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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PSC 2020/10/06 2018-2020Committee on Public Safety 15th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai i October 6, 2020 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Safety was called to order ORDER: at 9:04 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Chair (via videoconference from Kona) Ms. Karen Eoff, Vice Chair (via videoconference from Kona) Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member (via videoconference from Kona) Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member (came in later) 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: (There were none.) CHR. VILLEGAS: Okay, thank you. Okay, you want to go ahead and read in the communication? COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 1069: REQUESTS A DISCUSSION WITH HAWAII RAINBOW RANGERS REGARDING THE NEWLY AWARDED ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES CONTRACT AND ITS TRANSITION FROM HAWAII ISLAND HUMANE From Council Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, dated August 27, 2020. Postponed: September 15, 2020 (Note: There is a motion by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Ms. Lee Loy, to close file on Comm. 1069.) PSC -15 October 6, 2020 CHR. VILLEGAS: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair, I appreciate it. And good morning to you in Kona. Today, we have Sylvia Dolena and Mary Rose. If you two want to come up to the front and then we can have a discussion. Thank you for being here today ladies. (Note: At this time, Hawaii Rainbow Ranger's representatives, Mary Rose Krijgsman, Sylvia Dolena; and Nick Lippincott came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. DOLENA: And we do have Nick Lippincott from a remote location on the Kona side. He's our new Director of Operations, sent by Best Friends Animal Society to help us out. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, is he on right now? MR. LIPPINCOTT: I am on. Good morning Council. Good morning everybody. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Oh, wonderful. Thank you for joining us, Nick. Oh, I can see you. You're on our TV screen, I can see you now. So, I think you've taken over the contract for animal control services for the County of Hawaii in place of Hawaii Island Humane Society. In that transition time, I think many of the Council members have been approached by members of the public with concerns or with reports, you know, that are good or bad. We have both, you know, just in the transition. So I wanted to have you come in today; explain how things are going; talk about the transition, how's it's been and where we're at; when you'd begin in earnest, and to just kind of get some information for the public. Because it's always been a sensitive subject, especially in my district of Puna. And I'm happy to have you here today so you can explain from your end what's going on. So I don't know who wants to begin the discussion, whether it's Mary Rose or Sylvia? MS. KRIJGSMAN: I will do opening statements. I did push the button. Do I keep my mask on? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes, please. MS. DOLENA: And just so you're aware, I do have my cellphone on. I'm on call from HPD (Hawai`i Police Department) for emergencies, and I could not find a replacement for me for this morning. I apologize. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you for saying that. Okay, go ahead Mary Rose. Page 2 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 (Note: At this time, the Rainbow Ranger's representatives provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office. A copy of the PowerPoint Presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 1069. 1.) MR. LIPPINCOTT: With that, I'll go ahead and open it up to any questions and I will stop sharing. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you Nick. Appreciate all that information. So, you're from Best Friends, correct? MR. LIPPINCOTT: Yes, I am. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And Best Friends is going to be providing support and possibly funding as well to Hawaii Rainbow Rangers (HRR) as they move forward into the future? MR. LIPPINCOTT: That's correct. So when they identify a Shelter In Need, like you mentioned, you know, it's basically a top 100 list. And this island historically fall in the very top five of that list for years. You know, one of the big things that Best Friends provides with my position alone, is not just me as an individual to offer, you know, my experience and historical knowledge to this individual. It's not just me. My being here provides a team of over 800 individuals with a lifetime of experience and data, and programs already in place that we can bring into this island to, you know, boost and speed up things that would otherwise take years to set up and implement. With that level of support from Best Friends, mostly you know, operationally and program based. And yes, funding and assistance when available that is going to, you know, really increase the curb of what's able to be provided by HRR and its partners right out the gate and as we transition through this year. And after this year, you know, even I end up leaving and transition to a director full-time as an employee, that support and that partnership with Best Friends does not end. So they continue to have an outlet of support and resources. You know, as long as they continue to maintain that desire to have those resources. