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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2020/11/17 2018-2020 Committee on Finance 44th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii November 17, 2020 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 9:02 a.m. in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair (via videoconference from Kona) Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Karen Eoff, Member (via videoconference from Kona) Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (came in later) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (via videoconference from Kona, came in later) Absent& Excused: Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Vice Chair STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, I have two requests to take items out of order. Representative Onishi is waiting for Item Number—Bill Number 223, is that correct? MR. BROWN: That is correct, Madam Chair. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Mr. Clerk, can you move ahead with Bill 223, please? Thank you. Change Order of As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the Business: following items were taken out of order: FC-44 November 17,2020 Bill 223: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 20-44, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2020 TO JUNE 30, 2021 Adds the Parks and Recreation Waiakea Uka Park—State project for $6.4 million to the Capital Budget. Funds for this project shall be provided from State Grants Receivable. Reference: Comm. 1147 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 223 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. (Note: At this time, State Representative Richard Onishi came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Thank you for the latitude, Chair. CHR. DAVID: You're welcome. MS. LEE LOY: We have with us Representative Richard Onishi, and I just wanted to give him a few minutes. This was something in partnership we did with the State. This fund is actually coming from the State through Representative Richard Onishi, and it's a three-to-one match. So, Representative Onishi, please share with us how we're doing this. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair, for allowing me to join you folks in this committee hearing. So in 2015, we thought about some of the problems with the Waiakea Uka facility: the gym facility, the baseball fields, the parking. And so, as everyone knows, most of the parking occurs on Ainaola Drive, which makes it very hazardous for participants of the park as well as the people who live in the area and who traverse the park. So the initial thought was we should increase off- street parking so that we could get all of the people to not park on Ainaola Drive and the County property. So in 2015, we came up with funding to do the initial phase, which was to purchase some land that surrounded the Waiakea Uka Park and, unfortunately, our first attempt at a property did not occur. The owner wanted to receive more than the appraised value. So we went to the back of the property, which was one acre, that is on the makai side of the gym's gravel parking lot. So we acquired that as the first through the County. The money was given from the State to the County for this project. Page 2 FC-44 November 17,2020 And then it was also received funds for planning. So that result of that planning was about an eight—over an $8 million project. And so working with Council Woman Lee Loy, we said, "You know what, we need to get this project done, Let's partner in it." So in 2018, we weresorry, this past year, 2020, we were able to get the final funds for the project, which amounted to the State share of $6.4 million, which is to build a community center, pave all of the parking, realign the ballfield nearest the gym, and be able to provide parking around the ballfield for some additional parking. We think it's a great project. It will get people off of Ainaola Drive and make that whole area a safe environment. And as many people know, that park is very heavily used from youth and adult, baseball, softball; the gym, with basketball and volleyball; and also, community fitness programs as well as Summer Fun. So part of the thing that we wanted to ensure is that the community center, which will be able to house approximately or over 100 people; included a kitchen facility so that we could prepare people who use it could prepare meals, but also—we could also use that for our Summer Fun program which is run up at the Waiakea Uka Park. So, you know, Council Woman Lee Loy has been very instrumental in working with the Park's staff, Parks and Recreation staff, to help put this all together. I just sat on their coattails, and my job was to try and get money to help make this project a go. So I'm willing to answer any questions, if anybody has any. Thank you again for the time. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Representative Onishi, and thank you for you long, hard work. And really, it was amplifying this kind of partnership between the State. And even with the Summer Fun program, it's our hope that when we get back to utilizing the facility for those types of things, we could actually amplify some of our USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) free and reduced lunch monies for breakfast and lunch for our Summer Fun Program. So thank you for seeing this very holistic approach and amplifying the dollars. With that, I will be asking my Council Members for a favorable recommendation of Bill 223. With that, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else in Hilo would like to comment? MS. POINDEXTER: This Council Member Poindexter. CHR. DAVID: Oh, thank you. Go ahead, Ms. Poindexter. Page 3 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, I just wanted to say, you know, appreciate how the State Representatives are working with our Council Members. And kudos to you, Council Member Lee Loy, for doing that. I, too, have worked hard with Representative Nakashima, so I love seeing this happen because it's the benefit for our people. Thank you, Representative Onishi for all you do and continue to do and working directly with Council Member Lee Loy for the betterment of our people. And I just—one more thing, a side note, I love your hair. You look like you're in the `70s. It's all white. You're a cool dude. Peace out. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Anyone else on the Hilo side? Seeing none, Kona? No. Well, Representative Onishi, I would really like to echo our mahalo nui loa for the collaboration with our County Council Members on this side. We always have a good relationship with our reps. So really thank you for all your hard work, and we look forward to this very challenging time to working together with you folks again. So please stay safe. MR. ONISHI: Thank you. CHR. DAVID: With that, all those in favor of approving Bill 223 and forwarding to Council with a positive recommendation, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 223: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 223 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David–8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards – 1. Excused: None. MR. ONISHI: Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Mr. Clerk, can we take the next one, which is also the matching? Bill 224. Bill 224: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 20-44, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2020 TO JUNE 30, 2021 Adds the Parks and Recreation Waiakea Uka Park project for $2.1 million to the Capital Budget. Funds for this project shall be provided from General Obligation Bonds, Capital Projects Fund–Fund Balance and/or Other Sources. Reference: Comm. 1148 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Page 4 FC-44 November 17,2020 Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 224 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. DAVID: Any discussion, Ms. Lee Loy? MS. LEE LOY: No. As you shared, Chair, it is the companion bill, and so this is the match. So collectively with the State's money from Mr. Onishi and this money, we now will have $8.5 million to help realize some of the goals and that asset that's very needed in that community. I ask for everyone's support. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. If no one else has anything to add, I just want to say congratulations and thank you for all your hard work. It really demonstrates how partnership can work, especially in government. So thank you very much, Ms. Lee Loy. Having said that, all those in favor of approving Bill 224 and forwarding it to Council with positive recommendation, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 224: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 224 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. MR. BROWN: Excuse me, Madam Chair? CHR. DAVID: Uh-huh? MR. BROWN: Could we take a quick recess to work on some technical issues, please? CHR. DAVID: Of course you can. And I think next we will just take Resolution 777, okay? MR. BROWN: Sounds good. