HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2021-12-22 2020-2022 Hawaii County Council
29th Session
West Hawaii Civic Center
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
December 22, 2021
INVOCATION: Rabbi Levi Gerlitzky of Chabad Jewish Center gave the morning's invocation.
CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at
ORDER: 9:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Maile Medeiros David,
Chair.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair
Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Vice Chair
Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member
Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (via videoconference from Hilo)
(came in later)
Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member
Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member(via videoconference)
Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member
Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member
Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (via videoconference from Hilo)
PLEDGE OF The Chair directed the Council to the next order of business, Pledge of
ALLEGIANCE: Allegiance.
(At this time, County Clerk Jon Henricks led the Council in
the Pledge of Allegiance.)
PETITIONS, The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Petitions,
MEMORIALS, Memorials, Certificates of Merit, and Expressions of Condolence.
CERTIFICATES
OF MERIT, AND (Note: At this time, Ms. Lee Loy presented a Certificate of Merit to the family of
EXPRESSIONS OF the late Chad "Kalepa" Baybayan, honoring his many lifetime achievements and
CONDOLENCE: positive contributions to community.)
Recess: At 9:22 a.m., the Chair called for a recess.
Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 9:25 a.m.
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business,
FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items.
PUBLIC ON
AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by
the Chair:
Cory Harden: Bill 91, Draft 2 (Comm. 491.63), in support.
(representing Sierra Club — (See Comm. 491.102)
Hawaii Island Group)
Kawehi Inaba: Res. 284-21 (Comm. 538), in support.
(representing La`i`6pua 2020)
Bob Ernst: Bill 97 (Comm. 532), in opposition.
(See Comm. 532.1)
Lorie Farrell: Bill 91, Draft 2 (Comm. 491.63), in opposition.
(representing Hawaii
Farmers and Ranchers United)
Teri Impson: Bill 91, Draft 2 (Comm. 491.63), in opposition.
Margaret Wille: Bill 91, Draft 2 (Comm. 491.63), in support.
Michael Konowicz: Bill 91, Draft 2 (Comm. 491.63), in opposition.
Stephanie Bath: Bill 91, Draft 2 (Comm. 491.63);
Bill 93 (Comm. 496); and
Bill 97 (Comm. 532), in support.
APPROVAL The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Approval
OF MINUTES: of Minutes.
Vote on Approval Ms. Lee Loy moved to approve the Minutes of
of Minutes: November 18, 2021. Seconded by Mr. Richards and
(Approved) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business,
CATIONS: Communications.
Comm. 545: NOMINATION OF SCOTT NAGATA TO THE SOUTH KOHALA
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 24, 2021, requesting the
Council's review and confirmation.
Waived: PC
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 12, 2022 (Section 134(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to confirm the appointment of
Mr. Scott Nagata to the South Kohala Community
Development Plan Action Committee. Seconded by
Mr. Richards.
(Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i
Bartolome came forward to address the members of the Council.)
CHR. DAVID: Mahalo, Ms. Bartolome. Okay. Relley, is he (Mr. Nagata) on
Zoom by any chance? No? Okay.
MR. ARACELEY: Sorry, Chair. Mr. Nagata was on Zoom earlier in the
meeting, but he is no longer with us.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. Council Members, comments, please? Questions?
Mr. Richards
MR. RICHARDS: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Thank you. I don't know if we have a technological problem
or whatever. Mr. Nagata, he is South Kohala CDP (Community Development
Plan), and this is an area that Councilwoman Heather Kimball and I share. And I
know he's coming from District 1. It would be nice to have some conversation. I
think we are probably going to vote to approve him, but it's been the general
feeling of this Council that we talk story before we approve. So, I'm thinking
maybe we'd want to table this and then see if we can get ahold of him or
something.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. Any other suggestions from Council Members? I believe
we may have time. Ms. Bartolome, our next Council meeting would be on
January 5h in Hilo. Would that, if we proceed
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MS. LEE LOY: We're at Council.
CHR. DAVID: Oh, we are already. Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. This is our last
meeting. Okay, your preference, Council Members. Ms. Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, thank you, Chair. I would love to hear from the candidate
and even some recommendations from our colleagues, and I'm not hearing that.
We are at Council and the motion is to approve, so I think the choices are either to
postpone to the end of the agenda and maybe get him back on or wait till the next
year.
CHR. DAVID: Or we can table.
MS. LEE LOY: Table.
CHR. DAVID: Yeah, okay. I'm sorry, I was just told by staff that we need to
confirm him by January 12''. So, if we postpone this to January 5h, we could
do—and, Ms. Bartolome, would you please ask him to be present for that because
that's going to be our last Council meeting that we need to decide, okay.
MS. BARTOLOME: Yes, Madam Chair. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: All right. Mr. Richards, given that, are you going to do a motion?
MR. RICHARDS: Yeah.
Vote on Motion to Mr. Richards moved to postpone Comm. 545 to January 5,
Postpone: 2022. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following
(Approved) voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David–9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Mahalo.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Comm. 546: NOMINATION OF DESIREE MOANA CRUZ TO THE HAMAKUA
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated November 24, 2021, requesting the
Council's review and confirmation.
Waived: PC
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 12, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on Ms. Lee Loy moved to confirm the appointment of
Comm. 546: Ms. Desiree Moana Cruz to the Hamakua Community
(Approved) Development Plan Action Committee. Seconded by
Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
(Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i Bartolome and nominee Desiree
Moana Cruz came forward to address the members of the Council. Council
Members spoke in favor of the appointment.)
Comm. 547: NOMINATION OF NEAL HERBERT TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT
COMMISSION
From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated December 2, 2021, requesting the Council's
review and confirmation.
Waived: FC
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 16, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to confirm the appointment of
Mr. Neal Herbert to the Cost of Government Commission.
Seconded by Mr. Richards.
(Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i
Bartolome and nominee Neal Herbert came forward to address the
members of the Council.)
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
(Council Member Kimball thanked Mr. Herbert for serving on the commission.
Council Member Kierkiewicz suggested he speak with others who have served for
a number of years in order to gain insight on what is possible and see what
progress has been made on recommendations made by prior commissions.)
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair,just a little latitude. I wanted to ask Ms. Bartolome
about the last Cost of Government Commission and a report that was not filed
with the Council. Is that possible?
CHR. DAVID: Unless there's any objections, I see none. Go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Ms. Bartolome, when we had a slate of Cost
of Government Commission candidates come before the Council at the last
meeting, I mentioned to you going into Laserfiche in the public record and not
seeing that last report. You were able to obtain it,but were you able to provide
information as to why it was never officially filed with the Council?
MS. BARTOLOME: It was just not I guess it was not pursued just because the
lava had happened during that time. This was back in 2018. This is what I was
told from the last secretary anyways. And so it just kind of fell to the side. And
so right now, what I'm trying to do is just pick it up and see if we can file it
because it's there. The recommendations are there. It's just a matter of filing it
and submitting it for review and bringing that forward.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Perfect. If you could just file it with the Council and get it
up onto the Cost of Government Commission folder online, I think that would be
incredibly valuable and helpful to this new commission to just see all of the most
recent recommendations. And so we, as Council Members, can also see the body
of work that all those commissioners put in in a very intense 11-month period. So
that would be great. Thank you. I really appreciate your perspective and
willingness to step up. Thank you, Mr. Herbert. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. And thanks, Ms. Kierkiewicz, for putting
forth some of those comments. Mr. Herbert, first of all, thank you for your
service in the past. And I think with that, Pomai, and actually to the
Administration, this Cost of Government Commission you're putting together
again is we're getting people with that critical thinking and the ability to really
criticize. And, Mr. Herbert, with your background of the Coast Guard, seeing
where money has been spent, I think you can be nice and critical for us to have
that thought process. So, I definitely am going to be supporting you. Chair, I
yield.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else here in Kona? In Hilo?
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the nomination of Neal Herbert to the
Cost of Government Commission,please say "aye."
Vote on The motion to confirm the appointment of Mr. Neal
Comm. 547: Herbert to the Cost of Government Commission was
(Approved) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Herbert, for being here today. Clerk Henricks,
can we just go straight to all of the reports because I believe we may have some
nominees on the Zoom? So, I'd like to take all of those reports out of order,
please.
Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the
of Business: following items were taken out of order:
FC-91 NOMINATION OF GEORGE ESPINOSA TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT
(Comm. 503): COMMISSION
Requires Council
Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on FC-91: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Finance Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 91. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
FC-92 NOMINATION OF MATTIAS KUSCH TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT
(Comm. 504): COMMISSION
Requires Council
Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on FC-92: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Finance Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 92. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
FC-93 NOMINATION OF KENNETH OBENSKI TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT
(Comm. 505): COMMISSION
Requires Council
Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on FC-93: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Finance Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 93. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
FC-94 NOMINATION OF KARIE WAKAT TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT
(Comm. 506): COMMISSION
Requires Council
Confirmation by: December 31, 2021 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on FC-94: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Finance Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 94. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
FC-95 NOMINATION OF MICHAEL KONOWICZ TO THE COST OF
(Comm. 507): GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on FC-95: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Finance Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 95. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
FC-96 NOMINATION OF DANIEL MALAKIE III TO THE COST OF
(Comm. 508): GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on FC-96: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Finance Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 96. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
PC-36 NOMINATION OF RICHARD CUNNINGHAM TO THE BOARD OF
(Comm. 510): APPEALS
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on PC-36: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Planning Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 36. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
GOREDC-20 REAPPOINTMENT OF GABRIELLA CABANAS TO THE MERIT APPEALS
(Comm. 509): BOARD
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Governmental Operations,
GOREDC-20: Relations, and Economic Development Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 20. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
PRPSC-23 REAPPOINTMENT OF ISAAC NAHAKU`ELUA TO THE VETERANS
(Comm. 511): ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Vote on PRPSC-23: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Parks and Recreation and
(Adopted) Public Safety Committee Report No. 23. Seconded by
Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
PRPSC-24 REAPPOINTMENT OF MINORU HANATO TO THE VETERANS
(Comm. 512): ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Vote on PRPSC-24: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Parks and Recreation and
(Adopted) Public Safety Committee Report No. 24. Seconded by
Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
PRPSC-25 REAPPOINTMENT OF MICHAEL DOOLITTLE TO THE VETERANS
(Comm. 513): ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Vote on PRPSC-25: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Parks and Recreation and
(Adopted) Public Safety Committee Report No. 25. Seconded by
Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
PRPSC-26 NOMINATION OF MICHAEL HUGHES TO THE LIQUOR CONTROL
(Comm. 514): ADJUDICATION BOARD
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 134(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Parks and Recreation and
Public Safety Committee Report No. 26. Seconded by
Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: Any discussion? Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Yeah. Hi, Chair. I just had received a letter in the mail. I'm not
sure if any of my colleagues did yesterday. It was dated December 17''. And,
Ms. Bartolome, I just have a question regarding these last two nominations, and
just wondering if you can provide a little bit of input on why the District 7 seat
has sat vacant for a year because I believe Mr. Onizuka was the last one to sit in
this seat.
(Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i
Bartolome came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MS. BARTOLOME: I'm sorry. This is for the Liquor Commission?