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Awesome. Thank you. I think the last conversation that we had with the animal control service provider was I want to say early this year or late last year. And shortly after, the Director, Charles Brown actually had to step down or resign following our meeting. But it was actually the first time that we had interacted with the animal control service provider. Page 3 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 So I think part of today is just getting to know you a little bit. Also it's to create the conversation moving forward. The County does hold the contract, but the nonprofit does the animal control service providing. So working together and going forward I think is beneficial for all of the County. And we individual Council members received the blunt end of the stick a lot of the times. But it's our job also to make sure you have the funding which you need to move forward and do your job well so that our citizens are happy. So I'm glad to know that we have good support from Best Friends. I'm happy to have you both here. I'm going to yield for the time being and let some of the other Council members ask questions if they have any. And again, just appreciate you being here today and having this communication with us so we can provide better for our residents. MS. POINDEXTER: Rebecca, this is Val. CHR. VILLEGAS: Yes, Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, and I just want to say that, you know, I've had a situation happen because my mother-in-law is recovering from COVID and my husband had to abruptly leave the island. And I called the Hawaii Rainbow Rangers on a weekend because he needed to take the cat and found out that the cat that we rescued over a year ago from our gulch near our home, had a chip in it. And so they were saying that well we can't take the cat, it's not our cat, and so we were in a panic. And I just called the Hawaii Rainbow Rangers, and to make a long story short mean they called me back. I was like, you know, I thought that wouldn't happen. I thought what they did and how they responded was very—in a quick and timely manner; very professional. You know, worked with our Vet and also with the Humane Society and kind of made all those connections. I was very, very impressed with Hawaii Rainbow Rangers. You know, I was in a panic. I was calling our Council Member Tim Richards who's a veterinarian himself, you know, for help. And then I ended up calling him back saying, "Hey, you know, someone from Rainbow Rangers has called me and we're going to be working on this." So again, I want to thank you for stepping up to the plate and taking this contract even if it's not in your best interest as far as financially. You know, I wish you guys could qualify for COVID funding. I know it's a far stretch saying, "Hey my husband had to leave because of a COVID situation." And you guys worked on the weekend, and then through the beginning of the week. CHR. VILLEGAS: Excuse me, Ms. Poindexter. Page 4 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 MS. POINDEXTER: Yes. CHR. VILLEGAS: I'm sorry to interrupt, but apparently we're having some technical difficulties with the closed captioning. Can we just take a short recess to get that back up, because I don't want anyone to miss out on the words that you're sharing? MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you. MR. BROWN: Thank you, Chair. Recess: At 9:56 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 9:57 a.m. CHR. VILLEGAS: We will call this meeting out of recess. And Ms. Poindexter, please continue. And once again, I apologize for interrupting. MS. POINDEXTER: So I just want to again, say, thank you for the quick response. And you know, like I said before. I don't know if the caption caught this, but you're not getting paid for a lot of these services. So people like me who call in appreciate all the work you do, but I ask the public to be very patient and for us to all work with them, with this agency to help make our island better. Because we're in this together, so we cannot be pointing fingers on, "You're not doing this, you're supposed to be doing this. You're getting paid for this." And believe me, this was a losing contract. That's why. Why you do think nobody else went in for it, right? But these people love and make sure that our animals will be taken care of regardless of getting paid for it. So we all, each individual on this island we need to do our part in helping this organization succeed. So I appreciate you. I appreciate the work. I appreciate the love for the animals. And you know, just can't say enough about what you do. So mahalo, mahalo, mahalo. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Is there anyone else in Hilo that would like to ask any questions or make any comments? MR. CHUNG: Oh, yeah, Rebecca. It's me, Aaron. CHR. VILLEGAS: Yes, thank you. Chair Chung. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, thank you, the two of you for coming. I really do appreciate it, especially Sylvia. You answered most of my questions because when you did make your prefacing remarks about the contract and the expectations. And you know, I had to think in my mind, well why the hell did Page 5 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 they enter into the contract, right? But you answered that, and you know, it really is good intentions. But, you know, there's a part of me, and this is not meant as a criticism because I know you're motivated for the right, but as you were talking, it kind of, you know, conjured up a situation. Like for example, let's say I was with Matt; we were golfers right? And I'm saying, "Okay Matt, come on let's go take on Ashley and Val." Okay, so we're heading for this match and then when we get to the golf course, I say, "Hey Matt, but by the way, you know, I just wanted to let you know I'm kind of sore, my elbow. So, you know, don't expect me to have my "A" game. You know, I've had this thing going for about three months." You know, so you have these expectations, but then you have, for lack of a better term, an excuse, a way out of this thing. The public has an expectation, but we have this much money. Ultimately it comes down to what you guys entered into. So my question to you is, what can the community expect in the way of your delivery of services? And it comes down to the scope of what the contract says. Can you perform under the contract or is it going to be a problem? MS. DOLENA: Well, thank you for the question. And I'll use the example of the call volume. And this is the process that we use. The process that we use is, all the calls that come through a certain, I guess you can