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. We're in recess. Recess: At 9:14 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 9:16 a.m. Page 5 FC-44 November 17,2020 CHR. DAVID: We are back on the record. And Mr. Clerk, can we please take Resolution 777-20? Res. 777-20: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII Funds in the amount of$15,000 would be provided to the University of Hawaii for its `Imiloa Outdoor Exhibits Enhancement and Learning Space proj ect. Reference: Comm. 1150 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend adoption of Res. 777-20. Seconded by Ms. Eoff. CHR. DAVID: And I believe Ms. Ley or one of her staff might be in the Hilo Chambers. MR. BROWN: She is not. We have Deanna here. She might be able to help with that. CHR. DAVID: Okay. MR. BROWN: You want me ask Deanna to come speak? CHR. DAVID: Okay,just to explain this funding, if she could. If not, we can put this aside until Ms. Ley comes. But I understood she was going to be in our Hilo Chambers. Director Sako? (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: Hi. Good morning. I am looking for that particular communication. But I think this is kind of like a grant that we are giving to Imiloa to continue to do their `Imiloa Outdoor Exhibits Enhancement and Learning Space, one of their projects. And because it is an intergovernmental agreement, we need to do it by resolution. CHR. DAVID: I see. Is it my understanding that the funds will also allow Imiloa to assist pandemic safety concerns and safe attractions for locals and visitors? That sort of thing, generally to help them with that? MS. SAKO: Yes, "and provide a safe attraction for visitors." Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Okay, I think it's kind of self-explanatory with what you were trying to explain. And I think this is the great project anyway. Page 6 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. SAKO: Yeah. CHR. DAVID: Anyone on the Hilo side have any questions or comments to add? Seeing none, Kona? Thank you, Director, for explaining that. MS. SAKO: Thank you. CHR. DAVID: You're welcome. With that, all those in favor of approving Resolution 777-20, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 777-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 777-20 on (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Now can we move to Communication 1156, please? Comm. 1156: REQUESTS AN UPDATE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REGARDING THE STATUS OF ITS STRATEGIC PLAN From Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, dated November 5, 2020. Motion to Close File: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to close file on Comm. 1156. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. (Note: At this time, Information Technology Director Jules Ung came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. CHR. DAVID: You're welcome. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I wanted to invite Director Ung to come before the Council and provide us an update on the IT (Information Technology) Strategic Plan; it was something that I had asked for two budget cycles ago. And given where we are with COVID-19 and the need to take government essentially on line so that we are operating in a safe way but also providing continuity of government of services, I thought that it was really important to get a sense of where we are with Page 7 FC-44 November 17,2020 this plan, how COVID is being integrated into this document, and what the next steps are considering we're going to have a change in administration. So with that, Director Ung, you have the floor. MS. UNG: Hi. Good morning. Can you hear me okay? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Perfect, thank you. MS. UNG: Okay. Thanks for having me present to you today. The timing couldn't be more perfect. We've just completed our IT Strategic Road Map in partnership with the State and the Mayor's Office. And this is a presentation we've put together for you this morning. Let me just share my screen. Can you see okay? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: We can see it. Thank you. (Note: At this time, Ms. Ung provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 1156.1.) MS. UNG: Mahalo for your time. Do you have any thoughts, questions, comments? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes, I do. Thank you, Jules. MS. UNG: Okay. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with this overview and update. I'm going to assume that what you've provided to us is available on our County internet. That this is a more public forward-facing document, and there's some kind of strategic plan that provides details, where there are actual goals and objectives and tasks that are articulated. MS. UNG: Yeah, and a lot of that is sensitive information which would not necessarily be shared publicly, however it is in-house in IT, and we're more than happy to discuss this in detail. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay,perfect. I'll be setting up a meeting to go over that. I'm just curious, when did work with Info-Tech get started? MS. UNG: Well, this has been an ongoing initiative for quite some time. It took a while to really arrange the business side and get the MOUS (Memorandum of Understanding) and SOWS (Scope of Work) in place, I would estimate about a year. Page 8 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And how much is this contract with Info-Tech costing us? You mentioned there being a multi-year agreement. We've got an annual subscription. MS. UNG: Oh, so it cost the County—it's not coming from County funds. So this is based on a partnership with the State office of Homeland Security, who has funded this project. And Enterprise Technology Services has paid for the consultant on our behalf with Homeland Security funds. So the partnership is in place for one year, until May 2020. And I'll be happy to go over that with you, as well. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: May 2020. MS. UNG: Oh, 2021, sorry. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Twenty twenty-one, okay. MS. UNG: Yeah. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And there is an option to potentially expand it. No cost to the County? MS. UNG: That would have to be discussed and coordinated with the State office of Homeland Security. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you. I have three questions related to the slide, where you presented some common themes that came out of interviews (see Comm. 1156.1). MS. UNG: On which slide? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: It looks like honeycombs. MS. UNG: This one? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So I'm curious about digital and modernization of processes. Are you taking a look at things like DocuSign for electronic signature, so we can route faster between County departments as well as electronic timesheets? MS. UNG: So, Adobe Sign is an enterprise agreement that is currently in place, and it actually is what the State of Hawai`i uses for all of their contract routing. It provides the functionality that you just described; that DocuSign also offers, as far as electronic digital signatures, routing, and tracking, so that you have full Page 9 FC-44 November 17,2020 accountability and transparency of where the contract or the document is every step of the way. So that's currently available county-wide for all users. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Since when? MS. UNG: That announcement went out to all department heads, I believe, approximately six months ago. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. KIERKIEWICZ: You know, I have Finance Director Sako here. I don't mean to put you on the spot, but I'm really curious about this because I recall having to wait many, many weeks for papers to be signed by various department heads as it related to lava recovery initiatives. And so I want your thoughts on the system that Jules is describing; and if it's being implemented, if there are any challenges. MS. SAKO: So the departments are trying to work on it slowly. There's definitely some, you know, some limitations to the system. And so while we do allow electronic signatures on our contracts and different things, we are allowing that. But the system itself, to track it, each person has to initiate who it goes to; and if that person isn't there, they have to restart that again. So like in Fresh or Eden, our accounting software, we're able to set up queues. So Finance Director might be one level; so if I'm not there, then Steve can sign on my behalf. This system is not as robust as that, so you have to identify a person-by-person. And we're not able to implement or set plan and levels that we need for everyone to sign. So we're relying on the departments to say, "Send it to the department to sign first, then send it to Purchasing, then sent it to Finance." And just like hardcopy contracts, departments can still bypass Finance. So those are some of the things we're working on to get the tracking set up, initially. And it will be little bit more robust that we can determine what those trails and tracks are that we need the contract to follow. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Director Sako. Director Ung, you know, the customizations of the Adobe Sign system, can they be—can this system be customized to include some of the things that Director Sako described? MS. UNG: It can be, and that's what she referenced as far as the workflows that Finance is working to document. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: But is Finance having to do that work or is that something that your office is helping to facilitate? Page 10 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. UNG: Oh, we're definitely helping to facilitate, But as for mapping a workflow, that can be very complex; and I think that's where we're at in the process, to truly understand the formal workflow required for some of the basic forms that we see as basic forms that we see as basic on our side but is actually incredibly complex as far as a workflow on Finance's side. So when we understand that workflow, we can definitely set up templates within Adobe Sign, which will provide that structure, an alternate signatures, as desired. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I mean, I've been here for two years and I kind of understand the workflow. It is complicated, but it doesn't seem like it takes that long to kind of figure out. What about digitizing timesheets and that process? MS. UNG: From what I understand in conversations with Finance, that it is incredibly complex. And while it can be a feature turned on within Eden, it's not necessarily customizable to the extent that we need it to support the variety of different rates. Especially not Public Safety provides for their overtime staff, as far as Fire and Police. So that's something that we can look into as we scope out the new system. I believe Eden will be going end of life within the next couple of years MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Director Sako, can you confirm that? That's the financial accounting system that your department—this County relies upon, Eden. MS. SAKO: Right. So we have tried to you know, initially when we got the software set up, like a computerized timesheet type of thing. But it's very complex, we really need something that's more cloud-based or internet-based that each employee can access, so our software cannot accommodate that. And Eden is end of life. You know, it's a dying software. They're not making any more upgrades to it. So in the coming year or two, we do definitely need to go out and acquire a new accounting software. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Jules, does your IT Strategic Plan provide thoughts on the systems that Finance could be leveraging to replace Fresh and Eden? MS. UNG: So currently we're doing research. And there are initiatives to come up with some recommendations as far as what systems will be secure. And IT really needs to collaborate with Finance to understandoh, and HR(Human Resources), to understand the details of workflows that the system would need to accommodate. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you. Given that we've experienced coronavirus and there's a need for folks to be working remotely, you know, what is the status of devices to allow County employees to do just that and to ensure that they have secure connectivity? MS. UNG: So this kind of speaks to the recommendation from the Legislative Auditor, as far as centralizing all IT access within IT. And that would include Page 11 FC-44 November 17,2020 centralizing the budget, as well. So currently we have a distributed budget, so each department is providing oversight and funding for a lot of their own IT equipment. And so we're kind of the receiving end, the reactive side. We will get a notification that some devices are being ordered, or they have landed, and then we will provide resources to deploy. Possibly a more efficient scenario would be to centralize management oversight budget inventory with IT, but that's a much larger scope than what we currently handle, and so that would take a lot more strategy and collaboration. And those conversations are ongoing. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I mean, I guess what I just don't understand is the recommendation to centralize the assets and these systems was put forward by the Legislative Auditor. It's not like it happened this year, yet time lapsed and then we're in this situation with COVID, where folks needed to work remotely. I mean, I'm not hearing or seeing that we took advantage of any CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security)money to purchase devices and solve a lot of these kind of recurring issues that are coming up with departments. Director Sako, correct me if I'm wrong. MS. SAKO: So as you might recall, we did centralize, and to IT, and we gave them a significant budget to replace the laptops, when Windows 7 went end of life. Some departments are still waiting for those assets to be deployed, actually. In addition, we have taken advantage of CARES Act. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Wait, I'm sorry You're waiting for assets to be deployed? MS. SAKO: I don't think each department has received all of the new PCs yet. I could be wrong. Jules, are there still some to be deployed yet? MS. UNG: Oh, for those initial pc (personal computer) deployment? Yes, they have all been deployed. MS. SAKO: Okay. And so but we have taken advantage of CARES Act. Especially for laptops, especially if parents have to work at home so they can also monitor their children, so we did an initial purchase of laptops. Some departments came in to request more. And now we are doing another significant order of laptops that Finance just put in so that, you know,just to take advantage. As we're getting the second and third waves on the mainland, we don't know what will happen here. Especially now that travel is opening up, so we want to ensure that, you know, our staff can be productive at home, as well. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Director. Thanks for being proactive. And so this last order of laptops you made, we should be good countywide now. Folks should have devices? Page 12 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. SAKO: Yes, I hope so. Obviously, not every employee can work at home. We also have people in Finance that we can't really let them work at home, you know, those that deal with drivers licenses and real ID Act. You know, they cannot take people's birth certificates or marriage licenses home. You know, there's just some jobs cannot be performed at home, but we're doing our best so that those that can, can function from home. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you. Director Ung, last question, and it's related to the GIS (Geographic Information System) system. You mentioned a multi-year agreement that's coming before the Council, December 23rd, can you elaborate on that? Is this something that's already been ordered? Can you kind of give us a ballpark figure for cost? And obviously this is very complex. MS. UNG: Yeah, sure. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So just looking for details about who exactly within your department is going to be coordinating amongst various County departments to lift this up. MS. UNG: Sure. So we have a current ballpark quote for a little over $300,000 to replace the current system which is physical. The current system was implemented in 2015. Some of the servers are currently end of life, and other majority of the servers would go end of life within the next coming year, so we really have to replace the platform. When we do it will be virtual, which will give us the flexibility and skill ability to set up new servers on demand as various departments need them. It's also going to have sufficient capacity for imagery storage and retrieval, and it will have centralized management and tie into our existing infrastructure, which is also virtual. We can't afford it all from our current budget, so what we plan to do is lease it. We're looking at a three-year lease, and that's why we're asking permission to enter the multi-year agreement. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you for those details. I really appreciate you being here and providing the update. And thank you, Director Sako, for also being available to provide clarification so that we can ensure the best information out to our community. Chair, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Any other questions in Hilo, Council Members? MS. LEE LOY: Yes, Chair, please. CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Ms. Ung, for being here. I wanted to get to the maturity level slide deck. Page 13 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. UNG: Oh sure, that's my favorite slide. MS. LEE LOY: Where weactually, it really does speak volumes, but what I'm missing is a timeline. And as Ms. Kierkiewicz, you know, she's been here for two years, I've been here for four, and I'm just trying to figure out where this stack is as far the timeline, since 2016. You know, we're at a point where we need to become very efficient with our resources. From what I can see, it appears it took us the better part of—almost three and a half years just to identify our struggles. Can you please elaborate on that timeline and what the estimated timeline is for us to get to that transformation piece? MS. UNG: Sure. Just to give a little bit more historical context. The County of Hawaii lacks proper server room. So that need was actually identified in 2008, along with the need of appropriate facilities for Fire and Police dispatch. However, in 2008 there were shovel-ready plans that didn't move forward, and since that time there's been an ad hoc kind of make-shift server room at Civil Defense. So in a big part that has contributed to a lot of the instability that we are, you know, dealing with from day-to-day. Without adequate facilities in place, we're in a very reactive state; and in order to move beyond that reactive state into a more proactive state, we really need a proper data center. And so those plans have gone out the door. And fingers crossed, we received some bids to the current RFP (Request for Proposal) that is out that will be within our reach and within our ability to accept and move forward with the project. But, you know, hopefully we have your support. I've seen the Council supporting this project along the way, so that's very encouraging. And with your continued support, I would hope that we can get that proper data center in place as soon as possible. CHR. LEE LOY: Thank you for backdrop, Ms. Ung, but I'm asking about the slide-deck and the stack there that you've designed. I'm looking for a timeline. I heard 2008, but I also see where we are now. Was that developed in 2016 or 2018, our target date? I mean, I understand you'll be coming forward with a request, and I'm sure every member on this dais understands what type of robust connectivity we need to have in this area. I'm just looking for a timeline so that we can begin to assess where we are and see if we can head off some shortfalls. MS. UNG: So this data center upgrade, hopefully will happen in 2021. However, currently as a back-up, if for some reason this data center upgrade does not happen, that we so critically need, Civil Defense is currently planning to upgrade their facility as well as their a/c (air conditioner) and infrastructure, which will provide much needed support for the current server room located there. So there are many moving pieces and there are many advancements that have literally just happened in the past month. So it's definitely a moving target. And Page 14 FC-44 November 17,2020 we are having ongoing discussions and current coordination efforts and planning meetings as we speak. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you for that. You know,just having some kind of benchmark out there so that we can start back-mapping. I also wanted to talk about, as Ms. Kierkiewicz, I thought there was some real low hanging fruit there with an electronic time system, you know, those types of things. That type of function and forms that take up so much of the department's time, you know, collecting them, signing them, imputting them. I'm curious around mapping of the workflow. I'm taking interest in that and being curious around that because I'm seeing some challenges as far as a County as a whole for mapping workflow, and separate and apart from that is how we hope to map workflow for our building permit process. So I'm trying to find some areas where we can learn from the experiences of mapping workflow here within the County, and how we might learn those valuable lessons as we deploy some of this to a broader outside community as they engage with the County. MS. UNG: Are you talking about EnerGov or(inaudible)? MS. LEE LOY: As an example yes. But what I heard you say is you're having challenges with mapping workflow within the County. And I want to be curious around that because if we can't do it in-house, I'm concerned that we're going to have challenges doing it with people who are trying to interface with the County as it relates to workflow. MS. UNG: So yes, definitely when it comes to Adobe Sign, we have to understand the departmental intricacy, and we wouldn't necessarily know what other department workflows entails, so we need to work with the user- base as far as collaboration, communication, coordination, to have a solid understanding. And once that's mapped, then we can build and customize the application on our side to fit that model. So it's definitely a coordinated effort, working hand-in-hand with departments who are wanting to adopt any digital workflow. MS. LEE LOY: You know, that mapping of the workflow, is that being handled by each individual department with IT interfacing them? How is that occurring? MS. UNG: Yeah, so a notification went out to each department; you know, this is a fantastic new application. We've gotten the Enterprise agreement. We're on board. We've got your digital signatures, tracking, and routing. So let us know how we can assist. There are online training videos as well as our invitation to provide custom training on demand; and in our department, our applications team is available to help support departments in whatever way they need. So the offer is on the table and we are super excited about this product. Page 15 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. LEE LOY: Okay, that's great. And my final question really is about the physical inventory, and Ms. Kierkiewicz and Ms. Sako just touched upon it, with the deployment of all of the various assets and the hardware. But my question is even further down in the weeds. Yes they've been deployed, but are they being utilized? And I ask that because I hear from within various departments that they're available. They're physically in the department, but they're not physically in the hands of a user, of a County employee. So how many do we have in physical inventory and how many are actually in the hands of a user? MS. UNG: I can't report as far as whether our users are actually using them. But from our perspective, we have to ensure that devices are secure. So what we see on our side is, if a device has not touched the network over a given amount of time, you know, okay, it becomes a red flag. Okay, we need that device on the network, powered up, restarted. Let's install,patch, upgrade, do whatever it takes to keep that system secure. And if it goes on for an extended period of time, and we can't make contact with the department and we're unable to reach the end user, then that device will get removed from the network. So that is not a gaping security hold. And so that's the way we manage devices on our side, through our network management. You know, we've been aggressively patching an upgrading systems just to keep our network safe. So we don't let pc's sit. We are very proactive about ensuring that they're connected and updated on a regular basis. During COVID that has not been ideal for a lot of remote workers because, you know, that entails they actually have to come to the office periodically to ensure that they're powered up and patched. However, from an end user, okay let's ensure that devices are actually being used for what they were purchased for, I would have to delegate to department heads and business managers and supervisors. MS. LEE LOY: Okay, thank you. Thank you, Ms. Ung. Chair, thank you so much for the time. I yield, CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else in Hilo? Seeing none, in Kona we have none. Ms. Ung, I just wanted to say thank you very much for that presentation and bringing all of us up to speed on where we stand with our information systems. And mahalo for all your hard work in getting us to the point where we're at right now. I'm looking forward to continuing—contacting you and finding out where we stand. Mahalo for all your hard work. Alright, Council Members, all those in favor of filing Communication 1156, please say "aye." Page 16 FC-44 November 17,2020 Vote on Comm. 1156: The motion to close file on Comm. 1156 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, I think I'd like to move down to Bill 225. I believe we have some department people present in chambers, yes? MR. BROWN: Yes. Bill 225: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 20-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2021 Appropriates revenues in the American Job Center—One Stop Program Income account($150,000); and appropriates the same to the American Job Center— One Stop account. Funds would be used to pay for expenditures related to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act American Job Center. Reference: Comm. 1151 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend passage of Bill 225 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Eoff. CHR. DAVID: I believe we have Ms. Hanselman from OHCD (Office of Housing and Community Development), and maybe Ms. Sandra Goodale from the Hawaii County Workforce Development Board present. And I would ask that you identify yourself, and then please describe the appropriation and the One Stop Program for us, briefly if you can. Mahalo. (Note: At this time, Assisting Housing Administrator Alissa Hanselman came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. HANSELMAN: Hi, good morning. Alissa Hanselman, Assistant Housing Administrator. CHR. DAVID: Good morning. MS. HANSELMAN: Basically the $150,000 is an annual operating budget for the American Job Center, which consists of 14 program partners who have all signed the MOU. And we have an infrastructure funding agreement, so they all pay a share of the operating expenses to run the job center; things like rent, Page 17 FC-44 November 17,2020 utilities,janitorial services, paper, toner. So basically this is for the County to pay for these expenses upfront, and then we get reimbursed by the partners. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Thank you for that. Council Members, any questions. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, I have a couple of questions. CHR. DAVID: Sure. Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Great to see you, Alissa. I'm just curious if the job center has received an influx of inquiries because of COVID. MS. HANSELMAN: Actually, since mid-March they've taken and assisted approximately 3,500 people, which is a drastic increase from what they normally get, majority of which were inquiries about unemployment because, you know, they weren't able to reach the unemployment office. But we do have staff there who could help with certain thing but not necessarily what they were looking for to assist with their benefits, yeah. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Got it. Thank you. I'm also wondering you know, because our economy is practically at a standstill and we're taking a look at ways of diversifying our economy through other sectors outside of tourism. I'm just wondering, is there any coordination or talk of coordination between OHCD and the Workforce Development and Research and Development so we can talk about some innovative job corps opportunities for our community, with the idea of, you know, increasing their skillset so that they are ready to take on different jobs that, you know, come available? MS. HANSELMAN: Right. Not necessarily in collaboration R&D (Research and Development), although I see that as, you know, a very positive way to enhance the programs. But we are—we do have partners that provide training for other fields, you know, because theya lot of people lost their jobs in tourism. You know, if they want to go into nursing or enter a totally different field, we can provide the training. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: You help facilitate that, and then also pay for the training, it's what I'm hearing. MS. HANSELMAN: Correct. And I can defer to Sandra if MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sandra, do you want to come forward? And for the record, just provide more details. MS. HANSELMAN: Yeah, she can help you. Page 18 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you so much. If you could introduce yourself for the record. (Note: At this time, Housing and Community Development Specialist Sandra Goodale came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. KIERKIEWICZ: If you could introduce yourself for the record. Just go ahead and push the button. MS. GOODALE: Good morning. I'm Sandra Goodale with the Office of Housing and Community Development. You asked about R&D; they are actually on our board. Diane Ley serves on that through the end of the year. We do some collaboration. But the WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act)program actually pays for occupational pays for occupational skills and training. So there's options where if they want to learn a new skillset, people—we have a lot of dislocated workers,people who have been laid off they can actually get training to learn new occupations, such as—into the health care, medical and billing coding. Let's see there's—nurses aids, those types of things. There's also IT opportunities that the program can pay for. We try to partner and build collaboration so that WIOA is not funding the whole amount, so that's where our partners come into collaboration. And then we do have Wagner-Peiser that does basic career services; helps build resumes, look for jobs, searching. And they're actually located at the American Job Center. So there is opportunity out there. A lot of people have been laid off, and a lot of them are collecting unemployment with the stipend, so they haven't been interested in changing careers or getting training. So we're waiting for that shoe to drop. And unemployment has been closed since March. They have National Guard outside of their office. So the American Job Center has been closed to the public, but we support remotely and do by appointments; so we answered phone calls and we do emails. And then based on—if they're enrolling into a program or if they're an existing client, then we will set up an appointment to meet with them and help them further. But the registration and course enrollments have been all ongoing. And one of the main things for Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act is that it has to be an in-demand occupation so that they're getting trained for a job that will be there when they're done. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: That's great. Thank you so much for the details. If folks are interested in learning more about opportunities, what's the best number to call or website to visit? Page 19 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. GOODALE: 935-6527 is the American Job Center number. If they want— we're antwe're working on a website and we're kind of buried under Office of Housing, but they can always email aichuserghawaiicoun ov. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: aichuserghawaiicoun ov? MS. GOODALE: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay,perfect. MS. GOODALE: Yes, that will get them straight in. And any questions they have will be answered either by a partner or by—it will get escalated, as needed. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. Thank you guys. We really appreciate your hard work and for being here. Chair, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else in Hilo? No. Kona, I don't see any. On that note, thank you so much, Ms. Hanselman and Ms. Goodale, for your explanation of your very important program, especially on this time. So mahalo for being here and mahalo for your contributions. All those in favor of approving Bill 225 and forwarding it with a positive recommendation to Council, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 225: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 225 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David–8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards – 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, I guess we should—we've got some really minor communications and another resolution, so can we go to the top of the agenda and take Communication 10.49, please? MR. BROWN: Certainly. Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the Order of Business. of Business COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. (Note: Comm. 1156 in this category was taken up previously, out of order.) Page 20 FC-44 November 17,2020 Comm. 10.49: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: OCTOBER 1 — 15, 2020 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated October 20, 2020, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Code Section 2-12.3. Vote on Comm. 10.49: Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 10.49. Filed Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. Comm. 11.41: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: SEPTEMBER 16 —30, 2020 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated October 21, 2020. Vote on Comm. 11.41: Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 11.41. Filed Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. Comm. 11.42: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: OCTOBER 1 — 15, 2020 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated October 21, 2020. Vote on Comm. 11.42: Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 11.42. Filed Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Order of Resolutions, Mr. Clerk, Resolution 776-20. Page 21 FC-44 November 17,2020 ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (Note: Res. 777-20 was taken up previously, out of order.) Res. 776-20: AUTHORIZES THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DONATION OF TEN MINI BUSES FROM THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES Accepts 10 retired mini buses with an approximate total value of$50,000, to add to the Mass Transit Agency's transportation fleet. Reference: Comm. 1149 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend adoption of Res. 776-20. Seconded by Ms. Eoff. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, is Ms. Carreira in our chambers this morning? MR. BROWN: She is not, Madam Chair. CHR. DAVID: She's not, okay. Well, if anyone has questions, then we can probably take up the last item on the agenda while we wait for Ms. Carreira. Council Members? MS. LEE LOY: Chair, I do have questions regarding this donation. CHR. DAVID: Okay. Alright, so why don't we you want to move to table this until we can get ahold—and if we can get ahold of Ms. Carreira? MS. LEE LOY: I will do that, Chair. CHR. DAVID: Okay. MS. LEE LOY: Oh, she's calling in, I think. (Note: At this time, Mass Transit Administrator Brenda Carreira and Acting Transportation Director Jon Nouchi came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. CARREIRA: Jon Nouchi, the new Honolulu County Director of Transportation, who's also they're donating the busses, are also online—he's also online. Hi, Jack. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Carreira. Would you want to just give us a rundown of this great donation from Honolulu DOT (Department of Transportation), and then we can hear from Mr. Nouchi, also. Page 22 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. CARREIRA: Thank you, Ma'am. Yes, we are very fortunate to have another round of buses from Oahu Transportation Services to help us out, ten mini buses. We have this is the same type of Gillig that we they donated seven buses, the big buses, actually before I began, and just wanted to assure the Council, we still have a lot of them running and they're like from 1996. Jon and the other members of the State transportation—we've bonded so well, and they knew our plight. Because I'm in the process—we're in the process of purchasing new vehicles and going into zero emissions also. So these are ten buses. The big buses we have now are 40-foots. These are 30-foot, so basically it's the same kind of power and just 10 feet off of it taken over. We, right now the great thing about this is they're donating it again. We don't have to pay for it; we'll pay for just the transportation over here. It will definitely save us money because we are paying approximately $200,000 a week in our contract to Roberts because we're not able to provide more buses. And we would be saving 10 percent of that every week with the addition of these buses. Our mechanics are totally for this. They love this type of Gilligs. They're real workhorses. My understanding, and Jon can talk