HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2024/01/09 (2022-2024) Committee on Finance
26th Session
Hawai`i County Building
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii
January 9, 2024
CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at
ORDER: 10:41 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo,by Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,
Chair.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair
Ms. Cindy Evans, Vice Chair (via videoconference from Kona)
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. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member
Ms. Rebecca Villegas,Member (came in later)
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items.
PUBLIC ON
AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.)
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I'm going to go to Bill 118
first.
Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no object from the Council Members, the
of Business: the following items were taken out of order:
Bill 118: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 23-50, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2024
Increases revenues in the Federal Grants—National Instant Criminal Background
Check Act Record Improvement Program account ($169,728); and appropriates
the same to the National Instant Criminal Background Check Act Record
Improvement Program account, for a total appropriation of$715,488. These
additional funds would be used to convert paper files to electronic formats and to
fund overtime hours for staff to prepare documents for electronic conversion.
Reference: Comm. 665
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
FC-26 January 9,2024
Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 118
on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We do have someone from the department
joining us today, if there's any questions from the Council. If you could give us a
quick background on what this is. Thank you for being here today, lieutenant.
(Note: At this time, Hawaii Police Lieutenant Nelson Acob came
forward to address the members of the Committee.)
LT. ACOB: Good morning. So, what this is, is taking basically the first type of
police records that we ever had and bringing it up to something that we can
actually access instead of somebody actually going to and actually getting the
files from a 3x5 index card.
This was something from the pre-`80's; even from the `60's. So, what this was is
basically, our masters basically. So, if a person was involved in any kind of crime
or had a gun registration, you would have to go look into this little drawer with all
these 3x5 cards.
So, what we're doing is trying to digitize everything. And it will be accessible to
all clerks and all districts. Thereby not only our people in our Records Section,
getting this info for them and getting to them at a later time, kind of thing.
So, we've got roughly over 325,000 files to prep and scan, and so that's what this
is. It's an overtime project,basically, for our personnel to get these records
digitized.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Wow, okay. Thank you for that
background. That's huge. Okay, to the Council, any questions, discussion?
Council Member Evans, go ahead.
MS. EVANS: Thank you. So,just a little bit of clarity for me. So, this is
different from when you're checking to see if someone in another state is a
criminal at the State or at the Federal level. This is about when we have a
criminal, that in fact, that has been adjudicated and claimed to be? I mean they
now are officially criminals. We have to enter them into the system so that other
states know.
LT. ACOB: No, that's not what that is. These are old criminal files. I want to
explain it as, like in today's technology, I guess, if we encounter a person in the
public, we're going to create a profile for them. And any incident after that will
be going under that profile. Anything from a, you know, like a simple call to the
police for assistance, a criminal report. This guy now gets arrested. All of that is
under this, what we call a master name file in today's technology.
Page 2
FC-26 January 9,2024
This file that we're trying to digitize, that was the master name file for, back in
the '60's up to the '80's. So, we're trying to bring that up to speed so that
anytime anybody comes in to our police station, and they're trying to apply for,
you know, firearms, or whatever, when we do a background check, they wouldn't
have to call the Hilo Firearms Section to go do this check manually. Everybody
should have this because we're hoping to get all these files digitized and available
for all the clerks, County-wide.
MS. EVANS: (Inaudible 10:47:40) So, for further clarity, so if I get held over for
speeding and I get a ticket, and your officer goes back to office and fills out a
report, that needs to go into some electronic system, that person violated or
created a crime, speeding, let's say. Would that take in all of those types of
electronic reporting, or it only deals with firearms? I just need a little bit more
clarity, sorry.
LT. ACOB: So, like you explained, if you get pulled over, you get a citation. If
you've never ever had a police contact, when the officer submits his paperwork or
his citation to the clerk, that clerk will create a profile for you. And this citation
will go under your profile.
So, that's what these are basically, we have these hard copy profiles in our station
dated back to the `60's and '80's. Because there is still a significant population
that they would still need to do background checks for if they ever came in for
firearms. And I only bring up firearms because for firearms, you need to do
background checks. And so, these people, if they're in those files, those files we
can just check, because there is no computer system for that. They can't check,
we have to manually check.
MS. EVANS: Well, I'm in total support. You know, I thought maybe eight or
ten years ago, we would have gotten more electronics. So, if this gets us to where
we're electronic and off of the paper, yes, yes, yes. This is really a good thing.
And thank you to you and your staff. It's going to be quite a project to get
everything from paper to electronic. But thanks everybody that's going to
participate in it. I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I forgot to ask, can you please introduce
yourself for the record?
LT. ACOB: Sorry about that. Nelson Acob. I'm the lieutenant with the firearms
records section.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Aloha, Lieutenant Acob, good to see
you. What an incredible undertaking for the department. Much needed, certainly
going to increase efficiencies as you mentioned. Did you happen to say how long
Page 3
FC-26 January 9,2024
it's going to take for the team to scan all of these records? All the different
profiles you mentioned dating back from the '60's. So decades upon decades of
profiles.
LT. ACOB: You're looking at a year. It's a year.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, great, one year. That doesn't seem too long.
LT. ACOB: You know, it's not so much about creating space in our office or our
section. It does do that, I mean creates all this space, getting rid of all the
hardcopy stuff, but you know,just the efficiency; having all this data available to
everybody. I think that's the biggest advantage, yeah.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Absolutely, couldn't agree more. Thank you very much
for helping to facilitate this program. Chair, I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: Wow, it reminds me of going to the library, even when I was
in college at UH Manoa and the duodecimal system. And you know,boy, those
little card filing systems really went a long way.
So, a little bit of clarification even for myself, so currently, if you are in violation
of a law, or you know, when they're entering let's say even as Council Member
Evans used as sample, a speeding ticket. Currently, all of that goes into a digital
system, correct?
So, this specific funding, which congratulations for securing Federal grants to
help pay for this, is just to take these older files, which have not been digitized;
bring them into the current system; bring them into the 21st century, so you guys
can have access to them.
LT. ACOB: yes.
MS. VILLEGAS: Awesome. So, I am in full support of this, especially in an era
when the example used was gun safety, even now on this island, unfortunately.
And the access to that viable, accurate information that takes into consideration,
even going back decades, I think is pivotal for the continued health, safety, and
wellbeing of our community. As well as for the Police Department and first
responders.
I'll be supporting this wholeheartedly. Congratulations on securing the funding to
help do it, and I'm always grateful to see us taking the initiative and steps forward
to bringing ourselves into the 21st century when it comes as a County
Administration and body and utilizing the technology that's now available to help
Page 4
FC-26 January 9,2024
you guys do an already very challenging job with the resources necessary. With
that I yield.
CHR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Galimba.
MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Just a quick question. So, this amount, the
$169,728 is a federal grant. Is the entire $715,488 Federal grants or is that a mix?
LT. ACOB: It's federal grants, and I believe it's from over the past few years,
from 2020, in fact.
MS. GALIMBA: Okay, yeah so, we've got sort of a different rounds of grants
then, and you've already had started this process. Does that sound like, or are you
starting it right now? Starting the process of scanning, has it been ongoing or is it
just starting now?
LT. ACOB: Scanning different items in there,but not for this Alpha Card. It
hasn't started yet.
MS. GALIMBA: Okay, got yah. Thanks very much. I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, seeing no more
discussion. Lieutenant, thank you very much for your time. We do have a motion
on the floor to forward Bill 118 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All
in favor? Any opposed.
Vote on Bill 118: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 118 on first
(Approved) reading was 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: Can we go to Resolution 399-24, please?
Res. 399-24: CHANGES THE STATUS AND FUNDING SOURCE OF ONE TEMPORARY
PROGRAM SUPPORT TECHNICIAN POSITION TO BECOME A FULL-TIME
PERMANENT POSITION
Seeks to reallocate a previous federally-funded position in the Planning
Department to a full-time Human Resources Technician.