MR. INABA: This seems to be for our last two nominationsso, Mr. Hughes
and Mr. Onizuka. But for sure Mr. Onizuka's seat was vacant, I believe, for a
year, and he was the last one to sit on it.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MS. BARTOLOME: Okay, so to be honest I'm not sure. I have to go back and
triple check why, if that is true, there was a vacancy for District 7 for a year. I
need to go back and do my research and then I can come back and answer that
question, or email or call you.
MR. INABA: Okay. An email is fine. Thank you so much. I just wanted to
follow up on this letter that we received. Chair, I don't have any further questions
at this time.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in
favor of approving the nomination of Michael Hughes to the Liquor Control
Adjudication Board, please say "aye."
Vote on PRPSC-26: The motion to adopt Parks and Recreation and Public
(Adopted) Safety Committee Report No. 26 was carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
PRPSC-27 NOMINATION OF CLAUDE S. ONIZUKA TO THE LIQUOR COMMISSION
(Comm. 515):
Requires Council
Confirmation by: January 1, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Parks and Recreation and
Public Safety Committee Report No. 27. Seconded by
Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: Discussion, Council Members?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair David.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I just want to mahalo all of the nominees who
are present in the Hilo chambers and on Zoom and patiently waited for us as
Council to deliberate and officially approve their nominations. Mahalo nui for
braving the rain and joining us amidst your busy schedules, and I also want to just
take this opportunity to mahalo nui Pomaika`i for all of her hard work this year to
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
put forward a number of really wonderful candidates to serve in these volunteer
roles. So, thank you, Pomai, and thank you so much to all of our new board
members and commissioners. Thank you, Chair, for the latitude.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none, all
those in favor of approving the nomination of Claude S. Onizuka to the Liquor
Commission, please say "aye."
Vote on PRPSC-27: The motion to adopt Parks and Recreation and Public
(Adopted) Safety Committee Report No. 27 was carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Pomaika`i, and thank you to all the nominees and
congratulations. Merry Christmas. We can go back to the top of the agenda,
Mr. Clerk.
Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business.
of Business:
ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of
RESOLUTIONS: 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)
Approve: FC-97
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 273-21 and
Finance Committee Report No. 97. Seconded by
Ms. Lee Loy.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I have no discussion, Chair. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else, Council Members?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I just want to mahalo nui administrator Andoh
for securing this and moving forward on this contract. It expands services to Hilo
and Kona, but it also offers new services to the Puna community. And I know
that Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and I just really appreciate all of the
increased attention and service that is being brought to our region of Puna and just
more access to public transportation for people that really do need it. So mahalo,
John, for, wow, being so festive and all of your hard work for our Big Island
community. Thank you, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none,
Mr. Andoh, I just want to
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I was just going to say if the director would
likeI'm sorry. Are you interim director still, sir?
(Note: At this time, Interim Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh came
forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. ANDOH: Yes, I'm still interim.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That is too bad. Okay, if the interim
director has anything to add, I'd love to hear it. Thank you, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Go ahead.
MR. ANDOH: Oh, I do not have anything to add. I was just looking forward for
Council's approval so we can move forward with this request for proposals so we
can get a paratransit contractor to start the expanded services using a County-
owned fleet. Thank you. Mahalo.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MS. VILLEGAS: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha, Mr. Andoh. Wow. Look at your sparkling lei. It's
been such a joy to watch you step into this position of leadership and to inspire
your team with the courage to make challenging decisions, the vision to execute
those decisions, and the support that you provide them. I also really enjoy your
spirit and your passion and the way that you have brought a positive
transformation.
I just want to send out my best wishes to Brenda Cassera and hope that she is
doing well andI think she may have had some health challenges. So,just want
her to know in this holiday season we send her our absolute best. But I, too, am
hopeful that at some point the "interim"will be dropped in front of your title, and
we can look forward to long-term leadership in this department. The momentum,
the energy, the positive transformation that you have brought about is invaluable
to our County in this time when transportation is such a vital need for our people.
So, thank you again. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
Aloha.
MR. ANDOH: Mahalo.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, thank you, Chair and interim director. Mr. Andoh,
thank you so much. It's outstanding. I was all excited because I saw you and
thought you would give us another testimony that was inspiring. But we will
definitely support you going forward. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Good morning. Just a follow-up. This resolution that's before us
is requesting funds from a later fiscal year. Is there an amount here because I
don't see it in the resolution. Mr. Andoh, sorry, I'll just rephrase my question
more clearly. Is there a specific amount being requested for this resolution?
MR. ANDOH: At the present time, no, because we've not gone out to bid for the
services. So, once we've gone out to bid to know what the cost of the services
would be for the multi-year, then we can definitely let the Council know.
MR. INABA: Okay.
MR. ANDOH: Through the County Code, if we request the contractor exceed a
fiscal year, we need to get Council approval first.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MR. INABA: Got it. Thank you so much, Mr. Andoh. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Anyone else? Hilo? No more questions?
All right. Mr. Andoh, thank you for being so festive and brightening our
morning. All those in favor of approving Resolution 273-21, please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 273-21: The motion to adopt Res. 273-21 and Finance Committee
(Adopted) Report No. 97 was carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to suspend Council
Suspend Council Rule 15 to waive the 5-day hold for reconsideration.
Rules: Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following
(Approved) voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
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)
Approve: FC-98
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 274-21 and
Finance Committee Report No. 98. Seconded by
Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: No discussion, Chair. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Mahalo. Anyone else?
MR. INABA: Yeah.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Yes, thank you, Chair. Just a similar question to the last
resolution. Judge Strance, if you're able to speak to this? I think you might have
an amount to share with the Council being that it's also not in the B-52.
(Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance came forward
to address the members of the Council.)
MS. STRANCE: Good morning.
CHR. DAVID: Morning.
MS. STRANCE: Elizabeth Strance, Corporation Counsel. This request is not a
request for additional funds. The funds for our legal research contract are
currently budgeted. What the request is, is to allow our office to enter into a five-
year rather than annual leases in order to take advantage of savings that would
limit the annual price increase for this service to 2 percent rather than 7 percent.
Currently, our monthly cost for our legal research is $5,539 a month. The
proposal that we received from the Westlaw vendor was a 7 percent increase,
which would have increased our monthly cost for legal research to $5,926.73. By
entering into a five-year contract with annual 2 percent caps, the first year of our
new contract would be $5,794so, a $200-a-month savings—and then the limits
imposed by the 2 percent annual increase rather than what is expected to be a
7 percent annual increase.
Within our existing contract, we also added a new feature since it would not
increase the cost of our monthly obligations to add a feature called "Westlaw
Edge,"which is to take advantage of the growing availability of Al (artificial
intelligence) in legal research engines. So, given the five-year nature of the
contract and what is or has become an industry standard with the availability of
Al for increasing the efficiency of our research, we added that feature since it
would not increase the cost of our contract.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MR. INABA: Got it. Thank you so much. And I think it's just helpful for us to
have that information either on record or here on forms. So, thank you for those
answers today. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in
favor of approving Resolution 274-21, please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 274-21: The motion to adopt Res. 274-21 and Finance Committee
(Adopted) Report No. 98 was carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Strance.
Res. 275-21: ACCEPTS THE DEDICATION OF ROADWAY LOT 58, KIKAHA AT
WEHILANI, PHASE 1, BEING IDENTIFIED AS TAX MAP KEY: 6-8-037:058,
SITUATED AT WAIKOLOA, DISTRICT OF SOUTH KOHALA, ISLAND AND
COUNTY OF HAWAII, STATE OF HAWAII FROM CASTLE & COOKE
WAIKOLOA, LLC, A HAWAII LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
The landholder seeks to dedicate the roadways and all improvements for public
roadway purposes.
Reference: Comm. 525
Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy (B/R)
Approve: PWMTC-13
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 275-21 and Public
Works and Mass Transit Committee Report No. 13.
Seconded by Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I have nothing more to offer, but we do have
here in the Kona chambers Deputy Corporation Counsel Dalilah Schlueter if any
of you have questions.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Council Members, any questions? Seeing none, all
those in favor of approving Resolution 275-21,please say "aye."
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Res. 275-21: The motion to adopt Res. 275-21 and Public Works and
(Adopted) Mass Transit Committee Report No. 13 was carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
Res. 277-21: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN
AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Allows for the receipt of$500,000, to be used towards economic recovery efforts
related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reference: Comm. 528
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Postponed: December 8, 2021
(Note: There is a motion by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Mr. Richards,
to adopt Res. 277-21.)
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Already a motion's on the floor. Council Members,
any discussion?
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, if I could.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We have Mr. Sako here today if there's any
questions from the Council Members. I just wanted to offer that. And then as
well, I'd like to say this has a great potential for our community. I'd really like to
hear what R&D (Research and Development) has to offer as far as any kind of
insight knowledge that they have on this. But, Mr. Sako, if you could, and then
introduce yourself for the record.
(Note: At this time, Economic Development Specialist Glenn Sako, Food
Systems Specialist Sarah Freeman, and Economic Development Specialist
Elizabeth Dykstra, Department of Research and Development, came
forward to address the members of the Council.)
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MR. SAKO: Thank you. Glenn Sako, Economic Development Specialist,
Department of Research and Development. Thank you very much for this
opportunity. I just wanted to ask; do we have—we also have Sarah Freeman, and
today we also have Beth Dykstra. They were the principal grant writers for this
application. And I don't know if Director Adams might be in the Kona chambers.
You might want to hear from him first if he is available.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Is Mr. Adams in Kona today, Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Yes. Yes, he is, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Mr. Adams, would
you like to take the table? Thank you.
(Note: At this time, Research and Development Director Douglass Adams
came forward to address the members of the Council.)
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead and state your name. Just press that button at the
bottom. Yes, there you go.
MR. ADAMS: Thanks. I actually tried to and it didn't light up for me. So, thank
you. So, Doug Adams, Director of R&D.
CHR. DAVID: Director, would you mind taking your mask off?
MR. ADAMS: That would be fine?
CHR. DAVID: Yeah.
MR. ADAMS: I'd be happy to do that. I just noticed you all really had them, so I
wasn't going to assume.
CHR. DAVID: We can hear you clearer. Yes, thank you.
MR. ADAMS: So, thank you very much for the opportunity here and thank you,
Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, as well. The team that we have, we have
obviously Glenn Sako and Beth Dykstra and Sarah Freeman, who actually is on
vacation right now but with us on Zoom.
Before I go too far, having done this a number of times, I'm going to do some of
the things that we always do at the end so I don't forget. So, obviously, we're
talking about Resolution 277. Any of the conversation we have here would also
reflect on Bill 96 that you'll be taking up later. And I appreciate the opportunity.
If there is a desire by the Council to do so, we would support a waiver of the five-
day hold period as well. And then also finally, happy holidays to all of you.
All right. I've done enough of these things and forgot to say thanks to my wife
that I just do it at the beginning nowadays. This Build Back Better Regional
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Challenge Grant, Phase 1, application was something that we worked on during
the fall time period. It became available to us in July, as did the rest of the
country. We were approached by members of our community as well to consider
being a lead institution.
There were seven applications that were submitted by members of the State;
different entities that applied. And we were fortunate enough to be one of the
60 finalists that were announced December 13'', a week ago Monday, after a
couple of months of review of over 500 applications across the country in a
variety of different sectors. Our particular sector is the aquacultural center.