to—it's not that they were going to get rid of these vehicles necessarily, it's just they've procured new buses, and they still have these type of buses that they're still using also in Honolulu. My understanding, they're really good. They're using the mini buses for the more higher elevation type of routes also, but Jon can explain that. I'm extremely grateful for Honolulu for helping us out, because he's always been good about— he bouthe kind of told me about this maybe earlier this year or whatever, saying that this was coming up. And their staff in OTS (O`ahu Transit Services) has just been wonderful, because we had an opportunity to see them when we went up to see the new Gillig electric bus that was in town, and our mechanics basically went crazy over these vehicles. My understanding is we can put these vehicles just anywhere. But we're closely tracking the ridership, and what has happened is some of the ridership has gone low, for social distancing, so we'll be able to use these two to switch them out, so I can use the bigger bus someplace else. But I would also mention that for the hub, that I know we haven't started yet, but like the Pahoa hub and the inter-Kona, before we have the hydrogen buses come in, we would be able to immediately replace those routes with County buses. And our entire maintenance team is totally on it. We have parts—easy to get parts locally, and that's been a big issue because we've had to wait months sometimes for other vehicles. But all around, it's just wonderful. So, Jon, I ask you to put—to let our Council know, but you know these buses more than me. MR. NOUICHL Aloha mai kakou. Aloha, Chair and Committee. CHR. DAVID: Aloha. Page 23 FC-44 November 17,2020 MR. NOUICHL This is Jon Nouchi, Acting Director for the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Transportation Services. I have a good history with these buses; I really do like them. And had we not procured new buses on our procurement schedule, we would likely have kept these buses for probablyI mean, I think could have gone for another five to ten years easily. They have a they're well-powered engines. In fact, it has the same engine as the bigger bus that is they're like sister buses to the fleet that we've turned over to Hele-On, and that should be—we are still running buses older than this in our Honolulu fleet, but because we procured replacements for it, part of our FTA (Federal Transit Administration)regulations is that we maintain a certain fleet that is constrained. So these buses have a lot of good life in them. They've actually hadI mean, I feel like we're talking about animals here, in a way. They've actually had a fairly good life here. They've only run really short routes, up and down the hills; so they were designed to be hill climbers. They're there to handle some really tough steep grades and switch back turns. And one piece of information too, is that these buses are also narrower than the standard fleet. They're about six inches narrower, so they do really well on narrower hilly roads, and just other narrow short-turn areas. I know you guys have a lot in the rural areas. These buses also—why I like them is that they match up with a lot of the rest of our fleet in terms of parts commonality. They have the same door, the same size windows. All the parts match up to the previous fleet that we've turned them over to Hawaii County in the past. So I think it would be a very good addition to the fleet that you guys already are running with us, and in fact they're in better condition than some of the buses that we run here every day. It's just because of the size, we've replaced them out. So if you have any questions, I'd be pleased to answer. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Nouchi. And before I go to—and thank you, Ms. Carreira. I will go to Ms. Lee Loy now; she had a few questions. And mahalo for your input. Thank you. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Mr. Nouchi, for being here. And, you know, in all graciousness, but I do want to kick the tires on this one a little bit. Because my knee-jerk reaction was, you know, in our background report, it has estimated value of the donation it's $5,000 per bus, and anybody who has purchased a vehicle would kind of cock their head a little bit at, wow, a mini bus is only $5,000. And so I did really want to hear a little bit about the average mileage on the bus. I really do appreciate what you shared about matching the fleet because we've experienced here in Hawaii County, where we had to Frankenstein buses together to keep them on the road, and so I do appreciate that forethought about maybe interchanging doors, or windows, or what have you. But could you please just Page 24 FC-44 November 17,2020 kind of run down, you know, the average mileage of these buses that we are looking at? Accepting the average year, I heard, 1996 I think was one. But yeah, go ahead and share that type of information. MR. NOUICHL Okay, I actually need to get the mileage on those buses. But when we procure things using Federal funds as we do here in Honolulu, the bus has they make us keep it for minimum of 12 years or 500,000 miles, and that kind of help speak to the valuation of the bus. Basically the new purchase price gets devalued for about a 12-year period, and so the FTA considers the values, I mean I didn't want to say FTA, I mean the Federal Transit Administration. They consider the value of the buses to diminish over a projected minimum 12-year life. So here in Honolulu we've kept our buses much longer. You know, I think we have a really good preventative maintenance program here, and the fact that we have good fleet commonality. Most of our maintenance personnel are familiar with these buses and have really detailed records on every procedure that's been done since we've acquired them. These buses were new in 1998, so I guess that would be—right about now they're about 22 years old. But we are running buses that are 23 and 24 years old in daily service that have far more miles than that, here in Honolulu. The ones that we're running here in Honolulu actually have over one million miles on most of them. So these buses—well, we do have to check the miles on it. I'm not I apologize that I don't have that with me right now. I do believe they have a lot more life to go on. They have not seen heavy loads, high ridership, you know, really—like I said, they've been prettythey've been cared pretty well. And I don't want to make it sound like it was only driven by a little—maybe we used it for church on Sundays, but that's kind of the characterization. They've done really short runs for their whole service life. MS. LEE LOY: You know, thank you for that. You know again, we always appreciate the donation; like I said, my knee-jerk reaction was, "Wow, sometimes it just seems to good to be true,"right? I did have some other questions for Director Carreira. You mentioned that we would have to pay for shipping for it to come over. Do we have an estimated cost of that? And I'm we're going to get an additional 46 percent tacked on by the PUC (Public Utility Commission) for shipping of these buses? MS. CARREIRA: Yes. We were trying to—we actually looked it up as to what it could be. Usually it's like—we had thought it was going to be $1,000, but these are 26,800 pounds each. The estimate that we got from the Young Brothers, in their website because we couldn't get ahold of anybody, it looks like it's going to be more than $1,000; because it's $635 for 6,500 pounds, so I'm looking at a little over $3,000 per bus. So it might be like $30,000 for all ten. But I'm sorry, I Page 25 FC-44 November 17,2020 don't have the exact amount because it only went so far in the website and we were not able to talk to anybody, but we're still checking on it. For me, I'm so sorry, this is the first time that I'm involved in shipping, Because most of the new ones we've had or the older second buses was before I came, and all the new buses, the transportation is actually paid by the new vendor. So this is theI did talk to Tiffany, the previous administrator, and I guess what they did before is they called the different shipping vendors and asked them if they would be able to donate. I will confess and say I didn't do that because during this pandemic, I'm not sure which one of them had asked for help from the Legislature to because of the financial hardship, so I did not pursue that angle of trying to get the donation. I didn't. I'm sorry, I just didn't think it was right. MS. LEE LOY: Are we going to have to register these buses, and what's the timeline for that here? Because I hear we want to get them on the road as soon as possible. But, I wanted to hear about that. MS. CARREIRA: It's a matter ofI believe—and Jon can help me, it's more of a transferring of title because we needed to get your approval first and then do the transfer of title of all ten, and then we would be able to ship them here. MS. LEE LOY: And then, Brenda—oh no, that question was answered. Thank you so much. Jon, thank you so much for being here. Brenda, thank you for pursuing this. Chair, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else in Hilo? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. David. I just wanted to say mahalo to the State, I'm sorry, to the County of Honolulu for this because we need buses. You know, we have Roberts Tours doing a lot of our bus routes. Brenda has been struggling to get buses back on the road. I think we need a total of 55 to cover our routes, and we have about anywhere between 12 to 20 intermittently on the road. You know, I was taught from a you know, you never look at a gift horse in the mouth. I appreciate the buses regardless of age, mileage, whatever is going on with them. It's just we need buses. And in lieu of some of the budgetary restrictions we may have going forward with State money, in 2021, 2022, and our budget projected—and projection in buying buses with GE (General Excise) surcharge money, I think this would be a much needed and much appreciated. So mahalo for what you've done here, Brenda, and mahalo, Mr. Nouchi. I greatly appreciate this as the Vice Chair of the Mass Transit Committee. Mahalo. Page 26 FC-44 November 17,2020 MR. NOUICHL Thank you, Vice Chair. This is first time I'm appearing in front of this body. And I just wanted to let you guys know—and Brenda alluded to this, our statewide transportation providers group has all members of all four counties. We really have treated each other like an `ohana, and we've decided to move forward on everything together. So before we make any big decisions, it's really normal for us to check in with each other, even a text message here and there late at night, early in the morning. We talk story a lot. And I just want you to know that I have a lot of aloha for the County. I feel like, you know, we're going to help take care of you guys,just like we would take care of our own. And I would not in any way send any bus over to you guys that was not ready for the rigors of your service. We've had that problem before, where we have retired buses. And I know the former administrator, Tiffany, had reached out to us, and I said, "You know, I don't think that this is a good idea." I just want to let you guys know that as long as I'm here, I will be looking out for you guys best interest also, as well as ours. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I appreciate that. I think, you know, the good term for that is, it's a kakou thing. You know, we all do this together. We all in the same boat. Even Carol Ignacio, from the Blue Zone Project, the other day said, "We may not be all in the same boat, as long as we paddling in the same direction, then we doing good." So, you know, I just appreciate you guys working with us because it's the only way we're going to get through this together. So mahalo, sir. Mahalo, Brenda. I appreciate it. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else in Hilo? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, I have a follow-up question. CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. And thank you, Director Nouchi, for the donation. We really appreciate it. This question is for Administrator Carreira. Brenda, I'm just wondering if you could provide us some clarity around when you expect these buses to be delivered to Hawaii Island, and the reason why I ask is because in this background document we're looking at an estimated cost savings of$20,000 per week, so that really jumped out on me. So there's really, I think, a sense of urgency on our part to get the title, and transfer, and whatnot, and the shipping sort of sorted. Do you have an estimated timeframe for when we can expect the buses to be on this island? MS. CARREIRA: Yes, I'm really hoping we're going to get them next month. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Page 27 FC-44 November 17,2020 MS. CARREIRA: A lot of it will depend, I guess, on the shipping schedule. But I think as far as the transfer of title with Jon, I don't think that it's going to be an issue. It's actually the shipping schedule. But I'm really trying. This is going to be a top priority to get these buses here. And also to let you know, it's not like we—we don't have to retrain any of the Hele-On drivers because they're already trained on Gilligs, so they go straight into operation. Thank you. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Excellent. And so is there any type of checkout of the vehicle or preventative maintenance before they do hit the road, by your team? MS. CARREIRA: My mechanics may beI'm not sure if we would need to do that because OTS is already taking care of all of that. But as a matter, of course, because it's our—it will become our buses, they would do a check, but it's not going to take long for each vehicle. Because I've been fortunate, we have six mechanics now and a garage supervisor, so that will be done quickly. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Excellent. Thank you. And you have a sense of where you want these buses to be deployed? MS. CARREIRA: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Are you able to share with us that information? MS. CARREIRA: Okay, yes. Possibility in intra-Hilo because the numbers are really low. There's also North Kohala because that number is low. The other thing is we've had to add buses to our Hilo—South Kohala resort buses, and especially the numbers are increasing with the hotels reopening. So now, rather than telling the ridership that I don't have extra buses, if we need to add on to any route, that's where they would go, yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, great. Thank you for those details. We appreciate it. MS. CARREIRA: You're welcome. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: We love seeing this inter-island collaboration. Thank you both. Chair, I yield. MS. SAKO: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else before I go to Kona? No. Alright, and we don't have anyone here wishing to discuss this. So, Mr. Nouchi and Administrator Carreira, I really want to express our mahalo for your efforts in getting this done for the County. I believe it will really serve our people in a time when we really need transportation, especially getting them back to work. Mr. Nouchi, could you please express to OTS and your entire Page 28 FC-44 November 17,2020 department our gratefulness from Hawaii County. With that, all those in favor of approving Resolution 776-20, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 776-20: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 776-20 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards — 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: And I believe, Mr. Clerk, I think we are at the last item on our agenda. Bill 226, please. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Bill 226: PROVIDES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII DOWNTOWN HILO BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 2, AS AUTHORIZED BY CHAPTER 35 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS Establishes a Business Improvement District to finance certain infrastructure improvements and to supplement public safety, sanitation, transportation and landscaping services in the Downtown Hilo area. The Proposed Improvement District would apply to 196 parcels and assessed at $500 per parcel each year. Reference: Comm. 1152 Intr. by: Mr. Chung (Note: Comm. 1152.1, from Managing Director Roy Takemoto, transmitting a hardcopy of the PowerPoint presentation, was circulated.) Motion to Approve : Mr. Chung moved to recommend passage of Bill 226 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Chung, go ahead. MR. CHUNG: Thank you. You know, about a week or two agoI'm sorry, about a meeting or two ago we had a status update on the Kailua-Kona Business Improvement District. Highly successful, first of its kind in the State of Hawaii. And during our last administrative briefing, Mr. Takemoto, Managing Director for the County of Hawaii, mentioned the Downtown Hilo Business Improvement Page 29 FC-44 November 17,2020 District, you know, I thought it would be very good if we could have him and the administration come and give a presentation in support of this concept prior to the change over from Mayor Kim to Mayor Roth. You know, my thought is after the presentation we're going to have community outreach because, you know, there are a lot of pros and cons to this entire concept, of course, and we want to make sure that everybody, as much as possible, is on board and comfortable with this, if we are to proceed with it at all. So I wanted to have Mr. Takemoto come up here, give his vision for what this improvement district could look like, and again, with the thought that we will probably—we will—my request will be to have this held in Committee until such time as we're ready to advance toward the full Council. Because there are some procedural implications to moving this forward, and that will all be explained in a little while. So, Roy, could you please come up here? (Note: At this time, Managing Director Roy Takemoto came forward to address the members of the committee.) And I wanted to make another point. Roy has worked really hard on this matter. He is the architect, let's not have any mistakes about that. This is not my bill. I'm not trying to you know, I'm going to pitch it. I'm going to be front-man for it, you know, after Roy leaves. But he's the guy who really worked hard on this. It is his vision. He's worked with the stakeholders, and I want to give him all of the credit on this, if it eventually passes. So go ahead, Roy. MR. TAKEMOTO: Thank you, Chair. Roy Takemoto, Managing Director. The champions on this idea began with certain key business owners in Downtown Hilo. I would like to mention a few of them because they've been the energy behind it, and I hope will continue with the energy going forward. That will be Derek Taniguchi, Garth Yamanaka, and Steven Markham, and there have been others, but those three have been steadfast throughout these past couple years, trying to pull these ideas on how to revitalize