Reference: Comm. 658
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Page 5
FC-26 January 9,2024
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 399-24.
Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We do have our new Managing Director
joining us today.
(Note: At this time, Managing Director Deanna Sako came forward to
address the members of the Committee.)
MS. SAKO: Good morning, Deanna Sako, Managing Director. Zendo Kern
wasn't to be here today, so he asked that I attend on his behalf. So, what's before
you is, they've been short of positions. You know, they have some consolidated
accounting and HR (Human Resources) positions, and they really kind of need an
actual Human Resource Technician. So, that's what the proposal is.
But instead of going for a new position, they're trying to utilize an existing
position that they have. But that's grant-funded position, so we just want to make
it County-funded, permanent position, so that they can go ahead and hire their
Human Resource Technician. So, that's what the request is today. Happy to
answer any questions.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Members? Council
Member Kagiwada.
MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Thanks for being here. So, will this, hopefully,
help with some of their hiring issues over in Planning? Is that the intention of
this?
MS. SAKO: Yes, it is. It should help. They've also had some transitioning, you
know, they've moved people around. So, when people get promoted, then that
creates other vacancies. So, that was part of it.
But in addition, you know, that department has grown over time. And the support
positions haven't necessarily grown with it. It's been quite a number of years that
they've been of the same staffing level. So, this should help them, you know, get
caught up on a lot of that.
In addition, you know, it's become harder to hire people. So, there's a lot more
paperwork, even though we offer hiring incentives, recruitment incentives, that
kind of thing, it just takes more paperwork. So, this should help them do all of
those duties.
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Do you know if it's predicted that this might cut
down on, actually the hiring time it takes to get people on board?
Page 6
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. SAKO: That would be the hope. But you know like, every position in the
County. We have some on continuous recruitment. It's just hard to find workers
for that classification. So, while that's the intent, and we're just very hopeful for
that, you know, it's just hard to guarantee that.
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, of course. Thank you. I'll be supporting.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Galimba.
MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. I just wondered, like the mechanics of it. What if
they choose to turn grant-funded position into a permanent position rather than
just create another one?
MS. SAKO: I think in this particular case, this was a one-time grant that we're
not anticipating getting again. If it was a grant that we got annually, then we
wouldn't be doing something like that. But this was a one-time grant. We're not
anticipating getting it again. So,just trying not to grow the position account, you
know, and have just additional unfunded positions. So,just trying to, you know,
be good stewards of our resources. So, since they're pretty confident they're not
going to need this as a grant-funded position going forward, they thought it was
good idea just to utilize that one.
MS. GALIMBA: Okay, so the other two that were grant-funded, those become
unfunded positions? Is that going to happen?
MS. SAKO: If we don't actively have the grant, they're unfunded. Sometimes
they may even show as unfunded, but they're funded by the grant. You know, if
it's a multi-year grant. It's various, each grant is a little bit different in the way
we budget for it.
MS. GALIMBA: Okay, I guess if those are unfunded and they just sit there, like
is there a process where they then get deleted or they stay there forever?
MS. SAKO: They kind of sit there until we actively take action on those. You
know, the hope is always that they might get other grants they could utilize it for.
But it's just kind of unknown at this point in time.
MS. GALIMBA: Okay, thanks.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you Council Member Kagiwada.
Council Member Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Hi Managing Director, great to see you.
Happy New Year.
MS. SAKO: Happy New Year.
Page 7
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: More mechanical questions. So, are any of these positions
occupied, or are they all vacant?
MS. SAKO: The ones that are unfunded are the ones—so, this particular position
we're talking about is vacant, and I believe it has been for quite some time now.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, and so by adopting this resolution or moving it
forward to Council and then adopting it, the position will be reallocated. And at
that point, the Planning Department will be able to do recruitment. Is it an
internal or external position?
MS. SAKO: That will be decided at the time by the department. Usually, we
kind of do a survey. I mean we try to do internal recruitments first, but at the
same time, it takes time to go through, and if no one applies, then now you have
to post it open, and that just adds time to the process. So, sometimes we'll do a
survey to see if there's people who seem interested before actually going through
and going ahead with the internal recruitment.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Got it. And a Human Resources Technician, they help
with recruitment and retention. What are the other duties?
MS. SAKO: All the necessary paperwork, where people get reallocated, when
they have step movements, when they have their performance reviews. All of that
has to be documented in the system. Form 13's have to be prepared. Any kind of
salary changes.
If you have been placed on Leave-without-Pay, tracking on the leave calendars.
Even though we have those in the system, there's still some manual processes that
we have to go through and forms that have to be completed, that are utilized both
for the County as well as for the Employee Retirement System.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Prior to this discussion to reallocate to positions, there's
been no one in the Planning Department that is exclusively handling HR
functions?
MS. SAKO: Not with an HR title. You know, they've had an accountant, that
kind of does both.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: A Business Manager, lot of shared duties, it sound like.
MS. SAKO: Right. But not like somebody focused strictly on Human Resources,
is my understanding.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, that's very helpful. Thank you. I'll be supporting
this request. Thank you, Chair.
Page 8
FC-26 January 9,2024
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Council Member Evans, any
discussion? Thank you. Quick follow-up and more process-related. When we
have a funded/unfunded position in a department and there's a need in another
area of the department, is a resolution correct? I'm not questioning this, but just
the overall.
MS. SAKO: Right. Like if within the same department, I think was the question.
Okay, so if there's a vacant unfunded position, usually it has to be—typically, it
would be vacant, needed in another section. I believe that's just an HR action that
the Department Head can do. It may take consultation with the union. You
know, there's other processes. But not necessarily Council action if it's staying in
the same department.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you. Seeing no further
discussion, thank you Managing Director Sako for being here today. The motion
on the floor to forward Resolution 399-24 to Council with a favorable
recommendation, all in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Res. 399-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 399-24 was
(Approved) 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: Moving to Resolution 400-24, please.
Res. 400-24: AUTHORIZES THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION TO
AWARD FUNDS TO HAWAI`I HI-DIVING FRIENDS
Provides $66,815 of grant funds for the Charles "Sparky" Kawamoto Swim
Stadium Dive Tower New Staircase project.
Reference: Comm. 659
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of
Res. 400-24. Seconded by Ms. Villegas.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We do have joining us today, Director
Messina. If you could give us some background and introduce your guest today.
Page 9
FC-26 January 9,2024
(Note: At this time, Department of Parks and Recreation Director
Maurice Messina; and Hawai`i HI-Diving Club Coach David Freeman
came forward to address the members of the Committee.)
MR. MESSINA: Good morning, Director of Parks and Recreation Maurice
Messina. I'm joined by David Freeman from Hawaii Diving. This project is part
of our ongoing change of the way our department has been handling broken
equipment in our parks for decades; where we just take away components from
facilities, and you know, whether they are safe or not in just they never get
replaced.
So, with our friends group here, with David, we are now taking down the staircase
at Kawamoto Pool. This is going to be our second part of this project, which is
actually the purchasing of the new staircase, and then we're going to partner with
David again on the third portion which is reopening.
What that's going to do is that's going to allow Kawamoto Pool to actually be on
the run now for international diving competitions, training for Olympic athletes;
kind of like we're doing at KCAC (Kona Community Aquatic Center Pool) in
Kona where we're bringing back the USA Women's Water Polo team, gold medal
team. So, we're trying to bring international competition to our pools.
This is one of the public-private partnerships that we have that are actually
keeping our facilities open and keeping them going. So, we really hope to get
your support on this. I think it's about a 50-year-old staircase. It's been down for
years and years and years, and all it is is a safety hazard right now. So, instead of
just taking it down, we want to repair it and get it back open.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Director. David?
MR. FREEMAN: First of all, thanks to everyone for welcoming us this morning.
