HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2022-03-09 2020-2022 Hawaii County Council
341h Session
Hawaii County Building
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii
March 9, 2022
INVOCATION: Pastor Eric Anderson of Church of the Holy Cross gave the morning's invocation.
CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at
ORDER: 1:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, 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 (came in later)
Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (came in later)
Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member
Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member (came in later)
Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member
Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member
Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (via videoconference)
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:
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
EXPRESSIONS OF Kehau Amorin of the Hawaii Chapter of Women in Construction.)
CONDOLENCE:
Recess: At 1:07 p.m., the Chair called for a recess.
Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 1:08 p.m.
Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business.
of Business:
PLEDGE OF The Chair directed the Council to the next order of business, Pledge of
ALLEGIANCE: Allegiance.
Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
(At this time, County Clerk Jon Henricks led the Council in
the Pledge of Allegiance.)
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:
Les Estrella: Res. 326-22 (Comm. 634); and
(representing Going Home Hawaii) Bill 111, Draft 3 (Comm. 589.4), in support.
Kristen Alice: Res. 337-22 (Comm. 662); and
(representing HOPE Services) Bill 111, Draft 3 (Comm. 589.4), in support.
Paul Normann: Res. 337-22 (Comm. 662); and
(representing Neighborhood Bill 111, Draft 3 (Comm. 589.4), in support.
Place of Puna and Community
Alliance Partners)
Carolyn Pellet: Bill 111, Draft 3 (Comm. 589.4);
Bill 113 (Comm. 596); and
Bill 123 (Comm. 631), comment.
Shirley David: Res. 337-22 (Comm. 662); and
(representing St. Michael's Church) Bill 111, Draft 3 (Comm. 589.4), in support.
David Anitok: Res. 329-22 (Comm. 643), in support.
(representing Compact of Free
Association Communities)
Dave Webb: Res. 337-22 (Comm. 662), in opposition.
Jim Albertini: Res. 337-22 (Comm. 662), in opposition.
Stephen Paulmier: Res. 337-22 (Comm. 662), in opposition.
Danny Li: Res. 337-22 (Comm. 662), in opposition.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, I believe we have one person in our Zoom room, and
that is for Communication 616, "Reports," at the end of our agenda. Mr. Lopez, I
believe, is online for any questions that we might have.
MR. HENRICKS: Would you like to just run through the reports in order so
they're clear and complete?
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
CHR. DAVID: That's fine. Yes, thank you.
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:
PC-46 NOMINATION OF LAUREN BALOG TO THE WINDWARD PLANNING
(Comm. 617): COMMISSION
Requires Council
Confirmation by: March 18, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on PC-46: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Planning Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 46. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the
following roll call 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.
PWMTC-16 NOMINATION OF MATTHEW TERLEP TO THE TRANSPORTATION
(Comm. 614): COMMISSION
Vote on Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Public Works and Mass
PWMTC-16: Transit Committee Report No. 16. Seconded by
(Adopted) Mr. Richards and carried by the following roll call 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-34 March 9,2022
PWMTC-17 NOMINATION OF ROSELYN MOLINA TO THE TRANSPORTATION
(Comm. 615): COMMISSION
Vote on Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Public Works and Mass
PWMTC-17: Transit Committee Report No. 17. Seconded by
(Adopted) Mr. Richards and carried by the following roll call 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.
PRPSC-32 NOMINATION OF CARLENE WOLF TO THE FIRE COMMISSION
(Comm. 618):
Requires Council
Confirmation by: March 18, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Vote on PRPSC-32: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Parks and Recreation and
(Adopted) Public Safety Committee Report No. 32. Seconded by
Mr. Richards and carried by the following roll call 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: Motion is approved.
PRPSC-33 NOMINATION OF LAURISA NISHIMOTO TO THE LIQUOR COMMISSION
(Comm. 619):
Requires Council
Confirmation by: March 18, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on PRPSC-33: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Parks and Recreation and
(Adopted) Public Safety Committee Report No. 33. Seconded by
Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and carried by the following roll
call 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.
RAWEEMC-12 NOMINATION OF STEPHEN LOPEZ TO THE WATER BOARD
(Comm. 616):
Requires Council
Confirmation by: March 17, 2022 (Section 13-4(k),
Hawaii County Charter)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to adopt Regenerative Agriculture,
Water, Energy and Environmental Management Committee
Report No. 12. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Any discussion, Council Members? And I believe if you have,
Mr. Lopez is in our Zoom. So, no questions I see. Mr. Clerk.
Vote on The motion to adopt Regenerative Agriculture, Water,
RAWEEMC-12: Energy and Environmental Management Committee Report
(Adopted) No. 12 was carried by the following roll call 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: Now, I have a request. Can we move to Bill 113, second and
final reading? I believe Mr. Arai is here.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Bill 113: AMENDS SECTION 25-8-26 (PAHOA 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 VILLAGE COMMERCIAL—
20,000 SQUARE FEET (CV-20) AT WAIAKAHIULA, PUNA, HAWAII,
COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 1-5-003:037
(Applicant: Aguinaldo 4, LLC) (Area: 1.545 acres)
The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for
this change of zone, which would allow the applicant to temporarily use three
existing structures for commercial purposes, and then remove the three existing
structures and construct a 13,520 square foot mixed-use medical, retail, and office
complex with associated infrastructure. The property is located at 15-3070 Pahoa-
Kapoho Road, on the southeast corner intersecting with Pahoa-Kalapana Road
across Pahoa High School at Kahiahiku Homesteads in Puna.
Reference: Comm. 596
Intr. by: Ms. Villegas (B/R)
First Reading: February 23, 2022
Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 113 on second and final
reading. Seconded by Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: Any discussion? Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair David,just alerting you that I will be recusing
myself once again from this vote. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you for informing us again. Anyone else? Seeing none,
Clerk Henricks.
Vote on Bill 113: The motion to pass Bill 113 on second and final reading
(Adopted) was carried by the following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Lee Loy,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 1.
CHR. DAVID: Mahalo, Mr. Arai, for being here and your patience. I believe we
can just go to the top of the agenda at this point. Director Ramzi, you're here for?
MR. HENRICKS: Next page over.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
(Note: At this time, Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour
came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. MANSOUR: Yes, we have postponed two items from the last meeting.
CHR. DAVID: Okay, I got it.
Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business.
of Business:
APPROVAL The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Approval
OF MINUTES: of Minutes.
(There were none.)
COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business,
CATIONS: Communications.
(There were none.)
ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of
RESOLUTIONS: Resolutions.
Res. 315-22: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR
AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR
AGREEMENT FOR SHORETEL PHONE SYSTEM SUPPORT AND
MAINTENANCE FOR THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year agreement with an approximate
annual cost of$14,650.
Reference: Comm. 620
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Approve: FC-106
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 315-22 and
Finance Committee Report No. 106. Seconded by
Mr. Inaba.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I don't have any discussion, Council
Chair David.
CHR. DAVID: All right. Anyone else? Seeing none, I guess we don't have any
questions, gentlemen. So, unless you have something to say really quick, we're
going to
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. HENRICKS: This is for the that was for the Prosecuting Attorney. That
wasn't for the
CHR. DAVID: Oh. The 318?
MR. HENRICKS: No. I thought we were just going to get through that and go to
the next page.
CHR. DAVID: Oh, I'm sorry.
MR. HENRICKS: My apologies for not following your instructions.
CHR. DAVID: Alright.
MR. HENRICKS: Didn't want to forget it on the first page there by itself, its
lonely self.
CHR. DAVID: All right, any discussion?
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, if I could?
CHR. DAVID: Yes, go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I appreciate the extra time for the
conversation, but I don't have any conversation at this time. So, I'm okay with
moving this forward. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: All right, thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, Mr. Clerk.
Vote on Res. 315-22: The motion to adopt Res. 315-22 and Finance Committee
(Adopted) Report No. 106 was carried by the following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Resolution 315 has been adopted.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Res. 318-22: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR
AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF
ONE ROLL-OFF TRAILER AND ONE DEWATERING BIN FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an estimated
total monthly cost of$3,100 to dewater liquid and solid slurries generated from
sewer maintenance activities, and to haul away the waste.
Reference: Comm. 625
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Postponed: February 23, 2022
(Note: There is a motion by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Mr. Inaba, to
adopt Res. 318-22.)
(Note: Comm. 625.1, from Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour
dated March 9, 2022, transmitting informational material relating to Res. 318-22,
was circulated.)
CHR. DAVID: All right. Discussion, Council Members? Now, gentlemen,
anything? Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, do you want to go ahead first?
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: If I could, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Yeah.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, Director Mansour, I appreciate you
being here today. There's a lot of discussion about the resolutions that came on
our last agenda, and I appreciate you being here today to discussI mean, from
what you've explained so far, the equipment is needed. We're concerned about
timelines. You don't have this equipment, currently. I think part of the want was
to discuss kind of the overall grand plan for Wastewater, which we discussed
earlier today in Committee to a point. So, I mean, if you have any more details to
add to the Council or to provide to the Council, I mean I'm all for it, but I'm
comfortable and you have my support for this today. So, go ahead, Mr. Mansour.
(Note: At this time, Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour
came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. MANSOUR: Yeah, good afternoon, Madam Chair and Council Members.
Definitely, this equipment is to allow us to handle our septage that comes to our
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
facility. It's full of gravel, grits. So, this is what damages the pumps and motors
as it comes into our septage receiver. So, the goal here is to capture it in this type
of vehicle before it gets into our system, so at least, we could prolong the life of
what we have so far until we finish the construction. And this also is going to be
utilized for the new facility that we are in the process of designing.
So, the idea is to benefit from it now to prolong the life of the current deteriorated
facility to extract the grit, the sand, the gravel that comes out of septage, septic
tanks, and cesspools that comes to our facility. And it's very vital to have this so
we could extend the lifespan of what we've got and get us to move into the new
design, as we discussed this morning. Thank you.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. And I appreciate that because it
also says we can use this even after we do our improvements to the facility.
