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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2020/10/06 2018-2020 Committee on Finance 41st Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii October 6, 2020 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 11:03 a.m. in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair (via videoconference from Kona) Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Karen Eoff, Member (via videoconference from Kona) Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (came in later) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (videoconference from Kona) STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak regarding Res. 732-20 (Comm. 1073), and came forward when called by the Chair: Deborah Ward. Chris Yuen. Noele Rodrigues. Cliff Kapono. Lito Arkangel. CHR. DAVID: At this time, Mr. Clerk, I believe I will just put Finance Committee into recess. We're in recess. Thank you. Recess: At 11:19 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 11:26 a.m. FC-41 October 6,2020 CHR. DAVID: I am calling the Finance Committee out of recess. And just to be certain, I can't recall whether I closed public testimony, so I'm doing that at this time. Mr. Clerk, I believe we have Mr. Hosaka. Is he still in the room? MR. BROWN: He is. CHR. DAVID: Okay. MR. BROWN: Director Hosaka and Reid Sewake from Parks are both here in the chamber. CHR. DAVID: Perfect. Can we then take the resolution that they're here for out of order, please? Resolution 739, Duane Hosaka is here for that one. We can do that one first. MR. BROWN: Sounds good. Change Order of As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the Business: following items were taken out of order: Res. 739-20: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT Allows for the receipt of$1,101,466 of Federally-derived funds to be used by the Office of Housing and Community Development to pay for an increase in Section 8 rent due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reference: Comm. 1087 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) (Note: At this time, Housing Administrator Duane Hosaka came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Motion to Approve: Mr. Richards moved to recommend the adoption of Res. 739-20. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Hosaka, thank you for being here, and I really want to thank you for your patience for waiting for this to come up. Would you go ahead and just explain the receipt of these funds, please? Thank you. MR. HOSAKA: Hi. Duane Hosaka, Office of Housing, Administrator. So this extra $101 million is on top of our annual $20 million budget for our Housing Assistance Payment. Back in June, the Housing and Urban Development projected that we would go into shortfall because of the increased rents that we had to pay to the clients. Page 2 FC-41 October 6,2020 Currently, we have about 2,030 people on Housing Assistance Payments. And because of this increase in payments that we had to pay, we went into shortfall back in June. So this money would help us from June through the end of the year, and any other extra monies would be kind of put into a just a reserve fund. CHR. DAVID: Perfect. Thank you. Council Members, do you have any questions for Mr. Hosaka? Seeing none, thank you for that explanation, Mr. Hosaka. All those in favor of approving Resolution 739-20, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 739-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 739-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: And can we just take Bill 203, which is the companion to this resolution, Mr. Clerk? Bill 203: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 20-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2021 Appropriates revenues in the Federal —Housing Assistance Program COVID-19 account($1,101,466); and appropriates the same to the Housing Assistance Program COVID-19 account. Funds would be used to pay for an increase in Section 8 rent due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reference: Comm. 1087 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Richards moved to recommend pass of Bill 203 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. DAVID: This is a companion to Resolution to 739. Any discussion? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, this Ashley. I have a question for Mr. Hosaka. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Hi, Duane. Great to see you. Thanks for your hustle. I just have a clarifying question. We all know that a lot of CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security)must be expended by the end Page 3 FC-41 October 6,2020 of this year, December 2020, and so I'm taking a look at the resolution and the bill and it says that you have until, actually, summertime of 2021 to expend these funds. So just want to confirm that it is CARES money but a different bucket with different rules and different deadlines. MR. HOSAKA: You are correct. We don't have a deadline on when we have to spend it, but based on our shortfall, we'll spend it probably by the end of the year, and if there is any leftover, it will go into a reserve. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And this is like another traunch of funding that you've gotten specifically to support your Section 8 program, right? MR. HOSAKA: No, it's not a traunch of an extra COVID (Coronavirus Disease) money coming in; because of the extra monies we had to pay for monthly payments, we were going into shortfall. Without this money, we would have to stop some of our home assistance. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I see. MR. HOSAKA: So Housing and Urban Development gave us this extra money to cover that shortfall. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So this is to help you to continue business as usual? MR. HOSAKA: Yes, without— MS. ithoutMS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. So you're not operating at a deficit? MR. HOSAKA: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Got it. Okay. Thank you so much for clarifying. Chair, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye" of approving Bill 203 for first reading. Vote on Bill 203: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 203 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 4 FC-41 October 6,2020 MS. POINDEXTER: Chair? CHR. DAVID: Yes? MS. POINDEXTER: Is there any way to take Resolution 732 out of order because people have been waiting? CHR. DAVID: Yes, we can do that. Mr. Clerk, can we do 732 right now then, before we go to Mr. Sewake? Res. 732-20: AUTHORIZES PROCEEDINGS IN EMINENT DOMAIN FOR THE ACQUISITION OF A PERPETUAL, UNOBSTRUCTED, NON- EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT FOR PUBLIC PEDESTRIAN INGRESS AND EGRESS THROUGH PRIVATE PROPERTY, BEING A PORTION OF TAX MAP KEY NUMBERS: 2-7-004-118 AND 2-7-027-065, SITUATED AT PAPA`IKOU, SOUTH HILO, ISLAND OF HAWAII, TO PROVIDE PUBLIC PEDESTRIAN ACCESS TO THE BEACH AT PAPA`IKOU Authorizes the Corporation Counsel to initiate proceedings in eminent domain for the taking, acquisition, and condemnation of private property for the purpose of expanding public access to the beach area located at the end of Mill Road. Reference: Comm. 1073 Intr. by: Ms. Poindexter Motion to Approve: Ms. Poindexter moved to recommend adoption of Res. 732-20. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, you know, this—we know the resolution was just before I came on to Council, and we all that the judge had ruled against this. And basically, we choseI met with Corp. Counsel, and we chose not to do the appeal because we felt it was best to bring a brand-new resolution forward that would have the descriptions of the metes and bounds and the type of descriptions that the judge felt wasn't in there, and caused that to be ruled against us and in our favor as far eminent domain. Sinclair Salas-Ferguson is here also, and from Corp. Counsel, who has worked on this resolution. We've added clauses, you know, for maintenance and for liability, and took care of the metes and bounds description and, you know, the description of the relationship between the landowner and the County. So if anyone has questions, Sinclair is here. And we can talk about—if they want to know what had transpired. But I really ask for everyone's support. And I also want to thank, you know, Tony Guiterrez, Chris Yuen, and Kalani Lyman, who has for this is eight yearsI'm going to be—still working Page 5 FC-41 October 6,2020 on this. And throughout the eight years, you know, we've been meeting with Corp. Counsel, up until the time that this went to court. You know, Tony Guiterrez said don't forget to mention that he would've been testifying. But he said to mention that, and sent a note saying, "Tell all the people who are computer iterate that there are a lot of people who are computer illiterate that are in favor of public access, this public access and this resolution." But of course, you know, during these trying times of COVID, unfortunately people couldn't come in personally and testify. But there were—like in a petition that was done before my time, had over 6,000, you know,people signing on. So I'd like to ask for everyone's support in this because I really feel that—you know, especially on the Hamakua Coast and since the demise of the sugar industry, there a lot of places of public access that people bought up the ocean view areas, and even mountain sides, and been closing off our public access. And we know our local people rely on gathering of food, whether it be from the mountain or the ocean, to survive. So it's unfortunate that we have to go through this, you know, legal action to make sure that we have our public access. So I'll yield at this time to hear what other Council Members have to say. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Council Members, anyone else in Hilo? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes,please. CHR. DAVID: Oh, go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mahalo, Chair. I just I fully support this resolution. This has been in the works for years. I'm surprised that it had to come back here to get this kind of attention. This should have been done already. I've surfed at the mill before, and I've always struggled and tried to understand why there is public access that's gated occasionally and at the homeowner's decision. There's zero parking down there. That's a beautiful place, and the public has been accessing it for years for fishing, for surfing, for many different reasons that would fall under different portions of our Constitution and our State law. I greatly appreciate this being brought forward by Ms. Poindexter, and I appreciate Corp. Counsel taking this on seriously and moving forward with this, and seeing some permanent decisions being made on how we can keep this open to the public. I would go even further and say we need parking and other things as well to provide public access to this area. I'm disappointed in some of the community members, in not being more willing to maintain an open access way. Page 6 FC-41 October 6,2020 So again, mahalo for Ms. Poindexter for bringing this forward, and you have my my full support. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Ms. Eoff, go ahead. MS. EOFF: Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ms. Poindexter; and thank you to the testifiers and all those people who've been so diligently trying to finalize this access for the public. I am completely in support of the resolution. I support public access to the shoreline. Unfortunately, I guess this was our last resort. It's been a long, long saga. I remember when the previous Council I think took a field trip over there, and it just seem like all good faith negotiations fell apart. And I'm not sure why it's taking so long, but I just hope that this is one solution that we can accomplish. Mahalo. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Eoff. Anyone else? Ms. Villegas, go ahead. MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah, I just want to thank those who have remained dedicated and diligent to this opening up of access to this shoreline. These issues are very close to my heart, growing up here on the west side. And I think that—you know, it's a bummer that it has to come to this legal standpoint for access I think (inaudible) that access be allowed. And this traces back,just as Cliff Kapono testified, this goes back to—kind of a PASH (Public Access Shoreline Hawaii) decision and Native Hawaiian gathering rights, and access to shoreline. And I thinkI'd really, really, really love to see this get executed, and get the action, and get the access. So I am in firm and wholehearted support of this resolution. And I am very hopeful that as we transition into a new term, with you know, can't imagine it getting done before December, but if possible that would be great. Otherwise, I look forward to a new administration to taking each and every step necessary to execute everything that's been outlined for so many years. So thank you for that. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Anyone else in Hilo? Seeing none, alright everyone's done. I'd like to just say a few words. The first one is mahalo nui to Ms. Poindexter for bringing this forward. This has been a long battle as the testifiers have noted. What I think is happening here, is the fact that when government is charged to protect certain rights, Constitutional rights and customary traditions—we are in Hawaii, and the things that we hold valuable here has been lost in the past. And I see this as a ray of hope and a message that we send to people who come here because they love this island. This island is loved by a lot of people because of what it offers. We are allowed to still have our cultural practices, more so than I've noticed in any other island, albeit maybe Kauai I think has a deep respect for the culture and our cultural practices. Page 7 FC-41 October 6,2020 So this I see, Ms. Poindexter, as maybe not the perfect route to take as far as condemning private property rights; but in the same sense, a private property owner's rights is still not as important as Constitutional rights of our people of Hawaii. So we have to be very mindful of that as we move forward, because people need to recognize that what we are trying to preserve here is not a selfish preservation of a personal desire. This is deeply rooted in who we are as people, and this island. So thank you so much, Ms. Poindexter, and I would definitely be supporting this resolution. Thank you. All those in favor MR. CHUNG: Maile? CHR. DAVID: Yes? Go ahead. MR. CHUNG: Based on what you asked, now I have some questions. Now, I'm going to bring up Joe. I'm in support of this, first of all. (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Joseph Kamelamela came forward to address the members of this Committee.) MR. CHUNG: But now, you know—Joe, I'm kind of just wondering though, based on what Maile had just brought up about protecting constitutional rights, why is this—unless I'm reading this wrong, you know, this is an eminent domain proceeding for a perpetual unobstructive nonexclusive easement. So you guys trying to get the interest eminent domain, right, for this easement? MR. KAMELAMELA: Right. MR. CHUNG: But why isn't it some kind of action either in equity, or quiet title, or something like that if it's for a protected right? I'm just kind of wondering, you know. I mean, I'm in favor. I think this is a good thing. And, you know, whether it's eminent domain or some other mechanism, it's good because it looks like negotiations had recached an impasse and now you're going through the process. So at least—you know, there's always two sides of the story. Now, the landowner is able to weigh in all of this thing, too, you know. That's not in the well, they're able to weigh in, as well. But why is it eminent domain? MR. KAMELAMELA: The reason for it is because government is taking an action to compensate the landowner for the use of the easement. MR. CHUNG: Right. MR. KAMELAMELA: And so this is the process we wish to do it. MR. CHUNG: So we're going to give just compensation, right? And that's going to be determined by the court, right? Page 8 FC-41 October 6,2020 MR. KAMELAMELA: By the court, yes. MR. CHUNG: But based on what Maile said, if this is a Constitutional right, and it's maybe an easement by prescription for example, would we still have to pay just compensation? I mean, I'm not trying to jam up the landowners or anything like that. But if it's a right as has been suggested by somebody ? MR. KAMELAMELA: Yeah, so that's one perspective that you're talking about. MR. CHUNG: I'm just wondering. MR. KAMELAMELA: No, no—and so what we are seeing over time, Chair, is that during the `70s and the `80s we had groups like Legal Aid, Native Hawaiian Legal Court, you know, filing these lawsuits, you know, to get ahold of these kind of rights, but because many of them haven't been doing well, some of them had been defunded. And so we don't have those kind of groups now to champion those kind of rights. So what we have here is somewhat similar, You know, because it is important, policy-wise that the citizens enjoy access to go to the beach to surf, to fish. MR. CHUNG: We all agree on that. MR. KAMELAMELA: Yeah, so to me this is a way to get it. MR. CHUNG: Okay, soI mean, and I trust you. I'm just asking the question. MR. KAMELAMELA: No, no, no. MR. CHUNG: Because on the one hand, we don't have to pay anything; on the other hand, we do have to pay something. MR. KAMELAMELA: Yes. MR. CHUNG: So I'd rather go with the one where