Downtown Hilo. (Note: At this time, Mr. Takemoto provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 1152.1.) MR. TAKEMOTO: So, I'll open up to questions now. MR. CHUNG: Alright, maybe I should start. Let me just start with a bit of levity here. I think what's very apparent from this, is that I mean, we're looking at two concepts, right, and trying to meld those concepts, the Business Improvement District with another revenue generating source which would possibly mean a corresponding decrease in the yearly assessments, right? Page 30 FC-44 November 17,2020 MR. TAKEMOTO: Yes. MR. CHUNG: Might even come down to zero for those affected owners. But they're not dependent onI mean, the Business Improvement District is not dependent on the parking amendments, right? MR. TAKEMOTO: No. MR. CHUNG: It could actually go without it, right? I just wanted to make that very clear because, you know, there's a lot of philosophical and operational thoughts that come with reinstating the parking, right? You know, long time ago, you know, I think Dominic Yagong was the one to initiate it. He was the Public Works chairman, and he initiated the move to get rid of all of the parking meters in that area, and so now they're gone. On the one hand, what happens, you know, from experience I found out—on one hand, the businesses have some employees who are parking in the free parking area, which takes away from the available parking spaces. For the customers, that's a problem. But then on the other hand, you have those who are saying, "Well look, places like Prince Kuhio Plaza have free parking." So how can they compete against places that provide free parking? So we're going to have that push and pull. We're going to have to deal with this thing because obviously we don't want to implement something that's going to fly in the face of what we're trying to achieve, and that's to revitalize and create more business for the Downtown Hilo area, right? So that's going to—we're going to have to discuss that, right, obviously. So I just want the public to know that there's nothing written in stone here. We're going to go out—you know, because we have to think about the businesses and we also have to think about the public. You mentioned something about the telephoneI couldn't hear because of the buzzing. You know, like for me I go to Puka Puka Kitchen quite often, yeah. I'll just go find a parking space, and within two minutes I'm out already. I mean, how does that affect businesses like Puka Puka Kitchen or others that are having the fast, quick turnaround, yeah? Okay, so we have that point. And the other point is—and you gave a real good explanation, by the way. We also have Lisa Miura out in Kona, and I wanted to get her to come. In fact, maybe we should just call her up right now to see if she has any thoughts on this matter. Because they're going to have to deal with it from the assessment aspect, right? So, Lisa? CHR. DAVID: She's coming to the table, Chair Chung. MR. CHUNG: Thank you. Page 31 FC-44 November 17,2020 (Note: At this time, Real Property Tax Administrator Lisa Miura came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. MIURA: Good morning. Lisa Miura, Real Property Tax Administrator, County of Hawaii. MR. CHUNG: Hi, Lisa. You got any thoughts on this matter? And if you don't have, that's fine too. You have to administer this program, obviously. MS. MIURA: We heard in the beginning that you stated you were going to leave this in Finance Committee until everything was settled, unless it moves forward. And I think the one thing, or a few things that just wanted to point out from the Real Property Tax side, is before it goes forward I think the Council does need to decide if you are going to exempt the nonprofits from this. It does state in here that if they don't pay any Real Property Taxes, they would not be included. But all nonprofits do pay minimum tax of$200. So while technically they're exempt, they still have to pay minimum tax. So that does need to be made clear. Another thing is the administrative fees. You know, it's left—even in Chapter 35, there would be administrative fees, but you might want to make it clear what it is. I think while we all have good intentions right now, we want to make sure to future administrations that Business Improvement Districts don't get caught paying a really high amount to County government for this, whatever that amount should be. Let me just make sure—it talks about the Business Improvement District 2 in here, but I don't see any mention about what the Business Improvement District No. 1 is, and so I might have missed it if Roy had talked about it. Where if there already is one established, and that's why this is stating number two, but what happened to number one? Because we are obviously not collecting any assessed fees for that right now. MR. CHUNG: Okay. Thanks, Lisa. You know, we'll keep all of those points in mind, and you know, keep in close contact with you, of course. With regard to the nonprofits, Roy did mention that that's something that we could address as well, during the course of his presentation. But thank you, Lisa. MS. MIURA: Thank you. I just had one more thing; we would like to help scrub the list one final time before Council moves it forward, or during the next hearing. There was a couple of County parcels that came up with the $500 fee that I'm pretty sure the County is not going to pay. MR. CHUNG: Okay. Alright. And since we're on the topic of moving this matter forward, or when we're going to be moving it, I wanted to mention one of the technicalities relating to these Business Improvement District enactments. Page 32 FC-44 November 17,2020 And that isone of the requirements is that a public hearing needs to be held no sooner than 30 days and no later 90 days after the bill is introduced. Now, that kind of, you know, got me in a tizzy because this bill was introduced a few weeks ago. So, it got me thinking that perhaps the clock is ticking. But my understanding is we have an opinion from the Corporation Counsel's Office, and it's going to be confirmed by our County Clerk. That this is a term of art, this introduction. That means—introduction in this context means first reading at the full Council, that's my understanding. Mr. Clerk? (Note: At this time, County Clerk Jon Henricks came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. HENRICKS: Jon Henricks, County Clerk. Yes, that is correct. Date of introduction is when we have it at first reading. So that's a variable right now. MR. CHUNG: Okay. So—and therefore, the reason for us keeping it in Committee. So that we stop—we don't start the clock running on this matter. We're going to really work things out. I'm going to leave this to the call of the Chair, but I'll of course work with the Chair in having this matter come forward again. Because as I said, we're going to have to get a lot of community outreach. You know, I've been trying my best but we've never had any formal gatherings on this matter. Some of the very important individuals in the downtown area have already stated or offered their support on this concept, but there are a lot of other people and landowners who will be affected, and we want to get to them as much as possible. And certainly, we want to be able to discuss the benefits, or possible benefits; or the negatives of the parking proposal, yeah. Because it's either—and of course the assessments. Right now it's set at$500. Maybe it could be less, right? Notwithstanding the parking proposal's fate. So that's where we're at. You know, I think you gave an exhaustive description of this matter, Roy. And I'm ready to just, you know, ask for a deferral. Is it a deferral or postponement, Mr. Clerk? MR. HENRICKS: Postpone. MR. CHUNG: Oh, a postponement. One more thing too, though. You know, I will be requesting, and this is to Roy's surprise I think, or shagrin. I don't know, because he wants to retire, you know. But, Roy, I'm going to be asking Mayor- elect Roth at some point, whether he would be willing to enter into a contract, or have the County enter into a contract. Would be small, you know, it's not like $7,500 a month or anything like that. You know,but—you know, so that you can just stay onboard, provide the technical expertise on this matter as we see it through, and then hopefully we finish it up in about five months, or something. I just wanted to let you know. As I said, maybe you don't want to do that. I know Page 33 FC-44 November 17,2020 you have expressed your willingness to do it,you know, pro bono. But hey, we've paid money on—never mind, okay. So anyway, that's my thought. Anyone else want to have comments or input prior to me making a motion to—what was it again, defer, postpone? Postpone to the call of the Chair. Vote on Motion Mr. Chung moved to postpone Bill 226 to the call to Postpone: of the Chair. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried (Approved) by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David–8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards– 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. I believe that takes us to the end of our agenda. Please, a motion to adjourn. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, at 11:11 a.m. Ms. Eoff moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Chair David–8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Richards- 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mahalo everyone. This committee is adjourned. Approved: __Arc Ms. Maile Me.-'ros I. id, Chair (Date) Finance Committee MD/na Page 34