That's major too. Funding-wise, we're talking about different sources of funding.
It's been an ongoing discussion. Do you have opportunities to use other funding
for this equipment, or is this the direction that you want to go?
MR. MANSOUR: This was already in this current year's budget. So, this is
already in working with the Finance Department and our Business Manager. This
is the route that's chosen.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. That really sums it up for me.
Thank you very much, Director.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else?
Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Aloha, Director. Thanks for being on.
I just wanted to thank you for this additional information. I know that a few of us
gave you a bit of grief at the last Council meeting, and it certainly wasn't
personal. You do have a very tough job. I don't think any of us envy you or
wake up wishing to be the DEM (Department of Environmental Management)
Director. And so, we just wanted a bit more information, and you have more than
satisfied that. And we appreciate your presence and the additional details today.
I'll be supporting this. We want to make sure that all of your employees are
really equipped with the critical information so that they can do their job, and this
is something that is a very critical function to County government. So, thank
you. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? And, Ms. Villegas,
if you want to say something, holler, okay?
MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Holler.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. Go ahead.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha, Ramzi. Thank you for enduring the pummeling and the
ups and downs and the joys of this adventure in the County of Hawaii. So, thank
you for your continued tenacity, sense of humor, and ability to rise above,
regardless. Appreciate you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Anyone else? Seeing none, Mr. Clerk.
Vote on Res. 318-22: The motion to adopt Res. 318-22 was carried by the
(Adopted) following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Resolution 318 is adopted.
Res. 320-22: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR
AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF
THREE SEMI-TRACTORS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT
Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an estimated
total monthly cost of$14,100 to transport refuse from the East Hawaii Regional
Sort Station to the West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill.
Reference: Comm. 627
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Postponed: February 23, 2022
(Note: There is a motion by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Ms. Villegas,
to adopt Res. 320-22.)
(Note: Comm. 627.1, from Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour
dated March 9, 2022, transmitting an inventory list of tractors being operated by
the Solid Waste Division, was circulated.)
(Note: At this time, Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour
came forward to address the members of the Council.)
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-KI einfelder, on discussion.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate it. Again,
Director, kind of a conversation at our last meeting. I'll just put that right there.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
You did provide, and I really appreciate this, this list of inventory for what the
department has right now. And you made a very good point: "Look, you guys
are willing to give me trailers but not semis to pull the trailers, and it makes
absolutely no sense." Completely agree with you. I like this list because it gives
us a feel for what we're doing with the new department. And I'd really like to see
this as different departments come forward when they're asking for new vehicles,
new equipment. It helps us make a very, I think, good decision, but also based on
data that we can actually look at and get a feel for. So, right now, looks like you
have 39I mean, I would call them semi-trailers, semi-trucks.
MR. MANSOUR: Yes.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And of those 39, 23 are working, 12 are in
the process of being disposed, and you have four being repaired.
MR. MANSOUR: That's correct.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then again, this is a the need
for this is an equipment shortage? This isn't related to personnel issues at all?
MR. MANSOUR: That is correct. This is only equipment. Just from the 39,
12 are going to be disposed. So, that's going to leave us with 27. Currently, we
have 25 operators assigned to each individual task, which we have about
22 transfer stations County-wide. So, technically, 27 for 25 operators. One truck
goes down, we really don't even have a backup. So, the 3 that we're replacing are
within the 27. So, you could tell. If we don't replace the 3, we're actually short a
truck and we have zero redundancy. And that's why sometimes we end up
closing transfer stations because we don't have any equipment to transport waste.
And this is the first take at it. That's from this current year's budget. We added
more vehicles in this upcoming budget. As you see from the inventory list, these
vehicles go back to 1991, 1994.
So, our guysI visited the Waimea Base Yard this morning at 6:30 in the
morning. We had a meeting with the staff. I want to just give recognition to all
of our staff. They're really very creative when it comes to managing these old
equipment. They go on borrowed parts, and they're kind of creative as to how
could we extend the lifespan of these equipment. And just listening to them and
the need and the shortage of the supplies and what have you, it's just
heartbreaking. So, hopefully, we'llI agree with Council Member Kierkiewicz;
we need to give our staff the right resources so they could deliver the services that
everybody anticipates and everybody expects. Thank you.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, so, you have more
operators than you have trucks right now.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. MANSOUR: That's yeah. If we don't get the three, you're right. We
have 25 scheduled operators, and with the breakdowns on the current equipment.
As you know, last month we had two breakdowns right on Saddle highway. We
had two at the shop. And we have 16 load and waste was stockpiled at the Hilo
facility. So, the Department of Health sent us a notification on the possible notice
of violation. But we were able to work with the union and our staff to offer
overtime. We ended up renting a truck from a local individual without a driver.
Because, as you know, under the Konno decision,we cannot rent trucks with
drivers. And it's hard to find trucks here on the island without a driver.
Therefore, it was very difficult and challenging, but staff overcame that challenge.
And now, we're about five load backlogged at that facility.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you, Director. I think that
very clearly outlines why the need and why the push to waive to Council, as was
given by the department. I appreciate the explanation. I yield for now, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else? Seeing
none, Mr. Clerk.
Vote on Res. 320-22: The motion to adopt Res. 320-22 was carried by the
(Adopted) following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Resolution 320 is approved.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, if I could?
CHR. DAVID: Oh, go ahead.
Return to MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Can I make a motion to waive the five-day
Res. 318-22: hold on Resolution 318 and 320,please?
CHR. DAVID: Let's take 318 first.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay.
MR. HENRICKS: You could do two if you want. It's at discretion. If you prefer
not to do that, you could do them singularly, though.
CHR. DAVID: Yeah, let's do them separately.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. HENRICKS: Okay, very good.
CHR. DAVID: Make it clean.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay.
Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to suspend Council
Suspend Council Rule 15 to waive the 5-day hold for reconsideration on
Rules: Res. 318-22. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the
(Approved) following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. The motion passes.
Return to
Res. 320-22:
Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to suspend Council
Suspend Council Rule 15 to waive the 5-day hold for reconsideration on
Rules: Res. 320-22. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the
(Approved) following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Motion to waive is approved. Go ahead.
MR. HENRICKS: In order?
CHR. DAVID: Yes.
MR. HENRICKS: Okay, very good.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Res. 326-22: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO GOING HOME HAWAII
FOR ITS COMMUNITY-BASED REENTRY AND RECOVERY HOUSING
PROGRAM IN KONA
Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 8); and credits to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Other
Current Expenses account.
Reference: Comm. 634
Intr. by: Mr. Inaba
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to adopt Res. 326-22. Seconded by
Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Thank you. I ask for your support. That's all, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, Mr. Clerk.
Vote on Res. 326-22: The motion to adopt Res. 326-22 was carried by the
(Adopted) following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Resolution 326 is adopted.
Res. 327-22: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO MALAMA O PUNA TO
ESTABLISH A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH GROUP FOR HAWAIIAN
BEACHES
Transfers $1,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account
(Council District 4); and credits to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Other
Current Expenses account.
Reference: Comm. 637
Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 327-22. Seconded
by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you so much. And I just want to acknowledge and
mahalo all of the community members, the residents of Hawaiian Beaches and
Hawaiian Shores, that really took it upon themselves to activate a Neighborhood
Watch group. I'm just proud of Puna in general. There are 23 Neighborhood
Watches in the region, the most in the island, and I know that other communities
are coming online. So, this is just one small way that I can be supporting them
with the startup infrastructure of banners and t-shirts and signage. But just really
excited about their ongoing working relationship with the community police
officers in the district. So, looking for everyone's support. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none,
Mr. Clerk.
Vote on Res. 327-22: The motion to adopt Res. 327-22 was carried by the
(Adopted) following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
Point of Order: MS. KIMBALL: Madam Chair, point of order.
CHR. DAVID: Hang on a second. Yes, go ahead. Your point?
MS. KIMBALL: I'm actually reviewing, real quickly, the Rules that we
amended. And I think, for the purpose of expediting our process, it requires only
a roll call vote when it's not unanimous. I suggest a voice vote with the
microphones on, yes and no. And if we have any "noes,"then we go to the roll
call, rather than doing a roll call for each vote.
MR. HENRICKS: It's State law that if we hold a meeting by videoconference,
we're required to do a roll call vote. So, it goes beyond the Rules on this one.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MS. KIMBALL: Actually, I beg to differ. I believe that the same is true for the
State law, that if it's unanimous, then a roll call is not required. But if we want to
proceed the rest of this way for today, that's fine, but I think that that is State law
(inaudible).
MS. VILLEGAS: Just a quick comment?
MR. HENRICKS: I think that's correct. So, if you'd like to just do roll call
votes, you'll have to stop and then not roll call, voice vote.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. Well, anyone else has a comment?
MS. KIMBALL: I'm pretty sure I'm right, but.
MR. HENRICKS: I'm fine with that.
CHR. DAVID: You're fine with that?
MR. HENRICKS: Yeah. I don't think there's any harm if it's a unanimous vote.
If it's a non-unanimous, we should do a roll call regardless, according to the Rules
as well.
CHR. DAVID: Right. And then I also thought that there was some issue about a
Council Member not within the body and
MR. HENRICKS: No, it's just because Ms. Villegas participated remotely; if the
vote isn't unanimous, we have to do a roll call vote.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair?
MS. KIMBALL: So, the difference would be
MR. HENRICKS: Same as the Rules. And it's similar to the Rules, yeah.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. Then
MR. HENRICKS: And, of course, at your discretion. But Ms. Kimball is
requesting you exercise discretion.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. So, in essence of time (inaudible), I think Ms. Kimball
MR. HENRICKS: And my larynx.