call a certain distribution or filter that has animal control on there we consider as Priority One or Priority Two calls. Those we try to answer live. If we are not able to answer them live due to the number of people, it will go into a cue, voicemail or something like that, and then we have people go through those calls to respond to those after the fact, since we can't answer them on the phone. So I think people can expect us to do that for the Priority One and Priority Two calls. MR. CHUNG: Who determines the Priority One and Priority Two? Is it you guys or the Police Department? MS. DOLENA: It's in the contract. Police Department has described what is Priority One and Priority Two. The Priority One calls, just for an example, have to deal with—we don't handle all. We handle the injured animal calls as Priority One. HPD handles the Priority One calls having to do with animal cruelty, animal abuse, torture; dogfighting. They handle all of those because it requires criminal investigation. We handle injured animals. Injured animal on the roadway or someone found an animal tied to a tree that's dying, that kind of thing. Those are the ones we respond to as Priority One. Priority Two or the lost, stray dogs; vicious dogs that have not bitten anyone, and we go out on those calls. Those calls the public can expect us to handle with the Page 6 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 resources that we have. And coming November 1 we will always handle those calls. Some of the other calls sometimes are misrouted because of the menu and people pushing the wrong button. We go through all of those anyway, but those we consider lower priority calls. We get to as many of those as possible. We cannot get to all of them due to resources right now. MR. CHUNG: Which priority were you talking about? MS. DOLENA: Priority Three. And I'm just going to lump this together as, you know, someone wants to go out and trap cats, we will always take kittens and injured cats, but if they want to rent a trap, we'll say, "Schedule your appointment, and we'll go out by appointment." But we cannot go out just on call every time someone calls because we have to handle Priority One and Priority Two. MR. CHUNG: And that is consistent with the contract? MS. DOLENA: That is consistent with the contract. MR. CHUNG: Okay, that's fine. So you can follow the contract, given the resources? MS. DOLENA: Yes, given the resources. Anything, and we've talked to Acting Chief Jelsma about this because I know the public—and he gets a lot of calls of complaints. And he has tried to educate the public on what we are able to deliver and not deliver. Now, that being said—go ahead. MR. CHUNG: As far as you know, are these the same amount of complaints while the Humane Society had the contract? MS. DOLENA: It is my understanding. I have no evidence. It is my understanding that since the beginning of this year or maybe towards the end of last year when Charles Brown left, it is my understanding that they have received the Police Department had received calls for non -service by the Humane Society. Now, that's just my understanding. MR. CHUNG: No, what I'm trying to ask is, because no matter what, the Police Department is going to get complaints whether it's you guys or the Humane Society. So what I want to know is, is it any different? MS. DOLENA: It's my understanding, it's not that much different, maybe the volume is a little bit higher now because there was a pent up demand due to COVID. A pent up demand, and we knew there was a gap in service, and the number of calls we receive is over a hundred calls a day. Page 7 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 MR. CHUNG: But it's not unusual, the amount? MS. DOLENA: It's not unusual, no it's not unusual. And you can probably confirm that with Acting Chief Jelsma. I don't have the exact data on that because that's the previous provider. MR. CHUNG: Okay, right. So again, I just want to make sure though, you know, because you prefaced everything. You started off your presentation by saying, you know, the difference is in the funding. I just want to make sure, you can do what you are tasked to do under the contract. MS. DOLENA: Okay, so let me clarify that even further. Okay, can we do it? Yes. It's not an issue of capability. It's an issue of capacity. Will some calls get pushed to the bottom of the cue because they're a lower priority? Yes, they will. MR. CHUNG: But that was done even with the prior? MS. DOLENA: Yes. The top priority calls we will handle as long as we have the information, we will handle it. MR. CHUNG: Can you do as good a job as our previous provider? MS. DOLENA: I'm not sureI mean that's a judgement on comparison of capability. It is my unwavering belief that we are fully capable to do that and more given the opportunity under similar circumstances and similar funding. Yes, we can. MR. CHUNG: And then, Nick. I have a question for Nick. MR. LIPPINCOTT: Yes. MR. CHUNG: Thank you and welcome to our island. MR. LIPPINCOTT: Thank you. MR. CHUNG: You know, you did say you just arrived here, right? You know, what's your job? Is it purely administrative, or do you take a hands-on approach to your work as well? MR. LIPPINCOTT: I don't think it would be possible for anybody to fill this role from a purely an administrative standpoint. My entire experience has been based off of being a field officer. I've worked in the field as an animal control officer since 2009 in varying capacities. Whether it be a supervisor, a program director, a trainer, and you know, advisor. Page 8 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 You can't do this job without the proper mindset to, you know, understand how to resolve these complaints fully where they don't come back to us, without having a hands-on knowledge of the proper way to work the channels and find those solutions for the citizens. You know, we make the constant statement that, we're in animal welfare, and we're here for now for the advancement of the animals. But at the end of the day, this is Customer Service 101 in one of the more trying environments. And you