That's what we decided we would focus on. I think that that helped us, to be
honest with you, because we were pretty narrow in the focus on what we were
talking about. It's a broad area but it's not spread out across a variety of different
types of areas.
I'm going to, with your permission, allow Sarah and Glenn and Beth to talk about
the details here. But we've already had the opportunity to meet with the Federal
government at a webinar last Friday. We participated in that. We've already had
our first coalition meeting Friday afternoon with members of our own regional
coalition to talk about moving forward. There's a couple of different steps that
are part of this Phase 1 application.
And then we had the opportunity to meet with the project officer from the
Economic Development Administration region in Seattle, who will be the
individual that we work with closely as we work forward towards making sure
that we do what we're supposed to do with the Phase 1, get the most out of that.
But in addition, the key part of this is making sure that we also are applying
correctly and with as strong an application as possible for the Phase 2 portion of
this, which is the big money if you will.
So, at this point, I'm going to ask, Sarah, if you would just take the initial lead
here and talk a little bit about the vision and the way forward for us in Phase 1 and
our talks for Phase 2. Thanks.
MS. FREEMAN: Hi, everyone. Sarah Freeman, Food Systems Specialist in
Research and Development. I, first, want to say that this workgroup was really
borne out of community initiatives that have been going on for the past three-plus
years. Can everyone hear me okay? I can also turn off
CHR. DAVID: Yes, we can.
MS. FREEMAN: My camera if it's limiting the connection. All right. And I
think it has been since mid-Council but starting in 2019 with the Hawaii Island
Ag (Agriculture) Partnership and also the Hawaii Island Food Alliance, there was
a food and ag system study done to assess market constraints within our system
and just do an overall assessment. And this work that was done by a community
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
engagement process really led to a lot of what was made up of this proposal and
broad-scale collaboration and participation in this process. And so, as we were
looking at how do we transform our ag economy within Hawaii County, a lot of
that information is in there. And we can also resubmit that study to you all for
reference.
Within that study, we are also looking at an ag innovation center. One of the
main things might be—it's not new to many of you here—is that a lot of ag is
really needed. And also community members need more access to processing and
distribution centers within the County. And so, this works to address that and also
is working on building a model for shared resource and access to these kinds of
facilities. That has also been a challenge throughout the County as well. So, we
are really looking at systematic constraints that affect our industry.
Also, we are looking at how to improve our waste stream systems to decrease our
waste and also increase ag inputs available to our ag producers. I learned through
this process that our main export by weight is cardboard. And that is definitely
something within our sustainability goals, by reducing that and turning it into soil,
to have a measurable impact within our County.
We are also looking at market system services to businesses and also increasing
access to capital and technical assistance services to those within ag and also in
value-added production, and also increasing the availability of canoe crops and
different varieties and also increasing traditional food preservation methods as
well.
We are also assessing within the UH (University of Hawaii) system. So, many
includes the community college and the diverse entities that make up the system.
And in this first round, we'll be doing an ROI (return on investment) on
investment to make sure that anything that's being invested in, whether it's staff,
equipment, or curriculum, will have a life and an impact beyond the grant period.
And also, we are looking at increasing and improving some existing facilities to
improve value-added processing on the island. I'll yield there and then pass it to
Glenn and Beth if they have anything to add.
MR. SAKO: Thank you, Sarah. So, I just wanted to add that Sarah gave a very
brief description of this project, and it is a very large project. We are hopeful that
our coalition members will be able to prepare applications that will really
showcase Hawai`i's needs and our outlook for agriculture on this island and will
be successful in being awarded this grant.
We're still working on some of the scope of work for these different coalition
members. And we'll be looking to get some contracts out as soon as possible,
which is why time is of the essence. We have a very short window. The Phase 2
grant application is due March 15'', and that is a very short time in which we need
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
to gather data, we need to get our studies moving. And then our coalition
members are actually starting to prepare the applications already, and we need to
fill in their gaps with data and other measurables to help build up that application.
Beth, do you have anything you want to add?
MS. DYKSTRA: Thanks, Glenn. Beth Dykstra, Economic Development
Specialist, Department of R&D. I was just a grant writer on the project, and it's a
privilege to work on it. It's an exciting project. The point of it is to build an
economic cluster on a region. So, our region was the island. It's big enough to be
a region.
And the cluster, although it has the title "agriculture," as Director Adams noted,
it's narrow but quite broad. So, it will reach retail, wholesale, export. It will
reach probably every person who lives here on this island in some respect,
whether they're farmers and their cost of inputs will decrease, and they will have
a better way of getting to market or to consumers for cost of food. And there's an
equity piece in this that's really important.
And so it's quite exciting. We have a March 15'h deadline. It's going to be super
competitive. Not all will get the Phase 2 award, so we really need to get good
applications in. And not all projects will be funded, but the EDA (Economic
Development Administration) has promised that all these applications were so
stellar and they were so excited about all the projects that they will help to try to
find other resources for ones that they don't fund. Thanks.
MR. ADAMS: If I may, Chair David?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. ADAMS: Thanks to the team that really did the hard work. Let me just
identify briefly the members of the coalition: Food Basket, Hamakua Institute,
Kohala Center, Ma`ona Community Garden, Big Island Resource Conservation
and Development Council, our East Hawaii Community Development
Corporation. And then University of Hawaii, it brings with it the College of Ag,
Forestry, and Natural Resource Management; the Aquaculture and Coastal
Resources Center; our College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
(CTAHR); GoFarm Hawaii; Big Island Invasive Species Committee; Hawaii
Community College; and The Data Sciences Institute.
So, that's a really big coalition member, and we're very happy to have all of these
members as part of this team because, as Sarah mentioned, this has been an
ongoing project. And we see this as a culmination really of a lot of the work
that's been ongoing, including the food study that was done early in 2020 and
2021. And this gave us an opportunity to take a lot of the work that had been
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
done there and turn it potentially into action with the funding that may be
available to us as a part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge funding.
So, the Phase 1 is a two-year grant. We won't be able to really get much started
on it before we're actually supposed to apply for the Phase 2-we understand
that. Everybody that is a part of this process understands that. It's designed so
that we can do some technical assistance work in preparation for a Phase 2
success. We may or may not; there's 20-30 out of the 60 that will receive the
funding that would come out of the Phase 2 applications.
Both the Secretary of Commerce as well as the Economic Development
Administration Administrator both said, "Look, not everybody's going to win
these dollars, but we're going to work with you to get you some dollars if you
aren't successful in the second phase." And we take them at their word in terms
of looking to help us along the way. This is with the EDA. This is about our
economy, and we see, obviously, the agricultural sector as a huge part of our
economy, not just in our food but in our jobs and in the aggregation and
distribution of those foods to (inaudible), not to mention—well, I'm going to
mention it, the food security aspect as well. All these things are part of why this
is so important and why we decided that this is the area that we wanted to move
forward with in this particular opportunity. So, we're available for your
questions.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you so much, Director Adams. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
I believe you have the floor.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes,please, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Adams, Mr. Sako,
Ms. Dykstra, and Ms. Freeman, I really do appreciate your efforts on this. This
has great potential for our community. This has the potential to be huge for our
island. So, mahalo for what you've done to get us this far, and I hope that we get
our Phase 2 funding as well when we get there.
I have a couple of comments. I had an ag summit I attended I think in 2018 and
'19. One of the speakers there—and this has stuck with me ever since—is his
closing words or his opening sentenceI forget which one it was but it was
"normalize indigenous farming methods." And when I'm looking at your
supplemental data that you've attached to this, you're going for canoe crops,
you're going for sustainability, you're focusing in on what makes us sustainable
and what we can do here on-island, and I really like that.
I want to touch on something I'm not seeing here. Are we doing any look into
shipping and what shipping is like for manufacturers, or exporting? I know it
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
affects our cattle industry. For my business, everything that we bring in—our
jars, our lids—not only has the price gone up exponentially, but shipping from
the Mainland to here or Oahu to here is huge. So, is there any aspect of shipping
costs because we all are affected by those costs? That can be addressed in this
Build Back Better funding source possibly.
MR. ADAMS: So, Council Member, I'll take that. It's not included in this
particular application. We do know that the you've already stated the concerns
and the issues. It is an area that we are having conversations with our shippers
and within the Administration about. It's not something that we're just going to
not worry about or try and alleviate in some way. But it's not necessarily part of
this application.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you. That's a good answer.
MS. FREEMAN: I can also add that, through the Hawaii Island Food Alliance,
we do work with Derek Chow, who's part of the Department of Transportation.
And he has a working group through the Governor's office that is working on
improved solutions to cost of transportation. And so, that has been worked on
through that group for the Governor's office.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Wonderful. Thank you, Sarah, because that
isI mean, again this is a huge cost of my business, but I know it affects anyone
and everyone who does a wide range of—whether it's manufacturing, farming,
cattle exporting, anything, they're all affected by that. So, it'd be wonderful to
take a look at that if can, but I understand that it's not a part of this application.
And then I looked over the—one of the things that caught my eye was the Miko
Meat facility. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
MS. FREEMAN: Sure. So, the Miko Meat facility used to be more up and
running and providingI think they used to produce hotdogs that would go into
the DOE(Department of Education) system. So, the plan for that facility is to
evaluate upgrades that are needed to get it up and going again, and also to have it
be a hard-use facility for businesses. Currently, the Hilo Food Hub is in a smaller
facility, and they do offer technical assistance services to start-up businesses that
do value-added production or food service businesses. And so, this will help
expand their region, their ability to support those within that industry, and provide
a larger space ideally with more equipment and use.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Amazing. That is good to hear. And I've
wondered for a while, the Miko Meat building is currently open or closed?
MS. FREEMAN: From my understanding, it is currently open and is used for
maybe some kombucha brewing. I don't know the other businesses that are
currently a part of that at the moment.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I love it. I love what you guys are
doing. I'm going to yield for now, Chair. Thank you very much, but thank you
very much to the Department of Research and Development. You guys are
amazing. Keep it up. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Doug, way to go. This is definitely the
right direction we need to be going in. Listening very carefully to what Sarah's
talking about, Glenn, the right direction we need to. A couple of comments on
this: One of the things that we are seriously missing in most of our agriculture is
the statistics of the agriculture, and that was cut back in the great financial crisis
of 2007, 2008. I think we're starting to get some of that back. But with some of
this funding, getting some numbers down would be very helpful for policy
decisions later. So I throw that out as a comment.
I know I worked with Glenn previously on Sharwil avocado and the export
marketing. Keenly interested in the overall economy of agriculture because we
talked about having economic development here. Our County is about 4 percent
GDP (Gross Domestic Product), as near as I can figure from agriculture, which is
four times the State percentage, which tells me that we have quite an active
ongoing and live economy in agriculture here. The problem is we need to support
it better. So I like the comments about value-adding.
I do know for the cattle industry today, the retail that the cattle industry produces,
the rancher gets about 17 cents on the dollar. So, 17 percent of the retail dollar.
Forty years ago, the rancher got about 32, 33 cents, and I cannot imagine that the
rest of agriculture is too much different. Getting that producer closer to the retail
dollar is really important, and that's what I'm hearing here participating in
whatever through the food hub, but having that producer participate closer to the
retail dollar because that's what is going to grow us.