CHR. DAVID: Yes. All right, we'll do a voice vote.
MS. VILLEGAS: Chair?
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Ms. Villegas.
Point of Information: MS. VILLEGAS: Just as a point of information, I will be leaving at 2:30 today.
So, we won't have to worry about that in a few minutes. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: All right, thank you. Ms. Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, I really appreciate Council Member Kimball
bringing that up. When we brought the amended Rules for the proposed rules, it
was with the intention of just everybody having their microphone on when we
vote, not necessarily calling for a roll call vote. But because we were in multiple
locations—Hilo chambers, Kona Council Chambers, and sometimes in our own
offices or rooms because of COVID (coronavirus disease) or other issues,just
wanted everybody to voice their vote at the time in which you call for it so there
was real clarity by the Clerk in documenting how we are voting.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
MR. HENRICKS: Totally appreciate it. That will be great. Unfortunately, we
can't use all the mics at once in this room yet until we renovate, but just voicing
the vote would be appreciated even if the microphones aren't on. So, we can go
in between for now. Thank you so much for that. And thank you for clarifying
the law. I agree with Ms. Kimball and I think our Corporation Counsel does too.
She's giving a thumbs up.
CHR. DAVID: Or mask down. Thank you.
MR. HENRICKS: Or she's hitchhiking. I'm not sure.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. All right, we've settled that.
MR. HENRICKS: Okay, 329?
CHR. DAVID: Well, did we take the vote?
MR. HENRICKS: We did. That was probably maybe our last, maybe not.
CHR. DAVID: The last roll call vote, okay.
MR. HENRICKS: Maybe after 2:30.
CHR. DAVID: All right.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Res. 329-22: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A
DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED
FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO WE ARE OCEANIA FOR ITS
KEIKI CARE PACKS PROJECT
Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services –Contingency Relief account
(Council District 6); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public
Programs account.
Reference: Comm. 643
Intr. by: Ms. David
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 329-22.
Seconded by Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: With our Council Members' permission, I will just ask for your
support on this. This is such a great program, and I'm so pleased and honored
that I was able to that I had contingency left I think this is the last of mine or
maybe another one to buy the kindergarten kids in Ocean View their supplies.
It's a big help and I appreciate all of your support. Mahalo. All those—anyone
else? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 329-22, please say
Ic aye.
Vote on Res. 329-22: The motion to adopt Res. 329-22 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David–8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy – 1.
Excused: None.
MR. INABA: Chair?
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Go ahead.
MR. INABA: Sorry. Just as a point of making sure we're doing it right, does
Ms. Villegas need to voice her vote?
CHR. DAVID: Did you ?
MS. VILLEGAS: Aye.
MR. HENRICKS: Thank you.
MR. INABA: Thank you.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
CHR. DAVID: We'll wait for you or you can say it at the same time I ask for the
vote. Put your mic on and then I think we'll hear you. Okay. Thank you. Thank
you, Mr. Inaba.
Res. 335-22: AUTHORIZES THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO NEGOTIATE AN
EIGHTEEN-YEAR LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY, A PORTION OF
34 RAINBOW DRIVE (OLD HILO HOSPITAL), SITUATED AT PIIHONUA,
SOUTH HILO, COUNTY AND STATE OF HAWAII, AND IDENTIFIED AS A
PORTION OF TAX MAP KEY: 2-3-026:008, TO HOPE SERVICES HAWAII,
INC.
Authorizes the Finance Director to negotiate a multi-year lease from October 7,
2019, through May 31, 2022, with an option of three additional five-year terms for
approximately 11,853 square feet of space, to be used as an assessment center and
emergency shelter for single individuals who are homeless.
Reference: Comm. 657
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
(Note: Comms. 657.1 and 657.2, from Finance Director Deanna Sako dated
March 17, 2022, transmitting proposed amendments to Res. 335-22, was
circulated.)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 335-22.
Seconded by Mr. Inaba.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: I support the resolution. I do have a
question for Deanna.
(Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to
address the members of the Council.)
MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: A quick question. And maybe this is not for
you. Maybe this is for Real Property. But in this case, we're going to do the
lease. Does the lease agreement come to us? Does the resolution come first, then
they go out to get the lease? I forget.
MS. SAKO: Pretty much we just negotiate the lease with the standard terms. So,
sometimes it's attached, sometimes it isn't. But I think this one is actually an
extension of the existing lease to provide services of the matter, yeah, for the
homeless.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And if I rememberI mean,
actually, I did some wiring in this building. But HOPE Services (HOPE Services
Hawaii, Inc.) had been in the building. Are they taking on more of the building,
or are they just continuing on the same space in the structure?
MS. SAKO: I think it's in the same space. I was just checking if Director Kunz
was in the Zoom room. But I believe it's the same space. There are multiple
entities up in that facility that are renting various spaces.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I'll follow up with them. Thank you.
I just was trying to wrapI just couldn't remember the process, and I'll work
(inaudible).
MS. SAKO: Yeah. Sorry about that.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: No, thank you, Director.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, thank you. Deanna, since you're here. The rent's quite
modest.
MS. SAKO: Yes, it is.
MR. RICHARDS: Who's in charge of the maintenance? And just for the
record
MS. SAKO: We tried to pass that along to many of the lessees. I do not recall if
this particular one passed that along. But we have been doing some of the work
as it becomes necessary. It's still a building that's been EO'd(executive ordered)
to us by the State.
MR. RICHARDS: It's still I'm sorry?
MS. SAKO: It's still our building. It's on executive order from the State.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And just for the public, the rent's $10 a year. I
understand the service, but are we also doing the maintenance as well? And so I
pose that question. Can we get an answer on that?
MS. SAKO: I can confirm, yes, if we're providingI believe we're doing most
of the maintenance. And I thought it was supposed to be a hundred dollars a year,
but okay. We'll go with the $10.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. Chair
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
CHR. DAVID: Hang on one second. Someone's trying to patch in on the Zoom.
It was Sharon? Oh, Susan. Oh, no.
(Note: At this time, Housing Administrator Susan Kunz and Housing and
Community Development Specialist Sharon Hirota came forward to
address the members of the Council.)
MS. HIROTA: Both of us are here, but we'll turn it over to Administrator.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Is that Sharon?
CHR. DAVID: Both.
MR. RICHARDS: Oh, both? Okay. A question we have, it's a very modest rent.
Who's in charge of the maintenance for the building?
MS. HIROTA: So, for the building, the lessee is in charge of day-to-day
maintenance. We currently have General Services, out of Public Works,
continuing to do the yard service that's outside of the building. But internal,
addressing any of the concerns is on HOPE Services.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. Thank you.
MS. HIROTA: So,just to let you know, we just completed some renovations that
we agreed upon to do, and these renovations were paid by State funds.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. All right. Thank you. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Thank you. And just for the record, real quick, I want to confirm
that this initial is for 18 years with a potential for an additional 15, if that's right,
Director Sako.
MS. SAKO: I think the original was three, and three five-year options. Did we
misstate that, Sharon?
MS. HIROTA: No, it is for initial three years, and three additional five years. So,
a total of 18.
MS. SAKO: Sorry. If we got it wrong in the letter, I apologize.
MR. INABA: Okay, I think this
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MS. SAKO: Yeah, yes, we worded it wrong in the letter. I apologize. But it is
for the initial, plus it's supposed to be three five-year options.
MR. INABA: Sorry. For purposes of the record,we go based on what's in the
resolution. And that is saying
MS. SAKO: So, in the first"WHEREAS," I can see where it might be a little bit
confusing. But it's "desires to negotiate." It's like total of 18, but it's the initial
three with five three five-year options.
MR. INABA: Okay. I don't know how the Council wants to proceed on this.
We have that language, then we have the transmittal letter which is different. And
then I think the B-52, which is in alignment with what's in the resolution. Clerk,
could you maybe give some guidance here?
MR. HENRICKS: Yeah, the communication is, essentially—it is what it is and it
can't be remedied. So, if it's incorrect, it's incorrect. I think most important is
the language in the resolution. And if Council and Administration is satisfied that
the language in the resolution is clear and accurate, you're safe to proceed.
MR. INABA: I don't feel that the language is correct in the resolution. In my
reading of it, it's saying "negotiate an 18-year lease for the period October 7th,
2019, through May 31st, 2022." Wouldn't it be a three-year lease indicating that
period, with three
MS. SAKO: Yeah, I think we got that wrong. Yes.
MR. INABA: Option extensions of five years apiece? So, with that, I don't know
if anybody else would agree with my reading. If that isif my reading is correct,
then this resolution needs to be reworded. I'm not sure. Maybe we need to
postpone and make an amendment to the resolution.
MS. SAKO: Can we just table until the end of the agenda so we can have staff
bring down a corrected version?
MR. INABA: Sure. I'll yield for now. I think some of my colleagues might have
something to say.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba, for that. And Mr. Richards first.
MR. RICHARDS: Just agreeing with Council Member Inaba. He's right. So, we
need to fix it. And I agree with tabling; see if we can get it done before the end of
the meeting.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to table Res. 335-22.
Table: Seconded by Ms. Kimball and carried by the following
(Approved) voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair David–8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Member Lee Loy – 1.
Excused: None.
Res. 336-22: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN
AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAND
AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Authorizes the Mayor to enter into an agreement to execute a Programmatic
Agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office to satisfy requirements
associated with the receipt of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster
Recovery funds for the County's Voluntary Housing Buyout Program.
Reference: Comm. 659
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 336-22.
Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much, Chair. We have,
today, Mr. Kern—Director Kern and then Mr. Le. Please kind of give us a little
bit of background on this. This is interesting.
(Note: At this time, Planning Director Zendo Kern came forward to
address the members of the Council.)
