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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN GOEAC 2024/02/20 (2022-2024)Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs 26"' Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii February 20, 2024 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations and ORDER: External Affairs was called to order at 1:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Cindy Evans, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Cindy Evans, Chair Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Vice Chair (came in later) Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jean Kagiwada, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Absent & Excused: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) CHR. EVANS: Thank you, Mr. Clerk, please read in Communication 719. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. GOEAC-26 Febraaiy 20, 2024 Comm. 719: NOMINATION OF ROGER KAIWI TO THE LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated February 1, 2024, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: March 16, 2024 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Roger Kaiwi to the Leeward Planning Commission. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. EVANS: Do we have the Administration present to introduce this? Aloha. (Note: At this time, the nominee Roger Kaiwi and Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i Bartolome, came forward to address the members of the Committee .) MS. BARTOLOME: Aloha Mai Kakou. Pomaikai Bartolome, Executive Assistant from the Mayor's Office. Very glad to be here this afternoon. Sitting next to me here I have Roger Kaiwi of District 6 to the Leeward Planning Commission. Roger has been a resident of Hawaii for 30 years. He actually wasn't born here, but he's a native who moved back to Hawaii. Currently owns and operates his coffee business, over 20 acres of land and with three decades of residence in Hawaii and an extensive career as a general manager. He possesses a deep understanding of the local community, its needs, and the significance of sustainable practices, particularly in an industry like coffee that can have a direct impact on land. We feel that Roger will be a great fit for the Leeward Planning Commission, and if he is confirmed, he will occupy that At Large -South Kona seat with a term ending December 31, 2027. And your favorable confirmation is requested. Mahalo. CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Mr. Kaiwi, do you wish to offer comments? MR. KAIWL No, she pretty much covered all the basis. Again, 30 years in business as well. General manager of a pretty extensive cattle business as well. So, I hope to be of help. CHR. EVANS: Okay, Members, any discussion? Member Inaba, Page 2 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MR. INABA: Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, Mr. Kaiwi, could you share a little bit more about your education background and what brought you home to Hawaii? MR. KAIWL• Be happy to. My soul brought me back home. And my sister insisted that I come back home. My education. I have a high school education. However, I have a fast tracked with Hawai `i Coffee Company. I was the third in command of a $44 million a year business. And we operated in good faith and did quite well for many, many years. MR. INABA: Okay, and your interest in serving on the Leeward Planning Commission, can you share a little bit about that, please? MR. KAIWI: I'm hoping to help with the system itself. I'd like to help streamline it. I want to make sure it fits both locals and folks moving here as well. MR. INABA: Okay and then, in terms of the kuleana that the commission has, how do you summarize what your job will be as a Leeward Planning Commissioner? MR. KAIWI: Again, I'm hoping I'm even -keeled level-headed help to the community. I want to give back. And I think I have enough experience. I've built a couple of my own homes. I understand the system, how it works; the process, and I wish to share that and help with. MR. INABA: How comfortable are you in making determinations in sometimes difficult applications that come before the commission? Also, we do have the General Plan, that will be coming before both Planning Commissions. So wanted to get your thoughts on that process and what you think is the importance of the General Plan overall. MR. KAIWI: It's very important, you know, and I think I'm a good fit for this. I believe in the system. I believe in the systern; I believe in what we have in front of us. I'm a very big supporter of our current Mayor, and I like the way things work. I would just like to help make the process, maybe smoother. MR. INABA: Okay. With the General Plan coming, and that is Planning Department led initiative as well as with the input of the community and the Council. How comfortable are you in making decisions that might go against recommendations that come before you fioin the Planning Department? MR. KAIWI: I'm very comfortable. You know, my goal is to do the right thing, not the popular thing. Page 3 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MR, INABA: And what about our CDP's, our Community Development Plans, how do you see them fitting into your decision making as a Leeward Planning Commissioner? MR. KAIWI: I don't see much effect in that. Again, I'd say a case -by -case basis and I need to step back and take a broad look and make a proper decision. MR. INABA: Okay, so, our Community Development Plans, as you know, are also created with input from the community. So, you're saying, and I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly. What role do you see those plans playing in your decision -making process as a commissioner? MR. KAIWI: I need to read in a little deeper before I answer that question, because I didn't come prepared for that to be honest with you. But again, I don't see anything too cumbersome at this point for what I plan to do. MR. INABA: Alright, and then in your application, as a personal reference, you listed the Mayor. Can you share what your personal connection is with the Mayor. MR. KAIWI: I was friends with Mitch back when he was a Prosecutor. A few of the coffee bills that I was a co -writer on; he helped put the teeth in that, if you will, to make some of the prosecution a little stiffer and tougher so we didn't have people constantly breaking these laws and rules. That's where our friendship started. MR. INABA: Okay. Then last question, your involvement in the coffee industry, can you just share a little bit about your stance on agriculture as it relates to some of the development that might be happening in those areas of agriculture or in areas of, you know, the south side of Kona or Ka`V MR. KAIWI: Well, first and foremost, I am pro-Ag. However, I understand that things change, and times change, and people change, and circumstances change. So, I don't have a problem, again sitting back and take a broader look in making the correct decision for the community. MR. INABA: Okay, and then actually, this is my last question for now. On your application, your last name is Kaiwi, but there's been some testimony provided - with an additional last name. Is Kaiwi your official last name? MR. KAIWL My legal last name is Kaiwi-Machen, it's hyphenated. MR. INABA: Okay. To the Administration, if we could get this letter corrected? I see the application does not list the full last naive of the nominee. If we can get the letter corrected to reflect that change? That's all the questions I have for now, Chair. Thank you. Page 4 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Aloha, thank you for being here. Thank you for, you know, stepping up to serve the community. I noticed both in your application and earlier, you just mentioned, you used the word streamline. Could you talk a little bit more about what you mean by that, or maybe give an example of what you think needs to be streamlined? MR. KAIWI: Being an owner -builder myself, you know, some of the wait periods and wait times were frustrating. If it's possible to make that a little quicker process, I'd like to help with that. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, I'm not sure how if that's your main goal, I don't know how much you'll have — MR. KAIWL That's definitely not my main goal. Again, you know, times have changed, people have changed; things change. Just to take a step back and take a bigger look and see if we can clean some things up. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Once again, I'm going to ask you again because I want it to be clear. If the Planning Department which is under this current Mayor, who you are very good friends with, recommends something and you feel like it's not really the right way to go? Are you going to have any issues opposing that, even though your very good friend may be — MR. KAIWI: None whatsoever. True friends can do those things and still be friends at the end of the day. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Alright, thank you for your answers. MR. KAIWI: You're very welcome. CHR. EVANS: Member Galimba. MS, GALIMBA: Thank you. Hi Roger, yeah, we've known each other for quite some time intersecting in the coffee and ranching world. And I know you've been a very successful businessman in the coffee industry and have quite a bit of initiative and done things there to lead the coffee industry. I guess I wanted to ask you, maybe you could expand a little bit more about, sort of how you see agriculture and planning on this island. How do you see agriculture being helped by the Planning Commission? How would you help agriculture in your time on the commission? Page 5 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MR. KAIWI: Well, first and foremost, preserve some of the stuff that we need to preserve. You know save some of this. Our cattle ranches are wean -offs. They're so important to the mainland. It's a huge part. I don't think that most residents understand what role we play and how big of a role we are in the mainland for those wean -offs that end up going on to markets. However, and then some of this other land that's available that's not being used, let's do something with it that we can be proud of MS. GALIMBA: Thanks. And so, another question then. Affordability is, you know, just big problem on our island and throughout the State. And a big part of that, of course, is housing. So, I wanted to get your take on how, in your position on the Planning Commission, you might want to address that? MR. KAIWI: In any way that I can. I just read a horrible statistic, that only 33 percent of Hawaiians are homeowners. We're losing our children to the mainland and it's sad. I'd like to help with that in any way, shape, or form that's possible. MS. GALIMBA: Thanks, I'm just trying to get maybe the experience that you would be bringing to this position. Maybe you could talk about, in your time as a businessman or a fanrr owner, what experiences you had sort of with the zoning regime or the Planning Department. MR. KAIWI: Sure. In the coffee industry alone, first and foremost my biggest goal was always to, I wanted to grow fanners not just coffee. I wanted to teach local kids to farm. I wanted them to understand that they could make a living out of it. It wasn't something that, they didn't have to be like grandma and grandpa and just get by, they could actually make a successful living at it. I've seen a lot of stuff, a lot of coffee land lost to urbanization. A lot of folks take the easy way out, because realistically, it's way more profitable to grow homes than it is coffee. I would really like to help with that. I'd like to able to turn these people around. I'd like to be able to have programs. We don't even have 4H back on the Kona side. That's a shame. We did it for years up at the ranch with Uncle Jerry, and it became for me, I was babysitting children every night and I was a caretaker and not a teacher anymore. We need to bring those programs back. FFA, Future Fanners of America. Very important to me. We still need to bring that back. We need to bring back in our core values and I want to help with those as well. MS. GALIMBA: Thanks very much. I'll yield. CHR. EVANS: Member Kimball. Page 6 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Mr. Kaiwi, for again putting your naive forward. I have three questions that I always ask, but Council Member Inaba has already asked one of them which had to do with the Community Development Plans. The second to the first being, what is your perspective on Short -Term Vacation Rentals and how they fit into the economy here on the Big Island or not? MR. KAIWI: That's a great question first and foremost, because I think we need to clear and clean some things up with that. It's been too broad of a stroke, I think in the past, and I'd like to see a little bit more control of those things. I have some in any neighborhood and sometimes it's not so successful. We're up all night with the people that come and stay in these places. But you know, that being said, as long as everything is done within the law, I think it's legal and it's a great avenue for some of these folks to supplement their income if you will. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you for that response. And secondly, what is your perception, you know, you'll be making land use decisions that may sometimes have to do with limiting or expressively requiring access to the shoreline or other public accesses, not necessarily to the shoreline but maybe to the State forests or hunting grounds. What is your perception on public access? MR. KAIWI: I think public access comes with our ability to pay our taxes. We all should be able to have the same rights, and we all should be able to do and enjoy this island, in my opinion. It's not something that should be closed off to most people and only available to some. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. This particular commission committee is probably the most controversial of all the boards and commissions on the island, no, seriously. Because you know, the decisions made by the Planning Commission have real tangible impact. It will determine what a person can or cannot do on their property. And you know, furthermore with all the developments, some of it good and some of it bad that's happened on the West side, the Leeward Planning Commission is particularly challenging. So, you know, I think we haven't been really able to get a full picture of you. What I'm hearing, I think you're going to bring an interesting perspective to the commission, one that doesn't exist there now, and I think that that's important. But I want to just reflect how very serious this position is, and so, when you come back in front of us for the next hearing, I would encourage you to review the Community Development Plans because as Vice Chair Inaba said, they are the community input on what they want to see happen as far as development. So, they're pretty important. Page 7 14101 1[w�!►.T.". February 20, 2024 Then, also in teams of the streamlining, what I heard you reflect was really about the building permitting process, which has nothing to do with the Planning Commission. So, I would just really take a moment to look at the Charter, talk with Pomai a little about what your kuleana will be so that when you come back to us, it's a little clear that you understand the gravity of the role or this position on this board. Thank you, Chair, I yield. CHR. EVANS: Members, any other discussion? Okay, well as the Chair, I want to thank you for putting your name up. It's a big task. One of the things that I've learned is that it's very time consuming, and there's a lot of reading and a lot of research in trying to understand all the nuances. Especially, the Community Development Plans, because the community you know, has weighed on their vision of their community. But I have an example for you of someone who wants to develop a subdivision that wants it to be affordable housing, but the community that is adjacent in the neighborhood believes that plan is over -ambitious; it doesn't fit well with the community; it has too big of an impact on the intersection that is close by. And so, when the community comes in overwhelmingly saying, the way it's presented doesn't work. You know, are you able to think out of the box and push back and say, no, the way it is, is not going to work. MR. KAIWI: I have no problem with that whatsoever. If the bigger plan is the better plan, that's fine. And vice versa if it's the opposite way. I will. If there's anything about me that you folks should know is, I am brutally honest at times. So, I will always do what I think is the right thing to do for the community. CHR. EVANS: Okay, thank you for that. You know, and one of the things that they've been struggling with is getting quorum. And so, I hope that your business, you know, sometimes you'll have to choose the Planning Coananission over your work, your business, and is that okay? Does that work for you? MR. KAIWI: Yeah, so I absolutely, is the answer first and foremost. We've worked together on a lot of these coffee legislations in the past. And I didn't always do what's best for my business, but I always did what was best for the industry. And that's the most important thing, and I still wish to do that. If it means that a portion of mine might suffer, I'll snake it up in a different way. CHR. EVANS: You're definitely going to have to balance it. Because there's a big back-up log now by the Planning Commission. So, it's going to be probably longer hours than then maybe normal, I don't know. There're some really interesting issues corning forth, and so, thank you again for submitting your name. Page 8 G OFAC-26 Vote on Comm. 719: Filed Comm. 720: February 20, 2024 MR. KAIWI: You're welcome. CHR. EVANS: Any further discussion? Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Prior to coming to the Council hearing, if we can really —I'm happy to talk story offline of the General Plan, the Community Development Plan; the feedback, and the testimony we get from community. Those are, you know, big chunks of the input that you take in snaking a decision on the Leeward Planning Commission. And I do hope that we can learn a little more fi•orm you at the Council hearing. Based on what I know right now, today I'm going to vote no, but do look forward to hopefully being able to change my mind at the Council hearing. You talked about your soul being brought home. Our na`au does talk to us sometimes, and I don't feel that I have the answer to vote fiom a good place in my na`au, a positive recommendation today. So, we'll look forward to seeing you at Council and discussing some of these things a little bit more. Thank you. MR. KAIWI: Thank you. CHR EVANS: Okay, and so, anymore discussion? If not, we have a motion on the floor. All in favor? Or actually, we'll take a roll call. The motion to recommend confirmation of the nomination of Mr. Roger Kaiwi to the Leeward Planning Commission was carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Evans — 6. Noes: Committee Member Inaba — 1. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. NOMINATION OF CECI DAVENPORT TO THE LIQUOR CONTROL ADJUDICATION BOARD From Mayor Mitchell D. Roth, dated February 1, 2024, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: March 16, 2024 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Page 9 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 Vote on Comm. 720: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend confirmation of the (A-pproved) nomination of Ms. Ccci Davenport to the Liquor Control Adjudication Board. Seconded by Ms. Kimball and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Evans — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas — 2. Excused: None, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Pomaika`i Bartolome came forward and provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 441-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER ON CONSENT AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PROCEEDING UNDER SECTION 309 a OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT 33 U.S.C. § I319 a The agreement would establish a binding order on the County to remediate deficiencies in the condition and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities in Hilo, Kula`imano, Papa`ikou, and Kealakehe. The Administrative Order on Consent outlines issues of concern and proposed remedial activities the County would be required to undertake and complete prior to 2035. Reference: Comm.732 Intr. by: Ms. Evans (B/R) (Note: Comm. 732.1, from Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Director Ramzi I. Mansour dated February 20, 2024, transmitting additional information related to Resolution 441-24, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 441-24. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? Okay, so the Administration. MS. KIMBALL: Chair, I suggest we invite the Director as well as potentially, Corporation Counsel to go over what is in front of us here. Page 10 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 CHR. EVANS: We have a Communication 732.1. Director Mansour. (Note: At this time, Environmental Management Director Ramzi Mansour came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. MANSOUR: Good afternoon. I'm here today before you to go through some information and also entertain some questions and answers. I have here with me some major players. My staff, I want to acknowledge Kelly Hartman and Chris Sparber who worked on this information sheet. So, I know each one of you had a copy of it. It's a lot of detailed information, but if you don't mind, I'd like to have Kelly Hartman, just to go through some of the information here. (Note: At this time, Environmental Management Planner Kelly Hartman came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS, HARTMAN: Good afternoon, Council Members, I'm Kelly Hartman, the DEM Planner. So, we wanted to just submit a summary so you could digest the AOC (Administrative Order on Consent Agreement), the past and why we're here; the status of what we've been working on the last couple years and what we need to plan for in the future in order to be in compliance with what is drafted currently in the AOC. So, the background of the AOC is the EPA (Envirom-rental Protection Agency) and the DOH (Department of Health) comes to our facilities periodically and inspects them. So, from 2016 to 2022, they made these observations. The County did not, at that time, have a program in place to systematically repair, rehab, and replace aging infrastructure. We did not have a program for capital improvements to adequately evaluate the criticality of that infrastructure and to plan for anticipated failures. We did not have a financial plan with the sustainable funding mechanism, and we were not operating the sewer collection system to prevent spills. We had also not sufficiently assessed the condition of our sewer system and did not have a program in place to replace, rehab, and repair those systems. You'll find several tables with the list of violations cited by the EPA and the DOH. I won't go into those in detail. I'm going to skip to Page 4. This is where we are at currently. This is the status of the coffective actions we've put in place since 2020, when Ramzi came on board to DEM; specific to the AOC. So, this first list is the critical Capital Improvement projects that are listed in the AOC and the status of those projects. You'll see that some of these projects are in progress, and the funds that are crossed out have already been spent and committed. Page 11 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 The stag and finish date are based on the project schedules that we've implemented in the last year -and -a -half. We've implemented project management into our Capital Improvement programs with DEM Admin oversight. So, these dates are based on the schedule, and you can compare those with the deadlines that are in the AOC. So, you can see that DEM's internal deadlines come prior before the AOC deadlines, and these are based on our active schedules. So, moving on to the Planning, Operation, and Maintenance programs that the AOC requires that we implement. They're summarized in the second table on Page S and 6. You can see that many of these programs we've already implemented. We have several contracts executed, the rates study, the Integrated Wastewater Management Plan, and the Asset Management System was implemented. We've implemented a Capital Improvement Prioritization Program. Both the Asset Management System and the Capital Improvement Prioritization Program were funded by the EPA. So, you can see we've been making a lot of progress, and we still have some programs that we need to build within DEM, Other process improvements we've implemented in DEM to help support success and compliance in the future, as I mentioned, the