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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2024/08/21 (2022-2024) DRAFTCommittee on Finance 42nd Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawai `i August 21, 2024 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 9:02 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Cindy Evans, Acting Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Cindy Evans, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member (came in later) Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member (came in later, via videoconference from Hilo) Mr. Matt Kaneali `i-Kleinfelder, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS COMMUNI- CATIONS: The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Brenda Carreira: Pamela Punihaole: Bruce Beaudet: Bill 188 (Comm. 967); and Bill 189 (Comm. 968), comment. Bill 188 (Comm. 967); and Bill 189 (Comm. 968), comment. Bill 188 (Comm. 967); and Bill 189 (Comm. 968), comment. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Please read in Communication 12.37. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Communications. Comm. 12.37: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16 — 30, 2024 AND JULY 1 — 15, 2024 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated July 23, 2024. FC-42 Motion to Close File Vote on Comm. 12.37 Filed August 21, 2024 Mr. Kaneali `i-Kleinfelder moved to close file on Comm. 12.37. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Just noting, Chair, that we do have members of different departments as well as the Director of Finance in our chambers here in Hilo for the Council. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. In Hilo, any discussion? No. Seeing none here in Kona, all in favor? The motion to close file on Comm. 12.37 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kagiwada — 1. Excused: None. Comm. 13.40: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16 — 30, 2024 From Finance Director Diane Nakagawa, dated July 19, 2024, transmitting the above report pursuant to Section 2-12.3 of the Hawaii County Code. Motion to Close File: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to close file on Comm. 13.40. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I do have a ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. This is for Public Works. I'm looking at the change order for traffic engineering services for signal intersection optimization. This says Aaron Takaba as the listed person, but I know we have folks from Public Works here but not the right department I'm assuming. Anyone online? Okay. Chair, I'll follow up after the meeting. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. So, any other discussion? Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor. Page 2 FC-42 Vote on Comm. 13.40 Filed ORDER OF RESOLUTIONS August 21, 2024 The motion to close file on Comm. 13.40 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kagiwada — 1. Excused: None. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order of Resolutions. Res. 583-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A MULTI -YEAR AGREEMENT WITH SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERS SUBSIDIARY HAWAI`I ISLAND EV, LLC, TO REPLACE AND INSTALL ADDITIONAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a ten-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of $5,717, to replace inoperable and aging vehicle charging stations and install four additional charging stations at the West Hawaii Civic Center, the Aupuni Center, and the County Building. Reference: Comm.977 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend adoption of Res. 583-24. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: And right now we have the presentation from Riley Saito. (Note: At this time, Research & Development (R&D) Economic Specialist Riley Saito and Sustainability Partner's (SP) Infrastructure Partner Noel Morin came forward and provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 977.1) MR. MORIN: Riley, I yield. Let me know if there are any questions everybody. MR. SAITO: Alright. Thank you, Noel. Noel, I have a question just for —your relationship. You have a relationship with Sustainability Partners, but you also serve a role in the EV Association? Page 3 FC-42 August 21, 2024 MR. MORIN: Yes. I've led the Big Island Electric Vehicle Association and also the Hawaii EV Association. Big Island EV for over a decade. So, I'm very familiar with challenges that our community faces as it relates to access to public charging. Many people who have home charging, not an issue, but we also know that many people here live in apartments, they're renters, and for them to be able to adopt clean affordable transportation that come in the form of EV's, public charging will be required. MR. SAITO: Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: So, Members, any questions? To Hilo, did you have any questions? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I do, Chair. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair Evans. Thank you for the presentation, Mr. Saito and Mr. Morin. I do have a question. Close to the end of your presentation it was said, County R&D will administer and operate these charging stations. We have the monthly payment, which covers management and maintenance. But then it sounds like we are in charge of maintaining as well. What is that —what is this; maintenance plan is cocreated with County? Explain that for me. MR. MORIN: So, what that refers to in general with Sustainability as a partner is that the arrangement for maintenance is something that we collaborate on. For example, with another project, if there's a desire for local staff, local workforce to manage something, it could be vehicles, it could be charging equipment for that matter, then as long as that service can be offered or provided in a way that preserves the warranty for the devices meaning frequency, the quality of the service, then the County, for example, could perform the services. What we do is we set aside an amount every month that we predict will cover the cost of any replacements or maintenance items. If we are expected to provide, let's say, troubleshooting meaning someone from the field comes in and inspects the charging station and then diagnoses it, if that is something that the County would like to do and can do, then that can certainly be arranged. But then for this particular contract, we are setting aside the escrow amount, we're ensuring that the vendors that can provide the service for the equipment, replacement of the parts that are broken, replacement of the equipment if needed, that is set in place. We have relationships. And then, any of the other maintenance items that the County would like to be able to address, can also be done. For example, there might be a requirement to ensure that the screens are clean, right? Page 4 FC-42 August 21, 2024 And then as far as the operation is concerned, I think we need to expand on that because these are smart chargers, so it introduces a new construct and that is someone needs to own programming, meaning how much do we charge the public? Do we charge a flat rate throughout the day, throughout the week; do certain people with certain accounts have a discount? Will it just be the County fleet that'll be free? All these different things have to be programmed and that is something that the County will tend to. It's a role that the County needs to own and that's what we mean by operating the equipment. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So, there's a chance that we in the County can fix things as they break, but it's something that needs to be replaced, preferably by Sustainability Partners or the charging infrastructure manufacturing company can provide a replacement for it, if the machine is broken besides anything else? MR. MORIN: Yes. Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. MR. MORIN: For this asset, for this infrastructure, there's very little to maintain, right. So, it's probably going to be replacement parts. Let's say a plug gets broken or a plug gets damaged, something like that, I mean, there's really nothing that the County can do. It has to be replaced. We'll take charge of arranging for that replacement. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you for that. MR. MORIN: Sure. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And I'm very interested in how we roll out a charging program, free electricity, free charging is wonderful, but it is extremely costly_ A vehicle holds a lot of kilowatts of energy and kilowatts aren't cheap in Hawaii County. So, I like that idea of providing a fee of some sort for charging because that begins to recoup costs that we're incurring. And it's good for us to provide that as an infrastructure for our citizens, but it's expensive. MR. MORIN: It is. And I also strongly recommend that we do because if something is free, it's bound to be abused, right? So, one of the things that we've seen with public charging where the use of the equipment is free is that people would just leave their car and leave it all day, come back later. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I've seen that. MR. MORIN: And that would translate into misuse, right, and lost opportunity for others who need the charging station. Page 5 FC-42 August 21, 2024 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So, ten years, roughly $680,000 for maintenance, contracts, and everything else is what I'm hearing. MR. MORIN: So, ten years is the request. The County has a request that we provide this for ten years. The reality of it is it's a month -to -month arrangement. So, if for whatever reason there's a desire for the County to just take ownership of the equipment, then that's also possible. We can just assess what the remaining value of the assets are, and we can unwind that with a 30-day notice. However, we're not intending to do that. We're intending to provide the service continuously; that's for ten years or even beyond. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Okay. I like it. Lastly, but not least. I've reached out to Mr. Saito about this. As an EV driver, the most critical place that I see us needing infrastructure is between Hilo and Kona. So, I'm just putting it out there. I got an answer back from Mr. Saito, and thank you, that there is electrical infrastructure available, but where are we with getting charging stations possibly within a Parks and Rec facility like Gilbert Kahele County Park? MR. MORIN: Riley, do you want to take that? MR. SAITO: Yeah. And it's interesting with that, I think it's kind of faith what I'm going to say because Noel, myself, we've both been stuck on Saddle Road in our EVs and required towing. The Department of Transportation (DOT) Highways, they acquired 50 new Teslas, and they traveled from Hilo to Kona and was bold and brave with their new Teslas and headed back to Hilo from Kona without charging, and they got down to like five percent at Mauna Kea. I don't know it was a text or email, but they said, "Braddah, we need one charging station at the park." And that person never made it back to the base yard in Hilo and had to be towed for the last two miles or something. And the word within the infrastructure of the park was that it was very minimal in electrical infrastructure availability, and it took the failure of battery at the park for our Chevy Volts that occurred, that brought me to the park to spend time in the park and discovered that there is electrical infrastructure there that possibly could install level two chargers with smart stations up to four ports at forty to fifty amps each so, it's very available. Also a blessing that came along is that the same, within two weeks of that discovery, the State Department of Transportation Highways, they were awarded a grant that would apply because it is a state highway that the park is on. And so, I sent them the as built drawings and maps of where, you know, the maintenance crew would like those stalls be energized and they're looking at the preliminary design and engineering. So, all of that just came about in the last four weeks. So, we're looking forward to having something there soon. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Alright. Thank you, Riley. Any more questions, Member Kaneali `i-Kleinfelder? Page 6 FC-42 August 21, 2024 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'm okay, Chair. I think I would really like to see that infrastructure be promoted. That's why I'm asking. And whatever we can do to ensure that we get some infrastructure and possibly even within the contents of this agreement with Sustainability Partners would be amazing because we're kind of in that flux right now. So, I look forward to it. Thank you very much for bringing this to us and making this happen, to both of you. Mahalo. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. And Mr. Clerk, note that Member Kagiwada has joined us. And Member Kagiwada, did you want to say something? MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Yes. So, thank you for doing this. I think it's a great partnership and way to try to do some new things. I'm wondering about if we have the DC (Direct Current) fast chargers, they're like one to two hour, you can charge up to, it says, up to 200 miles, so how are we going to be monitoring that so that people don't, as you said before, sit there, take that spot longer than necessary? MR. MORIN: I assume you're referring to the DC fast chargers including the ones that the NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program will provide. MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah. MR. MORIN: So, these chargers are connected. First of all, they're very fast. So, the intent is you're going to be there in the car waiting for the car to charge. It takes only about 15 minutes to get about 100 miles, right? So, in general, people don't want to linger in their cars waiting for their cars to charge. They want to plug in and leave as soon as they can. So, these DC fast chargers facilitate that. Now the other thing is, and this is probably more relevant to Level 2, is that when the payment's enabled, they can also be programmed so that when the charging event is complete, the person who has the car plugged in gets notified that your car has, you know, completed the charge, please move the vehicle within "x" minutes. And in some locations, we're seeing this in Oahu, they also include a dwell fee. So, if you don't move your car within 30 minutes of it being fully charged then you get charged a dollar a minute, or something like that. But it's all configurable. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Okay. Good. Okay. MR. MORIN: So, there's a way to introduce financial disincentives for people plugging in their car, leaving their car, you know, intentionally, and creating challenges for others. MS. KAGIWADA: Great. That's terrific. I'm glad to hear that. And then I wanted to ask, I know there was a pilot or program at HCC (Hawai `i Community Page 7 FC-42 August 21, 2024 College) with a solar powered charger. Do you know, was that at all successful, is that something that we could consider in some places that maybe have less ability to do, you know, or we could include as an additional that would be for somebody that just needs a little bit of charge? I don't how that worked. How did it go, what was the situation there? MR. MORIN: So, GreeInvest, I believe is the company. They procured that vehicle and they are essentially in the business of selling and deploying these standalone charging stations. So, they made an agreement with Hawaii Community College to leave the charging station there as a way to expose the public and business leaders to that concept. You are right, it's ideal in those situations where you don't have easy access to energy, you want to have a quick, you know, placement of charging station. And you can even put it in the corner of your parking lot and not have it occupy high value spaces, for example. They cost about, I don't know, upwards of eighty, ninety thousand (dollars) a unit. So, the cost is a consideration. However, for places where energy is not available, this might be ideal. The other thing about that is it's intended to also be —it's transportable. So, in the event of a, let's say a disaster and there's a desire for energy to be, you know, generated in a certain location, that can be towed over to that location and be able to charge a vehicle but also provide power or what ever is required there. So, I'm not sure about the status, where they're at with that and if they've secured other interests. The County can certainly engage with them to figure out if this might be a good solution for situations where there's just not enough power. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Yeah. That sounds great. I hope, Riley, that you can look into this a little and just let us know if it might be feasible in some places that don't have as much resources around electricity and stuff or if we want a temporary one or want to try it out somewhere even before building in the infrastructure. It might be something good like that. Alright. Thank you so much. Looking forward to seeing this roll out. Thank you, both. MR. MORIN: Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. We're going to come back to Kona. So, who was first? Member Inaba, please. MR. INABA: Thank you. Riley, how did we select Sustainability Partners and Hawaii Island EV for this agreement? Was it through professional services? MR. SAITO: It was through being a participant in the state procurement office solicitation by the Department of Transportation Highways. I think I have the RFP (Request for Proposal). It was a state procurement office RFP that we agreed to participate in the results. So, in 2020, February, Sustainability Partners were awarded the master contract agreement. It's a ten-year agreement in which Page 8 FC-42 August 21, 2024 Sustainability Partners master agreement was executed in December of 2020. And so, that is in place for a ten-year term. Within that ten years, Sustainability Partners can negotiate with 16 government agencies to provide clean energy for clean vehicles, zero emission vehicles, fueling and charging infrastructure. And so this addendum particular to EV charging stations is part of that master agreement. MR. INABA: Okay. And the ten years, what we're proposing in this resolution, is that what everybody else who was a part of that master RFP is going with, or how did we select 10 years? MR. SAITO: So, it's interesting that you ask that because it took me digging into to. So, with the RFP, the request or requirement was that the entity selected would perform the service of vehicles, EV fueling and charging infrastructure for a minimum of ten years. They have to provide that. That was in the RFP. So, there's a ten-year term minimum or a ten-year service, will provide the service for ten years at a minimum. And so, that's where, for us in essence, it's a ten-year term. Now, with the actual agreement itself, the language, we are able to terminate with 30 days' notice. Now, I see that minimum ten years is actually in favor to us because more than likely these EV charging stations, part of the services that has to be providedso, they have to provide EV charging, maintained, for ten years. These stations tend to fail after five, six, seven years. So, in order to maintain the service level, they will need to find a replacement. Same thing with the vehicles. So, in essence, the ten-year minimum, I see it as an advantage. MR. INABA: Were we required to go with this specific organization or were we also able to go out and seek pricing with other companies for our specific needs as a County? MR. SAITO: We have. I have done independent investigation on different alternatives and technologies. Sustainability Partners has the ability to work with whatever technology partners they see in order to ensure that the service is provided and on an ongoing basis. So, they do pretty much the evaluation of technology and vendors because they need to actually have this, what they propose, perform for ten years and they're responsible for the maintenance. MR. INABA: So, is