This County consumes about a million pounds of food a day, and we have the
potential industries right here if we have good policy. But in order to have good
policy, we've got to have the numbers and we've got to have the programs up and
running. So, I'm very interested in seeing what evolves out of this and we'll go
from there.
I do appreciate what—Sarah made the comment: not just for the life of this grant
but then what. And is this something that we're going to see going forward?
We've seen a lot of government start-ups in agriculture that as soon as the funding
runs out, the thing stops. So, I like the premise of starting with the intention of,
"This is okay. We're going to be flowing on afterwards."
I point to Mr. Kaneali`i-KI einfelder's comment on transportation. That is key. If
we're going to be exporting, that is key and we have to look at our ports, both air
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
and sea as far as having the facilities for export. And we do have the
Daniel Akaka Marine Highway system in our State right now. I think there's
some things that we need to work on at the State and Federal levels, but again
opening up markets for our local agriculture. So, this is really exciting for me. I
like everything I'm hearing so far. Whatever we can do to keep moving this
model forward, please let us know. Thank you very much—and exciting.
Thanks, Glenn. Thanks, Sarah. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? Ms. Villegas
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Oh, I'm sorry. I'm going to go to Ms. Villegas; I saw her light
first. I'm sorry. And then I'll go to you, Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: No worries.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha, Mr. Adams. Thank you for being here and
congratulations. Congratulations as well to you, Ms. Freeman. I had hoped to
have had a presentation by her this year, but in lieu of all of the important
information that's being brought forth by my colleagues, we're putting it off until
January. But I think that that timing may end up being quite serendipitous and
hopefully with more good news to come.
My ears perked up, Ms. Freeman, when you started talking about cardboard and
that recognition of it as a carbon sequestration resource, essentially, when we
bring it back to the soils. Something that's been viewed as waste and to be sent
away is being transitioned and recognized as a pivotal resource and opportunity
for the health of our soils and ecosystems. We heard Kawehi Inaba speaking
earlier today about one of the projects at La`i`opua, and I'm excited to have been
contributing some funding for another cardboard shredder for that space.
And one of the big issues that's being brought up today in its final reading is the
herbicide legislation. I am encouraged and excited for this opportunity for
regenerative agriculture to be taken into consideration or diversified treatments
for the long-term benefit of our health and soils. And for taking into
consideration those microbiomes and that we need them to be healthy and strong
and sequestering carbon in our soils. And so I'm really excited and grateful.
And also, I see the alignment with the `Rina Aloha Economic Futures initiative
and the recognition of the strength in returning to the wisdom of our host culture
and the regenerative practices of the Hawaiian people and how they prioritize and
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
malama this `aina. So, I really see a lot of alignment there, and I'm really excited
to see how this continues. And to have it recognized in a national platform, we
have this opportunity to be a model for the rest of the world.
And I just want to thank you tremendously for supporting your team because it
takes leadership and vision and initiative and courage to step out and make
statements and endeavor to return, I guess, in some way. So, thank you,
Mr. Adams, for your leadership, for your incredible team, that every time—and
thank you for your new Deputy Director. I had such a great time meeting with
him as well.
And so I am heartened as we step into 2022 for the future of our agricultural
industries, transitioning away from some of the practices of big ag, utilizing the
wisdom of indigenous knowledge and executing. Really executing. This is just
really positive. So, thank you for taking action in those areas. So, a big mahalo
to all of you. And we look forward to the presentation from Ms. Freeman in
January to discover in a little more detail what the County has been working on
and what some of these specific programs are even above and beyond this
particular grant. So, thank you for supporting her and the rest of the people that
worked on this. I really appreciate that. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms.
MR. ADAMS: Thank you, Council Member. I'll completely deflect any of your
comments toward me. This application was completely the work of the folks that
you see that are here on this call.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Director, and thank you, Ms. Villegas.
Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Mahalo nui, Chair. I, too, want to just recognize the
incredible efforts of Beth, Glenn, and Sarah. Writing a Federal grant, one that
gets awarded is not easy. So, congratulations on submitting and being awarded
such a stellar application. I really appreciate how we had a plan about our food
system offered up in April of this year, and you quickly worked to find ways to
fund that plan and bring a lot of the recommendations to life through this grant.
So, thank you for taking quick action.
And that's what community is wanting, right? We've had these talk stories.
Director convenes island-wide about sustainability of our food system, of our
island system. There were all those summits and TED Talks that really got
everybody energized. In the background, you folks were working really
diligently to find funding to really make all of those wonderful ideas happen. I
really appreciate the diverse and thoughtful mix of the products. The projects
here that are listed in the application, they all come together very nicely to
strengthen and reinvigorate our ag system. So thank you for that.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Director, I just had a couple of questions. So, is the intention with helping these
particular eight entities that are your coalition members, to help each of them
submit an application for Phase 2 funding from the EDA?
MR. ADAMS: Thank you, Council Member. Yes. The answer is "yes"to that.
In the conversation, it was unclear to us, at least it was unclear to me, about the
way the Phase 2 was going to move forward, whether the coalition members
would need to apply separately. It turns out that they will apply as if they were
separate entities, but it will be included in a single Phase 2 application where
we're the lead institution submedian.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: The Federal government loves to make things so easy for
us. Thank you, Director, for that. I'm just curious. This is a really sizable grant.
Are you folks anticipating bringing on additional administrative support to help
administer and keep on with the reporting? Because, I know that that stuff is
quite a bear to handle.
MR. ADAMS: We've had those conversations.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Is that"yes"? I'm just curious.
MR. ADAMS: I'm not in charge of the final decision on personnel inside the
County.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Thank you for that. Well, we certainly support
getting you all the folks that you need to carry this out successfully. The final
question I have is there are a lot of other food system-related projects that are
happening all around the island. I think of amazing work happening throughout
Puna and in Ka`u, and I just wonder if there are opportunities to either sync up
with those particular projects or supply them with some technical assistance as
Phase 2 applications are being developed.
MR. ADAMS: I think that we have opportunities here, as explained to us by the
project officer as well as the project lead from the EDA, to modify. And so as we
take a look, there's a couple things that we are cognizant of. One is we have a
really short time to turn around a really important application, right. March 15'h is
not that long. That's part of the reason why we have the coalition members that
we have because they already have—we like to talk about shovel-ready. They
have that type of project already available as a part of what they're working on.
And so, our ability to take that and turn those into manageable and also forward-
looking projects that can get funded is really important to us.
The ability to connect with other projects that are ongoing, I would say that we
already are doing that. For example, in Ka`u, part of the innovation grants that we
have out includes, for example, Ka`u High and the three different innovation
projects that they have there. And so, we're cognizant of some of the work that's
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
being done there, as we hear. And because this is island-wide because this is a
region, the idea is to develop these aggregation opportunities, for example, around
the island, not just in any particular area of the island. So, we're going to be
looking to see how can we scale whatever we're able to do. Whatever the amount
is that we're able to get out of Phase 2, assuming that we're successful in that
application, clearly that amount is going to be a starting amount, not a final
amount, for improving the sector around the island.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Director. I also see that Sarah has her hand
raised. Sarah, did you want to chime in?
MS. FREEMAN: Yeah. I just wanted to add some of the parts of the technical
assistance for Phase 1 but also Phase 2 again are around technical assistance to
farmers and ag-related businesses to support them in their business services as
well as supporting them increasing their access to capital, and also adding market
system development services. So ideally, this will support all businesses in those
areas as we try to grow those services that are available to our community. And
also the Hawaii Island Ag Partnership, I think that they want to hold some
different sessions to get more feedback through this process as they look at
growing those market system development services. So, I would encourage those
businesses to check out that website and maybe join a meeting.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, great. So again, I just want to go back through a
couple more details: 2027 is the deadline to administer this particular grant. Is
that correct? Did I read that correctly in the proposal?
MR. ADAMS: Actually, that's for the Phase 2. This is a two-year grant. So, we
have through 2023, 2024 for this particular grant, the Phase 1, that we have been
awarded. Phase 2 is 2027.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Got it. Okay, thank you for that clarification, Director.
And what I'm also hearing is Phase 1 projects are a team working on another
application for Phase 2. There could be wiggle room to add on more partners, but
presently, these are the folks you have assembled to go after Phase 2 funding.
MR. ADAMS: That's correct.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I just want to make sure. I don't want to make any
unnecessary calls. And then finally, are you precluded from applying for Phase 2
funds if you are not a Phase 1 finalist?
MR. ADAMS: Yes.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Thanks for those clarifications. I think you've got
an excellent team of folks assembled here in the County and also in the
community. Real high-capacity folks that I think just really needed some infusion
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
of cash and some TA (technical assistance) to get to the next level. So, excited to
see progress made, and hopefully, you can provide some quarterly reports to the
Council on information gathered, progress made through this grant. Thank you,
Chair. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Ms. Kimball, go ahead.
MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. I just wanted to also weigh in with
congratulations to Doug and Sarah and Beth and Glenn. As Council
Member Kierkiewicz already alluded to, Federal grants are difficult. This one in
particular, very narrow timeframe and a pretty heavy lift. So, this
accomplishment is not at all trivial, and it wasn't just those couple of months
putting the application together. I think we were so well poised to apply for this
particular program because of all the work that you've done for the past couple of
years. And you have mentioned this, Sarah, about the ag hui and data and plans
and everything that have been developed that led to this moment in culmination.
So,just so impressed with all the work that you folks have done, the collaborators
have done; Hamakua Institute, Kohala Center. I know that this application really
focuses on strengthening those partnerships, and it's just so impressive to see all
of the work that they've done, and even some pilot projects in the Hamakua
District. So, I just really want to just offer a warm, from the cold north here, a
very warm congratulations to all of you for this major accomplishment. And I
look forward to seeing what you guys do with it. Mahalo, Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Anyone else here on this side? Seeing
none, Hilo? All right, thank you. Director Adams, I'm not going to repeat
everything that my Council Members have spoken because it's all true, and I just
want to say congratulations and mahalo nui to you, your staff, and the coalition.
Anxious to see as well.
MR. ADAMS: I appreciate that, Chair. And I think I would be remiss if I didn't
indicate I think that Council Member Kimball alluded to the fact that this has been
something more than a few months in the making,right. There's been a lot of
work that has set this up. I think the Federal government did it with a purpose
where I think they were looking for regions that were already prepped. And in the
agricultural sector, we've had a lot of folks who had been working for quite a few
years.
And so, I'd be remiss if I didn't note that my predecessor, whose focus was
agriculture—Diane Ley—would have had a tremendous amount of influence on
the department's ability to be prepared for this moment as well. So, obviously,
the hard work was done by the team that's right here, but this is more than just a
year in the making. So thank you, all. This has been terrific, obviously, but this
will mean nothing if we don't actually deliver. And that always is what's driving
us as a department and as an administration. Thank you.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
CHR. DAVID: Thank you so much for mentioning former Director Ley. Thank
you. All right, Council Members, all those in favor of approving
Resolution 277-21, please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 277-21: The motion to adopt Res. 277-21 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Chair, may I make a motion,please?
CHR. DAVID: Sure.
Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to suspend Council
Suspend Council Rule 15 to waive the 5-day hold for reconsideration.
Rules: Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following
(Approved) voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: After Mr. Chung's resolution, I need to take something out of
order.