know, any type of success we make towards the animals is based off how we can perform for the community and the individuals. So, yes, very much a hands-on approach here in regards to my involvement. MR. CHUNG: Okay, so even in addition to your administrative duties, you are an extra hand that the organization can use. And have you been doing that? I mean have you been going to the shelter? MR. LIPPINCOTT: Yeah, pretty much the first day I was available to be in the Kona location I was. And have been, probably to the dismay of my significant other who's moved over to Hawaii with me. You know, again, I come from a much larger organization structure historically. But it goes back to exactly this, you know, without being hands on; without being in the field; without seeing what needs to be done and what can be done, there's no way for us to appropriately assume and guess and make plans for expansion and growth. Whether it be the shelter, or the services, or the staff. MR. CHUNG: Do you even respond to calls too? MR. LIPPINCOTT: Well, on one of the first few days I would have been able to. So again, you know, I landed just over two weeks ago. So it's been a situation of, you know, we want to setI explained this to staff the other day, where we will continue to expect and set a standard for, you know, those on the island and how they care and maintain their pets. And we can't expect and hold them to that with confidence until we can guarantee that us, ourselves in the shelter environment, meet and exceed that standard. So the first few days have been basically embedded fully, might as well set up a cot in the shelter itself to make sure the infrastructure and the flow was set up properly for the animals, their safety and care to the best of ability in the interim, and the same translate to the staff. So, make sure that they have the proper support structures and the knowledge. These are people either A, transferring from very different standards of procedure, not good or bad just different, and as well as, you know, citizens and the animals. So coming in and bringing those things and setting them up so they were on a course for success so they can do things like when we get those calls Page 9 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 through—you know, it is pretty easy to say that when a call comes through and its handled and addressed, they pour everything they have into correcting it. So the goal for me out the gate was identify and set up systems that allow us to get those calls and address as many of those calls as quickly as possible. And set up secondary systems that allow funneling, you know, categorizing, prioritizing in place to the contract. And you know, pick those things up at the top of the list so we can get you as many as possible and continue to decrease that voicemail account and get more people live on the phone with staff members so they can resolve things potentially without even needing a response. You know, we want them to do as much intervention and assistance that they can. And often that's, you know, from a remote situation. It can be handled without having actually having to respond. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, okay. Well, thank you. And, so anyway, I really do want, you know, you guys to succeed. Because this has been my worry throughout well, when we had a feeling that the Humane Society may, you know, just opt out of all of this. It's that, some other organization comes on this is my concern or worry that another organization comes out, not able to do it, then Humane Society or some other organization comes in and asks for more money. Yeah, that's my concern. You know, it's a matter of leveraging and things like that. So, you know, I really do want some organization, right now, it's you guys, to succeed. I will say this, though, and I didn't realize it because an email came in last night at this morning at 12:52. And it was sent to, and don't ask me why, because I don't know this individual, and this individual wanted to remain anonymous and I will respect that. But it was sent to myself, Ms. Poindexter, Ms. Lee Loy, and Ms. Kierkiewicz, voicing some concerns about your organization and the operations. Now, I'm not going to, you know, bring it up or talk about it right now. We'll just make this referral over to HPD, and they can handle it as much, you know, how they want. But for full disclosure, I just wanted to let you know, I didn't even know about this until I got here today, yeah. But good luck, I mean I really do hope the best for you folks because it translates to a positive for our community. So thank you. MS. DOLENA: Yes, thank you. May I ask a question of you? MR. CHUNG: Sure. Yes. MS. DOLENA: Alright. In what you said, was one of your fears is that if we MR. CHUNG: It's a general fear, you know. It was even prior to you guys coming on board. Okay, if Humane Society bugs out, I'm going to reiterate, they bug out and somebody comes in and they're not able to perform. This is way Page 10 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 before you guys came on board. That would enable either Humane Society or someone else to come back in at a higher price. That's all I'm worried about or was worried about, or have been worried about. Yeah, go ahead. MS. DOLENA: Right, okay. So, my question is, in order to be successful, we do need you; all of you and the general public to really understand what it is we're trying to do. We will work selflessly, tirelessly, to make this happen. We will. And we need the support of everyone in order to do this. When I walked in and I saw this, "We're in This Together." I said, "that says it all." We're in this together and we are on the frontline with the animals. We are on the frontline with the public. And it may sound like a simple solution, but it's not easy. And the solution is education and community involvement. Once we have that, especially with the keiki, we're just one generation away of solving many, many problems on this island. Not just about animals, but any problems on this island. The drug problem, all of that. If we get to the