The tower is a beautiful tower, and there was some restoration work done to the
Olympic dive tower a number of years ago. So, it makes sense that we get rid of
the very dangerous old 50-year-old staircase and replace it with a new one so we
can use the tower.
This would be, of course, training for my club, so that divers can train on the
tower, which most of the high school kids on the mainland are all training on the
tower. And it also, like Maurice said, opens this up to allow international
competitions,because we have a five, seven, and ten-meter dive tower. So, it's
all good.
This has been a wonderful partnership that's been going on for a while. My club
worked with Parks and Rec to install the first new diving board at the Kawamoto
Pool in like 50 years and repaired one of the old diving boards. This is the next
step in the evolutionary process.
Page 10
FC-26 January 9,2024
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much. Council Members?
Council Member Galimba, then I'll come to you, Council Member Evans.
MS. GALIMBA: Just quickly want to congratulate the department on this model
of working with community to get repairs going that are, you know, what
community wants. I think it's terrific. I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Evans.
MS. EVANS: You know, this is the first time I've been in the discussion of
public-private partnerships with Director Messina, and I appreciate that this is
how we definitely show efficiency and how we work collaboratively in the
community to get these much needed recreational facilities, which are aging, and
try to get them repaired, replaced, removed, refreshed.
Having said that, this public-private partnership, you know, I'd love to talk with
you offline on it, but can you maybe just spend a quick moment about these
public-private partnerships and how many, and what we're doing across the
island.
MR. MESSINA: Absolutely, I'll just mention a few. So, we have our Friends of
the Park program, which is usually nonprofit organizations that come in and assist
us at our park facilities. Whether it's Friends of the Zoo who help us build new
exhibits; Friends of the Dragstrip who help us maintain the dragstrip. We've got
Friends of Kona Pool that assist us. We've got our first meeting at 7:00 o'clock
this morning. It was in Waimea with Friends of the Dog Park group, where we're
going to be making a dog park. So,just all around.
With our limited budget and the underfunding of this department for quite a
while, without the public-private partnerships we would not be able to keep these
facilities open. One of the strongest friends' programs that we have is in the
swimming pools. Everything from reopening Honoka`a Pool to Kohala Pool,
Laupahoehoe Pool; we've got a good public-private partnership at Pahoa Pool and
Kawamoto Pool. So, like I said, with our limited budget items or limited budget
that we have in our Aquatic Section, this really assists and helps us keep the
facilities going.
MR. FREEMAN: Allow me to add that the nonprofit that I run is part of my club.
Got a diving grant from USA Diving. They gave us $10,000 for the new board
and stand. So, there's a lot of desire and collaborative effort with USA Diving to
refresh our facilities.
MS. EVANS: Thank you very much. In strong support. Thank you, I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Villegas.
Page 11
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha, Maurice, nice to see you. Happy New Year. Thank
you for being here and for all your support of not only your nonprofit and the
Diving program, but of our Parks and Rec. I just wanted to add in my gratitude
for your leadership and support of the Friends of the Park agreements.
Yes, in my beginning tenure here, there was a lot of trepidation and kind of doubt
about the Friends of the Park agreements, and our community really stepping in
and really embracing the role and seeing it through. I'm sure that that came from
historic disappointments and fits and starts.
But I just really wanted to commend you and give you credit for supporting your
team and transitioning that belief system of what's possible. And also, a huge
mahalo to the communities who've stepped up and stepped alongside you instead
of what, for many years unfortunately, had been some adversarial relationships.
In working together, the facilities that you have improved and have made great
strides to bring up to the caliber where we can actually invite Olympic caliber,
international caliber athletes and athletic organizations. Just thank you for that.
We still have a long way to go, and I look forward to working closely with you
and ensuring that you get the support and the funding and the connectivity to
community groups that have the passion and the resources, and the capacity to
navigate the private sector for those resources to support you as you navigate the
confines and the parameters of what's possible within the Parks and Rec
Department in our Administration.
But I just would have been remiss to not give you credit for this transition that I
have witnessed personally and professionally in how things are managed and how
far we've come in your authentic belief in embracing the relationships associated
with the Friends of Park agreements. So, mahalo plenty, I yield.
MR. FREEMAN: Thank you very much, and I just want to add, when we talk
about the Olympics, I found out this morning, I'm going to be the volunteer
coordinator for diving at the Paris Olympics. I sort of(inaudible 11:11:54) was at
the same level in Rio. Didn't go to Japan—wasn't a good time to go to Japan. I
just found out this morning. So, we'll talk it up in Paris, right? Come to Hilo
because we have dive tower.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Director, thank you so much. You
know, I'm just reflecting on the 300-plus facilities that your department has
kuleana over, and it's hard to get it done every single day. And so, where you are
able to embrace community partnerships like this and get money out the door and
install critical pieces of infrastructure that really allow for more recreational use
of these facilities, that's really fantastic.
Page 12
FC-26 January 9,2024
I love public-private partnerships. I would love it if we could also entertain
getting some fill-and-drop-it dollars involved in the next so that it's not just
County funds. So, look forward to seeing more of this, and I'll be knocking on
your door shortly related to more partnerships that we can explore in Pahoa. But
well done. Congratulations, this is really exciting for our community. Chair, I
yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, seeing no more
discussion, Director, thank you very much. David, thank you very much as well.
Congratulations on Paris. I just wanted to mention and I think this came across
my desk, I want to say like four years ago. The request to start working on that
diving platforms at the pools because of the potential that it can be for our
community.
So, as usual, things take a long time to happen,but this year to get to this point,
it's nice because we're moving. Because I first forwarded the email that came in
from the community, the answer was, "I don't know, we're trying to figure it out
and we got to find money."
So, to have this agreement formed and to be working towards getting the parts
replaced so we can have competitions here so we can train our keiki. That's
amazing. So, it's good to see us moving ahead. Thank you much for all of your
efforts in this. Thank you. Okay,Mr. Clerk, we do have the motion on the floor
to forward Resolution 400-24 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All
in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Res. 400-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 400-24 was
(Approved) 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: Thank you. Let's move to Bill 115,
please?
Page 13
FC-26 January 9,2024
Bill 115: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 23-50, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2024
Increases revenues in Federal Grants—Housing Choice Voucher Program account
($5 million); and appropriates the same to the Choice Voucher Rental Subsidies
account, for a total appropriation of$28 million. Funds would be used for rental
assistance for eligible participants in the Housing Assistance Payment program.
Reference: Comm. 662
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 115
on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, we do have the
department joining us. Want to come up and then I'll go to questions from the
Council. Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you very much, Chair.
(Note: At this time, Office of Housing and Community Development
Administrator Susan Kunz came forward to address the members of the
Committee.)
MS. KUNZ: Good morning, Susan Kunz, Administrator for the Office of
Housing. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to our new Existing
Housing Division Manager, Kehau Costa. So, we have three bills that are going
to be heard today, and I want to make sure to introduce her.
You know, Kehau comes to us with a lot of experience. She spent many years as
an Administrator in Education. But I think most of us know her in her work in the
real estate market. She was the Executive Director for about ten years with the
Hawaii Island Board of Realtors. So, we were very excited to have her come on
board. She's been with us for a little over a year, and she's actually served in a
position as our Housing Choice Voucher Planner.
So, she's been working very diligently over the last year on developing our
Administrative Rules, updating those, which we come before this body to review.
And she's also working on our Annual Plan. Spent a lot of time developing
policy for our Project-Based Voucher Program, which is very critical to housing
development as well. So, when we had an opportunity to consider her for this
position, we were sold. It wasn't a very difficult decision to make. So, I'd like to
bring her up here, and she can walk us through the next few bills that you're
going to be hearing today.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Administrator, for being here.
Page 14
FC-26 January 9,2024
(Note: At this time, Office of Housing and Community Development
Specialist Kehaulani Costa came forward to address the members of the
Committee.)
MS. COSTA: Hi, Happy New Year.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Happy New Year.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Ms. Costa, can I call you Kehau?