MR. KERN: Yeah, no problem. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of the
Council. Good to see you, all, again today. Zendo Kern, Planning Director. I am
joined by Douglas Le, our Disaster Recovery Administrator. I will start out with
the beginning of the story, kind of give you some background, and I'll turn it over
to Douglas for a bit more details.
So, as you know, we've been working on standing up the buyout program for the
2018 Kilauea eruption. It's quite a monumental task. The team got together. I
mean, they created the forms. They created the processes. They created the
quality control. All of those elements, we got all that together. We've got a
really solid program.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
One of the components that was necessary was a programmatic environmental
assessment for the entire area. And so we worked with a consultant, brought them
on board. They have some additional consultants that do specialize in various
works, such as archeological work. And so, we made an asserted effort at the
beginning to try to get ahead of some of these areas, such as SHPD (State Historic
Preservation Division) work or any type of endangered species work. And so,
we've had various meetings with these agencies and felt like we were in a good
place, as well as our consultant, and did our best to get ahead. And as these things
go, they always take a bit more time than one would hope.
Feeling like we're getting right to the end where we're able to—we're starting to
look at accepting offers for folks and being able to move really forward with the
buyout program. And the last, really, element out of our control was getting this
programmatic environmental assessment signed off and approved by the SHPO,
actually—State Historic Preservation Office. And we're right there and I get the
notice that there is a little snafu or a little misunderstanding or something was
amiss regarding an element of the programmatic EA (environmental assessment).
And so it's like, "Oh, no. This is going to create a problem."
And so, what happened was we got the background info. We rallied up a meeting
with our team, our consultant and their team, as well as Susan Lebo from SHPO
and Bob Masuda on their team on I think it was a Thursday. We found out about
this, say, on a Friday, for example. By the next Thursday, we organized this
meeting and had a meeting that came together, and we were able to talk through.
Basically, what we came to today was the need for this programmatic agreement.
And in the realm of these types of issues, they can generally take months, if not
years.
And so, I want to highlight that everybody was able to come together. And
SHPD, SHPO was very much on board to work with us. We got clear marching
orders. Our consultant went to work. And by Monday, that following Monday
so, Thursday, Friday, over the weekend by Monday, things were basically
squared away. But the requirement was that we come forward with this. And so,
this is kind of that final phase so we can actually continue with the buyout
program. Really great job to the buyout team. And Douglas and his team wants
to also thank the State Historic Preservation Division for their work, the
consultants. And again, anything in that realm coming in within less than a week
over the weekend was magic. And so, we really appreciate that for the
community very much. I'll turn it over to Douglas now. He can give a little more
detail of what you're looking at today. Thank you.
(Note: At this time, Disaster Recovery Officer Douglas Le, Planning
Department, came forward to address the members of the Council.)
MR. LE: Thank you, Director. Douglas Le, Disaster Recovery Officer. The
matter of environmental review of programmatic agreements I think is pretty
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
common knowledge in this body but also in our broader public. It's a very
important piece of the work that we do as local government. But I do have to say
that the environmental assessment that was required for this Voluntary Housing
Buyout Program was very unique and that was an understatement. It's the use of
Federal funds from the U.S. (United States) Department of Housing and Urban
Development. That is the undertaking for this acquisition of property.
But, now, when we're normally dealing with a parcel or two for a site for an
undertaking, we start it with an area from Hawaiian Shores all the way down to
Opihikao because that is the general census area that we use to that was the
basis of this program. For our Section 106 consultation, we are looking at the
immediate area of the 2018 eruption, the area where folks are eligible to apply for
this program. And we are looking at over a thousand parcels in that respect.
And the additional complexity is that this is a voluntary program. We need to be
able to clear concurrence with SHPO in order to move forward with any
acquisitions. At the same time, we know of the 486 applications that are currently
in our pipeline. We don't know who will be applying this in the third phase once
it opens up again. So, we needed a clear and compliant process to be able to get
concurrence with SHPO to be able to move forward. Really to continue the
progress we have been making on the program, but also to do this right on so
many levels too.
And essentially, the program agreement is a tiered approach where properties that
were inundated by the eruption have no potential to cause effects to historic
property. For those properties that were isolated or partially inundated and where
there may be a structure, it becomes upon us, once those properties have been
identified and are in the queue for acquisition, to do our proper work, you know,
work with an archeologist to determine whether there is historic property inside.
If it is not historic, then we can make a similar determination; no potential cause
of effect. And if it is deemed historic, to take the proper measures in consultation
with those properties.
So, we're following, I think, the procedures and rules I think many of us are
accustomed to in terms of handling these incredibly important and sensitive
matters under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and really
appreciate the close coordination with the SHPO to get us here. Excited that we
are able to serve nearly 500 applicants so far,just from those who lost their
homes, both primary and secondary. We have 90 offers out, and about a quarter
of those folks have come back to accept the offer. And so, as we prepare to get
people in escrow, as we prepare to button up this process and get concurrence on
the historic issues here, we're excited to be able to move forward.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Le. I appreciate it. Thank
you, Director Kern. Some quick questions. I had a phone call from a constituent;
I reached out to you yesterday. But just kind of give us a timeline so we can kind
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
of understand. People entered in the program roughly last year this time, yeah;
we started the program. And you're just getting back to the point now where we
can start actually buying out the property. Is that correct? For some of the people
for Phase 1.
MR. LE: So, the program did launch on April 30'h of 2021. So, almost a year
since the launch of the program. For the first three months, we received
applications for primary homes, and it was in that period that we received
applications. We did preliminary calls. We did intake to ensure we had all the
proper documentation. We understood the complexity of the cases that were
before us. And we informed our applicants that, from the point of intake, it could
take six to nine months to be able to get to closing. And many the rush of
intake, really kind of our ability to get people back in for that process started in
the summer of last year. This is a generalization because we're talking about
300 cases here. So, we are relatively on track in that respect. But I also want to
acknowledge the time that has gone on since the eruption and since folks have
been out of their homes and off their land and trying to work to close it up now.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So, the six to nine months was kind
of the estimate. You're pretty close to that. And this is for Phase 1. Phase 2,
you've done too. And then Phase 3 is coming, which is vacant land. Correct?
MR. LE: That is correct.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then the question kind of
remains. And I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't get into this, but I've got to ask
anyway. Like, we going buy out these properties, and then we're going to have
this mismatch of properties all across Puna because it's not specific to one. It's
not like one big continuous area, yeah. That's kind of a floating question about
what happens then. I don't know if you need to answer that. I'm just—it's an
interesting point we need to look at as a County.
MR. LE: Agreed. Management of the properties after acquisition, it was
definitely part of the decision-making to develop this program. It is somewhat
connected to this environmental assessment. We know that when we have full
knowledge of the properties that have been acquired, we will need to consider a
change in the use, right, because they are no longer used the way they once were.
And we got an early agreement with HUD (United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development)to be able to complete this environmental assessment,
move to acquisition, and look ahead to supplemental environmental review on the
management strategy for these acquired properties. So, the work continues but it
is important work.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then this resolution is for that
agreement, but I mean, have you already been working them? Do you have an
agreement already, or are you walking into one?
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. LE: We have an agreement drafted. So, that was the process that
Director Kern kind of spoke to in terms of the issues identified and the timely
solutions around drafting a new agreement.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Can we see that? Do we need to see that?
It's always interesting because we always get these resolutions with an agreement
but we never really see the agreement, usually. And sometimes for good cause.
But I mean, this one, can we see it?
MR. KERN: I wouldn't see any reason why not. I would ask that we just send it
to you, and we don't hold this because this is literally holding people
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, no, not at all.
MR. KERN: Yeah. That's not a problem.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Just could you—if you'll send to, maybe, all
the Council so we can just check it out via email.
MR. KERN: Yeah.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you for the overview. I
appreciate it. And then, thank you for addressing that constituents' concerns.
They were maybe misinformed. I'll work them to kind of button that down. And
you did offer your support, if needed, directly from you as well. Thank you for
that.
MR. KERN: Of course. Thank you.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I yield, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Ms. Kierkiewicz, go
ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I don't want to belabor this, but I just
want to make sure that if we are to approve this resolution today so you can enter
into the agreement, the schedule that you've articulated for the buyout program,
we will be on track. We won't fall behind.
MR. KERN: That is correct.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I just want to make sure because you talked about
providing offers to some folks for Phase 1. And we certainly don't want to delay
the process because many of them are still really counting on this in order to
resolve their situation and move on.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. KERN: Yeah, and the team really hasn't stopped. The team is moving
forward even though this came up. There's so many components moving that
they're continuing to move everything forward. But we can't move forward with
finally getting the actual sales done without this.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay.
MR. KERN: And say, what, we lost maybe two weeks in total with this. And for
this type of an issue, I'd say I think we're doing really well.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I'm impressed. Seriously. I mean, the fact that you've got
Dr. Downer and Susan Lebo at the table working with you to kind of execute this
agreement so quickly is really impressive. I mean, really, it's a miracle because
we know how slow SHPO can be. I can't believe that's their acronym now. It's
going to take some getting used to.
MR. KERN: They're still SHPD, too, right? It's both.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Good for clarifying. Thanks, you guys. It's not
always said but there is a lot of gratitude. To you, Douglas, personally, I know
that you have been heavily involved in architecting this program, getting it off the
ground. This remains to be our single largest Federal award ever received by the
County. So, thank you for your leadership and to your team. We have six years
to spend this money, but really, you're going to get it done in a much shorter
timeframe. So,just really impressive. And I want to acknowledge all of the hard
work that you're doing, and also just continuous engagement with community
because there are a lot of answers that still need to be resolved. And you've made
yourself very available to answer and just address people's concerns. So, thank
you. I appreciate it.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none,
Director Kern, Mr. Le, thank you so much for your hard work on this and
appreciate it very much. I'm sure Puna does, most of all, right? So, thank you for
being here. All those in favor of approving Resolution 336-22, please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 336-22: The motion to adopt Res. 336-22 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Richards, and Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Lee Loy and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on Motion to Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to suspend Council Rule 15 to
Suspend Council waive the 5-day hold for reconsideration. Seconded by
Rules: Ms. Kimball and carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Richards, and Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Lee Loy and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
MR. KERN: Thank you, all, so much.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you very much.