keiki that is one of our major goals, to get into the schools. To teach children how to train their animals; how to train their dogs; how to care for their pets. We need that education at that level all over the island, and we're very motivated to do that. MR. CHUNG: Well, speaking of the education and other things, though, since you brought it up, you know, I'm going to share this experience, too. Not precisely on point, though, but you know, I recentlyI have a whole bunch of feral cats hanging around in my yard, so I had to get them fixed, right? My wife said, "Hey, you got to get these guys fixed already." And that's the socially responsible thing to do. Okay, so I did it, right. So I called up the only person that I have a personal friendship with, you know, in terms of doing these things. And they have an organization, too. They came in and did a fantastic job. But then I realized, and they didn't make disparaging remarks, you know, against any other organization. But just listening to them talk, I realized that not everybody's on the same page, you know, in terms of these animal organizations right? You guys all are together on a certain level, but then it starts to diverge here and there, right? And it was very interesting talking to them. So you know, when you talk about education, it really depends on what message you're conveying, right? Because not everybody is precisely together on this. I didn't realize that. I just thought everybody loves animals, you're going to fix them. No it ain't as simple as that. MS. KRIJGSMAN: And may I add to that? MR. CHUNG: Very briefly. MS. KRIJGSMAN: Very briefly. I came on board in 1999, and I went to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary at the time to do a course on "How to Run an Page 11 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 Animal Sanctuary." I came back in 1999 to this island from Utah only a week and set up Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary. And at that time, the differences between the different animal welfare organizations were huge. And I thought, oh my, how are we going to overcome this? So I set out personally to talk to each and every one of them over the island, and I have to share with you that now, 21 years later, it is much, much improved. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, there are varying degrees. Okay, well thank you very much and good luck. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Chair Chung. Do you yield? MR. CHUNG: Yes. CHR. VILLEGAS: Is there anyone else in Hilo that would like to speak. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, Ashley here, if I could ask a couple of questions, please? CHR. VILLEGAS: Sure, go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Mary Rose, and Sylvia, and Nick for being here and for stepping up. I can truly see you have a lot of passion and commitment for caring for our animals. So thank you. My question is around the budget. So there was a request for proposals issued by the County. And I'm going to assume that they set a ceiling amount for what the contract could look like. And you provided an estimated budget for what you thought you could deliver the work for. And so then you signed nearly a 200 -page agreement with the County that identified your budget, the transition plan, expected scope of work. But what I'm hearing now, now that you are in the thick of work, right, that there might need to be some adjustments to the budget and the scope, is that what I'm hearing? MS. DOLENA: For the interim services, the amount of calls that we have been getting far exceeded our expectations. For the interim services, the budget is very much underfunded for what the public expects and what we are attempting to deliver. When we come into full services, knowing that everyone has a ten percent decrease across the board, we believe that will be sufficient for the normal full-service operations written in the contract. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And remind me again, when is full service expected to take place? Because I thought the transition period was until September 30'. It's on your presentation. MS. DOLENA: Right. It's until October 31. Page 12 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So it was extended? MS. DOLENA: It was extended prior to signing the contract. It may not have made it through. There were a couple of points that didn't make it into the final, but we do have the interim services agreement from August 1 till October 31. Full services beginning November 1. And in my opening statements on the contract, I said some things will be slightly delayed like a shelter on the east side because we're working through a proposal, I mean an offer for property and all of that. But we hope that sometime in November, we will have a shelter on the Hilo side of the island. In the meantime, we are utilizing the Kona Shelter and the sanctuary at Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary and the sanctuary that I have. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And something about a shelter in Waimea? MS. DOLENA: Yes. Right now, the shelter in Waimea, which was leased by Humane Society from Parker Ranch is not available. However, we do have one or two places there that may be available. And we do want to have a satellite station in Ocean View over the next few months. Hopefully by the end of the year because that area is very much underserved. And to have presence there; to be able to immediately respond is going to be really, really important for animal population management and other things. So we plan to have that. We can't say that will be happening by November 1. We do hope to have by November 30, two fully operational shelters and then areas where we can provide satellite service. North County and South County. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, great to know. Is it possible to get in writing from you folks when you have it available, a copy of your leadership team and organizational structure? In my mind it would be really helpful to know who's in charge of securing the infrastructure; who's in charge of securing the shelter properties; who's overseeing those operations. MS. DOLENA: Right. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Who is in charge or hiring and training of the animal control officers? Do you have all that available that you can send to us? MS. DOLENA: We do have that available. It's in the proposed state. Most of that will be effective November 1. Right now in the interim, we don't have our full leadership team on board. Basically, it's Mary Rose, myself and Nick that are operating as the leadership team. But we do expect to have a full leadership team with citizens as the oversight and leadership team going forward after November 1. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: What do you mean by citizens? Sorry. Page 13 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 MS. DOLENA: Okay. I will say, for example, we had proposed that one of the local attorneys be on our leadership team and he has agreed. And another personI'm not going to reveal the names until we have it all. But another person who's very active in the Hawaiian community and the cultural aspects of the island to be on our board. We want a very diverse board, and we're not calling it a board. We're calling it a leadership team because it's separate from the board of directors of the nonprofit. And these will be people who live on the island, have a professional standing on the island, but are private citizens. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. So in your follow-up communication to us, could you also include all the different entities that are involved? Because I'm hearingHawaii Rainbow Rangers, which is different from Rainbow Rangers. There was a mention of Nakka; there is Best Friends. There's a leadership team; there's a board. Who's getting paid, who's a volunteer. All of that would be really, really helpful information. MS. DOLENA: Yes, we can absolutely send that to you. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And then, you know, I get a lot of calls from constituents about dead pigs. And so a couple of times we called Hawai i Rainbow Rangers, and for whatever reason, your team wasn't able to pick up mean what is the threshold for what you folks are picking up versus what County's kuleana is? It's the poundage right? MS. DOLENA: Yes, the Department of Public Works picks up animals over 50 pounds. So if it's a piglet, we've picked up three piglets. They were not dead at the time. We have also removed from the roadways, animals over 50 pounds, but could not actually manage that. So the Department of Public Works picks up any animal on the roadway dead over 50 pounds. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, that's helpful. I think when my staff called, someone on the phone mentioned 40 pounds, but it's good to know that you folks know, and making sure the rest of the team is aware of that detail. We want to be helpful. We want to help you communicate information. We so desperately want you to be successful. So please keep in touch with us, and we'll do what we can to support you. MS. DOLENA: Yes. Thank you. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. POINDEXTER: Chair, this is Val again. I just have a quick comment. Page 14 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 CHR. VILLEGAS: Okay, let me just check and see if anybody else has any other questions before we come back to you. Does anyone else have any questions or comments? No? Okay, great. Go ahead, Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, I just want to say, you know, as far as your leadership team. I would really encourage you to include the public, not just professionals. Because the person who helped me on that weekend that I was so boasting about in your organization. I was looking through my texts. Her name was Cindy, she did a fabulous job. And it is my understanding that she was a volunteer. So it's important to have those people on the leadership team. Not just professionals, you know. MS. DOLENA: Yes. I agree. MS. POINDEXTER: So I really would encourage that, and I want to say thank you to Cindy who, you know, volunteers working, yeah? Not getting paid and really put out good work during the weekend. And Council Member Richards, you weren't here when I had talked about that, calling you in a panic. And later saying, "Hey, you know, I got it handled. Somebody from Rainbow Rangers called me back and I gave them kudos for that." And I just wanted to make sure to mention, her name was Cindy. So thank you, aloha. MS. DOLENA: Yes, thank you. MS. KRIJGSMAN: She was great. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Anyone else? If not then I will go ahead and take this opportunity. I have a couple of comments. First of all, I'd like to mahalo Nick Lippincott and Best Friends for identifying the Big Island's need to have your services; to have you join us. And to take the best practices from a national organization and be able to come in and help implement those practices. A huge mahalo to Rainbow Rangers for your willingness to incorporate somebody else from another organization. What a blessing to have this person here; to be fully funded and to help get you guys up and rolling. Because I am aware and I have heard a number of different reports that you're taking on this contract. You kind of came in and didn't end up with all the resources that you had thought you were going to be provided for you. Especially here at the facility on the west side. So thank you so much for making lemonade even if you got some lemons on the offset, and your willingness to step up. I also want to send out a quick mahalo to Regina, who I believe for while was the director. She was instrumental in helping a recent case. There was a dog attack Page 15 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 on Walua Road, which is one of our only walking paths here on the west side of the Big Island on September 2nd. It was a traumatic experience and continues to be a traumatic experience. And I'm hoping for a bit of advice. I had a number of constituents reaching out to me before today's