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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PWMTC 2021/08/17 2020-2022Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit 10" Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawai `i August 17, 2021 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit ORDER: was called to order at 3:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Kona, by Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather Kimball, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member (came in later) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent & Excused: Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PT TRT .TC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to provide comment regarding Comms. 347 and 363, and came forward when called by the Chair: Jon Olson. Amedeo Markoff. CHR. LEE LOY: With that, I'll be closing public testimony. Mr. Clerk, if you could please read in Communication 347. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 Comm. 347: REQUESTS A DISCUSSION WITH INTERIM MASS TRANSIT ADMINISTRATOR, JOHN ANDOH, REGARDING THE SEPTEMBER 5, 2021, LAUNCH OF NEW ISLAND -WIDE TRANSIT SERVICES BASED ON THE TRANSIT MASTER PLAN From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated July 30, 2021. Comm. 347.1 From Interim Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh, dated August 14, 2021, transmitting a PowerPoint presentation, titled "County of Hawaii Mass Transit Agency Action Plan for Improvement." CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you. Motion to close file on Communication 347, please? Motion to Close File: Mr. Richards moved to close file on Comm. 347. Seconded by Ms. David. (Note: At this time, Interim Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. LEE LOY: With that, Mr. Andoh we have you here in front of us. Just a real quick introduction for my colleagues, because we never really got formally introduced to Mr. Andoh. He currently is our Interim Transit Administrator. Mr. Andoh has extensive background, which also includes a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Graduate Certificate in Transportation Management from San Jose State University. He also is Certified Community Transit Manager, from the Community Transportation Association of America. Welcome, Mr. Andoh. And just bracing my colleagues, he does have a slide -deck, which is 75 slides deep, but we agreed that we would run through them rather quickly and take questions along the way because—I know that sounds like a lot, but transit covers our entire island. So anyone of—my colleagues, if you want to jump in when he's speaking about something or some questions you have specific for your district, please jump in. Mr. Andoh, take it away. (Note: At this time, Mr. Andoh provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the subject presentation, please see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office or the video archives online from the County's homepage at www.hawaiicounty.gov. A hard copy of the presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 347. 1.) MR. ANDOH: Alright, contact information is here. Council, I encourage you to reach out to me anytime, if you have questions, comments, suggestion, or issues you would like me to resolve. I'm fairly responsive, and I'm at service to you and Page 2 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 the public. And if there are any other questions or comments, I'm happy to answer, otherwise that concludes my presentation. CHR. LEE LOY: Mr. Andoh, wow. Complete comprehensive plan. Actionable. I really appreciate your time to put something together so comprehensive. I did have one question though, around the grant slide. If I'm adding it up correctly, we're now in position, whether it's recovery money or other funding available through Federal Transportation, I added it up to $4.2 million that we could potentially secure going forward. Is that correct, or am I adding wrong? MR. ANDOH: Yes. Are you looking at—is this the slide that is—the apportioned slide? LEE LOY: Yeah, future grants, no applications received. Yeah, applied. MR. ANDOH: For future grants, yeah. CHR. LEE LOY: And then, applied grants. MR. ANDOH: Yes, that was our—currently on the radar that we can—definitely, yes, so about $4 million. But then we also have more funds coming. And if you look on the apportioned portion, you'll see that I highlighted in yellow; for instance, those are funds that HDOT (Hawaii Department of Transportation) is getting ready to give us MOAs' (Memorandum of Agreements) for. So you have the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Fund, which have 100 percent no local match of $1.8 million. Then we have the (Hawai`i State of Transportation) Formula 21 Fund (Fiscal Year 2021 Formula) of about another $1.1 million, and then we have the 5339 Fund (Fiscal Years 2019, 2020, 2021 Funds), which is about $1.1 million there that we can also use; 5311, we would use for operations; 5339, we use for buses and bus facilities; capital. CHR. LEE LOY: So in addition to this grant funding, we all know that we voted on taking funds from the General Excise Tax (GET) to allow for development of Mass Transit. So in addition to that $4 million, we're going to see monies also come in from the GE (General Excise), correct? MR. ANDOH: Correct. If our goal—if we use these federal funds appropriately, then we can continue to use the federal funds that cover a large number of our expenses, and then use GET to match when necessary. And then we can also use the GET to help continue to expand and make the Transit System more robust, while we use these federal funds to help us with our capital needs, instead of having the GET cover 100 percent of these capital costs. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you. Brilliant. Any of my colleagues? Mr. Richards. Page 3 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. I've got to tell you, it's kind of fun watching someone with a passion for bus and mass transit to speak with overwhelming knowledge of our system. And the fact that you had put together, well, Council Woman Lee Loy's statement, this massive presentation, this—very comprehensive. So first of all, thank you. Secondly, I've got some questions. Obviously, you've given this a tremendous amount of thought. You've given these routes a tremendous amount of thought, and how to put them all together. Because it's one thing having a route, that they have to actually meet up so you don't have a layover time of hours. I appreciate that you—I'm sure you've given all that thought. Some of the questions—first of all, and this goes back, Mr. Andoh to some of our conversations previously. You talked about the fare. Our budget, roughly speaking, is $20 million right now for Mass Transit a year. At one point, we were at $1.2 million