MS. COSTA: Yes, please. Thank you.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Congratulations. You bring so much experience and heart
for community, for local families, for working families. I couldn't think of a
better fit. So, thank you for being a fierce advocate for more housing for our local
folks. Just going through the B-52 on the Housing Voucher Program, $5 million;
21.5 increase?
MS. COSTA: Yes.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: That's significant. That's huge, how did you pull that off?
And how many more vouchers are we looking at or is there an increased threshold
for the existing vouchers that are out on the market? Because a lot of times, folks
get the vouchers, but it's really not enough to cover the costs or anything that's
out there on the market. So,kind of explain all of this task,please.
MS. COSTA: Yes, so every year HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development) provides us with an inflationary increase, and as we all know,
through the Pandemic, inflation, housing costs rose quite a bit nationally. And
typically, we know what that inflationary increase is going to be, but this was kind
of an anomaly to have such a large increase in this year's budget.
So, it is an increase to the overall funds,but it was not an increase to the voucher
amount. We have a little over 2,000 vouchers in total that are under contract with
us under HUD's annual contract. So, this just allowed us to address inflation and
increase the amount that the voucher costs us. A voucher could be a one-
bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, depending on family size. We have
21,000 and our unit costs have gone up about 25 percent since 2019. So, that's
what it is.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, and this is an allocation that we can expect going
forward in the$5 million range for the program because of the adjustment with
inflation?
MS. COSTA: Yes. So, we are planning that increase into the next year's budget.
Page 15
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, that's very helpful. Again, congratulations. Thank
you. Appreciate you being here. Chair, I yield.
MS. KIMBALL: Since Chair stepped out and Vice Chair is in Kona. I will
assume Chair if that's okay with the rest of the body for the moment. Council
Member Inaba.
MR. INABA: Thank you. Congratulations Kehau, nice to see you again. Just to
confirm, you're saying that this increase of$5 million is what we will be
budgeting in this upcoming fiscal year budget.
MS. COSTA: So, the funding that we're appropriating now, we're on a calendar
year with HUD. So, it's this calendar year, so it does affect the upcoming County
fiscal year. Then we will budget that increased amount into our next fiscal year as
well.
MR. INABA: Okay, yeah, so we're going to spend this $5 million by June 30th as
it states, and then as we prepare for our next budget fiscal year, we'll include that
additional$5 million?
MS. COSTA: Yes, you'll see that increased.
MR. INABA: Okay, perfect. Thank you so much. This is wonderful.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member. Council
Member Kagiwada.
MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Congratulations. I'm just going to ask
you for a very brief explanation of the three different programs that you're talking
about today, so we can know what the differences are.
MS. COSTA: So, we have like a whole new phase of vouchers. So, we have our
typical Housing Choice Vouchers which are just kind of our general vouchers for
eligible families, individuals, and families. Within the Housing Choice Voucher
Program, we can allocate out to Project-Based Vouchers which Susan talked
about. We also have veteran vouchers, which are called VASH (Veterans Affairs
Supportive Housing).
We have vouchers for adults. I have to remember not to call them kids,but that
are aging out of foster care, so young adults aging out of foster care. And we
have a new voucher type called Stability Vouchers. They are for at-risk of
homeless; also, individuals and families experiencing domestic violence, human
trafficking or at risk of that. So, we have this kind of—that's all within the
Housing Choice Voucher.
Page 16
FC-26 January 9,2024
Then, we have two other pots of money. Mainstream Vouchers, which is the next
bill. Those are for non-elderly disabled families, individuals, and families. And
the Emergency Housing Voucher, which is for homeless or at-risk of
homelessness.
MS. KAGIWADA: And the Stability vouchers are different than the Emergency
vouchers?
MS. COSTA: Yes.
MS. KAGIWADA: So, even though they may also be at risk of homelessness, it
is a different category.
MS. COSTA: So, a little bit more support for individuals and families. HUD
always refers to everybody as families. Which is nice, ohana, right.
MS. KAGIWADA: I see.
MS. COSTA: So, individuals and families that are experiencing domestic
violence, abuse, human trafficking. And typically, if they're fleeing that situation,
they're at risk of homelessness. So, that's the specific on that voucher.
MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Alright, well thank you, that really helps me think
about all these together and separately. Thank you and welcome aboard in your
new position.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Evans.
MS. EVANS: No questions, thank you. I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you for stepping up to the County,
Ms. Costa. Good to see you.
MS. COSTA: Great team, thank you.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Administrator Kunz, anything to add?
Okay. We do have the motion is on the floor to forward Bill 115 to Council with
a favorable recommendation, all in favor? Any opposed?
Page 17
FC-26 January 9,2024
Vote on Bill 115: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 115 on first
(Approved) reading was 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: Bill 116, please.
Bill 116: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 23-50, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2024
Increases revenues in Federal Grants—Mainstream Voucher Program account
($150,000); and appropriates the same to the Mainstream Voucher Program
account for a total appropriation of$950,000. Funds would be used towards
housing assistance payment costs for the Mainstream Voucher Program.
Reference: Comm. 663
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 116
on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, any discussion? Okay,
hearing and seeing none, the motion is on the floor, all in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Bill 116: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 116 on first
(Approved) reading was 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: Bill 117, please.
Page 18
FC-26 January 9,2024
Bill 117: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 23-50, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2024
Increases revenues in Federal Grants—Housing Choice Emergency Voucher
Program account ($400,000); and appropriates the same to the Housing Choice
Emergency Housing Voucher Program account for a total appropriation of
$1,400,000. Funds would be used towards housing assistance payment costs for
the Emergency Housing Voucher Program.
Reference: Comm. 664
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 117
on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, any discussion?
Hearing and seeing none, thank you very much for being here today. And
the motion is on the floor, all in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Bill 117: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 117 on first
(Approved) reading was 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: Can we move to Communication 14.13,
please.
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business,
FROM THE Statements from the Public.
PUBLIC ON
COMM. 14.13: The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by
the Chair:
Dr. Sierra Sugrue: Comment.
Comm. 14.13: MONTHLY BUDGET STATUS REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDED
JUNE 30, 2023
From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated December 19, 2023, transmitting the
above report pursuant to Section 6-6.3(h) of the Hawaii County Charter.
Page 19
FC-26 January 9,2024
Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 14.13.
Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, discussion? Thank you
again for your testimony. Council Member Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Probably my favorite one to get. The
Year End Report for the fiscal year. Director, great to see you. Again,
congratulations on assuming this new role. Can you tell us how we might be
transitioning from this paper document? It's about six months out from the close
of the fiscal year. How we might be getting these on a more timely basis and how
this information can be displayed on some sort of electronic dashboard. I know
that's something that this body has talked about members of the community
would appreciate just so that we know how our tax dollars are being spent and the
return on investment?
(Note: At this time, Finance Director Diane Nakagawa came forward to
address the members of the Committee.)
MS. NAKAGAWA: Absolutely. Good morning, Council Members. Happy New
Year, Diane Nakagawa, Finance Director. Alright, so, it has a nice ring to it. So,
great question, and we do realize that this is the Monthly Budget Report from
June 2022. So, a couple things; resource wise, we are a little short-staffed in
some of our key positions in Finance. And we are actively working to fill that.
Thank you for the Assistant Controller. That position will also greatly fill the
need for that high-level accounting position that we do need. So, on the resource,
once we get fully staffed, that will also help the timing.
The more impressive improvements will come from our new ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning) system. So, quickly where we're at, is we're working on final
negotiations on the contract. This one is a little more complicated than normal.
RFP's (Request for Proposal) and contracts. We spend a lot more time in this
phase right before signing the contracts. So, we go through things like schedule
and implementation, and that's what's taking a little bit longer. But we are almost
there.
And once we start that, we'll start breaking down implementation into some key
areas, and one will be, of course, reporting in that new visual type of
enhancements that we're looking to get.
