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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN LAAC 2023/10/03 (2022-2024)Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions 17th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii October 3, 2023 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions ORDER: was called to order at 2:00 p.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 (came in later) 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 Absent & Excused: Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Toni Withington: Alan Rolph: Blake McNaughton: (representing Makahanaloa Fishing Association) Res. 285 (Comm. 494), in support; and Res. 286 (Comm. 495), in support. Comm. 336.1, in support. Res. 263 (Comm. 460), in support. Tracey Wise: Res. 263 (Comm. 460), in support. (representing Pepe`ekeo Community Development Corp.) Kai McGuire: Comm. 336.1, in support. LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 Ed Johnston: Res. 263 (Comm. 460), in support. Glenn Carvalho: Res. 263 (Comm. 460), comment. Ku`ulani Muise: Res. 263 (Comm. 460), comment. Victoria Haili: Res. 263 (Comm. 460), in support. (representing Pepe`ekeo Community Development Corp.) Nick Frazier: Res. 263 (Comm. 460), in support. (representing Makahanaloa Fishing Association) CHR. INABA: Mahalo. We'll take Resolution 263-23 out of order, please. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Committee Members, of Business: the following items were taken out of order: Res. 263-23: AUTHORIZES THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE ACQUISITION OF ALL OR A PORTION OF THE PROPERTY IDENTIFIED AS TAX MAP KEY: 2-8-008:100, SITUATED IN THE `ILI OF PEPE`EKEO, AHUPUA`A OF MAKAHANALOA, DISTRICT OF HILO, UTILIZING THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND The County seeks to acquire approximately 38.25 acres of land to protect cultural and natural resources and freshwater springs and streams, preserve and plant native coastal plants, revive agricultural lands as agroforest, facilitate managed public access for fishing and gathering sites, and enable community-based management and stewardship. The parcel is listed as priority number eight in the 2021 Annual Report of the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission. Reference: Comm. 460 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend passage of Res. 263-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. It is really an honor to be bringing this resolution to you folks and kicking off this process. I'm just going to be here and be the politician and answer any questions about the legislation, because I think the community members, both those of them that were here today and those that submitted email testimony are really the best advocates for this Page 2 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 property and this resolution. I don't think I could say anything more eloquent than what has been said by these community members. I'm a little bothered that you took it out of order because as we were sitting here, I'm like, "I've got pictures." I was going to send them Relley and see if he could put it all up on the screen so you guys could see. It is a truly, truly magical place. You know, in my time here on Council, this area has been one of my biggest heartbreaks because of the history, because of what has happened, and because of the folks that are sitting before you not having that access. So, this resolution really starts us on a process of healing and I'm so grateful that the community has worked with me to put this together and I just humbly ask for your full support of this resolution. Mahalo, Chair. I yield. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Opening it up to questions or comments from the Committee. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thanks, Chair. And thank you for all your testifying. I just want to say I'm in full support and glad that there will be, hopefully, a PONC (Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation) property in Hilo and hopefully it will not be the last, even if it's the first. So, I really understand how this is so important to so many of your `ohana's and going back generations, but also going forward, it seems like, for your keiki. So, I fully support. Thank you, Chair. CHR. INABA: Any other discussion? Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. In support. You know, and Blake mentioned it and I went, "Oh no, Keaukaha was first." Then I was like, no, that was just an easement, not a whole property. So, in support of this resolution. What I think is incredibly brilliant at this time is, you know, the property owner is willing to sell, but you already have a community that is ready to launch into that stewardship fund and start stewarding the property. And I get really excited when there's a real holistic approach to purchasing these properties, putting them in conservation, but making sure that they're maintained by members of the community. So, I actually look forward to not only passing this but watching them come back when they begin to access the stewardship fund. Really an honor to support. I yield. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I just wanted to take a moment to recognize all of our testifiers here. Thank you for your heartfelt remarks and for sharing your connection and history of this incredibly important `aina. It's really exciting that we have this program here in our county. More than $20 million available to acquire these parcels. So, I'm just really excited that this community Page 3 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 has a chance and appreciate the idea of demonstrating what a successful ahupua`a in this particular community could look like and ensuring that there is access in perpetuity to enjoy this space, but also to reintegrate and refamiliarize our community with ancient practices. So, really excited for all of this. And thank you, Council Member Kimball, for working with community to make this happen. I yield. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: I'm totally in support, of course. It's wonderful. I guess, I'm just really happy that this is kind of rehashing old battles for me. I was on the Charter Commission and there was a big push to get rid of PONC by a part of the county that hadn't really used it. And so, I'm really glad that every part of the county should use it because it is an amazing tool to keep these resources on our island in community hands. So, really, really glad that it's Hilo having a property being purchased. CHR. INABA: Mahalo, Council Member Galimba. With that, in total support as well. Mahalo to our testifiers for bringing Pepe`ekeo to us today via mo`olelo and the inoa of our wahi there. Just wanting to share, you know, this is a big part of the process right here. And I want to mahalo, Maxine Cutler from our PONC staff for really working with our PONC Commission, with our stewards of our different parcels across our island, and we really encourage, and I would say, you know, on behalf of the Council, this is $1.9 million listed. It's within reach. So, I really encourage the administration to follow through and purchase this property, especially being the first in Hilo. So, with that, there's a motion on the floor to forward Resolution 263-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All those in favor, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 263-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 263-23 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: Mahalo again for being here. We will go now, Mr. Clerk, to Communication 336.1, please. Page 4 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 Comm. 336.1: APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2023 STEWARDSHIP GRANTS FOR COUNTY LANDS ACQUIRED THROUGH THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND From Finance Director Deanna S. Sako, dated September 19, 2023, presenting four additional favorable recommendations for the following qualified nonprofit organizations requesting funding to maintain certain parcels acquired through the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund: • Pohaha I Ka Lani (Waipio Valley Lookout) Funds requested: $56,100 • Friends of Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Gardens Funds requested: $171,370 • Na Mamo O Kawa (Kawa and Kawa Beach) Funds requested: $123,788 • Na Maka Haloa O Waipio (Pohoiki) Funds requested: $48,000 Motion to Close File: Ms. Galimba moved to close file on Comm. 336.1. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. CHR. INABA: We have Maxine Cutler here as well as Hamana Ventura in our Kona conference room. And I believe one of you will be speaking on this communication today. Ms. Cutler. (Note: At this time, Property Management Technician Maxine Cutler came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. CUTLER: Thank you, Chair Inaba. I like this microphone because I've noticed in the past sessions it illuminates well. So, you can hear my voice if I go quiet. I'm Maxine Cutler. I work with the commission to help the stewardship grant applications come to where it is today. I'm also a Property Management Technician, where I assist in the evaluations of these applications. So, if you have any questions, I'm here for you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Ms. Cutler. Mr. Ventura, if there's anything you want to say, feel free to chime in, okay. Going to come back here to Hilo. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: I didn't mean to, but I do mean to. Yeah, I just want to thank Maxine for all her hard work she does in getting these stewardship grants put together for us. Two of them are in my district and they've received grants before. And they're both just really beautiful properties, they just really showcase what can happen with the PONC fund and with the stewardship grants. Welcome everyone to visit either of them. Thank you. Page 5 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 CHR. INABA: Mahalo. I just wanted to share; we do have Jesse Potter from Pohaha I Ka Lani joining via Zoom if anyone has questions regarding their grant. Any other discussion? Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Max or Hamana, I have a question about the application from Na Maka Haloa O Waipio, Aunty Annamarie Kon, related to stewardship of the Pohoiki parcel. Her request was pretty significant and there were a couple of items that were identified as not compliant with the Charter. Looking at the budget sheet, I'm going to make the connection, the $19,200 is related to the administration fee. Wondering what the other $80,000 that was identified as not eligible. MS. CUTLER: Okay, I had to look at Hamana. So, yeah, according to the Charter, the administration fee is not an expensable allowance. And then we did a deep dive into the request of the management plan, which consists of $80,000. So, at the time of application, we had first reviewed by the commission and there was information missing. So, the commission approved to defer the application because it was incomplete. During our initial evaluation with the applicant, we have asked for a scope, we had asked who are they talking to, to get to that dollar figure. And so, because of our evaluation, we found that we could not obtain certain criteria of that amount to justify that means. But instead of denying the entire application of disallowance, we decided to move forward with the maintenance side, which is the award we're asking for, this nonprofit of $48,000. We are supporting that amount. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Max, thank you so much for the explanation. I think it's really important because this is public funding that there are thresholds baseline criteria that must be met in order to access those funds. I also want to recognize, not just you and Hamana, but also members of the Commission who have offered to every single nonprofit that would like to steward PONC `aina. The opportunity to sit down; and review; and refine the applications, I think that's very generous of their time and their expertise. So, just want to confirm. For the Pohoiki parcel, $40,000, that would be supporting the educational events, as well as ongoing maintenance and stewardship activities? MS. CUTLER: Yes. Confirmed. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Perfect. And then, just to confirm. It's just one shot every year that nonprofits have to apply for these funds, the maintenance funds? MS. CUTLER: Currently, yes. Page 6 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Chair, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? If not, all those in favor of closing file on Communication 336.1, please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 336.1: The motion to close file on Comm. 336.1 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Inaba — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kagiwada and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Mahalo again, Ms. Cutler and Mr. Ventura, for being here today. We will continue on to Resolutionoh, he can't leave yet. Resolution 285-23. Res. 285-23: AWARDS A PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION MAINTENANCE FUND STEWARDSHIP GRANT TO KOHALA LIHIKAI Approves a grant of $36,651 to Kohala Lihikai, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to provide land stewardship and cultural education for the Halawa (Hale O K5'ili) property, (Tax Map Key: 5-3-007:022), pursuant to Section 10-16(h) of the Hawaii County Charter. Reference: Comm. 494 Intr. by: Ms. Evans Motion to Approve: Ms. Evans moved to recommend passage of Res. 285-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I ask for your favorable support. The group in North Kohala is so dedicated to protecting the lands for future generations. They've done amazing work and it's going to be money well spent. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Any further discussion? All those in favor of forwarding Resolution 285-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Page 7 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 Vote on Res. 285-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 285-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Inaba — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kagiwada and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Resolution 286, please. Res. 286-23 AWARDS A PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION MAINTENANCE FUND STEWARDSHIP GRANT TO KOHALA LIHIKAI Approves a grant of $59,298 to Kohala Lihikai, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to provide land stewardship, wildfire mitigation, and cultural education for the Kaiholena property, (Tax Map Keys: 5-8-001:011, 019, 020, 021, 022, and 023), pursuant to Section 10-16(h) of the Hawaii County Charter. Reference: Comm. 495 Intr. by: Ms. Evans Motion to Approve: Ms. Evans moved to recommend passage of Res. 286-23. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. INABA: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you, Members. Asking for your support. Again, this group has shown what they can do and in very support of this grant. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Any discussion? All those in favor of forwarding Resolution 286-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 286-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 286-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Inaba — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kagiwada and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. Page 8 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 CHR. INABA: Communication 303, and the accompanying, please. Return to Order The Chair director 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. Postponed: June 6, 2023 and September 19, 2023 (Note: There is a motion by Ms. Lee Loy, seconded by Ms. Galimba, to close file on Comm. 303.) ; and Comm 303.1: From Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Chair Holeka Goro Inaba, dated August 15, 2023, transmitting a request to report the ad hoc committee's findings and recommendations. ; and Comm. 303.2: From Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Chair Holeka Goro Inaba, dated September 8, 2023, transmitting draft documents regarding the upcoming Waiwai Nonprofit Grant cycle. CHR. INABA: Thank you. You have to love these permitted interaction group delays and all the read -ins. At the last reading we shared generally what the recommendations of the ad hoc are, and I'll just recap that real quick before opening it up for discussion, based on these recommendations. So again, the ad hoc worked to clean up the application, try and simplify it when we read through applications; wanting it to be more concise and not a lot of fluff. So, providing kind of that format for nonprofits to provide information clearly, limiting applications to two per organization. If an organization is serving as a fiscal sponsor, those applications don't count towards their own two application limit. Saying that we are not going to be funding travel for training and conferences. In the case where travel is part of the mission, for example, transporting students to Page 9 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 Honolulu for a tournament or something like that, that's directly related to fulfilling the mission, that type of travel could be funded. Not awarding applications that score less than 70 percent after all scores by the committee are averaged. And then, this is already in the code but perhaps wasn't necessarily understood or clearly stated in previous application cycles but capping the administrative and overhead cost to 15 percent per application. So, if any of those things are not met or if, you know, they put in 20 percent, the application isn't to be funded. And lastly, the six-month progress report, making sure that we are going to keep that but perhaps simplify it just to ensure that organizations are tracking along on their progress to meeting the outcomes that they committed to and the contract that they signed. So, those are kind of the main chunks of information. I'm going to perhaps open it up to our Committee Members first just to see if I might've missed anything and if not, we can discuss those things that were shared there. And