rides per year. Now, we're about $400,000. We charge a dollar, so our revenue went from $1.2 million down to $400,000. You had mentioned about a fare reduction or elimination. Is that something that is in your wheelhouse to get done, or is that going to take efforts from this Council to get done? MR. ANDOH: In order to amend—in order to go to like a fare reduction or a free -fare scenario, I would have amend Chapter 18. So I had internal discussions with Finance in relation to, could this potentially happen? And just waiting to see how the property tax revenues come in after September. One thing that we could do, as I mentioned, is the ARPA and the CRRSSA (Coronavirus Response Relief Supplemental Appropriation Act), which are 100 percent no local match, the operational piece of that could in essence cover the lost fares. And that's what a lot of transit systems are starting to do, is use those grants to cover the lost of fare revenue. So it's really how you use, because of, as I understand, the fare revenues in the General Fund, how do we in essence get those funds to cover that $560,000 without—in accordance with GASB's (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) regulations and whatnot? MR. RICHARDS: And as I understand, this would be one methodology for increasing ridership by, "We're going to show you we can make this work, so come join us and use the bus." And thereby, if we build that ridership over time, then we could reinstate—potentially reinstate the fare. So is that your thought process going forward? MR. ANDOH: That's my thought process, yes. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, thank you. On that one, and talking about ridership, you had talked about the regional bus service with a—communicating—running a reservation for one mile off the route. If you have a one-hour heads -up, how do you communicate? How is someone going to make that reservation? How are Page 4 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 they going to be communicating? Is that going to be through an app., or through phone? What's the thought on that one? MR. ANDOH: So initially with the 301 Waimea circulator, right now we're just doing it through the phone, and we are communicating that via our website and notices on the bus. As we start getting more into technology, like having an actual Hele-On app and we get a computerized dispatching system, we can now start to have people actually reserve those deviation trips through an app, as well. We have the framework already to do it, with the four new buses that were obtained in 2019. I'm now working with that technology company, which is called Syncromatics (GMV Syncromatics), on how we can make that happen. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, so work -in -progress essentially is where you're going? MR. ANDOH: Yes. MR. RICHARDS: Because that came up to my next question—and you did touch on the technology standpoint, as your and my conversation revolved around that. If people knew the bus was running a little late but they knew it was just a few minutes as opposed to not knowing where it is at all, I think we could make things work better in our County. And so where are we with embracing that technology? Is it two months, six months, two years? Where are we with that? MR. ANDOH: So that's where the Syncromatics come into play. When those four buses were delivered, they were delivered with that technology, but they just never were implemented, so I've been working with them to get that implemented. And once we get that going—I'm also working on an IFB (Invitation for Bid), to where we can install that system on the entire fleet of buses so that we could have a system -wide AVL (Automated Vehicle Locator) system program. Robert's Hawaii is internally providing us what is called Green Roads. I'm also having a side conversation with them on how can we get that Green Roads system, to what is called an API (Application Programming Interface), to the the public so that the public could at least see the buses that have Green Roads installed them already, where the buses are in real-time. But the Syncromatics System is that true system that will be able to provide that true real time for all of our routes. But I don't want to do this in a piecemeal approach. That's why we have to do and IFB, to do it for the entire fleet; so that when it's launched, it's launched on all 56 vehicles, and people can truly see where all the routes are. MR. RICHARDS: So timeline? Page 5 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 MR. ANDOH: Timeline? MR. RICHARDS: Realistic. MR. ANDOH: Realistic, knowing that our just our processes, I'm going to say a year. MR. RICHARDS: A year, okay. MR. ANDOH: I'm going to try to work faster, but I have to work within the system. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And then—such a complete list here. On the—I was looking through the buses that you have listed here, and we have you said, I think, 56 with 28 functioning right now? MR. ANDOH: Yes. MR. RICHARDS: Pulling that up from the top of my head. Some of those buses have 500,000 and 600,000 miles on them? MR. ANDOH: Correct. MR. RICHARDS: And that's a lot for an island. But they seem to be—from a maintenance standpoint, are we running on borrowed time, on those real high mileage, or are we still okay? MR. ANDOH: From a maintenance standpoint—I mean, the guys are really putting their heart and soul into keeping those buses going. But our time is limited on some of those buses, and that's why it's critical that we—with the grant that we already have in place, that we buy new buses. We're 12 to 14 months out from the time we issue a purchase order, so getting an RFP (Request for Proposal) on the street is paramount so we can get that awarded and buy buses. So by the time those buses are delivered, we can start retiring these older buses, and not get into another crisis again with buses failing because of their age. MR. RICHARDS: And this was on a previous conversation, but am I hearing that with the planned replacement schedule coming forth, it's going to be kind of little tight for the next 12 to 18 months, trying to cycle in the new equipment. It's going to be tough keeping things up and running. But once we start that, then it will be relaxed a little bit. And do we have the funding set in place based upon everything that we have the in the Mass Transit Plan, the $20 million, the funds coming forth through all the grant work? And by the way, awesome job and all the grant work that you're doing. And do we have enough money to actually get this thing done? Page 6 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 MR. ANDOH: I believe we have enough money to get this done. We can deal with the issue, the concern. I think it's going to be on the staffing of them, like the maintenance side of the buses. Having four mechanics is not going to be enough as we continue to maintain the old fleet and transition to the new fleet. And then as we have this desire to shift to electric and hydrogen, of course we would have to train the current mechanics to be proficient on that type of technology. So we have all those variables in place now we're going to have to work through. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. So it sounds like that's the area that it's going to take some effort, rearranging some staffing. But the funding, generally speaking, is we're, and I use this carefully, okay for the short-term. MR. ANDOH: Yes. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. Thanks, Chair. MR. ANDOH: Now, I also want to add one other caveat, too. These grants, a lot of them were applied in like 2016, 2017, 2018, and now they're coming to us; but we need to take action in short order because they're going to start to lapse. And like I'm trying to save some funds right now, because we had like $257,000 that we didn't spend, but since those are old grants, I'm not sure I'll be able to save those monies. So that's why I want to get that RFP on the street as quickly as we can, so we can start issuing purchase orders and to start drawing down those funds. So we don't get in a situation, where we've done all this effort and applied the funds, but now we're losing them because we didn't spend them in time. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. Alright. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Ms. Kimball, go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. Thank you so much for this presentation today. I'll echo Council Member Richards's statement, that it's really heartwarming and exciting to see somebody so passionate present the materials that they're so passionate about. And, Matt, since you can't see, he's actually wearing a shirt here with buses on it, which I love as well. You know, sometimes a bunch of material is presented to decision -makers, a big old packet, in order to confuse the situation. But I think here, what you've really tried to do is make the situation very, very clear. And I appreciate the level of detail in the material that you present to us today. MR. ANDOH: Of course. Page 7 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 MS. KIMBALL: You did answer one of my questions, which has to do with retraining, associated with alternative fuel . I do want to ask you a little bit about any funding opportunities you see for the related infrastructure, to bringing in some of these alternative fuel vehicles, as well as any infrastructure for the Mass Transit facilities that could pull us off of the grid or provide alternative electrical services to the County. MR. ANDOH: Some of the grants that have been applied for does include charging infrastructure, so as we procure those electric buses, we would also procure the charging to the infrastructure associated with that. Since we have an island -wide system, I think our future grant that we pursue, whether Low -No (Low or No Emission Vehicle Program) or 5339, I think we need to start including more electric or hydrogen infrastructure costs. Since I believe we now have enough vehicles to replace the fleet, so that we can ensure that as we transition to those technologies, we have the appropriate infrastructure to support. So I think future grant applications, I would recommend that we pursue more infrastructure costs. We're also looking at other creative, private/public partnerships on how we can achieve, that would cover some of those infrastructure costs island -wide. MS. KIMBALL: Great, thank you for that. And just, if you wouldn't mind, keep this body abreast of your progress in that regard. Because as you know, we have a resolution that was passed by previous Councils to move to full, 100 percent, renewable mass transit. The deadlines that's out there awhile, but it's going to be here before we know it. And I do want to keep tabs on how we're doing in terms of the buildout for the infrastructure, to support that. So again, thank you for the presentation today, and let's look forward to future information about your progress. I'll yield, Chair. MR. ANDOH: Of course. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. I'll check over in Hilo. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes please, Chair. CHR. LEE LOY: Go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. John, I really appreciate your time on the phone last week, and then as well as your more than sufficient PowerPoint that you did for us today. I just think you took some amazing strides walking in as our Interim Director. My first question is, can you please define what interim means? And what kind of duration we're looking at here for you? Page 8 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 MR. ANDOH: Well, interim at this point is 89 days, and I'm just waiting on a decision from administration on what they're going to be doing with this position long-term. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, so I mean—so I hope you're not just giving this beautiful burst of creative amazingness, and then in 89 days you'll slim down. Because this is amazing what you've done, you actually took our 2019 Mass Transit Master Plan that we won an award for and began implementing it within the first—how long have you been with us now? MR. ANDOH: About a month. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Within 30 days, you're implementing a Mass Transit Master Plan that we've been sitting on for close to two years now. So I am just very impressed with your progress so far, and I hope that you will stay with us as long as this is what we're going to keep seeing from you. Again, I appreciate the time you took with me on the phone. When will the routes that you've described today, specifically for Puna and the Saddle Road route, when are those going to take effect, or are they already in effect? MR. ANDOH: September 5th is our target date. We just finished the drafts, final draft schedules, making sure all the routes coordinate with each other. And we're working with Robert's Hawaii on the implementation. A lot of the hub routes, we'll be using the 10-foot—the 30 -foot buses that were donated by City and County of Honolulu. And then, Robert's Hawaii will be providing some of the other buses, like on the Saddle Road routes, for instance. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, awesome. Thank you. Contracts and language. This is something that came to my attention in my first term, and I just wanted to follow up. We spoke about it briefly on the phone, as well. The contract language that goes out really defines what buses come back, when these federal and state contracts are awarded. Are we ensuring that while we're sending these contracts for bid, these RFPs, that we are putting the language in that says, "electric hybrid alternative fuel?" So that on the backend of that, we get the right buses to meet the—is it the 2030 or 2040 proclamation that we have to be—? MR. ANDOH: 2045 is the resolution. I can assure you that this is where and what they want to do that's creative with this RFP, is that we will multiple bus sizes and multiple engine types. On the slide that talks about the replacement plan, a lot of the grants that were awarded were applied with the notion of diesel. Council Member Kimball has requested that I look into, can we convert some of those work that are still diesel to perhaps electrical or hydrogen? So I posed that question to HDOT, who in turn talking to FTA (Federal Transit Administration). Page 9 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 It is our desire that with that resolution in play, that future grant that we pursue, we should be pursuing zero emission buses and not specify diesel in those grant applications. However, we do have several of these grant applications, that either say diesel, electric hybrid, diesel, or just pure electric. So we have to reconcile through that process. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Okay, that's good. I just realized how important that was in our language as we push it out, because we get what we asked for, and that's how it works. MR. ANDOH: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'm very impressed by, again, how you've pushed for these routes. I mean, with a greater plan towards efficiency and not so much, you know, "Can we" but "We're going to, and we're going to be efficient about how we do it." Again, this Mass Transit Master Plan came forward in 2019, and we won an award for it, for our County. I was really impressed. We did have COVID, and many of the things come up, and the change in administration. But I'm just really impressed with you pushing this forward. I do—you know, I have to mention it. I know my district pretty well, and some of the routes that you're proposing are going to be going over some really rough roads in some areas. You know, what are our thoughts towards that, when we're looking at using private roads in private subdivisions for mass transportation? MR. ANDOH: So like in a case of a 401, for instance your district, we're going to use a 30 -foot transit bus, since that's primarily on paved roads. The 402 and 403, with some of them might be dirt roads, we're going to use a smaller cutaway bus so that the bus could actually run a bit slower in those areas. I know the Master Plan talks about larger or medium -duty transit buses as those roads get paved, but this is kind of the best way we can serve those areas in a more flexible manner until conditions improve so we can still meet the needs in those areas. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. MR. ANDOH: Fern Forest is a good example as well as Orchidland, that I can think of. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah. MR. ANDOH: Where some of the roads are still dirt. MR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Exactly. Yeah 403, from what I'm looking at, a lot of those are going to be fairly rough roads. Page 10 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 MR. ANDOH: Yeah. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So just being aware of that, for the maintenance and of our bus fleet. I guess it's very important for us to understand. Okay, and then so bus -wise, we're not looking to good right now, obviously. And I'm glad you're making strides with that, thank you. Again, nice PowerPoint. I like your presentation. Just what I've seen so far from you, I'm impressed. And I hope the administration to keep you on pass the 89 days. I appreciate what you're doing, sir. Thank you very much. I yield, Chair. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder. Council Member Kierkiewicz, go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Aloha, Mr. Andoh. MR. ANDOH: Aloha. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great to see you again. I appreciate you connecting with me last week and just kind of taking me through all the work that you've done in your first month, certainly very impressive. I appreciate the very robust and detailed presentation. It's no surprise that I've been one of the biggest critics of Mass Transit. Since I've been here on the Council, we've seen a number of people, sort of head of the agency. I am extremely supportive, don't get me wrong, but I am also going to be just watching things above with a very keen eye. Because there are so many folks in the district that I represent that really rely on this service to get to critical, critical things, like medical appointments, and employment, and school. So I just make sure that you're getting the support that you need from this body to implement the plan. And again, I love everything that you've done today. Just a couple of things. The go live date of September 5th for these routes, in the event that we're not able to secure enough drivers through Robert's Hawaii, when are you going to know so that you can communicate out to the public that there might be a change in what you're anticipating launching? MR. ANDOH: So we talked internally with Robert's back in July, and we gave them a kind of high-level of this could look like, and they stated that they should have enough drivers to make this happen. If for whatever reason we have to push out to like any—the third week in September, the fourth week in September, we'll make sure that by the last week of August we'll get that notification out. We're actually going to have a meeting tomorrow to just go over the schedules, see where Robert's is. Page 11 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 From the bus perspective, I believe we have the buses to make it happen. It's really, just making sure from a logistic drivers perspective, that with the drivers to make that happen. Because that is going to be a fundamental shift, from how Robert's has been scheduling these employees for the last two years that they've had this contract. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you. Please keep us in the loop on that, so we can make sure that our constituents are abreast of any changes. MR. ANDOH: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: The second question I have is related to one of the maps that you've shared with us, specifically number 401, Hawaiian Beaches-Nanawale Sea View. I just want to make sure I'm getting this right, so the—I think the dark gray, black dots here on the map, those are the stops that the bus would make. Is that correct? MR. ANDOH: Those are what are called time points. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Time points. MR. ANDOH: So on the schedule, it will show where the bus was supposed to be at those locations, but there may be multiple stops in between those time points. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Are you able to share off the top of your head if this particular route is stopping within Leilani Estates? It's not clear to me. MR. ANDOH: No, it's not stopping at Leilani Estates at this point. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Is there a reason why? MR. ANDOH: I know in the recommendation, the Master Plan, it talks about a route pre -lava, and then this was the route that was recommended post -lava. And again, I've not been out to Leilani Estates since the lava flow. Is it in a manner to that it can be serviced by Transit now? Because I know back before the lava flow, we did have transit to Leilani Estates. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: There's no service right now. I'm wondering if we could reinstate something at the top of Leilani Avenue. And I appreciated when you talked about leveraging public/private partnerships and innovation, this might be an opportunity to engage Uber and Lyft in picking up residents within the subdivision and taking them up to the top of the highway. So just throwing it out there. It's a wondering that I do have, and I hope it's something that you will consider. Looking to do, you know, little pilot projects that half these concepts out, before we scale up and take things around the island. Page 12 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 MR. ANDOH: Sure. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So I can follow up with you, but it's just a question that I had and something I hope that you will consider. MR. ANDOH: Yeah, I think it's a great idea. I like to do those test pilots partnerships. So if we could talk offline, and I can learn that area better. I could see, as my discussions with Lyft and Uber, how we can get something like that going. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: That's good. MR. ANDOH: And then we could have ties, connections, perhaps the Puna Kai Shopping Center, so that was supposed to connect to 401, 40, 402, et cetera. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. Thank you. Chair, I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Seeing none, we have a motion on the floor. Mr. Andoh, thank you so much. You really provided so much information for us. With that, we have a motion on the floor to close file on Communication 347. All those in favor, please say "ayes." Vote on Comm. 347: The motion to close file on Comm. 347 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, and Chair Lee Loy — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Chung and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. CHR. LEE LOY: Mr. Clerk, our next communication. Comm. 363: REQUESTS AN UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION REGARDING STATUS OF THE PAHOA BUS HUB From Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, dated August 2, 2021. (Note: Comm. 363. 1, from Interim Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh, dated August 14, 2021, transmitting a summary of the Pahoa Transit Hub, was circulated.) CHR. LEE LOY: Ms. Kierkiewicz. Page 13 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 Motion to Close File: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to close file on Comm. 363. Seconded by Ms. David. CHR. LEE LOY: Ms. Kierkiewicz, this is your communication, go ahead. I do know—I think we have Managing Director Lee Lord in the Hilo Chambers, and I was told Director Zendo Kern was also there. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We have both Mr. Kern and Mr. Lord here today. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Perfect. If those gentlemen could come to the koa table, that would be really helpful; and we have Mr. Andoh here in Kona. (Note: At this time, Planning Director Zendo Kern, Managing Director Lee Lord, and Interim Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Gentlemen, I just really wanted to have a focused public conversation about where we are with the Pahoa Bus Hub. I'll be really honest with you, there hasn't been a lot of information put out by this administration to the community, and we all know with the absence of information, just takes this vacuum where rumor starts churning. So I just really wanted to set the record straight because in my conversations with each of you individually over the last few months, it seems that a lot of progress have been made. That information just hasn't been shared with community. Mr. Andoh, I appreciate you coming to Pahoa, I think it was last week or the week before, to meet with folks at Mainstreet Pahoa Association. Huge advocates for increasing bus service in Puna, which is happening with this transit plan that you were administering. But this bus hub is a project that has sort of straddled both administrations. I'm just trying to get a clear update of what's happening. What's been done, where are we going, how long things are actually going to take so that we're managing expectations in community? Puna knows that they haven't been forgotten. So I don't know who wants to kick off the conversation, but those were the goals of today's discussion. MR. ANDOH: A preface, and I'll be happy to answer those questions with the help of Zendo and Lee in relation to that. I can also set the introduction, and then I'll ask Zendo to kind of go into the background, and then I can go into the future of this project. So just so that you're aware, we've been working behind the scenes towards making this bus hub happen. We do have the funding secured to make this bus hub happen as well, through various bills that have been passed to support its land Page 14 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 acquisition, design, and construction. What I figured, because the Puna District has been striving for transit service that I felt that we needed to separate the two, the facility and the service. Instead of waiting to build the hub and give the district the service that has been desiring, that's why we set September 5t" as the date, where we're going to launch the Hub and Scope System in Puna with Routes 40, 401, 402, and 403, and using Puna Kai Shopping Center as that interim hub location. When that shopping was developed, they built a turnout with a shelter, and we determined that we could have 401, 402, and the 40 line up in that turnout to facilitate transfers, and then the buses will go do its thing, and then every hour they will come back and meet each other there. And this will be kind of an interim measure until we could actually purchase land and build a facility. So I'll ask Zendo, if you don't mind, going into the background and where we stand with Planning on making this bus hub happen. If you don't mind? MR. KERN: Sure, not a problem. Zendo Kern, Planning Director. Good afternoon, everybody. So when this administration took office, we all took our positions