Asset Management System was implemented. We've also implemented a training and standardized assessment for collections systems, condition assessment and prioritization. We have Cost/Benefit Analysis for Prioritization. We have Cost/Benefit Analysis for our Capital Improvement programs. We've also created a Core Team Project Structure. So, we have the Administration as well working with the Wastewater Division to manage projects with our consultants. We've implemented project schedules and project scheduling training. We were able to do the financial forecasting, as you seen on the Critical Capital Improvement projects listed above. We've also implemented Public Education, Outreach, and a new DEM website that contains a project page to simplify how this project information gets out to our residents. Ramzi is going to talk about future needs, thank you. MR. MANSOUR: Thank you, Kelly. As you see, I just want to bring something to our staff and your attention. As we were negotiating this AOC, we did not stop, so we kind of have a target to make sure that we adhere to as we were negotiating the AOC. We have the horizon of where we want to go. So, with the idea, we entered into this knowing that by the time this gets signed, some of the projects will be almost at 60 or 70 percent complete. That way we guarantee success. We have our staff, I don't know if it was included but, you know, we even introduced the Project Management Scheduling. The Gantt chart; it's about a Page 12 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 thousand sheets, a thousand pages just to put the projects schedules for these projects. But we summarized it on one sheet for you to see. But as you go through the details, each project has hundreds of different milestones to achieve. So, kudos to staff, and that's not going to stop where we're at, of course. We're going to keep focusing on future needs. We're thinking about working with the Department of Human Resources to make sure that we do some reorganization structure within the department to make sure we have redundancy. And also check and balance within the organization itself. We try to avoid working in silos to make sure that there's accountability and not missing any deadline within the AOC, because it could be very costly. So, these are some of the future needs so we could be able to meet compliance as well. We're going to continue achieving success. The Compliance Management System, the one that Kelly talked about, we're going to continue improving on that and set up the Compliance Management System, and account for it. Monitoring and accountability. We need to be able also to set up the reporting programs, so somebody is aware of the status. So far, we have set up a great system with the Microsoft project and the Core group structure. Everybody knows their responsibilities and roles. Everybody knows what resources they need to reach out to make sure we succeed. And I'll just tell you, I'm so proud of my staff because we've only got two or three staff members that would be working on this; Kelly, Chris, and Mark Grant. And we just added Shelise Lamb. She came in with great experience about the Microsoft project. So, we definitely need staff that could deliver. We're using consultants as resources now. And we're going to continue utilizing that resource. As far as operation and maintenance, we have sewer line crews on the East side and the West side that consist of about four staff members. Our challenge is the equipment, and we need to make sure that we have reliable equipment; vehicles that our staff could use to make sure we don't have sewer spills. We had ordered some hydrovacs and cameras that allow us to maintain the collection system. But right now, we're going to set the program frequency of cleaning and televising So, we'll have a program that gives us the accountability and be logged in within the asset management as a work order. So, once the work order is being logged in staff will become cognizant of it and they'll deliver. But we need to make sure that they get the right tools and resources to deliver. And it's true for the Capital Improvement Planning. As I said, we are working onto the reorg and setting up the financial plan for all these projects. Even though we have the vision of the financial plan as stated on the submittal to you, we're Page 13 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 looking at it from programs as well. So, we're doing the rate study, and we're doing the other master planning, the Integrated Wastewater Management Plan, and that we came before you and presented the first draft. So, with all these tools, I'm very confident that we could meet what we have negotiated before us. And I'm here to answer questions, and if Betsy and Corporation Counsel would like to answer. We have Diane (Nakagawa) from the Finance Department on line if you have any financial questions. CHR. EVANS: Thank you for your presentation. Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, I was going to ask ,fudge Strance to come up and kind of give us the legalese or non -legalese overview; the translation of the legalese of what is happening with this agreement, and you know, why it is to the benefit of the County to ultimately engage in this Agreement of Consent. (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. STRANCE: Thank you. Good afternoon, Elizabeth Strance, Corporation Counsel. The process for developing this Administrative Order on Consent to place over months, if not over a year to come. The discussion started very early in the Administration because there have been alleged violations of various Federal laws. And so, the County was faced with potential lawsuits being filed by the Department of Environmental Protection. So, not unlike the County in its Code enforcement. The EPA was willing to work with the County to assure compliance rather than punish the County for violations. They realized that the County is committed to upgrading its facilities, and it's worked very closely with Ramzi's team and our team over this time to develop this agreement. The good and bad of the agreement is within the Administrative Enforcement Branch. So, this is not a lawsuit but could lead to a lawsuit if the County does not comply with the deadlines. So, what you see listed in the format of the order is that it lists the Leg violations of law; different findings of fact that set forth the violation of Federal law, and then, the County's commitment to addressing those. Page 14 GOEAC-26 Febivaiy 20, 2024 So, what Rainzi and Kelly went over was basically, several different areas. One is fixing what's broken; making sure we're on top of facilities management and setting deadlines for compliance. So, you know, I think that over time, what happens in any government, is that when you're pressed for choosing between what you can afford this budget cycle or that, oftentimes, there's a deferred maintenance of infrastructure, which appears to have happened in this County. What this order does is that it mandates the County to meet a number of deadlines to bring its wastewater system into compliance and setting up programs and organizational structure that is going to maintain that infrastructure. So, I know this body has started a lot of overtime, different settings. You know, facilities and infrastructure types of tables and upkeep. This order will force the County to do this. One of the deadlines that you see in the attachment, this is not a one -and -done kind of agreement. It's going to involve a very concerted effort and commitment of resources of the County through 2035. So, this is not an insignificant commitment on the part of the County. I can let Ramzi and Diane talk more about what that Financial commitment looks like. But this is a legal document. It will be enforcement against the County, should the County fail to meet its deadlines. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Judge Strance. So, if I understand correctly, we have had numerous violations of various aspects of the EPA's Clean Water Act, and would otherwise be liable in some way or another for those violations if we did not come under this Agreement of Consent right now? MS. STRANCE: It cites a number of violations and sets forth a roadmap for compliance. So, the concerns are that there have been violations, and without a strong commitment on the part of the County, we're likely to see noncompliance increase. So, it's to address current concerns and stave off with our long-term concerns. MS. KIMBALL: Okay, so the benefit to the County with respect to potential actions now or later from the EPA, is really what we're looking at because we're communicating that we have —I'm just trying to snake sure that we're crystal clear on the pros and cons of why to have an AOC versus not. MS. STRANCE: If the County were to just do nothing, we would probably in Federal Court in a lawsuit right now. But because the County is committed to addressing the concerns, there's not a lawsuit. So, the benefit of the County entering into this agreement is that it voids the lawsuit, and the really punitive fines that are associated with Clean Water Act violations. So, it's a path forward. Page 15 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MS. KIMBALL: Okay. So, I know that Managing Director, well, she was there. She's vanished, Managing Director Sako was over there. I'm not sure if she is the better person or the current Finance Director is better? So, Managing Director Sako, how are we going to pay for all this? I mean, Judge Strance said, that a concerted effort and a significant amount of resources. I mean we had one presentation about the money for Puna, and we're looking at a minimum of $d billion, up to $11 billion. And I didn't realize that's not covered by this Agreement of Consent, but all this stuff, I mean that's a lot of money. How are we going to pay for it? (Note: At this time, Managing Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: So, you know, I think many of you remember that we've been coming in for about $100 million for Wastewater specifically in bond authorizations every 9 to 12 months. So, we've been first focused on the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant, because that's the first major milestone we're going to reach in terms in terms of construction. So, we have to have the bond authorizations in place but that doesn't mean we're going to go out and borrow right away. You know, we're also working with the vendors and the department to make sure we understand the spend -down, so that we know when we're going to have to physically pay out the cash, and then we'll go out and have the cash in hand. So, I believe, didn't look that carefully at this particular communication that DEM submitted, but we have been working with them over the last year or so, and the most recent one I have, I believe this AOC adds up to over $600 million. I think it was about $650 million; then with Pahala and Na'alehu, those are our primary projects that will add up to over $700 million. So, this is over a 10-year period, so we'll keep at our $100 million a year roughly pace so that we can fund the projects that are laid out in this particular AOC, so can continue to meet those deadlines. And both me and Diane have been working together on this to ensure that the funding is in place to meet the obligations. MS. KIMBALL: Okay, so it does provide me with some comfort to hear you say that you think that we can find the resources to cover this over the next few years. It is weird to see timelines out in the 20-30's. But the other question I had was maybe a little bit more specific. This is not County -wide for every facility. Like I saw a mention of Honoka`a but not in the larger conversation with the resolution, but not specifically detailed in any of the supporting documents. Director Mansour, can you? MR. MANSOUR: Yes, this is actually County -wide AOC. So, what we looked at is the sites and the facility that needs major attention; critically failing. Page 16 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 Hilo, as you know, was at the top of the priority. Papa`ikou and Kula`imano, as well listed on this AOC. So, when EPA and the Department of Health have done their inspection, they go around the entire facility of which we have a three-month plan, in addition to the collection system. So, with this AOC, we were able to negotiate the critical projects that need immediate attention. Number two, set up programmatic system that allows us to monitor and set up a program that allows us to get away fiom falling into the same predicament that we're in. Number three, is to also look at the collection system itself, and set up a program to monitor sewer segments to avoid spills. So, it has three different segments in the AOC, but it is a County -wide AOC. And the reason we are doing the Integrated Wastewater Management Plan is to have all facility planning of each facility. So, they're looking at each facility and they're analyzing the infrastructure within each facility so that we can identify any potential future Capital project, and we can forecast it in the future. So, we don't have to defer it, we plan ahead of it. And that's the intent. So, we were able to negotiate just the critical projects to get us out of the hot water to start with, and if you've seen, we have condensed the list of violations and made it project -driven rather than component -driven. MS. KIMBALL: Okay, alright, I think I understand what you're saying there. So, we have a little bit of a sense from Managing Director Sako about the Capital Improvements, $600-$650 million over the next five years. What about staffing and other needs within DEM to meet these deadlines? Are you going to have to add additional staff within the department? MR. MANSOUR: We are usually staffing through the sewer rate fees. So, hopefully, as we're doing the rate study now, we will also come before you as well. So, we're looking to the horizon to see how we're going to set this financial plan. At least for the Capital project currently, we're going through General Obligation Bonds, and we're also looking into State revolving funds, and grants and any other possibilities that we could secure funding to assist in the planning and design of these projects as well. But we are going through the rate study to analyze the current required staffing. Not only for Admin, but also for the Waste Treatment Plants as well to make sure that we have the proper staffing to provide the maintenance and the operation that's needed for each facility. Our intent is to have that and eventually, all these plans we make potentially may trigger policies and procedures as we go forward. So, the intention of the staffing and the right level of staffing, and equipment. All that will be calculated into future projection of the rate study. Page 17 GOFAC-26 February 20, 2024 MS. KIMBALL; Okay, thank you. Two more questions, quickly. Well, let me ask this first. Does having this Agreement of Consent make us more likely or more eligible to get —you know, we've talked a lot of times about the Federal funding that's out there from the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Jobs Act. By having this agreement in place, is it better position us to go after some of those Federal funds? MR. MANSOUR: To some extent it does. I remember, as we were meeting with EPA initially, trying to figure out the financing of those, and I recall that's what they had mentioned that they will assist us in the funding of these projects. So, we're going to continue chasing whatever possibilities of funding that we may find and qualify for. MS. KIMBALL: Okay, and this actually ties into that. There was at a discussion about water and water resources with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), EDA (Economic Development Administration), and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) altogether, and we got talking quite a bit about reused water, water reclamation. I didn't see any specific call out about that here. But I'm assuming because we're not calling it out, it doesn't mean we can't look at that at some of the ways to address the problems that are highlighted in the AOC documents. So, you know, we don't have to just make exactly what we have now to fix it. We could actually improve our processes under the AOC. MR. MANSOUR; Yes, definitely. The entire intent is to improve the affluent quality. And we have projects, and we know the need of climate change, and the green energy waste -to -energy. And also, the reuse. So, we are very cognizant of that. And if projects are not listed within the