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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2021/12/07 2020-2022 Committee on Finance 24th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii December 7, 2021 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 11:16 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. Matt Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder, Chair Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Vice Chair(came in later) Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member(came in later) Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards III, Member (came in later) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Brown, will you please take us to the beginning of order today? COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 30.18: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: OCTOBER 16—31, 2021 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated November 5, 2021. FC-24 December 7,2021 Vote on Comm. 30.18: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 30.18. Filed) Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kierkiewicz and Richards —2. Excused: None. Comm. 31.23: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: OCTOBER 1 — 15, 2021 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated November 3, 2021, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Code Section 2-12.3. Vote on Comm. 31.23: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 31.23. Filed) Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kierkiewicz and Richards —2. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Moving on to our next communication. Comm. 31.24: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: OCTOBER 16—31, 2021 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated November 4, 2021, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Code Section 2-12.3. Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 31.24. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, any discussion on Communication 31.24? MS. KIMBALL: Chair? CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Ms. Kimball, go ahead. Page 2 FC-24 December 7,2021 MS. KIMBALL: Yes, it's a disclosure. One of the change order is for Fleming & Associates, which is affiliated with my spouse. Of course we're not making any decisions on this, we're just receiving the communication, so I still feel able to vote on this matter. Thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kimball, for the disclosure, very proper of you. Council Members? Mr. Inaba, go ahead. MR. INABA: Yeah, real quick. If somebody could give us an update on this last item on this report, for the Kona Seaside Hotel, and I believe it's an extension for emergency shelter. But for how long is this extension? Is there any—Deanna, are you available to share on this,please? (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you for joining us today, Ms. Sako. MS. SAKO: This is probably the extension through December 31st. I believe they are winding down operations. This is the one we were leasing it, and the State is reimbursing us, yeah. MR. INABA: Mahalo. Okay. MS. SAKO: So I think about a week before the end of the month, they're going to clear it out so they can sanitize and return it back to the vendor. MR. INABA: Thank you. And then one more, two lines above that regarding the Kona Police Station. Are these smoke-detectors? Is it not compatible? Because we ordered things that were incorrect, or we got a new system that wasn't compatible with our existing detectors. MS. SAKO: It may be our system was older. So probably now that we're updating the chiller and the air-handlers, they probably just were no longer compatible. So we probably have to replace them, yes. MR. INABA: Okay, thank you. Chair, I yield. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Deanna, back to the hotel. You know, we're being reimbursed by the State? What's that pot of money that the State—like is this old CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) money? Is this new COVID (Coronavirus Disease) money? Page 3 FC-24 December 7,2021 MS. SAKO: I have no idea. MS. LEE LOY: As long as we get$700,000. MS. SAKO: As long as we get the money, that all that matters, yes. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. All right. Thank you, I yield. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Deanna, I'm going to follow up on that. Do we have an MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) with the State for the reimbursement? MS. SAKO: Oh, yes we do. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. And then my second question, does the Redemption Center Services, this is the first item on the change orders, amending the agreements at our Hilo location? I know we have DEM (Department of Environmental Management) available online, but do you—can you give usI mean is their brief background on that? Anything? MS. SAKO: I do not remember on this one because I can't remember which product this is at the moment, because we have multiple contracts. So yeah, DEM might be good to respond to that one. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I know we have some of our DEM staff on Zoom. By any chance you could fill us in on the Redemption Center Services, on our change order sheet? Okay, I'm not hearing anything from them. MS. SAKO: I'll try follow up for you. I wasn't able to text fast enough. But yeah, I'll follow up which product this is. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, I'm going to postpone this to the end of the meeting then, if it's okay with everybody? Yeah, table. Vote on Motion Ms. Lee Loy moved to table Comm. 31.24 to the to Table: end of the agenda. Seconded by Mr. Richards and (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 4 FC-24 December 7,2021 CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Clerk, if you would take us to Communication 32.13. Comm. 32.13: MONTHLY BUDGET STATUS REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDED JUNE 30, 2021 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated November 9, 2021, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Charter Section 6-6.3(h). Vote on Comm. 32.13: Ms. Lee Loy moved to close file on Comm. 32.13. Filed) Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Comm. 503: NOMINATION OF GEORGE ESPINOSA TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 15, 2021, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) and Comm. 503.1: From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 30, 2021, transmitting a revised letter related to the nomination of George Espinosa to the Cost of Government Commission. Vote on Comm. 503: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend confirmation of (Approved) the appointment of Mr. George Espinosa to the Cost of Government Commission. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 5 FC-24 December 7,2021 Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i Bartolome came forward and provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Clerk, next nominee. Comm. 504: NOMINATION OF MATTHIAS KUSCH TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 15, 2021, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Vote on Comm. 504: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend confirmation of (Approved) the appointment of Mr. Matthias Kush to the Cost Government Commission. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i Bartolome came forward and provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, Mr. Clerk, next communication, please. Comm. 505: NOMINATION OF KENNETH OBENSKI TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 15, 2021, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Page 6 FC-24 December 7,2021 Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Kenneth Obenski to the Cost Government Commission. Seconded by Ms. David. Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i Bartolome came forward and provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Pomai, do you want me to begin to table this, and come back if he's not available right now? Vote on Motion Ms. Lee Loy moved to table Comm. 505 to the end to Table: of the agenda. Seconded by Mr. Richards and (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Clerk, you have nine members in favor of the table with Communication 505, and we will revisit this towards the end of the agenda, when we get Mr. Obenski online. Okay, I'm going to go ahead and move on to Communication 506. Comm. 506: NOMINATION OF KARIE WAKAT TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 15, 2021, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Page 7 FC-24 December 7,2021 Vote on Comm. 506: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend confirmation of (Approved) the appointment of Ms. Karie Wakat to the Cost Government Commission. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung— 1. Excused: None. Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i Bartolome came forward and provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Moving on to our next nominee, sir. Comm. 507: NOMINATION OF MICHAEL KONOWICZ TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 16, 2021, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Vote on Comm. 507: Mr. Richards moved to recommend confirmation of (Approved) the appointment of Mr. Michael Konowicz to the Cost of Government Commission. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, Mr. Clerk, that brings us to Communication 508. Page 8 FC-24 December 7,2021 Comm. 508: NOMINATION OF DANIEL MALAKIE III TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 18, 2021, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Vote on Comm. 508: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend confirmation (Approved) of the appointment of Mr. Daniel Malakie III to the Cost of Government Commission. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, Mr. Clerk, let's go back to Communication 505. Vote to Remove Ms. Lee Loy moved to remove Comm. 505 from the from Table: table. Seconded by Mr. Richards. (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Ms. Bartolome, it sounds like we're having—he's actually in transit from Kona to Hilo, and he's stuck and he had a miscommunication on the time. But we do have a deadline for the confirmation hearing by a certain period. So if the Council would be okay with it of moving this forward to Council? I just want to throw that out there for everybody and have brief discussion, if any. If not, then we can postpone but it would put us in an interesting situation when we get to the final confirmation. Sorry, I'll put the Committee into recess for five minutes, while we figure this out. Page 9 FC-24 December 7,2021 MR. BROWN: Thank you, Chair. Please let the record reflect that the meeting is in recess. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Recess: At 12:06 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 12:16 p.m. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, we're out of recess. Thank you for your patience. Mr. Richards, I think you were about the say? MR. RICHARDS: I was about to say move to table Communication 505. Vote on Motion Mr. Richards moved to table Comm. 505 to the end to Table: of the agenda. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Clerk, let's go straight to Resolution 273-21. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 273-21: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR PARATRANSIT ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENTS AND PARATRANSIT OPERATIONS FOR THE MASS TRANSIT AGENCY Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a one-year and three-month lease agreement to pursue a single agreement for fixed route and paratransit services in Fiscal Year 2023. Reference: Comm. 522 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Page 10 FC-24 December 7,2021 Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend adoption of Res. 273-21. Seconded by Ms. David. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We have Director Andoh here. Interim Director Andoh, if you could come up and give us a brief rundown for this resolution in front of us. (Note: At this time, Interim Mass Transit Director John Andoh came forward to address the members of the Committee. MR. ANDOH: Good afternoon, Honorable Members of the Council. The purpose of this item is to allow us to do a multi-year request for proposals for a contractor to operate the Hele-On Paratransit system, as well as perform paratransit eligibility services. The current contract is about to expire, and we would like to engage a contractor that would utilize seven paratransit vehicles that the County owns to reduce the cost of providing paratransit services. And then we're also, as I reported in the previous presentation, we've expanded our paratransit service beyond what the current contractor was previously providing, to include the Pahoa area and corridors along the Route 40, which is warranting the need to reprocure the services. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you much, sir. Council, any discussion? Okay, seeing none. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your patience, Mr. Andoh. And we have a motion on the floor to forward Resolution 273 to Council with a favorable recommendation, all in favor? Vote on Res. 273-21: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 273-21 (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung— 1. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Moving onto Resolution 274-21. Page 11 FC-24 December 7,2021 Res. 274-21: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR ONLINE LEGAL RESEARCH SERVICES AND LEGAL PRINT RESOURCES FOR THE OFFICE OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with Thomson Reuters, Westlaw. Reference: Comm. 523 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Vote on Res. 274-21: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend adoption of (Approved) Res. 274-21. Seconded by Mr. Richards and was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung— 1. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Which takes us to Bill 94. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 94: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 21-39, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2021 TO JUNE 30, 2022 Adds the Environmental Management Pua Force Main Installation and Rehabilitation—State Revolving Funds project for$530,000 to the Capital Budget. Funds for this project shall be provided from State Revolving Funds, and would be used to install a second Sewage Force Main and rehabilitate the existing Force Main that connects the Pua Sewage Pump Station to the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant. Reference: Comm. 524 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 94 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. (Note: At this time, Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 12 FC-24 December 7,2021 CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I know we have the Director online, but if we want to goCouncil, questions-concerns before I go to the Director? Okay, Director Mansour, could you please tell us a little bit about the bill in front of us? MR. MANSOUR: Yes. Good afternoon, Chairman and Committee Members. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you for being here today. MR. MANSOUR: Thank you. This is a result of change order from the Department of Transportation. So they extended the runway for about 2,900 linear foot. This caused our force main as well to be extended the same length, three times. So we're going to extend it about 10,000 linear foot, and that's what caused this change order. I also have online my Deputy Chief Eric (Takamura), if you have any further questions. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you, Director. Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Director Mansour, thanks for being here. I see that this is coming out of our State Revolving Fund, our SRF Fund. What is the interest rates on that fund? MR. MANSOUR: That's probably Eric, if you know that— MS. hatMS. LEE LOY: Oh, Deanna is also here. Maybe she can help me with this. MR. MANSOUR: Yeah, maybe Finance could give us that. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. LEE LOY: And, Deanna, when you give us that, I have a follow-up question. Because I feel like State Department of Transportation made a decision to extend the runway, which then costs us to extend that line. But now, we've got to go find money for it. MS. SAKO: Unfunded mandate, yes. I'm sure Director Mansour will harass Department of Transportation about that and see if he can get them to pay for that. But SRF has been running at about half percent. MS. LEE LOY: Oh, okay. Director, yes, can you please lean in on Department of Transportation, our Ports Division, a little bit; and if I'm not mistaken, they're about to get a whole bunch of money through ARPA (American Rescue Plan Page 13 FC-24 December 7,2021 Act), and if they can turn around and offset what is an unintended consequence on our part and reimburse us, that would be wonderful. Chair, I yield. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Any further discussion from the Council? Okay. Well, Director, thank you for being here today. MR. MANSOUR: I think—do you want me to address that redemption? I know earlier you had asked the question about the Redemption Centers. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I do, but I have to close our Bill 94. MR. MANSOUR: Okay. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And then we can go back to Communication 32.13. But, yeah. Yes,please. MR. MANSOUR: All right. Thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, Council Members, no further discussion on Bill 94? So all in favor of moving Bill 94 to Council for first reading? Vote on Bill 94: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 94 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And let's go yeah, may I have a motion, please? Vote to Remove Ms. Lee Loy moved to remove Comm. 31.24 from the from Table: table. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 14 FC-24 December 7,2021 CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes,please, Director, so Communication 31.24. I had some questions, but I should go to Council first. Any discussion from the Council? Okay, seeing none. Mr. Mansour, if you could please, what was the Environmental Management— you anagementyou have one change order, and I just want a little bit of back information on the services we're doing for the Redemption Centers. (Note: At this time, Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. MANSOUR: This was of the options to renew the contract at Hilo, which was left out on the original agreement. So it's just an exercise to practice that option. It has it at net zero cost to the department, at the Hilo facility. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, and this will allow us to ? MR. MANSOUR: Continue the Redemption Center at Hilo for another year within our current contract. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Okay, I like that. I think it's good. I'd like to see us providing as much services for our recycling as possible. I think they did a good job over there, too. MR. MANSOUR: Yes. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you, Director. That was my question, very simple. Thank you for the answer. Seeing no further discussion from the Council, we have a motion on the floor to close file on Communication 31.24. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 31.24: The motion to close file on Comm. 31.24 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder–8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member David– 1. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And we still have our one order of business. Council, you want to do a recess until Pomai can come back with the Page 15 FC-24 December 7,2021 nominee? Is that okay? Okay, we're going to go into recess, Mr. Clerk, until we can finalize that nomination. Thank you. Recess: At 12:15 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 12:32 p.m. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Aloha, this our Committee on Finance. I'm going to call us out of recess. It is 12:32. We are still waiting for the nominee to come in. He's in transit. So with that, I'm going to put us back into recess for another five or ten minutes or so? So, let's give him ten more minutes. So we are going to recess the meeting again. And thank you for bearing with us, if you're watching. But it is 12:33 now. Let's recess until 12:43, and hopefully Mr. Obenski can be here. Okay, mahalo. We're in recess. Recess: At 12:33 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 12:43. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Aloha, we are back from recess. I'm calling this meeting back to order. I need a motion please, Council. Motion to Remove Mr. Inaba moved to remove Comm. 505 from the from Table: table. Seconded by Mr. Richards. (Note: At this time, Nominee Kenneth Obenski came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And we had our introduction from Ms. Bartolome for Mr. Obenski. And thank you for being here today, sir. I think we'd like to hear a little bit from you, and then when you go ahead,push the red button, which Mr. Brown did for you. Just introduce yourself a little bit to the Council, say hi and then we'll go from there. MR. OBENSKL Okay. You all know my name by now. If you read the paper, you probably know a lot about what I think about a lot of things, because I write a column every two weeks, in West Hawaii Today. I like to participate in government as much as I can. I've been in a lot of committees and involved in civic activities. As an engineer there's an old joke we have in engineering; it says, "scientist, can do anything an engineer can do if you don't care what it costs." And the purpose of an engineer is to make things figure out how to make things at the most reasonable cost. So, ask me a question. Page 16 FC-24 December 7,2021 CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you. Thank you for being here. Good to see you. I'm glad you got here safe. I'm going to go to Ms. David. This is your district, correct? MS. DAVID: Yes. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Go ahead, Ms. David. MR. OBENSKL I've known Maile for years. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Chair, again. And then Mr. Obenski, thank you for being here today. I was just going to mention that I have worked with you for years, ever since I became—on the Council, and I found you to be very smart, very reasonable in your position on matters that affect the community. MR. OBENSKL Thank you. MS. DAVID: Your work with the Rotary Club, the Kona Mauka Rotary, has been so long, and you've done a lot of good for the district. And so your nomination to this committee, I am very confident that you, with the rest of the nominees—and I thank the Mayor's Office for bringing you forward that your combined experiences and thoughtfulness on how government works or should work will be a benefit. Your role on this commission, in my view, will be a benefit. So, I wholeheartedly support your nomination. Thank you. MR. OBENSKL Thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. David. Ms. Kimball, go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: Hi. And thank you, Mr. Obenski, for putting your name forward for this. I was kind of fascinated to read some of the books and articles that you have published. And what I think, from looking at your past work, you'll bring to this commission is a really good eye for diagnosis and analysis of the current situation. So since we waited for you to come, I just want to give you the opportunity to talk a little bit about anything that you see, briefly, as key low-hanging fruit for this commission to address. Thank you, Chair. MR. OBENSKL I've been making a list actually, and it kind of depends on what kind of latitude the commission has, what we'll have access to. Is it going to be looking over the County's spreadsheets, or can we do some research? Obviously, I've never done this before. Apparently, Mr. Command (Robert) said, "Well, we Page 17 FC-24 December 7,2021 do this once every four years." So I wasn't on it previously, I assume they don't want the same people every time. Low-hanging fruit, I think the Abandoned Vehicle Program looks like a huge expense that isn't working, because there's no way to dismantle cars here, except I think they get dismantled and then abandoned, so the County winds up with a bill to get rid of 1,000 pounds of scrap-iron. I thought about some ways that could be improved. With all due respect, I don't have my list. That's the first one that came to mind. And I'm not sure—for example, if there's a possibility of—if our Charter would include looking for other revenue streams as well as ways to reduce current cost, because there are some thingsoh, low-hanging fruit. Why do we have a County band? There's probably $100,000 a year that you could probably call any high school and get a band for nothing. There's actually practice together all the time. I was wondering yeah, the low-hanging fruit. Why is there a Police chaplain? Is that someone on the County's payroll, and is it really a function? I understand chaplains. I mean, in the Army, I was there in the service. Chaplains are a serviceman's link to his family back home. But the policemen here aren't that isolated from their families. So, I don't know whether that's a functional thing. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. I don't want to get to far into the details right now. MR. OBENSKI: Of course. MS. KIMBALL: But I do appreciate the thoughtfulness of the questions. And again, I want to thank you for putting your name forward for this. I think the comment that Council Member Kierkiewicz made at one of the previous appointments about extending the timeframe of the commission, a little bit of this conversation here supports that argument. Thank you, Chair. I'll yield my time. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Ms. Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha, Mr. Obenski. Thanks for getting here safe and sound today. Your reputation precedes you for being very vocal and articulate, and straight to the point. You have a really incredible knack, as an engineer would, for identifying issues and looking for solutions in those capacities. I think you're going to be a great addition to this commission. In all of those questions, about are they really necessaryI guess my one just point of recommendation is for everybody on commissions, is it's just IQ (Intelligence Quotient) that we need in these things. It's EQ (Emotional Quotient) when it comes to the County Band, you know, and the need for arts when it comes to—I've had some interactions with police chaplains, and the roles that they play. Page 18 FC-24 December 7,2021 So, such incredible questions that you're bringing forward. And I think they may provide an opportunity to scrutinize some of the fat that lives in government. And then also to you know, ideally, even educate us on these roles, and the importance of them and the purpose that they play and how they support our community from kind of an EQ standpoint and that expression. But I always enjoyI know when I'm going to read one of your articles, it's going to be incredibly well thought out, and it's going to guide my mind through all these different facets and how they connect—and articulately and very strategically questioned. So thank you for having that kind of a mind and for sharing that with our community, and for your willingness to participate on this commission. MR. OBENSKL But I'm sorry, what do you mean by EQ? MS. VILLEGAS: It's emotional quotients. MR. OBENSKL Oh, okay. MS. VILLEGAS: Instead of just intellectual quotients. I'm sorry, yeah. Thank you, I yield. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Mr. Richards, go ahead. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Thanks for connecting your name to your article in the newspaper, because I was going, "I know I know this name," and I appreciate that. MR. OBENSKL Well, I also recruited you to talk to my rotary a couple times. MR. RICHARDS: Oh, okay. All righty. I made comments previously, it's the analytic thinking that I appreciate that this commission is going to be bringing before our County. And I do agree with what Ms. Kierkiewicz said, you have a lot to do in a very short timeframe, and that's something that maybe we can work on for a later time. But there's a lot to get done very, very quickly, and all the best. Because that's what we need, a critical review of what government is doing. So, I appreciate you stepping up. Chair, I yield. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Mr. Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Good afternoon. I just wanted to say I like some of the ideas and concerns you have. We all, I think, have a lot to learn when we get into this County government. And I'm hoping that some of these questions or ideas you have can be answered with information that's in the Charter. And I'm Page 19 FC-24 December 7,2021 hoping that you can work well with the others that we had forwarded to Council today, because they also have a lot of great ideas. So hoping that collaboration results in some kind of tangible recommendation for us to take up. Mahalo for being here. MR. OBENSKL Thank you, too. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Mr. Chung, go ahead. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Obenski. And thank you for making the effort to come here, you know, to be here in person. You know, I'll tell you, I'm going to you have a great resume and great references. I'm going to be voting against your nomination today,probably will voting for it at the full-Council, but it's more symbolic than anything else. You're on the Cost of Government Commission. But you got here late, okay, for whatever reason, and consequently we had to wait for you, and there is some cost involved in that, as well. You might have had a perfectly good reason for being late. We have all been late for various reasons; but when you have to hold up operations because of that, it's just not a good look. I just got to say that. Because you are, after all, in the Cost of Government Commission. So as I said, it's more symbolic than anything. I will probably vote for you when come up to the full Council, assuming that you're here on time. MR. OBENSKL With all due respect, I was told to be here at 1:00 p.m. MR. CHUNG: Well then, who told you to be here at 1:00 o'clock? MR. OBENSKL I have the letter. I left it in my truck. MR. CHUNG: What time was he told to be here? Whatever MR. OBENSKL There's a history on it. MR. CHUNG: You are here late. So, thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Aloha. Great to see you today. I shared with my colleagues that I served on the Cost of Government Commission in 2014, was Vice Chair. Susan Maddox was Chair at the time. Page 20 FC-24 December 7,2021 Your body has 11 months to really do a deep dive into County operations and come up with recommendations on how to make operations more efficient, streamline things. So I would suggest, and you may have already done this because of your background in research and reporting and things, there are reports that have come out of prior commissions, I'm scanning the one that we had done back 2014, and it would really interesting, as you meet with the different department heads, to get a sense of where are we with some of these recommendations. One of the things we recommended on the energy-piece was shifting our vehicles over to electric (electrical vehicles), EV, and biodiesel, and it's taken quite some time for us to get to that space. But take a hard look at some of the recommendations that have been put forward and see what the County has done in this time-period, to kind of take action on those things. One thing I wanted to elevate and bring to your attention, and yours, Pomai, as well, is I think we're missing a report. There was a commission that was convened under Harry Kim, and I know because one of the commissioners reached out to me, delivered a draft of the report, but I don't think it was ever filed with the Council or the County, and so really curious about why that happened. And, Pomai, hoping that you can help us track that down because that mana`o is really critical. You know, we definitely want to honor and elevate the contributions of our volunteer board members and commissioners, and that might provide some helpful information as you kind of take up your role as a new commissioner. So I just offer that advice. MR. OBENSKL Thank you. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you for your willingness to serve. I yield. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Okay, seeing no further discussion from the Council. Thank you for being here today, sir. I know you drove from Kona and got here safe, and thank you for being here in person. Do you want to add anything else today? MR. OBENSKL I can't think of anything that wouldn't be better off we wait until the commission convenes. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I really like that you actually came with a list. I don't think any other candidate came forward today and offered a list they've put together of things that they want to address already. I like that about you. MR. OBENSKL Thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Well, let's go to the vote. And then I'll let you know when you have to come back, okay. So, Mr. Clerk, we Page 21 FC-24 December 7,2021 have a motion on the floor to forward Communication 505—sorry, close file on Communication 505, and forward the nomination of Mr. Obenski to Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 505: The motion to recommend confirmation of the (Approved) appointment of Mr. Kenneth Obenski to the Cost of Government Commission was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder–8. Noes: Committee Member Chung– 1. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Sorry. Mr. Obenski, you will need to come back December 22nd for the final confirmation at Council. Please work with Pomai's office to get the time and the date. Usually the Council meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. MR. OBENSKL I have plans to leave for Oregon on the 21st CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. We do meetings via Zoom, so there are different ways we can get you onboard. MR. OBENSKL Will be able to do that, yeah. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Okay, perfect. Well, thank you very much for being here again. And, Mr. Clerk, that does bring us to the end of our agenda. Thank you. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 12:59 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 22