />o Director Kucharski stated the primary issue with Ali`i Drive south of Queen Kalama is the <br />fact that we broke the planning at Queen Kalama Street. Everything north goes to <br />Kealakehe, everything south does not have a County owned facility. Currently the issue of <br />sewer is on the developer. <br />o Director Kucharski stated the sooner we get groundwater and near shore discharges to stop, <br />the better. How we're going to do that, is something we're still trying address <br />comprehensively. Unfortunately there is no quick and cheap answer. Whatever we do will <br />need to be well thought out. If we did everything in the Kona area that's good for the <br />environment, it would cost about $900 million. This problem has been ignored for a while, <br />but can't afford to ignore it any longer. <br />o Commission Chair Fritz asked if the procedure would be for the County Council person of <br />that area to put forth a resolution to create a bond situation where monies are raised through <br />that. Director Kucharski answered you could come in and do a sewer district. However, <br />the cost would be extremely expensive especially for people on a fixed income. The cost <br />per month could range anywhere from $100 to $800 a month depending on square footage. <br />These issues can be resolved, just can't be resolved without a great deal of investment. <br />o Commissioner Olson stated eventually water quality will decrease to a point where we will <br />incur federal sanction and will do it anyway under the gun. At the moment bonds are as <br />cheap as you're going to get them. Need to bite the bullet and do it. <br />o Director Kucharski stated our sewer fees have not been raised since 2007. We currently <br />have the lowest sewer fees in the state. Even if we doubled our fees, we would still be the <br />lowest. The department is in discussion with getting the sewer fee to a reasonable amount <br />in a short term. <br />o Commissioner Fear asked if Commissioners should start letters to their respective Council <br />Members to raise the sewer fees. Director Kucharski stated he thinks the sewer fees are set <br />by County Code, but he'll need to double check on that. County Council may have to <br />approve the sewer fee increase. This topic is ongoing and not only being discusses at the <br />Commission level. So far there has not been any resistance with raising the fees. <br />o Chair Fritz moved to draft a letter asking County Council to raise the sewer fees and send <br />this letter to the Environmental Management Committee. Commissioner Osborne <br />seconded, and it carried unanimously. <br />2 <br />