meeting with their concerns, their frustrations, their desire to have a greater understanding about the protocols and how this happens. You know, it was discovered that because the dog attack happened—what happened is somebody's dog got out and apparently this dog is ferocious when interacting with other dogs and it made its way just a block down to the Walua Road Walking Trail where a woman was walking her two small dogs and totally and completely, unprovoked, her dogs were on leashes. This dog came at them and attacked. First, one of her dogs, a small I believe it was the Chihuahua first or the Terrier, I'm not sure which one. Either way, she is holding on to her precious pet while its back legs are in the mouth of this dog. And she was bitten on the arm. It finally let go, but then it went after her other dog. A neighbor was there and unfortunately these folks weren't trained in when you have a potentially a Pitbull mix that's attacking, it will not respond to being beaten on the head with a pole or hit with rocks. You have to pick up their back feet, and it's the only thing that unstablelizes them. I myself didn't know this until now. But they were able to get the dog off where it then raced down the trail and proceeded to attack another dog that was in the arms of a women; tore its shirt off. Tore the shirt off the woman and attacked a Golden Retriever with her owner there. So now, Rainbow Rangers came, the Police were called, picked up the dog. Police reports were made; ambulance, the works. One of the cases now we're discovering is a civil case because the dogs have been in the Vet Clinic for, you know, hanging on for dear life. And that one's a criminal case because not only the dogs were there, but the owner was bitten. And the second case is a civil case. Now, what ended up happening is Rainbow Rangers, because it was in this interim period, they were directed by the Police Department to release the dog back to the owner. So now we currently have a dog in this neighborhood—finally the owners were given the name and the address of the owner. But not only are these dog owners dealing with the trauma caused by that, but this confusion of what the laws are surrounding if a dog bites a human. I used to think that a dog had to bite twice before it was mandatory to put it down. But I was told by a Police Assistant Chief Wagner that he believes it's one bite now and the dog has to be put down. But essentially, we have one of the only walking trails in Kona. The dog owners have gathered over 280 signatures that they are going to present to the gentlemen that own the dog at its residence requesting that the dog be removed from the neighborhood. My question is, what is the protocol? I mean we've got people Page 16 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 walking their dogs with three prong because they are so afraid of this dog getting out again and there being no repercussions. The owner that was attacked did have mace and did spray the dog with mace. And now we have people walking dogs with pepper spray. And so I understand, and it was big educational process of understanding and Regina was so gracious, but I understand that she's not even working there anymore. She left, but she was just very instrumental in connecting finally the Police Department and Rainbow Rangers, and getting the information released to the dog owners. But we're still in his limbo of waiting for the case to get to the Prosecutor's Office. And where do we go from here? Where do these people go from here? I mean I live on Walua Road. I walk my dog on that road and it's a daily concern. So I really, you know, I want to thank the Rainbow Rangers for everything you did. And I understand that your hands were tied because you were directed by the Police Department to give the dog back. But where do we go from here, and is this something that, as you take over on November 1st, how do the people of my district—what are the protocols and where do we go? And, you know, the irony and I will recognize this that much of your work is making sure the dogs do not get euthanized. But on the opposite side, you know, when we've had conversations here in Council prior about some of the circumstances in Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder's district with dogs getting out and attacking people or other animals, I'd like to find out what the protocols are for those dogs actually being put down and what are the repercussions. I mean these neighbors, well these people in my neighborhood are looking at, you know, tens of thousands of dollars in vet bills. So, where do we go with this and how do we make sure that victims of attacks like this don't end up the ones being left to carry the burden, not only emotionally and psychologically, but financially? MR. LIPPINCOTT: I'd like to speak to this if possible. CHR. VILLEGAS: I'm sorry. Mr. Lippincott. MR. LIPPINCOTT: Yeah, okay. Just, you know, coming from Orange County, and I don't want to speak fully to this specific incident because, like you said, and because I haven't yet had a chance to really fully break into the historical cases that are currently pending. I'm aware of that one but not in full detail to be really able to speak to exactly where we're going to go next. But rest assured after this meeting's done I will kick it to the top of my priority list, and you know, I'm happy to reach out directly and provide further if anybody else can't. CHR. VILLEGAS: I'd appreciate that, Nick. Yeah, that would be great. Thank you. Page 17 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 MR. LIPPINCOTT: I'd be happy to. But to speak in a bit more general sense in regards to, you know, the concerns of the community in situations like this with a little bit of context. In Orange County, we're in Florida, obviously. One of the things thatI was very happy to not have to deal with here is rabies, obviously. And with that concern we had in Florida in, you know, on the mainland, the amount of protocols, and procedures and concerns and intervention, we had set up was drastically higher than probably historically it had been