MR. LE: I appreciate it. Thank you for your consideration. I appreciate it.
CHR. DAVID: Could we just move, Mr. Clerk,please, to bills for second and
final reading? Bill 111, Draft 3, please. It's the first item on the second and final
reading.
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:
Bill 111: AMENDS CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 11, SECTION 19-90, OF THE HAWAII
(Draft 3) COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO
REAL PROPERTY TAXES
Allocates 75 percent of real property tax revenue collected annually from
Residential Tier Two properties that is applied to the net taxable real property
value of$2 million or more to County-sponsored programs to address housing and
homelessness, through June 30, 2027.
Reference: Comm. 589.4
Intr. by: Mr. Chung
First Reading: February 23, 2022
and
Comm. 589.9: From Council Member Aaron S. Y. Chung, dated March 2, 2022, transmitting
proposed amendments to Bill 111, Draft 3.
Motion to Approve: Mr. Chung moved to pass Bill 111, Draft 3, on second and
final reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Chung.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Motion to Amend: Mr. Chung moved to amend Bill 111, Draft 3, with the
contents of Comm. 589.9. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. CHUNG: Mr. Clerk, what do we need to do now that we're making an
amendment on final reading? What's the ?
MR. HENRICKS: It would be after. If the amendment is approved, we would
the Council would need to suspend its Rules to proceed.
MR. CHUNG: Okay, let me just explain this amendment, then, and very briefly.
This is something that's been a work in progress with the Finance Department so
that we can get really precise language on this. And then, I really want to thank
also Mr. Henricks for weighing in on this. So, we have something now, a product
that is acceptable to everyone. And it really uses the word that I wanted to use
from the very beginning: the "difference." So, we passed it by Deanna; she's
A-OK. Mr. Henricks looked at it and I looked at it. I think it's perfect. So, I ask
for your support.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Ms. Kierkiewicz, go
ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate everyone involved. I think
this is the clarity that we were looking for and the community was looking for as
well. I'll be supporting it. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Seeing none, all
those in favor of approving the amendment to Bill 111, Draft 3, with
Communication 589.9,please say "aye."
Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 111, Draft 3, with the contents of
Amend: Comm. 589.9 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Richards, and Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Lee Loy and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
MR. CHUNG: Now, what do we do, Mr. Henricks?
MR. HENRICKS: There'd be a motion to suspend the rules to allow the Council
to proceed.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on Motion to Mr. Richards moved to suspend Council Rule 24 to waive
Suspend Council the holdover for the substantive amendment of Bill 111,
Rules: Draft 3. Seconded by Ms. Kimball and carried by the
(Approved) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Richards, and Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Lee Loy and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Chung.
MR. CHUNG: Thank you. Yeah, so again, very briefly, I thinkI wanted to
thank my colleagues for really coming up with a good product. It's a product of
the Council. I wanted to point out one more thing, though, for the public's
information. The language here says "no less than 75 percent"; ergo, it could be
more than 75 percent. I just wanted to point that out. Okay. But I just ask for
your support. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Ms. Kimball, go ahead.
MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, I just wanted to note, briefly, in previous discussions on
this I've had some concerns about not directing this to a specific account. I had
some good conversations with Director Sako and how they're going to manage
this in Finance, and I feel comfortable that this will be managed and observed and
reported upon correctly and sufficiently. So, that's no longer a concern of mine,
and I'll be supporting this measure. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, I feel stupid. I'm going to ask it.
Please explain this. Maybe Mr. Chung or Deanna or Lisa, if she's around, but the
difference in revenue from residential tier one to residential tier two. So, that's
what's in between the two? And I feel dumb asking because I know we talked
about it before, about this.
MR. CHUNG: Yeah, we did but, no, it's not a dumb question. It is basically the
difference between what we would have generated had we just had the—had we
not had a tier two arrangement, and what we are generating by virtue of the two
tier. So, it's not taking the whole shebang. It's just that difference. Do you want
to elaborate, Deanna? You're the one who has to administer it.
(Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to
address the members of the Council.)
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MS. SAKO: I think what we were talking about is it's with the incremental
difference: so, if we didn't have that extra amount and we charged the whole
class at the first tier, compared to the additional revenue we're making by
charging the second tier. And so, that is what we tried to clarify at last reading,
just to make sure we're all on the same page. And so, that's the language that was
reviewed by us and Corp. (Corporation) Counsel and everybody else.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: It's not clicking. So, the residential tier two
only is being taxed? Only that property tax?
MS. SAKO: Okay, so, we taxed the entire class at the residential rate, which is,
Lisa can correct me, I think like $11.10. And then, the tier two rate is higher at,
like, $13.60. So, on the amounts that are over $2 million per parcel, it's that extra
$2.50, the revenue that's being brought in. And then we're taking 75 percent of
that and putting it in the homelessness account. And I did forget to
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That one worked. That explanation worked.
MS. SAKO: Yeah, okay.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I've been trying to wrap this
around my head. But that was a very good explanation. Thank you. Yeah. I
support this. I'm going to say yes to this today. My only concern is, watching the
conversation, housing and homelessness, I really want this to go towards our
homeless folks. I know housing and services go hand in hand. I get it. But I
don't want this to turn into an affordable housing fund. I want this to be really
directed towards programs that help take care of the people who are homeless;
take care of our homeless community. Take care of the guys who are doing the
service, providing for the homeless community; members, you know, HOPE
Services there's a number of them. But not just disappear into the realms of
"let's build housing"because I think for as tightly knit as they are, there's issues.
I do think they're still separate. So, I'm just going to put on the record that's what
I hope this goes towards.
Aaron, I really do appreciate this bill. You tried a couple times and this nailed it,
and it's a good product of the Council, as you said. So, thank you for the
explanation, Deanna. Thank you, Lisa, for being there. Yeah, that worked,
whatever that was.
MS. SAKO: Okay, good.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Mr. Richards first and
then I'll go to Mr. Chung.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, and thank you. Just for further clarification, rough
numbers, I think we estimated 10 million, but I don't think it was that much
collected. It was somewhere six or seven?
MS. SAKO: So, initially for last year, when we first started talking about it, I
think we said it was about seven, seven-and-a-half million would be the
75 percent portion. And when we submitted the budget on March 1st, we included
$9 million under homelessness, and the 400 (inaudible).
MR. RICHARDS: That would—it's funded through this.
MS. SAKO: Yes.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. All right. Thank you. Yeah, I'll be supporting it.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Mr. Chung, go ahead.
MR. CHUNG: I want to make one more comment on this thing.
CHR. DAVID: Oh, wait, hang on. Can I take ?
MR. CHUNG: Yeah. I'm sorry.
CHR. DAVID: Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I'll be supporting this. I think housing
and homelessness are issues that we all care very much about. And I'm heartened
at the last Council meeting when we asked Administrator Kunz her process for
identifying how she will proceed, because if we're looking at this, we're not
earmarking a specific amount or percentage to go to any of these particular issues.
She's doing it right. She's engaging community. She's engaging stakeholders
who are in the business of housing production, of providing outreach to homeless
individuals, and designing it from that standpoint. Truly understanding our need.
And now, we have a local funding solution that helps to support filling in the gap
because not all Federal and State programs are enough, nor do they really apply to
our situation. So, I'll be supporting it as stated, and really do look forward to
consistent and regular reports from the office on how we are making progress on
expending these funds.
And thank you, Council Member Chung, for that distinction of more than
75 percent can go here because if successes are happening, we certainly want to
be funding those successes. So, thank you for your hard work and your boldness
in putting this forward. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Mr. Chung, go ahead.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. CHUNG: Yeah, I just wanted to point out this really is a starting point. It
was intended to recognize and establish a funding source. And you talked about
it. You touched upon it. Ashley, we're going to be getting—we should expect to
get regular reports to see how these things are going. But it hopefully will foster
collaboration between the County and all of the different stakeholders, as well as
the agency Community Alliance Partners. And if it doesn't work out to the liking
of the Council and/or the public, then it could be tweaked. But let's just get this
thing moving already. Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'll keep it quick.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: If we adjust the rates, this bill still stands,
yeah? It's not stuck to the same rates we are at right now, today.
MS. SAKO: Yes. Correct.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: If we adjust it in the future, it would just
expand that gap or that difference, right?
MS. SAKO: Correct. Yes.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Seeing no other
discussion, thank you, Mr. Chung, for this. This is a very important piece of
legislation. So, all those in favor of approving Bill 111, Draft 3, as amended with
the contents of Communication 589.9, please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 111: The motion to pass Bill 111, Draft 3, as amended to Drat 4,
Draft 4 on second and final reading was carried by the following
(Adopted) voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Chung, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz,
Kimball, Richards, and Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Lee Loy and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry. We can go right back to
Resolution 337, please.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MR. HENRICKS: Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business.
of Business:
Res. 337-22: SUPPORTS AN INDEPENDENT UKRAINE AND CONDEMNS RUSSIAN
MILITARY ASSAULT
Proclaims the County Council's support for Ukraine's right to be free,
independent, and to defend its territorial integrity.
Reference: Comm. 662
Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz
Waived: GOREDC
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 337-22. Seconded
by Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. First, I just want to acknowledge
Kristen Alice who was one of our testifiers. She's one of my constituents. Her
family lives in Hawaiian Shores. I know that she lives in town now, but she is an
incredible human being who does a lot for HOPE Services and out in the
community in general. She reached out to me last week Sunday and said, "Ash,
can the County Council put forth a resolution in support of Ukraine and just really
condemning the atrocities that are being committed by the Russian Federation?"