again, copies of the application as well as the instructions and the rubric are all contained in Communication 303.2. So, pending our discussion today, we'll make last tweaks to that and send it to finance so we can get going being that applications open up at the end of November. So, starting over with Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I want to thank you, Chair Inaba, for just taking the lead on this. And it was a pleasure working with Members Galimba and Lee Loy on this. And there's was a lot of interesting discussion but the thing that struck me, that really stood out for me is putting it together in this format, we believe, I think I can speak for the four of us, that this will really empower those in our community and our nonprofits to hopefully excel. So, this will give them the, I suppose you could call it the experience so that they can apply for other grants. We see this as really helping them in the future because it really is the input that we had from Member Lee Loy's staff, was pretty incredible from their experience with grants. You know, I do think that it's really well structured. Hopefully, I think it's got better clarity. And again, I think anyone who's going to apply and really fill this out, we're really putting them forth towards excellence to where they can apply for other grants, and I think it will work. So. I ask for everybody's support on the changes. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Council Member Lee Loy. And before you say anything, I just wanted to also thankI always must thank Council Member Lee Loy's staff, because when it comes to this being that it lives Page 10 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 in this committee now, they were like my staff and so helpful in making sure things roll along. So, Jessica (Valdez) and Shelly (Ogata), mahalo. MS. LEE LOY: Exactly. Thank you for that. I was going to say, we're actually sharing staff during this time. And to Ms. Evans' point, you know, really the intention of building capacity within these nonprofit agencies so they can seek more funding and funding that has a longer runway is what we're learning. You know, these one-year cycles, which really boils down to nine months, where they have to get the money, spend it, and do their programs. But I also would maybe, at some point, not now, a lean in because what we're noticing in all of these fundings, or grant applications is that administrative fee. And if there was maybe even another economic opportunity where a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and or some accountant could tackle alongside all of our awardees, this offering of will help put together the budget sheet and account for the spend out, I think would also help increase the capacity of our nonprofits because we've learned earlier today, these are just community people who have a passion for, you know, a purpose, a one thing. And so, having with even offering that opportunity where we could take some of that back-office stuff or shove it over to another company, might be another way to help our nonprofits. But it really was a pleasure, Cindy, Holeka, and Michelle. Thank you for spending all that time with me. I yield. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. Just want to make sure we didn't miss anything. And then I'll head over to Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MS. GALIMBA: Thanks. I wanted to thank the other three members of the group and Council Member Lee Loy's staff, who've worked really, really hard and all the staff members that contributed to it. This new document, which I think really, it's an iterative process, so I think we've made some improvements. But we probably can make some more improvements the next time around after we go through this and see what we might've missed or what the unintended consequences might've been. But I think we really wanted to make it easier both for the applicants and for the reviewers to go through this process. That's all. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I really like a couple of the changes you guys have made. Limiting the two applications per applicant, correct? Not per program. So, two programs per applicant really is what they can come in with. CHR. INABA: You want someone to say it? Yup. Page 11 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Which is good, because we've seen one program, one applicant, come in with multiple programs and then take away a huge chunk of this funding. And I know in government we have a budget, we have a bucket, but sometimes, I mean, for the average person that's a lot of money, $2.5 million. And when we classify it as no less than $2.5 million, that's a huge amount of money. They do a lot of work, these nonprofits. But also, the more we can spread that across the board to different organizations. They may not have the best program writers or application filler-outers, this can do a lot. So, I really like that part and I also like this kind of limitations; travel funding, and administrative and overhead costs not exceeding a certain amount. That, leading to an immediate disqualification, correct? So, not a, "We'll contact you, let you know you're out of bounds," but you will be disqualified. CHR. INABA: Yes. And that's noticed on the instructions from the very top. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I like that a lot. I think you guys have done well. So, thank you. Thank you for getting very clear and for really utilizing public funds in a very proper way to benefit community. I appreciate that. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. MS. LEE LOY: Just to clarify on the travel. I think there were programs that asked for travel, right. But then, there's programs like our Special Olympics kids; they would be eligible for travel funds. But the idea of this program needing to travel to do training, they had to go find money elsewhere. So, I just wanted to clarify. I didn't want our special needs kids to feel like, "Oh no, I won soccer and now I can't travel." So, I just wanted to help clarify that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Yeah, thank you for that. I didn't state that right. So, thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of the committee members for their hard work on this. I remember serving on this ad hoc committee a few years back when we sort of rebranded and made some changes to the application, which have continuously, I think, been refined. And to Council Member Cindy Evans' point, what we're really doing is investing in our community and nonprofit's ability to articulate what they're doing, as well as the impact that we can expect with these, you know, public dollars. I appreciate so much the clarification around the role of a fiscal sponsor and that not counting against them in the submission of applications. I think I had a Page 12 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 number of folks in my community feeling a little sad that they they were really grateful for the opportunity to support folks that needed a fiscal sponsor, but it was at the expense of their particular project being funded. So, I think everyone across the board is really going to be happy about that. I wonder if we might provide a bit more instruction or is it in code as to what it counts as an administrative fee. I think as we just saw in this earlier conversation about PONC funding and admin fee, folks may just not know that that means per se. Does it cover liability insurances or whatever? I think just having some examples, and again, working with Corporation Counsel so that we're clear legally, would be really helpful. I appreciate the section on the change. Section that, you know, Hawaii Community Foundation (HFC) uses to see how our Hawaii Island communities are advancing positively, and are we still sending that information to HCF? Yes, we are. I know it took some time for us to cultivate that relationship. But when they know what our on the ground partners are doing to make positive change, it affects sort of the datahouse, the data stats, that are available statewide that help policymakers at a statewide level, decision makers, and philanthropy figure out where additional opportunities are but also where there are gaps that really need to be filled. So, I appreciate that continued collaboration. And final question is, will there be another webinar to kind of walk community non -partners through how to apply for this application or this funding stream? CHR. INABA: So, the videos from previous sessions are still available on the Waiwai and nothing has significantly changed. So those resources are available now, already. And we are recommending that nonprofits utilize those resources. And again, I'll take this opportunity, especially for the required documents, our Finance Department has been more than gracious and patient and helpful in making sure ahead of time that documents are satisfactory of our requirements. So, recommending that nonprofits do work with them to make sure that your applications might not be disqualified simply due to out-of-date bylaws or something strange like that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you for that. I know that Lisa (Tada), Ted (Schrey), and Kelsey (Kalua-Lewis) are super generous with their time in helping our nonprofit community figure out, you know, do they have the correct forms and things being submitted as part of this overall grant application. This is, you know, just another tremendous opportunity to support community in ways that government cannot. I remember when it was just a million dollars and each year the admin would increase that by another $500,000, and now we're at $2.5 million. But the need is so tremendous. It's so tremendous in community. I think asks in the past have been around $9 million to $11 million. And so, we do what we can, and we really do appreciate our nonprofit partners for all that Page 13 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 they do to serve our community. Thanks again to all the community members for this. Look forward to promoting this opportunity to our community members once the applications are available, I think Black Friday weekend, right? Yes. Okay. Great. Thank you. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. And just a follow-up as well regarding administrative fees, Corporation Counsel is working on a clear definition that we can include in the instructions so we know what would count towards the 15 percent. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I don't know if Council Member Lee Loy had a response? MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. I did want to share with Hawaii Community Foundation, a number of those who have applied to the Waiwai grant has actually taken on just seeking funding from Hawaii Community Foundation. So, you know, those are the success stories of how we are building capacity for them to access other areas of funding. And I also want to share, you know, with all the ups there's downs and sometimes we have to be harsh when they're not performing, not providing receipts, we want the money back or you're ineligible. And so, I'm hopeful that all the tinkering that we're doing is really creating a rock -solid program to get people from these one-year grants to the bigger grants. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. Thank you, Chair. And, you know, thank you to all the members of the committee for all the hours invested in this and to those like Council Member Kierkiewicz who've contributed to the process before and are no longer part of the committee. This has been an evolution and, you know, every time we get a little bit better. And to the point that Council Member Lee Loy just made, as more and more money become part of these programs or part of like the PONC program, I think we want to make sure we're getting tighter and tighter, clearer, and clearer, what the guidelines are, what the expectations are. Because of the financial accountability, we need to be cognizant on our side of things. The one thing I really appreciate, the small tweaks in the application. I don't know when we're going to talk about the rubric of judging the applications but one of the things that I felt was