So, from the systems standpoint, we're hoping that of course, reports can be easily
pulled,better than it is today. And then looking into those enhancements, like
dashboards and things we can add on. Of course, the primary function is to make
sure that everything is accounted for.
Page 20
FC-26 January 9,2024
But secondary results,just so as important, is that we can display information and
communicate information timely. So, we do hear you. We are excited. We do
want that. I do ask for a little bit of patience. It is a big undertaking in this
contract, but we are very excited. We're almost there, and for course, we will be
back to share information with you as we progress in that contract.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Wonderful. I think that's all we wanted to hear, is that it
was moving in that direction. Because all that information is very valuable, very
powerful, and the community just wants to ensure that local government is, you
know, operating with transparency and integrity. So, that information out in the
public sphere is really vital. So, thank you for your assurances and for being so
excited about this new system.
MS.NAKAGAWA: Absolutely. We do understand there's a lot of information
to digest here, and it is readily available. But in any ways we can make
improvements to better understand and then break it down, you know, the better
off we'll all be. So, absolutely.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Excellent. Thank you, and shout out to your Deputy
Finance Director, Aaron Brown, good to see you. We miss you. Chair, I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Director Nakagawa. Council
Member Kimball, go ahead.
MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. Congratulations Director and Deputy Director, nice
to see you here. Council Member Kierkiewicz reminded me, and I just wanted to
highlight it, we did have a discussion earlier last year about some of the statistics
or data points that the Council would like to see in a visualization. So, hopefully,
Deanna took notes and has that somewhere. I think it ended up as part of the
RFP, if I recall correctly, but I just wanted to touch base on that.
MS. NAKAGAWA: Yes, if it wasn't, well there would lots of time in
implementation. So, a project like this for our new ERP system comes with a
very extensive change management program. So, we will be talking to all of the
stakeholders, which of course, includes Council, on things like that on what can
be included. So, we will be reaching out. This takes a huge team effort,
County-wide to get all these different elements in.
And thank you for Aaron Brown, who's are Deputy Finance Director. He will be
a key member of our team that will be leading our new ERP implementation. So,
and it's specifically in that change management portion, which is that
communication for what the departments are looking for as well as the public for
participation.
MS. KIMBALL: Great. Thank you, and it's actually funny, because I had sat
down with Aaron to talk about, okay, how could we produce those reports just
Page 21
FC-26 January 9,2024
from the Legislative branch? And he showed me how everything is currently
stored, and I said, no wonder it's difficult to put these together. So, somebody
who knows it in and out clearly.
I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the testifier and her request, very
clever, to tie it into potential for fundraising, so that she could (inaudible
11:36:26),but we will proceed with making that request for a presentation by
Animal Control in the near future. So, thank you.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Galimba.
MS. GALIMBA: Thank you, Chair. So,just couple sort of random thoughts.
You know, yes, I'm very excited about the new program as well. And just some
unsolicited advice, in-person on the ground support for when you're
implementing it,just seems that you have these giant things that is just never is
enough, sort of commitment from the vendor to like get all the details right. So,
yeah, really make sure that they can commit to, you know, being here and getting
it customized to our needs.
So, then sort of responding to the testifier and the dog license, that they brought
that up. And that actually is something that is—I actually have some dogs and so,
went to go get them licensed once I became a Council Member and realized I
needed to be responsible about that. And it is extremely antique. So, you know,
you have to like download these papers. One piece of paper for each dog; and
then write a check and send it in. So, it's not user friendly at all.
So, I don't know if that can be part of the overall finance revamp—would be to,
you know, have some way for folks to really start the process online and pay with
a credit card, because like who even has checks anymore? Also, I mean there is
definitely room to charge more, because the fees are, you know, very small,
which I mean, you wouldn't want to charge too much, but it's almost not worth
the paper that we currently use to do all this.
So,just kind of wanted to point that out, and also say that I think it's a lot of many
of us in the Council are very concerned about the Animal Control issues and
trying to work on them. So, thanks.
MS. NAKAGAWA: Thank you for your comments, Council Member Galimba.
And thank you for emphasizing the point about really looking at our vendor for
the ERP system in terms of being available. That's a lot of what this time spent is
about right now, making sure that our expectations are met and very clearly
defined in the contract. So, we do understand it's very important and it does
come with a little more time spent going back and forth. So, we appreciate that.
Page 22
FC-26 January 9,2024
Regarding your other comment about Animal Control. Yes, we will take a look at
that and work with the agency to see what improvements can be made and how
that will affect our budget.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Seeing no more discussion,
Council Members, thank you very much Director, well done. We have a motion
on the floor to close file on Communication 14.13. All in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Comm. 14.13: The motion to close file on Comm. 14.13 was carried by
(Filed) the following voice vote:
Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Galimba,
Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Villegas,
and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Committee Members Kimball and Lee Loy—2.
Excused: None.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Let's take up Resolution 402,please.
Res. 402-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH
THE STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Allows for the receipt of$478,400 of state-derived funds to support the ongoing
operations of the Hawai`i Island Fentanyl Task Force.
Reference: Comm. 661
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R)
(Note: Comm. 661.2, from Council Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder dated
January 8, 2024, transmitting additional information related to Res. 402-24, was
circulated.)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 402-24.
Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We do have Director Adams and
Mr. Hansen here joining us today for this resolution. Please go ahead, Director.
(Note: At this time, Department of Research and Development Director
Douglass Adams and Executive Assistant to the Mayor Tim Hansen came
forward to address the members of the Committee.)
MR. ADAMS: Thank you, Chair. Doug Adams, Director of Research and
Development.
Page 23
FC-26 January 9,2024
MR. HANSEN: Good morning, Tim Assistant to Mayor Mitch Roth. Thank you.
MR. ADAMS: I simply am a repository for these funds and the expertise resides
in the gentleman to my right.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Mr. Hansen.
MR. HANSEN: So, I sit on the State of Hawai`i Opioid Settlement Advisory
Committee, and one of those things that group has recognized the importance of is
building coalitions or task forces in each of the counties to support awareness of
Opioid deaths and use and treatments, and all of the things involved with that.
Our island has had the Hawai`i Island Fentanyl Task Force since 2021, and really
is a model for the State, and that's recognized. So, the Department of Health
would like to transfer these funds to support our task force for two-years-worth of
operations. Part of that is also to support a statewide task force gathering, which
we have planned for February 22nd and 23rd here in Hilo. I would like to offer you
an invitation to any of you that might want to pop in during those two days and
the purpose of that is to help inspire and support the development of task forces in
the other counties kind of modeled after ours. So, it's a great recognition.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much. Council Members,
discussion? Council Member Villegas, go ahead.
MS. VILLEGAS: Congratulations and thank you for your leadership and being
on the cutting edge of not only navigating this crisis,but also identifying and
securing resources necessary to support people who have been so negatively
affected and utilizing some of this money for their regeneration.
I also, in talking about fentanyl and the opioid crisis, I would be remiss not to
send out a huge mahalo to Vice and Lieutenant Ed Buyten and his team who had a
very successful fentanyl bust at the Kona Airport just a few weeks ago. Through
their consistent, persistent, and connected relationships with, I'm assuming,
people such as yourself, and those of the State level, and at the Federal level, the
collaboration that's happening and coordination to identify how and where these
devastating drugs are coming in, I am just deeply grateful.
So, I'm excited to see something that was otherwise, in my first term here, sort of
pupu'd (11:44:15) as a County about joining into a lawsuit related to something
like this. Us being able to see the positive ramifications of joining to a lawsuit so
that we could then benefit from the resources that are justly being allocated to
remedy the trauma caused in our community. So, thank you for your continued
work, your support, and identification of how to take these monies and make them
stretch. And then, now becoming a leader in the task force capacities that you
have created. So, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Mahalo, I
yield.