And she wanted to pull together folks with Ukrainian heritage and ties to the area.
And so, we collaborated on a resolution, which is what we are seeing before us
today. And really appreciate everybody coming forward and sharing their honest
opinion about this situation. But the bottom line is freedom is not free.
Ukraine is under siege. They didn't ask for this. Russia is saying this is a special
military operation, but I was incredibly unnerved when Vladimir Putin said,
"Anyone who tries to intervene in these attacks must know that Russia's answer
will be immediate and will lead to such consequences as you have never
experienced in your history." Ukraine is fighting to survive. Their very
existence, their democratic and economic reforms are on the line.
And this resolution was meant to be provocative. I've looked at other resolutions
that have been adopted by legislatures and councils, and they call for the
ceasefire. Sure. We all want that. But President Zelenskyy, when asked to be
provided with a safe route out of Ukraine, said, "I need ammunition! I don't need
a ride!" He is there showcasing tremendous courage and leadership and are so
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
many Ukrainians who, in the face of so much travesty and carnage, are willing to
fight. They are athletes and entertainers and legislators going back to their mother
country and fighting.
And I'm not sorry if this resolution offends some people, but I wanted to take a
bold stand. I really did. Because, Putin is not respecting the sanctity of life. He's
not respecting the ceasefire that he agreed to, and he bombed a maternity hospital
today. He is violating international and humanitarian law. And so, I know this
resolution is symbolic, but think about what it would mean to the people of
Ukraine to know that, here in Hawaii, we send them their aloha. We send them
our aloha and we stand with them. That is such food for the soul and the spirit, to
know that even though we are so far away, we stand with them.
And so, this resolution is extending support to Ukraine, condemning Russia. And
every single one of these items listed in the resolution are things that
President Zelenskyy has called for. And not everybody may be in agreement, but
these are things the international community has already done or is considering
doing. And so, I just wanted to make sure that we're sending a strong message
that when there is a call for help, we're going to respond. And this is one of the
tools that we have to respond in kind. So, look forward to everyone's mana`o
and, hopefully, support on this measure. Thank you, Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Council Members? Mr. Chung.
MR. CHUNG: Yeah. Hard to go after that. Nobody wants to talk after that kind
of impassioned speech. It's almost like going after Billy Kenoi, you know, when
you've got to speak after Billy Kenoi. Very difficult. And I don't want to make
light of any kind of situation like this, but I've got say, though, with everybody
decked out in all these beautiful blues and golds, it would have been a perfect
time for us to have given a presentation to Hilo High School's soccer team the
boys' soccer team. That would have been lovely, right? It wasn't to be.
But anyway, last night I was multitasking, doing some work, and I'd got the tv
(television) on as usual,paying more attention to the tv than I'm doing to my
work. Then, I happened to come across this thing, and I think you have all seen
this video. It just came out maybe about a day or two ago. It's this girl singing to
that tune "let it go, let it go" in Frozen. And then, so, I had never seen it before,
but it just kind of caught my attention. Then, it became very apparent this was a
Ukrainian girl singing, and she's probably in the subways somewhere. Very
poignant and powerful image. But if you guys haven't seen it, I would suggest all
of you go on YouTube and check this thing out.
Then, it reminded me that we have this thing today, right. And I know we're
instructed by Ashley to wear blue and yellow, which I don't have those colors.
So, first thing this morning, I got that for Ashley, right; sunflower, the symbol of
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Ukraine's strength and resistance. I would have gotten one for each of you guys,
but they didn't have single flowers. They only had that. So, that's the best I
could do.
But really, this thing is troubling. And I really understand where you're coming
from, Ashley, and in terms of doing this provocative measure. Yeah, we had
several speakers testify against it, unfortunately, and I understand their point. I
think we all do. United States is not—they don't come with clean hands either,
right. But this situation really is troubling, and we are on the cusp of World
War III. No question about it. This is so similar to Nazi Germany going for
living space. This is now Poland I guess, right, Ukraine? And waiting in the
wings conspicuously silent on this is China. Waiting in the wings is how they
deal with Taiwan. This is very bad.
And yeah, it could have been a watered-down version, and maybe everyone
would have liked it better. I'm just going to cast my vote today in support of it, of
course, because this is just not a good situation. What's happening to the people
in Ukraine is just—it shouldn't happen. Maybe that's what happens every
60 years, or maybe that's just how the world goes. But we are in for some really
troubling time, unfortunately. Hopefully, cooler minds can prevail.
But I think this Vladimir Putin is—he's a bully, obviously. And I don't know
how far he can be pushed with these economic sanctions. I just don't know. And
I don't have any delusions that this thing is going to make any effect, but it's good
that we get to talk about it and get these things off our chest, really, because it is
front and center in everybody's mind right now. So, thank you very much,
Ashley.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Ms. Kimball, go ahead.
MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, thank you. It's hard to go after her, and then it's harder
to go after him. I'll do my best. I think Council Member Chung hit on a few key
things here about the absolute uniqueness of this in time and also the similarity to
previous historical events and the fact that it could be precedent setting for other
actions around the globe. And I think that's why it's important, again, to have the
conversation. It's a nonbinding resolution but I think it's important for us to show
our support.
And I've certainly been moved by some of the videos and information coming
out. And it's amazing, to me, in this day and age, that we're still talking about the
possibility of nuclear war or nuclear disaster. I remember growing up as a kid
during the Cold War and you'd hear something go over the house and, "Oh, is
that a missile?" And I don't want my kids to be in that position again and living
with that anxiety.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
I don't know where I was going. I just wanted to make sure I weighed in and say
thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz, again for bringing something important
and provocative so we can have the discussion. Yeah, that's all, Chair. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate this coming
forward. It's interesting what we can do to show our support and this does that.
It shows our support for the people of Ukraine. I mean, I think a lot of people feel
that way right now. I know, without question, too many times in history you see a
nation or a people just crushed or aggressed towards by another nation, and it's
hard to watch. I think a lot of the time we feel that it's far away, it's not our
neighbors. It's not our—we don't know them too well.
But in this case, I think the world's getting so small. Social media just speeds up
the travel of information, and we just—you can actually begin to feel what's
happening from the videos we're watching to people like Kristen Alice who
actually knows someone in Ukraine and is trying to figure out if they're okay.
And just really feeling connected to them and feeling like we've got to do
something, but what do you do. So, at least it's something. We're doing
something as a Council.
And then for me, it hits a little bit close to home. I'm not Ukrainian but I'm
Armenian. And not too long ago, the Turkish, I mean they wiped out millions of
Armenians in the genocide. And it's brutal. I mean, you go back and look at the
pictures. It is just—it's hideous. And so, I'm seeing this unfold. I'm looking at
what's happening now and the backlash. It's gross. I cannot believe humans can
still be on this track, that this is somehow useful towards an end. It's not. It's just
disturbing that human beings cannot get past this notion of greed or"I don't have
enough," or"I've got to attack" for whatever reason they've got to do it. I just
don't like it, and I wish it was different. So, if this makes any difference in the
world, then good yeah.
On the back end of that, too, I'm looking at and going, "We just got through
COVID, and now, all of a sudden, we've got this possible World War IIL" I
don't want my kids to live in fear. I don't want people being in fear of a World
War III. But I'm looking at it, and there's going to be supply-chain disruptions.
Now we're worried about food. And now, the prices of oil are going up and it's
just like having—can't we do better as a species? You said it right, Heather.
Can't we do better as a species than this? I cannot believe it. Thank you for that
ability to say something. I appreciate it. I yield, Chair.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. And my apologies in stepping out; I had an
appointment. But I'm glad I'm back for this particular resolution. Of course, I
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
will be casting my vote in support of this resolution. And listening to my
colleagues just for these last few minutes really, for me, emphasizes why we need
to do this. Part and parcel is, as Mr. Chung mentioned, we're dealing with a
bully. Right? We heard testimony about a way to approach it a little differently.
It's been my experience when you're dealing with a bully, you address the bully.
And what this resolution does, in addition to addressing these bad behaviors, it
also lifts up the Ukraine people, that"we're looking out for you." And that's how
black and white it is for me. When it comes to conflict, there's two sides, right:
the bully and the victim. And in this situation, this resolution pledges our support
behind the victims, and that's why I will be casting my vote in favor of this
resolution. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to speak and stepping in a little
late to this conversation. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: No, you were just perfect, on time. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Just a few words. I agree with what's been said. And the
question is, we're a little island out in the middle of a vast Pacific, and does it
really make a difference? Well, sometimes it does. And this reminds me of a
story. Years ago, the United States had always supported I believe it was
Bangladesh, and the flooding going on there and just all of the challenges there.
And when it came time and we had a big flooding going on in our nation,
Bangladesh scraped together and sent us hemp to make sandbags. And it made a
difference because, though it was a token effort, it showed its people care. So,
this is all about showing that we care. So, thank you, Ashley. It's a personal
thing but thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Thank you, Chair David. And, Council Member Kierkiewicz,
thank you for bringing this forward. I think everyone on this Council
acknowledges and agrees with the intention to bring recognition and our positive
mana to the people who are experiencing this on the other side of the world.
Mr. Richards said we're a little island in the middle of the ocean. And I think
what you're doing here is putting this is history in the making, this resolution,
what's happening across the world. And it also brings us back to our own drama
experience here in Hawaii. We're the little island. We were the nation, the
people, taken over by a bully the bully being the United States. And that needs
to be stated.
And yesterday, we had a rally at the State Capitol that brings awareness to the
drama that people of this land continue to face. And to approve this resolution
without recognition of our own struggles and the difficulties being faced by the
people of this very land would be an injustice. So, I need to speak that as a
Hawaiian and as someone who I'm fortunate enough to represent my district, my
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
people. And hopefully, we're able to have more Hawaiians in these roles who are
able to make good decisions for, not just Native Hawaiians, but for the people of
Hawaii.