current AOC because it's not regulatory driven, but it's policy driven. Therefore, their reuse is Kealakehe Reuse, it's about 60 percent designed, some made it to the Department of Health. So, even though it's not there, we've been working on it since we started, MS. KIMBALL: Okay, that's good to know because the frustration sometimes with some of the other Federal programs, Federal dollars --I'm thinking FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) in particular. So, you can only build back what was there, right? You can only fix what exists, and you can't as you say, build back better, which is what we're all wanting to do. So the AOC, as I understand, allows us to actually not only fix but improve, if we can, the processes that we're addressing in all these various different treatment facilities. MR. MANSOUR: Yeah, as stated in the AOC requirements, our intent first is to fix what's broken. And yet, a good example, Hilo facility, currently the process and treatment is based on trickling filter. So, we are changing the process to conventional activated sludge, which will allow us to nitrify and denitrify better to Page 18 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 reduce the amount of nitrogen. So, the entire process in Hilo is going to be changed and improved as well. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director. Thank you, Judge Strance, and thank you Managing Director Sako. I yield, Chair, CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Member Kagiwada. MS, KAGIWADA: Thank you. Thank you everybody for doing this. Vezy huge lift, I understand, and really appreciate the effort and getting us going here. So, yes, thank you. Just a general question. I see there's a few dates that are coming up real quick here for either starting or completing a few of the items on your list here. Are there any things that are coming up soon that you have concerns with meeting these deadlines, or you feel like you're on track for all of those? MR. MANSOUR: I think we feel comfortable as we were negotiating the deadline. We have a great roadmap for staff and the consultant, and we've got redundancy in watching. I've been involved myself to make sure that we stay on track. We've been having weekly meetings on some of these projects just to make sure we get updates. If there's any roadblocks, we could clear it right then, so it doesn't become an obstacle. Once this agreement gets signed, we have to just continue the process even more just to ensure that we don't fall behind. But I feel confident with the deadline that we have. We just need to continue monitoring the schedule and continue with the meetings. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, great. And once this gets signed, will we be getting an update on this periodically? MR. MANSOUR: On this? Our intent is, as we sign it, then we'll have quarterly meetings with EPA to give them updates on the work of each item. They'll be involved. Just as a FYI (For Your Information), I probably should need to bring it to your attention, when these whole negotiations start taking place, actually it was between the two departments and the State Department of Health because they fell under the same violation. So, we'll be coming before you again with another AOC, but that's directly from the Department of Health. They're going to mimic the same type of violation; the same type of project, but it'll be under the State Department of Health rather than the EPA, because the Department of Health is the department is the department that has authority under the Federal over the State of Hawaii. So, it's the same project, but it'll be a different AOC. Page 19 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So, will the progress on this be somewhere on a Dashboard or something, or if we want an update, we'll need to request one from you? MR. MANSOUR: You could request one, but our goal with Kelly being here, is it's going to be updated on our website. So, anybody could access the updates. MS. KAGIWADA: Terrific. Thank you so much. And last question is just, I know you talked about this a little maybe or alluded to it. But you've got the Asset Management System Implementation Plan. Now, I think you said you were doing parts of the Asset Management System Implementation already. Is that what I heard? I'm just wondering what's the difference between the Asset Management System Implementation and the Asset Management System Implementation flan? MR. MANSOUR: Right. So the first one, as Kelly had mentioned, the program was funded by EPA, and I believe we implemented it last year. So, staff got the training to be able to insert work orders within Asset Management to be able to monitor and document what needs to be done at the facilities. So, we have done it for the Wastewater Division. So, the future is the Compliance Management System and Monitoring. So, now we have Asset Management. Now we need to make sure people are held accountable to make sure that we comply with the work orders, so they don't fall through the cracks. So, that's the two differences. One, is if you get it, the information, I guess is the production is as good as the information in and out, right? So, if information comes in, somebody needs to make sure the information is being used, utilized, and delivered to have a good output. Otherwise, if it sits there, it's as good as nothing. So, we have to create a compliance to ensure success. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you so much. I yield. CHR. EVANS: Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Yes, just a quick question. On the Corporation Counsel side, which deputy or assistant will be working with the department to retake sure that we are in full compliance and that we don't end up off track here? MS. STRANCE: Currently, Diana Mellon -Lacey is the assigned Deputy to DEM, and has been very involved in the crafting of this order. Page 20 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MR. INABA: Okay. So, between our Planner, our Director, our Deputy, and that Deputy Corporation Counsel, you're confident that we're able to meet everything contained within? MR. MANSOUR: Yes, the Core Group System we had set up was created by having a sponsor that oversees the project; you have a project coordinator, project manager, and you have resources. The resources are the legal and finance. The legal aspect of the Core Group, Diana Mellon -Lacey, has been attending every meeting that we meet with to give legal direction to make sure that we staff understanding the interpretation of the language of the AOC, so we can deliver on it. So, the Core Group structure is a bit complex, but it has all the players that they need to be there to deliver on the project. Project lead could change because the milestone may change. But the sponsor's role would be to oversee the entire Core Group, and we have a coordinator that coordinates the meetings and facilitates the needs during the meetings. MR. INABA: Okay, so the answer for both of you is yes, right? We're going to meet everything here. No problems that we can anticipate right now. MS. STRANGE: I don't know if I said that. There's a fairly structured process in compliance on these if our experience with Na`alehu and Pahala AOCs are any indication. So, there are regularly scheduled progress meetings and reporting requirements to the EPA. So, if there are going to be problems, we should be able to anticipate them. But I would say that ,you know, part of the reason for the agreement is to set forth the fairly structured process that requires follow-up and collaboration both within the County, with the Department of Health, and with the EPA. MR. INABA: Okay, I want to say "yes" now. I want to hear yes from you folks. Like, clearly, what's on this paper, we can meet. Yes? MR. MANSOUR: Yes. MR. INABA: Okay. Thank you, Chair, I yield. MR. MANSOUR: Like I stated earlier, I'm very confident with the structure that we had set up. I've been working on that structure since I started, and now I can see the fruits out of it. It's literally a lot of work has been done. And I also want to thank Betsy's staff, as well. Malia (Kekai) was involved from day one before she became a Deputy Director of Department of Public Works; and also, Diana Melon -Lacey. They all were Page 21 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 involved with the Wastewater. So, every time we meet, you know, we trigger meetings to make sure we're in compliance. And that's true for Pahala and Nd'dlehu because we cannot afford penalties. So, 100 percent, yes. CHR. EVANS: Okay, Member Lee Loy followed by Member Galimba. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I'm in support of this. I've been around politics a long time, and I remember there was a time when the Administration left a lot of funding behind to address our waste; both Solid and Wastewater needs. And that was 26 years ago. And over time, political decisions were made to erode that money and put it in other areas because it was politically popular. And wastewater is just not sexy. You can go improve a park and everybody sees it. But when you fix a pipe under the ground that takes care of our waste, nobody sees it, and they grumble because construction to go fix the pipe creates stalls and delays in traffic. And for me, what this resolution does is hold everybody accountable that a can that has been kicked down the road for so many years, because it was unpopular, not sexy, is going to get done. For those reasons, I'm in full support of this resolution. It takes the politics out of how we manage our wastewater. When I hear Gantt charts at 1,000 pages, I get it. When I heard MS (Microsoft Software) Project, I get it. And the fact that you guys have reduced it down to three pages, congratulations. I am super proud to be on the dais right now to support this resolution; to undo a mistake that three administrations made 26 years ago. I'm going to urge my colleagues to let's just move this along. Maybe as a little wiggle, another "Whereas" clause that you will come back to the dais once a year to report on all the timelines so that future Council Members get it. And they don't want to shift money or say no to a bond float, because this is what the temperature of this dais is; to protect our environment, clean up our waste, and make sure we have good clean off -shore water. Thank you for doing this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've made it very simple. That's all I really wanted to say. I yield. CHR. EVANS: Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you, and I guess similarly, thank you for doing this. I think it's great. And I suppose, you know, a silver lining on the Na`alehu and Pahala experience, that we're jumping on this earlier and doing an AO proactively to some degree from what I understand, to go after this. Page 22 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 You know, I think these are easier than Na`alchu and Pahala, because you actually have the sites, and you have the facilities to replace. Whereas, in Na`alchu and Pahala, you were having to find completely new sites, and completely new systems. And nobody wants to have a wastewater site anywhere. You know, it's been really, really difficult in Na`alehu and Pahala. Some of that could have gone a little faster, but also, a lot of that was sort of that nimbyism that we don't want to have it here because of this. And it has to go somewhere, and somebody has to be, you know, slightly uncomfortable about the fact that there's going to be a wastewater treatment plant somewhere where they're not 100 percent happy about that. So, that's I guess a little bit of ranting there, but I think it's wonderful that we're being proactive and having a plan and getting ahead of the EPA rather than behind. So, totally support this. Thank you very, very much. CHR. EVANS: Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I'm going to be supporting this resolution. You know, I really do appreciate the honest assessment that's coming from our Federal partners in identifying where there's room for improvement and what they in their mind believe to be the proper course of action, right? I think it takes a lot of the politics out of the situation. So, I'm really grateful for that. I love the exhibits and all the different timeframes for when we are expected to act and comply by. Director, I wonder if you would be open to a friendly amendment to the resolution. There are a number of reports that are required to be submitted to the Feds, and I wonder if a copy of those could be transmitted to the Council? Happy to work on an amendment, only because a lot of us, we come and go, right? A lot of the actions that are being prescribed in this resolution and the exhibits transcend several administrations. So, to ensure continuity of information; continuity of information to the public's sphere, that this work is happening, I think that an amendment would be, I think, really helpful and provide everybody with peace of mind. Would you be open to that? And I can share it with your office before we introduce it at Council. MR. MANSOUR: Definitely. I think we could go back to the EPA and they're probably going to love the idea, because it's all about accountability. And I think that were their worries from Day 1. Different administrations may have different priorities, but now everybody will be on the same page if it comes as part of the "Whereas," and I'll leave that to Corporation Counsel, but I'm in support. Page 23 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 MS. STRANCE: May I? I don't think an amendment to require periodic reporting to the Council requires EPA approval, because it's not affecting the actual Administrative Order and Consent, It's attached as "Attachment A." So, we can definitely work on some language that will accomplish that for you. MS. KIERKIEWIECZ: Okay, perfect. My office will reach out. I also noticed that I think it was the Interim Financial Plan, was required to be submitted by 2027. It seems a far way off. Is there an interim, you know, Interim Financial Plan that we arc working on? MR. MANSOUR: Sorry, yeah, our current consultant, he's doing the Integrated Wastewater Management Plan. Part of their scope is to put together a financial plan, and I was here with Dr. Ishida when we presented that initial draft. But our intention is to have it finalized by October of this year. We'll be working with the Finance Department, and hopefully, we'll target a day way before 2027. So, we'll have a better financial roadmap of how we're going to get there. So, we have the vision, but still a lot of pieces need to come together to make it happen. Once they finish the facility planning, we understand our exposure when it comes to the future capital projects and future maintenance projects. With the rate study, all that's going to work together to, Number One, understand where we need to be with our current fees and how we're going to set up Capital Improvement financing in the future. So, it's about revenue generation. MS. KIERKIEWIECZ: Okay. So, I'm hearing more towards quarter four, is when we can expect a more detailed financial outlook on what it's going to cost to implement the corrective action, just part of the AOC. And then, I'd like to layer on top of that, you know, Council Member Kimball did point this out. Some of the work that's already been done, you know, Wastewater feasibility wise for communities that are not connected to our systems, like a grand total of what it's going to cost our community. And then a phased approach to how we might pay for it. It's great to talk about how much all of this is going to cost and what we're going to do. But taxpayers got to know, how are we going to pay for this, and when can I expect a return on this investment? MR. MANSOUR: Definitely, the ROI (Return on Investment) currently, we're looking at like Deanna, our Managing Director has stated, the current critical projects, we already have commitment at least of $650 million including the Pahala and Nd'alehu, $700 million. So, we know that financial plan for that is already, you know, based on what we had submitted we even have done projections by fiscal year. And that already has been done of anticipating how much we're going to spend per fiscal year till 2035. Page 24 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 So, that financial layout on a roadmap for the critical projects of these capital action AOC projects, it's already done. What's missing is the systematic programs and the collection system, and the future capital projects. These are not part of the AOC. So, we