Page 24
FC-26 January 9,2024
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Evans, go
ahead.
MS. EVANS: Thank you very much. It's really nice to have you here today.
You may not be aware, but there was some communications that were given to us
that gives us quite a bit of background and overview of the Opioid Settlement
Funds as well as the Fentanyl Task Force.
The thing that really stands out is that this may be money flowing into our State
for the next 17 years. Then the bigger question for me is, you made a statement,
and maybe I misconstrued it, but you made a statement that you were able to work
with the Department of Health and get funding, because we have this Fentanyl
Task Force that's been created and this strategic plan.
I guess my question is, are we not getting a formula percentage of the millions,
and millions of dollars that are coming in over the next 17 years? Do we get a
formula percentage, or do we have to go in with the other three counties and kind
of justify some money coming to our County?
MR. HANSEN: Mahalo for that question and the need for clarification. There is
a formula, and Hawaii County does receive a percentage of the settlement that
comes to the State. Then, that's the County portion, and then there's a State
portion of the settlement dollars. This particular amount coming to the Fentanyl
Task Force is a request from the State portion of the settlement funds.
Hawaii County's portion of the settlement funds, 15 percent of the funds are
designated for the counties and 18.267 percent of that 15 percent is what Hawaii
County will be receiving. So currently, Hawai`i County has available $478,578.
So, almost the same amount of what's currently being given to us for the Fentanyl
Task Force. But that allocation, I'll be coming forward to you, probably in the
next month or so,because the allocation of those funds, the recommendation is
that is going to go towards treatment. To support and expand treatment which is
horribly lacking here on our island. So, that's how the County portion of
settlement funds will likely be used. But this current allocation that we're talking
about is from the State portion. Did that help to clarify?
MS. EVANS: It kind of does. So,basically, so the settlement from the Federal
government, I guess it was Johnson &Johnson. But the settlement says 'X'
amount of millions will go to our State. Our State has chosen to take a percentage
of that and dedicate it towards fentanyl. Then, we have been able to get a
percentage of that.
Now, in addition to that, there's going to be some other monies left over that will
not be specific to fentanyl. What they'll be specific to is the opioid crisis, and
from what I'm reading, we have different ways to spend that money.
Page 25
FC-26 January 9,2024
It could be in education and prevention. It could be into early intervention, or it
could be into treatment. And then another one is recovery support. Harm
reduction; data analysis, evaluation, communication. So, there's six areas that our
County could spend money in. And you'll be coming to us to say of those six,
you've chosen treatment. But that's another day, another conversation. But
today, this Fentanyl is just a small percentage of the whole that our County's
going get?
MR. HANSEN: So, the focused areas that you were referring to are part of the
Hawaii Island Fentanyl Task Force. So, the document you're referring to is their
five-year strategic plan. But really the expert in regards to the overview of the
settlement agreement is really Corp. Counsel Strance, who's joining us, and I
invite her to clarity, give an overview.
(Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance came forward
to address the members of the Committee.)
MS. STRANCE: Thank you,Elizabeth Strance, Corporation Counsel. So,just to
place this in context, there have a been a number of lawsuits nationwide against
various distributors, makers, advertisers of opioid products.
The County filed its own lawsuit and was a participant in lawsuits involving some
of the pharmaceutical companies and others. The State was also a party to
lawsuits. Then there have been other lawsuits that have folded into the
nationwide settlements. So, there's been two large settlements and they've been
feeding into kind of a nationwide pot.
When it came time to settle the cases, we worked with the State to create a
process by which the State would essentially manage the funds coming to the
State. Then we also negotiated that certain portion of the funds would be
self-directed by the counties.
So, when Tim was referring to the Statewide committee. He sits on that
committee. That committee will come up with Statewide priorities and make
recommendations, which this Fentanyl Task Force monies are. Then there will be
opportunities for the County to self-direct.
So, since the lawsuit has settled there have been additional lawsuits across the
country that have settled that affect the eventual pot. But as the pot grows, the
formulas and the mechanism by which the monies are distributed, doesn't. So,
the work that's being set up to a way to get County input and to interface with the
State is important and good that it's coming out of the Statewide funds rather than
it being taken out of the County-directed funds.
Page 26
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. EVANS: So, is it correct to say today what we're voting on is the
self- directed funds to the County or is it something the State has and wants to
give a proportion out to us?
MS. STRANCE: This is the State portion. So, they've made a decision about
how some of the funds that they direct should be spent, and it's passing through
the County. And so that's why this is before you.
MS. EVANS: Okay, we will have in the near future something on the self-
directed funds to the County?
MR. HANSEN: Correct.
MS. EVANS: Okay, I understand now. Thank you.
MR. HANSEN: So, that doesn't get confusing, it's going to be close to about the
same amount, $478,000, but it's separate.
MS. EVANS: Right. But it's really good to know that part of it is self-directed;
we make a decision versus the State who's made a decision how much they want
to give a percentage to us for a certain thing. So, it's nice to see we have two
pots, and thank goodness we're getting money to address this issue. Thank you, I
yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, seeing no more discussion here in
Hilo. Anything to add, further comments?
MR. ADAMS: I would just note that, of course, the conversation about
Resolution 402 will extend to Bill 114, whenever that comes up.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, the motion on the floor
to forward Resolution 402-24 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All
in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Res. 402-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 402-24 was
(Approved) 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: Bill 114, please.
Page 27
FC-26 January 9,2024
Bill 114: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 23-50, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2024
Appropriates revenues in Federal Grants—Opioid Settlement Funds account
($478,400); and appropriates the same to the Opioid Settlement Funds account.
Funds would be used to support the ongoing operations of the Hawai`i Island
Fentanyl Task Force.
Reference: Comm. 661
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 114
on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none,
motion on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Bill 114: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 114 on first
(Approved) reading was 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: Moving on to Resolution 401, please.
Res. 401-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, PURSUANT
TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE
HAWAI`I COUNTY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Allows for the receipt of$69,680 of federally-derived funds to evaluate
infrastructure needs and associated costs to inform next steps for infrastructure
development.
Reference: Comm. 660
Intr. by: Mr. KAneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
(Note: Comm. 660.1, from Council Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder dated
January 5, 2024, transmitting a Power Point presentation related to Res. 401-24,
was circulated.)
Page 28
FC-26 January 9,2024
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFbLDER: We do have our Director here still
remaining with us if there are any questions from the Council or a statement from
the Director.
MR. ADAMS: If I may, thank you, Chair. Actually, I'm going to turn this over
to our Digital Equity Specialist Shola Kahiapo-Trevino.
(Note: At this time, Department of Research and Development Digital
Equity Specialist Shola Kahiapo-Trevino and Energy Specialist Riley
Saito came forward to address the members of the Committee.)
MS. KAHIAPO-TREVINO: Aloha nui kakou. I am Shola Kahiapo Trevino,
and I am the Digital Equity Specialist for the Department of Research and
Development. I'd just like to give a brief overview of this Broadband Technical
Assistance Grant that we were just recently awarded, and to also showcase the
way that we prioritize the locations that we found that is in need of these
resources.
(Note: At this time, Ms. Kahiapo-Trevino provided a PowerPoint
presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the
presentation, see the DVD copy of the proceedings on file in the Clerk's
Office, or online at http://hawaiicounty.granicus.com. Copies of the
presentation is made part of the record, see Comm. 660.1.)
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kahiapo-Trevino.
Mr. Saito, anything?
MR. SAITO: In our previous discussions with the County on broadband, you
know, we were talking about utilizing the INET (Intelligence Network) and Fiber
Ring and things like that within County facilities. And you know, we were doing
and performing that work with internal staff, no additional staff,just carving out
time to advance those installations. And we're up to, I think over 25 installation
are already lit up.