Res. 282-21: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE ISLAND OF HAWAII
YMCA FOR ITS FAMILY VISITATION CENTER PROGRAM
Transfers $1,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 2); and credits to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Other
Current Expenses account.
Reference: Comm. 536
Intr. by: Mr. Chung
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
(Note: Comm. 536.1, from Council Member Aaron S. Y. Chung dated
December 21, 2021, transmitting proposed amendments to Res. 282-21, was
circulated.)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Chung moved to adopt Res. 282-21. Seconded by
Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Chung.
Motion to Amend: Mr. Chung moved to amend Res. 282-21 with the contents
of Comm. 536.1. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Chung.
MR. CHUNG: Yeah, it merely bumps up the amount from 1,000 to 3,000. If I
could get everyone's support on the amendment.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Mr. Chung, thank you. This is a program that I stumbled into
many years ago and this is so needed. It needs the support of the community. So,
thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? Seeing none, on the
motion to amend, all those in favor please say "aye."
Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Res. 282-21 with the contents of
Amend: Comm. 536.1 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Back to the main motion.
Page 34
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to suspend Council Rule 24 to waive
Suspend Council the holdover for the substantive amendment of
Rules: Res. 282-21. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
(Approved) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Mr. Chung, go ahead.
MR. CHUNG: Yeah. I've been going to the YMCA quite often for various and
sundry reasons, and I also understand that Ms. Kierkiewicz is going to be going
pretty often as well. But it has given me the opportunity of observing these
families. I think most of you are aware of the visitation program that's being run
by YMCA. And I wanted to also recognize Ms. Kimball because she did have a
resolution the last time we were here for $5,000 actually, if I'm not mistaken, and
every little bit helps on this matter.
These visitation programs are for those families that the parents, for some reason
or another, are not really on the same page, right. And sometimes, these things
are court-ordered, these visits at the YMCA. But to see all of these children with
their one parent and the time that they have to spend with them, it's really, not
trying to be clich6, but it is priceless. And I get to see this a lot, particularly on
the weekends. Of course, we don't intrude on their privacy, but it's not difficult
to ignore what's going on. So, I just wanted to make that point. Yeah, thank you.
I hope I can get your support.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Seeing none, all right, all
those in favor of approving Resolution 282, as amended with
Communication 536.1,please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 282-21: The motion to adopt Res. 282-21, as amended to Draft 2,
Draft 2 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Adopted)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
Page 35
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
Vote on Motion to Mr. Chung moved to suspend Council Rule 15 to waive the
Suspend Council 5-day hold for reconsideration. Seconded by Mr. Richards
Rules: and carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David–9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: All right, I believe we have Fire Department in our Hilo office.
Could I just skip over to Resolution 286,please?
Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the
of Business: following item was taken out of order:
Res. 286-21: AUTHORIZES THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DONATION OF USED
EQUIPMENT FOR USE BY THE HAWAII FIRE DEPARTMENT
Provides a variety of tools and equipment donated by the Honolulu Fire
Department with a total estimated value of$9,285.
Reference: Comm. 540
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 286-21.
Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mahalo, Chair. We have Battalion
Chief Springer here today. If you could, sir, and thank you for your patience this
morning. We ran—we're being talkative this morning. Thank you very much for
waiting. Push the button and introduce yourself, and then anything you want to
offer.
(Note: At this time, Battalion Chief Patrick Springer, Fire Department,
came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. SPRINGER: Good morning. My name is Battalion Chief Patrick Springer,
Hawaii Fire Department, Training Bureau. I just wanted to say good morning
and happy holidays to the Council and everybody else listening at home. I
Page 36
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
appreciate the time you're taking this morning to accept this donated equipment
from Honolulu Fire Department. It's not brand new equipment. It is used
equipment at the end of its life cycle, but the benefit for us is that we're able to
use it for backup training sets so our recruits can get high quality repetitions when
they're training. And also, worst-case scenario, if we have a lot of equipment
malfunctions or serviced with online equipment, this equipment could also serve
as a backup. Following approval, we look forward to being able to test the
equipment and put it in service. That's about all I have for you folks this
morning. Thank you.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mahalo, sir. I appreciate it. Chair, I don't
have any more questions. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair David?
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Just one quick mana`o. I just want to mahalo BC Springer
(Battalion Chief Springer) for running a really stellar training program for our
recruits and for really establishing solid relationships with Honolulu Fire and
counties across the State. This isn't the first time that you've come before us
accepting donations, and I really think it's because you've really worked hard to
cultivate those relationships with fire departments across the State. So thanks for
doing that. We appreciate it. Thank you, Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none, all
right, all those in favor of approving Resolution 286-21, please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 286-21: The motion to adopt Res. 286-21 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Now I guess we can go right back to 283-21.
Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business.
of Business:
Page 37
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Res. 283-21: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HAWAII ISLAND UNITED
WAY FOR THE PURCHASE OF MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES FOR ITS
COMMUNITY OUTREACH INITIATIVE
Transfers $2,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 2); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public
Programs account.
Reference: Comm. 537
Intr. by: Mr. Chung
Motion to Approve: Mr. Chung moved to adopt Res. 283-21. Seconded by
Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Chung.
MR. CHUNG: I just ask for your support.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor please
say "aye."
Vote on Res. 283-21: The motion to adopt Res. 283-21 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
Vote on Motion to Mr. Chung moved to suspend Council Rule 15 to waive the
Suspend Council 5-day hold for reconsideration. Seconded by Mr. Richards
Rules: and carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
Page 38
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Res. 284-21: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO LA`I`OPUA 2020 FOR
EXPENSES RELATING TO ITS COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS
Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 7); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public
Programs account.
Reference: Comm. 538
Intr. by: Ms. Villegas
Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 284-21. Seconded by
Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: I just ask for my colleagues' support of this contribution to
La`i`opua's important project as it relates to composting and shredding of
cardboard. I know that Ma`ona Gardens traveled around the island with their
cardboard shredder and shared that service and educated people. And it's exciting
to see other community organizations looking to implement those kinds of
projects in their own facilities. So I ask for your support.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in
favor of approving Resolution 284-21, please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 284-21: The motion to adopt Res. 284-21 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards,
Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Inaba— 1.
Excused: None.
Res. 285-21: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE FRIENDS OF
LILI`UOKALANI GARDENS FOR ITS CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK EVENT
Transfers $2,580 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 5); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation,
Administration Other Current Expenses account.
Reference: Comm. 539
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder
Page 39
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
(Note: Comm. 539.1, from Council Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder dated
December 8, 2021, transmitting proposed amendments to Res. 285-21, was
circulated.)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 285-21.
Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mahalo, Chair. This event is actually
scheduled for December 23rd to the 25h. So, the resolution is a little behind but
quite timely. And just to put it out there, this is actually an amazing event that
K. T. Cannon-Eger puts on and has been doing for the last five years, and we
jumped in last year to help her out. She does an amazing job, but we wanted to
kind of propel her idea. So, we were able to get some volunteers from the
community, like Backyard Monkey and the Lions Club and different
organizations who are going to help light up Lili`uokalani Gardens this year, and
hopefully next year and for the years coming.
I really do appreciate K. T. She is the backbone for this; this is her idea. Without
her pushing, we wouldn't have jumped in. But I think this has potential to be an
amazing event for the community. So, kind of saying that for everyone's
information, but also just really appreciating K. T. and what she does for the park
and for our community. I do need to make a motion to amend this if there's any
further discussion.
CHR. DAVID: Seeing none, go ahead.
Motion to Amend: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to amend Res. 285-21
with the contents of Comm. 539.1. Seconded by
Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I realized that I needed
to do a little bit more funding for her than I had originally intended, given what
she's hoping to put forward. So, with that, you see an increase in the monetary
donation to the Friends of Lili`uokalani Gardens. Thank you, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else on the
amendment? Seeing none, all those in favor of the motion to amend
Resolution 285-21 with the contents of Communication 539.1, please say "aye."
Page 40
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Res. 285-21 with the contents of
Amend: Comm. 539.1 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Richards — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: May I have a motion?
Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to suspend Council Rule 24 to waive
Suspend Council the holdover for the substantive amendment of
Rules: Res. 285-21. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the
(Approved) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Richards — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Back to the main motion. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'm just hoping for everyone's support. And
again, December 23rd, 24h, 25h from 6-9 p.m., we'll be lighting up the
Lili`uokalani Gardens and this is the fifth annual. So, mahalo for everyone's
support. Thank you, Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Mahalo. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of
approving Resolution 285-21, as amended with Communication 539.1, please say
Ic aye.
Vote on Res. 285-21: The motion to adopt Res. 285-21, as amended to Draft 2,
Draft 2 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Adopted)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Richards — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, are you doing a motion to waive ?
Page 41
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes,please.
CHR. DAVID: Alrighty, go ahead.
Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to suspend Council
Suspend Council Rule 15 to waive the 5-day hold for reconsideration.
Rules: Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice
(Approved) vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Richards — 1.
Excused: None.
Res. 287-21: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR
AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR MULTI-YEAR LEASES
FOR TWO MULTIFUNCTION COLOR PRINTERS FOR THE OFFICE OF THE
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Authorizes the Mayor to enter into five-year lease agreements with an approximate
total monthly cost of$2,400 for both printers, to be used by staff in the Hilo and
Kona offices.
Reference: Comm. 541
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 287-21.
Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Fairly self-explanatory. Mahalo for your
consideration. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of
approving Resolution 287-21, please say "aye."
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Res. 287-21: The motion to adopt Res. 287-21 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Richards — 1.
Excused: None.
Res. 288-21: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN
AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ECONOMIC
RESEARCH ORGANIZATION
Provides County funds in the amount of$10,000 to maintain the Hawaii County
Data Portal for the 2021-2022 Fiscal Year.
Reference: Comm. 542
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 288-21.
Seconded by Ms. Villegas.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. Fairly self-explanatory
and this was waived to Council. There is a B-52 attached for people's
information. But I really wanted to commend Research and Development. I
mean, they're just going after a lot of—they're going in a lot of different
directions, and they're moving fairly quickly. So, I really appreciate what they're
doing. And I just want to mahalo Director Adams. I know he's probably present
in the chambers. If he has anything to add, that'd be amazing, but mahalo to the
department.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else? Seeing
none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 288-21, please say "aye."
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Res. 288-21: The motion to adopt Res. 288-21 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
Res. 289-21: APPROVES THE HAWAII STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES'
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SLATE OF OFFICERS
Ratifies the slate of officers approved by the Hawaii State Association of Counties
Executive Committee on November 23, 2021, as follows: Kauai County Council
Members Mason K. Chock, President(Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr., Alternate); Maui
County Council Members Kelly Takaya King, Vice President(Tamara Paltin,
Alternate); Hawaii County Council Members Heather L. Kimball, Secretary
(Rebecca Villegas, Alternate); and Honolulu City Council Members
Tommy Waters, Treasurer(Andria Tupola, Alternate).
Reference: Comm. 543
Intr. by: Ms. Kimball
Waived: GOREDC
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 289-21. Seconded by
Ms. Villegas.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Kimball.
MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. This resolution just affirms the current slate
of officers for another year until 2023. So,just hoping everyone can continue to
support the work of this Executive Committee.
