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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2023/11/14 (2022-2024) Committee on Finance rd 23 Session West Hawai‘i Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i November 14, 2023 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to ORDER: order at 11:11 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Mr. Matt Kānealiʻi- Kleinfelder, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Matt Kānealiʻi- Kleinfelder, Chair Ms. Cindy Evans, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (came in later) Absent & Excused: Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Donna Grabow: Res. 340-23 (Comm. 572), oppose. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Let’s go to the top of the agenda, Communication 13.22. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 13.22: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: OCTOBER 1 – 15, 2023 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated October 17, 2023, transmitting the above report pursuant to Section 2-12.3 of the Hawai‘i County Code. Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 13.22. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. FC-23 November 14, 2023 CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Discussion on Communication 13.22. Council Members? Ms. Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: So, for the newer members, I guess you’re not new any more. This hasn’t happened since you guys came on board, but my husband and I own Fleming and Associates, Architecture and Planning. I am a joint owner but don’t actually have any involvement in the day-to-day businesses of the operation. You’ll see that they’re listed as one of the entities that received a change order. However—so, I’m just putting this out for personal disclosure. Our, of course, motion here is to just to receive this communication. So, there’s no conflict of interest on that, but I did want to make you folks aware. Thank you. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you for that disclosure, Council Member Kimball. Sorry for missing your light. Any further discussion? Okay, hearing and seeing none, motion is on the floor to close file on Communication 13.22. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 13.22: The motion to close file on Comm. 13.22 was carried by (Filed) the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. Comm. 16.1: REPORT OF DONATIONS RECEIVED FROM THE DANIEL R. SAYRE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION AS OF APRIL 2023 From Finance Director Deanna S. Sako, dated October 20, 2023, transmitting the above report pursuant to Resolution No. 468-20. Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 16.1. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion Council Members? Council Member Inaba, go ahead. MR. INABA: Yes, thank you. I just want to take this opportunity when we do get these communications from the Daniel Sayre Memorial Foundation, to extend our mahalo on behalf of the County, and the residents of the County, and even the visitors who will benefit from this equipment that totals $142,345.25. So, mahalo to the Sayres and their team for their continued support of the Hawai‘i Fire Department and our County. Page 2 FC-23 November 14, 2023 CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Mahalo, Mr. Inaba. Okay, seeing no further discussion, motion is on the floor. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 16.1: The motion to close file on Comm. 16.1 was carried by (Filed) the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 339-23: CREATES ONE NEW CLERK III POSITION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Establishes a new position to provide clerical support to the Administrative Services Assistant and numerous Specialists in the department. Reference: Comm. 571 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 339-23. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Is anyone from the Department of Research and Development (R&D) in the Hilo Chambers or here in Kona, or our Finance Director in case there are questions from the Council? Going to the Council for discussion. Council Member Inaba, go ahead. MR. INABA: Thank you. Just wanted to share what is contained in our B-52, and this position would provide Admin services for quality customer service and accurate Administrative support to the specialists. So, my question, Director Sako, and maybe this can cover all of the resolutions before us today, is that the budget is able to support the creation of all positions being requested. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: Yes it is. So, the Mayor and I did look at that when we were going through the list of proposed positions that the departments were requesting. Then, Page 3 FC-23 November 14, 2023 we tried to limit it as much as possible to those that were kind of—had a more urgent level, and then anything else would come before you guys in the next budget proposal. MR. INABA: Thank you, Director Sako. It would be good if somebody from R&D could jump on line, if not today, then for sure at Council reading. Thank you. MS. SAKO: Yeah, I did talk to some of the departments and I knew they were going to be available today. I apparently didn’t reach out to R&D, but we’ll make sure they’re at the full Council meeting if this moves forward. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Thank you, Ms. Sako. Council Member Evans, go ahead. MS. EVANS: I just have a question on what step, I mean we’re creating the position, but do we know what step grade—how they’re going to come in as new positions at the lower step? Because there’s a lot of flexibility on how much you pay people, so what are we agreeing to? We don’t quite know the range we’re agreeing to. MS. SAKO: So, what we’re agreeing to, like a Clerk III, I believe is a SR-10. So, that’s the grade that you refer to. The step level is independent of that, and so, it’s really as part of the hiring process and the request to fill. So, for example, if someone took a transfer from another department, they’re already at a specified step and they would maintain that step, versus someone new coming in would probably come in at the first step, which I believe is a step C now. MS. EVANS: Okay. Also, in terms of the funds and where it comes from, will it come from different sub-accounts? MS. SAKO: For this particular position, R&D, yes, their salary and wages is broken out. But I don’t recall which sub-account this is going to come from, but they can do a transfer if they need to. MS. EVANS: Alright, good to know. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Looking around the room, okay. Ms. Sako, to Ms. Evan’s point, or maybe it’s Mr. Inaba’s, two of my Council Members’ point, there are 12 positions on the books today. Mr. Inaba’s question is well stated. Is it possible to get a report of all new positions created this year? MS. SAKO: We lost you for a couple seconds there. Can you just please repeat your question one more time? Page 4 FC-23 November 14, 2023 CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Do we have or can we receive a list of newly created positions within this fiscal year? MS. SAKO: Yes, we can go back to the resolutions that were submitted to Council and summarize that. I think there’s only been a few grant positions in this fiscal year, or are you speaking with the new budget that was created? CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Good question. Maybe both. MS. SAKO: So, those are summarized in the budget ordinance that was prepared. So, they’re all available, but if you need it in one place, we can do that. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Yes, please, and then thinking about the ongoing discussions about not being able to get people to fill positions. Are these new positions because we don’t have the staffing? We don’t have the open positions or open seats for them, or do we have—how’s the best way to say this? Are there budgeted positions already open we could fill that aren’t filled and we’re creating new positions or these are newly needed employees for the County? MS. SAKO: In general, these are newly needed employees for the County. So, there could be open positions that maybe would help alleviate the need, but in most cases, these are new positions for the County work that wasn’t being done before that needs to be done. R&D is one of those departments that has had additional duties and functions. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Deanna, could you please speak into the mic a little bit more. We’re having a hard time hearing you in Hilo today. MS. SAKO: You know, it keeps flickering, and I think that’s one of the things even when I couldn’t hear you. Sorry about that. So, R&D is one of the departments that, you know, has kind of grown; gotten new sectors and different things. And lots of times we don’t grow the clerical staff with them, and I think that’s the situation they’re in. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you. That’s helpful. Okay, thank you for being here today in lieu of the department. Looking around the room here in Kona, no further discussion. Okay, motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 339-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Page 5 FC-23 November 14, 2023 Vote on Res. 339-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 339-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. Res. 340-23: CREATES TWO NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST IV POSITIONS, ONE NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST V POSITION, ONE NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST VI POSITION AND ONE NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST VII POSITION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Establishes five new positions to maintain operational standards, increase vigilance in cybersecurity and focus on in-depth strategies to increase cyber maturity. Reference: Comm. 572 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend adoption of Res. 340-23. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, discussion on the motion? Ms. Sako, is anyone from the IT (Information Technology) Department in chambers today? MS. SAKO: I don’t see them, but this one, Deputy Director Nakagawa and I are more familiar with because we do serve on the IT working group. So, we have been working closely with them. When Director Ewbank took over, we really kind of realized that maybe this is one of the areas we’re lacking. I do want to clarify that this is specifically for our internal cybersecurity in terms of, you know, there’s been recent events even on our island with Ransomware and other attacks on different servers. So, we want to ensure that our security is the utmost, you know, our network is very secure against any kind of cyberattacks. So, this is not putting up cameras; this is not doing other things. This is just keeping our internal network secure from outsiders and keeping and protecting our data, keeping it safe. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much for that Deanna. Ms. Kagiwada, go ahead. Page 6 FC-23 November 14, 2023 MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Thank you for clarifying that. I think it clarifies my question, but just to reiterate it so I’m very clear. I remember during budget season we put in a bunch of new positions for IT, correct? MS. SAKO: We did, correct. MS. KAGIWADA: This was in addition to those positions, correct? MS. SAKO: It is, yes. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. I just wanted to be clear on that. So, we’re really trying to beef up our IT in lots of areas and it’s really needed. I support it. Thank you. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kagiwada. Okay, Ms. Sako, how many new positions for IT have we created with this resolution, if it does pass, and in this year’s budget that we passed? MS. SAKO: So, I believe this resolution is for five positions. Then we had ten in the budget for the current fiscal year. A lot of that was to catch up on our hardware and software. As you recall, another part of the budget was to order and install 800 PC’s (Personal Computers) to keep up with current software. So, there’s a variety of needs within the department that the director is working on . CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you for that. Council Member Galimba, go ahead. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Thanks Deanna. I don’t know if you can answer this question. It’s just a detail, I think, and I’m assuming the phrase “cyber maturity” refers to the evolution of our IT system and its ability to withstand cyberattacks, that kind of a thing. Would that be, in your understanding, a valid way to look at that phrase? MS. SAKO: Yes, I believe you’re correct. And I will double check, too, if that was the word intended by the department or if they meant cybersecurity, and that might be a typo. If it’s a typo, we will submit a correction for the next reading. MS. GALIMBA: Okay, thank you. That’s all. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Okay, seeing and hearing no further discussion, motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 340-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Page 7 FC-23 November 14, 2023 Vote on Res. 340-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 340-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. Res. 341-23: CREATES ONE NEW PERMIT SYSTEMS COORDINATOR POSITION AND ONE NEW FACILITIES PROGRAM MANAGER POSITION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Establishes two new positions to (1) maintain the EPIC permitting system and (2) manage the Building Division’s Design and Engineering, General Services, and Repair and Maintenance sections. Reference: Comm. 573 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend adoption of Res. 341-23. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: We do have members from the department here in our chambers in Kona if there are questions from the Council. Council Members? Let’s go to Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Is anybody from HR (Human Resources) here? No? Maybe the department can try to answer my question, which is I think, more of an HR question. But just wondering once we pass this, do you have a sense of how long things are taking? I mean, I know it’s, you know, dependent on the position; how many people apply and all that. But I know we’ve put some other positions through and just wonder how things are going with HR. I think they were trying to speed things up. (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Stephen Pause came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. PAUSE: Sure. Steve Pause, Director, Public Works. I think I saw Deputy Director, in Hilo. Thank you, Malia. She’s actually been most of the interface for us with HR. You might be better prepared to answer this question. I can give roundabouts. I mean, once we get a position created, it’s probably a good three to four-months out before we’re actually advertising and getting candidates. Could you add to that Malia, or correct me? Page 8 FC-23 November 14, 2023 (Note: At this time, Public Works Deputy Director Malia Kekai came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. KEKAI: Yes. Malia Kekai, Deputy Director, Public Works. I think that’s probably a good estimate. It could go a little bit quicker if we have all our ducks in a row as well. Like if the PD’s are ready to go; Position Description, sorry I should say, and then once we get it to HR then it can move a little bit quicker. But I think three months is a safe estimate to actually get it out and request a fill. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you. Chair, if I may, just a little leeway. Wondering—I know we passed the grant position for this Safe Routes to School Coordinator, correct? Do we have any sense of—I thought, you know, school communities waiting with bated breath to engage with this new person. Do we have any sense when that may be coming through? MR. PAUSE: So, I missed the last meeting. Was that First or Second Reading? I don’t remember what the status of that was. I mean, I know again, once it’s all in place, a couple of months. We’ve got the description created, and I agree with you, it’s something we’ve identified a while ago, and it would be great to get that position filled as fast as possible. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. MS. KEKAI: Also, just to add to that, sorry, that it’ll be a contract position, so it should be hopefully a little bit quicker. MS. KAGAIWADA: Great. Okay. Thank you so much, appreciate it. I’ll be supporting. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Further discussion on the measure? Council Member Galimba, go ahead. MS. GALIMBA: I just wanted to say, I’m very excited about you guys getting these positions. That’s pretty much all. I think it’s going to be really helpful. So, thank you for making it happen. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Director, I was reading through the B-52 and it mentioned the Facilities Program Manager position; that they would have the ability to launch an Asset Management program. I know we’ve talked about it for couple years now, but do you have software in mind? I know that DEM (Department of Environmental Management) has Page 9 FC-23 November 14, 2023 utilized something too. I think some pretty good success, but just wondering if you have something in mind? MR. PAUSE: It’s a great question. We definitely have the concept in mind. If you’re speaking of NEXGEN, which is what DEM has used and we rolled that out. I think it’s going pretty well in our Traffic Division. We’re using NEXGEN. Can I say that we actually selected, Malia? MS. KEKAI: Yeah, we haven’t contracted yet, but there has been a selection for Highways to have another Workorder Management/Action Management System. MR. PAUSE: That’s correct. So, that one’s a bit more simplified than NEXGEN and kind of fits better with the field guys and the tablets and such. But any asset management system you geo-reference, you’ve got locations of things and then you’ve got a table that says what that asset is and everything else. But the short answer is, it’s our intent to do something similar with Building. We have like 90 facilities, and this position would pretty much be the single point of contact rolling out that Asset Management System and helping us get further ahead with managing our contracts. Like for air conditioning and our PV (Photovoltaic) systems, as well as doing preventive maintenance and keeping track of things like linking roads and things like that. So, it would be a position that would wrap around both the design and engineering to do repairs and do capital improvements as well as the repairs and maintenance work as well as managing the General Services. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, great. And then, there is sufficient funding in the budget for this Program Manager to facilitate or launch the Asset Management Program that you described. MR. PAUSE: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, and then, can you speak to how these positions would interface with our current Building Chief? Obviously, they’re going to be under her. But just wondering how that working relationship would go. I know Julann (Sonomura) and Kelly do a lot right now to facilitate a lot of the activities that are described in the B-52. MR. PAUSE: Yes. So, especially on the building project side of things, Julann has been wearing a number of hats. We’ve been down some staff on the project side. The Call Center, Julann has been pretty much managing that project since we had some staff leave. But we’re building that area back up with project coordinators and a project manager. Page 10 FC-23 November 14, 2023 Likewise with the repairs and maintenance and just the number of work orders that we receive. They go in through Julann presently, and having this additional person in between her and the staff that are implementing the work order and the staff that are managing the projects would be a real plus for the division. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you for those additional details. I mean there’s so much work that happens within Building, and I think it’s just physically impossible for one person to kind of manage it all. So, I will be supporting this resolution. I think these positions would be incredibly helpful to the division. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, seeing no further discussion, Mr. Pause, who currently does asset management? MR. PAUSE: Within our department, the traffic asset management is done by a Program Manager within Traffic. Within the Highways as we start rolling out this process, our GIS (Geographic Information System) Manager has historically been the data keeper and the record keeper for developing the asset log, the register, as well as, you know, the lat-long (latitude and longitude) and the locations. So, that’s someone within Highways. Within our Building Division presently, all of our paperwork or all of our assets via paperwork via workorders. We don’t have anything electronic. This is something that we will be building, and this position will allow us some additional bandwidth to do that. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: So, this person oversees all of that, or takes the place of opening those positions? MR. PAUSE: They would oversee the design and engineering as well as the repair and maintenance, as well as the General Services staff. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Then for the EPIC (Electronic Processing and Information Center) System Management Coordinator, who’s doing that currently? MR. PAUSE: That position doesn’t exist. So, within that aspect of Building, we obviously have clerks who do the permit processing and take-out processing. We have plans examiners who are doing plan reviews, and we have inspectors who go out and inspect. From an EPIC standpoint, we were able to bring on another IT person within the last several months. So, we have two resources that are pretty much dedicated to the functionality of EPIC and the care and feeding of the software and dealing with the glitches; and the inspector’s iPad won’t connect and all of those sorts of Page 11 FC-23 November 14, 2023 things. So, this position is neither that, and it’s not day-to-day functions of processing permits. It’s really to help us do a better job of getting together our policies and our procedures. You’ve heard me speak in the past about process improvements. We’ve got a list of things that we’d like to do better for streamlining processes, and that would fall under the purview of this position where they would identify and work, if it need be, with our EPIC IT folks to implement some of those changes; improve the workflow overall. Then lastly, they would service the central, if you will, repository of all the education and the training materials. We don’t presently have a formal program or a person that’s necessarily in charge of that and whether we bring in—you know, we piecemeal it. We bring in new clerks and we have people come and work with them. But to be able to have a formal position whose job involves preparing education material, training people; being able to potentially go out and work with the public. You know, you’ve got new EPIC users that could use some assistance. So, that’s really the intent. Our staff today is pretty much day-to-day managing the affairs of intaking applications and issuing permits. This person would be a step to the side to kind of help pull things together. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: I think these positions are actually pretty brilliant, Director. MR. PAUSE: Did you just call me brilliant? CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: I did, I did. I’ll give you a reason. When I first started Council, I saw this before. I don’t know if I told you this before. I walked by the County Building; I have a background in solar, and I didn’t hear that high pitch wind from the motors and the transformers in the 100 kW and inverter in front of the main County Building, which tells me it’s off. I looked at it and I had to ask around, who do I talk to? They said DPW (Department of Public Works). So, I went to talk to DPW. I think you’ve got to find Don, who was original—I don’t even know what his title is, honestly, he may not be there anymore, okay. But I had to go find this person; tell them what happened, and then we had to go and investigate. Then from there I was out of the loop. It was investigated. There was a fault with the inverter. They had to do an RFP (Request for Proposal) because it was over a certain threshold for a dollar amount for a fix, and it took about at least six months to a year to get it back online. And that system potentially saves us about $4,000 a month on electricity costs. If I hadn’t walked by it and known what I knew, it probably wouldn’t have caught anyone’s attention until it registered that we’re paying a way more HELCO Page 12 FC-23 November 14, 2023 (Hawaiian Electric Light Company) bill than we should be compared to what we used to pay, which may or may not be caught. And so, I shared this story before, but that’s why this position is so important. This is just one example. There’s many more examples to be had, but you need somebody watching all these pieces and making sure they’re all working. Whether it’s roofs, whether it’s PV systems, no matter what it is, just the assets of the County and somebody maintaining all that, and it’s a lot. So, that’s why this one is brilliant to me. MR. PAUSE: I appreciate that, and I appreciate the support. Because as you’ve stated, you know, we can definitely do a better job at keeping an eye on our assets and doing necessary maintenance. In managing our contracts, I mean, we’re paying somebody who gave us that system, and we need to do a better job at managing. This is definitely something in that right direction. So, I appreciate your support. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: The second one, the EPIC system, before I say it’s brilliant, maybe I should have said to wait. But when you say “users,” are you talking both EPIC users—are you talking about the public and the County, or you’re just talking about the County? MR. PAUSE: No, we’re talking about everyone. I think I’ve stated this in the past, that when we rolled the system out, we didn’t do a very good job of both training our own people and training the public and the general community. So, being able to come up with better user material for helping people, you know, especially as we make tweaks to processes and things, and we can get out in front with the community and with the stakeholders and do a better job at educating them, then they’ll provide us with better applications which will speed the system up. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: I completely agree. So, I’m going to say this is brilliant too. And it’s always hard to say, yes, we need more positions, because I know that’s long-term costs we’re looking at. That’s a cost that aren’t going to go away. And they’re expensive for the counties, about 60, 70 percent of our expenses. But this position, if it can help coordinate the EPIC system between both public and private users and make that more streamlined, then we start to close the gap between the public and the County, and why this is happening and why I’m not getting an email notification and how you can find solutions to those problems as well, not just identifying the problem. Here we’ve got a problem, but having someone focused on finding solutions to make it better and provide training, if necessary, I mean, that’s the piece that clicks everyone together. Page 13 FC-23 November 14, 2023 MR. PAUSE: When we provide that person, we delegate all of those responsibilities. The rest of the folks are really good. They have day jobs, it’s process permits. It gets things through the system to have that dedicated resource, I think is going to help us. So again, I appreciate the support. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, I’ll definitely be supporting this today. Thank you for finding solutions to these kinds of problems we’ve had long-term, you kind of closed a major gap right here, if this works out. Okay, thank you, Mr. Pause. Okay, seeing no further discussion on the floor, Council Members, thank you for your time. We have the motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 341-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. Any one opposed? Got you on that one. All in favor? Vote on Res. 341-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 341-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Resolution 342 please. Res. 342-23: CREATES ONE NEW GRANT COORDINATOR POSITION, ONE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY COUNSELOR POSITION AND ONE NEW HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST II POSITION FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT Establishes three new positions to (1) identify and evaluate potential funding sources, (2) support employees and their families by maintaining a safe and productive work environment, and (3) address the department’s personnel expansion. Reference: Comm. 574 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend adoption of Res. 342-23. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: We do have someone from the department joining us. Please introduce yourself and then we’ll go to discussion from the Council. (Note: At this time, Hawai‘i Police Department Major Amy Wana came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 14 FC-23 November 14, 2023 MS. WANA: Hi, good morning, my name is Major Amy Wana, here representing the department, as Chief is unavailable today. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you for being here today, Major Wana. Okay, Council Members, discussion, if any. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Is Director Sako still in the room? I will be supporting this, by the way. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: Yes, I’m here. Sitting back there. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Hi, Director. I was just curious, a couple budget cycles ago, we had created like ten new Grant Specialist positions within R&D without using temporary funds, like ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money. Because my understanding was, these positions would help all of our County departments. So, what happened with that? MS. SAKO: So, we did fund it. R&D still has the money and still could utilize it. I don’t know if we created that many positions. We’ve been doing more professional services or contract hires. But we could probably fund it through R&D, but don’t believe we actually created a position. I think Police is coming from the standpoint that they would like a permanent position. I know you guys approve a lot of grants from Police each year, and they hope to expand on that. So, they believe having a permanent person would help in those responsibilities. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I wholeheartedly agree, which is why I’ll be supporting it. I just wanted to follow-up. MS. SAKO: Yeah, we can talk about the funding. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I’m corrected, it was six positions, but still a pretty significant amount that could help all of our County. So, maybe by next Council meeting if we could just get a bit more details and see how we might be able to fund Police’s position with money that was previously allocated with R&D. MS. SAKO: Okay. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Page 15 FC-23 November 14, 2023 CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, seeing no further discussion, I have one question. If we do this, how do we keep Mr. Keltner busy? MS. WANA: Mr. Keltner has a lot to do, sir, and this is unfortunately not the only grant source that we do have. There are a number of grants that are spread out through the department, which numerous personnel take on as additional responsibilities to their regular assigned tasks. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Okay, that was kind of a barely covered support for Mr. Keltner, because he does a tremendous amount. But I also know that just from experience, a lot of your police officers, lieutenants, commanders, whoever, are applying for grants all the time. So, this position, I think would really help the department achieve its goals and will alleviate some of the stress that the current staff are carrying as well as their own duties. MS. WANA: That is correct. And I believe, you know, having a dedicated Grant Coordinator will also allow the department additional funds that we may not even have the time to seek for right now, which will severely benefit our department and the County. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. And then, the Public Safety Counselor, is there not someone who does that for the staff right now? MS. SAKO: I believe we have Police Chaplains. We don’t have an actual Counselor, and in my discussions with the Chief, that area is expanding. You know, the needs in that area are expanding. So, to have someone permanently on staff that would be available, you know, as needed, both to our employees, but also to their families. MS. WANA: This will provide more than just the religious aspect of it. I think this will provide more of the actual professional component of it. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Do we have like a third party provider that offer services if our staff within the Police Department needs? MS. SAKO: We do have an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) program that includes four sessions, I believe. But sometimes it does take longer. So, this would, you know, provide additional resources. I think as, you know, we’ve all been able to see on TV (television) with the release of some of the body camera footage, we’re becoming much more aware of what our officers go through. And you know, sometimes this gets taken home to families as well. So, we’re appreciative to the Chief and his team for coming up with this idea. MS. WANA: Keep in mind that, you know, the law enforcement or even the first responder field does carry a significant difference in what they might experience Page 16 FC-23 November 14, 2023 or endure as opposed to someone from the general public. So, someone having some experience in this specific type of field to deal with some of the specific stressors is going to be a great benefit for both our department and I believe, the community members in the long run. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: I completely agree. Thank you for bringing this forward. With that Council Members, we have the motion on the floor. Sorry, Council Member Evans, go ahead. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I want to do a follow-up question on the EAP program, which is Employee Assistance Program. I agree with you that first responders—and I’ve noticed first responders when there’s a hurricane, or earthquake, or a fire, or police, you see on TV all the time, they talk about having mental health counselors come in after the fact and talk to people so they can debrief them and you know, deal with that travesty and that trauma that they experience. But I’m curious about the EAP program. If we start creating this in the Police Department, should we be looking at creating it in the Fire Department? Or should we be looking at our EAP program that we currently have and make that more robust? MS. WANA: I believe Chief Moszkowicz believes that this position could cover both Police, Fire, and EMS. Then if need be, then expand in the future, if necessary. MS. SAKO: I think the EAP was really, as Major Wana said earlier, created more for our regular employees, you know, that go through the normal stressors in life, and to have someone specialized for the first responders would be extremely helpful. I know in the past, we’ve had situations with some of our employees, and Police has always been very generous with sharing; whether it’s their chaplains or other officers to support us in whatever roles come along. And I think they would do that in this case as well. MS. EVANS: If they’re going to be used by the Fire Department, just internally, do you do a Memorandum of Agreement between the two departments? MS. SAKO: We could, but I don’t know that it would be required or probably be part of the position description detailing out the employee’s duties. MS. EVANS: Okay, thank you, I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, thank you both for your time. Seeing no further discussion on the measure, motion is on the floor to Page 17 FC-23 November 14, 2023 forward Resolution 342-23 to Council with a positive recommendation. All in favor? Vote on Res. 342-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 342-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kimball and Lee Loy – 2. Excused: None. Res. 343-23: CREATES ONE NEW ASSISTANT CONTROLLER POSITION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE Establishes a new position to assist the Controller with the implementation of new accounting standards statements and the new Enterprise Resource Planning system, as well as address additional requirements for the Employee’s Retirement System. Reference: Comm. 575 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 343-23. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, discussion? Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. Director Sako, when I looked at your justification sheet, it mentions that the County is growing. So, this kind of follows-up on a previous discussion that we had about creating new positions, but having an issue with filling old positions. So, are we growing the County and needing more support in your office? Are we growing by creating new positions that pay more money? Because I get a little confused because it sounds like we’re having so much trouble filling positions and yet we’re adding new positions, and now we’re making statements that the County is growing. So, I’m getting the impression that our County government is growing. So, how many more people do we have than we had a month ago, two months ago, three months ago? (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: I don’t have the specific counts. But you know, I think when I say growing, it grows in a number of ways. You know, there’s departments that have Page 18 FC-23 November 14, 2023 more responsibilities. There’s more reporting, that’s mandatory. There’s lots of different things that, you know, kind of lead to this, but lots of times things do fall back on Finance. And now that we’re getting a new Enterprise Resource System, our accounting system, with, you know, a lot of trying to meet all the demands of the Council and the public as well. In our internal needs, it becomes clear to us that one person cannot do it, and just the Controller cannot do everything there is to do in this particular job. She already works nearly 24 hours-a-day. So, I mean, in this particular case, yes, we need another person to assist with the duties. But in terms—yes, we do continue to grow but we grow to meet the demands of the public as well. You know, if we don’t have the employees, we’re not going to be able to provide the services. You know, we get complaints when offices are closed. We get complaints when lines are too long. We get complaints when potholes aren’t filled. So, it depends on how you interpret the question. MS. EVANS: Interesting. Yeah, someday I’d really like to explore all the reporting that the Finance Department has to do. But thank you, another day. I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. Just wanted to use this opportunity since this person is going to be in part tasked with the new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system to do a check-in with the status of that, and maybe you can frame it in terms of how the hiring of this person will stack up against the timeline of adopting that. MS. SAKO: So, we are working on the position description so we can, hopefully, move ahead quickly. We do hope to be under contract with our new vendor by the end of the calendar year. And it could be either the Controller or the Assistant Controller that works on the ERP. But we need one then to take care of the audit and the financial statements as well. So you know, it’ll be also challenging for a brand new person to come in with the ERP and know all of the requirements of our system. But between the two, those duties would be carried out. This would be a good training opportunity for them to learn about our entire system. So, hopefully, to answer your question about the start date, hopefully we can get them on board at the beginning of the fiscal year, the calendar year. But it will depend on how HR is doing at the time. Like I said, we’re working on our Page 19 FC-23 November 14, 2023 position description, but we would need the final resolution to be able to submit all of that to get the position actually created. MS. KIMBALL: Thanks for that, you know, what you just said, and then a comment from my colleague earlier just gave a thought about all of these new hires, in general, or these new positions. And to a certain extent, it would seem to me that we’re creating new positions for specific roles that we have discovered we needed. Are some of these potentially replacing other positions that are unfilled that are not needed? You know, that we have budgeted for in the past, but are not actually utilizing? To me some of this seems like a reprogramming of some of the efforts in both your department and others. MS. SAKO: I don’t know that it’s we’re reprogramming others. Right now, all of our positions are busy doing something. Whether it’s closing the books; doing payroll, doing accounts payable. There’s multiple functions that have to be carried out. But we’re realizing that we don’t have enough staff to adequately carry those out on a daily basis, much less now, that we have like a new—we’re going to be installing new software. So, once we get the new software installed, then we can look to see if maybe some of our positions are no longer needed if we are able to gain efficiencies or other things from the new software. You know, that’s something that we may be able to reevaluate at that time. But right now, you know, with all of the reporting, whether it’s to ERS (Employee Retirement System), to EUTF (Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund), you know, making sure that everyone’s premiums are paid, and that you know, everyone has coverage, it’s a lot of work and reconciliation and other things that happen. MS. KIMBALL: Right, okay, appreciate that for what you guys are having to adjust to right now. MS. SAKO: But your point is well taken, and we continue to evaluate that. And some departments, you know, do choose not to fill existing positions because maybe another position is doing some of those duties. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, and I think that’s kind of the point that I was trying to highlight here, is that perhaps even though we might have some concerns about the funding of all of these positions, there are also vacancies that have not been filled that may not necessarily—today, there were a number of them. MS. SAKO: Right. Some purpose—right. Page 20 FC-23 November 14, 2023 MS. KIMBALL: Right, okay. So, this is not going to be just a whole addition of these, there’s going to be some moving around potentially. Anyway, I don’t want to dwell much on that. Thank you Chair, I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, seeing no further discussion, you know, Ms. Sako, what I realize with you is that you hardly ever ask for any positions. But when you do, normally you have a pretty good reason for why you’re doing it. Given that you are moving to a new position shortly, I think this is well-timed, and I believe you’re doing this for some well known reasons. And, I’ll be supporting this today. Thank you. Mr. Clerk, with that, we have the motion on the floor to forward Resolution 343-23 to Council with a positive recommendation. All in favor? Vote on Res. 343-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 343-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Resolution 344, please. Res. 344-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE FOR ONE GREENS MOWER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of $1,200, to be used at the Hilo Municipal Golf Course. Reference: Comm. 576 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend adoption of Res. 344-23. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Ms. Galimba, go ahead. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Is there anybody in Hilo that could answer a question on this? Page 21 FC-23 November 14, 2023 MS. SAKO: I’m sorry, I don’t see anyone from the department here or on Zoom. MS. GALIMBA: Okay, I was just wondering, you know. It looks like a very, very expensive mower, and I was looking up the model online and the price online is a fraction of what they’re asking for. So, I’m just wondering if we could have some explanation of why it’s so expensive. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: I can double check. They do try to estimate high, just knowing, you know, what we’re going to be carrying out. But again, this is for the golf course, so, they have very specific needs, and this is specifically for the greens. This is for one new greens mower. So, I can try and ask them for more details. But lots of times we have more specific needs or specific additions or features, sometimes. I can’t guarantee that the one you looked up is exactly the same one that they’re looking at, but we can have someone from the department here next time. I’m sure Troy would love to help us understand this. MS. GALIMBA: Thanks, that would be great. Because the price I saw online was like, $18,000. So, that’s a pretty big difference. So, I’d like to know more about what—I mean that’s on the mainland but then, shipping, etcetera. But still a big difference, yeah. MS. SAKO: Yeah, shipping is definitely one of our primary concerns here in Hawai‘i. But, yeah, I think they broke it up by months. So, yes, we’ll get more information, but I’m guessing shipping has something to do with that. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. Yeah, just a follow-up. I was just curious why they’re buying it instead of leasing it. If the people that they’re leasing it from replaces all the parts and does all the maintenance at no additional cost, maybe, but I just calculated five years at $1,200 a month and that’s $70,000, is what the value of the lease is. And if the purchase price is, yeah—so, I’m just—I’d really like to have more information. MS. SAKO: So, one of the things is that this is the golf course fund which does not have a large sum of money to just plunk out for a piece of equipment. In addition, we definitely had issues with repairs to our equipment. So, I believe this does include that as well. So, we’ll have someone from the department, either the Page 22 FC-23 November 14, 2023 Golf Course Manager or their Business Manager here next time to be able to explain a few more details. MS. EVANS: Okay, thank you, I yield. CHR. KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member. Okay, seeing no further discussion, motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 344-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Vote on Res. 344-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 344-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 7. Noes: Committee Member Evans – 1. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Resolution 345, please. Res. 345-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE FOR ONE 60-INCH DECK ROTARY MOWER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of $1,350, to be used at the Hilo Municipal Golf Course. Reference: Comm. 577 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) (Note: Comms. 577.1 from Deanna S. Sako dated November 14, 2023, transmitting proposed amendments to Res. 345-23, were circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend adoption of Res. 345-23. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Before we get into a discussion on this, Council Member, would you make the motion? Motion to Amend: Ms. Villegas moved to amend Res. 345-23 with the contents of Comm. 577.1. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. Page 23 FC-23 November 14, 2023 CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Discussion on the amendment, Council Members. MS. VILLEGAS: I just would quickly add, wow, at least we’re getting three more. There’s just one here. So, at least this amendment gets us moving in the right direction. More mowers. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member. Any further discussion? Okay, hearing and seeing none, Ms. Sako, thank you for getting this done so quickly. MS. SAKO: Yeah, we apologize for the oversight. Thank you for amending. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Of course. With that, we have the motion on the floor to amend Resolution 345-23 with the contents of Communication 577.1. All in favor? Vote on Motion The motion to amend Res. 345-23 with the contents of to Amend: Comm. 577.1 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kierkiewicz and Lee Loy – 2. Excused: None. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Back to the main motion, Resolution 345-23, as amended. Any discussion? Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge, and I think the previous resolution, this one, and the next resolution are all likely purchases that have become necessary due to Parks and Rec’s movement away from using Glyphosate in our public parks. And so, just want to give a shout out to our P&R (Parks and Recreation) staff for all our efforts to continue to maintain our parks to the level that folks expect without using Glyphosate, and I’m sure that this is part of that story. So, thank you out to P&R. Chair, I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Council Member Evans, go ahead. MS. EVANS: Yeah, so I know we amended it, but I’m looking at the justification sheet for these rotaries. The department has currently two mowers that are utilized seven days-a-week and I see the same thing, the department has two Page 24 FC-23 November 14, 2023 mowers that are utilized seven days-a-week. So, I take it we’re going from two to four mowers. But it says here that the monthly cost for the lease is $1,350. So, if you’re changing it from one to four, then are we agreeing to a higher monthly lease rate, and what would that be? MS. SAKO: I believe that it was a typo in the original B-52. So, the one attached to the revision, actually, the Communication 577.1 has it for four of the rotary mowers. So, I believe that is the cost for all four, but we can confirm before next reading. MS. EVANS: Because it says—so, we now have four mowers at $1,350 a month and then the last one was one mower for $1,200 a month? MS. SAKO: Yeah, I believe the Greens mowers are a little more finer and detailed, but like I said, we’ll have Troy or Reid here at the next reading. MS. EVANS: Yes, please. I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member Evans. Council Member Galimba, go ahead. And then Deanna if you could, sorry, it’s really quiet on that side and it’s hard to hear. So, if you could speak up a little bit on the mic or bring it closer to you. MS. SAKO: Will do, yeah, I pulled it closer. MS. GALIMBA: Great. Thanks, and just ditto, you know. But would like more clarification and justification. I’m glad we’re getting four for that price and not just one. So, it helps. MS. SAKO: Yes, it does help. But yeah, we’ll have them here at the next reading. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Any further discussion? Okay, good points made by the Council, look forward to hearing from the department at the next hearing in Council. We do have the motion on the floor to forward Resolution 345-23, as amended, to the Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Any opposed? Page 25 FC-23 November 14, 2023 Vote on Res. 345-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 345-23, (Draft 2) as amended to Draft 2, was carried by the following (Approved) voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. Res. 346-23: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE FOR ONE 5 GANG ROTARY MOWER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of $1,900, to be used at the Hilo Municipal Golf Course. Reference: Comm. 578 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 346-23. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Council Member Evans, go ahead. MS. EVANS: Thank you. So, it just comes to light that you’re going to continue to have two mowers. This doesn’t say we’re replacing mowers. We’re not replacing the five gang rotary mowers. It’s saying currently we have two mowers, so, you want to add an additional. So, do you have staff to add the additional people to ride these mowers? Because it looks like you’re adding more mowers not replacing mowers. MS. SAKO: I understand what you’re saying. I believe we are replacing some of the mowers because these mowers are literally falling apart. But when we have the team here next reading, we’ll definitely clarify all those questions. And I’ll give them a heads-up on the questions as well. MS. EVANS: Right, especially leasing versus purchase, especially if we’re replacing. Thank you, I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Villegas. Page 26 FC-23 November 14, 2023 MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah, just as a side note and to reiterate the mahalo to Parks and Rec. With the transition to both Parks and Rec and DPW away from utilizing Glyphosate and other herbicides to maintain our roadways in our parks, there continues to be a need for more mowers. They have the staff, but getting more up-to-date technology when it comes to mowers provides an opportunity for them to more efficiently mow areas, which keeps them at the level of usability that the community requires. But it gives them the equipment to do that without utilizing the herbicides that we have asked and established was to prohibit. So, yeah, thank you to Parks and Rec for this. Thank you for your keen eye in looking at all of that for a broader understanding to make sure we are appropriately and effectively managing our resources and our mowers. And thank you, Deanna, for being here filling in all the gaps, appreciate it. MS. SAKO: Yeah, trying to. Thank you for that. MS. VILLEGAS: I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, seeing no more discussion, motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 346-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Vote on Res. 346-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 346-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. Res. 347-23: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, PURSUANT TO HAWAI‘I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Allows for the receipt of $50,000 of federally-derived funds to provide community-based training and regional education from local historians, cultural practitioners, and other sources to AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America personnel. Funds would be used to provide community-based training and regional education to VISTA personnel. Reference: Comm. 579 Intr. by: Mr. Kāneali‘i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Page 27 FC-23 November 14, 2023 Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 347-23. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion on the motion? Council Member Kierkiewicz, go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, a little latitude if I’m going beyond the scope, but it’s related to the VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Keep it tight and short. Go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I will, thank you. Director, I don’t think anyone from R&D is here, but fully appreciate this resolution, this additional funding to provide training. But just wondering how many VISTAs we currently have and the status of the VISTA program, and when this training would occur. MS. SAKO: I’m not sure when the training would occur. I wanted to say we have three to four VISTAs, but I’ll confirm that between now and next reading. I know we are in the process of recruiting new VISTAs and that contract is in the process of being signed to renew that agreement or continue the program. So, I’ll find out for sure how many we have. I think we’re kind of in transition from our current staff to the new VISTAs. So, it may take about nine months, I think, before we get the new VISTAs on board. So, the training may take place at that time. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I’m sorry, Director, did you say nine months? MS. SAKO: That’s what I thought I heard by the time we signed the contract, and you know, the Federal system kind of works with getting everyone in place. But I could be wrong on that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, by next year, and then the trainings happening maybe at the start of the next fiscal year? MS. SAKO: That would put us right about there, yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you. Any information about the program at Council would be really helpful. I’m just wondering if the conversations related to Federal shutdown might be the reason why we’re not able to get funding for the overall program and get our VISTAs hired. MS. SAKO: It could be, and I’ll make sure we get you more information before Council. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thanks, Director. Thank you Chair, for the latitude. Page 28 FC-23 November 14, 2023 CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. In reading the justification sheet, I have a question about, it says that the County has a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the AmeriCorps for eight VISTA members, two cost-share VISTA members. Can those VISTA AmeriCorps, can they be assigned to any department? MS. SAKO: I don’t think it’s specific. I mean we’ve had them at Planning and R&D and other places. So, yeah, I’m sure there’s a variety of places they can be. There has to be also, interest on their part as well, you know, in terms of wanting to serve and learn in that area. MS. EVANS: Okay, thank you, I yield. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Seeing no discussion, Deanna, on the Grant Summary on the very bottom, additional comments about the grant, it says an interesting statement, “VISTAs provide capacity building support on various anti-poverty initiatives.” Limited to, you know, just the things they cover? MS. SAKO: It’s one of the things they cover, yes. But there are definitely specific areas that they need to serve and help with. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Does OHCD (Office of Housing and Community Development), can they use some of these VISTAs with them looking at affordable housing? MS. SAKO: They may be able to. We can ask. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Okay, I’ll follow-up with them. Thank you. Okay, with that, Council Members. Sorry, Mr. Inaba, go ahead. MR. INABA: Yeah, I just want to make one comment. Thank you again, Director Sako, for being here. And this goes for all the departments, if we have the resolutions for positions or for leases, if we could have somebody from the department be here— MS. SAKO: Yeah, I thought they were going to. So, I apologize, we’ll make sure they’re definitely here at the next reading. MR. INABA: Thank you to you, too, again, and DPW for being here in Kona. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Okay, with that we have the motion on the floor to forward Resolution 347-23 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Page 29 FC-23 November 14, 2023 Vote on Res. 347-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 347-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Our last item for today, Bill 100. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 100: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 23-50, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2024 Appropriates revenues in Federal Grants – Fiscal Year 2023 Volunteers in Service to America Support Grant account ($50,000); and appropriates the same to the Fiscal Year 2023 Volunteers in Service to America Support Grant account. Funds would be used to provide community-based training and regional education to VISTA personnel. Reference: Comm. 579 Intr. by: Mr. Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 100 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion on this, the sister motion to Resolution 347-23? Okay, seeing none, the motion is on the floor. All in favor? Vote on Bill 100: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 100 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy – 1. Excused: None. CHR. KĀNEALIʻI-KLEINFELDER: That brings us to the end of our agenda. May I have a motion? Page 30 FC-23 November 14,2023 ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 12:27 p.m., Mr. Inaba moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Lee Loy— 1. Excused: None. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We are adjourned at 12:27 p.m. Thank you. Approved: )i '' aillk1 2 Mr. Matt Kaneah`'-Kleinfelder, lair (Date) Finance Committee MKIdt Page 31