But in knowing that the Federal funds, as we've discussed prior with the
Broadband Equity Access and Deployment, the BEAD funding is coming up, and
there's other competitive bid funding that could involve infrastructure with our
affordable housing complexes. There's like over 40 on the island. We went after
this grant in order to get a profile of what is costs for our housing complexes to
actually be able to have access.
What was appealing about this grant to actually pursue it, is that the Department
of Agriculture valued actually being in the community to learn what the
community actually wanted. Because you may provide someone access, and they
may not want it in their unit because their unit is multi-generational; there's
15 people in there, and you may not want it in the unit.
Page 29
FC-26 January 9,2024
You may want it in a community center where you can socialize with your
kupuna friends, talk story, catch up while you know, do Telehealth or talk to your
grandkids. Access may not necessarily be a high priority within the unit. And
also looking at not only access, but affordability of ownership of a device for
ongoing software, device and hardware upgrades. Things like that where the
username may not have the digital literacy, you know, to maintain a device.
But these are unanswered questions for us. What does the community in an
affordable housing complex really need in order to advance their quality of life in
the digital equity space?
So, the Department of Agriculture is very interested in interacting with the
community. And we looked at the carve out of these various facilities, as you
know, we gave some of the stats, but 100 percent of those that are within those
units were in poverty. So, regardless of the census track that the facility is located
in, 100 percent is in poverty.
So, you know, that's where we felt it'll be a good opportunity to go out and find
out exactly kind of what each community needs, what it will cost to actually get
that. And the idea is that with the funds we'll get bids, we'll contract someone
else, a third party to actually do the work. But they'll get bids, they'll get cost
estimates to actually get into the community what the community wants.
It might be wiring to the household, in the wall in the house or it might be through
a community center. But, you know, we want to find that out, get a good cost
profile for various locations and utilize that data to inform future grant
applications on a wider basis in order to gain further funding for all the housing
facilities. That's it.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. Thank you very much for the
presentation. Going to the Council, any questions? Council Member Evans.
MS. EVANS: Thank you. Hi Riley, thank you so much for the presentation
today. You made a comment about housing facilities. So,just for clarity for me,
so there's public housing, there is private housing. So, are we looking at public
housing only or you're actually trying to figure out private housing,people with
low income, poverty, but they live in their own house or they live on their own
property? Versus any County Housing facility. So public housing facilities, is it
both?
MR. SAITO: It's public housing that the County has other ownership of the
facility or management responsibilities. It could be third-party managed, but it
would be the affordable housing.
MS. EVANS: Okay, so we're doing debt collection on public housing?
Page 30
FC-26 January 9,2024
MR. SAITO: Correct.
MS. EVANS: So,just a comment that you don't know what you don't know.
And so a lot of these seniors have never held a computer, and you ask them if they
want it or not, how would they know if they'd want it or not? So, I'm really
hopeful that you will pursue the grants to do digital literacy and get the seniors in
front of some teachers and some people that come walking through how to turn on
a computer and what the computer offers to them. Because it's going to be really
hard. How do you make a decision when you don't know what you don't know?
So, I'm curious. How do we get there to where they can make an educated
decision?
MS. KAHIAPO-TREVINO: I can answer to a little bit of that. In my opinion, I
think it's more so like what comes first, the chicken or the egg? So, a lot of it,
you know, requiring the access first is really important. And then, you know, us
being able to understand how much it costs for that access will really help us
understand how we are able to utilize the digital equity funding that will be
coming down in the future as well.
Aside from infrastructure funding, there is the educational portion of it. And we
really would like to utilize this grant to be able to kickstart a lot more of the
digital equity funding that will be coming down so that we can provide, you
know, when the grant applications come out; provide the resources providing that
grant that we already have access.
We already have the demographics or the people who could possibly readily
utilize these tools and these resources, especially with the older age and lack of
mobility. But it's really going to tie in together with the education portion that we
also think is really important as well.
MS. EVANS: The other thing is, could we not make a policy that says each one
of the units will have this digital access, knowing that the people that are currently
in there are going to die sometime in the future, and the ones that come behind
them may be very digital illiterate because it's a generational thing, right? So,
you know you're going to have turnover in public housing.
So, the question is why not work with USDA? Why not say, we're going to do all
our public housing. We're going to have each one of these units digital-capable.
And could we not make that decision now and not go out and interview?
MR. SAITO: None of us assume that that's what the community wants. Like you
may have a kupuna, and you give them a device. And three months later
Windows upgrade from a 10 to 11 and they stopped supporting Windows 10,
what does kupuna do with that device?
Page 31
FC-26 January 9,2024
So, that's an example, there's burden of ownership of an individual device. There
might be associated expense also for virus software and things like that. So,
we're looking at how best to actually provide that access with possibly not the
burden of ownership of an individual device.
But with senior citizens, you know, lots of times I talk to them and they love
talking, and they'll keep talking because they love the interaction. So, it may be
more appealing at an affordable housing complex where it is more of a centralized
thing where they could gather and have, you know, online bingo on Wednesday at
10:00 o'clock in the morning, I don't know.
So, it may or may not be the need for in-the-house access by a cell phone device,
which is what many of us like, enjoy, and want. But it may not be what is desired
within an affordable housing complex with the age and income profile. I'm not
saying that's true, I'm saying we need to get in there and understand.
MS. EVANS: Okay, thank you for the latitude. Got one more question. So, I
guess I'm a little technology challenged. However, when I go to Starbucks or
other food court in Waimea, they have hot spots, Wi-Fi, and I can get on and
connect to it. So, why instead of running internet or broadband into each
individual unit, why don't we take public housing projects and create these Wi-Fi
spots and teach people who do have, you know, a computer or cell phone or
whatever, how to connect to it.
So, the point being, it's a choice at that point. Are you considering that as one of
the options? And are you going to let again, are you going to have the tenants tell
you if they want it or not when they probably maybe is someone who's never had
a computer before? So, it's again, asking them when they don't know.
MR. SAITO: Actually, you know, with that wireless access, it'll probably be
something they don't ask for, we just give it and provide it. Because we're doing
it at our Park and Rec facilities; Fire and Police Stations right now. That's what
we're rolling out. Within the housing unit, the wireless piece would probably
come with.
Now, on the BEAD funding, the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment
funding by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration, the
NTIA, their funding is for fiber to the household. So, it's the Federal guidelines
that are saying wired fiber to the household, and that wireless is not the top
priority.
So, to me, we could bring in fiber if that is what is actually needed. It might be,
you know, ten times more expensive or something. Then in which, we cut down,
we can only do ten sites instead of 40 sites. You know, at least we'd have the
data and costs. And understanding what the community needs to kind of do an
informed decision on how we should take forward the infrastructure.
Page 32
FC-26 January 9,2024
MR. ADAMS: Council Member, if I may also,just a couple things. One, the
policy of the department, and probably consistent with most of the
Administration. When we can talk to the community, we're gong to talk to the
community, particularly when it's technology related and we're dealing with
folks, as you point out, don't necessarily have the connections to technology as a
part of their lifelong experience. So, where we can have those conversations, we
would like to.
Additionally, we're going to go with the ability to both do fiber into last mile
opportunities, because we know there are going to be needs beyond what we
currently have where that individual fiber is going to be important. Wi-Fi can get
used up because you have so many folks that are on it. But the idea of having
Wi-Fi in public places we know is a good idea. But we just can't depend on that
by itself.
So, we're going to be using the opportunities that are being presented by the
funding that Riley talked about for fiber through the last mile inputs, and then we
are also encouraging what is happening with the Wi-Fi in public places so that
that could be available. We think that those are complimentary, not either-or
opportunities. Thanks.
MS. EVANS: Thank you for the comment, and I do think that there is still dead
spots or dead zones, that last mile. We're still aways to go, so I appreciate
anything and everything, so that we get out there and get people connected.
Thank you, I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, thank you very much
for the presentation. Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none, the motion is on
the floor to forward Resolution 401-24 to Council with a favorable
recommendation. All in favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Res. 401-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 401-24 was
(Approved) 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: The companion measure please, Bill 113.