I do want to take a moment to just share. It's amazing what a small world we are
in, but it turns out that Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez is in the same
town of Michigan as I am right now. So, small world. But just hope for
everyone's approval on this. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Anyone else in Hilo or Kona? Seeing
none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 289-21, please say "aye."
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Res. 289-21: The motion to adopt Res. 289-21 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Bills for
ORDINANCES Ordinances (First Reading).
(FIRST READING):
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)
Approve: FC-99
Note: Requires 2/3 vote of the entire
membership to amend,pursuant to
Section 10-6(e), Hawai`i County Charter
Vote on Bill 94: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 94 on first
(Approved) reading and adopt Finance Committee Report No. 99.
Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following
voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Bill 96: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 21-38, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2022
Appropriates revenues in the Federal —Fiscal Year 2021 Economic Development
Administration American Rescue Plan Act account($500,000), and appropriates
same to the Fiscal Year 2021 Economic Development Administration American
Rescue Plan Act account. Funds would be used towards economic recovery efforts
related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reference: Comm. 528
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Postponed: December 8, 2021
(Note: There is a motion by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Mr. Richards,
to pass Bill 96 on first reading.)
(Note: Comm. 528.1, from Research and Development Director Douglass Adams
dated December 16, 2021, transmitting the project and budget narratives for
Phase 1 funds, was circulated.)
Vote on Bill 96: The motion to pass Bill 96 on first reading was carried by
(Approved) the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
Bill 98: NAMES THE RODEO ARENA GRANDSTAND AT THE PANA`EWA
EQUESTRIAN CENTER THE "ALVIN `AL' CABRAL RODEO ARENA
GRANDSTAND" IN HONOR OF ALVIN "AL" CABRAL AND AMENDS
CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE 8, SECTION 15-68.1, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY
CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY AMENDING THE PARKS
AND RECREATIONAL FACILITY SCHEDULE TO REFLECT THIS ACTION
Recognizes Alvin `Al' Cabral's numerous contributions to Hilo's equestrian
community.
Reference: Comm. 534
Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy
Approve: PRPSC-28
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to pass Bill 98 on first reading and
adopt Parks and Recreation and Public Safety Committee
Report No. 28. Seconded by Mr. Inaba.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I just want to continue to ask for my
colleagues' support. I think at Committee we had a lot of fun with this one,
reminiscing and just talking about the contributions that Mr. Cabral provided to
this facility. I look forward to your support. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Mahalo, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in
favor of approving Bill 98 at first reading, please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 98: The motion to pass Bill 98 on first reading and adopt Parks
(Approved) and Recreation and Public Safety Committee Report No. 28
was carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of
THE DAY the Day (Second or Final Reading).
(SECOND OR
FINAL READING):
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Bill 89: AMENDS SECTION 25-8-33 (CITY OF HILO ZONE MAP), ARTICLE 8,
CHAPTER 25 (ZONING) OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983
(2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY CHANGING THE DISTRICT
CLASSIFICATION FROM SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL—
10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10) TO INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL MIXED —
20,000 SQUARE FEET (MCX-20) AT WAIAKEA HOUSELOTS, WAIAKEA,
SOUTH HILO, HAWAII, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEYS: 2-2-035:049
AND 096 (Applicant: Leila Shimizu) (Area: 22,300 Square Feet)
The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for
this amendment, which would allow the applicant to convert an existing single-
family dwelling into an office building to rent for private use and to develop a
parking lot and related improvements. The properties are located at the northeast
corner of the Kekuana6`a Street- Kalanikoa Street intersection.
Reference: Comm. 473
Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz (B/R)
First Reading: December 8, 2021
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to pass Bill 89 on second and final
reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Just asking everyone for their
continued support. We've had a robust discussion in Committee. The request is
very straightforward with positive recommendations from the Commission and
the department. And the request is certainly in line with the nature of the area.
Thank you, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Mahalo. Is there anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of
approving Bill 89 at second and final reading, please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 89: The motion to pass Bill 89 on second and final reading was
(Adopted) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Bill 90: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 12-33 WHICH RECLASSIFIED LANDS FROM
SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL— 10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10) TO
RESIDENTIAL-COMMERCIAL MIXED —20,000 SQUARE FEET (RCX-20)
AT WAIAKEA, SOUTH HILO, HAWAII, COVERED BY TAX MAP
KEY: 2-2-038:028
(Applicant: Takata Dental Health Center, Inc.) (Area: One Acre)
The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for
this amendment, which would allow the applicant a five-year time extension to
comply with Condition B (Time to Complete Construction) and a 180-day
extension to comply with Condition C (Water Commitment). The applicant wishes
to relocate its existing dental practice to the subject property, which is located at
1732 Kilauea Avenue.
Reference: Comm. 474
Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz (B/R)
First Reading: December 8, 2021
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to pass Bill 90 on second and final
reading. Seconded by Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Another request that gets a positive
recommendation from our Commission and Planning Department. In reviewing
the ordinance at Committee, I think we all unanimously found that there are
safeguards in place so that if the applicant goes beyond what is currently
proposed, there is a very clear path for how they would do that. Looking for
everyone's continued support. Thank you, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none, all
those in favor of approving Bill 90 at second and final reading,please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 90: The motion to pass Bill 90 on second and final reading was
(Adopted) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
Page 49
Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Bill 91: AMENDS CHAPTER 15, HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS
(Draft 2) AMENDED), BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE 12 PROHIBITING USE OF
GLYPHOSATE-BASED PESTICIDES IN COUNTY PARKS AND
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES
Prohibits the use of glyphosate-based pesticides by the County or its contractors in
County parks and facilities listed in Section 15-68.1 of the Hawaii County Code,
effective July 1, 2022. Provides certain exemptions, including the Hilo Municipal
Golf Course, Hilo Drag Strip, and County cemeteries.
Reference: Comm. 491.63
Intr. by: Ms. Villegas
First Reading: December 8, 2021
Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 91, Draft 2, on second and
final reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: It's an exciting day for a lot of people. I've heard a lot of
really positive commentary and gratitude from people island-wide for this
opportunity to put in writing and codify the means in which our parks will
continue to be managed.
In kind of preparing for this, I was trying to figure out kind of the ultimate vision
and purpose and the core of my heart's intention in presenting this legislation and
in looking for my colleagues' continued support. And in doing so, I was brought
back to the `Rina Aloha Economic initiatives and some of the writings in this
incredible document. And we, as a Council,passed a resolution in the last term
(see Res. 692-20, Draft 2) indicating our support of this initiative and a
prioritizing of the value systems outlined in this initiative.
And I wanted to just read a portion of this. In approving that, as a Council we
agree that we affirm that Native Hawaiian culture and perspectives are strengths
in rebuilding a resilient Hawaii, and that we would seek to place as a top priority
the well-being of our `aina, water sources, oceans, skies, and the biodiversity
integral to these, recognizing the long-held understanding that the `aina is our ali`i
and we are its servants. That we would exercise the traditional and cultural rights
of`Oiwi Hawaii and place `ike kupuna as a foundation upon which we determine
our actions. That we would empower in decision-making circles those whose life
work embodies the wisdom of the first and highly successful stewards of Hawaii,
especially when such decisions affect our natural environment and the cultural
practices that take place in its embrace.
And we assert collective kuleana to restore degraded environments, sustainably
managed human-occupied spaces, and protect the vibrancy of intact ecosystems.
And we would recognize, as is occurring worldwide, that indigenous perspectives,
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
insights, and genealogical connections to place are essential in ensuring
environmental vibrancy and community cohesion. We would address historical
and current injustices against `Oiwi Hawaii, including water rights and issues
related to historical hoa`aina or land tenant rights.
We would honor the fact that `Oiwi Hawaii are a living evolving people whose
well-being is essential to Hawai`i's continued vitality, and that collective well-
being is intrinsically tied to the health and well-being of our `aina. And that we
would recognize the climate changes creating a future with new challenges and
difficulties requiring the development of solutions grounded in principles of
resiliency, sustainability, and the Hawaiian concept of`aina aloha or beloved
homeland.
In the resolution that I'm so grateful was brought forward by Council
Members Kierkiewicz and Lee Loy (see Res. 692-20, Draft 2), it stated that
"Whereas `Opu Alii is a guiding principle that states: `Our leaders understand
that their privilege to lead is directly dependent on those they serve. From the
most vulnerable to the most privileged, we seek to regenerate an abundance that
provides for everyone. Decision makers understand and embrace their duty and
accountability to Community. Our social, economic and government systems
engage and respond to a collective voice in integrative ways to balance power and
benefit."'
I believe that this herbicide legislation does that. I want to express my extreme
gratitude to Parks and Rec. (Recreation) Director Maurice Messina and his team
and their willingness to transition away from the use of glyphosate. I want to
express incredible gratitude to the members of the community who have stepped
forward in support of this. And for those who kind of began this journey and
continue to walk side-by-side and hand-in-hand, and to the keiki who will be kept
safe from potential exposure.
And I also want to clarify that this piece of legislation pertains only to our Parks
and Rec. facilities. And so, the interesting concepts and fears that this is a
slippery slope, while on my own personal desiresChair,just a little bit of
latitude?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MS. VILLEGAS: I do look forward to us embracing more regenerative practices.
This piece of legislation in no way impacts the way that ranchers or farmers or
anyone currently manages their private land. It simply applies to the way that our
Parks and Rec. departments will, in perpetuity, manage the ecosystems and public
spaces that are currently managed by Parks and Rec. facility. And I hope for the
continued support of my colleagues in passing Bill 91 in its current form. I yield.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Anyone else? Hilo? Seeing none,
Kona? Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Again, it's no secret I don't support
Bill 91. I do view it as an anti-agriculture bill and for the reasons that have been
well-articulated by people from agriculture.
I base my decisions on science, and the science supports not supporting this bill. I
understand the concern. We raised the questions about regenerative agriculture,
and it's no secret I had to go look that up because it's actually something the
ranchers on this island have been doing for decades. So, it's not something new.
It's not a new concept. It's actually something that's been practiced back into the
'70s, if not earlier.
I don't support legislation like this because it's a tool in the tool belt. And you've
read the testimonies. You've heard testimony. It's something that we can use;
use judiciously, use appropriately. But removing it is something that I get very
concerned about going forward. We talked about agriculture in this island, in this
State. And if we don't have good public policy that supports agriculture, then we
are going to end up not having agriculture. We need agriculture of scale if we are
serious about feeding our community. Like I said earlier, this County consumes
about 1 million pounds of food a day. To put that in perspective
Point of Order: MS. VILLEGAS: Chair, can I call a point of order? This legislation does not
have to do with agriculture, and I'd just like to bring it back to that point. Thank
you.
CHR. DAVID: Point of order noted. Mr.
MR. RICHARDS: I find it interesting I get interrupted when I'm cordial to her,
Chair. But I will respect that because I actually respect the Chair.
I do not support this because it's not founded upon science; it's founded upon
emotion. It's not concerned about the economy and the people that actually do
work and need the tools in their tool belt to get things done. I realize you want to
play games on that. So once again, I will not support this, and you will see that
the community also doesn't support this. You have your supporters as do L I
think you're wrong on this and with that, Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? Hilo? Seeing none,
Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Yup, thank you. I think we had a lot of discussion already. We
had a lot of input from community members, and I am ready to take the vote on
this if you have nothing else to say. And I'm happy to be supporting this today.
