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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN GOREDC 2021/01/05 2020-2022 Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations and Economic Development l't Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii January 5, 2021 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations ORDER: and Economic Development was called to order at 5:14 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile David, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member 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 and came forward when called by the Chair: David Blancett-Maddock Comm. 39, in support. Ken Van Bergen Comm. 37, in support; and Comm. 39, in support. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 29: HAWAII STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES' SEPTEMBER 28, 2020, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES; AND JULY AND AUGUST 2020, TREASURER'S REPORTS From Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, dated November 9, 2020. Motion to Close File: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved close file on Comm. 29. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 CHR. KIMBALL: Any comments, beginning with you, Ms. Kierkiewicz? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Pretty self-explanatory. These are the meeting minutes from our September meeting and we had a couple of interesting presentations. So I wanted to provide information and reports because I think they will be really useful to my colleagues. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Any other comments? Kona? Alright, I will go to the vote. All in favor of closing Communication 29? Vote on Comm. 29: The motion to close file on Comm. 29 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas and Chair Kimball–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Mr. Clerk, the next item. Comm. 34: REQUESTS AN UPDATE FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATIONS TRANSITION, UPCOMING PLANS, AND PROJECTS From Council Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, dated December 11, 2020. Motion to Close File: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to close file on Comm. 34. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Can we have, I believe it's Kate Logan from the Mayor's Office, can I have you come—well, you don't need to come forward you're there on the screen and provide the presentation as requested in the communication from Council Member Kleinfelder. (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Kate Logan came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. LOGAN: Aloha and thank you, Council Chair and members of the County Council, for your time this afternoon. I know it's late and it's a privilege to have the opportunity to speak to the entire Council as I haven't had the opportunity to meet all of you in person thus far. My name is Kate Logan and I'm one of Mayor Roth's Executive Assistants and I'm honored to be taking the lead on this sustainability summit Mayor Roth spoke about during his campaign. Page 2 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 Knowing how important sustainability issues matter to everyone on Hawaii Island, Mayor Roth prioritized holding a sustainability summit in his first 100 days, intended to bring bright minds together, develop a portfolio of actionable strategies that will help Hawaii Island address issues such as protecting our fragile environment, food security, renewable energy, sea level rise, and threats to our reefs, while identifying ways our island can become more self-sustainable. With that said, we're excited to invite each of you to collaborate, share ideas, and participate in the summit. Please mark your calendars for March 4h and 51h. It's a Thursday and Friday. The goals for the summit include to form a working group and develop actionable strategies that will help Hawaii Island become more self-sustainable, provide opportunities for residents and allow for alternative energy sources on island. We also hope to draw ideas and suggestions from the community which create action steps to achieve sustainable goals; explore inter-dependencies and opportunities for more collaboration across public, private, and civil sectors; advance green recovery; build on the shoulders in the past as we know there's been so much work done in this field already, and raise awareness of what's currently happening. We also hope that each household takes one step towards sustainability. We'd like to explore options for advancing actions towards sustainability of our island as a whole, and in addition elevate and raise awareness at the Aloha Plus Challenge, uplift Hawaii Green Grows County localized dashboard. So these are some of the goals that we've identified. But it definitely isn't limited to these goals as it's just the beginning of our sustainability initiative. So we're planning a two-day event which will include 12 breakout session topics that we've identified thus far. These include climate action and resilience, waste management, sustainable tourism, technology, preserving the environment, healthcare, workforce and education, affordable housing, economy, energy and transportation, food security and sustainable agriculture, and then the Aloha Plus Challenge. The breakout sessions will be led by skilled facilitators we've started to identify that will guide each panel towards meaningful discussions resulting in scalable solutions, partnerships, accelerator programs and opportunities that the County can support and highlight. Also,to share bright spots and invite passionate stakeholders to participate in working groups alongside County officials ultimately seeking to balance environmental health, social equity and economic vitality in order to create a thriving, healthy, diverse and resilient island. Currently, we're planning a hybrid format with one day in Hilo and one day in Kona to show the presence on both sides. And Na Leo has agreed to partner for the technical support for this production for the two days. We have secured Page 3 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 several prominent keynote speakers. And at this point we're looking to fill subject matter experts and facilitators for these breakout sessions. So as Mayor Mitch Roth always says, "We're looking forward to changing the philosophy of the government to creating a government that allows people to thrive and succeed." This summit is just one step closer to that vision and we're really excited for the opportunity to have everyone on the Council be a part of it. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Ms. Logan. I'll start with you, Council Member Kleinfelder as I open it for discussion. Any comments? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Thank you for that brief presentation. It sounds great to me, you know, I got it marked down as far as the dates. And thank you, Mitch, for putting that together. Something I spoke to Mr. Adams about was, in the Department of R and D (Research and Development) you have the Sustainability Action Committee which we made some very small amendments to as I realized it was there. There was some resistance from the last administration about getting that committee moving. But maybe that would be something you'd like to look at doing. And I talked to Mr. Adams about that as well. I appreciate the update and I'll keep doing these just to offer this opportunity for whatever you got coming from your side as well as anything from our side. Given today and what's happened, I don't have anything for you right now. So I yield. Thank you, Ms. Kimball. And I appreciate you being here today. MS. LOGAN: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member. Any other questions from Hilo? Anyone over on the Kona side? Alright, great. We'll take the vote. All those in favor of closing Communication 34. Vote on Comm. 34: The motion to close file on Comm. 34 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Moving on to Communication 37. Page 4 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 Comm. 37: APPOINTMENT OF ELIZABETH A. STRANCE AS CORPORATION COUNSEL From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated December 8, 2020, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Appointment Effective: Upon Council's confirmation (Section 6-5.6, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend confirmation of the appointment of Ms. Elizabeth A. Strance as Corporation Counsel. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: I believe we have Ms. Stance on Zoom. How would you like us to refer to you today? (Note: At this time, Acting Corporation Counsel Elizabeth A. Strance came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. STRANCE: Ms. Strance or Judge Stance, either way. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. Thank you, Judge Strance. And Mayor Roth, would you please introduce your candidate to us? Thank you. (Note: At this time, Mayor Mitchell D. Roth came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MAYOR ROTH: Thank you very much, Chair Kimball and the members of the County Council. I'm kind of excited to get into this final hearing today. We got some really great people starting off with Judge Elizabeth "Betsy" Strance. And again if you follow the Charter she more than makes up for everything that is required of a candidate for Corporation Counsel. Her over 30 years, she doesn't seem that old, of legal experience as well as, you know, her over 10 years on the bench as a judge in the Circuit Court and a per diem judge in District Court clearly makes up for what needs to be met as far as the Charter. I'm really excited about having Judge Strance as the Corporation Counsel. When she said yes I was very enthused and excited. She is currently on the mainland taking care of a family issue. With Corporation Counsel there's a little bit different function, I guess, than the regular Directors as Council Member Villegas brought up. This is actually one that comes in after, and so I know Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder brought up an issue about not being here. I think the reason that Judge Strance is in the mainland right now taking care of her mother who is ailing more than makes up for anything. Page 5 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 I am so excited about having Judge Strance for several reasons. One, I think she brings a lot of dignity, respect and just sound legal judgement to the table. I don't think anybody can question her integrity. You know, it was interesting we had a conversation and because she had to be on the mainland today she was willing to withdraw this position. And I said, "No, we need you." And in this position getting it right and waiting is more important than anything else. I know that some of the former Council Members had some questions in the last administration. I don't think we'll have any issues there. Judge Strance is not only a great legal mind, she's a great human being that really cares about our community. You know, I was at an event with Council Member Inaba and Judge Strance. They both sit on the West Hawaii Mediation Center, on their board. And, you know, seeing her in that group trying to take care of people that have regular situations and, you know, it shows what kind of character she has. She cares greatly about this community. She cares greatly about making sure we get the law right, making sure that not only as the Mayor I get the right opinions but for Council, it's important that you get the right opinions. And I think, having the best that we can is worth the wait, and that's why I was willing to wait. The other thing I really love about Betsy is the way she treats people. And Council Member Chung can attest to this. We've been in front of a lot of judges and when people have that, you know, ability as a judge to tear you down or they can gently correct you, it's much appreciated when you have a judge like Judge Strance who will correct you without making you feel like a fool. I think that's important. You know, my vision for this County is how we treat people is with dignity and respect. And having been in front of her as a judge, I know that's how she treats people. And that's important. So it is with great excitement that I get to introduce Judge Elizabeth Betsy Strance. Judge? CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mayor Roth. Judge Strance, would you like to say a few words to the Committee? MS. STRANCE: I would. And thank you very much. I did prepare a few remarks. I don't want to take too much of your time but thought they might be helpful in terms of the Council understanding my thought process and where I'm coming from. First, I'd like to thank Mayor Roth for the honor of being considered for this position. It is truly an honor. I also appreciate from the County Council's position that he's choosing a lawyer for you, too. And so I understand the importance of this appointment for this Council. Over the course of my more than 30 years of legal experience so far I've worked for private law firms large and small. I've worked and done litigation and transactions for individuals and large corporations. And I've had the incredible honor to serve as a judge on this island. My career has taught me a number of life lessons, three of which summarize much of who I am. First, it might surprise Page 6 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 some that I'm not an advocate of trials to resolve disputes. While trials have value and limited circumstances, in most cases I believe they reflect a lack of imagination and commitment to resolving disputes. For this reason I'm a proponent of mediation. And you can expect that I will advocate collaboration over altercation. Second, legal work is hard work and it often requires we roll up our sleeves and dig deep into fact and law. Sometimes answers are clear and sometimes they are not. Where they are not, I believe it's helpful to have systems in place within an office to brainstorm. And if a response remains unclear we present our best analysis to the client and if possible a series of options and risk assessments. If confirmed, I will look at the current systems in place within the Corporation Counsel's Office for brainstorming and if there are changes that should be made then collaborate within the office about how best to implement them. Third, providing legal counsel sometimes requires giving advice to clients that they do not want to hear. The rules of professional contact specifically states that lawyers must exercise independent professional judgement and render candid advice. If confirmed you can expect the deputies and I will work collaboratively, will work hard, and will provide independent and candid advice. Finally, it will be an honor and privilege to serve as Counsel to the County Council and to the Mayor. I know you all have stepped up to the plate to serve this island at a time of tremendous challenge. While I don't envy your work, I do appreciate the importance of your receiving high quality legal services and believe that I have a background and skillset that may be helpful to you. So again, thank you for this opportunity for giving me a few minutes to talk when it's such a late afternoon. And I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Judge Strance. I'll open the floor. Anyone here in Hilo who have comments? No? Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. And thanks, Judge Strance. Judge and I had a great conversation and I appreciate the fact that you're doing this while doing the important thing, is taking care of your mother. So I appreciate you being available for the conversation. I don't have any direct questions per say. The judge and I did have a conversation concerning the Mayor and the Council. Actually, Judge, if you could just touch on that. I posed that question to you representing the Mayor and the Council and you had a great answer. So maybe best if it came from you. MS. STRANCE: I hope I remember. It's been raised a couple time by a couple different people about potential conflicts between the Council and the Mayor. I don't see that as a particularly large problem because the Mayor has a certain lane within which he operates and the County Council has a certain lane in which it Page 7 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 operates. Hopefully when there are projects or rules or issues that come up, if there is a disagreement, the Corporation Counsel's job is to provide legal advice. We're not charged with advocating any particular position around policy making. So the best service that we can provide to all of you is to give a candid and complete legal assessment of a situation. Now sometimes there's not going to be a clear answer and some people are willing to take more of a risk than others in certain areas, or you might disagree. But as a general statement, I don't think that would be different legal advice. It would be different positions on policy. My hope and expectation is that you would get the same legal advice. And how you folks manage that legal advice is your job and not ours, you know. And so all of who are lawyers have had clients who don't follow our advice or they don't like the advice and then you brainstorm and sometimes you come up with a better idea. But the whole idea of having a collaborative process and one of the reasons that I'm so excited about Mayor Roth's administration is that he uses that word a lot. And as I've listened to testimony for a few hours now, you know, you folks have a lot on your plate. You have very technical matters that you are addressing and what the Corporation Counsel's Office should do is when you have a legal question that we give our best effort to give a clear, legal opinion even if it's not a straight thumbs up or a thumbs down. But I think there's been this idea that the Corporation Counsel's position is advocates. And we're not. In the County Charter, you know, there's a line of succession. If something happens to the Mayor, Corporation Counsel is not in that line. So I really see the office as apolitical. And hopefully we provide you with just good legal advice and then you do what you folks do best. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you. I think for me that brought clarity to the position meaning your job is to give us clarity on the law. And what we do with that clarity is up to us. So I did appreciate that. I also like the conversation we had concerning just a balanced level approach to going forward. And we're going to have some challenging times ahead of us. Question on your deputy. Is that still in the works right now or have you made any decisions? MS. STRANCE: I have not made decisions. I don't think it's appropriate to make any firm decisions until I'm confirmed. MR. RICHARDS: Fair answer. Okay. I'm going to be supporting your nomination. And so with that, Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Council Member Richards. Council Member Chung. Page 8 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 MR. CHUNG: Thank you. And congratulations, Judge Strance on your nomination and eventual appointment. You know, I guess it's going to be exciting to have two judges in that office, right, because you have Judge Strance as well as Judge Frenz (Dakota)there. So you know, I know we've got a lot of ammunition going forward. You know, I've watched Judge Strance's career, you know, passively of course. You know, I'm not like watching it closely. But what I was really impressed by her is some of the decisions she made, one in particular where she ruled that the Land Use Commission actually went too far in exercising their powers. And I think that is really important as a person who's going to be providing legal advice to the County because we have regulatory powers as well here. And we want to make sure that the public is treated fairly. And so I'm excited in that regard. I think that's what Judge Strance brings to the table, in my mind anyway. With regard to this, I call it a tenuous nature of the Corporation Counsel being in between the Mayor and the Counsel. I understand where Judge Strance is coming from but, you know, in reality sometimes it doesn't work out as nicely as that because, you know, the Corporation Counsel whether we like it or not, can only be removed by the Mayor, not by the Council. The Corporation Counsel is nominated by the Mayor, not the Council. So there are some allegiances and hopefully, going forward, we never come across a situation where we have to fight and put the Corporation Counsel right in the middle. You know, I like what I'm hearing from Mitch, you know, today, you know,this has been an excellent exercise in how things should be done in terms of bringing forth and introducing your nominees. Excellent, Mitch. Because I think people kind of uncomfortable talking about themselves. So Mitch did all the talking for you guys and you really presented a nice picture of everyone so far. But I just wanted to congratulate Judge Strance and I really look forward to working with you. As you know, and I'm sure you know this from working with Mitch already. Lawyers just by nature have to disagree, right? And there will be times, well, when I'm going to disagree with some of the opinions that are advanced by you or your office. But ultimately, you are the last word when it comes to, you know, what the law is here and I will certainly respect that. I look forward to working with you. Congratulations. MS. STRANCE: Thank you. I look forward to working with you as well. CHR. KIMBALL: Any other comments from folks here in Hilo? Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Ms. Strance, this is Matt Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder. Thank you for joining us by Zoom. And I understand your circumstances so I appreciate you being here in this manner. I don't know you at all and you're very far away. So I look forward to getting to know you. From Page 9 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 your resume and what Mitch Roth has so elegantly put, you know, you seem very secure for this position. So I will support your recommendation or Mitch's recommendation going forward. And I think what we saw last Council term was some interesting decisions between what the Council was trying to do and what the Mayor's Office was doing. And yes, you will find yourself in the middle of some situations I think regardless of how we feel at this moment. And I will look to see how you handle those situations then. But for right now with such glowing recommendations, you have my support today. MS. STRANCE: Thank you. And I think if there is a perception and that there are real conflict issues, that's something that we should look at. The Corporation Counsel's Office has the authority to develop rules and I'd be interested in hearing some of the concerns that you all have and, you know, it might be possible to set up some parameters where if there's a perception that way, how we would deal with it. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Okay. I will look forward to that. And it can be as simple as an email or a phone call. But maybe when you get back. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: I take it you yield? Alright, thank you. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Judge Strance for being here. I am going to be supporting your nomination. But one thing about the beauty about our system is that we don't always get it right. And whether it's ruling from down at the Planning Committee level or some of us, there's always an appeals process. And there's one case in particular that I was intimately involved in related to defamation and false light. And we took that particular case through a union grievance process all the way up to the Supreme Court. And without hinting too much about it, it's something that Judge Strance was a part of. And the Supreme Court has ruled and has remanded that back down to us. With that in the back of my mind, I also listened very carefully about something you just said about offering mediation. And I would love to see that particular case that has the force and effect from the Supreme Court and how we look and defamation and false light for our County employees and how we can do a better job to address that early, and just bring some closure earlier on with mediation. So I'm just going to leave it there. I know there are a number of people in this room who know exactly what I'm speaking of. And so I look forward to that coming back and just getting resolved and so everyone can continue to move on with their lives. So with that, Judge Strance, congratulations. Again, I will be supporting your nomination. I yield. Page 10 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Alright, moving over to Kona. Any comments from the floor in Kona? MS. VILLEGAS: Yes. Thank you, Chair Kimball. This is Rebecca Villegas. Aloha, Judge Strance. Thank you for being here today. I'm not sure exactly where you are in the mainland but it's later there regardless and it's already almost 6:00 p.m. here. So thank you for patience being here today. I haven't met you personally but I have heard glowing recommendations and rave reviews about your leadership style, your integrity, your commitment to justice and I just know that I personally earlier today would've loved to have had Corporation Counsel in the room to answer some of the challenging questions that I know that I had. I understand the process and I really, especially for Corporation Counsel, is that you, until confirmed, don't step into that role. And I specifically honor the wisdom in that, and I see opportunities for the rest of the departments to potentially to follow suit in the next time, in the next round, to avoid some of the complications that can be caused by starting a position before confirmation. But I just wanted to welcome you and just say, hello. And I look forward to you being back in the islands and being able to meet in person. Once again, congratulations. I have the utmost honor and respect for a woman in your position with your stature and reputation and legacy of leadership. So thank you for your willingness to serve our County in this capacity. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Any other comments from Kona? Ms. David. MS. DAVID: Chair Kimball. CHR. KIMBALL: Yes. Go ahead, Ms. David. MS. DAVID: Thank you very much. Aloha, Judge Strance. I has to be about midnight up in your area. MS. STRANCE: No. MS. DAVID: No? Okay, good. Great. Anyway, I'm just really, really happy with your nomination. And I just need to let everyone know that I have known you personally, and I know that we've worked for the same law firm for at least 15 of my 30 years in the legal field. And you know,just knowing your personal commitment to equity and justice, and I'm so happy that you will now be a part of the County family. And I know that whatever decisions or questions that we may have, I'm confident that you will be giving us the legal direction that we would need to make decisions for ourselves on how we deal with very complicated situations that come forward. And that much I am just so confident in your abilities. And not to say no one else rises to that level in the past but because I know you personally and I know how, what an honest person that you are and a Page 11 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 fair and just person, that makes me really excited. So I wholeheartedly support your nomination. I really would like to thank Mayor Roth because you definitely exceed the qualifications that are required of a Corporation Counsel for the County. And congratulations, and I look forward to our discussions and talking story later on, okay? MS. STRANCE: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. MS. DAVID: I didn't have a question. I just needed to express that. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member David. MR. INABA: Chair. This is Holeka. CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Real quick. Mayor Roth, thank you for bringing Betsy into the fold. I've known Betsy for a little over a year now and in all of my dealings you couldn't get someone who is more fair and methodical in providing advice and seeing things in the clear and just way. So mahalo nui. I'm so happy that I'm able to be on this Council and be able to confirm your appointment. Mahalo, Betsy. MS. STRANCE: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Do you yield? MR. INABA: Yes. CHR. KIMBALL: Okay. Thank you, Council Member Inaba. And lastly, Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair Kimball. Thank you, Mitch and your blue ribbon task force for putting forward Betsy or Judge Strance. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you yet but I look forward to working with you. I do echo the sentiments my colleagues have brought forward in working with previous Corporation Counsel and feeling like it was an us versus them, Executive Branch versus Legislative Branch, when really when we have so many issues to tackle, we have to be unified. And so I was more than satisfied with the answer you provided and how you're going to be working on behalf of both branches of government. But I also want to share some frustrations that I had with the prior Corporation Counsel and that was the lack of coming to a decision and in a timely manner. Page 12 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 And so I just have to put that on the table. And I welcome conversations with you. Many challenges ahead and we have to keep in mind that we have to make decisions and take action. You know,people are in a world of hurt. They're struggling and they're really relying on us to make good sound decisions in a timely manner. So I'll be supporting your nomination and look forward to working with you. Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member. Alright, with that I think that we've covered everybody. Anyone else? In the interest of time I will keep this brief. You come to us with an exceptional background and I am encouraged by the support that was received by the community, other members here on the Council, and folks that have contacted me personally to support your nomination. I look forward to meeting you in person. I'm happy to support your nomination for this position. I'm always pleased to see a strong woman in leadership. So mahalo. With that I will take the vote. All those in favor, the motion on the floor. Vote on Comm. 37: The motion to recommend confirmation of the appointment (Approved) of Ms. Elizabeth A. Strance as Corporation Counsel was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. (Note: Ms. Lee Loy voted "kanalua"then "aye.") CHR. KIMBALL: Moving ahead to Communication 39. Comm. 39: APPOINTMENT OF LEE E. LORD AS MANAGING DIRECTOR From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated December 8, 2020, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Lee E. Lord to the Managing Director. Seconded by Mr. Richards. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mr. Lord for joining us at the table. Do you have any preference as to how we address you today? (Note: At this time, Acting Managing Director Lee E. Lord came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. LORD: Lee is fine. Page 13 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 CHR. KIMBALL: Lee? Alright. Thank you. Mayor Roth, would you please introduce your candidate for Managing Director? (Note: At this time, Mayor Mitchell D. Roth came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MAYOR ROTH: Sure. Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Members of the Council. It is a great pleasure and privilege to introduce Lee Lord who is a personal friend of mine. And I'll just kind of tell a couple of stories on Lee or Dr. Lord as he doesn't prefer to be called. But he does hold a doctorate in psychology. When we were going through the selections I was not sure that Lee was going to get chosen by the committee. The committee was kind of stacked against him. We had a candidate from Kona and I think there was four people on that group and I think three were more Kona than Hilo. And you know, Lee was chosen by that committee unanimously to be the Managing Director. And I think Lee brings a lot of different things to the table. His County leadership whether it was in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney as the Office Manager or his work at the County heading up the Motor Vehicle Division more than makes up for what is needed by the Charter. Disclaimer, again he's my friend and he convinced me to go on Wheel of Fortune. Yes, we did win and we split everything down the middle. That had nothing to do with him—further disclaimer, I'm not wearing glasses but, you know, if I did some people would confuse us. But Lee is a great guy. Having worked with him over the last eight years and seeing what he can do in the Prosecutor's Office, he's amazing with personnel issues. He is not afraid to tell me I'm doing something wrong, I'm driving the car off the cliff. He is a feminist and will often tell me that I'm making a statement that is inappropriate when I don't even think about it. So he is really a very knowledgeable and just a wonderful person. And I feel very fortunate to have him as the Managing Director. I have complete trust in him because when I do things wrong, he will tell me that I'm doing something wrong. So we can disagree and be disagreeable or we can disagree but not be disagreeable, still we can be friends. And I think that's really important especially watching what has happened in past administrations where you didn't have people that would tell the Mayor, "That's stupid." And he doesn't say it that way but he has that ability to do that and he's a great person to bounce things off of. And like I said, I feel very, very fortunate for having him as the Managing Director of the County and I think, again, this should be a no brainer. So will all that I introduce to you Lee Everett Lord or Dr. Lord. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mayor Roth. And Lee, you are welcome to go ahead and address the Committee. Make sure your mic's on and—yes, thank you. Page 14 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 (Note: At this time, Managing Director Lee E. Lord came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. LORD: Before I start, he opened the door. I was the Business Manager. And it's the Vehicle Registration Licensing Division. We don't have a DMV. Okay. There you go. I was humbled and took time to make my decision when the position was offered to me and they asked me, only because of the people I work with and the time and the energy, the heart of all the employees in our County and as well as the people we serve, every person whether they voted for Mitch or not, no matter their socioeconomic situation we need to treat everybody as best we can and help them in the way they need to be helped. So I knew it was a big position and I had to take great consideration in deciding to jump on board which I was already there, to support Mitch in all of his initiatives that he put out there and continues to put out there. I am very much aligned with his initiatives and I see that as my job. I see my job as also supporting the directors that are being confirmed as well as Bobby, who is the Deputy Managing Director, who supports the Executive Assistants, and supporting them also in the projects and initiatives that we're working on to make sure that we can facilitate the resources, the conversations, bring people together, give space for everyone to have a chance to talk, have their turn, be heard, look at all sides, so that we can make the best decisions possible for our citizens and for our employees for the whole County. So I look forward to doing that. I was humbled by it. I am still humbled by it. And I look forward to serving and continuing to work with all of you that I've worked with before and the new Council Members also. So I thank you for allowing me to be here and for allowing me to be considered for confirmation. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mr. Lee. I will go first to Council Member Chung, as I know you have to leave. MR. CHUNG: Thank you. Yeah, I'm going to be really quick. You know,this whole thing about confirming the Managing Director is relatively a new Charter development. In the old days the Mayor just picks the Managing Director. That's his right hand man, right? So I don't want to get involved in ManagingI mean I know by Charter we're supposed to confirm. But it's really, you know, you just answer to the Mayor, really. You're the number two in line in case something happens to Mitch, heaven forbid, right? So you'd have my vote even if you were a lousy guy. You know, I mean seriously as long as the Mayor wanted you there but you know, you're a good guy so makes it much easier. So congratulations. MR. LORD: Mahalo. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Chung. I'm going to go to Kona to start on this one. Anybody have comments or questions for Mr. Lord? Page 15 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 MR. INABA: No one on this side. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much. Any additional questions or comments from this side? Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Aloha, Mr. Lord. MR. LORD: Aloha. MR. RICHARDS: Great conversations you and I had. And I appreciate the fact that, more comments than actual questions. But Mitch, he brings a financial side that you and I have talked about to this. And I was intrigued by some of our conversations where your, you used your social science side of managing domestic violence and issues along those lines. But also employing that with handling the delicate financial side because you're making shifts and will probably be making some big shifts coming forward especially in this pandemic side. Mitch, I just want to congratulate you because I think it's an interesting blending of skillsets that are going to be very important coming forth. Anytime we're talking numbers, anytime we're talking finances for the County I'm intrigued. And I think that Mr. Lord brings that to the table. I also agree with Councilman Chung concerning this is your right hand man. And yes, part of this process is to help introduce your staff, your cabinet to the public that may be watching or reporting on this. And so that is part of the process. So I get that part. I'm also quite confident that I think if any of your cabinet you're not happy with, you're going to be replacing them. So I think our job is to help introduce them out and then help you get going. And if there's something that's not working out, we'll be seeing a change. So I will be supporting you wholeheartedly. Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Council Member Richards. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Lee Lord, good to see you. I think Mitch, you did good on this guy. I don't know when I first met you. But I've worked with you side by side at many of the Relay for Life's. And you're always a good man. I think you even let my son breath as much helium as he could. Well you were around the general area and I was trying to stop him. I think you said something, too. But just to appreciate your sense of humor and your kind of go get `em attitude. So I look forward to working with you. Yeah, you got to pick your man to be your support in your office. So I look forward to seeing what you guys do as a pair. Thank you. MR. LORD: Mahalo. Page 16 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Matt. Any other comments from Council Members here or in Kona? No. Thank you. I will just add to the glowing responses from the Council. I think you two bring the qualifications needed for this position. And we've known each other a little bit and I've always known you to be a very forthright and a nice person with also a good sense of humor. So I appreciate that as well. We'll go ahead and move to the vote. All those in favor of closing Communication 39? Vote on Comm. 39: The motion to recommend confirmation of the appointment (Approved) of Mr. Lee E. Lord to the Managing Director was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Congratulations. Alright, moving on. Mr. Clerk, could you read the next communication please? Comm. 40: APPOINTMENT OF DOUGLASS S. ADAMS AS DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated December 8, 2020, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Douglass S. Adams as Director of the Department of Research and Development. Seconded by Mr. Richards. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mr. Adams for joining us. How would you like to be referred to by this Committee? (Note: At this time, Acting Research and Development Director Douglass S. Adams came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. ADAMS: Doug is fine. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Doug. Mayor Roth, would you please introduce your candidate? MAYOR ROTH: Thank you again. It is again with great privilege and pleasure to introduce Doug Adams as our head of Research and Development. Doug and I Page 17 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 as well as Lee and I are really very good friends. And if you look at the Charter and what it requires for this position, Doug checks all the boxes and then some. Doug was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army. And what really amazes me after, you know, going through Westpoint and all those fancy things that he's done is the heart that this man has for the community and the Veteran's community. And his wife, I'd just like to recognize, Debra Lewis is in the office. She's actually a Colonel so she does outrank him at home. Real quickly, a couple things about Doug. He rode a bicycle through every state in the United States to bring awareness to Veteran's rights. For the last several years, both Doug and Debra have been running the Veteran's Day Parade. And so when you get out of the military after a long, very prestigious career what do you do to keep from being bored? Well you sit on just about every single board on the Big Island, some of which he is the President of the Boys and Girls Club, he's been the president of the Rotary, he's been on the Success Factory, Nextech, Kuakahi Mediation, the hospital board. The list goes on and on. So that's what he does to prevent from being bored to death. I was kind of surprised a little bit, you know, that he was willing to step back from a lot of the things that he did to actually put in for the R and D Director. And he did. And you know, I've got to say that the committee that chose him was blown away and I just got really great comments. As with everybody else I neither put my foot on the gas or on the brakes. We went through a period with R and D Directors, where quite honestly we had someone else. And then we went back into the interviews and then at that time Doug put in his interview and we had a different panel go out and do the interviews. I'm glad that he is our Research and Development Director, especially at a time like this where we're coming out of COVID. We need someone that is able to look at all sorts of things, bringing up not only our economy but looking into things like sustainability, looking at what we do with our children to make sure that our children are able to raise their children on this island. I have nothing but great things to say as long as we're talking about R and D. Now, golf is another matter. We won't go there at this time. But for an R and D Director this should also be a no brainer. It's a great privilege and pleasure to introduce to you Doug Shipman Adams. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mayor Roth. I appreciate it. It's getting late and we're all getting a little punchy here. Doug, would you please introduce yourself to the Committee? MR. ADAMS: Aloha kakou. I was going to say, good afternoon and I will now say, good evening. Chair Kimball, Chair David and esteemed members of the County Council to include my own Council Member, Councilman Chung. It's with gratitude and humility that I present myself before you today in the time Page 18 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 honored tradition and constitutional imperative associated with the legislative confirmation of an executive appointment. With your allowance I would also like to introduce my wife, Colonel Retired Debra Lewis, my rock and my refuge who of course moonlights as a Chair of the Veteran's Day Committee. I'm here before you as Mitch Roth's appointee to the position of Director of Department of Research and Development. A department with a long history in the County, one with a mission to advance knowledge and innovation to make Hawai`i County a great place to live, work, and visit. My view of how the department functions, we've actually had conversations about with most of you. It's two-fold. First, our clients include both members of the community and other departments of the County. Great customer service means looking for opportunities to partner with the other County departments as well as other public, private and nonprofit sector organizations. Second, and maybe more important. Our department works best when it's looking ahead, when it's looking over the horizon, identifying and innovating opportunities for the rest of the County and by implication the people of our island to improve our standard of living and quality of life. I'm blessed to belong to an island family of long standing. I have a lifelong appreciation for and desire to engage in stewardship of our community and its future. My education, training, and experiences have led me to this time, place, and opportunity to serve our County. In addition to being a father and a husband I consider the conduct of this duty, if confirmed, to be one of my life's great honors. I am grateful to Mayor Roth, at least for this, for his faith in me and the chance to help the people of our island thrive not just survive. I look forward to your questions. Mahalo nui loa. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Doug. Alright, we'll go hereto Council Member Chung again in the interest of time. MR. CHUNG: Thank you, Madam Chairman. And you know, as you all know I had to split two minutes ago. But I wanted to voice my strong support for Doug Adams. And you know, quite frankly Mitch would've been well-served had he also appointed his wife. Deb. MR. ADAMS: Better probably. MR. CHUNG: Maybe better. You know, because she is a dynamic individual. Well I wanted to congratulate you. And you know, I just wanted to openly tell you, you know, the conversation that you and I had, you know, first about that department, Research and Development, nobody really knows what it does, right? I mean it is what the Director makes it. And after having that conversation with you and, you know, you can share your thoughts later on. But I'm confident that we're going to have a real good R and D Department. Page 19 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 And I wanted to also share another thing that I told you. I don't know if any you guys know but way back when this department only had a director and they didn't have a deputy. And, you know, when I was in the Council many years ago I'm the one who initiated the move and the funding for a deputy. And the purpose for that, even if it was a small department, it was so that the director or the deputy could be free to travel about. I know that's not a real popular thing to say right now given the fiscal constraints we have and the travel constraints. But that was the idea, so that one of you guys or both could go and get ideas from around the world, really. And it's so important because we're here on an island and there's so much more out there that we can learn from, yeah? So I just wanted to give you that cover, you know, if you do go because I think it's really important. The benefits that you can bring back to our island are immeasurable. I just wanted to say that. I'm not going to be around for the vote. But congratulations. MR. ADAMS: Thank you, Councilman Chung. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Alright, any other questions or comments? Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair Kimball. Aloha, Doug. Thank you. Thank you, Deb, so much for your lifelong service to our Country and to our community. I remember first meeting you when you were doing the last leg of your bike tour here on the island. And you have been nonstop ever since. Boots on the ground in our community serving with so much passion and purpose. So thank you. And thank you for stepping up to lead the department. I've always felt that R and D is the crown jewel of our County. So I'm really curious if you could just share very quickly, what are some of your key priorities for the department? And with COVID we've seen the need to no longer pay lip service to diversifying our economy. We really have to get serious about that. So just wanting a sense of what your priorities are and if you have some thoughts around how we can begin to immediately begin to diversify our economy with various emerging sectors. MR. ADAMS: So my priority is getting people back to work, right. The idea is that when we have in a hospitality sector 50 percent or less that are employed, we have to get them back to work if we're going to stop relying on the Food Basket and other entities that have been incredibly productive and effective and generous in feeding folks that just don't have the wherewithal to do that right now. We need to get folks back to work. That's number one. And we need to do it one, it's not just one A, it's also one, and we have to do it in a safe manner, right. The other piece of that then as we move forward. And I think this is part of what we'll be seeing in the sustainability summit that you all have heard about earlier Page 20 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 today is where do we go as an island and how does the government help the other sectors in getting us there? Because it's not a government program to be sustainable. It is a County for our people program to do that. And I am really excited. Now that he's not here I can talk behind his back. The department is an exceptional department. There are exceptional people in that department. Many of you already know of them in particular areas. And I have been just overjoyed, energized, by the kind of experience and work ethic that they bring to the areas that they are passionate about. And things happen. It just is the way it is. And so my job is to help both network and align the way forward for them. So when we talk about diversity there are no good ideas that I can throw out. Frankly, there's no ideas that I can throw out at the moment. We have to have all of them because it's only going to be with those ideas that we're able to make something happen. The other piece of this is that with those ideas we have to figure out helping our people that want to be in business, be in business, right. So there may be things, and I have talked to most of you about the idea of the department doing proof of concept type of projects, right? Those ideas where, let's take a look if we need to change something, let's do it in a limited, time-limited, regulatory-limited way that allows us to see does something like this work. And part of how that works is making sure that we don't put all of our eggs into one or two baskets. Hospitality is really important. We all get it. How that operates on this island is also important. What's our brand? All of that matters. But even as important as these large sectors are the opportunities for folks to—we need to encourage folks that have ideas about running gig economy or garage economy or incubator economy type of activities so that those things can then turn into the opportunities to run from, as my current Deputy Riley Saito likes to say, we have 22,000 small businesses, 18,000 of which are single entrepreneurs, right, single individuals. We need to be able to provide them with the opportunity to grow those even if it's only, you know, to five or ten people. Those are okay. That's going to help with potential. That's going to help for jobs. And so I'm talking about diversity. I see diversity as a strength for our island and for the County. Hopefully that answers some of the question. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes. Absolutely. You went into great detail. And I hope that we can find spaces to be building up our next generation. We've got to build up that educational pipeline and ensuring that we're connecting with our youth and identifying jobs that they want to have here so that they can remain home if they choose to. MR. ADAMS: If I could just comment on that. I am very excited about Bonnie Erwin as our chancellor of the flagship here on the island. I'm also very excited to be working with Rachel, Chancellor Rachel, out of the Hawaii Community College. Talk about somebody who cares, she leaves me in the dust big time. And so when we see the educators at that level and then we see our Page 21 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 complex area superintendents and the work that they are doing to bring the education in the area up to speed, we know that there is a real desire on this island. So part of this is bureaucracy. We all get that. I don't need to go into to that here. But part of the idea is how do we take what we know are excellent folks and allow them take the reins off to degree, help take the reins off to some degree so they can make things happen for our kids. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Thanks, Doug. I mean I know you're not trying to sell us here. I was sold the moment that I saw that you were being elevated for this position. So I'm very excited and happy to support you. MR. ADAMS: I know. And you ask me these questions and I act like the salesman. But it's just exciting to be able to talk about this stuff and to look at this and figure out how can we together turn this into the island that we know it has the potential to be. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Well you've been like a shot of caffeine here at 6:30 p.m. So thank you. Feeling really energized and look forward to working with you on moving things forward here in our County. Thank you, Chair. I yield. MR. ADAMS: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Any others here in Hilo? Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. Thank you. And thank you for being here. You know, like Ms. Kierkiewicz, she and I share same passions as far as R and D really being at the tip of the spear when it comes to what our island kind of turns into as far as economic driver, providing education and educational opportunities for our kids, incubator programs, being very innovative. She nailed it out of the park. And so I just wanted to take a moment to really appreciate one, the energy that you are bringing again here at 6:30 at night. But more importantly the calming and leveling and sensible approach on how you move ideas and innovative thought forward. You know, it's now sporadic. It's very well thought out. It's very collective. And I'm excited for those things because we haven't had too much of that in the past administration. And so I really am looking forward to working with you and your deputy and just some of the ideas as you say, you know, more being a scout, keeping your head up looking up out at the horizon. So thank you so much. And I really, really want to thank Deb for allowing you, so we can borrow you to come work with us here in the County. Thank you so much. I will be wholeheartedly supporting your appointment. Chair, I yield. MR. ADAMS: Thank you. Page 22 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. And I echo basically everything people have said up to this point. I do want to thank Deb. When I was in her parade I didn't realize I was going to walk all the way back to Waimea for as long as you made us walk. That being said though, Doug, could you—something you touched on. You know, ag is me and Doug's family and my family have known each other for literally generations. And I was very excited when I saw you step into the chair. You talked about proof of concept. That's the first phase, but then we actually have to take it to market. And we have the Sharwil avocado program on this island that works. We have the ulu cooperative that works. But we have to make that in economy now. Do you have some thoughts on taking that forward? I'd like to hear them,just share that with my MR. ADAMS: So you're going to make me look bad in front of my boss. Is that what you're going to do, Councilman? So we haven't had this conversation. But that's okay because I'm going to say it anyway. The proof of concept I think is one of the ways the department works best, as I think that I've talked to most of you about, is that if we're doing these small things, we can't be the only one. If those things work we can't hold on to them. MR. RICHARDS: Correct. MR. ADAMS: We