we don't have to pay anything, right? MR. KAMELAMELA: I was looking at that angle, too. But at the same time, you know, it's going to cost money. MR. CHUNG: Okay. And now another question,too. Now,just in all fairness to the landowner. Okay because, you know, I'm putting myself in the place of the landowner. And I really don't know exactly what was in that person's mind, you know, in denying access. But I'm thinking it's liability issues, I would guess, right? And certainly, you know, I'd like to protect myself from liability. Page 9 FC-41 October 6,2020 Now, if we go the eminent domain route, now there's going to be appraisals and legal fees. Do the landowners have to pay their own legal fees on something like this? MR. KAMELAMELA: Yes. MS. VILLEGAS: Whoo-hoo, you know. MR. KAMELAMELA: And we would be responsible for ours, you know, like the appraisal costs that you talked about. MR. CHUNG: So if we take land from someone,we pay them for the land, but they've got to pay for their attorney's fees? MR. KAMELAMELA: Right. MR. CHUNG: Wow. But anyway, okay. I just wanted your perspective, Joe, on the two different approaches for this. MR. KAMELAMELA: Yeah. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, thank you, Joe. MR. KAMELAMELA: You're welcome. MR. RICHARDS: Chair? CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Chair Chung. Who was that? Mr. Richards? MR. RICHARDS: Richards. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Go ahead, Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, interesting conversation. Joe, since you're up here, question. We've done the PONC (Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission) acquisitions, and I get that, and that's usually been a friendly conversation. Eminent domain is typically not a friendly conversation. So with this, is this—as we take this, are we obligated to put in ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant walking? Because this is different for me, so are we obligated? MR. KAMELAMELA: Yeah, so that issue got to be looked at. Usually, you know, this is one "as is" situation right now. So although I'm saying, "no, not at this time,"that's an issue that we can deal with later on. You know, it's not necessarily part of the resolution. But we always look at that issue, whether here is necessary. Because we know that we have places like Honoli`i, right, and it would be prohibitive to do certain kind of ADA compliance. So for places like Page 10 FC-41 October 6,2020 that, you know, we have to look at all of the factors involved. You know, in certain places it's easier to put in like walkways, but those areas are usually flatter, and have less issues dealing with the landscape. MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, and I can appreciate that. I just—under the—and not everything on PONC availability access is ADA, I got that. MR. KAMELAMELA: Yeah. MR. RICHARDS: But this is a different process we're going through. And so, as you say we'll deal with that later, but when do we later? Because we know in our Parks and Rec. that we're dealing with becoming ADA compliant now. So who do we have that conversation with? MR. KAMELAMELA: Well, we're going to talk with Parks, you know, in this particular issue. So I am familiar with the Russell cases because they deal with the ADA issues of Parks and Rec. And in those situations. it's clear under certain kind of projects, we have to pay more attention to the ADA. So there are a lot of factors that you look at, because we're also looking at issues like is there another area that provides similar type of recreational activities. You know, there are. There's Hilo Bay, you know, people can surf. MR. RICHARDS: And don't misunderstand, I support the access; that's not what I'm saying. You know, Kohala, there's a lot of PONC funding that's gone in for shoreline access and all, which is great. I just—this is a different process that we're going through. And the concernI think Mr. Chung brought up about liability concern, I just want to make sure we're not putting the County in a liable situation, so I support that concept going forward. I just—conversation raised more questions in my mind. So, Chair, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? MR. CHUNG: Maile, it's me again. CHR. DAVID: Chair Chung, go ahead. No problem. MR. CHUNG: And don't get me wrong, you know, I fully support this concept of allowing the public to go to this place, and particularly in deference to Ms. Poindexter who's worked so hard on this matter. But I've got to go on record as saying that I think this the wrong approach, okay. I'm going to support it; I'll vote for it today. For this eminent domain, so the County will be the holder of the easement. It will be in favor of the County, of what? MR. KAMELAMELA: Right, for the easement. MR. CHUNG: Yeah. I mean, that should be the fallback position. Page 11 FC-41 October 6,2020 MR. KAMELAMELA: Right. MR. CHUNG: The first one should be to enforce rights, regarding the public's prescriptive rights to go on that property, to use it. That's what I feel. It should be the first way of doing it, and if that fails, then the County steps up and goes with eminent domain. In which case, we have to pay, we've got to maintain. Kind of humbug but, you know, it's worth it. That's just my feeling. So I just wanted to go on record and saying that, Joe. MR. KAMELAMELA: No but—you know, the issue that you raised is an issue that we had talked about, you know, as to which is the best way to go. And so after much deliberation, you know, not only with us but we had contacted people from outside our office because we were talking to like Native Hawaiian Legal Rights, one of the Professors at UH (University of Hawai`i), you know, to make sure that the approach that we're going to take is the best one at this time. And so we came up with the choice to do it this way. MR. CHUNG: And eminent domain requires Council action, right? But the other one doesn't require, so it's still available, right? I mean, now you have authorization to go—well, you will in a few minutes, or a few days, or whatever—but get authorization for the eminent domain. But that doesn't preclude another course of action, as well, right? MR. KAMELAMELA: No, it doesn't. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, okay. Alright. Thank you, Joe. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Chair Chung. Do you yield? MS. POINDEXTER: Chair? CHR. DAVID: Oh, go ahead, Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: And I just wanted to say thank you, Joe and Sinclair, for all the work that you guys had put in to get it to this point again. And again, I just want to repeat for the public, I wish it could have been another way, but I too have worked personally worked with the landowner. And to have gotten calls from a lot of people in the public throughout, from around the island that has had so much difficulty. And not only around the island but people within that own community, with that landowner. So I'm hoping whoever gets elected for our next administration, will make sure not to drag their feet on this and work for the public who elected them to get this done. Because I've been in office eight years and this has dragged on for far too long. And this was put on before the previous Council; and my predecessor, you know, Council Member Yagong, who put it initially out, and you know, they've tried. Page 12 FC-41 October 6,2020 The public has tried to work with the landowner, and it's become too difficult. And like I said before, throughout my coastline, people bought up all the land oceanside and closed up so much public access, where people have a hard time now getting down to the cliffside to go fishing or whatever they need to do to gather food. So I'm hoping whoever takes my seat on the next Council will continue to work to open access at the mountain you know, mauka and makai, because it's real shameful that we've allowed homeowners to take away our right to gather food. I just ask for your continued support. And thank you for giving me this time to just, you know, make my point. So thank you, Chair. CHR. DAVID: Mahalo, Ms. Poindexter. Very well said. Anyone else? Alright, seeing none, all those in favor approving Resolution 732-20 and forward to Council with a positive recommendation, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 732-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 732-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Let's do Resolution 737 and 738, I believe he's here for. Res. 737-20: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF ONE 20-YARD DUMP TRUCK FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$3,594. The County would own the equipment at the end of the lease. Reference: Comm. 1085 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend adoption of Res. 737-20. Seconded by Mr. Richards. (Note: At this time, Business Manager Reid Sewake came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 13 FC-41 October 6,2020 CHR. DAVID: Mr. Sewake, I really want to thank you for your patience. If you could just explain to the Council this purchase and it's uses and where it will be used? Thank you. MR. SEWAKE: Reid Sewake, Business Manager. So this piece of equipment will be used by our Parks Maintenance Division. It will offer increased capacity to haul construction materials as well as heavy equipment to jobsites island-wide. We're hoping—it will also decrease our expenditures and need to outsource hauling services, as well. So we request your approval. It will be five-year capital lease. CHR. DAVID: Thank you for that explanation. Council Members, any questions for Mr. Sewake? MR. RICHARDS: Richards. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Richards, go ahead. MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, thank you. Thanks, Reid, for being here. This must be the dump truck that Jason has been talking about, as far as doing the work on the fields. Is this correct? MR. SEWAKE: Yeah, this is for our construction crew. So it will be used for the fields. MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, so I can this is something that Jason Mattos and I have talked about. They've had only—what, eight-yard trucks up to this point? MR. SEWAKE: Yeah, we couldn't have eight-yard capacity trucks. MR. RICHARDS: And I know they've been a questionable service life. So actually this will make a big difference for getting things done for Parks and Rec., so I am fully supporting this. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 737-20,please say "aye." Vote on Res. 737-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 737-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 14 FC-41 October 6,2020 CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, Resolution 738-20, please. Res. 738-20: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF ONE ELECTRICIAN UTILITY VEHICLE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$1,366. The County would own the equipment at the end of the lease. Reference: Comm. 1086 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend adoption of Res. 738-20. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Sewake, this is another purchase, so could you just explain that briefly? MR. SEWAKE: Yeah, so this vehicle will be for our electricians. They do perform services or projects island-wide. The current vehicle is over 10 years old, so we would like to get them a more reliable vehicle for them to perform their duties. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Council Members, any questions for Mr. Sewake? MS. LEE LOY: Yes, Chair. CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Reid, thank you for being here. For this purchase and the dump truck, during the lease period, who is responsible for repairs and maintenance? MR. SEWAKE: The present maintenance will be responsibility of the County, so our Automotive Division. MS. LEE LOY: Alright. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 738-20, please say "aye." Page 15 FC-41 October 6,2020 Vote on Res. 738-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 738-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Sewake, for your patience. MS. LEE LOY: Chair? CHR. DAVID: Yes, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: We have Allan from DPW (Department of Public Works) for Bill 204. CHR. DAVID: DPW, okay. Okay, Mr. Clerk, can we do Bill 204,please? And thank you for letting me know. Bill 204: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 20-44, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2020 TO JUNE 30, 2021 Adds the Public Works Waika`alulu Bridge No. 44-8 project for $600,000 to the Capital Budget. Funds for this project shall be provided from General Obligation Bonds, Capital Projects Fund—Fund Balance and/or Other Sources. Reference: Comm. 1088 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Poindexter moved to recommend passage of Bill 204 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. (Note: At this time Deputy Public Works Director Allan Simeon came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: And Mr. Simeon is there. Go ahead, Mr. Simeon. Identify yourself, please. Good morning. MS. SIMEON: Good morning. Allan Simeon, Deputy Director of Public Works. Yeah, we would appreciate the funding for this project. This is the bridge in K516pa, over Waika`alulu Gulch. It's a bridge that you pass when you go towards K516pa Park. Page 16 FC-41 October 6,2020 So the funding would be utilized for design and construction of the project, to remove and replace in-kind the timber elements, such as the decks, the beams, the railing for this old bridge. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Simeon. Questions, Council Members? Seeing none, Mr. Simeon, what is the timeline on this project? Do you know? MS. SIMEON: I don't have the—after we have the funding, I believe our Bridge Section will start the procurement of consultant to do the design. CHR. DAVID: I see. Okay. Alrighty then, all those in favor of approving Bill 204 and forward to Council with a positive recommendation, please say Ic aye. Vote on Bill 204: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 204 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair David–8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Villegas – 1. Excused: None. MS. SIMEON: Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Simeon. I guess—is there anyone else in our chambers in Hilo, Mr. Clerk, that we need to take things out of order? If not, I will go straight to the top. MR. BROWN: Hi, Madam Chair. We have a good friend from Research and Development also here. CHR. DAVID: Oh, okay. Is that Glenn Sako? MR. BROWN: Glenn from R&D (Research and Development) is here, on Resolutions 734 and 735. CHR. DAVID: Seven three four and seven three five, okay. Okay, go ahead with Resolution 734-20. Page 17 FC-41 October 6,2020 Res. 734-20: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII Provides $21,850.16 from the Department of Research and Development to the University of Hawaii to fund its Extension Services to Manage Little Fire Ants on Hawaii Island project. Funds would be used to distribute outreach materials, provide staff support, and for supplies and travel. Reference: Comm. 1082 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Richards moved to recommend adoption of Res. 734-20. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. (Note: At this time, Economic Development Specialist Glenn Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Mr. Sako, could you please identify yourself and just explain this program really quickly. MR. SAKO: Hi. Good afternoon, my name is Glenn Sako. I'm the Economic Development Specialist with Research and Development. This is to provide the opportunity for the Hawaii Ant Lab to work with agricultural producers They are going to be looking at other types of media due to the pandemic situation. So they will be doing outreach through newspaper articles and also, perhaps, video. They also want to work with agricultural producers, and to help them to develop site-specific plans. In the past, most of their emphasis has been with the residents of Hawaii Island, and so now they're kind of transitioning into working with industry groups. CHR. DAVID: I see. Thank you very much for that. Very important program. Anyone else? Council Members, questions for Mr. Sako? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 734-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 734-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, Resolution 735-20, please. Page 18 FC-41 October 6,2020 Res. 735-20: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII Provides $13,076 from the Department of Research and Development to the University of Hawai`I to fund its Increasing Production of Novel Floriculture Products for Import Replacement project. Funds would be used to purchase plant and propagation materials, and for costs associated with cultivation and data collection. Reference: Comm. 1083 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend adoption of Res. 735-20. Seconded by Mr. Richards. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Are there any questions on this one for Mr. Sako? Or, Mr. Sako, you want to give us a brief explanation of this program? MR. SAKO: Thank you. What it is, they're looking at three plant materials, one is a eucalyptus, due to the Myrtaceae ban that went into effect this year to prevent the introduction of the ohia rust, which would further impact our ohia forest. Therefore, some of this eucalyptus, such as the silver-dollar, is used in the ornamental industry for arrangements, they want to bring in seeds and other tissue-cultured material to look at producing more of this product locally. Also, the peony flowers is generally a backyard flower, and they also bring that in. Not too many opportunities for invasive species at this time. But they're looking at moving it from a backyard production to a commercial production so that we can reduce the importation of these flowers. And finally, they're looking at low elevation cymbidium production. Typically, cymbidiums are associated with the higher elevations, such as in Volcano. There has been some low elevation hybrids that have been developed, and they would like to test this out for a commercial production. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Sako. Questions, Council Members? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 735-20, please say "aye." Page 19 FC-41 October 6,2020 Vote on Res. 735-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 735-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Okay, I don't believe we have anyone now. Thank you, Mr. Sako, for being here. I don't believeI think the other two resolutions that we have for R&D, the Coqui Frog project, I think that's pretty much self-explanatory. So thank you for being here, and your patience. Mr. Clerk, if there's no one else, why don't we just go to the top of the agenda. Communication 10.46,please. Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the Order of Business. of Business COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 10.46: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: AUGUST 16 —31, 2020 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated September 2, 2020, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Code Section 2-12.3. Vote on Comm. 10.46: Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 10.46. Filed Seconded by Ms. Poindexter and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, Communication 10.47. Comm. 10.47: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: SEPTEMBER 1 — 15, 2020 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated September 17, 2020, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Code Section 2-12.3. Page 20 FC-41 October 6,2020 Vote on Comm. 10.47: Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 10.47. Filed Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, Communication 11.38. Comm. 11.38: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16—30 AND AUGUST 1 — 15, 2020 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated September 2, 2020. Motion to Close File: Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 11.38. Seconded by Ms. Eoff. CHR. DAVID: Any discussion, Council Members? MS. LEE LOY: Yes, Chair. CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: I did text Deanna Sako and Steve Hunt. I have some questions around this particular communication. And I don't know if we want to table with hopes that they will come down. CHR. DAVID: You've notified them? MS. LEE LOY: I did. CHR. DAVID: Okay. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. CHR. DAVID: Alright then, would you please make the motion to table? Page 21 FC-41 October 6,2020 Vote on Motion to Table Ms. Lee Loy moved to table Comm. 11.38 to the end of (Approved) the agenda. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Okay, Mr. Clerk, move on to Communication 11.39, please. Comm. 11.39: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16—30 AND AUGUST 16 —31, 2020 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated September 8, 2020. Vote on Comm. 11.39: Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 11.39. Filed Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, I guess we can go down to Resolution 736-20. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Page 22 FC-41 October 6,2020 Res. 736-20: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAII, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PURSUANT TO HAWAII REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Funds in the amount of$49,896 would be used for the North Kohala Coqui Frog Control project, to prevent the establishment of the coqui frog in the North Kohala district. Reference: Comm. 1084 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Richards moved to recommend adoption of Res. 736-20. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Richards, do you ? MR. RICHARDS: The Coqui Patrol in North Kohala has done a phenomenal job as far as getting the—of controlling the coqui frog. And their biggest asset is the fact that they have volunteers that continue to keep the program running. So we definitely need to support Kohala. And remember Rat Patrol, this is Coqui Patrol. These guys are out there getting it done, so I ask for your support. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 736-20,please say "aye." Vote n Res. 736-20; The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 736-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, I guess we can go down to Bill 202. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (Note: Items for this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Page 23 FC-41 October 6,2020 Bill 202: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 20-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2021 Appropriates revenues in State Grants —North Kohala Coqui Frog Control Project account($49,896); and appropriates the same to the North Kohala Coqui Frog Control Project account. Funds would be used to prevent the establishment of the coqui frog in the North Kohala district. Reference: Comm. 1084 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Richards moved to recommend passage of Bill 202 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Richards, this is a companion to the resolution. Do you have any other comments? MR. RICHARDS: No, hana hou. Let's get it done. CHR. DAVID: Alright, thank you very much. All those in favor of approving Bill 202 and forward to Council with a positive recommendation, please say Ic aye. Vote on Bill 202: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 202 on first reading (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Bill 205, Mr. Clerk. Bill 205: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 20-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2021 Increases revenues in the following State Grant Program Income accounts: Periodic Motor Vehicle Inspection (PMVI) ($12,787) and Commercial Drivers License (CDL) ($11,360); and appropriates the same to the following Salary & Wages accounts: PMVI ($12,787) and CDL ($11,360), for total appropriations of $448,716 (PMVI), and $378,270 (CDL). Reference: Comm. 1089 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Page 24 FC-41 October 6,2020 Vote on Bill 205: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend passage of Bill 205 on (Approved) first reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Ms. Lee Loy, do we have Director Sako in the room yet? MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Both she and Mr. Hunt are unavailable, so I'm trying to get Melanio (Lorenzo) from Fire to answer my question. CHR. DAVID: I see. Do you want to take a recess or is he there? MR. BROWN: Madam Chair, maybe if I could make a suggestion? CHR. DAVID: Sure. MR. BROWN: We could recess the meeting while we try to get in touch further with Melanio. CHR. DAVID: Alright, let's take this Finance Committee into recess. Thank you. MR. BROWN: Thank you. Recess: At 12:49 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 12:54 p.m. CHR. DAVID: Alright, I'm calling the Finance meeting out of recess. And, Ms. Lee Loy, can you please move to take Communication 11.38 off the table? Page 25 FC-41 October 6,2020 Vote to Remove Ms. Lee Loy moved to remove Comm. 11.38 from the from Table: Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the following (Approved) voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. And thank you, Director Sako, for being here. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Thank you for the patience. Deanna, on this particular communication, and I just want to clarify some of the confusion, the first page is basically a total of all of the funds going from one account to another account. So a total of$498,000 is being transferred from the respective accounts and then going into Ocean Safety, EMS (Emergency Medical Service) equipment, and then Fire Protection. And then, the justification sheet, the Request for Transfer. The first one, the $100,000, it goes from Fire Prevention Salary &Wages to Ocean Safety, but the explanation, I think is inverted. MS. SAKO: Yeah, I think they just reversed it. MS. LEE LOY: They reversed it? MS. SAKO: Yes. So we'll fix it on the original that we have upstairs. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. MS. LEE LOY: And then this is where I get a little confused. Because we just moved from Salary & Wages Fire Prevention into Ocean Safety and then we go into EMS. From EMS Salary & Wages into other EMS equipment, can you explain that to me? MS. SAKO: So the EMS is all one grant, from the State, to operate our ambulance service. So we have a total appropriation basically from the State that they have to abide by. And I believe in this case we were still waiting for that additional appropriation that was before Council in May or June, and so they needed to cover some of the expenses in the meantime. So they just transferred Page 26 FC-41 October 6,2020 within that grant. So it's all the same grant, it's just which line item they're spending it out of. MS. LEE LOY: Which line item. Okay, great. And then we go to the third request for transfer, and then it says, "see attached," and again the account numbers. But, you know, Iit just keeps popping up because of this Ocean Safety. So it looks at first-blush that we're taking from Ocean Safety to put back in Ocean Safety. But then at this last request, the $243,000, we just took from Ocean Safety and then moved it into Fire protection. So again, is it just the same grant money,just appropriating monies to the right line item? MS. SAKO: They're just trying to get it in the right line item to cover where they spent it. In this case, I don't think any of these are grant funded. The West Hawaii Ocean Safety has a different account. But yes, they're trying to get it all in the right line item so that none of the line items were o/d (overdrawn) at year end. And sometimes the last-minute spending can kind of throw things off, so I think they're just trying to cover that at their end. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. And I know this is because it just doesn't make sense to me, about Ocean Safety. And I want the protection, but we had our beach parks closed for so long. So I'm trying to understand why we're not— MS. otMS. SAKO: The parks may have been closed, but our Water Safety Officers were not off duty. They continue to monitor the beaches and ensure that everyone was safe and protected, and social distancing, and following all the rules. So we did continue to monitor all of our beaches, even though the parks themselves may have been closed. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Deanna. Thank you for explaining that. Because that's the general thought out there; if our beach parks are closed, why are we paying for services if the parks are closed? So thank you very much for that explanation. MS. SAKO: Yeah, no problem. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you for being here and being pulled out of your meeting. Chair, I yield. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else, Council Members? Seeing none, thank you, Director, for coming down very quickly. All those in favor of filing Communication 11.38,please say "aye." Page 27