Mahalo.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Anyone else? Seeing none, it's my turn.
I believe I've expressed my opinions, and it's my opinion alone that had this
applied to farmers and ranchers, I would not be supporting this. But I believe this
is a good step in the right direction. And for those that believe that this is a
stepping stone, for my own personal belief what's before us right now is County
facilities. And whether those other fears come up in the future, it will be dealt
with by the body that sits here at that time, and I'm sure there will be a lot of good
discussions on both sides of the issue. So, that's my position. I still support this
wholeheartedly and am ready to take the vote. All those in favor, please say
Ic aye.
Vote on Bill 91: The motion to pass Bill 91, Draft 2, on second and final
Draft 2 reading was carried by the following voice vote:
(Adopted)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: Council Member Richards — 1.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Mr. Clerk, move on.
Bill 93: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 21-38, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2022
Increases revenues in the Federal Grants —Rural Transit Assistance Program
account($60,000), and appropriates same to the Mass Transit Agency's Rural
Transit Assistance Program account, bringing the total appropriation to $90,000.
Funds would be used for costs of trainings and travel to conferences related to rural
transit operations, planning, and maintenance.
Reference: Comm. 496
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
First Reading: November 18, 2021
Postponed: December 8, 2021
(Note: There is a motion by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Ms. Lee Loy,
to pass Bill 93 on second and final reading.)
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. We already have a motion on the floor. Discussion,
Council Members? Hilo, any comments? Seeing none, on the Kona side any
comments? No? I see Director; you're blinking over there. So, if you have
anything to add before we take the final vote, go right ahead.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
(Note: At this time, Interim Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh came
forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. ANDOH: Yes. Just to let the Council know that this is additional dollars to
help train our staff to be proficient in our duties and that we're able to increase the
allocation by 60,000 so we have 90,000 in RTAP (Rural Transit Assistance
Program) funds. And that we've scheduled multiple training opportunities for our
management staff as well as our maintenance staff. So, these funds will be
greatly appreciated from HDOT (Hawai`i Department of Transportation).
CHR. DAVID: Thank you for your dedication and being here at every meeting
that we have on Mass Transit. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of
approving Bill 93 at second and final reading, please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 93: The motion to pass Bill 93 on second and final reading was
(Adopted) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Move on.
Bill 95: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 21-38, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2022
Increases revenues in the following State Grants accounts: Periodic Motor Vehicle
Inspection Program Income ($868) and Commercial Driver's License Program
Income ($868), and appropriates same to the following accounts: Periodic Motor
Vehicle Inspection Program Equipment($868) and Commercial Driver's License
Program Equipment($868), bringing the total of both appropriations to $2,002 and
$1,268, respectively. Funds would be used by Vehicle Registration and Licensing
Division to purchase computers.
Reference: Comm. 527
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
First Reading: December 8, 2021
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
Vote on Bill 95: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 95 on second
(Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by
the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Richards — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Okay.
Bill 97: 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 following Public Works projects to the Capital Budget: 4 Mile Creek
Bridge ($6 million) and 4 Mile Creek Bridge—State ($12 million). Funds for this
project shall be provided from General Obligation Bonds, Capital Projects Fund—
Fund Balance and/or Other Sources ($6 million) and State Grants Receivable
($12 million), to be used to reconstruct the existing bridge from one lane to two
lanes.
Reference: Comm. 532
Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy
First Reading: December 8, 2021
Note: Requires 2/3 vote of the entire
membership to amend,pursuant to
Section 10-6(e), Hawai`i County Charter
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to pass Bill 97 on second and final
reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I know all of you got a copy of Bob Ernst's letter
(see Comm. 532.1), and I actually had a really fun discussion with him. I spoke
to him and then he also spoke to our staff, and I actually think he does raise a
really great issue about the need for a larger vision for larger connectivity island-
wide. And as we began that conversation, that's what really began to emerge, but
I also think it highlighted how long some of these infrastructure projects take.
And so, I'm continuing to ask for my colleagues' support on this, but also looking
forward a little bit and maybe around the corner as we start to look at some of the
ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) monies coming down. And if that Build
Back Better legislation goes forward, we are looking at a lot of infrastructure
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
monies. And the sooner we can put our heads together, not only here locally but
with our State legislators and our Federal legislators, I think it will serve what I
hope to be, which is the intention of the ARPA funds and the Build Back Better
bill, is a way to really revitalize all of our communities. With that, I'll yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else? Discussion in Hilo?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: No?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes please, Chair.
MS. KIMBALL: Chair, if I may?
CHR. DAVID: Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, Mr. Chung had his light on. I'm going to
go to him first, Heather, and then I'll go to you, okay?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, me as well.
CHR. DAVID: Okay, and then Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I had noted that. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thanks.
MR. CHUNG: I've said on a number of occasions that I certainly stand at the
ready to support any initiative that is going to help individual Council Members
improve the quality of life of their constituents. Most recently I said that, I think,
during the course of Mr. Kaneali`i-KI einfelder's improvement district bill for the
Hawaiian Acres area. So, I'm going to be supporting this measure, but I've got to
tell you I've got some reservations, okay.
First of all, let's look at the positives. I know Ms. Lee Loy has worked really hard
in working with the State and getting that$12 million. So, our $6 million is
leveraging $12 million. That's a great trade-off. But let's look at what's going on
at Kalaniana`ole, all right? And I hate to go back to that, but this is, I think—Sue,
how long has that project been going on?
MS. LEE LOY: Five years.
MR. CHUNG: Five years? Okay. If we try to improve that bridge area, yeah it
is a bottleneck right now but can you imagine what would happen if we lose that
bridge for five years? It's going to be horrendous,the impact on the main
highway.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
I disagree with Mr. Ernst, and I did read his email. He said he rarely or never
travels from Puna to Hilo on that bridge because there's no reason to. There is
actually a reason for those people who want to go up Haihai, yeah. It's a large
area up there. Nobody is going to go on the highway, drive on Kawailani, and
then go back and go up Haihaicrazy! So that's wrong.
But what I would like, and I'm going to be voting in favor of this today, but I've
got to, in good conscience, state some of my concerns. I don't know how historic
this bridge is. I'm sure it carries some historic value. And I'm just wondering if
they could make a new bridge—retain this one bridge; one lane going and then
making a new bridge coming the other side. But I also don't know what's
involved in constructing something like that over that waterway. I mean, you
know how long—well, this isI can't say this is the same as the Wailoa bridge,
but the Wailoa River bridge took longer than the Golden Gate Bridge to construct.
Right? I think that was the whole big thing at that time. It's kind of ridiculous.
But what I would like in voting for this, I would like to ask the Department of
Public Works to provide the Council, soon, with exactly what needs to be done.
What approvals need to be had, the timetables from the time that they receive the
monies and the approval for the $6 million from the County end, receive the
$12 million, what is the specific timetable and what permits or other things need
to be approved. We have to have a real firm grasp as to how long this thing is
going to take and what's involved in all of that.
So, having said that, I fully support, as I said, whatever it takes to help out my
fellow Councilperson. And I know, Sue, you worked really hard on this, and
know you're kind of like in the middle, of course, yeah. But I just had to say that.
Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Going to Ms. Kimball and then
Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. Yeah, I'll just share the same position,
essentially, as my colleague Mr. Chung. Happy to support this. Now, I know that
when we get these funds, we've got to jump on them. There's really no choice. I
have the same sorts of reservations. And to echo what you said, Council
Member Lee Loy, in my conversation with Mr. Ernst as well, there was a lot of
discussion about just a transparent process about how we prioritize projects,
particularly for roadways in the Department of Public Works.
And so, hoping that I know that you and Council Member Kierkiewicz were
working on the metrics for prioritizing projects. Hopefully, we'll see some
fruition of that project soon. But I just share your position that it will be
beneficial for accountability and transparency to have a clear process for
prioritizing projects throughout the County. And we'll be happy to support this.
Thanks, Chair, I yield.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
CHR. DAVID: Thanks, Ms. Kimball. Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Just wondering if Deputy Director
Steve Pause is in Kona chambers.
CHR. DAVID: Yes, he is.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, maybe he can come forward. I know he's actively
kind of tuning in to the conversation.
(Note: At this time, Public Works Deputy Director Stephen Pause came
forward to address the members of the Council.)
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Acting Director,just wondering if you can kind of weigh
in here. You've heard the comments of my colleagues. I think we've shared
these sentiments during Committee as well. There's, I think, a lot of gratitude,
abundance of gratitude to the State Legislature, specifically Rep. (Representative)
Onishi. And mahalo nui, Council Member Lee Loy, for your hard work in
helping to secure these funds. We're grateful for the funding, but with this
funding comes great responsibility.
And as Council Member Chung noted earlier, we've got a couple of big County
projects that continue to linger, drag on. They're not on time. They're not on
budget. And so there's some apprehension around our ability to really execute so
that as we're moving forward on something that could be really positive and
beneficial to community, we're mitigating as much as possible adverse impacts as
it relates to the design/engineering/construction phase. So,just wondering if you
could provide a little insight into just sort of the project management for this
particular project.
MR. PAUSE: Yes, thank you for that question. Happy to respond. Steve Pause,
Deputy Director of DPW (Department of Public Works). So, obviously I've been
in the hot seat here for about a week with my Director off-island, and I tell
everybody it's a big seat to fill. So, I'll leave it at that.
Obviously, I'm really involved in working with Councilman Lee Loy on trying to
resolve all the issues associated with Kalaniana`ole and that challenge. I will tell
you a couple things just in respect to general project management. We do need to
get better as a County, as a department at managing projects. I don't like to talk
about how old I am, but I've been managing projects for more than 35 years. A
project's pretty simple, right? It's a scope; it's a schedule; and it's a budget. And
part of that is also the transparency that it's associated with communicating what
you're doing. Say what you do; do what you say.
And I'm coming along late in the game, especially on that project, but there's an
opportunity to do better. What's transpired specifically there is an unfortunate
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
reality that happens sometimes in construction. You can't reach an agreement;
you terminate; you move your separate ways. And you look for ways to continue
forward to solve the problems; find somebody new to help you out. So, yes, the
department needs to get better, and I see great hope in that. We've got really
good people. We've got really good leadership in place, and there's an
opportunity to get way better at delivering projects.
I think Councilman Chung brought up an excellent idea, which is all part of
communication, right. I said one of the parts of a project is a schedule. So, being
able to formulate a schedule, give milestones: Here's the permits; here's what we
anticipate; here's the timeframe; here's an update on how the activities are going;
here's where we're being delayed; here's where we're actually picking up
schedule. All of that stuff, I think, is part of being able to manage and deliver
projects. And we will get better at that. We have good people and we have
people who are willing to learn and just improve the overall performance of the
department.
These infrastructure projects are, again as Councilman Chung pointed out, they're
big, long, lengthy, convoluted, complicated things, especially when you're
dealing with a bridge that is a hundred years old and has historic significance. It's
done its job for a hundred years, and it's great to look at but there's a lot going on:
hydraulics, hydrology, all sorts of flooding, all sorts of wear and tear on the
bridges, especially from a bridge infrastructure. Very complicated projects.
