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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN GOREDC 2022/11/01 2020-2022 Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations, and Economic Development 35th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii November 1, 2022 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations, ORDER: and Economic Development was called to order at 9:30 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member(came in later) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Dwight Vicente: Comm. 986.2; Res. 593-22 (Comm. 1065); and Res. 598-22 (Comm. 1078), comment. Relinquish Chair: At this time, the Chair relinquished the chair to Vice Chair Kierkiewicz. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Let the record reflect that I have assumed the role of Chairmanship of this Committee at 9:37 a.m. Mr. Clerk, if we could please move on to Communications. GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 986.2: PROVIDES THE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DATA INDICATORS TO REPORT ON OUTCOME MEASURES OUTLINED IN THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP FOR HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS From Council Members Susan L. K. Lee Loy and Heather L. Kimball, dated October 3, 2022. Postponed: October 19, 2022 (Note: There is a motion by Ms. Kimball, seconded by Ms. Lee Loy, to close file on Communication 986.2.) ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Ladies, which one of you would like to lead the discussion? Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Administrator Kunz and I'm not sure of your official title, Deputy Administrator, no, that's not right? Ms. Hirota, please come forward is you don't mind. We did have a lengthy discussion about this in the last hearing, and I'm hopeful you ladies were able to review that at some point prior. I also hope you had a very nice trip to the mainland and learned some great things at your conference. I did share with the body some of the concerns that you had shared with me about some of these metrics in the meeting that we had prior to the hearing. So, unless there's any additional questions or comments from this body, I think I'll just pass it right to you to present and your perspective on the communication. Thank you. (Note: At this time, Housing Administrator Susan Kunz and Community Engagement Division Manager Sharon Hirota of Office of Housing and Community Development came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. KUNZ: Thank you very much. My name is Susan Kunz, I'm the Housing Administrator for the Office of Housing; and Sharon Hirota is the Division Manager for our newly-formed Community Engagement Division, which houses our homeless activities. So, thank you so much for putting forth this communication and this list of data metrics. I think that it's very valuable to make sure that we can try to stay on the same page as we're moving forward to administer the homeless and housing pot of money for the next five years. Page 2 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 You know, as Chair Kimball had mentioned, we did have a conversation, and Sharon and I did have a chance to really take a look at all of the data metrics that's being presented here. I guess, broadly to start out, I'll just say that, the homeless management information system, HMIS, is a data system that HUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development) oversees, and it requires the collection of data related to clients and homeless activities. Each one of the counties are responsible to make sure that we are in compliance with these HUD requirements, HUD's collection of data. And so, a lot of the data items that are on this list actually specific to I.A, ii, "Individuals experiencing homelessness data;" actually, 3 and parts of 4, are all data items that touch the system in some way. So that's quite a bit of the data items that are being required of us, and we will continue to do this work. A lot of the other data metrics that you are seeing, especially in categories 5 and some of the data items in the first category, I.A, are data items that are not currently mandated. But, in our research, we found that there are other nonprofits, State agencies who are actively collecting this data. So the data exists. And then, I also want to say that in our strategic roadmap, and perhaps what we got from you at the last time when we presented that roadmap to you. You know, it may not have been as detailed as you would have liked to have seen, but I want to assure you that the strategies that are listed there that we're going to be very focused on have performance data items in addition to what HUD is requiring of us, that we are going to make sure to collect. I think it's really important these data items for us to be actively looking at them and assessing them to mark our performance. So our plan is, as I've shared with you before, we will be issuing an RFP (Request for Proposal)before end of November it's going to be coming out. We will be back to this body to share with you what the detailed plan looks like once we've selected the projects that we're going to be funding. Then at the end of the year, we want to come back, very similar to the way that we successfully manage our HUD programs. I want to come back to this body to report our outcomes, and based on the data that we are going to be collecting on the contracts that we're issuing. I hope to be reporting back some successful news. Did I miss anything? So, I'll take any questions if you have any. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Administrator. I will just pass it on to my colleagues. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Council Member Villegas. Page 3 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MS. VILLEGAS: Just for a quick question about the process of when the RFP goes out. Is there something we can do to help to make sure that organizations that may not know when it's going out that they get included? MS. KUNZ: Yes. So, you know what that strategic roadmap looks like, so you kind of have an inkling about the types of activities we're going to be looking for. I want to make sure that we're clear that any type of homeless activity that can help us address issues in our community will also be included, even if it's not specifically necessarily outlined in the roadmap. The roadmap highlights what our priorities are going to be, but it doesn't mean that nothing else will be considered. I think that during this time, it's really, really important, and my staff and I have been out in the community talking to nonprofits. You know, the work is happening right now. We need to encourage our nonprofits and the agencies that do this work to come in and apply for the funds. They cannot be considered for funding or be a part of the plan if they don't send in an application. Another thing that I'd like to offer is that they are more than welcomed to contact my office now, even before the RFP's come out for consulting; to ask questions. We do that regularly, even for our other HUD funding programs. It's very successful. And then definitely, once the RFP's come out we will have a couple of public hearings to present the criteria of the RFP to kind of talk through that. But nonprofits and agencies are more than welcome to contact us during that period of the RFP to ask questions and to consult with us. You know, one of the things that I think we really need to focus on is building the capacity of our community to do this work, because we certainly can't do it on our own, and we want to do whatever we can to support them for sure. MS. VILLEGAS: Fantastic. So, and I know in the past, when R&D (Research and Development)put out an RFP, they went ahead and sent it to us as Council Members to disseminate as well. So, if that would be helpful, then please go ahead and we'll try and send out the notices. Some of my colleagues up here are really great at making little digital things and sharing on social media, and sending out for public notice. MS. KUNZ: I would love the help. MS. VILLEGAS: Fantastic. MS. KUNZ: To get the information out into the community. Thank you. MS. VILLEGAS: Great. Thanks Susan. Page 4 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Anyone else? Chair David. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Administrator Kunz for that explanation. I just have a general question. So the RFP is going to go out to like the umbrella organization that will manage. The RFP goes out to the public? MS. KUNZ: Yes. It will be made available through you want to rattle through some of the—yes. MS. DAVID: I'm trying get an understanding between the RFP process, and then you mentioned the nonprofit for grants. How do those two tie together? MS. HIROTA: So, we're in the process of finalizing the development of the RFP. And part of the RFP will highlight the scope of work and will encourage nonprofits, other government agencies to respond and provide information on their proposed activities that will help us meet our goal of reducing homelessness here on Hawaii Island. So, what are you going to do? How much money do you need, and what is your plan of action? It'll also include, which is very critical, the reporting data points that they will be required to report back to us. We're still wrestling with whether or not—so the RFP's will be managed by my team in my office. So we'll do all the management of the contracting to the collections of data, so that we can combine all of that information and report back to the Council. MS. DAVID: Perfect. So your department will basically review and select. You have a selection process for all these RFP applicants? Okay. MS. HIROTA: Correct. So we have part of the RFP, which will be spelled out as what the criteria of the evaluation is. We have—the members of the committee will be not only from Housing, but from other departments within the County. MS. DAVID: That was my next question. MS. HIROTA: Yes. And so, make sure we have a diverse group of individuals looking at it. MS. DAVID: Okay. And then, will you also consider your participants from island-wide? MS. HIROTA: Definitely, it is island-wide, and we're hoping that, as Administrator indicated, but we're looking for anyone that is willing to come to the table and be part of the solution. So, large, small, we certainly need to work; use this as an opportunity to build capacity in the delivery of services. Page 5 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MS. DAVID: Okay, awesome. Thank you. I yield. Mahalo. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Anyone else? Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thanks. Thanks ladies for being here. You know, in this world of homelessness, language matters. And so, I'm really curious about some of the things that you touched upon as far as the RFP and the outcomes and how it relates to reaching out to our nonprofit partners who do the great work of helping us address this. I'm asking because you mentioned the outcomes, and I'm trying to understand that definition, and if you guys have that definition as far as outcomes. It's a two- part question, because we're asking the same of our nonprofit partners to our nonprofit Grant-In-Aid Committee, and I just want the vocabulary to align, because it all matters in the end along with the data collection. So, it is my hope that this framework and this reporting begins to synthesize with all of our nonprofit partners that touch homelessness but maybe running other programs that kind of weave in and out of that definition of outcomes; how we synthesize the language better for better outcomes. MS. KUNZ: Let me take a stab at this. Each one of the applications that are going to be coming in will be ranked and rated based on the strategic roadmap criteria. So that ranking and rating sheet will also be made public. People will understand when they're coming in how they can increase their scoring based on the data points, right? We do this with our other grant programs. When they write an application, they're going to tell us what they plan to achieve and how much money they think they need to achieve that. So that's going to start to determine what those data points look like for that particular program. If it's tying into a strategic item that's listed on the roadmap, there are performance measures that are listed in that document that they're definitely going to have to meet. And so, we're going to want to see them explaining that to us when they apply. I hope that's starting to hit on some of what you're asking. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, and if maybe we could work offline a little bit, because we're getting ready to launch our nonprofit Grant-In-Aid program at the end of this month. And so, I just want to be able to synthesize our data collection so when people are collecting data it all means the same thing, right? I think the other thing is you mentioned, the strategic roadmap, and I think we were all little underwhelmed with that strategic roadmap. And so, I'm having a little bit of heartburn right now, because you heard the concerns of the Council with that strategic roadmap, but now we're still trying to align some of the data Page 6 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 collection around that. And I'm having a concern,right, you know, where is this all kind of moving towards? That funding that we adopted has a five-year sunset, and we just want to be able to measure that progress, but I don't want it to get convoluted in a whole bunch of other things. Help me provide the public the assurances that that funding is going to make an impact on homelessness as it was adopted. MS. HIROTA: So when we look at the strategic roadmap and the priorities that are laid out in it, it varies from providing direct services to individuals at risk or experiencing homelessness, which of course, we would then need to collect data points specific to the household or the individual that we're helping. And the connectivity that takes them from their current situation to connecting them to appropriate services and eventually long-term housing. So that data collection, there are information we would want to collect as to from start to end. And the end would be, we've connected you to a housing opportunity that works best for you, and if there was anything in-between. So how do we throw case management and do data collection? How do we follow this individual from start to end, right? Initial engagement to the end which is housing. Then there are other priorities in the plan that talk specifically about increasing the number of units,permanent support of housing, or number of units that are permanent housing with supports. Or I think there's one about creating a resource center, a drop-in center. So the data point is, did we do it or didn't we do it? I mean either it was created or it wasn't, and where, and where is the need? So, based on the data that we have now from HMIS. And HMIS, as Administrator said, is a data collection that has a number of data points. And we want to also align with those data points, right? We want to make sure that if we're moving the needle that we continue to collect the same information. Now, HMIS right now is mandated for those that receive Federal and State funds. And so, we're trying to figure out that bridge right now, that when we collect money for County-funded programs, how does it tie back to HMIS? Because ultimately, that's the data software that exists right now, that we can watch the numbers, right? I hear you in regards to consistency, because we are watching the Grant-In-Aid; having my team pull information and watching the process as you folks go through it. Because certainly, we do want to align, and if there are data points that you're collecting that we didn't think of, we certainly want to collect that information so that we can see whether or not and the data points that you're collecting, how that relates back to us in regards to this fund. So, I hope that helps, right. There's some concrete outcomes like that building exists. We went Page 7 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 from zero units to 20 in this period of time. And then there's the other side of, we helped 300 families move from here to here and this is the end result. So, it's not—okay. MS. LEE LOY: Absolutely, I think that's been the struggle, right? Zero units to 20 units, right? Because most of my challenge is, sometimes these programs they're not unduplicated numbers. They're one individual receiving services within all these different programs, but it's still just one person. But when five different programs are helping, they count five, and it actually isn't five. I see my colleagues nodding and I understand that it's a lot of money. We want to be moving the needle for more than one person. MS. KUNZ: So we want to streamline the data collection, and we don't want to duplicate and have multiple systems of data collection. We have to feed into one system. And you talked about creating a convoluted system. We really don't want to do that, and you know right now, we want to stay focused on the strategy that we've put forth. I understand and I heard what this Council provided us, the feedback, but I still feel very strongly about the roadmap that we have in hand, and we're going to move forward with it, and I'm hoping to show you some really positive results. So I hear you. MS. LEE LOY: I think the other challenge is those outputs and outcomes. We are consistently struggling with our nonprofits, as to what the definition of outputs and outcomes are, and identifying and aligning them up with the logic model on how to produce the outcome that we want, which is to address homeless. I think maybe this is a conversation we can take offline as we start to look at, you know, these different sources of funding. I've heard my colleagues on a number of occasions talk about being accountable to the public's money, and that's what we're trying to do and demonstrate that in a very transparent fashion. Like I said, I think the strategic plan kind of went in one way, and we were just looking for a baseline on where we are today before we introduce the funding to where we will be in five years. It really was just that baseline to growth. Chair, I'm going to yield. I think I put a lot out there for a lot of my colleagues to chew on a little bit and just really get our arms around what we want to be able to report out. Whether it's through the strategic roadmap to back to our constituency or help other nonprofits who provide so much of the bridge between this funding and the community that it serves. So, I yield. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Mr. Richards. Page 8 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. We've had this conversation round, and round, and round. And I'd be remiss if I didn't poise my deep concern. And you know, to what Ms. Lee Loy was talking about, for accountability funding, etcetera, to the public. I don't feel like we've moved the needle hardly at all since I've been in office and that's six years. And the need we have for all housing is staggering. I don't think there's any way to pretend it's not. Because that's what's going to take down this County if we don't get the housing built. And I fear, you know, however you want to characterize that we get into—we need data, I completely agree with that, and we need consistent data. My concern is that all data you collect is not important, meaning sometimes we collect so much data that we don't even use. And so, I don't want to get stuck into that trending term of analysis paralysis where we spend so much time collecting data. We actually don't do anything, but we got a lot of good data. And that's what my concern is. We need housing, and you know, I've listened to you, Susan, and we talk about the different programs coming forth and the validity of some of the data we collect. That's not the point of the conversation, but the metrics that put forth, I can see where some of this could be very helpful. But by the same token, we spent a lot of time talking about getting things done, but we don't get them done. We don't push hard to build the housing coming forth. And what is a reasonable number to use for our County in the next five years, 15,000 units, something like that? I've heard everything from 10,000 up to 25,000. So, 15,000 is that a reasonable number to say we need? MS. KUNZ: The need that's being discussed is 10,000 units. MR. RICHARDS: By when? MS. KUNZ: By 2025. MR. RICHARDS: Okay so, 10,000 by 2025; three years, that's building 3,500 units a year, and we're lucky if we're getting 500; usually, 300-400. So, listening to my colleagues talking about the numbers, and everybody knows I'm data- driven, but we're not even scratching this. We're not doing what we need to get done. And I was listening very carefully when you talked about having the RFP's come forth and then scoring them. I'm hoping that does not include 201H, because if you're scoring them, that's not the concern, 201H is part of the data that is asking for coming forth. But this is where we're getting hung up, 201H is not working in our County. It is so slow to get things done and we need to streamline that. Page 9 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 So, am I clearly understanding that 201H will not be part of that scoring, because you're supposed to be a pass-through for 201 H and make sure that the applications are filled out and complete. But then,the affect—and I think we're having a conversation about this today. We, the Council is the granting authority for exemptions, and it's seemingly getting bogged down in Housing. My concern, once again, comes back to breaking the inertia that we have and pushing hard, because we're not going to get there. And it's not going to be, oh don't worry, in the next five years we'll catch up. The problem is, we're going to start losing the young people that we want to keep in our County. And once they move, they're not coming back. It's going to be real difficult to change that. And so, I think time is very much of the essence and we don't have a lot of it. So with that, I'm going to yield. Susan, if you want to respond, because I'm concerned we're not going to do it. I yield. MS. KUNZ: So, I agree, the number is huge. We've been talking about this for the last couple of years since this Administration has come on. You know, Mayor Roth has made it his Number One priority and bringing all of the County departments together is really what we need to do to make a move on that number. Housing runs certain policy programs. It's not the answer to all. It definitely makes an impact, but that alone for example, Chapter 11 or the 201H is not going to solve housing, right? We need regulatory reform across the board, so we've been talking about that as well. So, I just want to put that out there. The 20lH is but one tool, and I hope I'm saying this correct, but it's a tool used to develop housing but it doesn't interact with our homeless programs. So I realize that it's here on the list and it is a data item that I report to this group, but it really doesn't have an impact on homelessness as is outlined by the strategic roadmap. So, I think there's an awareness that needs to happen with my staff and myself about the different tools that we have and how it could possibly affect, but it doesn't directly affect homelessness. So I'm not going to be collecting that data item to mark our performance with homeless. I think that this Administration has made huge progress on housing. When we came into office, there were about 1,200 units in the pipeline, active. And you know, it could be these are housing projects that were in different phases of the process. We now have about 5,000 in the pipeline. Is that enough? No, not near enough. We need to be doing 10,000, right? So I've got a couple hundred that are coming online this year. We have a few more hundred coming online next year. Within the next couple of years, I'm hoping that number increases to maybe about closer to 1,000. It will take multiple initiatives and multiple efforts. I will not be able to do this on my own. Page 10 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 So I think that through some of the work that we're doing with the Strategic Roadmap and working with developers who are trying to build housing that are related to homelessness is one way, is a small piece. And we're hoping to see some activity there. And then, in the way of just, you know, regular affordable housing, right? Independent living, not housing with supportive services, you know, we hope to continue that work as well. That's all I have to say. MR. RICHARDS: Chair, real quick response. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Go ahead. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you. And I don't disagree with you, Susan. But I think we would have had more in the pipeline had we worked a little bit differently. And to the point about the data collection. The point in time counts. I don't necessarily agree with them, because I don't think they measure it accurately. When we say, homeless and we're talking about homelessness, we have multi-generational households that the younger generation technically would be homeless if they weren't being housed by the previous generations. So they don't show up on a point-in-time count, but they are technically homeless because they can't get a home. But because we as a society choose to try and take care of our family, we house them, and I think that is a big puka that we're not addressing. So, we can talk story more about this like Councilwoman Lee Loy said. But that is where I think they are technically homeless, but they're being housed by their parents or grandparents whatever the case may be. And that's the generation I am most concerned about, because if we don't take care of them the next generation won't be there when we need them. Thank you, Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: I also want to just highlight here in a broader perspective, that this is a national issue. This is something happening across the country in every state in almost every municipality. So this is not a direct reflection of the County of Hawaii having failed dramatically by not meeting the needs. It doesn't let us off the hook, but it does in my mind, provide a broader perspective of—this is something that's happening around our country. Regulatory reform? Yes, but I see this as also a tragic reflection of our value system as a country and the disparity between the mega-wealthy and those without. And we are in dire need of a realignment of our value systems and the decisions we make here as a legislative body to support what the Administrative Branch is capable then of doing based on the parameters of what's legal. Correct? I really find that it's, as I continue to navigate in District 7, requests of new property owners wanting zoning changes and to build more of the same, which Page 11 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 directly affects values of properties. And we perpetuate what's been happening for decades. It's necessary that we authentically prioritize building affordable workforce housing projects versus the prior status quo and current formulas utilized as requirements for housing developments. And so for me in my kuleana, I feel that recognizing these values systems is imperative for how we, as we sit here and make decisions about what moves forward. Our community needs authentic housing for the people who already live here, and anything and everything that does not support should be called under deep questions. We know that the formula for housing credits and this, that, and the other is not getting us any closer to those 10,000 units. So that's my little soapbox on that thing. But for me it helps to come back to the value system of why and how we're making decisions if this is our goal, is to support you guys in executing the utilization of these resources for these authentic programs. The other thing that I really, really want to encourage is lighting the fire behind Kukuiola. We need to get that built, because that serves another portion of the population that is going to need to more slowly transition out of a homeless circumstance under sometimes more intense needs for—if it's therapy or more intensive wraparound services. And then the other, you know, is really making sure—those wraparound services. So I feel, you know, I'm hopeful the way I can support you is by bringing those organizations to work with you to the table, because that is a challenge. We've lost a lot of our workforce, even for the more glamorous roles. Let alone, working on such intensive socioeconomic mental health, drug abuse challenges, and how to really support people realigning their path to healthier living and to have a roof over their heads. So, anyway that's just how I feel like I want to just once again, communicate and encourage. Let's get Kukuiola built. People have a hard time trusting in this next plan when Kukuiola has been this plan that's been sitting there that we still need to get built. So, thank you. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. So,just to bring it back to the document here, when it comes to these indicators, is the office agreeable to all of these? I know, some of them are not currently being collected, but is the answer yes or no, that we will collect this now and moving forward for normal reporting? MS. KUNZ: You're talking about the data items in the communication? MR. INABA: Yes. MS. KUNZ: I am not agreeable to collecting all of this data, no. Page 12 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MR. INABA: Okay, so which parts of it are we agreeable to? MS. KUNZ: I think definitely those that align with HMIS, and those data items that I think I should probably say what aligns with HMIS. Because we know that that's what is aligning with the strategic roadmap items as well. Now, it's not to say, though, Council Member, that we're not paying attention or we don't recognize these data items. I think this list will sit right here next to us, and we should keep an eye on what's going on, as we progress through the steps of awarding these funds and what types of projects come in. I mean a project might come to the table that we didn't see but we really want to consider and it's aligning with something here. You know, so I don't want to draw hard lines. I want to say that I think this is a valuable list of data items. I can definitely commit to those that we're currently collecting—required to collect for HMIS, and we will definitely consider any other of these data items as necessary as projects start to roll in. MR. INABA: Okay. Sorry, and for the record, can you share what HMIS is for everyone. MS. KUNZ: Go ahead Sharon. MS. HIROTA: So, HMIS stands for the Homeless Management Information System. MR. INABA: Okay, thank you. So when we look at this list provided here, is there currently data being collected that is not included in this list of indicators as part of that HMIS data collection? MS. HIROTA: I don't have it memorized, but yes, there are a number of other data points that are collected that we're going to use as our starting base. So there is an existing, what they call an enrollment form. So anytime they touch or help somebody, there's data that they collect. It's entered into a system and we can follow them through. And that also allows for ensuring there's no duplication of assistance in the County of individuals that are served. I just don't have all the data points memorized, but those that are on the listing that relates to HMIS, we've reached out to the Administrator to say, are these data points available in the system? Yes. There's two parts to that because the other part is, then it versus actual available units in the rental, and we've hit a roadblock in terms of trying to figure out if that information is available and how often. MR. INABA: Okay. Thank you. I mean, based on the fact that this discussion was circling really around this guidelines that Council Members Lee Loy and Page 13 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 Kimball provided, and that you folks are not agreeable to all of this. I think it would be helpful for us to know what it is. Like,what is the HMIS? If we can get a copy of what that data looks like or what indicators are already being collected and that you are committing to continue collecting that we'll use baseline versus where we go with this funding. I think that would be helpful, because right now, I think this was everything we thought we might need. And you know, you're in charge of carrying out the services, but it's helpful for us to know for sure what data we're looking at. So, if we can get a copy of whatever framework you use that would be helpful, I think, to this body. You talk about streamlining data collection. When we're moving forward now, especially with this funding, are you changing the way that you are going to be collecting data or is it going to be the status quo for the indicators? MS. HIROTA: So, we're using the HMIS data collection as our starting base. This is our first year. We don't know who's coming through the door with proposals. So certainly we're aligning and it'll be explained in the RFP, what the outcomes we want to achieve, and what data they need to provide to us, whether it be monthly, quarterly, and of course, annually, to justify, you know, the grant that was issued to them for the work. But it also helps us with contract management is they're not moving the needle. We also plan to ensure that these nonprofits are working together collaboratively, so they understand who's doing what in what areas of the island. And so, there's no duplication of services also being delivered. So, we're trying to build a team here and increase the number of members who are at the table having the same conversation, so we can work together as we move forward. So, as the Administrator indicated, you know, as we build the RFP, we've been looking at these data points, some of which we have access to, some of which we don't because they're managed by State agencies. And to be honest, I don't have the capacity right now to add one more layer of data collection. So, we're going to collect the data and bring it forward to you based on the recommended suggestions in the communication. MR. INABA: Okay, so just so I think we're on the same page, you folks will provide us a copy of what data you folks are already collecting and will continue to collect. Is that right? Because we're not agreeable to what's in this communication, and I'm not tied to this, but we need to know what it is you guys are collecting for. If one whole section of this communication is missing, so be it, but we need to just know what section we're not collecting data on. And then I'm going to continue on then with my next question quickly and just confirming. So, based on the strategic roadmap that was presented, you folks are creating the RFP's. There's no other