here. Which means, you know, we had protocols set in place for everything. We had a dedicated staff specifically to address situations like this. We had what we call a Dangerous Dog Coordinator and a court liaison who all they did was handle, you know, the handling of cases of this regard or the liaison between prosecutors and judges, and the police department. Or when things escalate out of the civil realm and into the criminal. But, you know, in regards to the citizens, you know, the biggest thing we've always seen and the thing I've been able to identify most with my background as a whole is, you know, what's tragic is when this happens, it happens, and rarely is the result good ever or happy. And nobody on either side is happy because on one side there's somebody with a dog who they love who did something horrible, that they often didn't witness, so they don't want to believe. And then the other side, somebody's animal or person, or child or any of the same, is injured. And you know, unfortunately, I've dealt with things injured to the point of death. With, you know, animal instance. Those are horrible situations that, you know, we have to solve. And the biggest thing that I have to always reiterate to the community when I was in the field and when we're doing public education is that, you know, the dog didn't decide overnight, or the animal didn't decide overnight to allow this to occur. They didn't say, okay I'm going to go out and do this. Often it was, you know, it's systematic regular unabated intervention of small infractions. You know, I always like to say, work down the chain of events. You know, how did this happen? Well, what ultimately happened was the dog or an animal was often allowed historically to, you know, maybe wander in his front yard off the leash when the owner was there. And then it progressed to become a little more of an infraction. Well the dog could hang out on the sidewalk. And then it got worse, you know, they learned more and more over time they have this ability to run unabated and without intervention. And that's where the inception point of our problems often occur. So for us in Orange County and something that's very much to the case here as well is that— MR. CHUNG: Rebecca. I'm sorry to interrupt. Madam Chairman? CHR. VILLEGAS: Yes. Page 18 PSC -15 October 6, 2020 MR. CHUNG: You know, I'm just wondering if we could table this matter. I mean I actually think we're going a little bit too far from the contract itself. But we have a nominee for the Fire Commission who's been really waiting here patiently. Yeah, I'm just wondering if we could take her and either resume this or just, you know, just move ahead already. It's really your call, though, it's really your call. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Nick, Mr. Lippincott. I would very much enjoy talking to you, you know, beyond this meeting. And with that, I guess I would defer to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, as this was your communication. MS. DOLENA: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. I would just like to add two quick points about the question of what we can do right now, and I'll make it very quick. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And then let's after that, we can do a follow-up communication and then go from there, and people can ask questions then. MS. DOLENA: Right. Regarding the dog incident here. We have asked HPD to give us the Rules of Engagement so that it is very clear outside of the law what covers the gray areas. What we can do, and what they will do, and at what point. And also, we have asked the Council, and I believe you, Matt, are working on that, on an ordinance that's going to clarify some of these laws so it's very definitive as to who has jurisdiction in what case regarding animal bites and vicious dogs, because it's very vague right now. Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, with that let'ssorry, Chair if we can, let's resume this conversation at a later time via another communication. But for now, I'll ask for each Council member reach out to Hawaii Rainbow Rangers or to Mary Rose or Sylvia on their own if they have follow-up questions. And then in light of our guest today who's waiting for her Fire Commission appointment, and in the essence of time, I'd be okay with closing file on the communication today. MS. DOLENA: Mahalo. CHR. VILLEGAS: Fantastic. All those in favor of closing file on Communication 1069, please say "aye." Page 19 PSC -15 Vote on Comm. 1069: Filed Comm. 1080 October 6, 2020 The motion to close file on Comm. 1069 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, and Chair Villegas — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards —1. Excused: None. CHR. VILLEGAS: Mr. Clerk, could you read in Communication 1080? APPOINTMENT OF MARIA SHON MAGSALIN TO THE FIRE COMMISSION From Mayor Harry Kim, dated September 18, 2020, submitting for the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: November 1, 2020 (Section 13-4(1), Hawaii County Charter) Vote on Comm. 1080: Ms. Poindexter moved to recommend confirmation of the (Approved) appointment of Ms. Maria Shon Magsalin to the Fire Commission. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Villegas — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Deputy Managing Director Barbara Kossow came forward and provided a brief narrative of the nominee. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. Chair Villegas informed Ms. Magsalin that she does not need to appear before the full Council for final confirmation. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (There were none.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (There were none.) Page 20 PSC-15 October 6,2020 CHR. VILLEGAS: With that, I'd like to call for an adjournment. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 10:52 a.m., Ms. David moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Villegas—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. VILLEGAS: Meeting is adjourned. Approved: //6-GWOO Ms. Rebec a illegas, Chair (Date) Public Safety Committee RV/dt Page 21