Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN LAAC 2023/06/06 (2022-2024) Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions 1Oth Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii June 6, 2023 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions ORDER: was called to order at 11:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Vice Chair Ms. Cindy Evans, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (came in later) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (came in later) STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) CHR. INABA: We're going to take Resolution 188-23 out of order. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Committee Members, the of Business: following items were taken out of order. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. LAAC-10 June 6,2023 Res. 188-23: 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 DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with the option to renew for two additional five-year terms with Giampaolo Boschetti and Donna-Jean Walden, for approximately 14,704 square feet of warehouse space and secured parking at an estimated monthly cost of$8,500. Reference: Comm. 312 Intr. by: Mr. Inaba(B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend adoption of Res. 188-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Good morning. We have Deputy Iokepa-Moses from DEM (Department of Environmental Management) here. If you'd like to come forward? We also have Mr. Hamana Ventura from our Finance Department as well. Deputy Iokepa-Moses, if you'd like to just share and give us an overview, please? (Note: At this time, Environmental Management Deputy Director Brenda Iokepa-Moses came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. IOKEPA-MOSES: Good morning. This is Brenda Iokepa-Moses, Deputy Director with Department of Environmental Management. This acquisition of a lease for our Wastewater personnel is way overdue. They don't have space in the current facility as it is, but more timely than odds is our anticipated construction happening this summer, potentially early fall, they will be displaced. And so, in order to continue operations, we really need to find a house for them now. We've been blessed to have one at the Hilo Motors Facility, if you guys are aware of where that is. Department of Environmental Management, Water Department, current location that we're at, the offices is less than walking distance. It's about a block away. Right next to Ola Bew, which is not something that we looked at when we got the place, but it is conveniently located right next to Ola Brew. I think one of the unique things about this property is that it's an area that we can actually accommodate the 10 vehicles that personnel will be driving to the site, as well as the company vehicles and the equipment. That was a hard find for Hamana to muster up a place within the Hilo vicinity, close to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, to find that, how to accommodate that much outside space. So we feel like this is a very unique space. We really want to jump on it. And, you know, our project, Phase 1 and 2, will probably be able an eight-year project when it's completely done. So we have a five-year lease with a five-year lease option so we don't have to come in front of you again. Page 2 LAAC-10 June 6,2023 But again, Hamana negotiated a little bit better price for us. So we appreciate that. And I think this is a positive thing for our staff. They really have had no space for themselves, the line crew to have a place just to gather in the mornings to have meetings and to talk, because we're just all on top of each other. The new facility, of course, will accommodate all of our employees when the new facility is done. So this is a blessing for us to have. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Deputy. Mr. Ventura, anything you want to add right now? Okay, here for questions. Opening it up to the Committee. Any discussion? Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Just a quick question. Are you foreseeing that the five years would be enough or do you think it's going to go into another five year term? MS. IOKEPA-MOSES: Potentially, the second. We'll definitely probably have an opt for the second option for sure. I don't think the third option will be done with construction by then. But just like I said, right now we could've used that place without even going into construction because we really don't have enough—we really try to take care of our employees in a better way, letting them have a place to put their stuff in lockers and things like that. So yeah, I think there's more likely than not we'll go into the second option. MS. GALIMBA: So it would be sort of a permanent facility? MS. IOKEPA-MOSES: Yeah. Yeah. MS. GALIMBA: That sounds great. Thanks. Thanks for finding it. CHR. INABA: Alright. There being no further discussion, motion on the floor is to forward Resolution 188-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All those in favor, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 188-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 188-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas —2. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Moving on. We'll just go backwards. Let's go with Resolution 187-23. Page 3 LAAC-10 June 6,2023 Res. 187-23: AUTHORIZES THE ABANDONMENT AND SALE OF A PORTION OF THE MAMALAHOA HIGHWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY, IDENTIFIED AS REMNANT R-1, SITUATED AT HOLUALOA Seeks to abandon and sell a 215 square foot discontinued right-of-way of Mamalahoa Highway at a price established by the finance director that is based on the square foot value used for determining the real property tax valuations of the abutting owners. Reference: Comm. 311 Intr. by: Mr. Inaba(B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend adoption of Res. 187-23. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. CHR. INABA: For this item we have our Deputy Corporation Counsel for DPW (Department of Public Works), Mr. Sinclair. Good morning. If you could just give the Committee an overview of this request? (Note: At this time, Deputy Corporation Counsel Sinclair Salas-Ferguson came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. SALAS-FERGUSON: Sure. Good morning. Deputy Corporation Counsel Sinclair Salas-Ferguson, Attorney for DPW. So, I just have a one minute presentation for you guys, broken up with the law and the facts. I'll start with the law. Council has the authority to allow Finance or DPW to sell remnant pieces of County property. Remnants are pieces of County-owned property that are unsuitable for development or County use. In this case, the remnant is a 215 square-foot piece of abandoned highway right-of-way. And the facts for this particular remnant are that in 1965, a home was built on the Mori property trust. Unfortunately, a corner of the structure and its roof encroach into the County right-of-way. That encroached area is Remnant R-1. And the homeowner approached the County, they want to conduct work on their home, but they cannot get the permits until the encroachment issue is resolved. Therefore, Department of Public Works and Finance asked that the Council approve the resolution so that the County can sell this piece of property to the Mori Trust and allow the homeowner to conduct needed improvements. And I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Deputy. Opening it up to the Committee. Any questions or discussion? Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Just wanting to know. It says the Finance Director based it on a square-foot value used for determining the real property tax valuations. How did they come up with the square-foot value? I mean, I'm a little confused by that Page 4 LAAC-10 June 6,2023 statement. So, is it based on residential property sales in the area, because when you have a small remnant parcel, there is no highest and best use? I mean I don't see how you could use it. (Note: At this time, Finance Property Manager Hamana Ventura came forward to address the members of the committee.) MR. VENTURA: Hamana Ventura. Property Manager. So, in this case what we do is we're able to take the market value and divide it by the square foot and come up with a per square-foot price. MS. EVANS: Is it the market value of their home? MR. VENTURA: Assessed value. MS. EVANS: Their assessed value of their home and their land? MR. VENTURA: Correct. MS. EVANS: Okay. And they're okay with that? MR. VENTURA: Yes. MS. EVANS: Okay. Thank you. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: I just want to make a comment. I'm sure this is not what they were expecting when they pulled a building permit to modify their home, to have a resolution, have to come before Council, get it approved, before they can even start to begin the work. I couldn't help myself. Thank you. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor of forwarding Resolution 187-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation, say aye. Vote on Res. 187-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 187-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas —2. Excused: None. Page 5 LAAC-10 June 6,2023 CHR. INABA: Moving on to the last item on the agenda. Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business. of Business: COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 303: FORMATION OF AN AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR THE COUNTY WAIWAI GRANTS From Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Chair Holeka Goro Inaba, dated May 4, 2023. The ad hoc committee would evaluate and review the 2023- 2024 application process, discuss and provide recommendations for improvements to the 2024-2025 application process, and make recommendations on the six-month progress report and review process. Motion to Close File: Ms. Lee Loy moved to close file on Comm. 303. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: With the approval of the Committee, if I could just continue to Chair and basically explain this communication? Alright, thank you so much. Having gone through this last round of applications and awards, I did share at the end, when we made our final recommendations, that we wanted to stand up another permitted interaction group to kind of review how this last year went, what improvements we could make for the future application, and also looking at how we're doing our six-month progress report. Basically, it's kind of an overall review of what we're doing on the application and reporting front so that we can provide our nonprofits the best information possible next time around. So happy to have anyone from the committee, but I would anticipate perhaps those who were part of this year's last permitted interaction group would be those interested in providing recommendations on how to improve the process. So, happy to open it up now starting with Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Inaba. I volunteer as tribute. I would love to sit on this Committee one more time. I think it has been an evolution since my time on the Council. And so, if I can volunteer or be voluntold, would love to sit on this Committee. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. For the record we have Council Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas now in chambers. We're on Communication 303. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair Inaba, for bringing this communication forward. I think that all of us wanted to ensure that this process just continues to Page 6 LAAC-10 June 6,2023 evolve. And so, thank you for taking the time to set this up. And I think it's a good idea for us to just debrief after every conversation and figure out how we can continue to tweak the process. So, I'm not going to volunteer because I have enough other activities on my plate, but I'm willing to support the people, "go team,"that want to be part of the new Committee. Thank you for putting this forward. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Yeah. Happy to be on the Committee. I'm not necessarily the greatest detailed person, but I did have some ideas going on this last round. So, happy to work on the process and, yeah, thank you for doing this. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I'd be happy to join the group and the process. It was very interesting the first time around and I'm kind of hoping that we can streamline it and make it a lot more, you know, not so cumbersome. It was a lot to go through all those. And also, I think giving direction to people not to apply three, four, five times. You know, I mean there's just things that I think we can do. So, from that experience, I'd like to participate. So, thank you for continuing this. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member. Thank you. Anyone else? Alright, again, this communication states the scope of this permitted interaction group. One, being to evaluate and review the 2023-2024 application process to discuss; two, to discuss and provide recommendations for improvements to the 2024-2025 application process; and three, to make recommendations on the six-month progress report and review process. And with that, I'm going to ask for a motion to postpone Communication 303 to the call of the Chair, to allow time MR. BROWN: If you don't mind, Chair, could you just state for the record real clearly who are the members sitting on the ad hoc,please? CHR. INABA: Yes. Apologies. I will serve as Chair of this ad hoc with members Lee Loy, Galimba, and Evans as members of this permitted interaction group. Motion to Postpone: Ms. Lee Loy made a motion to postpone Comm. 303 to the call of the Chair. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Any discussion on the postponement? Okay. And then just for everyone's knowledge, the postponement is a part of our procedures to allow this permitted interaction group to work on these things listed in the scope and a report Page 7 LAAC-10 June 6,2023 will be provided upon completion of that work. So, with that, all those in favor of postponing Communication 303 to the Call of the Chair,please say "aye." Vote on Motion The motion to postpone Comm. 303 to the call of Chair to Postpone: was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: This brings us to the end of our agenda. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 11:16 a.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Kimball and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: The meeting is adjourned at 11:16 a.m. Mahalo. Approved: Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair (Date) Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee HI/tk Page 8