negotiated out so that way we don't become a management. So, once we come up with the program, then how we're going to implement the program and become policies and procedures. And that's where we have to come back to you of how we need to set policies and procedures to implement future programs without failure. And that has pretty much nothing to do with the current AOC because the current AOC only requires to setup the program, not the implementation and the monitoring. Implementation and monitoring become policies and procedures that the Legislative body of the County would take and put in place. MS. KIERKIEWIECZ: Right. And there's a cost to all of that. Just building the systems today but making sure that we think about how we pay for the maintenance and the upgrading. MR. MANSOUR: Yes, and that will be part of the study. MS. KIERKIEWIECZ: Beautiful. And you know, just to kind of reflect on something Council Member Lee Loy said about three Administrations ago, right? Maybe not having the political will; maybe tackle the issue; maybe it was too bit, maybe it wasn't sexy enough. I don't know. But you know, I'd rather suffer a little bit today, so that future generations don't have to suffer a lot. So, I think it's important for us to kind of keep that perspective as well. MR. MANSOUR: Amen. I agree. MS. KIERKIEWIECZ: We'll reach out about the amendment. Thank you for being here. Great job, Kelly. Thank you, Chair. CHR. EVANS: Thank you, Members. I think everybody commented. So, I'm last. So anyway, wow, this is a lot of work and it's really well done, I must say. do have a few concerns. The one being, is one of your deadlines is coming up on July 30"', 2024. You're supposed to do a priority ranked listing, and you're supposed to do it after solicitating public comments on the preliminary priority ranking. So, it's already almost March ISM. So, what do you think is going to happen? MR. MANSOUR: It's a great question, and I think this is one of the projects that was funded by EPA last year. So, we have a consultant on board. We've been working on this project, and Kelly can correct me if I'm wrong, I think. Page 25 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 The consultant already has a draft, and we've been working very closely with the consultant on delivery. So, as I mentioned earlier, my intention with all these dates, I knew I was ahead way in advance, as I negotiated the dates, to give EPA and the Department of Health a level of comfort, but yet also give the County the feel of success because we're going to deliver. Kelly? MS. HARTMAN: So, the preliminary ranking of the CIP (Capital Improvements Program) projects that Ramzi mentioned we've been working with the EPA on, I would say it's 99 percent complete. We have all of the critical projects. We've built the cost benefit analysis and we've scored all the projects. It'll be official and complete in April. CHR. EVANS: So, it says you're going to get public comments. So, how do you plan on doing that? I mean, it's just in here, I'm reading it. It says you're going to get public comments. MS. HARTMAN: I'm trying to remember the language in the AOC. So, right now, the way it's written we've got two things happening with the CIP projects. We have the critical projects and then we have the assessment of all facilities. So, the critical projects, the ranking mechanism, that's complete. Then the work that Carollo was doing in the Integrated Wastewater Management Plan developing the facility plans. They're assessing the condition of 100 percent of our infrastructure. So, now that will be moved into the prioritization matrix in addition to the critical projects, and we'll be able to prioritize those. Create the schedule, create the financial plan, and that will go before public comment. MR. MANSOUR: In addition to that, we've already started to have public engagement under Carolla Engineering for that Integrated Wastewater Management Plan. So, the public has the opportunity to comment, provide data, as well as where is the department moving forward with the priority. CHR. EVANS: Yeah, I saw your announcement on the Integrated Wastewater Master Plan. But you will include that other part, the CIP Priority? MR. MANSOUR: They're all connected. That's the reason we called it integrated. It's going to integrate every work that's being done under the different consultants. So, there's multiple consultants working on different projects. The Integrated Wastewater Management Plan is going to integrate all of them in one document. CHR. EVANS: Okay. My other question is about just the financing. It's a huge lift. I understand with the EPA, that we have to fix what's broken. Got to do it, because otherwise we're harming the environment. And we're going to get in big Page 26 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 trouble if we don't, because EPA has done their work. They've been doing a lot of testing. But it's about the future because you incorporated it in your Appendix 1. You incorporate some comments about the creation of new service areas, and also understanding the cesspool conversion, that it is coining. But it's also implied that —this is my concern, that you're okay with the continuation of building large wastewater treatment plants when in reality I'd like to see us move towards potentially not the large wastewater treatment plants that we've had all these years. Moving into hopefully in the next 20 years, whatever the new technology is that we have more --I don't know what you call them. But the question being is, do you want to create this huge govermnent entity that is collecting money through these large wastewater treatment plants? And is that your vision, to have more and more of these? MR. MANSOUR: No, absolutely not. The vision that we have is currently being looked at under the Integrated Wastewater Management Plan, Cesspool Conversion Plan, facility planning; and also, the sewer service area recognition. So, Number One, we need to look at the current facility; understand their capabilities and limitations. And to do that, you need to say okay, what is this sphere of influence that's going to be able to provide enough capacity to meet the current permits. So, we're not thinking about building bigger, larger. We just need to stay in compliance with the current permits we have. Currently, that doesn't exist. So, we have to understand what we have to be able to determine what we need to have. So currently, we're trying to figure out how far could we go with our sphere of influence with the current structure we have, hydraulically? Because if the hydraulic modeling comes in and says, you've only had "x" amount and that's it, then you limit your sphere of influence. So, what the consultant is doing is setting priorities, who has the first right to be within the service area? You know, affordable housing, for example, be a perfect priority to be within this sphere of influence. I'm just using that as an example. And then, anything outside that sphere of influence, we need to look at technologies. Do they need to connect to septic? Do they need to be a decentralized packaged unit? Do they need to have better technology to treat individual systems in their backyard? It depends on the size of their property and the location. So, all of that is being looked at, analyzed, and diagnosed as we speak. It's very complex. But our intent is not to build empires of wastewater, Our intent is to understand the limitation of our current infrastructure so we can plan better. Page 27 GOEAC-26 February 20, 2024 CHR. EVANS: Thank you, appreciate it. Seeing no further discussion, so, we have a motion on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Res. 441-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 441-24 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galiinba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Evans — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 2:38 p.m., Mr. Inaba moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Kimball and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, and Chair Evans — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas — 2. Excused: None. CHR. EVANS: We are adjourned at 2:38 p.m. Approved: Ms. Cindy an , Chair Committee &UAovernmentalOperations and External Affairs CE/dt (Date) Page 28