But again, we owe the communities the—we owe them being able to explain what
we're doing and how long it's going to take, and sticking to our timeframes and
our schedules. And then, of course, budget is another one. Nobody likes to see
budgets careen out of control. Being understanding and transparent up front:
This is what it's going to cost. And when we do encounter things along the way,
you know, there are risks. You don't always know what you've got until you
open it up. But being able to communicate that with Council, with communities,
and with other departments, I think it's all part of what we should be doing. And
again, I know we can and will get better.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Deputy Director. The key thing you said there
was "should be doing." Yes, absolutely. Public Works should be doing that. I
can think of Kalaniana`ole. Things are happening related to Puna recovery where
I'm still waiting for information related to scopes and timelines and why there are
certain delays. And so,just raise that because there's a huge opportunity to
continuously improve the communication and the messaging that's coming out of
the department. This is not meant to be a criticism. This is more of a"how do we
do better." Because when there's silence coming from the department around
delays and cost-overages and also Riley can't come up with quick solutions,
people begin to just lose their faith and trust in us.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
So,just really want to encourage increase in communication and sharing with the
Council as well as the community what the project flow is going to look like. So,
just invite you to come to Council as frequently as possible to provide us updates
on where we are with the project, the implementation for this and other projects
that are really important to community and have been lingering. And I also just
want to mahalo Council Member Kimball for bringing up the condition
assessment resolution that the Council did adopt. I wanted to make sure that I
noted that as well.
Council Member Lee Loy and I are working with key departments to come up
with that criteria, and we're hoping that that is a tool that the Council and other
departments see value in. And it can be used this budget cycle, subsequent budget
cycles, and just understanding where the needs are around the island so that we
can be working as a solid body, as a Council with the Administration to secure
appropriate funding. So, as soon as more information is available, we'll be sure
to transmit that over. Thank you, Chair, for the latitude. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Let me see. Mr. Chung, go ahead.
MR. CHUNG: Yeah, thank you. One more comment. My memory was jogged
by something that Ms. Kimball brought up and was actually referenced in
Mr. Ernst's email. They have to do with the priorities and then the mauka—well,
the interconnectivity and transportation needs of the makai-Puna area. Well, let's
be reminded here. I mean, first of all, I don't like pitting districts against districts,
okay. I mean, we all can get what we want, I believe, if we act responsibly.
But I just want to remind, maybe, the public because I think those of us who were
on the Council last term know this: We passed a Council-initiated $103 million
bond float, okay. Included in that was interconnectivity for Puna as being one of
the top priorities So, this Council has done its job in terms of providing the
Administration with the necessary tools.
GET (General Excise Tax), after holding off for a while, the Council came
through. I think that's going to immeasurably help Mass Transit and other aspects
of County government, particularly as it relates to transportation. And the bond
float, it's in there. We already prioritized that with real money. So, let's not talk
about I mean, I'm not criticizing Ms. Kimball or anything like that because
she's just talking about what she read in the email, I think. But for members of
the public, I just want them to be aware that we know what's going on. We're
trying our best to address all of the priority needs around the island. It's there.
Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I want to thank my colleagues because, at the
reading of this bill at the last meeting, I asked specifically for you folks to help
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
me hold them accountable, and this is how we do it. I think in addition to a lot of
what you heard today, Deputy Director Pause, everybody you're coming in
new. But you have a wealth of understanding from us as a policy-making body
on putting these pieces together.
And I want to speak to two things. One is that bond float. There was a lot of
discussion around that. And if Administration and department heads like yourself
would just go back and watch, you would hear the clear sentiments of the
intention of that$100 million bond float. We did the GE(General Excise) but we
also did fuel tax. We are providing every kind of resource opportunity to see
action.
And finally, the one other point I wanted to share is something Mr. Chung said
about that bridge being a hundred years old. When I got in back in 2016, I'm
lucky to have had a lot of regulatory experience, especially with regulatory
permits. And I specifically asked the question about the historic nature of that
bridge and the need for specific regulatory permits that needed to start early. And
I have that letter, and I'm sure the letter is in a file, in which we reached out to
State Historic Preservation Division, specifically Sean Naleimailei, Hilo Director,
because we wanted to start this project off with a strong understanding of the
regulatory requirements. And so following up on that, if we as a body could get
that punch list.
And Mr. Chung, Ms. Kierkiewicz, we always talk about resource utilization;
leveraging our connection, our networks to assist. Everybody's going to be
watching this one, Mr. Pause. We have an example, actually a few examples, of
what delays and over-budget looks like. But in addition to a project schedule and
that punch list, I would love to see what it looks like if we have to pull the rip
cord and not expend monies and waste it.
We have a three-year appropriation. I would love to see what that option looks
like also because I don't want to get down to a project 80 percent complete and
we're looking for a new contractor. That is unacceptable.
Chair, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you to my colleagues for helping me
bring up the issues that we hear all the time and sharing them with the
Administration. I look forward to everyone's support. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else?
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I don't want to say anything
anyone else already said. There's a lot of good points raised today. Since our last
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
discussion on this at Council, I've thought about what this would do. This is on
my drive home every day. I've used this route for years, and it does help bypass a
majority of the traffic that you see occurring daily. Puna is growing. And the
traffic that you see on Kilauea at the Haihai area is mainly residents from Puna or
people returning to Shipman Industrial Park.
And I really do share Mr. Chung's concerns on what this will do to traffic in the
area. I am not loving the idea of an intersection with a stoplight being put in this
area. That was brought up last time by the Director. We have seen so much
traffic congestion since the implementation of the stoplight at Kipimana. And I
am really concerned about what this is going to do to our traffic flow that is
already getting worse; I mean, that's the simplest way to put it.
What worries me more is, as we step into this, then we'll see the studies and then
we'll see what's going to happen, but we're already moving. That worries me a
lot because, ultimately, we'll be moving forward on a project that could really do
some detrimental damage to our ability to get home at night for all the residents of
Puna. It also screams more connections to upper Puna and lower Puna. It's really
going to be interesting watching this proceed. And I do—I appreciate the
funding. I appreciate the work to get this far. But I am very concerned about
what this is going to do for the Puna residents. With that, I yield. Thank you,
Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Mr. Chung, go ahead.
MR. CHUNG: Yeah, one last comment. My thought is this is going to cost way
over $18 million. That's just my thought. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Real quick. Would you care to respond to that comment from
Mr. Chung?
MR. PAUSE: Regarding the 18 million?
MR. INABA: Mm-hmm.
MR. PAUSE: I sure hope not.
MR. INABA: Alrighty, we'll leave it at that then. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Anyone else?
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, could I make one more comment?
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I just wanted to say, I mean, because I'm
only in my second term, but I've watched the way that the funding comes in and
out of the County. As a person, $18 million is a huge amount of money. As a
government agency, it changes and it's changed for me over time; so, watching
the numbers go up and down. But this is an expensive project; $18 million is not
a small price tag.
And I just think how I wish there was a little bit more than just"Here's the
funding and let's go." I just wish there was a little bit more of a readied report on
what it's going to look like in the end, before you throw that"Yes, let's go. Let's
do it." It's a fairly big price tag, and I thinkI don't know how everyone else
feels, but sometimes I think we forget. This $18 million, I mean, that is a huge
amount of funding. And the more we see these you see them all the time, you
know: 10 million for this, 60,000 for this. That's a big price tag. I just wanted to
say that. Thank you, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else?
MR. PAUSE: Could I respond to that?
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Deputy.
MR. PAUSE: Thank you. Again, I hear everyone here today loud and clear. I
would like to believe, as I mentioned, that we can get better at doing projects.
Clearly, when you build out a schedule and you build out a budget, especially just
looking at milestones—and I think, too, in answer to Matt's questions, we ought
to be able to build in off-ramps.
So, we do some initial studies. We maybe do traffic studies. We maybe do some
hydraulic studies. But you can build off-ramps into your project that says, "Okay,
I've done this. Now it's not looking like 18 million; it's looking like 30 million."
Or, "Now, it's like we have to do x, y, and z. We need to refocus, rethink this,
and get all the stakeholders on board."
So, I believe if we exercise the proper discipline in delivering projects and
planning projects—it's called "front-end loading,"FEL; it's the things that you do
up front before you actually start spending lots of money—we can do a good job.
And it's the right way to be able to do things. I can't comment on why it's taken
five years and seven project managers to finish less than a mile of road, correct,
but we can and we will get better. We will.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Deputy Director. Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead.
MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, and thank you, Mr. Pause. It's that off-ramp, right?
That's the report. If we know we're going down a path and it's just going to
spiral into an enormous number, that's part of the project management. And
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
thank you for acknowledging: seven project managers on a one-mile road. Right
there, communication; that's where we need to do better. So, thank you. I don't
want to digress too far. This is about monies for bridge reconstruction/repairs.
So, thank you. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Seeing no other discussion, Deputy
Director, thank you for being here. Thank you for your explanation of the details.
And then I really believe that my colleagues have raised some really great issues
and concerns that need to be addressed, and I think that would go towards
transparency for the citizens that they're asking for.
MR. PAUSE: Always happy to continue the conversation.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, all those in favor of
approving Bill 97 at second and final reading, please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 97: The motion to pass Bill 97 on second and final reading was
(Adopted) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
REPORTS: The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Reports.
(Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.)
REFERRALS FOR The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Referrals
EXECUTIVE for Executive Session.
SESSION:
(There were none.)
OTHER The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Other
BUSINESS: Business.
(There were none.)
ANNOUNCE- The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business,
MENTS: Announcements.
CHR. DAVID: I believe that takes us to the end—Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
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Hawaii County Council-29 December 22,2021
MR. INABA: Chair, real quick before we adjourn. I just wanted to say mahalo to
our staff, both in Hilo and here in Kona, for the wonderful decorations to make
our meeting rooms look so festive. So, mahalo to all of our staff on both sides of
the island.
CHR. DAVID: Yes. Thank you very much.
MR. INABA: And with that, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, go ahead.
MR. HENRICKS: Just an indulgence. I think we had a really great year and
coming to a close now, at least for Council meetings. I just want to thank
everybody for all the work they did. So much gratitude and such a fine example
of service to the public. So, merry Christmas to everybody. Thank you for
everything.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else wants to say merry Christmas wishes?
All right, I will close it byoh, go ahead, Ms. Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: I'm sorry. May 2022 be so much better than 2021, and may
we find some relief from the twilight zone that we continually find ourselves in.
But I just want to thank all the staff in the Clerk's office as well, and LRB
(Legislative Research Branch) for the teamwork and partnership and the support
that they provide. Without them, we would not be able to do our jobs, and I,
myself, am deeply grateful. Mahalo.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. And last but not least, I really want to thank the staff
here and our staff in Hilo for doing a wonderful job on these decorations. They
did it in one morning. So awesome! Thank you so much. And, Mr. Chung, this
will be our last Christmas on this Council, so I'm just going to say merry
Christmas to you and we look forward to our last year. Okay. A great year. So,
aloha and merry Christmas to everyone.
ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 12:20 p.m., Mr. Richards moved to adjourn the
MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas,
and Chair David—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
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Cc-writ:, Council-29 December 22. 2021
CHR. DAVID: We are adjourned.
Council Approval:
FEB 0 9 2022
COUNTY CLERK
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