And we know that we continue to be at the mercy of the United States, Red Hill
being one of those terrible examples of our own struggles today. So, I'll be
supporting this resolution, but let us not forget what has happened and what
continues to happen to our island home at the hands of the United States. Chair, I
yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Anyone else? Seeing none,
Ms. Kierkiewicz, before I call for the vote, I just want to thank you for doing this
and having it done so quickly. It was my pleasure of breaching this because time
is of the essence. And I think what Mr. Inaba spoke of is such a hurt that has
endured generations, okay. And the only difference, not the only difference, but
the difference I see why this resolution is important is that, yes, our people did
die—some of our people did die but what's happening in Ukraine is just so
inhuman. And for us here on our little island State, we can relate to some of this;
not all of it because it's definitely a big difference between what's happening now
and what happened in the 1800s.
So, the threat that Mr. Chung is speaking of is what has grown from the
experiences of our people to now, where it involves the potential for nuclear
destruction of the world. And for me, I think your support in this resolution
proves that no matter what, we cannot be silent and watch people—innocent
people—be murdered by anybody. And so, I don't know what else to say except
that it's history repeating itself in a different part of the nation or the world, and
we just can't condone that. I mean, I know this is the resolution, but it comes
with a lot of aloha and support from this little body here in Hawaii. So, thank
you very much. On the motion to approve Resolution 337-22, all those in favor
please say "aye."
Vote on Res. 337-22: The motion to adopt Res. 337-22 was carried by the
(Adopted) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Proceed to bills for first reading, please.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Bills for
ORDINANCES Ordinances (First Reading).
(FIRST READING):
Bill 121: 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 Fund Balance Reserved for Liquor Control account
($100,000); and appropriates the same to the Liquor Control Other Current
Expenses account($100,000). Funds would be used to cover costs associated with
internet and phone installation at the West Hawaii office located in Kailua-Kona.
Reference: Comm. 621
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Approve: FC-107
Vote on Bill 121: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 121 on first
(Approved) reading and adopt Finance Committee Report No. 107.
Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following
voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
Bill 133: 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 Interest—County Revolving account($1,185.16), and
appropriates the same to the following accounts: Wainani Estates Subdivision
Phase 1 ($242.32) and Kona Operations Partnership Housing ($942.84).
Reference: Comm. 655
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on Bill 133: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 133 on first
(Approved) reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you.
Bill 135: 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 Interest—Other Federal —COVID-19 account
($1,038.90), and appropriates the same to the Housing Assistance Program
Administration—COVID 19 account.
Reference: Comm. 658
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Vote on Bill 135: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 135 on first
(Approved) reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the
following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Bill 136: AUTHORIZES THE ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL TAX REVENUE BONDS OF
THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING THE
COSTS OF CERTAIN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND INCIDENTAL
EXPENSES RELATING TO THE COUNTY'S COMMUNITY FACILITIES
DISTRICT NO. 1-2021 (KALOKO HEIGHTS PROJECT); AMENDS CERTAIN
PROVISIONS OF THE ORDINANCE OF FORMATION FOR THE DISTRICT
RELATING TO THE LIEN OF THE SPECIAL TAXES SECURING SUCH
BONDS; FIXES OR AUTHORIZES THE FIXING OF THE FORM,
DENOMINATIONS, AND CERTAIN OTHER DETAILS OF SUCH BONDS
AND PROVIDES FOR THE SALE OF SUCH BONDS TO THE PUBLIC
Authorizes the issuance of up to $22 million in special tax revenue bonds to acquire
and construct sewer improvements and to pay for incidental expenses.
Reference: Comm. 660
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Waived: FC
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 136 on first
reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. DAVID: Any discussion? Seeingoh, go ahead. Who was that? Oh,
Ms. Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Yes, I believe this one was waived. So, Deanna, if you don't
mind.
(Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to
address the members of the Council.)
MS. SAKO: Good afternoon. So, this project has had its stops and starts, and
they're ready to start again. And so, time is of the essence. I believe it is holding
up some affordable housing funding. And so, this is our show of support that we
do support their special CFD (Community Facilities District) district bond where
they will be using it to do the sewer piping along,well, all the whole Kaloko
Heights area down to the highway. So, it's just our show of support to show that
we're ready to move forward. And if there's any questions on the bond itself, I
am happy to answer those.
MS. LEE LOY: On the bond itself.
MS. SAKO: So,just to be clear, this is not a general obligation bond like we
discussed at Finance Committee. This is a special tax revenue bond that is
separate. And when we go out to sell the bonds, it's actually based on the
developer's financial status, not ours, not the County's. But we're supportive of
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
it, and we'll be working with them to get all that set up. And so then, we do have
all the high-level people in place that are used to dealing with this kind of
development and special bonds.
MS. LEE LOY: So, this particular one is actually going to end up on the
properties that are
MS. SAKO: It's a lien against the property, correct.
MS. LEE LOY: Lien against the property. So, their—and it gets paid back
through real property tax, correct?
MS. SAKO: It's a special assessment that will appear on their real property tax
bill.
MS. LEE LOY: Okay. So, the lots that utilize this particular sewer will have
their general, like, real property tax bill and then, like, another line item.
MS. SAKO: Another line item, right.
MS. LEE LOY: And this is over the course of how many years now?
MS. SAKO: I believe these can go up to 30 years. Let me double-check if we
went with the full 30. I think it can go up to 30. And so, right now, there's not
that many lots; they haven't completed the subdivision yet. But as they do
subdivide, that lien will follow each individual parcel.
MS. LEE LOY: Okay,perfect. Say this again because I think it's really
important. Earlier in Finance, we had 149 million. And this does not.
MS. SAKO: This does not because this is reimbursable debt to us. We'll be
making the bond payments to make sure they get made. But because we're
collecting the special taxes on the real property tax bill, it doesn't go against our
debt cap, both per State law or our internal financial procedures.
MS. LEE LOY: Say that one more time. It doesn't go
MS. SAKO: It does not, yes. It does not go against our debt cap.
MS. LEE LOY: Right. I think, on first blush, it looks like this is 149 plus another
22, and I just want to be real clear. Thanks, Deanna. Chair, I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Mr. Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. Again, Deanna, for clarification: Is this a community
improvement district?
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
MS. SAKO: It's a community facilities district. Similar, but a little bit different
format, yes.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And so—and we're approving $22 million, but I don't
see metrics of how this will be assessed.
MS. SAKO: So, it actually has special formulas that each the thing that's
different about a community facilities district is, annually, they can redetermine
the amount due for each parcel.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. So, the real question is, for someone who has one of
these parcels, I don't want to approve something that suddenly they get this huge
tax.
MS. SAKO: No, I think that wasactually, the way that it would be assessed
was in the previous ordinance of formation based on square footage or whatever it
was. I didn't bring that down with me, but that was in an earlier ordinance as to
how those taxes would be distributed.
MR. RICHARDS: Okay. I just—like I said, I don't want to sign somebody up
for something. I assume the guardrails are in place to make it reasonable. So,
okay, I appreciate that. Thank you, Chair. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else?
Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: From those questions, this was formed via
the public's want or government's want?
MS. SAKO: The public. They came in to ask. It started out as an improvement
district, and because it hadn't been subdivided, that wasn't working. So, we
changed from Chapter 12 to Chapter 32, which is a community facilities district.
And so, we have been following through each of the steps. So, there's been
several resolutions and ordinances already before Council to get this process
going.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else? Seeing
none, all those in favor of approving Bill 136 at first reading, please say "aye."
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on Bill 136: The motion to pass Bill 136 on first reading was carried by
(Approved) the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Can we go back to Resolution 335-22, and may I have a motion
to take that resolution off the table?
Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to remove Res. 335-22 from the table.
Remove from Table: Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and carried by the
(Approved) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Now, we can proceed with discussion. Who had the last—Mr.—
yeah.
ast Mr.yeah.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Holeka(inaudible).
CHR. DAVID: Oh, Holeka. Go ahead. Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Okay, thank you. Yes, I just wanted to clarify the language, and
the Finance Department put forth a communication with language to amend.
Sorry, Mr. Clerk, if you could just advise. I need to make amendments to the
amendment. So, how should we proceed? Should we table again? I'm sorry.
MR. HENRICKS: Yeah. I think it would be better, if this is not what you want,
to just table.
MR. INABA: Yeah. Okay. I'm going to make a motion to table, but let me point
out what the problem is so you folks know.
Page 47
Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Motion to Table: Mr. Inaba moved to table Res. 335-22. Seconded by
Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead.
MR. INABA: Oh, okay. Thank you. Just—
MR.
ustMR. HENRICKS: There's no discussion on the table.
CHR. DAVID: Oh, that's right. So, withdraw your motion if you want to talk a
little bit more before we table it. Right?
MR. HENRICKS: It's going to be tabled. I appreciate Mr. Inaba's, you know, to
try to clarify, but if it's coming back anyway, then
CHR. DAVID: Okay. He'll do it, then.
MR. HENRICKS: Yeah.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. All those in favor of the motion to table, please say "aye."
Vote on Motion to The motion to table Res. 335-22 was carried by the
Table: following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Now, can we move forward to—hang on.
MR. HENRICKS: We could do Bill 122, second and final reading.
CHR. DAVID: Yes. Thank you.
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): (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.)
Page 48
Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Bill 122: 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 Fund Balance from Previous Year account($4,940,000),
and appropriates the same to the following accounts: General Excise Tax Mass
Transit Salaries and Wages ($200,000) and Other Current Expenses ($4,700,000);
Retirement Benefits ($15,000); and Federal Insurance Contributions Act Employer
Share ($25,000). Funds would be used to cover unanticipated costs.