can't have ownership. We have to turn them over to the rest of the County to do this stuff. So when it comes to ag, there's a problem, right? We don't have an agricultural department. We have a couple of really smart folks that are in Department of Research and Development that are doing yeoman's work when it comes to trying to understand the collective, or to create a collective understanding of, you know, what the system looks like as well as, in particular, you know, the challenges and opportunities for our producers, right? So it isn't necessarily that we need to create another department. But I do think that there is a place and we just have to figure out what that looks like. And I don't have an answer for you today on what looks like. But organizationally what I believe in concert with what Council Member Lee Loy was talking about is that when we're looking at a systemic way of moving forward, you take a proof of concept, if it is working then you have to figure out how do you then turn that into that next incubator period. And then from the incubator into the full fledged. That also operates in an organizational sense. And so it may be that it turns out not to be government that runs it, right. It may be that we turn this over to nonprofit or private sector. Part of this is making sure that when you do that,that there are means to support it and to over-watch it. And so that I think is a part of the process when we take a look at all that government can do. It's great. But that's not how we're going to make this island go. It's going to take all sectors to do that. Page 23 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 MR. RICHARDS: And I completely agree with you on that. And that's the George Will, the political columnist, he posed the question I think is, and I've said this before in Council. The question that begs to be asked but most commonly is forgotten to be asked is, "And then what?" We do have the proof of concept. Okay, we've identified. Okay, then what? And that's where I think we're missing a lot. We've talked about the food self-alliance food security we have—inherently agriculture can be a huge economic generator. We can put people to work, we can create those economies, but everyone believed that government has to help get it started but then have an exit strategy going forward. So I look forward to working with you to get this MR. ADAMS: Absolutely. MR. RICHARDS: Because I firmly believe that. And of course we tie in the energy component of that so. MR. ADAMS: Well it's actually even more than that isn't it, right? I mean you can talk about your ag tourism. There's a whole networking of this that needs to be part of—and we don't, I'm not a believer in central planning. Because I think that organic works best, right? If you understand what I mean organizationally, procedurally. But you do have to understand how important initial conditions are. And so creating those initial conditions to make things move in the direction and are aligned with other initial conditions, that's going to be key to what I think is part of my job. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. I look forward to working with you because I think as we talk about going forward,taking this County forward. We have to have opportunity for the next generation. That's going to come in an economy and so supply jobs, housing, opportunity, a future. So with that, Chair, I'm definitely supporting you, Doug. Look forward to working with you in the very near future. Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Richards. Alright, moving over to the Kona side. I'm sorry. You're very tiny on our screen so I can't see you if you're interested in making a statement. You'll just have to jump in. MR. INABA: Chair, no comments on this side. Mahalo. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Thank you, Doug, for being here today. I'm sorry, did you want to chime in? Go ahead, please. Page 24 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I had a very nice chat with you. And you're actually the first Director I've walked around and talked with as we did it. That was very nice. Thank you. MR. ADAMS: I enjoyed doing it. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah. It was nice. Actually, I've never done that. So thank you. MR. ADAMS: It was your idea. So that was pretty good if you've never done. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah. We'll it COVID meet and greet techniques—outdoor walks. I appreciate everything that you said in our meeting. I liked where you're headed. As Aaron Chung hinted that, there is kind of this wondering of what R and D does. And there always has been. If I was to think of R and D in a company it would be the secret lab in the bottom that does amazing secret things that no one knows what's going on. But in the County it's a little bit different. I think what you said about looking at the horizon as far as where we're headed, so you can help guide what we're doing now so that when we get to a year or two years or ten years later, we're in the right spot at the right time. I think you have some amazing people in your department. I love Riley and what he's done with energy and where he's headed with energy. I will support you as long as you're meeting your expectations. Mitch, I think you did well again with this appointment. And I look forward to seeing what you can do. And you do put on an amazing parade between you and your wife. And I don't care who wears your pants. MR. ADAMS: Thank you. I hope that it's not just meeting expectations, right? That's the idea is that we exceed expectations. That's the responsibility of this department, to do that. And I appreciate your support. I also appreciate your push back on a couple of things because I've used that with conversations already in my department. It's important that we remember who we're serving. So when we talk about energy and we talk about renewables, if in fact there isn't a bang for the buck for our residents, then that's not working. And I remember that. And so, it's not just cost of living, it is standard of living and quality of life. And just a shout out to Riley Saito who is my current Deputy, who will then go back to full time Energy Coordinator next Monday. And then my Deputy coming in will be Sulma Gandhi, Dr. Sulma Gandhi. And when we talk about quality of life, I don't believe you'll find that in the mission statement anywhere but you know that's where we're heading. Because if we want to help people thrive it's got to be across the board. The breadth of all of it. And Sulma is going to be a true partner in helping us get there. So I'm very excited about that. So thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you, Doug. Page 25 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you MS. DAVID: Chair Kimball? CHR. KIMBALL: Yes. I believe that's Council Member David. MS. DAVID: Yes it is. Thank you. I don't have any questions for you, Mr. Adams. And I just would like to just say mahalo nui for your appointment. And I think you bring an experience quite different from what we've seen before and I'm excited to see what you have to offer. And I also want to thank you for reaching out to my office and to me. And I look forward to having a sit down with you in the near future. So congratulations. And I do support your nomination and confirmation. MR. ADAMS: Thanks, Chair David. MS. DAVID: Mahalo nui. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Okay. Any other comments or questions? Thank you, Doug, again for being here and being so energetic so late in the day. It has been a charge for all of us. And I want to thank you for your service to the country and the community in so many great organizations. And mahalo to Deb. Deb and I have known each other for a while now and, you know,we're getting two for the price of one here, I think. And that's really wonderful. COVID has certainly been a crisis in so many ways, a public health crisis, an economic crisis. And I think we agree, we've met a couple of times now and talked, that as much as it is a crisis these times are also opportunities for transformational change. As R and D there's many ways that you can take the lead in some of that informed transformational change. And there's a lot of things to do. There's a lot of opportunity out there. My question to you is—you talked about the organic development of ideas which I think is wonderful. But there's also a need in order to be effective as in for, you know, to focus. And so talk to me about how you tend to focus the efforts of R and D in line—in keeping in mind the Charter amendment which was approved for greater definition of the roles, functions of duties of R and D, which you helped formulate. So that's my first question to you is how to also get some focus while keeping those organic ideas flowing? MR. ADAMS: So part of this comes from the—I'll try and make this quick. Part of this comes from the leverage that we have as a department, right. So we're very horizontal. Not a lot of us. But very broad sectors that we have responsibility for. Part of our leveraging includes that grant structure that we have set up in those sectors. And when I talked about looking out and looking out beyond the horizon, those are great words but what does that look like in practice? Well in practice that looks like, in our RFP's (Request for Proposal) that go out, Page 26 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 we have to make some decisions. And some of those decisions aren't necessarily going to be happy for folks that we maybe have been providing funds for in the past, because we a whole County full of departments that have responsibility for the here and now. And if my RFP's are helping just the here and now without any look at the future, then I'm not doing my job. And so part of the RFP process from our department to help focus is to take a look at are the funds that we're using leveraging the ability for us to look at innovation, to look at opportunities. And so how that becomes organic is we know that we're going to be in specific areas because you all appropriate the funds in specific sectors for us to put that money against. And then the next part of that is, well what ideas do people have that's out there? And so there's a combination of us being able to focus within the sectors and then see what are the ideas that are coming. And then our decision making includes this idea of where's the innovation that's a part of that? CHR. KIMBALL: Okay. One of the discussions that we had when we met previously, and I believe this was a subject of your dissertation is how we the budget actually is representative of our priorities. MR. ADAMS: Another disagreement between us. CHR. KIMBALL: Yes. I'm aware of that. But I actually side with you on that and look forward to sitting in in the deliberations with Deanna for the R and D budget. Thinking about the budget moving forward and the need to bring additional funds into the County, I'd like you to tell us a little bit more about your deputy director because I believe she has some strengths there and what your plans are moving forward as far as grant administration is concerned? MR. ADAMS: So two things that you've asked me there. One is an opportunity to talk at length about Dr. Sulma Gandhi CHR. KIMBALL: Maybe not at length. MR. ADAMS: Yeah I know. I would refer you to Google on Dr. Sulma Gandhi. I'm still floored that we actually have her coming into the County and into this department. And I look—it's fair to say, he's already talked about golf and Wheel of Fortune, so I can say I interviewed her for half an hour and then she proceeded to interview me for three days. Alright so this is another strong woman, other woman who understands, another scientist, but somebody who has worked in healthcare, has worked in human services, has an understanding and is doing work now with grants to help our children in the KKP Complex Area (Ka`u-Kea`au-Pahoa School Complex Area), you know, with suicide prevention, right. And so this is somebody who gets what the needs are and has an understanding about systems and our ability to put those things together with the other sectors, so that we have so that we can create a true network of quality of Page 27 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 life. I'm just really excited about it, clearly. And so the question will be not whether she can keep up with me but the other way around. When it comes to grant management we are in fact, I'm waiting for her to get here, but we some solid grant writers already. I mean Beth Dykstra has been teaching grants before Christ was a corporal. Not that she's that old, but she knows all of that stuff. And she as a matter of fact has just written a couple of grants through the EDA (Economic Development Administration) for the Department of Environmental Management, right. And so we are—it is not our job necessarily to write grants for the departments. I think that's not the way that we want to go. We'd rather that the departments have the ability to do that themselves. But what we would like to do is pull the expertise that we have already in the County as well as then bring in other folks that can be grant writers, perhaps on short-term loan or as full positions, you know, we can talk about that. But let's take a look at who we've got now and figure out how do we move forward in a smart way to do that? And Sulma knows, she knows grants. Riley knows grants. We've got people that know this. Many of my folks have written grants in their lifetime, you know, whether inside County or outside County. It isn't a matter I think of needing to find people to do that. It is a matter of taking a look at where are they that's out there. And we actually have a couple of calls that we have received recently and are going to continue on, and the Mayor and the Managing Director don't even know this yet, that are helping us focus on how do we find out about these grants that are available, right? I know that he's not worried about that because this is exactly what he wants us to do anyway. CHR. KIMBALL: Great. Thank you. And in our discussion in my office it migrated over time to a grand philosophical discussion about many things MR. ADAMS: Imagine that. CHR. KIMBALL: But I think one of the things that we agreed upon is that we're in a position where we don't need to just catch up, we need to actually leap frog. And to that end I support investing in some of these explorations that you're interested in. In your cursory evaluations of your budget, how much more do you need? Not that we can give it to you. I'm not putting it out there but I want to understand the lay of the land. Yeah, we don't have it. But MR. ADAMS: I understand that. And so I think that the accurate, whether it's precise or not, but I think that the accurate answer is we need to take a look at what the grants are that are out there and see where we can pull some funds from there. And when we have done that I think we will have an idea how much more will be helpful in leveraging these other ideas, right. Part of this is if I say we need proof of concept,then what's the put up? The put up is that we go find the money to do that to some degree, right? Now there may be opportunities that are within the County. But I'm fully aware of where we are, you know, fiscally. And Page 28 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 it isn't—if I told you that I needed more people, that's a true statement. And so that would be, you know, something that I'd be interested in talking about. When it comes to these programs and these projects and moving forward, frankly there are people out there that want to spend money looking at these things. It's our job to find them and to convince them. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. Thank you, Doug. The fact that you recognize the difference between accuracy and precision and are careful about that in your language, you're speaking my tongue there as a scientist. New language 101, right here. Two very different things. This is not the time to go into this in depth but you did bring it up in a cursory way. And I'm sure Council Member Richards, who is next, will have something to say. I rarely ask yes or no questions but this is one. Do we need an ag department in the County? MR. ADAMS: I don't know. CHR. KIMBALL: Fair enough. Like I said, not maybe the appropriate time to go into an indepth discussion but that was raised in your comments earlier. MR. ADAMS: It was. CHR. KIMBALL: With that I will yield my time and pass it over to Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Real quick. Thanks, Chair. A couple things, Research and Development, you touched on that already. That's your mission and vision right there, research and then development. I was thinking about that as you were talking. With that, touching on what Councilwoman Kimball talked about. Funding, it's my understanding that true budgeting is not how you spread the number of dollars you have around, it's what you decide to fully fund so you can actually make it work as opposed to just making everything limp along. And that's the hard part. MR. ADAMS: So may Iif I could. MR. RICHARDS: Please. MR. ADAMS: That's not my department's job. My Department's job is to find opportunities and innovation. So I need to be looking around for those things. It's his job to focus that and find the funding for those things that we then turn over to him to be able to do. That would be my comment on that. MR. RICHARDS: And I understand what you're saying. I'm laughing because Mitch is getting instructed on a lot of things he's going to be doing. MR. ADAMS: By his director, I may not have a job after this. Page 29 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 MR. RICHARDS: Deb? No,just kidding. But to that end you talked about seeking grants and all. I firmly believe we're going to be seeing some sort of economic stimulation. And I've asked a couple other director candidates. I would like you to have some shovel ready projects, ready to leap at if we can find funding. Obviously, it's not going to be construction jobs necessary but programs that you think if can fund them whether it'd be tens of thousands of dollars or hundreds of thousands dollars, I think we're going to have something out there especially when it applies to food. So I'm going to ask you to think about that as you go forward. With that, Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Richards. Any other comments or questions? Doug, any finalI can tell you wanted to just chime in one more time. MR. ADAMS: I'm just excited. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. Thank you, thank you. MR. ADAMS: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. We'll go ahead and move towards the vote. All those in favor of the motion on the floor to recommend the appointment of Douglas Adams as Director of R and D to the full Council—all those in favor? Vote on Comm. 40: The motion to recommend confirmation of the appointment (Approved) of Mr. Douglas Shipman Adams as the Director of the Department of Research and Development was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas and Chair Kimball–8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Chung– 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright, moving on to the next order of business, Communication 41. Comm. 41: APPOINTMENT OF SCOTT UEHARA AS DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated December 8, 2020, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Page 30 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Scott Uehara as the Director of the Department of Information Technology. Seconded by Mr. Richards. CHR. KIMBALL: Mr. Uehara, could you please join us at the table? And Mayor Roth, would you please introduce us to your nominee? (Note: At this time, Mayor Mitchell D. Roth and Acting Information Technology Director Scott Uehara came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. ROTH: Yes. Thank you again. It's with great pleasure that I introduce Scott Uehara as our Director of IT (Information Technology). You know, we talked about the whole process. Interestingly enough going into the whole process I thought I knew who my IT director was going to be until the group came back and said, this is your guy. And it wasn't the person who I thought it was going to be. And you know, I didn't really know Scott too much. What I did know about Scott is that he went out to get all of the other information technologist from the County and started a group with them to find ways of making changes. And what I've come to learn working with him is he is extremely dedicated, hard-workingI have to tell a little bit of a joke. I was surprised that Doug wore his suit, you know, coat and tie. I had to do that because I didn't want him to feel alone today. But thanks, Doug. I came through there with another bit of support. Local boy, Waiakea High grad. My kids went to Waiakea High. Then University of Hilo and, you know, has done great things in the County. He's been with the Police Department. I hear his—at the Prosecutor's Office, I used to hear his name from our IT guys. And everything that they would always say about Scott was straight shooter, good guy, honest, hard-working, you know, all the things that you want. When he submitted his papers and his resume, I mean he didn't just give me a resume, he gave me a whole thing. And he actually had a title. And the title was "Resilience, Innovation and Vision. A New Era of Technology for Hawaii Island." I thought, really, that's pretty cool. And a lot of things that he talks about is what we really need to do. We need to start working together to solve some of these problems. I thought, wow that's brilliant. It's so simple. But again, he didn't just talk about it. He brought words into action, brought groups of people together. During the campaign one of the things that he did is he brought all of the County IT kind of heads from the different departments. So we people from the Prosecutor's Office, people from Police, the people from Aging, there were like six of seven guys. And the group kind of told me what the problems were in the County. And you kind of think about some of the problems and a lot of it had to do with communication which has been a common issue in our County. Page 31 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 I talked about devotion. I know that he had some days off last week that he was in meetings, working of his days off. You know, he's got kids and, you know, a family. But he felt it was really important because we have things that went wrong and he doesn't have a deputy at IT. Maybe something we can talk about later on, thinking about it again because I think they do need a deputy. When we look at things, I know that Council Member Chung would have a lot to say about things like EnerGov. It's not under IT. IT plays a role in that but there is a support role that needs to be paid, done, and you know, right now we're paying a price for not having those kinds of things. I actually had my first EnerGov discussion at IT. So I think we're going to see a new era of technology for Hawaii County. One where we're working closer together, getting things taken care of in a lot quicker manner. I've had the opportunity now to work with IT. As a prosecutor I didn't have that opportunity. And I've found some of the people that he has working for them to be really great people. I think they're excited, and I'm excited, and I think you should all be excited. Because credentials, again no brainer, easy, fits the Charter. I won't talk too much longer. I just kind of—at the end of the day—it's a great pleasure to introduce to you, Scott Uehara. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Mayor Roth. Scott Uehara, thank you for being here today and thank you for your patience—waiting as long as you have to come before us. How would you like to be addressed by this Committee? MR. UEHARA: Sure. Scott is fine. CHR. KIMBALL: Okay. Thank you, Scott. Would you like to go ahead and introduce yourself to the Committee? MR. UEHARA: Sure. Evening, Committee. My name is Scott Uehara. I am the nominee for the Director of Information Technology for the County of Hawaii. First, I would really like to thank Mayor Roth for entrusting me with taking on this position. I know it may be a little egotistical but I do believe that DIT (Department of Information Technology) is one of the more important internal support departments. We make your email work. That's probably like one of the things to remind everybody of. But you know, outside of that we support a lot of technology innovations within the County. And traditionally the Department of Information Technology has always been internally focused. I would really like to turn that around and use some of our business agreements and ties and take that out into the community in terms of like lava recovery efforts, and providing broadband connectivity for underserved or unserved communities. The pandemic has really shown that is a problem for a lot of areas. And actually before I move on I did want to say one thing. I want to thank my family. My wife is watching the kids right now. Normally I'll come home and Page 32 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 I'll help with that duty. And I really want to thank her and the family for supporting me with this. I know it's not a decision that I just made by myself to accept the recommendation from Mayor Roth. When I was at Police there were a lot of times that I would get called out at 11:00 on a Friday night or at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. And you know, I've never turned down a call and that's the same thing for the County. Serving in this position, if anybody calls me at unusual hours, I will respond because we support a lot of first responders. Coming from Police that is one of my big things, is to support our first responders: police, fire. I think for Mayor Roth, when I was talking to him during the campaign, one of the big things that I really would like to see is dedicated support for the Fire Department. It's something that they desperately need. And I will be fighting for that. I will fight tooth and nail for that. I know he's laughing because I mentioned that multiple times and I will keep on mentioning it. But something else I'd really like to address is within the department we support every County employee. And right now our helpdesk only has four people on it. And normally within any business organization you have anywhere from 75 to 100 employees per helpdesk agent. Right now we're well beyond 400 per help desk person. So Mayor Roth did let me know that there is no budget to increase our manpower and to use technology innovations to try and help with that. And that's something that we are exploring. We've brought in a couple things already in the past. But I think I've said it to maybe somebody on the Council is, you know, the traditional idea is to do more with less. I believe the County DIT and the entire County has been doing more with less for a very long time. We can only do more with more already. You know, I would welcome any opportunity to get additional people. In terms of the idea of getting a deputy, I would actually decline and try to get more helpdesk agents because we need more people doing work. It would be nice to get somebody on board that can help with transition phases like this so that the institutional knowledge isn't lost going between directors, but I really believe that we need a lot of help on just supporting our County, our County employees. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Scott. Moving to questions and comments from the Council. I'll start with Kona for this one. Anybody over there have comments or questions for Scott? MR. INABA: Not at this time, Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Anybody here? Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Scott for being here. I really did appreciate our conversation yesterday. And like you, I agree IT has gone far too long as being a stepchild when it comes to funding and trying to do more with Page 33 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 less. And so I just wanted to kind of put it out there as far as what your thoughts are on what could be kind of a master plan for IT? Because we are actually face planted. I'm going to say that. We face planted when it came to COVID and this pandemic. And having to continue to run government services from people working from home, trying to get applications in. All the more reason why we really need to commit some serious resources and or partnerships or leveraging other things that we have. And so I wanted to hear a little bit from you as far as what maybe a 100-day plan would look like, a 24-month plan would look like, and then a four-year plan for IT would look like. Just high level 30,000 foot elevation. Please share with us those thoughts. MR. UEHARA: Sure. So within the first 100 days it's definitely to look at the staff we have on board and to really understand what their strengths are. You know, what are the positive things that they're bringing? And make sure that they're focused on those things. Within the next 24 months I'd really like to see us build out our server infrastructure. With the CARES Act we did get funding for network equipment to improve the connectivity around the island. So in that sense we will be on good standing once we get the equipment deployed. But our servers, we need to upgrade them and modernize them. We did have some email issues within the first week that I was on board. And that is directly because we haven't been upgrading our systems. So we need to start taking a heavy look at that. Beyond the 24 monthsI'm sorry, what was the next date? MS. LEE LOY: Four years. Where do you want to see the department at the end of Mayor Roth's first term? MR. UEHARA: I'd really like to see our department more integrated with all the other departments in the County to ensure that we're taking care of all the technological needs for every department. Just like Mayor Roth was saying, the EnerGov project, it's been a very longstanding project. Historically, whenever a project involves information technology it seems like it becomes theIT is looked at as the project managers. But what I really believe is the people who are going to be using the system should be the one dictating to us how something should be run. Because we don't understand everybody's process. We make sure things work. But we don't understand the process of planning or permitting. And when someone asks us to take on a project we always look to them to make sure that they understand their process, so that we can make sure that the technology is implemented, or the technology we implement accomplishes their goal. An analogy I like to use is the idea of taking a Toyota Prius. You're driving it along and you crash into a wall. Technology is just an accelerator. So if you upgrade that car into a Ferrari you're going to hit that wall much faster. So we need to change the process and get it to avoid that wall. If we don't change the process all we're going to be doing is just using technology to fail faster. So within the four years I really want to make sure that we integrate better with the Page 34 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 other departments to make sure that we're assisting them with accomplishing their goals and their processes. MS. LEE LOY: Which is a perfect segue for my next question and I know your boss is looking over your shoulder right now. But I'm going to dive in to EnerGov because I absolutely believe what you just expressed about a process. All of our government agencies and our departments have to develop a streamlined process. We as legislative policy makers kind of create that framework. The administrative side creates a very specific process and then turns it over to IT, right? And so I really believe this partnership between Planning Department, DPW (Department of Public Works), IT, and what I hope to be Finance at some point, using EnerGov as a framework to then further expand to OpenGov where we can see some real time transparency whether it is your permit or where our public's money is going. Whether it's through a dashboard, looking at benchmarks through data collective, or just other tools, Aloha Plus Challenge, so we can begin to demonstrate on a larger platform where we are, where we're headed, which is something that we had with Doug Adams prior to this, how we either turn it over to the private sector or keep it in house and continue to make that thrive. I also wanted to talk a little bit about—I've not been happy with the County's website. There's far too many clicks to try and get information. And I'll just pick one what I think is very simple. We're looking at every year at the beginning of the year, the need to fill a number of boards and commissions. And all too often when I invite my constituency or community members to go look it's just not conducive, it's not friendly. They get lost. How do we improve that? Or how do you help us help you improve that? MR. UEHARA: You know, that's a comment that I've heard from multiple departments, is that it takes far too many clicks to get to anywhere within the County. The highest number I've heard so far is it took 18 clicks to get to the information that they needed. To resolve some of that it should be to work with the departments to ask them, you know, what is the most critical information that they need presented on the top and then to see if there is a way to streamline the webpage so that we can present information without having to go through so many clicks. But that is to work with the departments and to make sure that the department understands their process and what their constituents are looking for and what they believe is important. Something that I think we can do with the system is to provide the backend data of what is being clicked and what are the hot topics, I guess you could say, that people are looking for and to help the department by organizing it based on those number of clicks to say, these are the most important things that people are trying to look for. How can we organize this better? MS. LEE LOY: This will be my final thought for you. And I appreciate you acknowledging your family. And one thing that we do share is special children. Page 35 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 And I just wanted to put it out there that I do, I get disappointed that a lot of the information that we try and put out through our website is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. And I have pushed very hard for a very long time that we start to look at how we can better address our disability community and or our kupunas who are trying to navigate a system that is incredibly foreign to them or just challenging. And so you don't have to respond to that. I just want to put it out there that we shouldn't forget, not only are we trying to serve members of the County and its employees, our constituents, but also a very special section of our community that all too often is forgotten. And I don't want that anymore. MR. UEHARA: I know you didn't ask for a comment, but I will comment. You know, I completely understand. You know, and during our conversation you actually said it best in that we should develop things for disability first. Because then at that point everybody can use it. It's not just for the select few. We now cover everybody. You know, for ADA compliance it's such a broad concept. We think of it in terms of IT is to make sure that the text on the webpage can be read through an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) system so that somebody who is blind can listen to the website. And there are people who are color blind, who can't see certain colors, and there are some people who are blind who cannot see completely. And we need to make sure that the website can be understood for all of those people. One of the sidesteps of ADA compliancy that not a lot of people know about is for the cut sidewalks. When you're at the airport and you're wheeling along your baggage that's thanks to ADA compliancy that you don't have to jump a curb, that there is a location for you to wheel your bag down a gentle slope or to go up that gentle slope. So ADA compliancy is much more than just in terms of being able to view the website but for a lot of different things also. And I definitely appreciate that sense of, we should build it for the entire community not just for the select few. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Thank you so much, Scott. Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Scott. And I appreciate the conversations we had concerning going forward. I also liked your comment about recognizing that computers are accelerators, not necessarily problem solvers. I'm sitting here looking at this stack of paper, I think computers just allow us to generate a lot more paperwork. And I'm not sure that's solving the problem. That being said, the connectivity that Council Woman Lee Loy pointed out I think is extremely critical. And this COVID has pointed that out and we discuss that going forward. Looking to how we change the processes. I'm very interested in doing that. Page 36 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 And you know, you made the comment, do more with less. And we're to a point now where we can't do anything because we have almost nothing. So we're going to have to rethink that and plan to save money going forward by reinvesting in to that infrastructure. We did purchase some stuff but we've got to get it working. And I do look forward to working with you on that. We talked about the connectivity around the island with the fiber optic and I followed up on that. So we need to have a quick conversation bumbai to take of that. I think there's some things that we can go forward. Councilwoman Lee Loy talked about what do you want to get done. We have about 350 shopping days until Christmas. So I want to know what's on your Christmas list to use some it's late, man, to know whatagain, I've asked other directors, where would you spend money? Have projects ready to rock. Because I think there's going to be funding there if we can put it together so we're quick and ready to act on whatever projects we need to do whether it's investment in hardware or software. Whatever the case may be. I look forward to getting some things done. And I like the energy, Mayor that you're bringing with your director. You know, the fact that you're a Waiakea graduate I'll live with that, because actually unlike others I think you actually get some good things done. So with that I look forward to working with you on some of that. But I do want to know that wish list because I think in the next six months we're going to be able to do something. I really believe that. So with that, Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Richards. Anybody else here in Hilo. Yes, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Thank you. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair Kimball. I'm going to be supporting your nomination, Scott. I had the pleasure of connecting with you about a week ago in my office and had the most wonderful time. And I wish we had more time together. Your vision and your dedication are really appreciated and you know what you're talking about. You know what you're doing. So I thank you. Just a few questions. I wanted to highlight some of the things that came out of our conversation. We talked a little bit about struggles that your department is facing particularly as it relates to private secretary/administrative assistant. So you mind sharing that with my colleagues so they know some of the struggles that the department is facing right now? MR. UEHARA: Sure. So what we talked about was the private secretary for the Department of Information Technology is not just a private secretary. The position also holds financial duties and HR (Human Resources) duties for the department. So whenever we get a director change, the private secretary typically changes also with the director. And I've been lucky enough to get Lani Akau from the Police Department. She's very savvy with finances and she's the type of Page 37 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 person that when you show her something once she remembers it and you will never hear her ask that same question again. So she's learning HR on the fly. And she is a boss at it. She is taking control and just learning it very well with a lot of thanks from Bill's department and also from Deanna's department also. But that is one of the struggles is that whenever we have this director change, the private secretary changes and there's this upheaval of just lost knowledge. It would be great to get an Administrative Assistant that would actually stay with the department between these administration changes because the backup for the private secretary are members of our help desk and members of our system support section where not only are they handling, responding to help desk calls and supporting our servers, their secondary job is to manage finances and to do HR duties. And I would like to see that change. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And I also appreciated when you made a comment of perhaps this person could be shared amongst with R and D. So I don't know if he shared that with you, Doug. But just putting that out there. MR. UEHARA: No. No, I haven't approached them with that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Love the interdepartmental collaboration folks. Great. You know, first budget cycle here on the Council, one of the things that I had requested be done by the department was an IT strategic plan. Earlier this year we had been getting emails from a consultant that was engaged to kind of help move that forward. Do you have a pulse on that, can you provide us an update? MR. UEHARA: Sure. So we're continuing with that strategic plan. My first instinct is not to come in and uproot everything that's been done in the past. It's to listen and see what's been done, what's working, and then make adjustments as needed. Right now with the strategic plan, it looks like a very solid plan. I am talking to the consultants and seeing if there's ways that we can modify it so that we can make sure that we bring in communication internally in our department to make sure everyone is working well together. You know, before we start helping every other department I want to make sure that internally we're working very well. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: When we met we talked about silos. What are some ways you're going to break that down within your department and also within the County? MR. UEHARA: One of the thoughts that I had was when we have these projects we have the two silos of user support and system support. System support handles our networking and servers. Our user support handles the applications such as Eden, EnerGov, and the helpdesk I would like to see them moving forward when we work on projects, instead of just having a single person from one side working on the project, to actually bring somebody from both sides of it Page 38 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 to work on the project together so that people start learning each other's jobs and just building up that common bond. I think from what I see internally they do have that, but I would like them to really kind of cross train and know more about each other's sides. Because I think for some people theyI can see it in the way their enthusiasm is that helpdesk is a stepping stone to something even greater. And by giving them the opportunity to work with somebody of a different section I really want to have that person explore that enthusiasm and to help nurture that and to see them grow. Because one of the struggles is to hire what we call every position that we have is called Information System Analyst. We have it from level one all the way up to level five. It is very difficult to hire people at the higher levels. I'd rather see people grown up, and promoting people and hiring the lower positions so that we can give new opportunities to other people. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I appreciate you building that local capacity. That means a lot. I'm sure you're aware that the County Auditor had done an audit of the IT Department. Just wondering if you could comment on that? MR. UEHARA: From the audit, the thing that I took note of was the idea of having an IT Asset Manager. And I disagreed with that. So I'll be going back with the auditors and discussing that further. The idea is to have all IT assets fiscally managed by DIT. And I do not like the idea of signing off on equipment and being fiscally responsible for equipment that I will never ever see. So that is something that I disagreed with. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I appreciate your perspective and I really enjoyed our time together talking about app development, virtual experiences. I mean there's so much that we can do, you know,putting more of our budget onto the County website creating a dashboard so that members of the public have a better sense of, you know, where the money is coming from and where it's going. So I really look forward to working with you and I'm going to be supporting your nomination. Thank you, Chair. I yield. MR. UEHARA: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Heather. Scott,pleasure to meet you. And thank you for reaching out to me. I didn't have time to connect with you before the meeting. Just real quickly. Why did you leave the Police Department? MR. UEHARA: I left the Police Department because I really wanted to make a difference. And Mayor Roth, during the campaign all the messages he was sending out about connecting with people really resonated with me. As an IT person I feel kind of like an outlier sometimes. I enjoy conversations. So if you see me around I can have a conversation with you for hours on end and it's Page 39 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 comfortable. I enjoy doing that and educating people about technology or at least my opinion of what technology is and what we can accomplish with it. So for me that's why I left the Police Department, was for the opportunity to be a part of something that I think is really great. You know, and I'm really excited to be a part of this adventure. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Good answer. Were you in charge of the website for the Police Department? MR. UEHARA: No I was not. So the Police Department's website is under control of the Public Information Officer of the department. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Yeah, I think Sue nailed that. Our website could be a lot better. Try find the minutes for a meeting in a committee or even try find a live feed click for the Council Meetings. MR. UEHARA: Yes. I know it takes four, five clicks. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And on top of that you have to know what you're looking for. It's difficult. MR. UEHARA: Exactly. The first time I looked for it I didn't know where to find the live feed. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes. Even I had to make notes in my phone so I can send them to people so I don't have to go look up all the different links to follow. But yes. Just for your information, I mean, it was either a year or two years ago. But Jules came before us and she asked for more funding for a position. And some members of this Council absolutely tore apart the idea and she did not get what she asked for. So to hear people today saying that they want to fully support you, while it's very cute and cuddly, that is the Council that I remember from a couple years ago. So be aware of that. We do want to see you make strides in IT. And I think with COVID and what we've been through and how much we've switched to online methods of meetings and everything else, we can make great strides in what IT can offer. And you will need funding to do that. On the flipside of that, you just got some funding for some of our GIS (Geographic Information System) servers. EnerGov has been kind of a continual thing. And I'd have to say I have faith except I lost faith last year at some point. So we keep talking about it and it's going to happen. But I'll believe it when I see it at this point. And that sounds like Aaron Chung coming out of my mouth. But you'll have our support and I think we have to. Like we cannot continue to sit where we sit right now. Something Ramzi said when he came here, it was like being in the 1990's. And I think IT wise we still sit in the spot. During COVID, I remember someone complaining, Civil Defense has two phone lines. We had Page 40 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 $80 million to rectify another phone line and we didn't get one as far as I know. And so that may be misinformation but that's what I was told from a constituent who called and said why aren't you answering the phones? Because we have two phone lines. So I think we've had funding to do some amazing things. If we've done anything with that funding to support IT, you know, I really couldn't say. Going forward into this next year, if there was funding for you this would be a great time to take advantage of federal funds to upgrade what we have and push us. You will need the help of the guy next to you to ultimately decide whether you get funding or not. We're going to sign off on you but, you know,that man right there is going to push for you. Yeah. For your information though I remember a meeting it was very hard to watch because she asked for more personnel and more time. And this body told her no. So to see the exact flip now is interesting. But it also I think is good information for you to know as you walk in. So be prepared for whatever discussion you have because times are tight. And don't quote me, I think Mr. Chung put forward a hiring freeze resolution not more than three or four months ago. Albeit it's a resolution, but that's kind of where we've all been in the mind frame of. So I look forward to working with you. I don't have any negative comments against you. I didn't receive any emails, you know, saying Scott's a bad guy. So Mitch really killed it with the last part of the day. The first part of the day was a little bit brutal. And if we get a chance I look forward to a nice, long conversation with you. MR. UEHARA: Yes. I do too. You know, I'm sorry we couldn't connect before this meeting. But yes, I do hear what you're saying about the request for more management positions or a management position. You know, Iat the time that I heard about it I disagreed because I really believe for IT, we needed more people doing the work. Adding more management seemed too top heavy. So if we can get additional staff I'd like to see it at the level where it's going to be the most effective. And my belief is the most effect and the most bang for our buck is going to be in getting additional analysts so that we can supply more help that's staff and some more staff on the system support side. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Yes. Just for you, since you're talking over the department. Most of the staff there has been very helpful when I have an issue whether it's something small like needing more email space or just dealing some of the kind of little bit more in depth IT issues that I've had. But for the most part very helpful and very thoughtful with their responses and quick to respond and be there. So I get good people in your department. MR. UEHARA: Thank you for recognizing that. You know, it's something that I hear quite often, is that we have really good people. And I agree. We have great people within DIT. And I just want to make sure that we give them every opportunity to grow and to develop and to make sure they stay with us and don't leave. Page 41 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you, Scott. I appreciate it. MR. UEHARA: No,thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. Thank you, Matt. Back to Kona. Any comments there? We'll open it up to you again. MR. INABA: A`ole. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. Thank you so much. Thank you again, Scott for your perseverance through this long day. And please give our apologies to your wife and your family for keeping you for so long. We've had a chance to interact and talk a little bit. And for the members of the public that are still online I encourage you to go to the communication on this so you can see what was submitted on behalf of Scott to us. It's a really forward thinking document. And I appreciate that about you and our conversations is that you share this idea that we need to not just catch up but leap frog in many ways. I will just respond to Matt's comments. You know, that was all before I was on the Council. I've had the opportunity to participate in an organization that was roughly the size of the County whose main responsibility was production of data information that needed to be shared with the public. And I saw productivity increase a hundred fold and millions of dollars. They saved 10 percent of the budget in fact was saved through investment in IT. And in particular investment in IT in communication. Because I think a point made when Council Member Lee Loy was speaking is the importance of understanding the process of your end users. And there's a great graphic out there that shows, you know, sidewalk and it's been designed like this and you have a walker cutting across. And it's like, the developer experience, the user experience. And so there is often a disconnect between what is developed from an IT perspective and what the actual end user experience would be. And I only bring this up—one because, you know, as we move forward I do agree with Council Member Richards that we should expect some federal funding to be available. In fact, we know already that there's $300 million for broadband access in rural areas that will become available. So number one, please be prepared to take advantage of those funds. I want to make sure we use as much of those as possible. I certainly hope moving forwardI think investment in IT and communication in that infrastructure ultimately leads to greater productivity like I said, and greater savings. And so I think that's a hard choice, right, especially in these difficult budget times. But I certainly think that's a choice worth making. But as you're moving forward with this strategic plan for IT, you know, certainly I encourage you to have a component of it that involves understanding how the departments and us and, you know,the executive branch will interact with the software because that improves greatly. Page 42 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 I also just want to acknowledge the comment about ADA compliance. And that is something that I talked quite a bit about in my campaign because I certainly feel like that's—it's not even just a meeting of code requirements or meeting of the law. It's a civil right. And we need to as a County do better than that. So I'm glad to hear that's a priority. Lastly, I just have one special request. If when we click on agenda for the Council meetings, you could just quickly just update it to 2021-2022? That would be super. You know,the one little thing that's been bugging me all day here as I've been trying to look at all of my information digitally. I hope that we can do more of that rather than this. I think, Tim brought it up how much paperwork we have in front of us. We have so much capacity to do things and deliver things digitally. Again thank you for your time. And I look forward to you and supporting your efforts within the IT Department. I'll invite you to make any last comments and then we'll move to the vote. MR. UEHARA: Nope. No more comments. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. Thank you so much, Scott. MR. UEHARA: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Alright. We'll go ahead and move forward on the vote with regard to Communication 41, all those in favor, can I have an aye? Vote on Comm. 41: The motion to recommend confirmation of the appointment (Approved) of Mr. Scott Uehara as Director of the Department of Information Technology was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas and Chair Kimball–8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Chung– 1. Excused: None. Page 43 GOREDC-1 January 5,2021 ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 7:35 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn the 1 MENT: meeting. Seconded by Mr. Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas and Chair Kimball—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Chung— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Mahalo everyone for your perseverance and your time. Have a great night. i i i i i { Approved: jri /0 19 M�.V eather L. Kimbial , Chair (Date) ernmental Operations, Relations and Economic Development Committee HKJtk Page 44