Page 33
FC-26 January 9,2024
Bill 113: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 23-50, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING
BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING JUNE 30, 2024
Appropriates revenues in Federal Grants—United States Department of
Agriculture Broadband Technical Assistance Grant account($69,680); and
appropriates the same to the United States Department of Agriculture Broadband
Technical Assistance Grant account. Funds would be used to evaluate
infrastructure needs and associated costs to inform next steps for infrastructure
development.
Reference: Comm. 660
Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R)
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 113
on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Council Member
Galimba, go ahead.
MS. GALIMBA: Just briefly wanted to thank the department for going to USDA
getting the funding, and you know,being prepared for more funding around this
sort of equity, which is really great. Thanks.
MR. ADAMS: Alright, thank you, Council Member. And I would say to the
entire Committee, the Council as a whole, obviously, thank you for the support in
this particular area for the department and what we're trying to do on behalf of the
Administration on behalf of the County to bring as much of this technology to the
residents that we have around this island.
CHR. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Director. Okay, seeing no
further discussion, motion is on the floor, all in favor. Any opposed?
Vote on Bill 113: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 113 on first
(Approved) reading was 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. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Let's take us up to the top,
Communication 12.23.
Page 34
FC-26 January 9,2024
Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business.
of Business:
COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
CATIONS: Communications.
Comm. 12.23: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: NOVEMBER 16—30, 2023
From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated December 18, 2023.
Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 12.23.
Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none,
just want to thank the department for their patience and going through the rest of
the agenda. All in favor. Any opposed?
Vote on Comm. 12.23: The motion to close file on Comm. 12.23 was carried by
(Filed) 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: Communication 12.24.
Comm. 12.24: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: DECEMBER 1 — 15, 2023
From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated December 19, 2023.
Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 12.24.
Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Discussion? Ms. Evans.
MS. EVANS: I have a question on this certified kitchen. It's said that you're
transferring from the Residential Repair and Emergency Shelter-Certified Kitchen
projects to the 2022 West Hawaii Emergency Shelter and Facility Energy
Efficiency. Where is the West Hawai`i Emergency Shelter? And is this
funding just a little bit more clarity on where this is going.
MS. NAKAGAWA: So, I think that Housing was here,but they did leave. So,
we can definitely get a follow-up response for that question.
Page 35
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. EVANS: Thank you. Being one that my community considers itself West
Hawai`i, so West Hawaii is such a huge area. I mean it's huge, so I'm just kind
of curious what shelter is getting this money.
MS. NAKAGAWA: Okay, Council Member Evans. We will follow-up.
MS. EVANS: Thank you.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Council Member. Seeing no
more discussion, motion is on the floor, all in favor. Any opposed?
Vote on Comm. 12.24: The motion to close file on Comm. 12.24 was carried by
(Filed) 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: Communication 13.25.
Comm. 13.25: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: NOVEMBER 16—30, 2023
From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated December 5, 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. 13.25.
Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Discussion? Ms. Evans, go ahead.
MS. EVANS: Thank you. I'm looking at the Change Order Report, and what's
interesting to me is it's saying how many change orders that were processed, and
then it says what the amount of the change order was. And what was more
interesting to me was, we ended up with like five change orders on one of these,
and then the cumulative dollar amount of the change order is zero. I'm just kind
of curious how we do change orders and end up with a zero-dollar amount.
MS. NAKAGAWA: Sure, Council Member Evans, I can answer that for you. If
it says zero dollar change amount, those are usually our price term agreements, so
we don't have a certain up to dollar commitment. So, those are items as needed.
So, when we do year extension, it is based on the request of the department to
utilize those services. So, those are the price term agreements that you will see as
that zero-dollar amount.
Page 36
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. EVANS: So, the change order is just extending the contract? But you don't
know what you're committing to?
MS. NAKAGAWA: The contracts will normally have the rates of the service or
the items. It is not a commitment to purchase up to any number or maximum
number of items or services. It's up to the department to utilize those services as
they need them.
MS. EVANS: Okay.
MS. NAKAGAWA: And I'm happy to talk to you about price term agreements
offline if would like.
MS. EVANS: I would.
MS. NAKAGAWA: Great, we'll set that up.
MS. EVANS: I yield.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I have a follow-up question on
a different matter, Director. The last item, the Waiakea Fire Station Electrical
Improvements. This was an emergency repair to an electrical service, so not a
scheduled, but something that came up unexpectedly. That contract, how are they
hired through the County? Is that a professional services contract?
MS. NAKAGAWA: So, our department, DPW (Department of Public Works) is
here today to speak on that item since you have some questions. But normally,
when it's an emergency situation, emergency procurement, the departments do
solicit quotes, when possible, depending on the nature of the emergency and the
urgent need. But it is still highly advised that they go ahead and get quotes to find
a contractor. It is not professional services, it's emergency procurement.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So, there's a quick bid process.
MS. NAKAGAWA: There is still a process. It just depends on the nature of the
emergency again and the urgency needed.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, that's all. Okay, further discussion?
Hearing and seeing none, motion is on the floor, all in favor. Any opposed?
Page 37
FC-26 January 9,2024
Vote on Comm. 13.25: The motion to close file on Comm. 13.25 was carried by
(Filed) 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: Communication 13.26, please.
Comm. 13.26: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: DECEMBER 1 — 15, 2023
From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated December 19, 2023, transmitting the
above report pursuant to Section 2-12.3 of the Hawaii County Code.
Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 13.26.
Seconded by Ms. Galimba.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Members, discussion? Council
Member Evans, go ahead.
MS. EVANS: Okay. So, I have a question on one of the line items, and this has
to do with Hele-On Fixed Route Transit Service. It says in the remarks that
you're extending from one-year period, this contract. And there is no dollar
amount associated with it. Curious, sometimes when you have contracts and
you're extending them, there's built-in inflation; there's built-in renegotiating
what the price is.
So, if in fact, the contract that we're currently under, and they extend it and it
actually changes. And dollar amount, would that not reflect in this report that
you're asking us to look at? And it's not, I guess I'm seeing zero. I guess I'm
feeling that there might be some effect.
MS. NAKAGAWA: Sure, Council Member Evans. So, this is similar to the price
term agreements that I just spoke about. So, that is why you see the zero-dollar
amount. The Robert's contract is for our Fixed Route system, our Hele-On
system. It was a five-year contract. It was a three-year with two one-year
options. So, we are in the final year, so our Mass Transit Agency will look to
rebid this contract in the coming year. The rates were set in the contract.
MS. EVANS: So, the rates were set. The five-year contract had it fixed, there is
no adjustments?
Page 38
FC-26 January 9,2024
MS. NAKAGAWA: The five-year contracts, the rates were fixed. In the last two
option years, there was an option at the discretion of the agency for a five percent
increase with the vendor.
MS. EVANS: Okay. So, I can't wait to talk to you offline to understand what a
change order really is and what qualifies. Thank you, I yield.
MS. NAKAGAWA: Will do.
CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, seeing no further
discussion, Public Works is here. Did you want to add anything for today, or
you're just here for questions if they came up? Okay, seeing no further
discussion, motion is on the floor to close file on Communication 13.26. All in
favor? Any opposed?
Vote on Comm. 13.26: The motion to close file on Comm. 13.26 was carried by
(Filed) 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. KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: That does bring us to the end of our
agenda.
ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions.
(Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.)
BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances.
(Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.)
Page 39
FC-26 January 9,2024
ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 12:31 p.m., Mr. Inaba moved to adjourn
MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Villegas 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: This meeting is adjourned. Our next
Committee will start at 1:00 p.m. Thank you.
Approved:
MIN& 3/ ‘/Z4(
Mr. Matt Kaneali`i Kleinfelde Chair (Date)
Finance Committee
MK/dt
Page 40