and were getting going, there was a meeting that was conducted between Mass Transit, Finance, Department of Public Works, Planning, maybe another agency or two, but anyway, it was a group thing. So we're talking about it, looking at the current status of the Pahoa Bus Hub situation, and where it was going from there. At this time, Brenda Carreira was the Transit Administrator. And so basically we started talking around where it was going to go, what's the status of it. And so we kind of looked at it and wanted to look at the kind of how we got to where it was and what the assumptions were, as far as like what was the size needed, location, et cetera. So after we looked at that, we kind of all agreed that we should take a fresh look at the location of it, and what's the real size of the area that would need, and where is the location that it would need? From my understanding, it was originally kind of scoped on, where was either—like government-owned properties or somebody that knew it was going to be sold, and so we thought it might make sense to look outside of that criteria. And from a Planning standpoint, it seemed to make sense to have the hub in a location close to commerce. So you could park, you could walk, you get dropped off, you know, the location of that seemed to make a lot of sense. So it was essentially agreed, let's start looking at that, and looking at various properties that would meet this criteria. And hopefully something, maybe around like the four -acre size. Thinking about not just the current need, but expansion. And thinking about the different fueling situations, whether it be hydrogen, whether it be electric. The number of cars that potentially would park there. Moving forward with more electric vehicles, and parking there, and facilities and Page 15 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 potential other expansions, or potential—yeah, other expansions, I mean, a library was thrown in there. But really, what's going to work for that hub? So we took a look at it, and this is all in partnership with the various other departments. And it was a neat thing because this was part of, you know, this administration's goal of knocking down the silos and various departments working together and collaboratively, and so we did that. So we started identifying various properties and looking at what would be the best methodology to do this. And it kind of— It was around the beginning of this EA (Environment Assessment) process. We needed to do an Environmental Assessment regardless of where the location was. And I think there's some misconception around what was maybe previously done on the previous site selection. It wasn't the true EA that needed to be done for either land acquisition all the way through to buildout. Maybe it's fine for land acquisition, but not all the way through to buildout. So if we have this EA, let's look at it wholistically. So, we did. We've looked at various sites and identified ones that seem to make the most sense. And from there, we started moving forward with just kind of other discussions between the agencies, and which we got to. So it came to the conclusion that what would make the most sense is to do a programmatic EA for various sites, to give selection and optionality within those. all meeting a certain criteria, and with a 30 percent design. And the EA would cover the entirety of the project, so there wouldn't be another one done or a supplemental done unless there was some drastic change, which wouldn't be expected. In this case, it was, you know, who is going to run the EA, and typically Planning doesn't do that, but seeing just kind of all of us working together, we agreed that Planning will take on running the EA process in conjunction with Mass Transit, DPW, Finance, and the Mayor's Office, just to make sure that we got this going and it's done wholistically. So, that's what was agreed to. From there, we have been in the process of an RFP (Request for Proposal) to retain a consultant to do the Programmatic Environmental Assessment as well as the 30 percent design, which will then really complete that out and get optionality moving forward. So yeah, the Planning Department has been handling that. We should have the RFP. Right now, we've selected down to like the final three potential service providers for that, and we'll be able to initiate that very soon. I think John has the exact details for my staff on that. And essentially, that's where it came to. John came onboard; we talked about this. Obviously, John's background is very impressive. He knows Mass Transit. It's great to somebody so passionate around this. And during the conversation of where we are with this, it seemed to make a lot of sense to him as well, which Page 16 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 was, I guess, extra assuring that our MTA (Mass Transit Agency) guy is online with the overall plan that we're working on. And so, you know, like I said, Finance has been on board, Department of Public Works has been on board, the Mayor's Office, and Planning to all work collaboratively on getting information that we need, or helping each other move this project forward, because obviously we know that it's absolutely critical for Pahoa and Puna. What I want—what I think we all wanted to all make sure was let's do whatever it is. Let's do it right. Let's do something that're going to really last. And that's where John coming in and separating out the service component of it is really helpful, which then gives the time to make sure that we're doing this process right, getting the right place, and having the optionality or expansion in the future. John, if I missed anything, please let me know. I'm happy to elaborate. MR. ANDOH: No, I think you've covered everything that summarizes the memorandum that's been provided, and we're happy to answer any more questions in relation to that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Director Kern, I have a couple of follow-up questions based on your comments. MR. KERN: Sure. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: You mentioned four acres, and so is this sort of general industry recommendation for the size of a hub based on the amenities of the community has identified they want at a hub? MR. KERN: Basically it was two to four acres; and with the expansion there, yes. It was the general overall need that we believed, going forward, as well as the potential for potentially siting another element there. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, that's helpful. MR. ANDOH: If I may add? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes. MR. ANDOH: So on page four of the memorandum, I also cited a TCRP-19 (Transportation Cooperative Research Projects), Guidelines for Location and Design of Bus Stops) and TCRP-192 decision-making toolbox to plan and manage park-and-ride facilities for public transportation (See Comm. 363.1). That kind of sets the framework too, and designing transit bus stops, transit centers, transit hubs. From what we heard at the community meeting in July of 2019, the things that the community was looking for is park-and-ride spaces, restrooms, lighting, good security cameras, bike lockers, good sidewalks from the transit hub. That's where the larger acreage comes into play so that we can Page 17 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 incorporate those things that the community was asking for, and using kind of industry guidance on how these facilities are designed. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Can you tell me what the acronym is for? What does that mean, TCRP? MR. ANDOH: Sorry, Transportation Cooperative Research Projects. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you, and this is a nationally recognized standard that is—? MR. ANDOH: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Stated by federal government or private industry? MR. ANDOH: Yes, it's a program by the federal government, and they put together a lot of synopsis, research projects, to help transit agencies, even transportation organizations on how to effectively plan transportation projects. I have served personally on several TCRP panels to evaluate some of these types of projects, and I'm actually serving on two right now as we speak. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Wow, that's great. Great for us, thank you. And then, Director Kern, the EA, the Programmatic EA, like I just want to make sure I get this correct, you're reviewing a number of sites and they're listed here in the communication that Mr. Andoh submitted to us, Communication 363.1. There are five sites generally described. These meet the criteria of what you have scoped out in these meetings with the various partners you've brought together, and so the Programmatic EA is going to take a look at these particular sites. And then you're also going to design a hub and see what the impacts would be in these locations. I just want to make sure get everything correct. MR. ANDOH: Yeah, you are correct. That's when the Environmental Assessment and the 30 percent design comes in to play. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And then from this process, the EA will consult community members to get there mana`o, their wisdom, and make a determination—a recommendation on what the County should do in terms of land acquisition and eventual construction? MR. ANDOH: That is correct. And it also ensures that we're complying with Chapter 343 in relation to—understand the environmental impacts of those sites that we're considering. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I understand. Okay, so the RFP—you're talking to three folks, when is timeframe to make a selection of the three that have been Page 18 P WMTC-10 August 17, 2021 identified? And then from there, how long is it going to take to go through this process, where we finally have an answer of where the hub is best situated? MR. ANDOH: So as I understand, there are three final vendors. I believe I listed those on page three on the RFP. I'm sorry, not the RFP, on the memorandum, and they are being scored later on this week. Once one is selected, Planning will deal with negotiations with that consultant, and then we'll go through our processes to do a professional services contract with them. From a timeline perspective, I presume that it's the goal to get the consultant on board by September, and perhaps Environmental Assessment done by either the end of the year or early next year. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MR. ANDOH: And then after we go through that process, of course there will be community outreach as we go through the Environmental Assessment, which that consultant will be responsible for handling. Once this is wrapped up, then the project will shift to the Department of Public Works to do the final design and also the construction, and then we'll also at that same time, be doing any necessary land acquisition, as that sees fit. Our Property Manager in the Finance Department has already sent out letters to some of those property owners to start the discussion on what it will take to purchase those properties. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And we have an ordinance that would, I think, start or just provide some funding for land acquisition. Are we looking at leveraging all of—like GET money for this, or you're looking at going after federal grants in order to complete all aspects of the project? MR. ANDOH: For right now, we're looking at the GET to get this project moving. We do have federal funds on the Kona side. But we will have to pursue federal funds through those future grants we talked about in the previous communication, if we wanted to add federal dollar to this project. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MR. ANDOH: But right now this is solely GET, using a General Obligation Bonds through the Capital Project Fund. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I appreciate the update. I'm going to be sharing this communication with my community. Just a couple things here, don't forget that Recovery Team and my office, we're leading these quarterly events with community, every January, April, July, and October, second Tuesdays, these are opportunities to reach out and share information about what's happening to support Puna's recovery and resilience. So I just want to get that on your radar, because again, this is an opportunity to communicate out. Folks just want to Page 19 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 know. Clearly a lot of work has been happening, but it just hasn't gotten to community. And I think with your leadership, Mr. Andoh, and your willingness to go directly to community to connect with them, I think people are going to feel really assured that they haven't been forgotten. And they felt they were forgotten, because earlier this year there was process that had been started to help Kona get its hub built. I think that's wonderful, because if you take a look at the Mass Transit Master Plan, it actually talks about going into Kona first, and I believe Pahoa and Kea`au are after that. And so Pahoa got a head -start here, but just want community to be assured that no resources are being taken away from Puna. That there are separate pots of money to help each of these communities. MR. ANDOH: That is correct. You know, one thing I could do, I'll definitely participate in those recovery meetings that you talked about. We're going to be sending update piece to the newspaper to kind of help lay out the foundation of where we are with Pahoa project and the Kailua-Kona project. I could also post this memorandum on the Hele-On website so that—and we can encourage people who want to read on where we are today. They can go to Hele-On website and see the exact status, the funding, and basically the project's history. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Put the information out there, that would be great. Thank you, I appreciate your presence. MR. ANDOH: Or you could use our social media, too. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Andoh. Thank you, Managing Director Lee Lord, Director Kern, I appreciate your presence today and all of the work that's being done on this important project for Puna. Chair, I appreciate the latitude. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, if I can? CHR. LEE LOY: Yes, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. I just—I'm really glad to hear that we're moving it forward with this project. There's been a lot of want from the community. It's been on the books, both Kea`au and Pahoa have a hub in their plan as the PCDP or the Puna Community Development Plan lays out, so I've watched this with great interest. The conversation today is interesting. It may not be what everyone wants to hear, but I mean it's good to know that we're moving ahead. And what's catching my attention is that this is a flashback of the meeting that we had in 2019 regarding Page 20 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 the proposed bus hub site, or the Mass Transportation hub that was being proposed, and just listening to the process that we're following now and understanding what is required of a transportation facility like we're proposing and the process that it entails with a project like this, really helps me understand that we are totally on the right track as far as making sure that we're following the correct process. And so, I am very much happy to hear that we're following the correct process to create this facility in Pahoa, to fulfill the need and create an opportunity for a community like this. I'm just really glad that we're on the right track here. So mahalo for bringing this forward, Ms. Kierkiewicz. And Mr. Lord is raising his hand, I think he has something to say. MR. LORD: Yes, thank you. And thanks for allowing us to be here in person. just wanted to clarify going forward, since I understand not everyone knows the situation, but Brenda Carreira is still in the Mass Transit Administrator position. She's on leave, and Mr. John Andoh is our Temporary Assignment. So I can't talk about the situation, but hopefully it will be resolved, and we'll figure out what's going on in the future. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Lord. I appreciate it. So again, just appreciate everyone's forward movement on this. I like to see when we follow the process, we do things correctly. That first Mass Transit Master Plan laid out two to three acres. Those were the clear guidelines we were supposed to follow, and I watched that project proceed without seeing any of the process that we're saying as required right now, and it wasn't happening. So I'm very glad to be here right now and watch this happen correctly. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. . I have one more light. Go ahead, Mr. Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. I just wanted to ask, moving forward is there are—if there was this information that can be directed sooner with this Council, it would be appreciated. Thank you. CHR. LEE LOY: Alright. Seeing no more lights, Mr. Andoh, again thank you for being here; Zendo, Lee, thank you so much. I just had one quick question around the fundings that—I hear Ms. Kierkiewicz loud and clear. The community understood kind of some forward progress and some commitment of funding. And then when I look again, look back to how you're securing grants, especially with the CDBG monies, there was $100,000 there for more bus shelters. And that was an opportunity to leverage, right? You know, a possible site in Pahoa or elsewhere. And so I just want to make—maybe make it clear, maybe restate that there's funding available for Pdhoa, there's a process that we're going to go Page 21 PWMTC-10 August 17, 2021 through, and we have some guidelines that fit into the transit system. Mr. Andoh, please, again just restate that we're working towards something for Pahoa. MR. ANDOH: Yes, Ms. Lee Loy. That is the ultimate goal, is that it is our desire and our commitment to build a transit hub in Pahoa, and that we're going to do it the right way. We're going to follow appropriate laws and processes to doing so, and that ultimately the community will have something that they're going to learn to love and enjoy. But at least for the interim, we're still going to get them service, and that they'll be able to take advantage of a seven day a week robust transit system to address a lot of the environmental justice issues that have been presented in that community in the past. So we're definitely excited to be making that happen in short order. CHR. LEE LOY: Great, Mr. Andoh. Thank you, everyone, for being here. Right now, we have a motion on the floor to close file on Communication 363, all those— MR. KERN: Madam Chair, sorry, if I may? Mr. Lord has something to say. CHR. LEE LOY: Oh, go ahead. MR. LORD: Council Woman Lee Loy, I just wanted to assure you I've had several conversations with Deanna Sako, our Finance Director. The funds that were original there for the Pahoa project are still there; none of it's been used for anything else, none of it's been moved. It would have to go through final approval through the County Council before it could be expended, or in the final version. It's allocated but it's not been released, so it's all still there. It's not going anywhere. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Lee Lord. MR. LORD: You're welcome. CHR. LEE LOY: I think that's really comforting for community to know that's still there for them, and for them and the development of a hub. So again, we have a motion on the floor to close file on Communication 363. All those in favor, please say "aye." Page 22 PWMTC-10 Vote on Comm. 363: Filed ORDER OF RESOLUTIONS: BILLS FOR ORDINANCES: A Tl TILT TT3 AT MEN 1: August 17, 2021 The motion to close file on Comm. 363 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Lee Loy — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung — 1. Excused: None. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order of Resolutions. (There were none.) The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Bills for Ordinances. (There were none.) CHR. LEE LOY: That brings us to the end of the agenda. There being no further business, at 5:03 p.m., Mr. Inaba moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Lee Loy — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung — 1. Excused: None. CHR. LEE LOY: Meeting adjourned at 5:03 p.m. Thank you, everyone. s. . ee Lo Chair ihlic ks nd ass transit Committee SL/na (Date) Page 23