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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2023-05-03 2022-2024 Hawaii County Council 11th Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii May 3, 2023 INVOCATION: Senior Pastor Sunny Ahn of Kona United Methodist Church gave the morning's invocation. CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at ORDER: 9:04 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Vice Chair Ms. Cindy Evans, Member(via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member(via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member PLEDGE OF The Chair directed the Council to the next order of business, Pledge of ALLEGIANCE: Allegiance. (At this time, County Clerk Jon Henricks led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.) CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. At this time, before we get into public testimony, we do have a full agenda today. I wanted to give everybody a sense of our timing. We're going to start with our reports, go to the resolutions that are not CRF (Contingency Relief Fund)-related, then bills for first and second reading, with the exception of Bill 43 which we're going to hold till the end so that our Administrator and Deputy Administrator from RPT (Real Property Tax) might be able to join us. I also wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that Council meetings are formal public hearings governed by Robert's Rules of Order for both procedure and decorum. And as a matter of decorum, it is generally expected that individuals who provide public testimony conduct themselves in a manner that is both respectful and professional, and refrain from personal attacks or profane or derogatory language. So we ask all of our testifiers today, in advance, please Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 keep your comments to your positions on the merits of the matter at hand so that we can have constructive dialogue in a respective environment for all attendees. Thank you very much. PETITIONS, The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Petitions, MEMORIALS, Memorials, Certificates of Merit, and Expressions of Condolence. CERTIFICATES OF MERIT, AND (There were none.) EXPRESSIONS OF CONDOLENCE: STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Lolini Latoa(Penny Gintu spoke Res. 137-23 (Comm. 237); and for Ms. Latoa): Res. 151-23 (Comm. 251), in support. (representing `Ohana Wa`a Laulima) Renee Godoy: Res. 153-23 (Comm. 253), in support. (representing Friends of First Responders) Michaela Ikeuchi: Res. 163-23 (Comm. 269), in opposition. (representing HULI PAC) Jon Olson: Res. 163-23 (Comm. 269), comment. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Mr. Araceley. We'll move, now, to business of the day. As I said, we will start with the reports, please, Mr. Clerk. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the of Business: following items were taken out of order: GOEAC-36 NOMINATION OF ERIC P. GEE TO THE YOUTH COMMISSION (Comm. 185): Requires Council Confirmation by: May 13, 2023 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Page 2 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on GOEAC-36: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 36. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: The nomination of Eric Gee is confirmed. Thank you. GOEAC-37 NOMINATION OF JULES DUDOIT TO THE SALARY COMMISSION (Comm. 187): Requires Council Confirmation by: May 13, 2023 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Vote on GOEAC-37: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 37. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: The nomination of Jules Dudoit is confirmed. Thank you. GOEAC-38 NOMINATION OF CHEYDON A. NALEIMAILE-EVANGELISTA TO THE (Comm. 188): YOUTH COMMISSION Requires Council Confirmation by: May 13, 2023 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Page 3 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on GOEAC-38: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 38. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: The nomination of Cheydon Naleimaile-Evangelista is confirmed. GOEAC-39 NOMINATION OF LUAHIWA NAMAHOE TO THE SALARY (Comm. 189): COMMISSION Requires Council Confirmation by: May 14, 2023 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 39. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion? MS. LEE LOY: Chair, like Committee, I will be recusing myself from this. She's a family member. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you very much, Council Member. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on GOEAC-39: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 39 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—8. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: Council Member Lee Loy — 1. CHR. KIMBALL: The nomination of Luahiwa Namahoe is confirmed. Page 4 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of RESOLUTIONS: Resolutions. Res. 74-23: URGES AWARENESS AND PLEDGES SUPPORT TO PROTECT NATIVE HAWAIIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION Seeks to increase awareness of the Holoi A Nalo Wahine `Oiwi: Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women and Girls Task Force Report, and encourages the community to promptly recognize indications of sex trafficking and abuse and to immediately report any such instances to the proper authorities. Reference: Comm. 151 Intr. by: Ms. Kagiwada and Ms. Lee Loy Approve: GOEAC-40 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to adopt Res. 74-23 and Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 40. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. We had a really nice presentation and good discussion. I appreciate all your support on this and thank my colleague Council Member Lee Loy for co-sponsoring. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Echoing the comments of my colleague Ms. Kagiwada, but I would like to say she did the heavy lifting on this one. She and her staff wrote it, and I just jumped on board. So thank you for that hard work. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 74-23, please say "aye." Page 5 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 74-23: The motion to adopt Res. 74-23 and Governmental (Adopted) Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 40 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 74-23 is adopted. Res. 116-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FIRE DEPARTMENT Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with the option to extend for two additional five-year terms with Gerald M. Yamada Trust and Wendy M. Yamada Trust, for approximately 7,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at an estimated cost of approximately $17,600 per month. Reference: Comm. 211 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Approve: FC-42 Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 116-23 and Finance Committee Report No. 42. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion? I'm not sure if we have anybody over there in Hilo chambers from HFD (Hawai`i Fire Department). MR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: We do. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion, questions from folks? No? Okay. Chief Todd, would you like to say anything or just see if there's any questions? (Note: At this time, Fire Chief Kazuo Todd came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. TODD: I'm just here in case there's any questions. CHR. KIMBALL: Great. Thank you for being here. Any questions for the Chief? All right, seeing none, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 116-23, please say "aye." Page 6 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 116-23: The motion to adopt Res. 116-23 and Finance Committee (Adopted) Report No. 42 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 116-23 is adopted. Res. 117-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT TO ADD A COMMAND CENTRAL COMMUNITY MODULE TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S CURRENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with Motorola, with an approximate cost of$13,950 for the first year and $13,200 thereafter for a total cost of$66,750. Reference: Comm. 212 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Approve: FC-43 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 117-23 and Finance Committee Report No. 43. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion? MS. EVANS: Chair, I have a question. CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Is there anyone from Police? We have no one from the Police Department here. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. SAKO: I'm sorry, Police was here at Committee so we didn't realize they would be needed. Go ahead. MS. EVANS: Okay. The question I have is there's E911 (Enhanced 911) funding that Page 7 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. SAKO: Comes from the State. MS. EVANS: It comes from the State, but it's a huge pot of money. It comes out to Police and Fire and really helps them when they upgrade systems and stuff. Is there any money coming from E911 for this? MS. SAKO: On this particular one I'm not positive, but they do pay for pretty much our entire 911 system. I'm pretty sure they pay for the Pictometry one that was passed yesterday. It's possible part of this is also from E911, but I would have to confirm with them. MS. EVANS: Yeah, I'm very curious. I was very versed in E911 at one time. I think it's a great way for us to get money from the State for our Police. MS. SAKO: Yes, and we ask for pretty much everything we can from that fund. I believe they're going to be paying for a lot of the equipment and furniture going into the new dispatch center when that's completed. So anything relating to our 911 system, they've pretty much been covering. MS. EVANS: Great. Good to know. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Any additional questions, comments? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 117-23, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 117-23: The motion to adopt Res. 117-23 and Finance Committee (Adopted) Report No. 43 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 117-23 is adopted. Res. 118-23: CREATES ONE NEW WATER SAFETY OFFICER V AND ONE NEW CLERK III POSITION FOR THE HAWAII COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT Establishes positions to support the Fire Department's Ocean Safety Operations Branch. Reference: Comm. 214 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Approve: FC-44 Page 8 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 118-23: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 118-23 and (Adopted) Finance Committee Report No. 44. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 118-23 is adopted. Res. 119-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF ONE SUPER DUTY 4X4 TRUCK WITH UTILITY CABINETS INCLUDING AUTO CRANE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$7,000 to be used by the Construction Equipment Mechanic to perform repairs and maintenance on heavy equipment for the Solid Waste Division. Reference: Comm. 215 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Approve: FC-45 Vote on Res. 119-23: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 119-23 and (Adopted) Finance Committee Report No. 45. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 119-23 is adopted. Page 9 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 120-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF ONE SUPER DUTY 4X4 PICKUP TRUCK WITH UTILITY CABINETS INCLUDING AUTO CRANE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$4,700 to perform pump removal/installations, scheduled maintenance, and repair work at various pump stations and treatment plants for the Wastewater Division. Reference: Comm. 216 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Approve: FC-46 Vote on Res. 120-23: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 120-23 and (Adopted) Finance Committee Report No. 46. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 120-23 is adopted. If we can now go to Resolution 160-23. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the of Business: following items were taken out of order: Res. 160-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE FOR ONE DIGITAL MULTI-FUNCTION COPY MACHINE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$331 to be used at the department's Real Property Tax Division in Hilo. Reference: Comm. 264 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Waived: FC Page 10 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 160-23: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 160-23. (Adopted) Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 160-23 is adopted. Res. 163-23: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF LANCASTER AND NAMIE TOWN PURSUANT TO HAWAII REVISED STATUTES 46-7, TO FORM THE PACIFIC HYDROGEN ALLIANCE Allows for a collaborative relationship amongst the City of Lancaster in California, Namie Town in the Prefecture of Fukushima, Japan, and the County of Hawaii to work towards the decarbonization of energy systems by replacing fossil fuels with green electricity, green hydrogen, and biomass. Reference: Comm. 269 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Waived: FC (Note: The following were circulated: 1) Comm. 269.1, from Council Chair Heather L. Kimball dated May 2, 2023, transmitting the Memorandum of Understanding on the Formation of the Pacific Hydrogen Alliance; 2) Comm. 269.2, from Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder dated May 3, 2023, transmitting proposed amendments to Res. 163-23; and 3) Comm. 269.3, from Council Chair Heather L. Kimball dated May 3, 2023, transmitting proposed amendments to Res. 163-23.) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 163-23. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. We do have Mr. Adams, Director of R&D (Research and Development),joining us today via Zoom. There are no members of the Administration from the Mayor's office in our chambers here in Hilo. Are there any in Kona? CHR. KIMBALL: No, there are not, Council Member. Page 11 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. This resolution did garner a large amount of negative testimony, and it would have been good of them to be here. But I think—Mr. Adams, if you could provide us some background on this. Council Member Kierkiewicz was kind enough to let me know that you posted the memorandum of understanding or the agreement that we're looking to form that's on your website this morning, and we were looking it over. Give us some background on this. I think there's a lot of community concern that we're jumping into something that we may or may not be ready for, what we're doing, why we're meddling in energy when County policy is not energy policy. So give us some background on this. I'm trying to understand the community's concerns. (Note: At this time, Research and Development Director Douglass Adams came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ADAMS: Thank you very much. Hopefully you can hear me. Thank you, Chair, for hearing this communication and reviewing this resolution, as well as the rest of the Council. When we were addressing the focus that the Administration has, typically the things that you hear about are affordable living, sustainability, quality jobs and the training that's necessary for those, equity concerns. We also find ourselves concerned about diversity of generations. And, yes, it's true that we do not have, as a county, responsibility for energy generation or distribution, but we still have a responsibility to our citizens to make sure that what is provided is done so in a way that is moving us towards green and renewable energy so that we reduce our dependence on fossil fuel and imported fossil fuels. Hydrogen is one of those areas that we are taking a serious look at. You're aware of the H2Hub (Hawai`i Pacific Hydrogen Hub) application at the State. The energy office in the State just submitted an application early in April. We are part of the team that is part of that application, "we"being the County. We also have been working with these two jurisdictions that are part of this award that we received from the U.S. (United States) Department of Energy, which is called the H2 Twin Cities initiative. It's a five-year grant. It's not very much funding, but the purpose is to have jurisdictions that have been involved in hydrogen work, the development of hydrogen as a green energy source for both transportation and grid services, grid distribution, and share that with other jurisdictions that are looking towards the possibility of diversifying their generation's sources, as we are. The awarding of that grant back in November at COP27 (27h Conference of the Parties) by the Secretary of Energy to the three jurisdictionsNamie, Japan; Lancaster, California; and the County of Hawaii—was a significant event for all of us in that it gave us the ability to work together underneath the Department of Energy, but also an international ministerial on energy. Page 12 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 The resolution that's before you allows the County to work in a way with these other jurisdictions in a nonprofit organization called the Pacific Hydrogen Alliance. We are not obligated in any way under that as a part of that alliance, and under the organizing elements of that alliance to provide any type of funding that requires us to do any particular activities without first having come back to the Council for any types of requirements that we might have. None of that exists as a part of this memorandum. It is an attempt to ensure that the three jurisdictions understand that we are working together, sharing knowledge, developing the opportunities for education of our communities, engaging with our communities, not just telling but also receiving from our communities. It is about community engagement and collaboration. It's about our ability to transition from fossil fuel to green renewable energy sources; about our ability to transition from extraction to regeneration, which is key particularly when we are an island 2,500 miles from anywhere else on earth. So I appreciate the Council's review of the resolution and support of the County's efforts in moving our island forward in determining how Hawaii Island can achieve green energy independence. Again, the MOU (memorandum of understanding)provides no obligation on the County, particularly any financial obligation. But it does allow us to do those things that are collaborative with jurisdictions that are moving forward. As we have seen and continue to see, there's evidence already that diversifying energy generation sources is the way forward for the globe, but in particular for our community. I will obviously be happy to take any questions. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Director Adams. Just a follow- up question on what you just said, and thank you for being here. I do appreciate your time. I understand you are away for extenuating circumstances. Does the Pacific Hydrogen Alliance exist right now, or is this going to be forming the Pacific Hydrogen Alliance? MR. ADAMS: The alliance will be formed with the signing of the MOU on Friday. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So there's no website to go to for the Pacific Hydrogen Alliance. It doesn't exist yet, correct? MR. ADAMS: Correct, although the development of the website is imminent. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then is the focus for this hydrogen society focused on a renewable form of hydrogen, or is this focused on any kind of hydrogen we can get our hands on? Because, there is MR. ADAMS: No Page 13 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I have learned a little bit. I've understood there's a rainbow of colors of hydrogen. MR. ADAMS: Sure. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: From pink to gray to green, but each one of those signifying what the source of the hydrogen is. MR. ADAMS: Right. It is our commitment that the kind of hydrogen that would be generated on this island is green from green sources. We are not—it makes no sense to us that we would bring hydrogen here that is based on any type of fossil fuel source for the electrolyzing of that hydrogen. It needs to be done through green sources. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I appreciate that and thank you for being on today. Chair, I yield for other Council Members' questions. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Before I recognize anyone else, I just wanted to draw everyone's attention: In your pinkie folder, there is Communication 269.1, which as Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder mentioned the MOU so that you have that in front of you for this deliberation. Any additional comments or discussion? MS. KAGIWADA: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Director, for being here. I appreciate your time. My questions are really around some of the things that—the concerns from the public around process more than anything. So just to kind of get this information out to the public, I'm going to ask a few of these questions. One is if the grant was signed in November, I think the concern is why we had to rush this resolution through with only the one reading for this May 5h signing date. Why the rush? Why didn't we have the normal two hearings? MR. ADAMS: I appreciate that, Council Member. The development of the MOU, as you might imagine, went through three different jurisdictions—one international, one from another state. And the process of developing that pushed up against the timing associated with being able to come to the Council. We do appreciate clearly the Council's willingness to hear this at Council meeting prior as its initial hearing. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, so why does it have to be signed,just so I understand and so other people understand, by May 5h? Page 14 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. ADAMS: This is the first time that the mayors are having this is the summit, if you will, of the mayors of the jurisdictions that are part of this. So this is where they are gathering for this purpose. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So I guess, to me, this is why it was rushed through. It seems a little strange. But all right, we'll move on from there. A couple other questions. I guess this question is just for Corporation Counsel. I just want some verification that you also read this MOU as absolutely no obligation in any way, as the Director said, for our County at this point. Can you please come and just verify that? (Note: At this time, Corporation Council Elizabeth Strance came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. STRANCE: Thank you. Good morning. Elizabth Strance, Corporation Counsel. As you folks have seen from the draft of the agreement that was provided to you, there's a specific provision in the agreement that states "the parties shall not have any legal obligation under or by virtue of this MOU, including any obligation to enter into any definitive agreement or other contract, to provide any services, to disclose any information, to make any investment or pay any consideration or compensation, whether or not expressly described herein this MOU." So that's about as strongly stated as one can put it. I would just like to add that the resolution has a reference to Hawaii Revised Statutes 46-7, and that statute is the statute relied upon in seeking Council approval of this agreement. There's some question whether it was even required. The provision requires Council approval when there is going to be furnishing, expending, and receiving any funds or other assistance in connection with projects being or to be undertaken pursuant to the powers. And so, the agreement doesn't really there's no furnishing, expending, or receipt of funds. The reason it's before this Council is that the agreement calls for other jurisdictions providing mentoring to the County of Hawaii. So, in its broadest sense, that would be providing assistance. And the call for whether there is being a project undertaken in the broadest reading of the statute, that could be the formation of the alliance itself. So, I think in response to some of the transparency issues, this resolution is advising the Council of a relationship that's being created that may have bearing on projects in the future. So I just wanted to sort of set that matter of context. You'll notice on the draft agreement that you have, there's a little box that says, "approved as to form and legality." I have reviewed and approved the form. MS. KAGIWADA: Great. Thank you so much. So you're saying that, in a way, this was kind of an extra way to get information both to the Council and to the public that may or may not have been necessary but seemed like a good idea just because it was the start of a potential project or potential direction or exploration. Page 15 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. STRANCE: Yeah, I think it's appropriate to have the resolution; there's a relationship anticipated. But the meat of what is going to be happening, or at least the scope of this agreement that is provided to you in support of the resolution, really is conceptual and calls for the receipt of information by the County to better educate itself in receiving other information. It's not to say, and this is based on what Director Adams is saying, there is a broader relationship anticipated. And so I think it was appropriate to bring before the Council for transparency purposes. MS. KAGIWADA: I see. But just to underline, anything that would commit the County to any resources or funds going towards any of these hydrogen-based projects that may come out of this relationship will come before Council for approval. MS. STRANCE: Anything that would require County resources, I would say yes. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Terrific. Thank you so much. Director Adams, if we could just I think it would make me and maybe the public feel better if we could kind of just get your agreement that any of these things that do come to Council will go through the regular process with the appropriate number of public hearings, and follow the process without any waivers or breaches. If we could get that, that would I think make me feel better anyway. MR. ADAMS: Certainly, Council Member. Of course we commit to that. Frankly, this needs to be hand-in-glove between the Council and Administration as we move forward. These are big decisions. And our ability to find the kind of projects that are going to be both educational as well as potentially more substantive, it's going to be really important that we work together. This is climate and green renewable altogether for us. MS. KAGIWADA: Terrific. Lastly,just to give you the opportunity to talk a little bit. You said that this partnership will allow you to do more community engagement and get feedback from the community. Do you have actual plans for that, or is that still in the works? MR. ADAMS: So we have already been developing next community update sessions. We've met with some of your colleagues regarding our plan for that. So in the July/August/September time period, we'll be including where we are on this particular initiative with the community and receiving their comments and feedback about this. MS. KAGIWADA: All right. Thank you so much, Director, and thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. I know that there was somebody in the Hilo chambers that had wanted to make a comment. Page 16 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. EVANS: Thank you, Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I just want people to know that I cannot support the resolution as written, and I'll tell you my reasons. One is,just like Corporation Counsel said, we don't really need this. Their memorandum of understanding with relationships between different people can be done. He can have his limelight. They can sign it and have a great time, and it's going to be wonderful that we established relationships with other cities. I like it. I think there's real merit in that direction. But I think us, as a Council, putting this on paper and the way it's written, I think it's written real, if anybody's read this, it's just a few paragraphs. It doesn't really get into the detail. I loved Council Member Kagiwada's questioning. Your line of questioning was spot-on. The public wants to know what we're really agreeing to when we sign this. And if the clarity is not there right now in this ordinance, that people don't understand what we're really agreeing to, then I would say postpone it, bring it back in a couple weeks, and write it with clarity. Because, I think that's what we would normally do. I don't like the fact that we're being rushed to do this. And to say, "Yes, we need to be hand-in-glove,"then my big question is I can tell you how hard it is to get on people's calendars. You have three leaders from a city, a country, and our County. And they've known about this summit coming up for at least probably a month because they have to schedule airplane flights. They have to schedule hotel rooms. And to not have this in front of the Council a couple weeks ago, it's just very strange. Again, I'm going to say it doesn't need to be done. I think the Mayor can do his thing and it'd be great for us, but I don't think the Council should put their name on this at the time. I think, again, there's not enough clarity. I think the trust of the public is in question. And so for those reasons, I will be voting "no" on this resolution. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Council Member Kierkiewicz, since we're over there in Hilo, any comments? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes. Thank you, Chair. I want to first thank the Administration for working hard to advance one of the core themes of the Administration, which is to create a more sustainable and resilient Hawaii Island. I think this resolution is a step in that direction. I do think there are some stutter steps related to this particular alliance that has caused some consternation within the community and among the Council. But I think Director Adams and the Mayor both recognize the importance of engaging community early and often, as well as the Council. And so, in the future,just making sure that this is brought before us much earlier so that we don't feel like we're under the gun to just rubber-stamp something. Page 17 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 To the points that were made and raised by my colleagues Council Members Evans and Kagiwada, absolutely spot-on. In the future, because the Council and the community would appreciate having more details, I think having an exhibit which includes the MOU would be really helpful. I mean it's already posted on the R&D website. But if it could also be part of the public record so folks can review that for themselves, I think that would be extremely helpful. I'm going to be supporting this resolution. I'm actually really excited about Hawai`i's partnership with Lancaster and Namie and the importance of these particular towns, and the ability to share information and best practices as it relates to advancing hydrogen. I just think that because Hawaii County has also invested in hydrogen buses, we have to make sure that we are also investing in the infrastructure and technology to support this particular move. There's obviously going to be challenges ahead, but I think by working as a collective, we'll be much more efficient in problem solving. And so, again, I'm going to be supporting this. I think it has the potential to be a game changer in the energy industry. Hydrogen's clean, efficient, abundant, and can help us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. And so again, Director, Mayor Roth, appreciate your leadership in this arena. Thank you, Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Before I recognize anyone else, I believe Judge Strance has a response. MS. STRANCE: I'd just like to respond to Council Member Evans' comment about the Mayor could do it anyway. I disagree with that comment. I raised the question about whether it was needed, but in the end, the decision was made to submit the resolution to Council. And I would not be able to recommend to the Mayor that he sign the agreement in light of a"no"vote on the part of the Council. So I just wanted to clarify that, that in the end we felt it was appropriate under the statute, and that's why it's here. So it's not a needless exercise on your part. It's now required as part of the process. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Judge Strance. Over here to Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: First off, I want to echo the sentiments of my colleague Kierkiewicz in praising this Administration for their commitment to identification of and taking steps toward the County of Hawaii authentically becoming a greener county and utilizing more just getting us into the 21" century when it comes to utilizing green energy options and transitioning the ways that we operate. Unfortunately, I am deeply uncomfortable with the urgency behind this resolution. It feels oddly similar to an MOU that was put together by a prior administration regarding the County's participation in the standoff on the mauna. Unfortunately, I this is poor planning and scheduling. A whole year is a long time. Page 18 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 I concur with and support the recommendation of my colleague Ms. Kagiwada. This could be a great event, the signing of something like this, but the scheduling for May 5h was poor planning and scheduling. And for that, I think there needs to be a postponement of it. And I think in order to authentically prove to our community that we are being transparent and to avoid future the continued mistrust in government, we need to do everything in our power to make sure we are as transparent as possible. I just, for me and probably because I had a prior life in marketing, the term "hydrogen society" I could see being a red flag to a lot of people, freaking a lot of people out. There are concerns about the term "biomass"being used, especially with the current contentious science and competing stories about the efficiency and availability of clean energy through Huhonua. This seems to be a circumstance of what is being done and proposed is just as important as how it's being done and proposed. And it is imperative in circumstances like this in heightened times of community concern, that each and every opportunity for community to participate and provide their voices, their insights, have their concerns listened to, and authentically in time being provided the information they need in order to be more comfortable. I find that's really imperative here. The urgent pleas to vote down this resolution by members of our communities, all of our communities island-wide, who I consider to be the experts in the field of green energy, give me pause to pass this resolution. There are just too many things that feel uncomfortable, and it has given meI did not sleep well last night. The last couple of days have been really challenging because there's a part of me that wants to go "It's a resolution. It's just a resolution." But in this case, the fact that it's a resolution, it needs to be signed off by us in order for the signing to happen on the 5h. And there's so much mistrust within a community of people that I otherwise on so many things consider the people I turn to when I need some insight, some scientific clarification and clarity. I also don't want to err on the side of fear- based missing opportunities. But I don't see a miss here. I see a potential for a rescheduling and that's possible. And the signing can happen at another date, and this can go through the three readings at Council and eliminate the potential for mistrust. And that's where my heart and my na`au takes me now, which is different than I thought it was going to be a few days ago. Sothis job is dynamic and the perspectives are dynamic. But in trying to make the best decision I can make today, based on the information at hand, it does not seem absolutely critical that we pass this resolution today because the signing date was created and planned by those that want to have it on a date. But that's not written in stone, and it's not mandatory that it happen on that date. So I would ask for that to be postponed and for us to be able to follow this through. I just wasn't comfortable. I couldn't answer the Page 19 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 questions I was being asked because this hadn't come before us, and we hadn't had any time to discuss it. So I humbly and graciously am sharing that perspective and just asking for, in the future, that the Administration, which is operating under what I do believe is good intentions, pay more attention to the "how"because there are too many opportunities for perpetuation of mistrust and mistakes to be made in the process. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Anyone else here in Hilo? Kona? MS. EVANS: Chair? I wanted to ask CHR. KIMBALL: Let me just take—let's see if there's anybody else here in Hilo that have comments before I return toI'm sorry, here in Kona before we return to Hilo. Anyone? All right, go ahead, Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. Just a question for Corporation Counsel. CHR. KIMBALL: She's coming to the bench. Hold on a second. MS. EVANS: The question I have is more of a legal nature because this is a memorandum of understanding. So, in terms of it being a binding agreement, it rises to that level of being an agreement. So you do need this resolution to sign it. Am I correct? MS. STRANCE: There's a case law interpreting this. And in an abundance of caution, it recommended that Council approval be obtained for a lot of the reasons that are being discussed today. MS. EVANS: Okay. So just along that line then, so in this reso (resolution), it doesn't say it's a memorandum of understanding. It says it's an agreement. And the way I read it is it says that we're authorizing the Mayor, on behalf of the County, to enter into an agreement for the purposes specified above. So if I jump to the top, the purpose is to work with the City of Lancaster, to work with Namie Town, which is in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan, to implement hydrogen project deployment to advance towards a hydrogen society. There's a lot of words there like "work together to implement." And so I think that in itself seems like a really wide term that could be subject to a lot of interpretation. And so I think, without specificity, I am still thinking and knowing that I will be voting "no"because of that. That's another reason. But I just needed clarity so I had to ask you that question. Thank you. Thank you, Judge Strance. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Returning here to Kona. Comments? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, if I could? Page 20 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 CHR. KIMBALL: Sure, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. Just in response to something that was said earlier, and touching on two of my colleagues' comments. What I learned in my first term in office was HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statutes) Section 46-7, which is the power granted to the counties by the State after statehood, requires that any agreements entered into by the Administration be done in a manner that's prescribed by the County. In this case, in our County, this is the check and the balance. The Mayor wants to enter into an agreement with but needs the approval of the Council, as required by State law. And so that's that Section 46-7. We see these all the time. Resolution to form an agreement pursuant to HRS 46-7. That is the required mechanism that's always in place, which is the check and balance which allows for public participation. And I appreciate that, and I also appreciated learning it and why it's required. So that's just for my colleagues. I'm going to be supporting this resolution today. I did receive a huge amount of negative testimony, and I would like to see perhaps some members of our Administration besides Mr. Adams catching all the flack today. I'd just like to see or hear from either Director or Managing Director or Mayor their comments to understand the rush. I know Mr. Adams has done a good job today answering those questions, but I really do feel like, given the concern, that would have been a priority today. Regardless, I will be supporting, but I do, I have to mention this, I do have an amendment coming. A very simple floor amendment is being processed as we speak. And if there are no further questions from the Chair or from the Council, I would ask to table the measure until a later time today. I'll be making that motion if there's no further comments. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. We'll pause on that for a moment. We have a comment here from Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: I definitely appreciate a lot of the comments that my colleagues have been making about the sort of imperfect way in which this was brought forward in sort of last minute, the nature of it. So that definitely could have been improved. However, I do feel that it is important that we explore multiple forms of moving towards a more green economy. Hydrogen is not an energy source. It's just a storage substance. So it's not going to save us. It's just one of many possibilities that could be deployed to get us to where we want to go, and it may not even turn out to be the way that we go. But it does have some capacities that electric storage and batteries don't have. So, for certain purposes, it may be the best solution. Page 21 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 In the vein of wanting to allow us to explore green energy deployment, I would be supporting this but I also look forward to seeing what my colleague Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder brings forward. With that, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. I appreciate everybody's opinion here. This is a tough one. I also just want to state, for the record, that for me this isn't about hydrogen. If anybody knows me, I have a really strong sense of belief in pursuing and exploring other modes and mediums for energy creation outside of the fossil fuel industry. I have a quick question for Director Adams. Director Adams, does this MOU, this project, anything involved in this piece of legislation, is it tied in any way to Huhonua or Honua Ola or whatever name they're going by this week? MR. ADAMS: I'm sorry. I apologize for the sound, Council Member. MS. VILLEGAS: No worries. MR. ADAMS: This is not associated with Huhonua or anything connected to that facility or the operation of that facility. This is about hydrogen. This is about mentoring and maintaining as a part of the initiative that the DOE (Department of Energy)put out there and that we as a part of the triumvirate of jurisdictions applied for. It's about learning from each other and collaborating. It is not about Huhonua whatsoever. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you for answering that. My other question, then, is can the signing of this MOU be postponed? MR. ADAMS: Given that all mayors are present, I doubt that they will do that. MS. VILLEGAS: But they could. MR. ADAMS: If you're asking me, it's not my understanding that they will postpone it, but I haven't asked that question specifically to the organization. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, but my question was if they can. If it would be a viable option to postpone it. MR. ADAMS: Would they? I'm not sure that they would. I believe that they would Page 22 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. VILLEGAS: If they could. If they could, like it would not destroy or ruin or be a major setback to postpone the signing of this document in order for this to go through proper channels with Council. MR. ADAMS: I believe that my answer to your question is that this would be a black eye for the County of Hawaii, given the efforts that have been put on to bring the three mayors and their contingents to the summit that will be starting tomorrow in Lancaster, with the signing due on the 5h. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. I find that super unfortunate because I feel like, no matter what, I'm getting a black eye in this, in a circumstance that could have and should have been avoided. So, with that, I'll yield. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Listening to my colleagues and very curious as to what my colleague Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder will be advancing, I would love to see a lot of that. And maybe just to move the agenda along, if there's no more discussion, I would love to table this matter and ask, offline, for Judge Strance to take a look at some areas that I had concern with, which she will need time for. I would love to bring this back up at either the end of the agenda or CHR. KIMBALL: Yeah. If there's no further comments at this time, I'll entertain a motion to table this item till the end of the agenda. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: With the consent of the Council, a motion to table Resolution 163-23 to the end of our agenda today. MS. LEE LOY: Second. MR. HENRICKS: Before you proceed, a table's just a table. There's no time. You could just take it off the table when the Council makes a motion. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you for the clarity, Mr. Clerk. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: All right. So, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder has made a motion to table this item. We have a second by Council Member Lee Loy. Page 23 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to table Res. 163-23. Table: Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following (Approved) voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Director Adams, I hope it's not too much of an imposition. I do have your cellphone number so I can text you when we're going to take up this item again, and hopefully you can join us if you're available. MR. ADAMS: Chair, I'll make myself available at the Council's behest. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Director. All right, let's move back real quickly up to Item 150-23, which is Council Member Inaba's CRF request. Res. 150-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PURCHASE RESCUE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES FOR THE MAKALEI FIRE STATION Transfers $16,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 8); and credits to the Hawaii Fire Department, Fire Auxiliary Service Equipment account. Reference: Comm. 250 Intr. by: Mr. Inaba Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to adopt Res. 150-23. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. I believe our Chief Todd is in Hilo chambers. Last year, I was able to k6kua Station 7 —Kailua with some of their needs, and this time around trying to help the other station that services our North Kona region at Makalei. So, in talking with them, Chief Todd, I don't know if you want to quickly explain what this resolution is fulfilling. (Note: At this time, Fire Chief Kazuo Todd came forward to address the members of the Council.) Page 24 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. TODD: Thank you very much. My understanding on this was we're looking to take the funds for this to pick up an extrication tool, and this is a specialized tool that would allow us to make entry to cars and cut and do a few other things, if I'm remembering this one correctly. MR. INABA: Thank you for being there. I just ask for my colleagues' support in getting this tool for a station that services quite a large area of North Kona. Mahalo. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Vice Chair Inaba. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 150-23: The motion to adopt Res. 150-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball —8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chief Todd, for being here. Resolution 150-23 is adopted. And then if we could, again, go quickly to Bill 38. Bill 38: ADOPTS A PAY PLAN FOR PERSONS EMPLOYED BY THE COUNTY OTHER THAN THOSE WHOSE PAY IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, DESIGNATES PAYROLL PERIODS, PAY DAYS, PRESCRIBING REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO OFFICIAL FIDELITY BONDS, AND REPEALS ORDINANCE NO. 22-51 AND ALL AMENDMENTS THERETO, SAID ORDINANCE TO BE KNOWN AS THE SALARY ORDINANCE OF 2023 Establishes rates of compensation for appointed employees in the Legislative Branch and the Office of Housing and Community Development, the County Physician, Student Helpers, and Senior Community Services Aids for various County agencies, and reflects the current minimum wage of$12 per hour through December 31, 2023, and the minimum wage increase to $14 per hour effective January 1, 2024. Reference: Comm. 167 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) First Reading: April 19, 2023 Page 25 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Bill 38: Ms. Galimba moved to pass Bill 38 on second and final (Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball —8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Bill 38 is adopted at second and final reading. At this time, can I ask that you start at Bill 42 for bills at first reading. Bill 42: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 22-63, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2023 Increases revenues in the Fund Balance From Previous Year account($47,000); and appropriates the same to the Golf Course Other Current Expenses account to cover higher than anticipated utility expenses. Reference: Comm. 213 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Approve: FC-47 Vote on Bill 42: Mr. Inaba moved to pass Bill 42 on first reading and adopt (Approved) Finance Committee Report No. 47. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Bill 42 is approved at first reading. If I can ask you to go to Bill 46. Page 26 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Bill 46: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 22-64, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2022 TO JUNE 30, 2023 Adds the Mass Transit Bus Stop ADA (Americans with Disabilities) Compliance— Federal Highway ($1,000,000) and County ($250,000)projects to the Capital Budget. Funds for these projects shall be provided from Federal Grants Receivable ($1,000,000) and General Obligation Bonds, Capital Projects Fund—Fund Balance and/or Other Sources ($250,000), and would be used to design and construct ADA pads for passengers to board buses at safe locations and install other improvements for ADA compliance. Reference: Comm. 265 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Waived: FC Note: Requires 2/3 vote of the entire membership to amend,pursuant to Section 10-6(e), Hawai`i County Charter Vote on Bill 46: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 46 on first (Approved) reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Bill 46 is approved at first reading. Bill 47: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 22-63, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2023 Increases revenues in the Fund Balance from Previous Year account($700,000); and appropriates the same to the Highway Maintenance Administration Equipment account to cover unanticipated expenses for equipment. Reference: Comm. 266 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Waived: FC Page 27 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Bill 47: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 47 on first (Approved) reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Bill 47 is adopted at first reading. Bill 36: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 22-63, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2023 Appropriates revenues in the Federal —Block Grant account($2,680,506) and the Block Grant—Program Income account($100,000); and appropriates the same to the following accounts: West Hawaii Domestic Abuse Shelter Phase 2 Improvements ($252,615), Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council — Certified Kitchen Conversion ($580,001), Hamakua Youth Community Center Phase 2 Improvements ($650,000), Hale `Ohana Domestic Abuse Shelter Phase 2 Improvements ($162,000), Mental Health K6kua—Hilo Hale Residence Improvements ($175,000), Ka`u and Puna Volunteer Fire Station Brush Truck Acquisition ($370,000), Mental Health K6kua—Van Transportation Acquisition ($74,000), and Administration, Planning and Fair Housing ($516,890). Reference: Comm. 165 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) First Reading: April 19, 2023 Vote on Bill 36: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 36 on second (Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Bill 36 is adopted at second and final reading. Page 28 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Bill 37: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 22-63, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2023 Increases revenues in the Fund Balance From Previous Year account($3,500,000), and appropriates the same to the General Excise Tax Mass Transit Other Current Expenses account. Funds would be used to cover additional costs related to fixed route operations. Reference: Comm. 166 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) First Reading: April 19, 2023 (Note: Comm. 166.1, from Finance Director Deanna Sako dated April 26, 2023, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 37, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 37 on second and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion? MS. LEE LOY: Chair, there's a pinkie. If there's no discussion on this bill, I'd like to move in that amendment. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you very much. Go ahead. Motion to Amend: Ms. Lee Loy moved to amend Bill 37 with the contents of Comm. 166.1. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion? I believe we have folks from Finance available. MS. EVANS: She's on her way. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. SAKO: Sorry. Hello. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy has the floor, and we just have some questions I think for you, Director Sako. MS. SAKO: Good morning. MS. LEE LOY: I don't have any questions, but, Director Sako, this is your Communication 166.1. Page 29 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. SAKO: Oh, sorry, yes. Okay, so we had submitted the bill earlier, and then as we went through the records for Mass Transit, now that there's been a change in Administration, we realize that they are going to be short at the end of the year. They don't have enough. So we thought this would be a good time to amend so that they have sufficient money to pay all the vendors that they owe money to. But happy to answer any questions. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director. Any additional questions for the Director on the amendment? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sorry. Thank you. Director, thanks for being here. Did I just hear you say Mass Transit needs to pay its vendors? MS. SAKO: Well, yes. I mean, you know, we do enter into MS. KIERKIEWICZ: It's May. MS. SAKO: It's May. They owe some of their vendors back to January and February, so we're trying to help them get caught up and keep up. But they have had a change, and so they are doing the best that they can and moving forward. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. And your department is going to help them get all caught up. Thank you so much. MS. SAKO: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I know you guys are really stretched. But I just wanted to make sure I was hearing you correctly on this. And so this infusion of cash, the 3.5, is going to be enough? MS. SAKO: So the 3.5 plus the amendment of the 2 million should be enough. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sorry, I don't think we have that here in Hilo, that communication. That was my question, was what the full amount was. MS. SAKO: Okay. So, yeah. So that would make it a full 5.5 million that we're adding in so that we can cover all the various price increases in the contracts and other funding that we owe. We didn't want to tap into their equipment account because we still have various bids out there. So we didn't want them to be short on their match for any of the buses. So this will help them with their operation piece. Page 30 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. So this is mostly to ensure that we have drivers for our buses, right? MS. SAKO: Primarily drivers, yes. There's some other contracts as well. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Thank you for the clarification. A bit alarming. I mean I appreciate all the work that had been happening within Mass Transit, but have some concerns around bills not being paid. Thank you for staying on top of this. MS. SAKO: Yeah. And so the team in Accounts went through line by line to kind of make sure we are MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Caught up. MS. SAKO: Caught up and getting through it. There's still some invoices that Mass Transit's reviewing, but we want to make sure we get caught up. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you for your diligence and providing them with support. Chair, I yield. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: I'm actually going to recommend we take a five-minute recess here to make sure that you folks in Hilo have a copy of this communication. It's a big change in the value, so I want to make sure you have all the information in front of you before we move to the decision on the amendment. And I see a thumbs up from Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Okay, we are recessed until 10:35. Recess: At 10:29 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 10:36 a.m. CHR. KIMBALL: We are still on the matter of the amendment to Bill 37. Hopefully all of our folks in the Hilo chambers have the amendment now in hand. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We have received it. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Great. All right, with that, any further discussion on the amendment? Seeing none, all those inoh, go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, sorry. CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Page 31 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Just noting it's a $2 million change coming from our GET (General Excise Tax) fund balance. Correct, Director? MS. SAKO: That's correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then just about where we didn't pay. Or where are we at? MS. SAKO: So a couple different things happened. There was a rate increase scheduled into the option year of the bus drivers' contract that didn't get picked up in the budget, as well as, when our buses are down, we actually lease more buses from Roberts (Hawai`i). So that's been costing us more. We do have several bus bids out, so as soon as those are awarded, that will start the timeline for delivery. But it's still most of those are probably two years out from being delivered just because of the manufacturing delays that the country has been experiencing. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then on that note, too, what I like about our agreement with Roberts is we can step it down when we have more buses. So we can kind of move within our contract, which is nice. We're not locked in. MS. SAKO: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: But until we get the buses, we're stuck. So this is to catch us up on what we owe, and to make sure we continue service to the community? MS. SAKO: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, I'll be supporting this today. Thank you. MS. SAKO: Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you for being here to answer questions as well. I yield, Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Any other discussion on the amendment? Seeing none, all those in favor of amending Bill 37 with the contents of Communication 166.1,please say "aye." Page 32 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 37 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 166.1 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Kimball —8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Motion to Suspend Ms. Lee Loy moved to suspend Council Rule 23 to waive Council Rules: the holdover for the substantive amendment of Bill 37. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KIMBALL: Any comments? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I have one more thing. Director, I would be remiss if I just didn't share publicly because this is a pretty significant, like, amendment and infusion of cash into Mass Transit, which has historically I think been a CHR. KIMBALL: Hold on, Council Member Kierkiewicz. We have just a quick motion on the floor to suspend our rules before we go back to MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Oh, sorry about that. Yes. Aye. CHR. KIMBALL: No problem. It's hard when we're in two locations. We're doing the best we can. Okay. So we have the motion on the floor to suspend rules. I'll take the vote on that. All those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to suspend Council Rule 23 to waive the Suspend Council holdover for the substantive amendment of Bill 37 was Rules: carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: We can go back to the discussion of the main motion, and I'll take it back to Council Member Kierkiewicz. Page 33 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate that. Director, as I was saying, I would be remiss if I just didn't say, for the record, because I think, historically, Mass Transit has been a little bit troubled. And with this transition to potentially new leadership, will you work with that team and whomever is selected to just strengthen fiscal and internal controls? We certainly want to make sure that going forward—I know you, especially,want to make sure that there is no abuse of power of the County purse in these situations. MS. SAKO: So, yes. So we definitely are working with them. I believe they had a new accountant start on Monday. So that will help as well,just to help bolster their existing staff. They did have a lot of vacant positions. So those positions are getting filled now, and hopefully, we'll be able to work with them and do additional training so that the controls are in place. We have been working with them quite a bit in the last couple of months. So, hopefully, it will be getting better soon. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. That's reassuring. And I think the staff is great, but what I'm mostly concerned about is administrators just having free rein. And so I look to your guidance and expertise to just make sure everyone is kept in check. Thank you. Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Any further discussion on Bill 37, as amended? Seeing none, all those in favor please say Ic aye. Vote on Bill 37: The motion to pass Bill 37, as amended to Draft 2, on Draft 2 second and final reading was carried by the following voice (Adopted) vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball–9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Bill 37 is adopted, as amended. At this time, can I ask you to return to the top of the list for resolutions? We'll handle all of our CRFs. Everybody, fasten your seatbelts. Here we go. Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: Page 34 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 132-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO VIBRANT HAWAII FOR ITS CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM Transfers $7,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 6); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Hawaii County Resource Center account. Reference: Comm. 232 Intr. by: Ms. Galimba Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 132-23. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: This is funding going to Vibrant Hawaii to fund, basically, technical assistance for the nonprofits in Ka`u and South Kona. We're going to be doing a needs assessment and then help the nonprofits out there to draft grant proposals and put in applications, and generally build up the capacity of the nonprofits in my district. I ask for my colleagues' support. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Our districts have borders with one another, with South Kona and transitioning into Ka`u. I suppose the question that I had here was, so this $7,000 goes directly to Vibrant Hawaii for their administration or the fee gets paid to them, as opposed to the nonprofits they're going to support, so it's okay for their services? MS. GALIMBA: Right. So one of the issues I've been seeing in my district is that we have some nonprofits, but they generally are just focused on doing things and don't actually have the capacity to support themselves doing it. So this is going to be funding going through Vibrant to have someone help these nonprofits to actually be able to ask for money and, yeah, increase their capacity. It's almost kind of, yeah, some training wheels, exactly. MS. VILLEGAS: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. MS. GALIMBA: Some training wheels for my nonprofits. Unfortunately, a lot of them are just really focused on doing things rather than the, sort of, back office technical capacity to continue. MS. VILLEGAS: Gotcha. Yes. Thank you. Okay. I suppose I had some concerns because it was my understanding that that's what Vibrant Hawaii is Page 35 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 supposed to be doing anyway, and that they have access to lots and lots of funding. So I'm in total support of this. I just I suppose I look for some checks and balances in the amount of money that does go into that organization, and that things that are supposed to be provided by their already existing funding. But I want to make sure that the nonprofits in your district get all the support they need because we, yeah, we need that. So thanks for answering my questions. Just kind of a little red flag went up for me. So thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 132-23: The motion to adopt Res. 132-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 132-23 is adopted. Res. 133-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE HONPA HONGWANJI MISSION OF HAWAII TO COMPLETE A FILM DOCUMENTARY ON SUGAR PLANTATION LABOR ORGANIZER KATSU GOTO Transfers $4,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Big Island Film Office account. Reference: Comm. 233 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 133-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Asking for my colleagues' support. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 133-23,please say "aye." Page 36 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 133-23: The motion to adopt Res. 133-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 133-23 is adopted. Res. 134-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE ISLAND OF HAWAII YMCA FOR ITS FAMILY VISITATION CENTER PROGRAM Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 234 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 134-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: With my colleagues' allowance, I'll just mention this is something I fund every year; really supportive of the YMCA and this particular program. So I ask for your continued support. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 134-23: The motion to adopt Res. 134-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 134-23 is adopted. Page 37 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 135-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE WAIAKEA HIGH SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER STUDENT ASSOCIATION FOR THE 2023 WAIAKEA HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT GRAD NIGHT Transfers $3,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 235 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 135-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Asking for my colleagues' support, and congratulations again to the Class of 2023. CHR. KIMBALL: Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 135-23: The motion to adopt Res. 135-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 135-23 is adopted. Res. 136-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HOSPICE OF HILO FOR ITS 19TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF LIFE EVENT Transfers $1,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 236 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Page 38 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 136-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: I ask for my colleagues' support. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 136-23: The motion to adopt Res. 136-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 136-23 is adopted. Res. 137-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE ARC OF HILO FOR THE 2ND ANNUAL KING KAMEHAMEHA'S AWESOME ATHLETES INCLUSIVE CANOE RACE Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 237 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 137-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. First of all, I would love to thank the testifiers who came out earlier this morning to testify on behalf of this resolution and another resolution Ms. Kimball was offering. I went to this event last year. It was absolutely amazing. And the level of care and attention that they provide for these awesome athletes really is a testament to "it really does take a village." So I do ask for my colleagues' support, and if they are available, to come on out. It really is a lot of fun. I yield. Page 39 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 137-23: The motion to adopt Res. 137-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 137-23 is adopted. Res. 138-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROUP FOR EXPENSES RELATED TO THE 2023 HILO LEI DAY FESTIVAL Transfers $1,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 238 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 138-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Asking for my colleagues' support. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 138-23: The motion to adopt Res. 138-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 40 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 138-23 is adopted. Res. 139-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE WAIMEA OUTDOOR CIRCLE TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES RELATED TO THE CONTINUED MAINTENANCE OF ULU LA`AU, THE WAIMEA NATURE PARK Transfers $8,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 239 Intr. by: Ms. Evans Motion to Approve: Ms. Evans moved to adopt Res. 139-23. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I just want to shout-out to the Waimea Outdoor Circle, the volunteers over the years. I mean they just hours and hours of maintenance at this nature park with the windstorms that we experienced here a few months back. What we've discovered is when there's windstorms in the tall trees, they end up having to use their fundraising efforts to pay for tree services that take care of tall trees and whatever. And I think this is really important to support the things that they're incapable of doing as volunteers. So I ask for your favorable support. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 139-23: The motion to adopt Res. 139-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 139-23 is adopted. Page 41 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 140-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE ISLAND OF HAWAII YMCA FOR ITS EAST HAWAII FAMILY VISITATION CENTER PROGRAM Transfers $4,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 4); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 240 Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 140-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Happy to be joining my colleagues in supporting the Y (YMCA) and delivering this critical service to East Hawaii families, and I also just want to thank Nyssa and the folks at Liquor for helping to facilitate all these contingency requests. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. And, yes, we are certainly very grateful for their assistance for all these contingency relief fund resolutions. Anyone else has comments? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 140-23: The motion to adopt Res. 140-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 140-23 is adopted. Page 42 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 142-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO FRIENDS OF THE FUTURE TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES RELATED TO THE NORTH HAWAII DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS COMMITTEE Transfers $5,325 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 242 Intr. by: Ms. Evans Motion to Approve: Ms. Evans moved to adopt Res. 142-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you, members. I think it's self-explanatory. It's raising awareness in our community to stop the silence and really work to stop the violence. So thank you. I ask for your favorable support. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 142-23: The motion to adopt Res. 142-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 142-23 is adopted. Page 43 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 143-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE PAHOA LAVA ZONE MUSEUM FOR EXPENSES RELATING TO THE ACTIVATE PUNA COMMUNITY EVENT IN PAHOA Transfers $7,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 243 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 143-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Happy to support this program. I'm actually really looking forward to this event. Asking for my colleagues' support. CHR. KIMBALL: Any further discussion? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, if I might? CHR. KIMBALL: Yes, Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I just want to mahalo nui Council Member Lee Loy for her generous contribution to the Activate Puna block party and benefit concert. It happens next week Saturday, May 13'', in Downtown Pahoa. We shut off Pahoa Village Road and invite Puna-based businesses to pop-up. So we've got over 50 entrepreneurs that are going to be vending in that area and have lined up a pretty incredible roster of local talent, including Anuhea, Natural Vibrations, Al POHAKU with The Steppas, and more. All monies raised go to supporting Mainstreet Pahoa's annual scholarship fund and go back to Puna schools to support youth-led initiatives like prom, makahiki, and graduations. So inviting the community and inviting my colleagues. It's going to be a really fun evening. And thank you again, Council Member Lee Loy, for supporting Activate Puna. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Page 44 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 143-23: The motion to adopt Res. 143-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 143-23 is adopted. Res. 144-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HAWAII ISLAND LGBTQ PRIDE TO SUPPORTS ITS 11TH ANNUAL PRIDE PARADE AND FESTIVAL Transfers $2,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 2); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 244 Intr. by: Ms. Kagiwada Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to adopt Res. 144-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Just looking for your support for this event that's near and dear to my heart, and hope you can also come out to the event. Thank you so much. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 144-23: The motion to adopt Res. 144-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 144-23 is adopted. Page 45 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 145-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE HILO HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION FOR THE 2023 HILO HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT GRAD NIGHT Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 2); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 245 Intr. by: Ms. Kagiwada Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to adopt Res. 145-23. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Just asking for everybody's support for this no drug, no alcohol event that's really important to the graduates of Hilo High. Thank you so much. Looking forward to your support. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. I just thank you for jumping into Council Member Aaron Chung's shoes and supporting this event every year. I think everybody in our community appreciates that their keiki from Hilo High have a safe place to go on grad night. Thank you. All right, any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 145-23: The motion to adopt Res. 145-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 145-23 is adopted. Page 46 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 146-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE HAWAII KEIKI MUSEUM TO PURCHASE INTERACTIVE SEATING FOR ITS "OPIHI LEARNING AREA" Transfers $3,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 7); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 246 Intr. by: Ms. Villegas Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 146-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion? MS. VILLEGAS: I just want to thank my colleagues for your continued support. This $3,000 will join the $3,000 that was contributed by Council Member Inaba in CRF and help provide the total needed in order to complete this "Opihi Learning Area." I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 146-23: The motion to adopt Res. 146-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 146-23 is adopted. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Chair Kimball relinquished the chair to Acting Chair Inaba. Page 47 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 147-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO LALAKEA FOUNDATION FOR A REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES RELATED TO ITS BRIDGING PACIFIC CONNECTIONS PROJECT Transfers $4,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 5); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Tourism Promotion account. Reference: Comm. 247 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 147-23. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. ACTING CHR. INABA: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: You know what, Chair Inaba's got a nice ring to it. I'm enjoying saying that. ACTING CHR. INABA: Chair Kimball is still in the room. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Nah,just kidding. Okay, so I did reach out to Ms. Wong-Wilson, who is the acting board president for this nonprofit, and she is unable to make it today due to some very extenuating circumstances. But she did want me to relay to the Council that she has a huge amount of appreciation for this, and she wished she could be here today but she cannot. So she looks forward to everyone's support. And with that, I move to approve. ACTING CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Any other questions? There's a motion on the floor to approve Resolution 147-23. All those in favor? Vote on Res. 147-23: The motion to adopt Res. 147-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 48 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 148-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT FOR THE 2023 OUTSTANDING OLDER AMERICANS MONTH AWARD LUNCHEON Transfers $3,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Office of Aging, Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 248 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 148-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I wanted to slow down a little bit. I think our contingency relief funds, actually we just look at the amount and we say yes. I just wanted to highlight this particular program. Older American Month was established back during President Kennedy. This is a long-standing program since 1968. Some of my colleagues weren't even born yet. It really is an honor to contribute to this program that's been in existence for the better part of 55 years. One thing that we do at this program is we do honor our senior citizens at the event. It is a highly guarded secret, and so a lot of our older Americans do show up on bated breath and in anticipation as to who will receive the award. So I really do look forward to my colleagues' support on this and sharing in the excitement of that day's events. Thank you. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Any further discussion? MS. KAGIWADA: Chair? ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Just hoping I'm lookingoh, there it is. May 12''. I see it. Just looking for the date, okay, to put it on my calendar. Thank you. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. There's a motion on the floor to approve Resolution 148-23. All those in favor? Page 49 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 148-23: The motion to adopt Res. 148-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. INABA: Resolution 148 is adopted. Res. 149-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE HILO HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION FOR THE 2023 HILO HIGH GRAD NITE Transfers $1,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 249 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 149-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Happy to support about one-third of Ms. Kagiwada's contribution for our cross-town rivals over at Hilo High School. I ask for my colleagues' support. ACTING CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Just wanting to thank Council Member for her support. And as many people know, we both have people that live in our districts that go to the other cross-town high schools, so it only makes sense that we both support both. Thank you very much. ACTING CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Any further discussion? There being none, all in favor of approving Resolution 149-23,please say "aye." Page 50 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 149-23: The motion to adopt Res. 149-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. INABA: Resolution 149 is adopted. Moving on, then, to Resolution 151-23. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Acting Chair Inaba relinquished the chair to Chair Kimball. Res. 151-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE ARC OF HILO FOR THE 2ND ANNUAL KING KAMEHAMEHA'S AWESOME ATHLETES INCLUSIVE CANOE RACE Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 251 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to adopt Res. 151-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: With my members' approval, I just want to say happy to support this with Council Member Lee Loy. It is a wonderful event, and of course, it gets people on the water in the ocean paddling, which is always a good thing, in my mind. So I ask for your support. Thank you. Any further discussion? Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: I just really want to mahalo you, Ms. Kimball, for this kokua. I know you paddle too. So come on out. They do need help with all of our awesome athletes in the canoe, getting in and out and on the water. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. All right. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Page 51 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 151-23: The motion to adopt Res. 151-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 151-23 is adopted. Res. 152-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO FRIENDS OF THE FUTURE FOR THE 2023 WAIPI`O VALLEY KALO FESTIVAL Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 252 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 152-23. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Again with the approval of my members, I just want to mention that this festival is happening for the first time since pre-COVID (coronavirus disease). And so we're very excited to welcome you up to the Honoka`a area in June for this event. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 152-23: The motion to adopt Res. 152-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 152-23 is adopted. Page 52 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 153-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE FRIENDS OF FIRST RESPONDERS FOR EXPENSES RELATING TO CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS MANAGEMENT TRAINING Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Police Department, Training account. Reference: Comm. 253 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 153-23. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: We had a nice presentation earlier for the purpose of this particular program. I'm really happy to put some funds towards helping our first responders and protecting their mental health and wellness. So I ask for my colleagues' support. Any additional discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 153-23: The motion to adopt Res. 153-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 153-23 is adopted. Res. 154-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PURCHASE CONCRETE TO CONSTRUCT THE THIRD PHASE OF ROOTS SKATE PARK IN NORTH KOHALA Transfers $8,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Transfer to Capital Projects Fund-General account. Reference: Comm. 254 Intr. by: Ms. Evans Motion to Approve: Ms. Evans moved to adopt Res. 154-23. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. Page 53 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I ask for favorable support. Clearly, up in North Kohala and South Kohala, the desire and the demand for our skate parks keeps growing. It's really fun to go and realize that it's you might have a three- year-old, but you also might have a seventy-year-old. It is truly an intergenerational recreational activity, and it's a great place for community to come together and get to know each other. So I really love these skateboard parks. I ask for your support. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 154-23: The motion to adopt Res. 154-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 154-23 is adopted. Res. 155-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HAMAKUA HARVEST, INC., FOR ITS 8TH ANNUAL FARM FEST Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Agriculture Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 255 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 155-23. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KIMBALL: Again with the approval of my colleagues, I just want to quickly mention that this is another event happening up in the Honoka`a area. A wonderful event. Lots of trainings. You can learn how to take care of bees and do other things like that. So love to have folks come up and join us for this event as well, and ask for your support today. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Page 54 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 155-23: The motion to adopt Res. 155-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 155-23 is adopted. Res. 156-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION'S `IKE PONO-HAMAKUA SUMMER FUN PROGRAM IN KULA`IMANO, PAPA`ALOA, AND HONOMU Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Summer/Intersession Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 256 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 156-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: I want to take a moment to shout-out to Lauren and Matt who are two of our new recreation directors at the Honomu and Papa`aloa facilities. They are super stoked, energetic,just wonderful folks that are creating this whole new program for the keiki in the Hamakua District area. Really happy to support what they're doing there: getting the kids outside, growing things, cooking things, learning things, engaging in cultural practices. It really couldn't happen without their input. So I want to mahalo them for all their work for the County. Any further comments, discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say LC " aye. Vote on Res. 156-23: The motion to adopt Res. 156-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1. Excused: None. Page 55 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 156-23 is adopted. Res. 157-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HOSPICE OF HILO FOR ITS 19TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF LIFE EVENT Transfers $1,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 4); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 257 Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 157-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Happy to be supporting Hawaii Care Choices and their annual event, which is really delightful to see all of those lanterns off of Banyan Drive. Hawaii Care Choices holds a very special place in my heart for me and my `ohana. When my grandmother was hospitalized, we thought by her entering hospice that we were saying goodbye, but a miracle actually happened. We were able to nurse her back to health in a month's time and got one more year with grandma. So love everything that they do to support families in a very tender time. Thank you, Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 157-23: The motion to adopt Res. 157-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 157-23 is adopted. Page 56 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Res. 161-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE MEN OF PA`A FOR EXPENSES RELATED TO THE PUNA KEIKI TO KUPUNA IMU MEA Al PROJECT Transfers $2,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 5); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 267 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 161-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I look for everyone's support. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Res. 161-23: The motion to adopt Res. 161-23 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Lee Loy — 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 161-23 is adopted. Res. 162-23: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HOSPICE OF HILO FOR ITS 19TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF LIFE Transfers $2,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 5); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 268 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder Page 57 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Res. 162-23: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 162-23. (Adopted) Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 162-23 is adopted. Good job, everybody. We got through those. We're going to now go to Bill 43 for first reading. Pursuant to Rule 5 of our Rules of Procedure, 6(f), since I'm a co-introducer on this item, I will again temporarily yield my chair to Vice Chair Inaba. The time is 11:21. Thank you. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Chair Kimball relinquished the chair to Acting Chair Inaba. BILLS FOR The Acting Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES Bills for Ordinances (First Reading). (FIRST READING): (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Bill 43: AMENDS CHAPTER 19,ARTICLES 1 AND 8, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION,AS AMENDED),RELATING TO COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL USE DEDICATION FOR REAL PROPERTY TAXES Seeks to implement recommendations of the Real Property Tax Review Working Group and Agricultural Committee's September 2019 Final Report by: amending the definitions for "commercial agricultural activities" and "Commercial agricultural use dedication"; adding four new definitions relating to commercial agricultural uses; amending Section 19-60 of the Hawaii County Code to create a "Long-term commercial agricultural use dedication"; and establishing a new section titled "Short-term commercial agricultural use dedication." Reference: Comm. 217 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball and Ms. Galimba Approve: FC-48 (Note: Comms. 217.3 and 217.4, dated May 1, 2023, and Comm. 217.5, dated April 28, 2023, from Council Chair Heather L. Kimball and Council Member Michelle M. Galimba transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 43, were circulated.) Page 58 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 43 on first reading and adopt Finance Committee Report No. 48. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. ACTING CHR. INABA: Chair Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. We had quite a lengthy discussion about this particular bill, both in Committee and then again in relationship to Bill 44 yesterday. We do have Administrator and Deputy Administrator of Real Property Tax in the Hilo chambers if there are further questions. But again, the intent and purpose of this particular piece of legislation is to align with some of the recommendations of the real property tax and ag (agricultural) working group report from 2019. We're really trying to ensure that there is the proper use of these dedication programs, but also the process for putting your property into these dedicated programs is not so difficult or restrictive that it becomes burdensome to our farmers. So we're making some minor changes to the long-term dedicated program, the ten-year program, and then we're creating the new three-year dedicated program. One of the things to consider here is if there are concerns about the community food sustainability program that was introduced in Bill 44, it is possible to make some amendments here to the short-term program so that it sort of allows—it catches those people too. Just want to just make very clear that a dedication is different than an assessment, which is what the community food sustainability program is an assessment rather than a dedication. So, with that, we do have a couple of amendments. So I will yield the floor to my colleague Council Member Galimba to introduce some of those amendments that were based on the feedback that we got from you folks last time around. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Galimba. Motion to Amend: Ms. Galimba moved to amend Bill 43 with the contents of Comm. 217.3. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: This communication is making amendments to the long-term dedication. So the first section is adding some definitions. We talked about adding a definition of"farm equipment,"which we're doing here. And thinking about the section where we have a monetary requirement, I realized that farm equipment is just one part of developing a farming operation, and that soil is also extremely important. So we wanted to allow for and encourage farmers to make improvements to their soil. So that's what these definitions are about. Page 59 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 And then on the following page, we heard that we needed to make it clear that we wanted to have these options for the petition, which shall include at least one of the following. So it can be a farm plan or documentation of organic certification or NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service)plan or food safety certification or the minimal investment of$10,000. So we upped that considerably to make sure that we are getting very serious farmers, and also to, I think, encourage folks to do some of the other option, which is the farm plan. But wanting to make sure that farmers who just wanted to make the investment also had that option of investing in farm equipment, fertilizers, or soil amendments. The next amendment is clarifying that the director shall that these farms shall be in accordance with the General Plan and any applicable community development plan. And finally, our final amendment on this communication is to change the date to September 2nd, 2023, and this was in the consultation with the Real Property Tax staff to make sure that all of these changes work in their timeline. With that, I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Before I open it up for discussion from the Council, I just want to give Real Property Tax the opportunity to share any thoughts on the amendment. COUNCIL MEMBER: (Inaudible.) ACTING CHR. INABA: I assumed they passed with flying colors, so I wasn't even going to bring it up. But yay. Both are here for the bill, so good morning. (Note: At this time, Real Property Tax Administrator Lisa Miura and Assistant Real Property Tax Administrator Keita Jo came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. MIURA: Good morning. Lisa Miura, Real Property Tax Administrator. With this amendment, this is only affecting the long-term portion and is just requiring a little bit more when people either reapply for their new dedication period or brand new applicants into it. That wouldn't go into effect until September 2nd. The reason for that is the current application period ends on September 1", and so we felt it wouldn't be fair to change the requirements. And we hope it will provide us time to, depending on what happens with these bills, to send letters to everybody currently in the program. ACTING CHR. INABA: Perfect. Thank you. Keita Jo, anything to add? No? All right, bringing it back here to Kona. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. For Keita or Lisa, we're introducing a couple of new definitions, and I was just wondering where these definitions come Page 60 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 from and actually, more importantly, if it fits into the larger section of Chapter 19, that we're not just making up things. Not that my colleagues would do that, but words matter. We're finding out words matter. MS. MIURA: Actually, this isn't addressed in our current Chapter 19. So it does make it more—it provides more clarity. MS. LEE LOY: Great. From the authors? MS. GALIMBA: So it was I who came up with these definitions by basically just going on the internet and finding the best words that I could find. MS. LEE LOY: Great. As long as it provides clarity. And then my second question is in regards to Section (6)(B). We're adding in the General Plan and any applicable community development plans. And this determination, my understanding, because this is being housed in Chapter 19, is our Real Property Tax or Finance Director. But I'm a little concerned on the determination coming from an RPT finance perspective and not a planning director, and was just trying to understand. One, it's all good when everybody agrees. It's when they don't agree and how that appeals process would work. MS. KIMBALL: Chair, with your allowance, I'll respond to that. ACTING CHR. INABA: Go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: The original language of the Chapter 19 portion of the Code that deals with the long-term actually currently refers to overall development plans of the County. And an overall development plan is not something we have. We have a General Plan and a community development plan. This is just a cross- check. When the Finance Director gets the applications for these dedications that they actually align with the land use that is already assigned to that property. There's no process in here where land use is modified or anything like that. It's just one of the boxes that the Director checks when they receive the applications. And so the amendment is just to clarify the language for plans that we actually do have, which are general plans and community development plans. MS. LEE LOY: Lisa, Keita, anything to add? MS. MIURA: Right now, what it states in the Code is overall development plan of the State. And so I definitely am happy taking them out because, to be fair, I can't keep track of what the State's doing. So it's easier at the County level with the General Plan, and Planning is right next door to us in both our Kona and Hilo offices. MS. LEE LOY: Great. Thanks. I yield. Page 61 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy, and leaning over to Hilo. MS. EVANS: A question, Chair. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. How would you apply the applicable community plan? The General Plan, I get that, but how would—if you had the two of them together, which one would dominate? I think that was the bigger question. If they conflict with each other, the General Plan MS. MIURA: Well, it could because the community plan might be something we're working on, and it's not included in the General Plan yet. Correct. So we would have to go with the General Plan because that's what's approved. MS. EVANS: Because of the "and,"you would use the one that's been MS. MIURA: Most currently updated. But for us, it's going to be what they have on there that's been approved. And for us, it's typically the General Plan. MS. EVANS: Right. So this would not create any confusion, the way it's written. MS. MIURA: Well, up until now, I thought it was clarifying it more because prior it was so overreaching that we had no clarification of where we were going. MS. EVANS: So, basically, it's the Director shall make the finding. So it's really discretionary. So that's the good news, right? MS. MIURA: Correct. And I'm not sure how much work is being done on the community plans right now, to be honest, and if that's going to change in the future. MS. EVANS: Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Anyone else in Hilo at this time? Okay, if not, bringing it back to Kona. Again, we're on Communication 217.3. Okay, there being none, there's a motion to amend Bill 43 with the contents of Communication 217.3. All those in favor please say "aye." Page 62 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 43 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 217.3 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Acting Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. INABA: We are back to the main motion: Bill 43, as amended. Would you like to proceed with the next amendment? MS. GALIMBA: Yes. Thank you, Chair. Motion to Amend: Ms. Galimba moved to amend Bill 43 with the contents of Comm. 217.4. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: So, to be very brief about this, this communication basically does the same thing that we just did with the long-term dedication program but to the short-term dedication program. So it adds that clarification that it should be at least one of the following: farm plan, etcetera; increases the amount of investment required, adds the fertilizers and soil amendments, adds the language about General Plan and community development plans. And finally, it specifies timing that applications for short-term commercial agricultural use dedication shall be accepted beginning September 2nd, 2024, and approved applications under this dedication shall take effect no sooner than the 2026 tax year. And that is to reflect the needs of the Real Property Tax calendar and department. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any thoughts again from Real Property Tax? MS. MIURA: It will take us time to send mailings out to everybody currently in the programs to let them know that there is a new program available, especially for those that are currently in ten that are ending; for those even in the nondedicated ag that would have liked to have done a dedication except ten years was too long for them. We also have to create rules and regulations to go along with it. And as much as I would love for us to be able to finish it by September, we have a lot of things going on, including the budget prior to the end of this fiscal year. So we just ask if we can have that as it is in the amendment to give us more time. Page 63 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 ACTING CHR. INABA: Perfect. Thank you, Administrator. Opening it up for discussion, starting in Hilo. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, if I could. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. A question on the requirements under Section 2. This would also apply to the amendment we just did. But I'm looking at this Section (c)(2): director shall prescribe the petition, include at least one of the following. So when someone presents this information to the department and they want to do the receipts, which we're changing from $2,000 to $10,000, I guess this would be to the department as a question, would they then show that they haveI mean, I'm thinking about the timeline here. They just—at any point in the past, they put$10,000 into farm equipment, fertilizer, or soil amendments. If they come in to reapply, do they just show any point in the past that they've spent$10,000 in materials? I'm trying to think of this as an applicant walking in to apply for the program. I just show you a receipt: "Hey, I bought a tractor 30 years ago and I'm using it." Or is there a shorter timeline on this? MR. JO: I think the way we would interpret it is that would be an entry point into the program. So, if you're just starting off and want to utilize that as a mechanism to enter into the program, that you would—and you had $10,000 of investment— that nvestmentthat you would select that as an option. Otherwise, a farm plan or the other areas would be, I guess, the defining factor as far as allowing someone to enter into the program, along with active use of the property. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So I guess the question still stands. Let's say Bob's going to come apply for the program, and Bob comes in and says, "Yeah, I'm actively farming. I don't want to make a farm plan. I'm not going to do A, B, C, D, but I am going to show you that I bought$10,000 worth of farm equipment." When would he have to buy that equipment? Does it matter? Are we putting a timeline on that? Or is it just at any point in the past, in your lifetime, you bought a tractor and "Here's my receipt for my tractor"? I think you know what I'm getting at. I mean, that makes it very easy to apply, but I also see the intention behind this particular section because it's showing you're going to be farming. But then if you come in to reapply, which is three years later or ten years later, right, because you have to reapply for the program, you would just show the same receipt and continue on. Or"Hey, I bought a farm truck. It's a Toyota Tacoma, lifted, Tundra, four-wheel drive" MS. MIURA: I don't Page 64 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: "But it's got a flatbed and it's got a trailer hitched. Technically, I'm going to use it to get up to the top of my property and tow my material." So I'm just trying to figure out with this (E), how easy or how hard it is, or does it meet the intention of what we're trying to do. MS. MIURA: It was definitely one of our concerns about farm equipment and that, I mean, it could be ATVs (all-terrain vehicles). And they had clarified that it meant machinery implements, tools exclusively used directly for farming or ranching operations. We wouldn't allow for the Toyota Tundra. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. How about a $10,000 Polaris, four- wheel drive. "I'm going to go check out the top of my property. I've got to have it. It tows my fencing." MS. MIURA: We've done a lot of agricultural checks, and they are using Polarises instead of goats or donkeys now to go and pull their coffee. So that would qualify. As far as the time limit goes, it does need to be reasonable. And I do believe that is going to need to be further clarified in the rules and the regulations because if it's not following—I don't think it's fair to say you have to have purchased it within the last year. But it has to be something. If you're going to do a depreciation on it that is realistic, you couldn't have bought it 30 years ago because it would have depreciated out. So, unfortunately, it does take more work on our staff to approve it, but I can understand the need to have some type of money spent on it if you're going to want to get such a decrease on your taxes. Right now, it's one of the—even the $2,000, as low as it seems, it's one of the people don't even provide that so much at the moment. They'll usually go with the farm plan. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes. It just depends on how savvy the person applying is in their eyes. Do you want to create a farm plan or if you wanted to show a receipt for something you bought. At$2,000, that's almost considerable to the amount of savings you'd have with the program, correct? MS. MIURA: Correct. And $2,000 is not very much right now for what fencing costs. You can't even do a house fence for $2,000. But it isI think they're trying to—I don't want to put words in the Council Member's mouth that came up with the number, but they want to show that it's substantial enough that somebody is investing. But I do understand where one Polaris is well over $10,000. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yup. And I wouldn't say purely farm activities have (inaudible)Polarises. MS. MIURA: Correct. Page 65 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Correct. Okay. Okay, well, to the makers of the amendment, understand the intention. I'll support it but I just wanted to point out what I pointed out to ensure that this is doing what you want it to do, and that is your intention. Thank you. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. I'm going to check in with anybody else in Hilo. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair? ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Administrator, what's contained in, you know, two regarding what folks need to file in order to show evidence of agricultural activities? Are these the only things that you're using to kind of base your decision on? MS. MIURA: No, not at all. We have rules and regs (regulations) already set up for the long-term dedication program. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Including the name of your agricultural operation and providing other tax licenses (inaudible). MS. MIURA: Yes. They can MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MS. MIURA: So there are options of what they can provide: GE(General Excise) Tax, Schedule F. And there is a list of items. They actually have to have something happening already. So they can't say, "Oh, my plan (inaudible) ten is within five years to be doing something that's not like the native forest program." There has to be active agricultural activity for the dedicated agricultural program. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. All right. I just wanted to make sure those safeguards were in place because Mr. Kaneali`i-KI einfelder's questions had me thinking. This can't be the only basis of information that you're using to give folks entry into this program. MS. MIURA: You're right. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So thanks for confirming that. MS. MIURA: Thank you. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I yield. Page 66 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 ACTING CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Council Member Evans, anything before we bring it back to Kona? No? All right— MS. ightMS. EVANS: No. ACTING CHR. INABA: Bringing it back to Kona. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I had a question for Lisa because Mr. Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder is doing exactly what he needs to do as a policymaker. He needs to try and break it. Because if he can break it, then others can break it. And so what I heard Ms. Miura say, Lisa say, is that this helps kind of provide a foundation. But it's the administrative rules that you guys would adopt through this process that would provide a lot of clarity on a reasonable expense. MS. MIURA: I don't know about the reasonable expense. I understand it to be $10,000, and there are other requirements that are needed in order to get into the program. However, I think this just clarifies what somebody needs to include. With the short-term, we would need to create a separate set of rules and regulations because it is different than the long-term. So the long-term already has rules and regs. We'll need to amend that and then create a new one for the short-term. MS. LEE LOY: Great. And then to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder's point about a receipt of$10,000, it couldn't be something that they purchased 20 years ago. MS. MIURA: No. MS. LEE LOY: Right. Okay. And that, we could capture and address in the rulemaking for this section. MS. MIURA: Correct. MS. LEE LOY: Okay, great. MS. MIURA: We can clarify in the rules and it I mean, it's up to my Finance Director, about having to verify it against the depreciation table MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. I like that. MS. MIURA: With the item that they're claiming. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. I like that. I think just from personal experience, we have a farm ourselves and then there's the big tractor that you purchased. Over time, it depreciates. But then there's the gas and oil, and weed eater line, that it's a consumable that we still write off as our taxes. But yeah, okay, I can support this. Thanks. I yield. Page 67 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Chair Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. I will just—Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Council Member Lee Loy, you raised some good points here. I will touch base with the Administrator and Deputy Administrator as well as Corporation Counsel after our conversation today and see if there's any additional language that needs to be added to this clause in the bill just to make it a little bit more clear and robust. I'm not sure that there is, but I will make that commitment to you to follow up and ensure that if we need to do that, it's done in the Code. Thank you. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Right to that point about the timing of the investment. I was thinking about it, but I was also thinking it might be not necessarily appropriate to have, like, a time frame in the Code becauseI mean, it depends on what equipment it is. So, we'd have to sort of elucidate all of the different possibilities. It didn't seem to be an appropriate place or use of the Code. So I do very much recognize your point that you're making, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. And I think that the Real Property Tax, it sounds like they can do a really good job in their rules of making it work. I thank them for that willingness to do that. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Perfect. Any further discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes,please. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Just a thought. As this is the short-term dedication, this is a three-year dedication, it may be better to drop that$10,000 down to something more swallowable for folks who are doing a short-term dedication versus someone who is doing a ten-year dedication. I could see the expenses or the proposed expenses for a short-term being much less because you know you're not investing for a long time. You're not going to invest a large amount into a smaller short-term plan than you would as a ten-year plan. So it may be worth looking into the different amount of funding as a required expense for the different programs. Thank you. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Coming back here to Kona. Thank you to the introducers for providing this amendment. There is a motion on the floor to amend Bill 43, as amended, with the contents of Communication 217.4. All those in favor please say "aye." Page 68 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 43 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 217.4 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Acting Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Motion to Amend: Ms. Galimba moved to amend Bill 43 with the contents of Comm. 217.5. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. This very simple amendment is to Section 2 of the bill in the definition of"commercial agricultural activities." Perhaps this might be in the direction of what Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder was talking about just now. This actually takes out the minimum of$2,000 in annual gross income per farm operation, and just asks instead for income, monetary gain, or economic benefits in a general term rather than a specific number, or that it adhere to generally accepted standards or practices within an agricultural industry. So that is the amendment and I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Chair Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Vice Chair Inaba. I mentioned this last time when we introduced the bill, that one of the things I think this body should consider is whether or not that annual gross income requirement actually makes sense, especially when we've provided this opportunity for other documentation from the farmers to verify that they are legitimately farming. And so this is up to you guys. Not real married to one position or another,but I just wanted you to consider that since we've now provided these other opportunities to verify that somebody is doing legitimate agriculture that maybe we don't need this annual gross income requirement. I would also note that this is in the definition of"commercial agriculture," and this is again something that distinguishes the short- and long-term dedicated programs from either the nondedicated use or the proposed community food sustainability program in Bill 44. There is a distinct difference when we talk about commercial agriculture versus people that are farming to just sell a few items or to donate items to the community. There's also a distinct difference between farming and backyard gardening, or raising pet animals in the backyard. These are the distinctions that we're trying to make, so I would suggest that this is also potentially the location where we could add in the capacity to donate a Page 69 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 certain amount of food to be considered under the short- and long-term programs if we do not want to proceed with the community food sustainability program. Thank you. Vice Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Any further discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I feel this one actually goes backwards to what we were just talking about. We're going to require that a farm, sorry, that the applicant provide proof that they're farming. Okay, that's like the first section. Then we're going to go and say, "You just need to show that you're following general standards. There's no income from your farm," oh, sorry, "that you generate income but not denote an amount, monetary gain, or economic benefit, or that it adhere to generally accepted standards or recognized practice within the agricultural industry." It just feels like we're requiring a lot on the way in, but on the back end, you're actually removing some of the things that would really, I think, qualify some farmers and make sure that this is benefiting folks who are truly doing agriculture, and not just creating the same loopholes we've had that we're trying to mend. You tell me. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, do you want to address that question ? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: To the maker of the amendment. To the Real Property Tax Division. I'm open to whoever wants to answer that question. ACTING CHR. INABA: All right. Bringing it to the introducers. MS. KIMBALL: I can take a swing at it, Chair, if you'll allow it. ACTING CHR. INABA: Go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. I certainly understand your perspective here on this, and that's why I pulled this out as a separate amendment from the other ones because I wanted the other ones to get through for sure. But this one was more of a"test the waters and see." The really distinct difference here is that regardless of this amendment or not, commercial agriculture does have to be income- producing. There has to be some sort of economic benefit from it. This language or this value of$2,000 as an annual requirement to show revenue, it's actually been that amount for quite some time. And it's actually, at this point, perhaps somewhat arbitrary as a value. And so our thinking was that if you have done this due diligence, you know, if you've gone through to get an organic Page 70 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 certification, you're probably legit farming because that actually costs money. It takes time. If you're working with NRCS to do a conservation plan, you're probably legit farming because that's a burdensome process as well. If you've made this $10,000 investment, probably legit farming. We thought it was maybe duplicative and unnecessary to then have this continued "Okay, did I make $2,000 this year" as another step, especially since that particular amount is based on really nothing at this point. So that's the thinking behind this. I do understand your concern, and again, that's why I pulled this out and had it separate because it may not be appealing to the body. I yield, Chair. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, you still have the floor. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Real Property, how do applicants currently submit this proof of attaining $2,000 per year? MR. JO: Currently, applicants are required to submit a General Excise Tax license number to help substantiate that income that's being generated. But as far as specific profit-and-loss statements or anything like that, that is not something that we currently ask for. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So a GE Tax license tied to a business corporation of some sort that show income would qualify. MS. MIURA: Correct. And it can be difficult because you can have somebody with a license, but when you go to GE Tax, it's not parcel-specific. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah. It also says, "per farm operation," which even opens it up more. MS. MIURA: Correct. It does. I'm not sure. I know at one point there was some discussion about what is happening with the mac nut(macadamia nut) farmers. What is happening with the coffee farmers that have no income right now. What if somebody has cattle but they're not fully raised yet to slaughter? They're not going to have any income at that time. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I can go the other way too, like Ms. Lee Loy said, try and break it. So I'm going to try and break this. You can have an LLC (Limited Liability Company) and you could have DBAs (doing business as) under your LLC, and you can show income and it will have nothing to do with your farm. MS. MIURA: Absolutely. Page 71 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And so showing a simple GE Tax license and your company information on what you brought in that year is going to be completely—could not be tied at all to your agricultural activities. MS. MIURA: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I yield, Chair. Thank you. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Bringing it back to Kona. Chair Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. I did want to actually also point out that one of the amendments that is in Bill 44 that is already a proposed change to the existing Chapter 19 is the requirement for an IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Form F from their 1040, or the State Department Form G-49. So these are other forms of documentation of specifically farm revenue, which actually gets us a little bit away from the challenges. The other thing to note here is Administrator Miura mentioned there are some crops that don't actually produce revenue year to year. The other example in the long-term and short-term dedicated programs, you can also be doing slow rotation forestry, and that's one of the ones where they're not going to have revenue until 10, 20 years out. And so that's another argument, I would say, for removing this annual income requirement. I think if I were to make a recommendation, and obviously this is the bill that I put forward with Council Member Galimba, the recommendation is to strengthen the documentation, make it more robust, but not overly burdensome for people to get into the programs. And then, after that, the $2,000 annual revenue requirement creates extra work. It's not necessary, a legit measure. That's the direction I'm recommending that we should go. Thank you, Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion on the amendment? MS. EVANS: Chair? ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I actually think there's some merit in working on this particular definition. I think maybe as written may be not quite where we're headed. My recommendation would be to pull this or whatever you do, this 217.5, and then come back on second reading or whatever with a different amendment. But I think it needs to—it looks to me like we need some housekeeping and some look at this. Maybe this is just not quite where we want to get but I kind of like that we're looking at this, actually. Thank you. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Here in Kona? Council Member Lee Loy. Page 72 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. LEE LOY: Thanks, Mr. Inaba. There's a lot of policy work that we always do. I was taught a very long time ago by a lot of attorneys, it's definition, definition, definition. And so I leaned over to my colleague, co-author of this particular bill, and asked the question of as it relates to this particular definition. It says, "that generate income." But we also know farmers lose money. And so, yes, we know it's generating income but it's not making it back. So I just don't know if there's a little bit more wordsmithing to happen with this particular definition. But I also acknowledge there's so many multiple ways for them to prove, right, whether it's that G-19 form or all these other things. I'm going to pull out—if I had to vote on it right now, I would not just because I want to see how it sits with all the other things that we're tinkering with within Chapter 19 and maybe marinate on this a little bit. As I mentioned, we've got a couple of bills working in this space, so I just want to make sure that our definitions are really providing the clarity for Real Property Tax to execute and provide whatever relief that we're trying to provide within this chapter. That's where I'm at. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Chair Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I'll just acknowledge Council Member Lee Loy and Council Member Evans' comment that this definition is actually probably the most important thing in this whole thing because it is defining what is an appropriate use of these dedications, and that's where actually the trouble has been. So I would actually, because of Sunshine Law and our inability to collaborate offline on some of these details, I would highly recommend if you can do some wordsmithing, bring some amendments to the next hearing so we can try on some different wording. I think that, again, this is probably the most important definition in these pieces of legislation. So I want to make sure we get it right. I'll leave it to my colleague Council Member Galimba. If you want to pull the motion for this amendment at this time and just kind of let everybody sit on it a little bit, it's up to you. Your call. ACTING CHR. INABA: Sorry. Council Member Galimba, go ahead. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you, Chair. Hearing all of the concerns, the idea of pulling it at this time seems like a wise thing to do. And procedurally, the language is to put it on the table, so I move to put this amendment on the table. Or what do we do? MR. HENRICKS: No, if you just would like to withdraw this from consideration, just withdraw your motion to amend. ACTING CHR. INABA: Hang on before you do that, though. Sorry. Page 73 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. GALIMBA: Go ahead. ACTING CHR. INABA: I just want to chime in on this discussion ahead of this withdrawal. I feel it's a little difficult, right, because which way are we going to go? The existing language has the $2,000 annual gross income per farm operation. So I think, myself, I would be more inclined to stay with that, and I'll leave it at that. But happy to see what the consensus will be from the Council on which way we do take this in the end. And with that(inaudible). Withdraw Motion Ms. Galimba withdrew her motion to amend Bill 43 with to Amend: the contents of Comm. 217.5. ACTING CHR. INABA: All right, the motion to amend has been withdrawn. With that, we're back to the main motion: Bill 43, as amended. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Go ahead. ACTING CHR. INABA: Any discussion on the main motion, Bill 43, as amended with the contents of 217.3 and 217.4? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much. For Real Property, I'm looking back on this wonderful presentation you gave us yesterday. I'll be supporting—slides. And I had a thought this morning when I was talking to myself on the way into town, which is how I talk through my issues in my head. Impacts. Impacts on County and residents if 43 goes into place. Yesterday, you provided but it was kind of high level. "Look. If you guys pass 44, these are the impacts financially, fiscally to the County. These are the positive or negative impacts for the taxpayers." So same thing for Bill 44; do you have numbers like that? Is it hard to say? What's the deal? MS. MIURA: The complication with this one is it's adding a new program. So we don't have any idea how many in the ten-year program would go to the three- year. How many would just choose to go to food sustainability if that passes, or they would just drop out altogether. Likewise, I don't know how many people are out there that would be happy to come into the three-year program. Usually, the dedication program is not where we have a lot of our abuse. It's more in the nondedicated. So there's currently 789 parcels right now in the dedicated program. So I wish I could tell you I had a number for that. I really have no clue how many people would go into this. Page 74 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. One thing that popped into my head today, and this morning in my internal conversation, was it, I mean, what I'm seeing these bills as is an attempt to ensure people are actually farming their property. Correct? MS. MIURA: I'm not sure if this three-year one is or if it's trying to entice more people to apply for the program. Because, we do hear that people like the dedication better because they can save more money than the nondedicated. The problem is ten years is a lot for somebody in their 70s to commit to do another ten years. They want to do something shorter so they're not leaving it to their children. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. MS. MIURA: I don't know if that was the reason she created this, though. So I don't know if she wants to speak to the bill. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Not yet. I'm looking at, I mean, we're not trying to discuss other bills because confusing, but just this Bill 43 today. And in looking over, I mean, if I look at this in a way where I want to break this, I would say I would apply for the long-term dedication and do slow rotation forestry/pasture, fence my property, and call it good. That's how I would get around this, which would lock me into a substantial savings on my agricultural- zoned property. And whether we can apply a homeowner's exemption to that or not, I'm not sure. Can that be done right now? Homeowner's exemption and long-term dedication? MS. MIURA: Yes. So you can get the exemption portion, which isI don't want to refer to this but— MR. utMR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: No, I get it. MS. MIURA: Okay. But it won't give you the homeowner tax class right now. Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Understood. I'm only five years in. I think (inaudible). MS. MIURA: Yup. You got it. The other issue with dedication is you have a rollback. So, if we come out and we see you're not doing what you're supposed to, and we check on imagery and it appears it's completely overgrown and we go out and do a visit, you can get rolled back plus penalty. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I'm going to raise waiawi on my property, and I'm going to do some flavorful waiawi chips for barbecuing. So Page 75 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 I'm actually doing slow rotation forestry with my waiawi farm. You can see where I'm going with that. And there's actually somebody doing that. There's two companies doing that. It's actually a brilliant business model. Okay, so we can't really project savings because we don't know who's going to jump into what program. We don't really know what the impact is because we on the County, we can show there would be a substantial savings to someone from no agricultural benefit to a short-term or a long-term. Actually, there is no long-term dedication on your scenarios that you provided, is there? MR. JO: Correct because that's an existing program. Bill 43 doesn't necessarily change the financial impacts of the long-term dedication, the ten-year as it exists. It just adds more guardrails on entering into that program and allows us to get a greater hold of compliance. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So a short-term dedication is a substantial savings to the taxpayer from no ag use benefit, as you provided in your scenarios. Scenario A versus Scenario C, right. About$2,900 in savings for that 20-acre vacant parcel, compared to a 20-acre coffee farm. MS. MIURA: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: What I was getting to was yesterday what got me was we're going to potentially lose resources as a County with the implementation of these bills. You made that point at the very end. So it was really interesting. And yet in some cases, even the taxpayer wasn't benefiting. So I was trying to wrap my head around taxpayers not benefiting from the bills with the savings that they receive now understandably because we're trying to close some loopholes but then County, if everyone jumped into these different programs, would potentially lose $1.5 million in revenue. MS. MIURA: So the numbers where we would lose money is only as it pertained to the exemption if they had a home exemption. And it went—it stayed in there. We didn't calculate new numbers or provide anything about anything else. So the numbers quoted at the end of the day was only the loss in revenue the properties with home exemption currently in an agricultural program. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, I've got three numbers: $1 million in revenue if anyone takes the benefit I wrote "farmer's benefit." I don't know why I wrote that. I've got 1.7 for the short-term, if everyone rolled out to the short-term dedication. And I've got, if Bill 28 was implemented, $2.1 million in lost revenue. MS. MIURA: Correct. Unfortunately, that all pertains to the bill that's not on the agenda today. Page 76 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes, not on the agenda today. MS. MIURA: Yeah. Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So 44, the impact onI'm trying to look at this as a single, but I'm also not. I'm looking at it as a whole, gently. But with just 44, I mean, we're just creating really this short-term dedication program MS. MIURA: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Creating more requirements, or less requirements depending on how you look at it. MS. MIURA: It's pretty much copying what is in our long-term dedication with the exception of the $10,000. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I'm going to yield and I'm going to gather my thoughts and I'll come back. Thank you. I yield, Chair. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. I think there's some points of clarification here in Kona. Chair Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. Just back to one of the original questions Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder had about the intention and purpose around creating the short-term dedicated ag program. Looking at the legislative history of the nondedicated program, the actual goals of that program were to 1)provide a mechanism for either speculative farmers or farmers that were not able to commit for sure for ten years. The example being the older farmer in his 70s; he's going to pass the farm on to his kids. He's not sure if his kids are going to continue farming for the next ten years. Additionally, it was intended to make sure that agricultural lands stayed in agricultural uses. So that was the purpose of the nondedicated ag program. It was meant to give another option out there. But it is also, at the same time, the most— and ostand Administrator Miura said this yesterday: It is the program that we see the most abuse of. And so the thinking around creating the short-term dedicated ag program was to keep the intention that was originally behind the nondedicated ag program, but provide for that place for a speculative environment. It's like you don't know for sure your program is going to work out. And the couple of differences is that there's not the deed restriction that goes on the ten-year dedicated program. If you have the ten-year dedicated program, there is a deed restriction recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances. That doesn't happen with the three-year dedication program. There is still the rollback and the penalties. I would point out that, currently, the difference between the long-term and nondedicated ag program is the nondedicated ag program, the values assessed Page 77 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 on the land are two times that of the long-term dedicated program. What we're proposing with the short-term dedicated program is that it's actually three times. That is actually to align with the recommendations of the report from the tax group and ag working group, which was that that was one of their recommendations. So there is going to be—if everybody who's currently doing nondedicated ag just chose to go into the short-term dedicated ag program—and that's a big "if,"right? It's certainly by no means certain that everybody in nondedicated ag now would go to short-term dedicated ag. If they were, there would not be a revenue loss to the County because it's actually the short-term dedicated program is at three times. I hope that makes things clear. Thanks. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Any further discussion? Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. I just want to say that, coming from a district that probably has a lot less active agricultural going on in it than many of the other districts, I can still see the real benefit of these changes. I still have whole neighborhoods that are on agriculturally-zoned land. And most of those people, I would guess, are not doing active ag and should be paying this (inaudible) amount, to somebody who just happens to be a block away in a residentially-zoned neighborhood that is using their land in the same way. So I can really see the benefit there. For those who are doing active agriculture, I think it's really good to get them in a program that has some framework around it and that we can keep track of than the current system. So, I will be supporting this measure, and thank you for working on it, both Council Members. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Galimba, go ahead. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. So just to follow up on Chair Kimball's description of the benefits of the program and to sort of address I think some of the comments that Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder was making. So that two times versus three times assessment is where you're seeing the difference. I think that is giving you some heartburn where some of the folks that would be in nondedicated and transitioned into the new programs would actually be paying somewhat more. So I just wanted to point that out. That might be the place that we might want to have some discussion or that you might want to have some discussion around that. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: All right. Heading back over to Hilo. Any final questions or comments? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair Inaba? ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. Page 78 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Sorry if I missed this earlier, but when is the drop-dead deadline that we need to advance this measure and adopt it at second reading? The reason why I ask is there was an overload of information, really good information, yesterday about the interplay of these various bills. And I had asked about maybe doing some scenario planning at the district level, and using that information to talk story with people in our various districts about these bills, how it may impact them and what their options are. And so I want to make sure that my colleague Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and I are able to do that with our Puna constituents. But I also recognize that, internally, you folks need to be able to set up. And so how long could we have deliberations with our communities? MS. MIURA: So I thinkI'm trying to wing this on the spot. If the long-term isn't going to be changed for September, and you guys are pushing everything to changes next year, it would give us a little bit more time. But we need to have it changed and known by the end of, I mean, December's hard because we have so many other things going on, and its assessments. So we need it before the end of the year—and not like December end of the year. I would say October would be the absolute latest that the Council would have to make the decision. And if that provides MS. KIERKIEWICZ: (Inaudible.) MS. MIURA: Okay, September/October would be better. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I guess a question for the makers then, having, you know, explore that a little bit with Administrator Miura is, is it possible to get at least a month to talk story with our community about potential implications? And I say a month because we're also walking into special Council meetings related to the budget. So just putting it out there. Really do appreciate all the hard work and time that went into this. I mean, we have these groups that we convene that put out reports, and finally, we have some Council Members that are taking action on that. So I want to acknowledge that, and the intention around wanting to make sure that folks that are participating in any of these programs are legit farmers, and that we're incentivizing folks to take up agriculture. So just asking for a little bit more time so we can get the information we need to make informed decisions for our constituents. Thank you, Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I'm going to walk back to yesterday because we did have a robust discussion on another bill. And I really thought the intentionality, for me actually, was to get all these amendments in. Move them in. Let them set while the other bill kind of advances. So holding this here at the Council level so we could do a compare and contrast between the two. Page 79 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 I know,personally, I would love to go back and make good on my request to Lisa and Keita about doing those analyses by district, which is what Ms. Kagiwada just touched upon. We have some very urban areas in Hilo; however, Council District 3 stretches to HPP (Hawaiian Paradise Park) now. And so, definitely wanting to find the balance between some of this dedicated ag, nondedicated ag, commercial, and the definitions. And so, happy to support this bill and let it set. But I would love to hold it here at Council; let the other bill catch up. And then I would be able to have my conversations with Real Property Tax. And maybe even a pulse survey to our communities as to what this looks like for them. That's where I'm at. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any other thoughts in Hilo? MS. EVANS: Yeah, Chair. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. To the makers of the bill, I know that this came out of a working group. But as you were drafting this bill, was there the farming community, the ag community? WasI'm assuming that you probably had additional discussions. I'm just checking to see if you did. Like, how much input did you have? ACTING CHR. INABA: Chair Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. Happy to answer that. Yeah. This piece of legislation was actually circulated through the Hawaii Island Producers Alliance, one of the major alliances of agricultural producers in the County. Through the Hamakua Institute, who is the organization that was responsible for doing the wall-to-wall agricultural assessment. They shared it out with all of their members. It was shared out through members of the AgHui as well as the Hawaii Farmers Union United, HFUU. So, yeah,there was a direct intention to get the feedback from the producers. And the list of documentation that you see there, the other options beside a farm plan, that was probably the most significant contribution from all that feedback, was that they wanted options other than creating yet another farm plan if they were already doing these programs. To me and Council Member Galimba, it made sense because these were programs that were generally designed for producers. So, to respond to your question, yes, this was widely circulated. MS. EVANS: Good. So what we have here is you already had input, and that's important to me. So my next question is to Finance. How would you deal with hydroponics and aquaculture farms? Because, someone could be on ag land and decide they're going to do farming, and they decide to do aquaculture, which I Page 80 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 know we have up in North Kohala. There's a huge fish farm or whatever up there on ag land. So I was just kind of curious if someone did a hydroponics. And the other thing is I do know people are proposing to me that they're going to take ag land, and they're going to do all greenhouses and it's going to be all hydroponics. And so they'll be growing vegetables or fruits or whatever that way, right. So I'm just kind of curious how that would be—what would you do—interpret it. MR. JO: We would treat those greenhouses or those areas that are utilized for that agricultural operation much like we would if someone were to plant it into the ground. They would receive that benefit. MS. EVANS: Okay. All right. I think that's important because we're expanding. So, basically, it would only apply to—cause I'm thinking urban farming. That might be a residential or an urban environment where they're actually growing food. And that's going to be another day, another bill, another—we're going to have to address the urban farms coming in the future because we maybe don't have that yet. So this just applies to ag land. Yeah. Okay. Just for clarity. Thank you. I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you. I'm going to check in with the introducers on what we want to do with the bill, as amended, today. MS. KIMBALL: Chair, if I may respond to actually just one more point to Council Member Evans' comment. One of the changes that we made in here actually, based on input from the GoFarm folks, was that they were actually able to be really productive on a quarter acre. And so the bill has some size limit requirements, but it allows for if you've got a farm plan that shows that you can be more productive on a smaller acreage, that you're actually able to get this tax benefit as well because we do realize that some of the newer technologies with respect to partial agriculture are allowing for greater productivity on a smaller footprint. So I just want to make sure that was highlighted as well. I'm happy to postpone this. I just want to get a thumbs up or a nod from our Real Property Tax folks. If we postponed it to June 6h, or I'd say 7h I think is the actual Wednesday. Yes. June 7h. I think as long as we get this preferably before September 2 actually, because that's what we want the effective date to be, I think we're okay. But I just want a thumbs up from you guys if that's all right. MS. MIURA: My only concern with June 7h is it's a day prior to our tax sale. And our office usually gets a little bit—there's a lot of—yeah. It gets busy and there's some unhappy people. MS. KIMBALL: Understood. How about—well, let me ask this question. There were some requests for analyses by my colleagues, and that's really kind of the Page 81 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 time frame that that might require I think is probably what's driving the length of period. Can you do that in two weeks, or do you need a month and a half? Because, we can either postpone it till the next May meeting or to the end of June. But before you answer that, one of the comments that I do want to make is just, Council Member Kierkiewicz and Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, there's going to be a lot of unknowns in terms of any analysis that Keita and Lisa could provide, particularly around how many people in your districts might choose to go long-term ag, short-term ag, or community food sustainability. So you're going to get some numbers but they're models. As a scientist that formerly used to do a lot of models, every model is wrong. And so there's not going to be just I want you to make sure that you're taking those with a grain of salt. Administrator, Deputy Administrator, how long do you think you need to provide some of those models? MS. MIURA: Two weeks would be really quickly, especially considering that budget hearings are coming up, and our Director usually requests some analyses from us. MS. KIMBALL: Okay, so the 21st MS. MIURA: Yes. June 21 would be great. It's before our appeal season starts, and that would be a great time for us. MS. KIMBALL: All right. Well, happy to make the motion, then, to postpone this to the June 21" agenda. Motion to Postpone: Ms. Kimball moved to postpone Bill 43, as amended to Draft 2, to June 21, 2023. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. ACTING CHR. INABA: Any discussion on the postponement? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, I had a follow-up question before we move to postpone. ACTING CHR. INABA: On the postponement only. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Before the postponement. I mean, I can ask after. ACTING CHR. INABA: The motion was recognized. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. ACTING CHR. INABA: Any further discussion on the postponement? All those in favor of the postponement to June 21", please say "aye." Page 82 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Vote on Motion to The motion to postpone Bill 43, as amended to Draft 2, to Postpone: June 21, 2023, was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Acting Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. INABA: Bill 43, as amended, is postponed. With that, we're going to move to our last agenda item, and before we do that, I'll pass the chair back to Chair Kimball. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Acting Chair Inaba relinquished the chair to Chair Kimball. Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to remove Res. 163-23 from the table. Remove from Table: Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice (Approved) vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Kimball —8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: We have returned back to Resolution 163. I believe we have a couple of amendments. Motion to Amend: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to amend Res. 163-23 with the contents of Comm. 269.2. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Just for the Council, in listening to the Director today and looking over the MOU and to what I find important about a shift towards a greener society is including this word"green." And again, I said it's a very simple amendment and it really is, but there's some really strong intentionality behind that. If we just say "hydrogen" and we don't specify how we're moving forward, to me, that's an issue. That would mean we can move towards doing grid-based hydrogen production, which is, to me, not the best of solutions. Or any number of the other colors of hydrogen which come from Page 83 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 questionable sources, which to me is not the solution. If we're truly moving towards sustainability, towards ending our dependence on fossil fuels, then there's a very strong importance to saying "green" hydrogen. The ramifications of a hydrogen society and the different wording in there, I'm so-so on those. There's been a lot of questions about these things. But I do want to make sure that we are moving towards a green hydrogen society or green hydrogen infrastructure, not just willy-nilly hydrogen all over the place. Just to be clear, we are currently making hydrogen off of HELCO (Hawai`i Electric Light Company, Inc.)-based power for our NELHA (Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority) facility, for our buses. Not the best of solutions when we say we're doing hydrogen, and we're adopting these things to help the environment. We're using grid-based energy, which is 60 percent renewable right now. That's like saying 40 percent of our hydrogen is produced via fossil fuels. So a fairly simple amendment. I hope for everyone's support. I'm open to questions. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Any other discussion on the amendment? MS. KAGIWADA: I'm just wondering if we have Director Adams back? CHR. KIMBALL: I just texted him. He will be joining us shortly. Actually, I see he needs to be admitted. I don't know who's managing our Zoom. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'll go ask Relley. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Nora. He should be right here. There we go. Thank you. All right, we have a question for you, Director Adams. Thank you for rejoining us. (Note: At this time, Research and Development Director Douglass Adams came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ADAMS: Thank you, Chair. MS. KAGIWADA: Thanks for coming back, Director. We have an amendment before us that inserts the word"green": ". . . toward a `green' hydrogen society . . . ." Just wondering your feedback on that particular amendment. MR. ADAMS: I think that's a good amendment, and I had the opportunity to ask the Mayor about it. He's also in favor of that. That makes a lot of sense from our perspective. It's about the green economy that we are all focused on. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you. I yield. Page 84 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor of amending Resolution 163 with the contents of Communication 269.2,please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Res. 163-23 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 269.2 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Kimball —8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 163, as amended, is now amended. Council Member Inaba, if you would. Motion to Amend: Mr. Inaba moved to amend Res. 163-23 with the contents of Comm. 269.3. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KIMBALL: I just want to confirm, if somebody can give me a thumbs up over there in Hilo, that you all received a copy of this communication. All right, great. Thank you. I'll go ahead and actually just briefly describe the intention of this amendment. Listening to the conversation of folks,just some clarity. I agree with some of the comments made, but this was a hastily and perhaps imperfectly constructed resolution. However, these sorts of procedural things do happen all of the time, as Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder mentioned. It is not unusual that they are rushed because our time—it takes about a month to get through our process, and oftentimes, the Federal and State partners don't always give us that much time. But I wanted to just allay some of the concerns that this was anything more than an opportunity for the County to engage in a learning process with some partners, both nationally and internationally, which I think is a wonderful opportunity. So changing the word "agreement"to make sure it's clear that this is a nonbinding memorandum of understanding, making it clear that we are sharing best practices and strategies to implement. Not actually engaging in implementation, which will require further Council action. A lot of folks got hung up with the word"society," so we're just going to change that to a little something more milder and say "economy." So I ask for my colleagues' support on the amendment of this resolution. Corporation Counsel and I believe Director Adams have had a chance to review these proposed changes as well. Any other comments on the amendment? MS. EVANS: Thank you. Page 85 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Question on how this would tie in to the amendment we passed. CHR. KIMBALL: I believe from previous practice that because we're amending these at the same time, that this will not override your most recent amendment. They'll be incorporated together into the final. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So then, looking at the wording, it would say "towards a green hydrogen economy." CHR. KIMBALL: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's fair. Okay. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Any further discussion on the amendment? All right, seeing none, all those in favor of amending Resolution 163 with the contents of Communication 269.3,please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Res. 163-23 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 269.3 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Kimball —8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Resolution 163 is amended. Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to suspend Council Rule 23 to waive Suspend Council the holdover for the substantive amendment of Rules: Res. 163-23. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the (Approved) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Kimball —8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Page 86 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 CHR. KIMBALL: We are back to the main motion, as amended, for Resolution 163-23. Any further discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Just on behalf of the community, there are some questions that are floating around, and I'm going to ask some pointed questions that pertain to this agreement that were potentially affirming today. But I'm hoping to get some answers from the Director. Director, I can see that you're in a vehicle, so do your best, okay. The others may ask you some more deeper questions. We have DOE funding for potential hubs and the creation of hubs, correct? MR. ADAMS: There is an application that's been made by the State to DOE for their hydrogen hub initiative. We're part of the cohort that's part of that. This initiative is not associated with that particular hub initiative. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. County of Hawaii was selected as an H2 Twin City participant, correct, within accordance with Lancaster and Namie? MR. ADAMS: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. How does that tie in to the DOE coalition hub formation? MR. ADAMS: There are two different awards. The H2 Twin City mentor/mentee initiative is associated with the Clean Energy Ministerial, which is an international organization. The DOE provides the funding, which is the $100,000 grant award that's associated with being named an award winner, I guess. The H2Hub (Hawai`i Pacific Hydrogen Hub) initiative is a multibillion-dollar regional hub initiative that DOE, on its own entity as a part of, I believe, the IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) (inaudible), I think the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided the authorization and funding for. So these are two different—they are two different initiatives and not connected except that the DOE is providing funding for both. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: The DOE is providing funding for both programs. The State went to the DOE with this application for the creation of more hub infrastructure? MR. ADAMS: Yes Page 87 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: The H2 MR. ADAMS: Sorry, go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Sorry. You want to that statement is good or no? MR. ADAMS: The State applied as of thein early April was the deadline. So they applied in early April. They had been invited to based on the concept paper that was delivered in December of 2022. They were invited to apply. They did. They made the application in April by the deadline, along with a coalition of private-public nonprofit sector entities. The decision by the DOE on which of the applicants will be receiving funding, that is anticipated sometime in later 2023. So that's a completely different grant process. The application that was made by the various cities, whether two, or three in our case, was made in May of 2022. And it was for the selection for this Twin Cities initiative. There were two awardees for that. One was the triumvirate of jurisdictions: Namie, Lancaster, Hawaii County. And then the other one was Aberdeen, Scotland, and I believe Kyoto—could be Kobe but another jurisdiction in Japan. And they were the only recipients. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I think it was Kobe. MR. ADAMS: Right. So they were the other jurisdictions that had applied that were successful in receiving the grant. Those are two different—even though DOE is providing the funding, those are two distinct initiatives. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Chair, I yield for now. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Any further discussion? Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. On the main resolution, I just wanted to kind of understand. According to the copy of the memorandum of understanding, it states that this alliance is likely to be organized as a California nonprofit organization. So I'm just wondering how that is going to work because it's not just our three entities working together. It's establishing a separate organization. So could you, Director Adams, share a little bit about how that is supposed to be working in our role in that organization? MR. ADAMS: Yes. Thank you, Council Member. The nonprofit serves as primarily the means for accepting the funds from the DOE. It is not a completed entity yet. It can't be because for the Mayor to serve as a member of the board of directors, we need to bring that back to the Council, right, because that particular authority would, again, be a potential obligation upon the County in his role as a member of the board of directors. So we were not—that has not yet been Page 88 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 completed. But the working design is that the nonprofit is formed under California nonprofit law with Lancaster as the operating entity and with the respective mayors serving as the board of directors for the entity. The development of the nonprofit is to make the fiscal operations smoother for both DOE and the three jurisdictions, meaning that the nonprofit would then suffice as the primary place for the funds to come and for the budget to be managed. MR. INABA: These are the funds that were awarded to Lancaster? Or are these funds that would be sought out by the alliance? MR. ADAMS: I believe the answer is both. We have not moved into any conversations about solicitation of funds other than the idea that that might be a good idea. But, currently, the only funds that are part of this grant are the 100,000 that DOE has provided that then would be received by this nonprofit once it is stood up. MR. INABA: Okay. I'm sorry, that was for the 100,000 or is that for all the funding? MR. ADAMS: There's only 100,000. It's for the 100,000. MR. INABA: And the DOE is aware and, even though they awarded it to Lancaster, would award it to a nonprofit? MR. ADAMS: Correct. That's the way they prefer it. MR. INABA: Okay. That's all the questions I have for now. I need to think about this. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Vice Chair Inaba. Any other discussion on the resolution, as amended? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, I have one more question. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Last question unless you bring up something amazing. Mr. Adams, is this in any way tied to what we're calling the Hawaii Pacific H2Hub that has been discussed since 1974, and there was recently funding set aside for a Hawaii hydrogen power park? MR. ADAMS: I apologize. Your naming of that is the first I've heard of it. This is not associated with that. Page 89 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Does it have anything to do with an act authored by Senator English, Act 240, in 2006? MR. ADAMS: Again, my apologies for not knowing about that. I am not aware of that, and this is not associated with that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I'm going to send you a link and take a look at it, but I'll be supporting this today. MR. ADAMS: I am confident that this is not associated with that because if it was, I would know about that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Understood. Appreciate that. Director Adams, I do appreciate your time today. I'm going to say something to our Chair. I understand the concerns, but the more I look at our future, I am concerned that we are not doing more faster. I did solar for ten years. That's an amazing step. I do believe hydrogen is our next step, and the reason for that is there is going to be infrastructure like anything else. But I look at the impact that fossil fuels have had on our planet, and I look at what it's going to continue to do. I am concerned. I spent a lot of time in the Bay area. The Bay area is full of refineries. Nobody wants a refinery in their backyard. Nobody wants another Exxon Valdez. Nobody likes what oil does to our planet. And so we start looking at alternatives for our future and for our keiki, and we fight things like this. It doesn't make sense unless something absolutely burning is on the back end that we're not seeing. I do not see this in this resolution. I do not see this in this agreement. I see this as a positive step towards finding solutions towards our energy needs that we do not step away from. We all like the beauty and the joys of everything we have in our modern lives. I'm going to support this resolution. I do appreciate the communities' input and I'm listening, but I'm not seeing the potential for catastrophic failure at any level from making a decision on this resolution today. I'll be supporting this in its amended form. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Any further communications, comments? Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Director Adams, I'm sorry to direct this at you because it's really if you could communicate to the Mayor and the Mayor's office, I'd appreciate it. I don't feel good about the way this came through. As I see the Mayor posting things on Instagram saying, "I'm here to sign this,"without us having voted on this, I feel really like the public and we have been very disrespected. He's got it as a done deal, and he's asking—he's put this resolution forward. So it's not a done deal. Sorry to be emotional about it, but I just don't understand how the tone deafness there that we have so many people saying Page 90 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 they're concerned about this, and yet we've got the Mayor saying, you know, "Here I am signing the thing." So I just hope you can communicate that with him and let him know that this isn't an okay way to operate. I will be very reluctantly voting for this because I like the amendments that we put in place. It's nonbinding. I have assurances from you and from our Corp. (Corporation) Counsel that we are not committing resources to this at this time and that you'll be coming back to us in a timely way. I will say if for some reason you don't come back to us in a timely way or we skip steps, I will automatically be voting against anything having to do with this project if steps are skipped once again. But I appreciate it. Like I said, I'm not aiming this at you,just the whole Administration to be a little more aware of what's going on and to not kind of flout their power. And I think we've been put in a hard position, and we don't really have a choice. So I'll be reluctantly supporting. Thanks. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. On this resolution, I personally don't have enough knowledge on hydrogen technologies. There's been I think over 25 pieces of testimony in opposition. I've gotten direct calls and emails. And I would appreciate being able to vote in favor of a resolution like this had we been given the opportunity to learn, especially knowing that this has been in the workings for quite a while. So, on the opposite end, reluctantly going to be opposing this resolution and ask the same from Council Member Kagiwada, that this information, that we be in the loop and things not be rushed. So that is what I will do on behalf of my constituents and the testimony we received today. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Any further discussion? MS. EVANS: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. Given that we just amended this resolution with language that I love, the fact it says "nonbinding," "a memorandum of understanding," it's about sharing practices and strategies, I think that's kind of where we need to be to gain confidence with the community that we're not giving a blank, you know,just enter an agreement and do whatever without having public comment,public transparency, having public input. But given that the Administration and my colleagues have really been willing to support the change, I will be supporting the amended language. So thank you so much. And I really want to echo what my two previous Council Members said—Council Member Inaba and Council Member Kagiwada—and, of course, Council Member Villegas who was so elegant earlier today, saying that we really need to Page 91 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 get back to trust between all of us and what—this is the authority of the Council, which is what Corporation Counsel said to us, that she believed the authority lies with us in terms of giving authority and the go ahead to the Mayor to do this. And I do feel like we were kind of left out at the last minute and pushed up against the wall on this, which is unfortunate. But I think, Chair Kimball, to your credit, you listened. You heard what we had to say, and you've amended, I think, to where it, I think, probably should have been at the very beginning. So, with that, I will support. And thanks for the thank you, everyone. This has been a tough one. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Council Member Evans. Further discussion? Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thanks, Chair. I sat back and listened and had my offline conversations with Judge Strance. And I really think that these amendments, given the situation—and I really appreciate the hard work of my colleagues to kind of land someplace where it's just palatable for all of us. I'm actually going to be voting kanalua-yes because, like my colleagues, I think we need to have options. We are an island and when it comes to energy and reducing our need on fossil fuels, I think we have to have a crayon box of options. But I also want to stand in support with my other colleagues who are really struggling with the Administration's approach on this. I think we're all trying to do our best, but the Council really got put between rocks and hard places and it wasn't our doing. We're trying to elevate a conversation and bring good information to the public. And what's completely missing in this particular process was the listening-session process. And I really had hoped, and I'm going to hold Mr. Adams accountable to this, during his discussions about this particular resolution and the agreement, it was this exchange of information but there was also a pledge to listen. And I really hope as we move this into community, that we double down on the listening-session pieces, not only the learning pieces but the learning-session pieces. And so, for those reasons, like I said, support; I think we need to move this forward. But I want to acknowledge this just was clunky. We all worked really hard, given the situation, and I'll be voting kanalua-yes. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Anyone else? All right, thank you. I'll just— MR. ustMR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? Sorry. CHR. KIMBALL: Oh, yes. Go ahead, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I need to say that I totally support Ms. Kagiwada's commitment to require that the Administration show up. Mr. Adams, you've been here. But to Ms. Kagiwada's point, when you put the Page 92 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Council in a hard spot, at least show up and be present and answer the questions and answer community concerns, and not via press release but via the questions that come up at the Council and be a part of the process. That is a completely valid statement. After five years, I've seen this again and again. Be here for the important things. And if you're not, that sends a pretty clear message to the community. And you don't want to start something off that's important to you in that manner. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. All right, just to summarize my own position on this, also going to support the resolution, as amended. This process was something that Corporation Counsel determined. It was vague in terms of the (Hawai`i) Revised Statutes, as it was actually required, but it was a best practice to actually put it before Council. This is not an uncommon thing for us procedurally to deal with these types of nonbinding resolutions. I think it was wise for the Administration to put it before us as a resolution rather than just letting it go ahead. I would say the whole process that we go through with a Committee hearing and then a Council hearing like that is intentional, to give plenty of opportunity for the public to weigh in. We do make exceptions to that when there are aggressive timelines. I do echo some of the comments made by my colleagues about,please, Director Adams, if you can ensure that in the future these are actually delivered to us in a more timely way so that we have the opportunity for those two public hearings. I think it is important for us, collectively as the County, to show our commitment to transparency to the public. I just wanted to make one final comment too. I kicked off today's hearing with a reminder about decorum. And one of the comments that I have to make—and this is not directed to any individual in particular—but we received a significant number of emails regarding this matter. I'm speaking here on behalf of myself, but in the interest of all of you as members of this Council, and I want to encourage folks out there in the public to be careful with the language that they use. And remember, even if you're not at a public hearing, testimony ends up in the public forum. And to be derogatory or critical of the person's intention or who they are as a human being, as a member of this Council, that's not appropriate. It's also probably not going to sway our opinion. So I want to encourage people to reflect before they hit the send button on those emails, and make sure that they are representing their best self. It is absolutely your right to disagree with us. It is your right to disagree with the position of the Council. We are not, though, here to be punching bags when you're angry. And we're not here to be criticized as human beings. We were selected by our communities to serve in these positions, and when you make those insults towards our personal character, you're actually expressing that insult to the entire community that has supported us being here. So I appreciate it. For Page 93 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 anyone that's listening to just be thoughtful about the types of messages you send this body. With that, I will move forward with the vote. I would request that we have a roll call, Mr. Clerk. Vote on Res. 163-23: The motion to adopt Res. 163-23, as amended to Draft 2, Draft 2 was carried by the following roll call vote: (Adopted) Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Kimball —7. Noes: Council Member Inaba— 1. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. (Note: Ms. Kagiwada and Ms. Lee Loy voted "kanalua" then "aye.") ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of THE DAY the Day (Second or Final Reading). (SECOND OR FINAL READING): (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) REPORTS: The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Reports. (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) OTHER The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Other BUSINESS: Business. (There were none.) ANNOUNCE- The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, MENTS: Announcements. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. With that, I want to yield the floor to Council Member Kierkiewicz, who wanted to make a few comments before we close today. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. That was heavy. This is heavy. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Kilauea volcanic eruption. It's really hard to believe that five years has already passed. It just feels like yesterday when Chas Quihano and a number of us were pulling together Pu`uhonua O Puna, or what was known as the Hub. And then all of us, as a local and global community, just watching in awe as lava spilled from the earth, changing lives and Puna's landscape forever. Page 94 Hawaii County Council-11 May 3,2023 Having been elected amidst the eruption really shaped my office's charge and mandate. Recovery and resilience were top priority and continue to be. And there's no playbook for how we do this. There's no guide from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) that's published. We, here on Hawaii Island, we, the Puna community, are writing that playbook. I don't want to focus on the devastation of that time. It's still pretty sore for folks that are still struggling to get back home or had to move away. Instead, I want to take a moment to really celebrate the incredible collaboration that has given birth between our community and our County during this event and in the aftermath of the eruption. From the beginning, we saw neighbors helping neighbors, people opening their homes to those who had to evacuate. We saw community groups and organizations step up to provide additional essential services to those in need, and even conduct animal rescue missions. We saw County workers working tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of all of our residents, and we brought community together at the Hub and showed the world aloha in action by the people and for the people. After the eruption, the County engaged residents on a renewed vision for Puna where we developed the Kilauea Recovery and Resilience Plan. Resources were secured from State and Federal partners. Tens of millions of dollars not seen by the Puna community before really seems like a lot, but it's a drop in the bucket and not really enough when you consider the magnitude of the eruption impact and the desire to also solve long-standing challenges in the region. Through the recovery process over the last five years, we've restored roads. We've launched a housing buyout program. We've launched two innovative grant programs—Puna Strong and Kilauea Recovery—and initiated Revitalize Puna, which is an intentional collaboration between County government and community. All of this has been built from scratch and are truly excellent examples of what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause. Of course, none of this has been easy. Recovery continues to be a work in progress. It's never enough and it always seems to be too slow, but we are trying. I think through it all we learned the true meaning of resilience as we face challenges and overcame them together. We learned that in the face of adversity we can come together and accomplish amazing things. But as much as we've achieved in the last five years, there's still so much work to be done: more roads to restore, more water infrastructure to put in. Isaac Hale Beach Park needs to be restored, and we need our boat ramp back. Folks are still waiting to get back to their homes and farms, so we must continue to work towards a more resilient, fully resilient Puna where everyone is safe and healthy and has access to everything they need to thrive here on the islands. Page 95 Hawai`i County Council-11 May 3,2023 And so, today, we mark this important anniversary. I just encourage everybody to take a moment to reflect on all that we've been able to accomplish together and to recommit ourselves to the work that still lies ahead. Thank you very much, Chair, for the latitude to share this reflection on behalf of the Puna community. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you so much, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Any other announcements from the body today? Seeing none, I'll take a motion to adjourn. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 1:12 p.m., Ms. Galimba moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Kimball—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: We are adjourned at 1:12. Thank you, everyone. JUN 0 7 2023 Council Approval: AL111110411L CO ''• JH/dg Page 96