missing from the last round was we've gotten very clinical in our analysis, and they've got all the different boxes to check off. And there isn't a place to say, I want to support for this type of program this year, based on that change framework, like this is a priority area for my district, or something like that. The only reason I bring it up, and I'm not sure how it falls into this conversation, is that I don't want to get to the point where we're exclusively rewarding the folks that know how to fill out this application really well. But we're also taking into account what are some of the priority funding. Page 14 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 You know, when COVID (Corona Virus Disease) happened, it was feeding kids. It's like, let's just feed kids. And so, adding that into the next year in terms of how we evaluate programs, I think, is an important inclusion to me. I'm not sure how that should happen. I feel like we need to let the applicants know ahead of the application and so maybe it's a communication to have a discussion in our November 1st meeting, I guess it would be our October 31" meeting about our priorities. Something like that might be enough to satisfy that requirement. But that's just my thought. It's amazing. You guys did an amazing about of work. So, I'm really just focusing on one little bitty thing. But just really appreciate all the hard work that goes into developing and maintaining this program. So, thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: I think earlier, to Ms. Kierkiewicz' point, right, as we collect this data and we shove it into Hawaii Community Foundation, some of the changed framework, we'll begin to see the gaps. So, there's a learning curve on our side too as this process continues to evolve. We're only in two years now of actually the data collection piece, right. And so, this next round definitely, but yeah, I wouldn't mind talking as a whole, you know, what this entire dais would like to see. And, you know, we all believe a rising tide lifts all ships. We just don't want to leave some of them behind just because of the capacity or the priority funding that they need to make sure that they are advancing. Those are my thoughts. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I appreciate the comment, Member Kimball. We did have that conversation, just a short one, about how that might play out. You know, the governor, the senate president, the speaker of the house, at the beginning of a session will set the tone of what they think their body's top priorities are. And then when you look at grants and look at other things that get funded, sometimes that does have a lens that people are like, "Oh yeah, at the beginning the body said they wanted to work on children or education or healthcare." So, there's always that kind of flavor. It's different being at the Council because we're individually serving individual districts. But I think the conversation like, you know, with the public and talking about what we see as priorities, I think would be a great discussion. But it may just come out when all nine of us talk about what we see coming up in this next year or the next six months or what should be budget priorities. The mayor's going too. And you know, in March when they start talking about priorities for the county and the mayor gives us a draft budget, there's already that layer of kind of priorities setting, and I see there's value in it. It's just interesting how it will play out. Thank you. Page 15 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. I just wanted to echo everybody's sentiments and thank the committee for your hard work and in that vein, I want to promise you that I will get to work earlier scoring because last time I waited too late. And I scored a lot, but I didn't score them all. So, this year I'm going to start earlier. And that is my way of thanking you for your important investment of time and energy. Thank you. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. And it should be quicker to score this time around with maybe better applications, too. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Yes. I just wanted to respond to Chair Kimball's comments and I think, yeah, we did have I think multiple short conversations about that. And I think if you use the rubric, I think we made some tweaks on the scoring and maybe the way the questions are phrased that will give you I think a little bit more room to like do a qualitative assessment rather than just, you know, how well you filled out the form. So, it would be open to talking about, you know, priorities but there might be a little bit more latitude in the rubric this time and we could get the feedback on it next year. CHR. INABA: Thank you. And on that topic, we debated whether, you know, we would perhaps come to this body or, you know, to the whole committee with recommendations for certain changed categories, which we decided not to. But again, the documents provided here are drafts so I would maybe just pose the question now while we're all here, is if we want to add to the rubric just for changed categories. So maybe if we have the discussion later, we can at least understand how many points we'd be awarding to an organization if they're falling within the change category we identified later on, because we will need to provide this rubric. But the intention is to provide the rubric online prior to applications. Organizations do have it as a resource. So out of—for what's on the rubric right now, it's a total of 76 points if we want to allow, I don't know, eight points, about 10 percent, bonus for changed categories that fall in line with what we identify. Just throwing the idea out there because after this meeting I'm going to make those last changes, add those last definitions of administrative costs, and all of these documents are going to be out there for the public. So, thoughts there? Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. I like the idea. But then somebody said something that got me thinking, which is the importance of data collection up front. And maybe the thing to do is to add that as part of what we do but not actually score it and see if there would actually be a difference in the awards if we did include something like that in our rubric. If it's not actually going to make a difference Page 16 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 in terms of our awarding, then maybe it's less of a deal than I think it is. That's one option. The other is to have a communication and discuss it as a body. I think we need to, like say, be transparent with the applicants about what sorts of things are priorities for us before we include it in the rubric. And I that a simple communication with that discussion would cover it. But somebody said data collection and I just, you know, got a little excited. So, yeah, something to think about as maybe, just like we did with the change framework, we introduced it, but we didn't include it initially. We could do something similar here where we introduced it to us as the evaluation panel that didn't actually include it until we actually saw the impacts of how that would adjust the scoring, if at all. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Just real quick. Question. Would we have any concerns if we gave our priorities that those nonprofits in our community, they're doing work that maybe aren't fit within those categories would either no apply or try to change their program so erratically to try to fit to get those extra points that wouldn't make sense? It's just a question. I don't know if we put some priorities forward, you know, as far as, you know, areas that we want to fund. CHR. INABA: You have a question I don't have the answer to but it's a potential, you know, it is a possibility to consider that as well. And another discussion we had is regarding organizations who receive, for example, funds for homeless services, where there are pots of money in the county budget already allocated to those, you know. So, if they were to apply, other folks don't have county funds in that sense. So that was also brought up. Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: I'm going back to Member Galimba, her comment. If you look at—we have a section on the changed framework, and it gets very specific on the sectors. And we ask at the beginning, it says, please select from only one sector that best applies to your program or service. So, we've kind of narrowed it down to certain categories and then we're saying which one best fits in this category. And then within in, there's some qualitative questions because we're asking, have you really affected the quality of life in this sector by doing what builds income, reduces, increases, community improvements, you know, whatever. So, you know, it's really drilling down into this is your sector and we want you to succeed, and we want you to accomplish this. And, you know, I don't know if I would want November to say, rank these, change categories, and rank them. I think they all have value in the diversity of our community and what they're trying to achieve. So, I don't know if we can Page 17 LAAC-17 October 3, 2023 get to where you want to go in terms of, you know, ranking and giving a number to it. Anyway, I'm just encouraging you to look at that changed section that's pretty well written. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. I think I'm just going to take a pause. I think we're heading towards maybe just discretion later from the ad hoc in a subsequent communication or discussion. We do have one more committee meeting. Council Member Lee Loy and then Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. LEE LOY: Just to help Ms. Kagiwada. I did think that. But time is money. And not all grants fit every nonprofit. So even if we were to prioritize funding in an area, they can make the business decision whether or not they want to spend the time to fill out the application. That's where I landed because it's got to be a good fit, and it's got to be a good fit for the funding also. Thanks, Mr. Inaba. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I want to keep having the discussion around potential priorities for this funding. I don't know if I could support all $2.5 million going to a single or like three priorities of this body. I would be open to the idea of earmarking a certain amount. But I don't want to discount a lot of the good work that happens by nonprofits that, you know, do really rely on grants that the county, and state, and others provide them to advance their work. And I just don't know if the funding that we have, the $2.5 million, is really enough to make the transformative change that we're looking for. So happy to keep having the discussion. But, you know, I just—our local nonprofits really rely on this potential tool. And so, I don't want to have anybody not be eligible to apply because we have a singular priority of focus for the year. But again, happy to talk about it a little bit more at another meeting. CHR. INABA: Thank you. And when we do go to set up our ad hoc for evaluating, perhaps on that same meeting we can have a separate communication that at least gives the ad hoc an idea of some priority within the change categories. So, thank you everyone for your feedback. We'll make those last tweaks and get it over to Finance. With that, there's a motion on the floor to close file on Communication 303, 303. 1, and 303.2. All those in favor, please say "aye." Page 18 LAAC- 17 Vote on Comm. 303 (Filed) ORDER OF RESOLUTIONS October 3, 2023 The motion to close file on Comm. 303 and all related communications was 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 Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order of Resolutions. (Note: The items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 3:13 p.m., Ms. Kimball moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and 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 Kdneali'l-Kleinfelder and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: This meeting is adjourned at 3:13 (p.m.). Approved: Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair (Date) Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee 1-11/tk Page 19