mid-level plan, right? It's just the roadmap Page 14 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 and doing the RFP's to get service providers funding and getting them to do the work. Is that right? MS. KUNZ: Yes. MR. INABA: And I know that you folks in our last meeting didn't want to commit certain dollar amounts to certain services or certain programs, which I understand maybe not sharing that out with the public. But do you have an internal idea of how much funding you're willing to commit to certain services or priorities as established in the roadmap? MS. KUNZ: We've not earmarked monies to any particular initiative, to any district, to anything. And I think this first year will be very helpful for us to start having an idea about what's out there, and whether or not we would consider doing something like that, but we have not done that. MR. INABA: Okay. So the RFP's that go out then are just going to specify certain service areas that are indicated in the strategic roadmap and we'll see what comes. That the approach? MS. KUNZ: Kind of do an analysis about what I mean it will definitely show where our gaps are. If we have a strategic roadmap that say's, you know, we really need these initiatives to try and solve or address homelessness, and we're seeing big gaps in this. You know, it will definitely be an indicator perhaps that we need to focus efforts in that area. So, I think this first year going through this process will be very telling for us and help provide some guidelines. MR. INABA: Okay, thank you Administrator. I look forward to getting that data framework from you folks. MS. KUNZ: I was kind of having a little discussion with Sharon offline, but I'm wondering if, when we come back to the Council to present this plan of awards that we're going to be making with this first round of money. At that time, we might have a really good idea about the data metrics that we will be collecting based on that. Would that be timely enough for you, if we kind of coordinated that reporting of what the first round of activities would be and then the related data points? Or we could provide you with a list of HMIS data items just to start if you would like that. MR. INABA: I think that would. I'm answering for myself, but I think it's best to get that HMIS to us as soon as possible just so we have an idea of what, I mean, you folks have it already, so if we can just get a copy of what that looks like, I think it would be helpful. Page 15 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 And last question is, when you folks do the RFP, is the plan to try and spend all of or mostly all of the money that has been allocated to this fiscal year? MS. KUNZ: I'm hoping to award all of the money that we were appropriated on an annual basis. MR. INABA: Wonderful. Thank you, Administrator. Thank you, Chair. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, and I think I'll just take this opportunity to wrap it up a little. I realize you haven't had a chance to comment, but you know, I just heard the other day, another person go up and say, "All we need to do to solve the homeless problem is to send all those folks back home to the mainland where they come from." And you guys know, we've had this conversation. That's four percent, and I bring this up to highlight, there's so much information that's erroneous out there about this issue. Similarly, I think if you just looked at the raw numbers of how many there were that were helped. You could take $5 million, divide it by that number and basically, we could just give them a salary of$50,000 a year, right? Why not just do that, right? I mean that's basic math. So, you know, I'm glad Council Member Lee Loy brought the point forward again, that our impetus for putting this forward is two-fold. One, we have the fiscal responsibility for managing the budget and being responsible with taxpayer dollars, but we also have this forward facing role that helps—if we have the correct data, if we have solid information, can make that effort to communicate with the public about what is really happening. No, it isn't that just a bunch of people are flying here and we need to fly them back. There's a much more complicated problem. And so that is the impetus behind putting all of this forward. Hearing the conversation today, and I encourage you to share with everybody, the Dashboard Website, which I think is useful. It has a lot of these metrics on it. I think for me personally and we've discussed this in my office, it's not really in the format that I find easily accessible. I mean, I think it's intended for a different audience. What I would suggest at this point, because our communication indicated by today, we would have that first sort of baseline. For me, it's pretty critical that we have a baseline before the RFP goes out and any work starts, because otherwise we can't go back and say, this is where we started and we've made this much progress. So you know, I `m flexible with the timeline in terms of how it relates to the rolling out of the RFP and how that might work, but let's just make sure that we have that first step defined before then. Page 16 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 What I'm going to suggest is that Council Member Lee Loy and I speak with you again, and let's go through everything line by line here; make sure it is aligned with what you're collecting as far as data collection with the RFP and your metrics around the outcomes that you're expecting from the strategic plan. I love that you have brought in the idea of making sure we're using the same syntax between the Grant-In-Aid program and what you guys are using. So, I think we need one more sit down, tweak this a little bit. Again, don't want to mire us in too much data, but we need to be able to tell the story from our side. We also need to be able to see the progress so that when there's a new Council here in five years and they look at, do we continue this program or not? They can make an assessment, yes, we did move the needle. We affectively accomplished what the original outcome of Mr. Chung's amendment was, to end homelessness affectively, right? So, with that, I hope that works for you folks and we'll come up with another date, specific date; look at the list again, tweak it a little bit, and then put forward another communication to the Council of what to expect on that baseline report, alright. Great. Thank you, Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you Chair. Thank you Ms. Kunz and Ms. Hirota for being here today. Appreciate the roadmap. I'm just looking this over thinking about the amount of time we spent on this and the importance of the issue. I go back to the very beginning when this was brought forward. It was strictly homelessness. I mentioned that at the last meeting, and it was amended, not unanimously, but it was amended to add housing. Looking over the roadmap in front of us. Most of this ties back to Housing. The first two sections to me talk about homelessness. And it's gathering, you know, data for homelessness and numbers. The rest really applies to what housing is needed and who's going to build it. The two are inter-related and I understand that, but I feel like the intention of this bill that was brought forward to put aside the funding was specific to homelessness, which is really driving the community to a frenzy and wanting people to fix it, government specifically. So, that's my take. That's where I'd like to see the funding go. Secondly, this is a communication. It's not a legislative directive. So you take this as you take it and you do what you do and then we go from there. But this isn't a law telling you what you have to do, and I'm just going to state that for the record. Thank you. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Council Member Chung. Page 17 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MR. CHUNG: Okay, yeah. Susan, you said Mayor Roth's number one priority was what specifically? MS. KUNZ: Affordable housing. MR. CHUNG: Affordable housing. MS. KUNZ: The development of affordable housing and trying to meet that need. MR. CHUNG: Okay, so, I'm going to somehow circle back to what Matt just said later on, because you know, I agree with him 100 percent. But you know, well let me also start off by saying that I agree with Ms. Villegas talking about, you know, this is a nationwide problem. It's not unique to our communities here. But you know, we do have this pot of funding, and you know, during the last go-around when you guys came up, I wasn't real complimentary about you know, this roadmap, right, as you guys recall. But let's even go back further. There's nothing on the record that ever has me stating that I wanted a roadmap from you guys, right? It was from other people. I'm not saying it's not an important component to all of this, but it didn't come out of my mouth. But since you guys came up and made a presentation. And you know, this is a pot of funding that's really near and dear to my heart. I had to make some comments. But then when I really thought about it, you know, I had to step back and think now, you guys are coming from the perspective of housing. What we're supposed to be looking at or having people come forward, would be the Mayor. Because you guys are doing your job. That's Housing, right, that's your universe. But as Matt now said, it's up to us to determine the percentages of what this pot of funding is going to be devoted to. Housing or homelessness. And those two are not necessarily together. You guys are going under the assumption, because you have, you know, drilled in yourselves this whole idea of housing first model, okay. And that's why immediately you think that, well, if we make inroads on housing, it's going to have this direct influence or impact on homelessness. But I'm not trying to be critical of you, in fact I'm defending you. Because you guys are coming here. You guys are the Housing Agency, right, and so, you guys are vested with responsibility of doing certain things regarding Housing. But for me, I look at downtown Hilo. I just went to Hale Halawai the other day looking for that same homeless person I have been looking for for the last three months. Visually, it's not a good look for our communities. We have to do whatever we can to get that homeless population off the streets. I don't know how it's going to be done. I will say this, this pot of money is not enough. You know that, right? But if the pot of money now, based on what I think Holeka Page 18 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 asked, is going to be devoted entirely to Housing, I think it kind of flies in the face of what was intended. But it's not your fault. This is something that has to be coordinated with the Mayor's Office. You guys are doing your part, but that wasn't the intent. I know I specifically said that this money could be used for enforcement and for other things. So, I'm kind of troubled, but you know, I did want to clarify that. I'm not faulting you guys, because you know, we're asking you guys, because we're asking you guys to come up here and give a presentation, and you guys are doing it within your frame of reference. But I think this needs to have a broader discussion, and it has to be at the highest level, really yah? I think the Mayor needs to come here, in my opinion. I'm not going to be around, but you know, so okay. Thank you. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Administrator, do you care to respond? MS. KUNZ: Yes, I do. I'm trying to find my words. I can tell by what you're saying to me that we still have a long way to go in educating, maybe this body. If that's an indication of your understanding of addressing homelessness and maybe the community. So a lot more work needs to be done in education. Getting people off the street to where? Where do we put them? Housing. So you know, Sharon and I spent a lot of time in Austin, Texas recently, and what I learned there even takes that a step further. You know, in my mind, one of the only ways to address homelessness is to house people. But what I learned was, it's not just housing. It's building community around these folks who are less fortunate than us in order to end homelessness. So, if you want us to only address the services to manage homeless, we can do that. But we are not going to achieve the goal of having homeless be rare, and brief, and non-reoccurring if we don't also incorporate Housing. I see you frowning, Aaron, but we've got to get on the same page about this. We are so totally not on the same page. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Council Member Chung. MS. CHUNG: You know, Susan, I am frowning because this is your statement, if you want us to only manage, who over here said we only want you guys to manage? MS. KUNZ: When you say to me that you want us to focus the funding on services? MR. CHUNG: I never said that. Did I say that? Did I use the words, services at any time during my talk? Page 19 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MS. KUNZ: Is that not what you said? Please clarify for me what it was? Law enforcement? MR. CHUNG: I said it could be used for that. It could be. I said during the course of, you know, us entertaining the bill for the funding, we opened the door for it to be used for law enforcement and other things, but not only housing. I never used the word, services. That's why I don't likeI guess the reason why I frowned is, when people put words in my mouth, I kind of frown, right? MS. KUNZ: Okay, so what other activities would there be other than law enforcement and housing in the way of homelessness? I need to understand this because maybe it's me that needs to be educated. MR. CHUNG: Well, look, I'm not a housing expert. I never went to a housing, you know, conference in the mainland or anything like that, right? But, and I'm not going to give any suggestions. In fact, I think I was kind of being sympathetic to you guys, saying that, look the last time I might have been a little bit rough on you guys because you guys are coming from your point of view as housing experts. But we need, you know, to engage maybe the Mayor as the point man for the Administration to have a broader type of discussion on this, because you guys are doing your job. But it kind of concerns me when—get this straight now, okay, that when we only talk about housing, because unless I heard incorrectly, and I don't want to put words in anybody's mouth. But Holeka asked the question, what are we going to do with this transfer of money? You guys said you were going use it for housing, correct or incorrect? MS. KUNZ: I don't believe I said I was going to use it to MR. CHUNG: Okay, maybe I'm mistaken too, right? But to implement this plan of yours, okay, and I still don't know. Because you guys are asking us to take leaps of faith, okay, that when you by addressing housing, we will impact homelessness. True, but it depends on which segment of the housing component you guys are looking at, okay. If you're looking at families maybe that might not impact the people down in downtown Hilo or Kailua-Kona or anything like that. It really depends on what you guys' focus in. And that's not my, you know, sphere of expertise. I'm just, you know, throwing some things out, but I will say this, I frown because you guys put words in our mouths, not just mine. If you only want us to manage, that's not what was said here. I think you guys not listening to what we're saying. MS. KUNZ: So let me clarify. When I say, manage homeless, I categorize managing homeless when we do services, which is very critical to any community. Page 20 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MR. CHUNG: So you kind of came up with your own? MS. KUNZ: It's not my own. MR. CHUNG: You interjected services from what we said. I don't want to go round and round on this, Susan. You know, because I'm not angry at you guys or anything like that, but it kind of raises my hackles when words are put in my mouth or other people's mouths. Because it's not true. MS. KUNZ: Okay, I'm sorry. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Council Member Chung. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I think I'm going to try and reground everybody. This was data collection, a baseline, and I think Council Member Kimball touched upon it. We would love to see some information before we start infusing this money into community, so we know if it's working, it's that simple. What I take exception to is, it is a communication,but you both know and Council Member Kimball knows, this was supposed to be an attachment to a resolution around the data collection, but we walked it back at your ask while you guys developed the Strategic Housing Roadmap. Correct, a lot of this information is available on HMIS, yes, but that's status quo. And what I'm looking for is, yes, let's collect the data that we already collect, but push the envelope so we can demonstrate to community that not only did we collect a baseline, but these are the future goals over the course of the next five years, which may include what I clearly heard during the discussion of the bill, was Mr. Chung's request that it could be used for enforcement which is not outlined in any of this either. What I heard you guys say is you don't agree to this communication. But there are elements that you would agree to. I'm going to push because I know which elements you agree to, because that's the status quo, and to your point, Ms. Kunz about managing homelessness, I don't think that's what we're after. We want to change the trajectory of it. So I'm going to hold firm to this framework, and if necessary, attach it to a resolution directing the Office of Housing to collect these data points, even if at the baseline. You can't collect it this year; over the course of the next five years, that we strive for those goals. And I'll put it in front of this body to decide. I'm willing to sit down one more time, as Ms. Kimball discussed, to identify the areas that we know we can collect immediately and put further goals out there so that over the course of the next year we can push on those RFP's to start Page 21 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 collecting that data, because my genuine concern is the strategic roadmap that we developed through our consultants. There wasn't a needs assessment. It was input from certain community members and just a handful. And so when we talk about building communities, I absolutely understand that. Homeless means programs that support services and building those communities around that, which is going to take this entire body to help push. I think we're kind of getting to the end of this. I want to join Ms. Kimball, talk about what you guys can collect. Push the envelope on future goals that we can collect over the next five years, and if need be, attach it to a resolution and urge the Office of Housing to make this—whether it runs parallel to the Strategic Roadmap or advances even new information, I think these dollars are worth it. Thank you, Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Yeah, real quick, I'd say that perhaps that there's a little bit of not on the same pageness going on here for a while, and I think that's indicated through different communications, different resolutions, different roadmaps. All of these things going on, and I think the best piece of information we have to look forward to, is what those RFP's are, because this strategic roadmap didn't do it for us, if I can recall. But when the RFP's do—when you folks do have an idea of what services because I don't think anyone here is saying, only services or no housing being used for the funding, but we all know what you're saying and that's the management and the housing component. We need both, but we just haven't had any idea of what that will look like yet. So, I'm looking forward to, and we can look forward to that RFP information being provided to us, by when? MS. HIROTA: We can provide you a copy once it's finalized and released to the public. MR. INABA: Yeah, when will that be, sorry? MS. HIROTA: Before the end of November. MR. INABA: Okay, got it. Thank you so much for being here guys. ACTING CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Anyone else? Okay. Administrator Kunz, Division Manager Hirota, thank you so much. I think we've given you a really tall order here. We've given you $18 million this year, unrestricted really, to deal with some challenges that our community has faced long time. Homeless and housing. Incredible, right? Unrestricted. You guys can design how we push that money out into the community and tackle these challenges. Page 22 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 Thank you for collaborating with my colleagues, with all of us, taking everything that we're saying into consideration as you build these programs from scratch. It's not easy. I think there's a lot of push and pull in a number of directions, and for so long you guys have been going with so little. And now, you finally have a chance, I think, to make a dent in these issues. Please see us as partners having the very best of intentions for our communities. I think when it comes to this initial pot of money, this $9 million that Council Member Chung had put forward with that one bill. Got to get back to the heart of the issue, which is, got to clean up downtown Hilo, Hale Halawai, downtown Pahoa. These folks need support, mental health services, substance abuse all that kind stuff. So I agree with your approach in that, let's put the RFP out there. Let's let folks know, these are the issues we're trying to solve for. Let's see what our providers can do. Let's understand what the ecosystem looks like it and where we might need to fill in the gap. Because in all honesty, I don't know if we have everything that we need here, on island, to make a dent in the issue. So the sooner that we know where we're lacking, now you guys can think through how to program additional money to build that piece up and really come in to tackle the issue holistically. So appreciate the continued conversation on this. Definitely want to see the data, the metrics that you guys are going to be using to kind of guide and figure out how we're making progress on the issue. I'm with Council Members Lee Loy and Kimball in that HMIS is great. You know, I like that we're able to sync up data at all different levels, but there might be data sets that we've got to put the hard work in and get now, because if we want to continue this program or if you guys need to make strategic shifts, we need those data sets to be able to tell us how we do that and where we go. So we look forward to having another conversation with you in the next few weeks. Thank you to you both and your teams for all of the hard work that you have put in, in designing and putting all this stuff out here. So, thank you. Mr. Clerk, we have a motion on the floor to close file on Communication 986.2. All those in favor please say "aye." Motion carries. Thank you ladies, have a great day. Page 23 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 Vote on Comm. 986.2: The motion to close file on Comm. 986.2 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Acting Chair Kierkiewicz—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Relinquish Chair: At this time, the Chair relinquished the chair to Chair Kimball. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Please, let the record reflect that I have assumed the Chair. Mr. Clerk, can we move on to Order of Resolutions, please. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order RESOLUTIONS: of Resolutions. Res. 593-22: STRONGLY URGES THE HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE, STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO PRIORITIZE, FUND, AND COMPLETE CRITICAL ROAD IMPROVEMENTS IN PUNA Requests collaborative prioritization to increase public safety, economic viability, and access for emergency vehicles through infrastructure improvements including the widening of Highway 130, extension of Railroad Avenue or Government Beach Road into Hilo, and the development of Puna connectivity and emergency access routes. Reference: Comm. 1065 Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of Res. 593-22. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. This resolution is pretty straight forward. We are moving into legislative session, and I wanted to make sure I had a tool in place to advocate to our State Legislature, the need to prioritize funding for critical road improvements in Puna, which have been historically underfunded. There have been a number of accidents that have caused folks to be in traffic for hours on end and it's to the detriment of our community. Page 24 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 So I wanted to make sure that the State Legislature was fully aware of the Council's full support in prioritizing investments for road improvements within the Puna community. And it all comes really back to quality of life. We've seen an explosion in population in the region over the last few decades, but certainly, especially during the pandemic. And so, getting to town for critical services like health care, getting to your job, getting to recreational assets, getting to school. It's taking a lot longer so it's impacting quality of life for people that are choosing to call Puna home. So just want to make sure that our State Legislature as well as Department of Transportation know that this is something that is a priority for Hawaii County, and also, I just do want to call and begin to have that conversation and with the Department of Public Works. But last term, our body did adopt a bill leveraging general obligation bonds to start a number of different critical road projects, one of them being connectivity emergency alternate access throughout the Puna region. And so, the money is there. I want to make sure that Public Works is prioritizing that work. Especially right now, when we think about all the federal money that's being invested in the Puna community following the eruption and the restoration of that infrastructure. Just want to make sure that we are having a very holistic viewpoint in terms of developing and designing critical roads to support the growing needs of the Puna community. So just looking for everyone's support on this measure. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz for putting this forward. I was actually hoping Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder would follow you, you know, as a representative from Puna and has the impact. But, I completely support this resolution. I think this legislative session, there'll be a lot of discussion around how we braid a lot of our infrastructure monies. And this particular resolution is, as you mentioned, kind of something in hand that indicates to the Legislature there's support for providing hard infrastructure like the improvement of our roads, especially in our Puna district. One thing I do want to call out in addition to what you've outlined in Exhibit A, also is some discussion that I hope will happen at the legislative session around the use of our GE(General Excise), and expanding that need. We saw how critical and what kind of impact that money had to our mass transit system. And I think it was great demonstration of how funding can really help solve for our transportation needs. Page 25 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 I think this along with some of the other legislation that will happen this next legislative session will lend itself to how maybe we can even expand the use of that GE funding, not only for mass transit but our hard infrastructure like our roadways and really getting it into our rural communities that need it and provide the equity that we need around transportation. So thank you for advancing this. I will be supporting. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. We've been working on this Federal funding, we've been working on the State funding for a long time, and District 9, we've been working on getting our roads improved. The whole infrastructure just fits in line with what we need to get done. And you know, I'm very mindful of the conversation that say people coming out of Puna to support this. So, transportation is an economic generator. And if we can get that done, we're going to increase the overall economy of the Big Island, which we need to get done. So, I'm definitely going to fully support this going forward. Thanks for introducing. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Richards. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. The continued infill in Puna has just exacerbated every traffic problem that you can think of, as well as any other infrastructure issues that we have in Puna. I would hope that this resolution would not be necessary and that our State Legislators would understand what we need in Puna, given that one-third of the voting population lives in our district, respectively. With Ms. Lee Loy now representing part of HPP (Hawaiian Paradise Park) and being instrumental to installing that stoplight on Highway 130, Volcano Highway. Now that we have three good legislators pushing for improvements on State infrastructure, and other infrastructure in our district, I would hope we can make some good progress. Just recently, I was able to work with our Administration and work towards improvements on Stainback Highway, which is crucial, because we lack emergency access routes in times of need. Ms. Kierkiewicz's call out for our Puna emergency access network connectivity is absolutely crucial. It's been on our CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) list for decades. It's been funded to the tune of$11 million. Sorry, it hasn't been funded, it's been appropriated, but we've never actually allocated the funding. Page 26 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 I've sat here through two administrations and seen zero progress towards connectivity. And the overarching idea is creating more connections through these private subdivisions that would alleviate traffic concerns, better people's lives,just remedy a lot of these little frustrations that people in our district deal with, respectively, but more so, every part of our island deals with. So, both the resolution that's coming from Mr. Chung, which I thought was very fitting and this resolution, really tie in nicely to improving the lives of our residents in Puna, but more so, could be addressed towards our whole Island. So, I'd really like to see our State understand the significance of this. And I really think that unless they come and visit us and drive through traffic at 6:45 (p.m.). Although we're probably not unique. I mean you go to Honolulu and you drive H-1 highway, and we're probably a drop in the bucket to them, but for us, for Puna specifically, which is what we're addressing in this resolution, right, this would be huge for us. If Pana`ewa stretch, that portion of Highway 11 ever closed down, that's it. Puna's done. After that stoplight was installed at the Shipman Industrial area, traffic going home has turned into a three-hour nightmare. So again, this resolution is wonderful, and I would really hope the State sees the significance of this and puts some thought into this. I know everyone's interested, but hopefully, this kind of gets them moving and gets them rolling in the right direction. So thank you for bringing this forward. I will be supporting this today. And you called out a number of things that are real specific to Puna that we understand that other people may not. So mahalo, Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Is Corp. Counsel here? CHR. KIMBALL: She should be via Zoom. Judge Strance, are you on-line? MS. VILLEGAS: Hi. I suppose I have a simple question of legality. I mean this is a resolution urging the State. But this has been a challenging point of desire versus actual potential for, you know, there's been a number of conversations about allocating State or County funding to private roads, and it does directly impact the health and safety CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Villegas, I think that's the next resolution. This is about the public infrastructure improvements in Puna, and not the private roads issue. Page 27 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MS. VILLEGAS: Oh, got yah. Sorry, I got ahead of myself, so I'm going to put a pin in it and come back to this on the next round. Sorry about that, Judge Strance. CHR. KIMBALL: I think we'll get there quickly, so be ready for you very soon. Anyone else? Chair recognizes, Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I really appreciate everybody's support and comments here, and Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, I know you said this is very Puna specific, but I beg to differ. I think so many folks from across the State are finding Puna to be the last affordable mecca in the islands. And so, really, this is a statewide issue and we have to embrace this island-nation mentality of having to take care of every district of every region. Because we have folks from Kaneohe and Hanalei all moving to the Puna community. So legislators really need to recognize that we're taking care of their constituents too,just all live in a different part of the community. So really appreciate everyone's continued support on this. I don't think it's going to be like magic or anything. I mean, if you take a look at the exhibit,you have resolutions that were adopted from 2005. This is something that we've been working on for years and years and years, but I'm going to keep trying. Got to keep putting up the fight because it's worth it for community. We have to make sure we're getting our fair share, and I'm just hoping that this is just one more tool that we can be calling upon when we go to advocate for resources for our community. So thanks everyone for your support. Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Alright, I'll just chime in a few comments. Happy to support this moving forward to Council. I really just want to acknowledge how nicely crafted this is, because it doesn't propose as the only solution making the road bigger. It's infrastructure improvements, and you highlight the importance of mass transit and multimodal transit. We do know, that if you build it, they will come. So, the solution isn't always just make it bigger, because then you just get more traffic. And so, I like that you've left this open-ended enough, that those alternative solutions that might actually be better for the community; better for the environment are available options under there. So, thank you for being sensitive to that part of it. That's all I had to contribute, but we'll go ahead and move with the vote. All of those in favor of moving Resolution 593-22 to Council with a favorable recommendation please say "aye." Page 28 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 Vote on Res. 593-22: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 593-22 (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball —9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: When you're ready Mr. Clerk we'll go on to the next resolution, please. Res. 598-22: URGES THE HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE TO AMEND SECTIONS 46-16.8 AND 243-6, HAWAII REVISED STATUES, TO ALLOW FOR A PERCENTAGE OF GENERAL EXCISE AND FUEL TAXES GENERATED BY THE COUNTIES, PURSUANT TO THOSE STATUTES, TO BE USED FOR MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATE ROADWAYS THAT ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Reference: Comm. 1078 Intr. by: Mr. Chung Motion to Approve: Mr. Chung moved to recommend adoption of Res. 598-22. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Chung. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, I mean, you know, all of the recitals pretty much explain my thinking on this, but let me give a little bit of background. You know, probably around the year 2017, perhaps 2016, when the County Council was grappling with the issue of the GET (General Excise Tax). That was before Matt, Ashley, Rebecca, Heather, and Holeka were on board. But you know, we were having a tough time getting that half percent passed. So, I had reached out to the legislators, and I had a conference call with, I don't know if Lorraine Inouye was either the Transportation Chairman or Vice Chairman; and also, Ways and Means Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz. And you know, as a way of trying to see this thing through and make it more palatable for a broader range of Council people to support. You know, we looked into the possibility of allowing for those funds to you know, percentage of them like we're asking for here, to be used for private roads. Because, you know, this island does have a lot of private roads. And of course, a lot of them are serviced by roadway or maintenance associations. You know, that's going to have to be factored into all of this. Page 29 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 So, this is not something that just came up yesterday. It's been thought about for, you know, at least five maybe six years. And you know, I'm going to leave it to you guys too to try to do the heavy lifting on this, you know, to talk to the Legislature. Because you know, the Legislature had been closed to the public for about two to three years. Now might be the time. They did show some receptiveness to this, but it was shut down. I guess one of the reasons why it was shut down, maybe not the only reason, but it's because we didn't approve the GET, right, at that time? So it's something that, you know, even Donovan Dela Cruz had embraced at that particular point in time. I'm hoping that this can pass. It's merely a resolution asking them or giving them our thoughts. You know, I think I told you guys my experiences of going on Road F, basically on a weekly basis. And that roadI mean I'm just using that as an example, but there are roads like that throughout the island. I only got like two private roads in my district, okay. One up Country Club and one up Chong Street. And then, you know, they could use some help. We're not looking, you know, this is not contemplating a total reconstruction of roads or anything like that. Based on my conversations with people who live on, you know, these types of roads all they want is some kind of periodic maintenance. Filling in the holes with material, you know, so that makes it much easier. But, I wanted to point out at the very end, I just said, if for no other reason, you know, we need to provide for emergency services to these areas. And it's going to wreak havoc on our equipment, if you know, our first responders can't get there in a timely manner. So, this is just food for thought. You guys can approve or not approve it. As I said, my district only got two of these things. But I think it would behoove, you know, many of you to support something like this. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Chung. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Mr. Chung, thank you for bringing this forward because I think it is really important. I mean one of the bigger subdivisions in my district, it's been an ongoing thing from before I've been around. I just had an email out to DPW (Department of Public Works),you know, it's a privately owned road, but the developer has gone under, and street lights are out, no painting on the road. Stop signs get knocked down and who's to fix it? We're in a difficult place, so this might be really helpful for circumstances like that. So, thank you for bringing this forward. Look forward to supporting. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I'll be supporting this today, Mr. Chung. I think this is a good move, given not just the Puna district, Page 30 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 this really is Statewide and Countywide, specific to a Hawaii County issue that needs to be addressed. And if we can use—if the ability by the State was opened to the County to use, the funding source you've prescribed in this resolution that would be tremendous, absolutely tremendous for the residents in our private subdivisions. Like Mr. Inaba stated, when you have a subdivider that subdivided land in the 60's, 70's, you know before we had a Subdivision Code and creating these massive sprawling subdivisions with private roads maintained by them, the residents, they cannot take on projects like this. They need funding of a different magnitude. So this is a great effort, and I'll be supporting this. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Chair David. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair Kimball. Yes mahalo, Vice Chair Chung. As everyone knows, it is an island-wide issue. Ocean View has hundreds of miles of private roads that's being maintained by the association, and I think the fact that it's not a private road, in terms of only the residents can use it because they have a community center in these subdivisions. They have our Fire Department in these subdivisions. And so, I think this would really would help the entire island in its road crisis because it is a road crisis. I definitely will support this, and I'm just hoping with some of these funds, that our Department of Public Works will have some adequate staff and crew that they can, you know, take on this as well. So, I'm very hopeful, and thank you, Vice Chair Chung. I'll be supporting this. Mahalo. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair David. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. You know, as I read through the recitals, one thing that jumped out for me was all the different sources of funding that we have. And one, I know, that's not being talked about a lot is fuel tax, and my genuine concern around fuel tax is this body sets those rates. But as we move into more fuel efficient cars, no matter how much we collect through fuel tax will not be enough, because not as many people will be using as much fuel. So, this is a wonderful safety net, as we begin to navigate how to replenish and/or looking at different sources of funding, that we won't be collecting at such rates. Given fuel is going up, and so will collect those taxes, but as we move in more fuel efficient cars, I think the trajectory of that collection will go down. And so this will actually help us at that, which is why I can stand behind this as maybe that first step as we start really looking at, how do we pave our roads? Do we take infrastructure money from the bipartisan bill? Page 31 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 Do we, you know, use tools at the Legislature that's available to us; improve mass transit, whatever we have but for that purpose alone, I will be supporting this while urging our Legislature to expand that use of our funds will be critical in the years ahead. Thank you, Mr. Chung for advancing this. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Yes, Judge Strance, if I could call on your expertise? My question comes as to, you know, this conversation has been going on for decades. Much of it ties back to, as was stated, the creation of massive subdivisions without infrastructure at a time. That in retrospect, I have listened to a lot of conversations that question the wisdom of having done that based on what it's left us with and the disparity from those who live in those subdivisions and neighborhoods lacking support and resources. I wondered about the legality of that, because my understanding was, you know, County and State funds can't be allocated to private roads. I have in District 7, a number of private roads that are still used by the public. You know, there is some socioeconomic disparity in those neighborhoods versus Ocean View and those in Puna. But I `m just wondering how we continue to abide by the law and don't set ourselves up for, I don't know, for another hornet's nest. Is there some clarity you can provide as to the actual feasibility of this being a legal option? (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. STRANCE: I haven't completely researched that question. I didn't read the resolution as requiring that the County do the CHR. KIMBALL: Judge Strance, your audio's a little bit spotty, if you wouldn't mind. MS. STRANCE: How's that? I apologize. I haven't completely researched this issue. I mean, it was something that occurred to me when I saw the resolution. I didn't read the resolution as, requiring that the County perform the work or whether there'd be a fund set aside or some other granting purposes. I did think that the structure in how the money is used and by whom, would be something that would need to be worked out if this legislation were passed. Whether it would require an amendment of additional statutes. You know, we would need to evaluate that as well. But I saw this as a statement of intent to enlarge the authority and powers of County Government and to amend a specific provision around roads. Page 32 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 Whether more would have to be done in connection with this, I'm not sure, and we're certainly looking at what are all the different tools available to the County and our County's residents to access funds to address problems within the community, and that is a project that's ongoing. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, thank you. Sort of clear as mud. As the intention is there, and everybody's you know. I firmly agree with the intention, is that there are serious issues in Puna with access and roadways, especially magnified by the magma that came forth from the volcano a few years ago now and the recovery that is still in implementation for those that were drastically and really negatively affected. So I firmly support the intention. I just, once again, from a value standpoint, look at the broader perspective of making sure that we are very strategically and we're not setting ourselves up for an imbalance of allocation. I know that DPW already has challenges maintaining the roads we do have on the island. So, to add potentially hundreds if not thousands more miles of roadway, what that does to our department, and how that transfers potential priorities, and what that means for other public or private roadways. Yeah, I support the intention, but I have concerns. And I would be remiss not to mention that we are currently in a state of continued community meetings related to the potential eruption of Mauna Loa. So, we are in a fragile and vulnerable state in some of these capacities. So, as we continue to just navigate the potential or natural disasters and how we prioritize resources, I think that will be interesting continued conversations between County and State. So, thank you for your advice here, and thank you for those that represent these districts and continue to serve with passion and wholehearted determination to provide as many resources as possible for the safety, health, and wellbeing of these communities. Regardless the kind of wanking nature of the initial creation of these spaces, and you know, creating neighborhoods in Zone 1 and Zone 2. In retrospect, what was the wisdom there other than inexpensive land to sell? So, anyway with that I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Before I recognize you, Council Member Richards, I notice we have Mass Transit Administrator Andoh joining us. Was there any comments that you'd like to make on this resolution? Thank you. (Note: At this time, Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 33 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 MR. ANDOH: Good morning, Chair and Council. John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator. This has been kind of an emerging issue also with the Mass Transit Agency, and we've been working with Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder in regards to solutions to potentially offer in resolving this situation. One thing in working with our Deputy Corporation Counsel we're looking into, is there are Rural Service Transportation Grant Funds that could potentially be applied for. Myself and the Mayor had a meeting in Fern Acres earlier in the year about this issue as well and busses going on these roads. And one thing that we're looking into is, if we could apply for those funds in the next call for projects, perhaps developing like maybe some kind of grant program where these associations would apply for these funds managed somehow by the County, and they would provide the local match. Then it would be scored and awarded, and then they would be responsible for doing the work in accordance with the funding source that's allowed. And once the work is done then they would get reimbursed, that type of thing. So, looking at creative solutions that's allowable within State Law and working with our Corporation Counsel on that. Just my offer on that. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Administrator. And thank you for being here to add to this conversation. Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. I just wanted to add a little bit to Sue's comments about the fuel tax and the concern for that as we go forward. I know the State is already working on that. We started these conversations some years ago now. To have a mileage charge as opposed to a fuel tax charge. So I know that's in process right now. And to the point, I think everybody on the Council agrees, we all have private roads in our districts that need attention, and how we do that is a tough one. So, I know this is the first step to allow it, and then we have to come up with the guidelines that will select that going forward. So,just wanted to weigh in. Thanks, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Richards. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I wanted to recognize Mr. Andoh for that comment, because yes, I've been working with Fern Acres and their community association to try and figure a means of utilizing the GET funds towards Mass Transit projects because they serve a public purpose, despite being on a private road network. And interesting parallel, something that we were working on was using Recovery Funding, and in that process with meeting with folks from R&D (Research and Development) and Douglas Le. You know, it was said that recovery dollars could not be used for construction maintenance of private roadways. Page 34 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 But, I think at the past Council Meeting this was Corporation Counsel, so we're all saying the same thing. In the past Council Meeting, looking over the resolutions that came forward from the recovery grants, a number of those grants actually were used towards the planning and redevelopment of private roadway networks, which I thought was a very interesting parallel to being told we can't do it, but then using Federal funding to do road projects in recovery areas. That was a very interesting parallel where we're using public dollars towards private roadways. So, there's definitely some wiggle room there, but mainly I just want to mahalo you for helping trying to find a way to get some funding in these communities. Because the reality is they just need help, and the majority of law sets lock them out of the potential funding at all levels, because you're a private roadway. But I don't think that when we think about a private subdivision, we don't necessarily have a mental picture of 3,000 to 4,000-lot subdivisions encompassing hundreds of acres in very, very rural areas, yeah, I don't think people put those two together. But, thank you again for everything that you've done to date in trying to help find solutions instead of finding roadblocks, which has been kind of the norm for my terms in Council. MR. ANDOH: We have to put the question to Federal Highways Administration in relation to, like those Rural Service Transportation Grant Funds be used for private roadways that serve a public benefit. The definition is a bit vague, so we need some guidance from them before we can even consider applying for those funds. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Again, that would be huge. That would just be an amazing pot of funding to apply towards projects like this, to folks who need it. I mean, I couldn't think of anything bigger for our subdivisions. And like, you've heard from all the Council Members, we all have those private subdivisions. It's not just Puna. Maile has them in Ocean View. Tim has them in Kohala. Ashley has them; Heather's got them. Rebecca, so we all have them. So finding any funding we can put towards private roadways would just be an amazing asset. And that really just brings us back to Mr. Chung's resolution. So, thank you, Mr. Andoh. Just wanted to recognize you and your efforts. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Council Member Chung, thank you so much. This resolution is kind of a moonshot, yeah? But when you said, Donovan Dela Cruz, Senator Inouye, they were all receptive. Okay, I felt alright, we get fighting chance maybe to at least get something introduced and to start the really important conversation. Page 35 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 So, I'll be supporting this. I mean I live in HPP, that's 131 miles alone of private road. That's a lot of mileage that we are asking community members to maintain with annual road maintenance fees. It's not enough, and so many folks are cutting through that subdivision to get onto the main highway treating it like public roads. So, if there's a way that we can start the conversation at the State Legislature and tweak the statute little bit to provide for some funding to go towards these private roads, I'm all on board for that. So, thank you. I'll be making this another one of my priorities this coming legislative session. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Council Member Chung. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, thank you. Let me just tell you what I envision on this thing, although I didn't put it within the recitals, where the Legislature if they see fit, will include, you know, some provision within these two State statues which would allow for the use of those funds to be—and I'm thinking maybe like two percent, three percent, or whatever. I mean, some kind of small percentage to be used for privately-owned roadways that are open to the public, but they would also have a further provision that would direct the counties or the county councils to prepare ordinances relating or maybe defining how those monies will be used somehow. I mean it has to fall back on the counties. And then that's where it gets to Ms. Villegas' point, a very valid point. You know, we have to look at how we allocate these funds, right? I mean, we have to do it responsibly, and that's where the County Council come in and try to use a real responsible balancing approach to all of this. You know, it's really up in the air, but thing about it is this, it's got to get this things through. I think, you know, we have the necessary resources on this Council to go over there to the Legislature and do the lobbying, the heavy-lifting, and you know, hopefully, they will see fit to giving that small amount of help to private roadways. You know, I purposely just used the word maintenance here, because what I also envisioned is maybe for some subdivisions, the County could provide material for their associations to go and do the work. I don't know how this thing is going to look, you know, if it does pass at all, but I know this, our County, I don't want to speak for anybody. But I know our County Highways people would really welcome the opportunity of trying to help these types of communities, but they're constrained because they can't use their resources on private roadways. So that's all I'm going to say about that, but you know, hopefully this can pass and then you guys can go ahead and try to do what you guys do best. Thank you. Page 36 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Chung. Chair David. MS. DAVID: Yes, final comment. Thank you Mr. Chung for making that note. What I do want to mention is that regardless I personally feel that we as a County, having approved these subdivisions without any infrastructure decades ago, I think we have a responsibility to help the communities that live within those subdivisions. Given the legal questions that I believe Corp. Counsel will be establishing, I just personally feel that, we are accountable in helping with the maintenance of these roads, as Mr. Chung has stated because we had a role in approving these subdivisions way back in the day without any infrastructure, or you know, consideration for this. So, that's my final comment. Mahalo. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair David. Anyone else? Alright, thank you. I'll just conclude by saying, you know, I'm also going to support this today, primarily because it has to do with home rule, and gives the authority to the County to determine what to do with these funds. As I recall, last session there was at least one bill that actually put the maintenance of private roads on us, but didn't actually provide for any funding. So, let's make sure they give us the opportunity to use the Highways funding and the Fuel Tax funding if that's something that comes down the line. I do think that which roadsI think the process, as you mentioned Council Member Chung, would have to be guided by ordinance at a later point. It is actually fairly complex. We do have a significant number of roads that are being paved on a 30-year cycle. I have over a third of those in District 1 alone. We didn't even talk about roads in limbo, which we are not maintaining to anything but their current standard. So, I think that issue becomes much more complete, but because this is a home rule resolution, I'll be supporting it. I'll go ahead and move forward with the vote. All of those in favor of moving Resolution 598 forward to Council with a favorable recommendation please say "aye." Vote on Res. 598-22: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 598-22 (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball —9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. We have a motion to adjourn. Page 37 GOREDC-35 November 1,2022 ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 11:32 a.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: We are adjourned at 11:32 a.m. Thank you. Approved: 11/4f 1Ms Heather L. Kim all, Chair ( G veate) rnment Operations, Relations, and Economic Development Committee HK/dt Page 38