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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PCHSW 006 2023/12/05 (2022-2024)REPORT OF THE POLICY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING DATE: December 5, 2023 PLACE: Council Chambers Hilo, Hawai'i TIME: 4:27 p.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Comm. No. 496/Bill No. 82 Your Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being, to which was referred Bill No. 82, reports as follows: Bill No. 82, transmitted by Council Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, via Communication No. 496 dated September 18, 2023, amends Chapter 2, Article 9, Section 2-40 and adds a new article to Chapter 14 of the Hawai'i County Code 1983 (2016 edition, as amended), relating to improving, grading, repairing, or construction work upon private, nondedicated, and non -surrendered roads. This bill allows for entities who are authorized to make legal decisions regarding private, nondedicated, and non -surrendered roads that are open to the general public and necessary for public transportation to request that the County improve, grade, repair, or perform other construction work upon such roads. This bill was previously heard and postponed on October 3, October 17, and November 14, 2023. Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being Meeting of October 3, 2023. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder introduced Bill 82 by stating that it is a solution for the road struggles the community has been facing for over 60 years. Bill 82 was developed with input from community, Legislative Research Branch (LRB), Corporation Counsel (CC) and the Department of Public Work (DPW). Public testimony included concerns about police, fire, ambulance, and public safety issues that are compounded by poor roads. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder motioned to amend this bill with the contents of Communication 496.1. It was seconded by Committee Member Holeka Inaba. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that "shall identify feasible projects" was the important wording that needed to be included based on the feedback from the DPW. The wording was changed throughout to help keep the focus on what is feasible. Committee Member Ashley Kierkiewicz said she doesn't want people to think that they fill out a form and then they immediately get a road paved. She wants there to be a definition of what feasibility is and clarity around that definition to keep consistent moving forward. Director of Public Works Stephen Pause answered that this bill includes eligibility, funding, legal rights, and PCHSW Report No. 6 PCHSW-6 Page 2 December 5, 2023 prioritization. He added that while there's no one definition of feasibility, it's included within the eligibility criteria within the list. Committee Member Susan Lee Loy posed a question for Corporation Counsel Judge Elizabeth Strance about using public dollars on private roads. Ms. Strance said public dollars can be used based on legislative action as according to HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statutes) Section 265A -I limited purpose is a public purpose as defined by legislative action, this is a limited exception to the law allowing the County to do work on private roads. Committee Member Cindy Evans had questions around the rationale requiring liability insurance. Ms. Strance said this language was her addition and that while the County cannot contract away its own negligence, the insurance can protect the County from broader claims upon doing work. Ms. Strance said that many road associations may already have their own insurance and it could just be a matter of adding the County as an additional insured. While Member Evans said she is very uncomfortable with this requirement, Committee Member Heather Kimball said that she wouldn't be comfortable without the addition of the language around insurance included. All present voted in favor of the amendment. Committee Member Rebecca Villegas was absent. Regarding the main motion, Member Evans had concerns about emergency access routes being included and Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that he would work with her and LRB to make sure her concerns were addressed. Mr. Inaba brought up questions around the definition of the requestor, as some roads may not have a representative on island or might be represented by an entity that no longer exists. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder answered that a defunct organization having ownership of the road is a common occurrence. He said that first the road in question would have to meet the eligibility criteria as set forth in the bill, second 60 percent of those effected would have to be in favor of the improvements, and lastly, it would have to be a road that is included in the definition of private, non -dedicated, and non -surrendered roads. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that he used numbers modified for our County's needs based off of numbers taken from the ordinances on Maui and City and County of Honolulu. Member Kimball wanted to confirm with Corporation Counsel that if 60 percent of owners were involved in this process then that number was sufficient. Ms. Strance said that she believes that number shows a strong enough expression of desire and that our requirements are higher than what other counties have required for similar legislation. Member Kagiwada asked if there was a way that the other 40 percent, if opposed, could lodge a protest vote. Ms. Strance said that is one question that hasn't been discussed and the process doesn't currently include a public notice requirement and that may be something to consider. Multiple members stated they would like to see lighting, signage, painting, and striping included as work that can be done and questioned if the language allowed for that. Members Inaba and Kimball disagreed with roads that were platted before 1966 having higher priority. Member Kimball asked if the bill would cover roads in limbo. Ms. Strance said that she thought it would not