Reference: Comm. 622
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
First Reading: February 23, 2022
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 122 on
second and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba.
(Note: At this time, Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh came
forward to address the members of the Council.)
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair David. I'd like to take a
second. Mr. Andoh has been waiting in our Zoom room I think the entire
meeting. And I don't know if you enjoy watching these meetings or what, but, I
mean, I really appreciate your patience.
MR. ANDOH: Glad to be of service.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Since you've been waiting, give us some
background. You've got a pretty sizable bump from the Fund Balance to your
GET (General Excise Tax) Mass Transit OCE(Other Current Expenses) and
S&W (Salaries and Wages). What's going on? How does this help you out?
MR. ANDOH: Yes, so, good afternoon, fellow Chair and Council Members.
John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator. The purpose of this action is to
increase our budget to cover some of the costs associated with the implementation
of the Transit and Multimodal Transportation Master Plan,particularly paying the
additional contract and cost to Roberts Hawaii for adding the additional routes
and services, as well as some of the overtime costs that have occurred on the
County side in the oversight of Roberts as well as the maintenance of the buses,
including the repair and getting many of the buses back into service.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Andoh. Chair, I
don't have any further questions. Thank you.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Anyone else?
Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead.
MS. LEE LOY: Deanna, please? I'm going to be supporting this, but of course,
my question is where are we on Fund Balance because it's coming out of there.
And by my math—why don't you help us with the math?
(Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to
address the members of the Council.)
MS. SAKO: So, this is actually a different fund. So, this is General Excise Tax
Fund. And so, they do have a separate Fund Balance, and there is sufficient funds
to cover. And I think, in all of the previous presentations Mr. Andoh has done,
he's been very clear to say that we would have to come back to amend to be able
to cover the cost of carrying out the Mass Transit Master Plan. So, this is just to
put us on par with what he needs to complete the fiscal year. And then, next
year's budget that was submitted on March 1st already reflects the changes for
next year.
MS. LEE LOY: My question, because this is a different—this is General Excise
Tax Fund Balance
MS. SAKO: Yes.
MS. LEE LOY: What's left over there?
MS. SAKO: There's still more left. I don't have it right here. But, yes, there is
sufficient to cover and there's still more.
MS. LEE LOY: Perfect. Thanks, Deanna. I yield.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in
favor of approving Bill 122 at second and final reading, please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 122: The motion to pass Bill 122 on second and final reading
(Adopted) was carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
MR. ANDOH: Mahalo.
Page 50
Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Bill 123: 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 Grants —Coastal Zone Management account
($160,000), and appropriates the same to the Coastal Zone Management account.
Funds would be used by the Planning Department for Phase 4 and Phase 5 of the
Coastal Zone Management- Shoreline Pursuit Project.
Reference: Comm. 631
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
First Reading: February 23, 2022
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 123 on
second and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: We had a good discussion on this already,
and I like where this is headed. I have no discussion.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of
approving Bill 123 at second and final reading, please say "aye."
Vote on Bill 123: The motion to pass Bill 123 on second and final reading
(Adopted) was carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas —2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: I think we're not ready to go back.
MR. HENRICKS: We do have a referral for Executive Session.
CHR. DAVID: Yes. Can we go to that because I think there's a request to be
made?
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.)
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
REFERRALS FOR The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Referrals
EXECUTIVE for Executive Session.
SESSION:
Comm. 635: CHADWICK FUKUI; PENDING CIVIL CLAIM 421-0036
From Deputy Corporation Counsel Lerisa L. Heroldt, dated February 8, 2022,
requesting an attorney-client confidential discussion to consult with the Council
regarding the above-entitled matter, submitted by Jamae K. K. Kawauchi, Esquire,
on behalf of her client Chadwick Fukui.
CHR. DAVID: Ms. Lee Loy, please.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Motion to postpone Communication
CHR. DAVID: Do we have to file, I mean
MS. LEE LOY: Oh, we'll close
MR. HENRICKS: Yeah, close file is a nice motion to lay,just as a foundation.
Motion to Close Ms. Lee Loy moved to close file on Comm. 635. Seconded
File: by Mr. Richards.
CHR. DAVID: Now, discussion not discussion but, Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead.
Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to postpone Comm. 635 to April 6,
Postpone: 2022. Seconded by Ms. Kimball and carried by the
(Approved) following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: I believe—are we ready to get back to ?
MR. HENRICKS: I don't think we have the communication yet. But the Council
could make a motion to remove the resolution from the table, and then Mr. Inaba
could then proceed with—he wanted to make some declarations that might take
some time. Take your time.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. All right, somebody please, a motion.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to remove Res. 335-22 from the table.
Remove from Table: Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice
(Approved) vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, and
Chair David–7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung and Villegas –2.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead, Mr. Inaba.
MR. INABA: Okay, thank you. And my apologies for keeping us here further. I
just wanted to make sure our language was correct. So, I pointed out initially in
Resolution 335 the problem with the term 18 years. So, we would have been at
33 years, but it was supposed to be, I think, 18 years total. And the Finance
Department prepared an amendment, which was Communication No. 657.1. And
in Section 1 of this amendment, it reads, "authorizing the Director of Finance to
negotiate a three-year lease with options of real property," comma. That's not a
thing. So, I pointed it out to—well, we are negotiating a lease for real property
but not with options of real property. Afterwards, I pointed that out to
Corporation Counsel and she did agree.
So, the Finance Department, I believe, is working on an amendment to further
clarify that language that would be negotiating a three-year lease of real property,
and with option terms for that portion. And that's kind of where we are. And my
apologies. I mean, I think everyone is in support of what's happening here in the
work of HOPE Services and a realistic timeframe, and we know it's a good deal.
So,just making sure that we have all of our language correct. And I think that's
the most, I think, hairiest at this time.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much, Chair, for
acknowledging my red light over here. I really do appreciate that, and I really do
appreciate
MR. HENRICKS: We could go on to a recess if you want to wait for the
amendment.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I wanted to say I appreciate Mr. Inaba
reading it through and actually catching that mistake. It did come through my
Committee, and I apologize for my miss. And thank you, Deanna, for having
staff work on an amendment so quickly. I appreciate it. I yield.
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Mr. Inaba again. Go
ahead.
MR. INABA: I'm sorry. One more comment. I wanted to apologize. I know it's
our prerogative to correct things here on the floor. But it would be better if we
could catch it ahead of time, and I just didn't have that opportunity or I would
have had this prepared. So, with that—
MR.
hatMR. HENRICKS: As we're making acknowledgements, this was brought to my
attention that there appeared to be some inconsistencies in the language. Because,
we do check these things prior. We all make a team effort to look through things
collaboratively; we find different things. And it slipped past and that's partially
my fault. So, we can all enjoy this time together thanks to many of us.
CHR. DAVID: Right. And we're all human. We make mistakes. Okay, let's
take a short recess, then.
MR. HENRICKS: (Inaudible) 3:45.
CHR. DAVID: 3:45. Ten minutes. Okay, thank you. Perfect. We're in recess
till 3:45.
Recess: At 3:36 p.m., the Chair called for a recess.
Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 3:49 p.m.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Inaba.
MR. INABA: Thank you. We are, for the record, on Resolution 335-22.
Motion to Amend: Mr. Inaba moved to amend Res. 335-22 with the contents
of Comm. 657.2. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. DAVID: Mr. Inaba, go ahead.
MR. INABA: Thank you. Again, this is just to correct the language from
18 years to a three-year lease, which is what the intention and the purpose of this
resolution was. So, I ask for your support on this amendment.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you very much. And anyone else?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, I just want to be crystal clear.
CHR. DAVID: Go ahead. Yes.
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MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So, total years that we're looking at is 18, but it's coming
in chunks. The first is three years: 2019-2022. And then, option for three five-
years. So, 3 plus 15 is 18. Thank you. I'm getting a lot of thumbs-up. We got it
right. Thank you, all, for your work on this. I'll be supporting the amendment.
Thank you.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else on the amendment?
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the amendment to Resolution 335-22
with the contents of Communication 657.2,please say "aye."
Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Res. 335-22 with the contents of
Amend: Comm. 657.2 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Approved)
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards,
and Chair David—6.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung, Kimball,
and Villegas —3.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. We're back to the main motion.
MR. HENRICKS: We would need a motion to suspend the Rules to proceed.
CHR. DAVID: To proceed, yes, go ahead.
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. 335-22. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by
(Approved) the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards,
and Chair David—6.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung, Kimball,
and Villegas —3.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: Okay. Now, back to the main motion, as amended. Any
discussion, Council Members? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving
Resolution 335-22, as amended with the contents of Communication 657.2,please
say "aye."
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Hawaii County Council-34 March 9,2022
Vote on Res. 335-22: The motion to adopt Res. 335-22, as amended to Draft 2,
Draft 2 was carried by the following voice vote:
(Adopted)
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards,
and Chair David—6.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung, Kimball,
and Villegas —3.
Excused: 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 brings us to the end of our agenda.
ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 3:52 p.m., Mr. Inaba moved to adjourn the
MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Council Members Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards,
and Chair David—6.
Noes: None.
Absent: Council Members Chung, Kimball,
and Villegas —3.
Excused: None.
CHR. DAVID: We are adjourned at 4:51.
MR. HENRICKS: 3:52.
CHR. DAVID: Oh, what?
MR. HENRICKS: 3:52.
CHR. DAVID: Oh, I'm sorry. 3:52. Look at that clock. It looks like 4
MR. HENRICKS: We're going to get rid of that clock.
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Hawai i County Council-34 March 9, 2022
CHR. DAVID: Yeah, get rid of that clock. It's 3:52. Thank you. And we're
. adjourned.
Council Approval:
APR ® 6 2022
CO
JH/dg
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