include roads in limbo, as there is no one to act on behalf of roads in limbo. PCHSW Report No. 6 PCHSW-6 Page 3 December 5, 2023 Member Kimball said that she would like to see Section K, which brings the item to the Council for resolution, removed. She said that she would not like to see that final step or authority to go to Council and rather have DPW retain that authority and final determination. Committee Members Michelle Galimba and Kagiwada agreed. Member Kierkiewicz asked for a breakdown on implementation and resources from DPW. Mr. Pause said he wasn't able to do that at this time. Member Kierkiewicz also asked the maker to be prepared to share examples of other Counties and how they were able to implement similar legislation. Member Kierkiewicz wanted clarification around the priority list and wondered if it would stay on indefinitely like PONC (Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission) until the issue has been resolved. Multiple members highlighted the importance of setting expectations for community members and those who may be interested in engaging in this process. Member Kagiwada said that even though this bill doesn't mean that the County must do the work on the roads, it does commit the County to evaluating the roads that are submitted. Therefore, before voting in the final form, she would like to see the costs and other resources needed from DPW to evaluate the potential incoming requests. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that due to the amount of amendments and feedback received today he would like to postpone the bill until the next meeting, this was seconded by Mr. Inaba. Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being Meeting of October 17, 2023. Several members shared that they wanted to keep the bill in committee due to three members being absent and more discussion needed. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder motioned to postpone the bill until the November 14'h meeting in Kona, this was seconded by Member Inaba. All those present were in favor, absent were Members Lee Loy, Galimba, and Kierkiewicz. Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being Meeting of November 14, 2023. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder recapped by saying that this has been in the works for years and roads are one of the biggest issues that are heard in his district. Member Evans wanted to make sure that emergency routes in her district were covered under this legislation. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that as long as they meet the criteria as laid out then they should be eligible to apply. Mr. Pause said that he thinks they will. Member Evans reiterated that this is important to her community. Multiple members commented on managing expectations from the last discussion, they said it is important for people to understand we are going to need more funding and resources to pay for work on these roads. Member Kimball asked for wording around negligence of HOA's (Homeowners Association) that are not fulfilling their duties. She doesn't want the County to pay for other groups' negligence. PCHSW Report No. 6 PCHSW-6 Page 4 December 5, 2023 Member Kierkiewicz reminded the maker that she requested last time to learn more about the mechanics of how these ordinances that are similar in other counties have played out. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that he reached out to other jurisdictions and said that yes, they were aware of that section in their State Code and their County Code and they use it, they like it, and it is used. Member Kierkiewicz wanted an actual concrete example of a community that had a road that needed to be repaired and was repaired. Member Kierkiewicz requested to add Police and Environmental Management Departments, and the State Historic Preservation Society as those who should be requested comments from, to eliminate redundant work when other infrastructure improvements are already being done. Member Kierkiewicz asked how road standards will be adhered to in some of these situations where road improvements may be requested. Mr. Pause addressed this question and said that it will be different in every situation, but said that what is done will be to improve safety. Evacuation is a question that he has heard in every district, and that should be our highest priority, to make it passable in the case of an emergency. Multiple Committee Members wanted to know how long a road, once accepted on the list, remains on the list. Mr. Pause said he doesn't know what the intent is, but in his mind, once you are on the list, you are on the list. He said that once you are evaluated you would get prioritized, and they could reprioritize yearly. Member Kierkiewicz asked if any of this bill could be interpreted as a commitment to do the work. Ms. Strance said that it is important to make sure that's not the case. As she reads the bill there is a process of application and a requirement of response to that application. When the application is complete and evaluated by the department, commitment would come through a contract or some other document that would demonstrate that the work was going to go forward. Member Kierkiewicz asked DPW if they have sufficient staffing for this program. Mr. Pause replied no, and that resources are definitely a concern. Multiple Members asked questions around appeals and notices. Ms. Strance said that language should state that the decision, if appealed, should stay within the department for the sole discretion to remain with the director. Member Kagiwada asked questions around the process piece, and language in the bill that says that the director "shall". Member Kimball agreed with Member Kagiwada that this language was unclear, and Ms. Strance added that if the intention is that you do not pass go until each of the steps before that be satisfied before moving further, then that is something that should be clarified and can be addressed in an amendment. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to amend the bill with the contents of Communication 496.22, this was seconded by Member Inaba. Multiple Committee Members said that they still need lighting, signage, and markings to be part of the improvements that are allowed in this bill. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that he wanted to hear from the director regarding including the markings, lighting, and signage requests. He PCHSW Report No. 6 PCHSW-6 Page 5 December 5, 2023 explained that if we are asking to do lighting in an area with no power then those are significant improvements. Mr. Pause said that he doesn't have a strong feeling one way or another. Ms. Strance said that if the intention is to allow for some discretion regarding allowing for some of those improvements under circumstances determined appropriate by the department, that language could be added in another section. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said he will be withdrawing the amendment and adjusting it based on Committee Members' feedback and requested his peers consider moving the bill forward to Council. Committee Members stated they wanted it to remain in Committee. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder motioned to postpone the bill until the December 5h committee meeting. This motion was seconded by Member Inaba. Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being Meeting of December 5, 2023 Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder began by motioning to amend the bill with Communication 496.46, which was seconded by Member Inaba. He highlighted that this communication includes adding the police department into the process as well as more information on feasibility and removing Section K that was deemed unnecessary. It also includes the request that striping, lighting and signage is an option for road improvements. Member Kimball mentioned that Section 2 of amendment regarding signs, markings, and lighting, is difficult to understand and was wondering if maybe it can be clearer. Member Inaba mentioned that he is going to fix it. Mr. Pause added that where they landed was functional and incorporated all the comments from last time and they are at a point where they are happy with this bill. Member Kagiwada said that she sees that the issue she was concerned about regarding the Director first making sure the application satisfies eligibility criteria before moving forward was addressed in this amendment and thanked the maker for that. The amendment passed with all present in favor and Member Evans absent. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder addressed the main motion and reminded Committee Members of all the previous testimony. He thanked LRB, CC, and DPW for helping to create this process, and acknowledged that there are steps that comes after this, but this is the first important step. Member Galimba suggested removing language mentioning coral as a replacement material. Multiple Members expressed concerns around funding, departmental resources, and managing community members' expectations. Mr. Pause mentioned that they are looking at needing an additional three to four folks per district in their department to deal with implementing this bill. Director of Finance, Deanna Sako said that while we are going to need more funds, it might be difficult to find some funds because a lot of the road funds from State monies are not able to go towards private roads. She also explained PCHSW Report No. 6 PCHSW-6 Page 6 December 5, 2023 that there are a lot of unknowns, including how many would be requesting, what those costs would be, and how to build from there. Member Kierkiewicz asked Mr. Pause if he had spoken with his counterparts in other counties. Mr. Pause replied that he has not and agreed that it's relevant to know what other counties are doing. Member Kierkiewicz said that the maker said it was modeled after other counties and she still wants to hear more about that. Member Kimball mentioned understanding that there are some funds that cannot be used on private roads but was wondering if there are other funding sources available to us now, if we pass this. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said the reason for this bill is that there is no other money or sources. He said that grants and disaster money doesn't normally apply to private roads. He was not aware of any funds that come from public money. Mr. Pause said there may be some grant opportunities, and that it's not far-fetched to think there is some money that may be available out there to address safety issues. Member Kierkiewicz said that she wanted to make sure that DPW is consulting with other departments, including adding Environmental Management and Research and Development, because if we are already putting in other infrastructure such as sewage or water improvements maybe there are options to fund some of the road work through that. Member Kagiwada said that while it's a great conversation to be having with the State on relaxing restrictions on funding that is already coming to our county for roads, it would just become a prioritization issue about which of the longer list of roads get funded with the same amount of money. In her opinion it would be better to have funds for this program come from new sources. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder concluded that community road associations need help paying for their roads. He expressed that he wants us to find a way forward around these roadblocks and not have to say no to our community. Your Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being, is in accord with the purpose and intent of Bill 82, as amended to Draft 3, and recommends its passage on first reading. sm Respectfully submitted, POLICY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING JENN KAGIWADA, CHAIR PCHSW REPORT NO.: 6 ADOPTED: DEC 2 0 2023 AYES NOES ABS EX EVANS X GALIMBA X INABA X KAGIWADA X KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X KIERKIEWICZ X KIMBALL X LEE LOY X VILLEGAS X Respectfully submitted, POLICY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING JENN KAGIWADA, CHAIR PCHSW REPORT NO.: 6 ADOPTED: DEC 2 0 2023