Sustainability Partners, is it their own product or they're kind of the middle person? MR. SAITO: I look at them as having the balance sheet. They're not the technology providers. And so, part of the length to get to this point is my haggling with Noel on technology and warranties; and performance; and what is on paper versus what's in reality, and for the EV charging stations and things along those lines. Page 9 FC-42 August 21, 2024 MR. INABA: Okay. So, just to be clear, we haven't gone out directly with other companies and solicited specific costs or expenses for what we're expecting in terms of these services? All we know is what provided by MR. SAITO: Correct, correct. We don't have an independent solicitation for pricing. MR. INABA: Okay. MR. MORIN: Councilman Inaba, may I speak as well or respond? MR. INABA: Sure. Go ahead. MR. MORIN: Yeah. I just want to clarify that. We will work with whatever vendor is specified or requested, right, so we don't mark up any of the equipment, the installation, or what's required to get this product into place. And the actual decision of which product to put in place, like is it a charge point charger or something else, is something that we work with our customers to identify. So, in this particular case we work quite a bit with Riley to figure out which equipment to select and there were a number of reasons why we opted for the charge point. And as far as the costs are concerned, it's something that whatever the vendor provides us with, we pass along. So, there's transparency there. So, Riley has visibility into the cost per equipment, the shipping, the installation, all those details. SP does not profit from all that. We have a fixed rate, which is eighty basis points of the capital deployed, and we are paid by the investors. MR. INABA: Thank you. We'll talk offline, Riley. Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. One quick thing. As I understand it, the business name of Hawai `i Island EV, LLC, should not have an okina in it? I want to confirm that's correct because we have an amendment to the other resolution around vehicles later today. MR. MORIN: Yeah. It should not. What was specifiedI'm not sure if you were directing at me, Chair. What was specified as the name of the new entity that will be associated with this project, the Hawaii does not have the okina. Page 10 FC-42 Vote on Motion to Amend: August 21, 2024 Ms. Kimball moved to amend Res. 583-24 by changing the word "Hawai `i" to "Hawaii", removing the okina in Sustainability Partners Subsidiary Hawaii Island EV, LLC. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. And then it sounds like we've already selected the charger, the types of chargers we're going to purchase, but I just want to throw a bug in your ear, I had the opportunity to go to Iceland and one of the things I noticed about the charging infrastructure that they had is that the part that most often gets broken is the component that actually plugs into the vehicle. And so, the charging stations that they have there, the vehicle owner actually plugged in the cable and the charger alone didn't have the cable and the plug in piece. So, the EV owners would have that piece. They plug in the cable to the charging station and then to their vehicle. Just an idea about maybe how to avoid dealing with the maintenance issue that seems to be prevalent with that particular component. I don't know if you explored that when you were sourcing the chargers. But I thought that was a really brilliant way to address that problem. I yield, Chair. ACTING CHR_ EVANS: Thank you. Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. And that is a very interesting idea. I wanted to ask about the operation by R&D. So, what it sounds like is that R&D would be in charge of the money part to some degree if we're charging, you know, if and when there is a charge to the customer, which there will be. Is that going to be going to R&D or is that going to be really Finance that you're going to be sort of putting that part of the operation of these vehicles to? MR. SAITO: The idea is to go in with the current policy, which is no charge. And part of that is being what I know I'm interested in is actually getting and studying the behavior and data of abuse, proper use, and things likereally, to get fuel time of day, frequency, turnover rates, by public and what it's taking to charge the County vehicles. And that'll also with the NEVI charging stations, the ones in white, that's being operated by State Department of Transportation Highways. And so, we'll get data from their systems with the DC fast chargers. Then they're coming up with a rate but what I'd like to use is that data to come up with some type of rate structure. It may be incremental where, you know, the first Page 11 FC-42 August 21, 2024 hour might be ten cents a minute and after the first hour it might be fifty cents a minute, or something along those lines. We would then work with Finance and DPW (Department of Public Works) because these are on their facilities, you know, to be inclusive of their input and work out and present to the Council a rate structure. I believe any type of rate or revenue structure would need to come before the Council, so we'll be presenting that to you. MS. GALIMBA: I see. Okay. Thanks for that detail_ I see Director Adams on. I don't know if he has anything to add to that. (Note: At this time, Research & Development Director Douglass Adams came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. ADAMS: Thank you. Yes. Thank you, Council Member Galimba. It's not the department's intention to bring revenues in to the department. We're not currently structured for that. Typically, funding that would come from this would go into the General Fund that would be managed through Finance. MS. GALIMBA: Thanks. Thanks for that. I guess the other issue that I foresee at certain stations is security, they're very remote sites. So, just want to sort of put a plug in there to be very realistic on security for some of the more remote sites that might not have too many people around, be thinking about that, yeah. MR. SAITO: So, accessibility, security, is one of the key factors in all the location evaluation. And so, in particular, with the NEVI sites where Department of Transportation Highways, there's a formula grant but they're bringing in security, security fencing, solar canopies, lighting, cameras, and all of that to those locations_ But we're still following federal guidelines of accessibility being, you know, 24 hours. So, with the Parks and Rec, we'll look at what Parks and Recreation areas have security. Like Gilbert Kahele Park, they have security from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., along with their campers. MS. GALIMBA: Excellent. MR. SAITO: So those things are really looked at as a major filtering of locations. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Glad to hear that. Just want to make sure that this equipment that we're investing in is, you know, secure as well as accessible. Thanks. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Back to Hilo. Any other member have any questions. MS. LEE LOY: Yes, Chair. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Lee Loy. Page 12 FC-42 August 21, 2024 MS. LEE LOY: Thank you so much. Noel, thanks for being here. You mentioned there's the equipment, right, that comes, but there's like a web application piece that the County has to maintain, right. Where is that outside of this contract; is that with R&D, that's with Finance? MR. MORIN: Thanks for the question. So, the equipment does come with the hardware that will allow connectivity as well as the software that will allow us to, us as in SP will have visibility to it but also the County will have visibility to it, information about what's going on with each charging station. What I was referring to as being a requirement to the County to operate would be this, think of a dashboard where they're actually able to program and say, okay, for this particular charging station or all the charging stations, we want a rate of, I don't know, "x" dollars per hour, or we want to have a higher rate during the evening times when power is more expensive; or we want to just cover the cost of electricity and not add on to that. So, those details, they're sort of like business policy, needs to be programmed into this application and this is what the County will need to manage. It sounds like R&D might be taking a lead on that but ultimately, the department's responsible for managing the equipment and that could be different, will be ultimately responsible for that. And what we can do is provide the training and ensure that the employees who are going to do that know exactly what to do and how to do it. MS. LEE LOY: And that training is covered under this ten year? MR. MORIN: Yes. MS. LEE LOY: Perfect. MR. MORIN: Yes. MS. LEE LOY: And then under the background report, it mentions wireless access control application and web -based data storage. That's SP, that's you guys, or that's County, or it's a shared? MR. MORIN: So, this is shared. So, for this particular solution it's charge point. So, they have this web, this cloud base, or web base application that allows for the data to be captured and stored. And then for users like a county, like SP, or our vendors, to be able to access as well. So, it's essentially stored on the cloud, but we have access to the information. MS. LEE LOY: And what kind of information is that. Like how long they're charging, is there like zip code information —and, you know, data is good, right. And data, we have 22 stations and then I'm guessing with the collection of this information we can then begin to map out other areas. If we knowing that they're Page 13 FC-42 August 21, 2024 coming from 96749, maybe we should install chargers there. I'm just curious as to what type of information is being collected. MR. MORIN: Yeah. I'll have to do some research on that to identify specifically what can be collected because there's what can be collected and what we want to collect, and what we'll be allowed to collect, right. But at a really top level, there will be information about the charger, each charger, you know, the health of the charger; is it working, is it broken, has it been used, when was it last used? Each user will have an account associated with the activity and depending on how much data we have for each of those accounts, we can maybe go deeper. But that, I think, I still need to research. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. I'm just really curious. We want to work smarter, not harder. Everybody on the dais knows I'm a big fan of those scooters that we rent and, you know, those are programs, right, those are apps, and you unlock them. And I'm envisioning some of that information that's being collected as we charge our vehicles. That can help us map out future areas on where EV chargers should go or in an instance may be redirected because we see a bigger need. MR. MORIN: So, that is, I think, and Riley, maybe this is something we can collaborate on because the data requirements can often influence what we collect, what we program, right. So if, for us, a certain datapoint is really important, we'll look into how we can collect that information. Otherwise, it'll be like just the default setting, right, or whatever's the best fit for everybody. So, I think maybe what we'll do is we'll take a look at those detailed requirements, let's call it reporting requirements, and then based on that we can ensure that, you know, figure out what can be done and then ensure that those are done. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. I mean, I see this as a partnership for a while. So, anything we can do to learn, do better, get better, I think would actually be beneficial for the entire community. Thank you so much for being here. You know me, I'm going to make that pitch, I want that induction parking area where they're not having to drive up and plug in. They just need to park. MR. MORIN: You're so far ahead. MS. LEE LOY: It's going to happen. It's going to happen. MR. MORIN: At some point, it will. Yes. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. MR. MORIN: Thank you. MS. LEE LOY: Chair, I yield. Page 14 FC-42 August 21, 2024 ACTING CHR. EVANS: So, Members, I was just noted that Council starts at 11:00 a.m., we have a big agenda, our Finance hearing we have quite a bit on this agenda. So, if you have a question that you would like to be very specific to the resolution. Otherwise, I would suggest we actually do a communication and maybe have him back and really drill down on some other questions. I know I have some questions. Do you have anything specific, Member Inaba? Did you have a comment or will you wait till —okay. So, we will, I'm seeing anyone else have a burning question on the resolution, otherwise maybe we'll have him back so we can drill down a little more on this. Okay. Seeing no red lights, we have a motion. All in favor? Vote on Res. 583-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 583-24, as Draft 2 amended to Draft 2, was carried by the following voice (Approved) vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 584-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE Allows for a cost -share agreement for up to ten Volunteers in Service to America members with the County funding two members at a cost up to $45,764, and eight additional members supported by AmeriCorps, to strengthen and supplement efforts to eliminate poverty -related human, social, and environmental problems. Reference: Comm.978 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend adoption of Res. 584-24. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, we do have the Director joining us via Zoom. You can go ahead, Mr. Adams, give us some background on this and then we'll go forward from there. (Note: At this time, Research & Development Director Douglass Adams came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. ADAMS: Thank you very much. Doug Adams, Director of Research and Development. We have been operating with our VISTA (Volunteers in Service to Page 15 FC-42 August 21, 2024 America) volunteers since 2019. The program is now in its second iteration with the Commission on National Community Service, it's the Corporation for National and Community Service. These young people, when they come to us are bringing recency in terms of their education and a desire to support our community. It's been just wonderful to work with these young people and the work that they do around the community and specifically with our specialist in mentorship roles. So, this is another year to support this MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) with the federal government to allow this activity to occur. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much, Mr. Adams. Chair, I'll be supporting this resolution. Yielding to the Council. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Any other member? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair Evans. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you very much. Director, thank you so much for joining us. I'm curious to know if all of these VISTAs will be housed within Research and Development or if other County agencies will benefit from having a VISTA in their office as well? MR. ADAMS: Thank you very much, Council Member. We already have one of the cohort that is with the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Research (OSCER). Housing has indicated an interest in having one or two come over to them as well. In the past, we have had AmeriCorps VISTAs with our Recovery Division. So, the County has made use beyond just the Department of Research and Development in having these volunteers come to the County. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Fantastic. And then I noticed your program year is 2024-2025. Does that follow our County's fiscal year, or is it a calendar year, or just some other year that I'm not aware of? MR. ADAMS: Typically, it's associated with the federal fiscal year. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. That's really helpful. I'm going to be supporting this resolution. I can think of two outstanding individuals that started off as VISTAs that have been really critical to our County's work. Jake Sykes was my Legislative Aide and then he's done some work in R&D for sustainability and climate Change, and Zoe Callahan is our coordinator for Revitalize Puna. So, really wonderful individuals and I appreciate their ability to just get more involved in local government. Sorry, Director, one more question. Is there any way for us to provide preference around Hawaii Island students having an opportunity through this VISTA program? Page 16 FC-42 August 21, 2024 MR. ADAMS: We do that already in terms of reviewing the folks that have identified their interest in coming here. So, we're doing that already. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. Sounds good. Thank you so much. Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Members, any other questions in Hilo? Seeing none in Kona. We have a motion before us. All in favor? Vote on Res. 584-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 584-24 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Inaba — 1. Excused: None. Res. 585-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, PURSUANT TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE HAWAI`I COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Allows for the receipt of $40,000 of federally -derived funds to provide community -based training and regional education from local historians, cultural practitioners, and other sources to AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America personnel. Reference: Comm.979 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend adoption of Res. 585-24. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We do have the Director joining us. If there's any comments from the Director, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, I look for everyone's support. Mahalo. (Note: At this time, Research & Development Director Douglass Adams came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. ADAMS: Thank you very much, Council Member. We've been fortunate the last couple of years to have funding provided to us by AmeriCorps for training Page 17 FC-42 August 21, 2024 purposes for the VISTAs that we have, the cohort that we have. And this is specifically designed to support them in the way that the resolution talks about. We're in the process of actually engaging them in some training opportunities here in the near future, and we look forward to doing that with the funding that's being provided to us by the federal government. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Any discussion in Hilo? Seeing none in Kona. MS. LEE LOY: Yes, Chair. One question. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Thank you, Director, for being here. On the B-52, the background report, it mentions a $24,000 match. Does that mean that this total will be $120,000; so $96,000 plus the $24,000, or is the $24,000 included within the $96,000? MR. ADAMS: I apologize, Council Member. I'll have to get back to you with that. I don't recall that particular match requirement. I'll get back to you. MS. LEE LOY: Sounds great. I'll also check with Finance too. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Any other discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair? ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I believe Council Member Lee Loy was looking at Resolution 586, the next resolution. That might be some misunderstanding. I don't think there's a County match required for this resolution. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Thank you. Okay. So, no further discussion. All in favor? Vote on Res. 585-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 585-24 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Inaba — 1. Excused: None. Page 18 FC-42 August 21, 2024 Res. 586-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION AND THE STATE OF HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PURSUANT TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT Allows for the receipt of $96,000 in federally -derived funds, which would be used to promote alternative transportation options, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and introduce the community to the interconnectivity provided through the Trek the Trails project. Reference: Comm.980 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend adoption of Res. 586-24. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. We do have the Managing Director here if there are questions from the Council regarding this grant. But I will yield to the other Council Members. Thank you. MS. LEE LOY: Chair, if I might? Maybe Deanna might have a crystal ball as to what my question is. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Lee Loy. (Note: At this time, Managing Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: Good morning. So, yes, the grant does have a $24,000 match, which we believe we'll be able to cover for the upcoming year. And it's actually going to spread out over two fiscal years, the current fiscal year and then the following. I think we have until December 2025 to spend, but the goal is to spend it before then. MS. LEE LOY: So, like now the total is $120,000? MS. SAKO: Yes. Over the two years. $120,000 over the two years. Yes. MS. LEE LOY: Awesome. Thanks. I yield. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Thank you. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all in favor? Page 19 FC-42 August 21, 2024 Vote on Res. 586-24: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 586-24 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 188: AMENDS CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 7, SECTION 19-57, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO THE NONDEDICATED AGRICULTURAL USE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM Seeks to change the sunset date of the nondedicated agricultural use assessment program from January 1, 2028, to January 1, 2029, extends the time for property owners in the program to reapply for alternative programs from September 1, 2025, to September 1, 2026, and sets a September 1, 2028, deadline for the director to review all reapplications. Reference: Comm.967 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball and Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend passage of Bill 188 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali `i-Kleinfelder. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kimball. MS_ KIMBALL: Yeah. Thank you. On July 18', the Finance Director held a public hearing with regard to the rules for the new short-term and long-term dedicated ag program as well as the community food sustainability program. And while we were having that conversation, first I will indicate that I think there was a lot of information that was incorrect that folks have received from various sources that caused a lot of concern. But there were a few things that we did hear that we felt like we could address pretty easily and provide some comfort to the community. The first thing I'll mention is that if you folks go to the Real Property Tax (RPT) website right now and then go under the forms tab, they'll find a couple important documents. One of them is this fact sheet, which I've provided here to the Council Members here in Kona. I don't know if Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder was able to print some out for the folks in Hilo. But this actually provides a real clear at -a -glance overview of the programs and the other thing that they'll find there is the farm plan template that will be used for Page 20 FC-42 August 21, 2024 applying to either the ten-year or the three-year program. And I think between these two documents, that'll provide a lot of comfort to the public about what this program means. Some of the things that I think were really critical, and both (Bills) 188 and 189 kind of addressed this, is there was a misunderstanding by many folks that they needed to have their application for the new program by September of this year. I want to make clear that the Code language makes it September of next year. But one of the things we heard from the community is they just wanted more time to figure out the program, what was most suited for them, and how they would comply with the program. So, that's the proposal in front of you with respect to Bill 188, it just extends everything out a year so folks will have until September 2026, basically two years from now, to figure out which new program they want to go under. All the other deadlines that are associated with that at the time, RPT will have to evaluate, when it affects taxes, all of that is moved forward a year. The thing that is not moved forward a year in Bill 188 is the sunset of the nondedicated program. So, RPT will still no longer accept new programs or new applications for the nondedicated ag program after September of this year. That means that the folks that are in the nondedicated ag program now will stay in that program until they've been approved to be in one of the new programs, and they'll see those benefits. The other, you know, I wanted to just reply if I may, Chair, to some of the comments that were made by the testifiers just so we have this whole picture in front of the public right now. There is the income requirement with respect to the long-term and short-term dedicated program of $2,000. However, the language says, or they need to show that they're using accepted agricultural practices. So, when we have folks coming in talking about sustainable, you know, sustenance type farming, as long as it's farming and they can demonstrate that it's a traditional or accepted practices of farming, they will qualify. So, the income level of $2,000 is like not an absolute. They have this other pathway. The other comment that was made by folks was the ten -acre recommendation with respect to pasture. Again, that is kind of the threshold and if you recall when we put these bills forward, they can still pasture on a smaller lot as long as they can show that they have a viable agricultural operation on that smaller lot size. So, I just wanted to put out there I'm doing the real property tax road show at Yano Hall this evening for the South Kona area. I've been doing several in my district. To all my colleagues on the Council, if you would like me to come to your district and talk through these programs with folks, I am happy to do that. I have found 100 percent of the time that once I kind of talk folks through what the changes are, people feel a lot more comfortable. But for right now, RPT is Page 21 FC-42 August 21, 2024 supportive of this change to just extend everything out a year, give people a little more time to figure out their paperwork and figure out which program they're going to be part of, and I ask for my colleagues support for this amendment. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. To Hilo, any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, can I? ACTING CHR. EVANS: Yeah, Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Yeah. This bill, I was very happy to work on this with Council Member Kimball. Although we did have very, very limited testimony during the initial hearings of the bills that caused this kind of chaos in our community, that is actually quite normal because we and I really want to take a second to apologize to the community. We have the hearings, we go through the motions here at the Council, we have the discussions with the administration. But a lot of times what we do at the Council doesn't always broadcast out into the community, and when the change happens or when the subdivision happens, when the tractors hit the ground, everyone gets scared. And so, this gives us more time, we know the ball dropped, and this gives us time to explain to the community what the options are, what they can step into, what the realities of the program are, it gives the department some time to wrap their heads around how to provide information to the community. And although it seems very simple, I think this will offer a tremendous amount of comfort to our Committee Members like Cindy and Ms. Carreira, who came in today to testify. So that, to me, is really the importance here is that we've made some changes, we had limited testimony, but the outcry from the community and the backend of this change was extraordinary, and I just cannot highlight enough some of the testimony we heard in some of the public hearings that were held and why this is so important. So, I appreciate Council Member Kimball working with me on this bill. Look forward to everyone's support. And then also happy to have our Real Property Tax Division here as well to answer questions should there be any. Although, this is very simple. And yes, to your comment, Ms. Kimball, I would like one in my district. I have folks who are just on ag property who are concerned that I don't think —like you said, there was a lot of bad information put out by a few bad actors in our community, and we're still recovering from that. So, I will be taking you up on your offer to do an ag property tax road show in District 5, please. I yield, Chair. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Any other member in Hilo? MS. KAGIWADA: Chair? Page 22 FC-42 August 21, 2024 ACTING CHR. EVANS: Yeah, Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Just to clarify, with the change and the delay in starting the programs, and I think you said 2026. What do people do if they are not currently in a program? So, they're not in nondedicated right now, so they couldn't just stay there till they decide. They're entering farming over the next year or so and the new ones are not starting up yet, is that what I heard? So, I'm just confused about what people do who are starting up farming in the next year, what their choices are, what do they do? MS. KIMBALL: May I respond, Chair? ACTING CHR. EVANS: Would you like to respond or have Real Property Tax Division come? MS. KIMBALL: I can respond. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. MS. KIMBALL: Yes, they will apply for either the short-term three-year program or the long-term ten-year program, or the community food-sustainability program. So, those programs still begin on September 2nd, the nondedicated ag sunsets and there are no new applications for nondedicated ag as of September 1st The change here is really the time for people that are in nondedicated ag now to submit an application for one of the new programs. That has been extended. This bill proposes to extend that by a year from 2025 to 2026. So, the folks getting into ag now would apply for short-term, long-term, or community food sustainability. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. And if you're in dedicated already, you can stay or move into one of those as well. Okay. I get it. Thank you so much. I just wanted to clarify that. And thank you for doing the road show and being willing to answer people's questions in community forums. That's really helpful. I yield. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Anyone else in Hilo? Okay. Kona? Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Just briefly wanted to say that I appreciate Council Member's Kimball and Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder putting this forward. I think it's a good idea, give folks a little more time to figure out what they want to do. So, I'm very supportive. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Member Villegas. Page 23 FC-42 August 21, 2024 MS. VILLEGAS: Yes. I just want to concur with that statement. People were freaked out. So, thank you for taking the time to put together these pamphlets, put a pause, add another year, clarify, and really hold people's hands and walk them through this because, you know, this is a really beautiful template but unless I'm well versed in the legalese around land taxes and designations, this would confuse me as well. And hearing from our maka`ainana and the people of the land and generational connectivity to certain pieces of property, it is the utmost imperative that they be guided and supported through the process to ensure that none of this in any way every jeopardizes generational lands especially for our Hawaiian people. So, I just want to thank you for continuing to carry this through. I yield. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Seeing no other lights on, is Deanna Sako still there, the Managing Director? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes, she is. ACTING CHR. EVANS: I would like to ask her a question. So, thank you. Thank you for being here. I too, in my district, people just got a letter in the mail of what was changing and felt like the knee jerk reaction was, "Oh my gosh, what's going on?" I mean, you know, "I can't do this; my taxes are going to go up", and there was this big panic. So, the reason I wanted you to come forward is to, how do you have these changes that require rulemaking and require notifying the public of significant changes on —is there any way that we can, you now, have these community forums, community rollout, and also for me personally, I wasn't given a copy of the letter that went out to the community. And so, I don't know what the letter said that people were so overly reacting to and how we can maybe have that communication with the Council Members on when you're going to send something out to the public. Can you just comment a little bit on this? (Note: At this time, Managing Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SAKO: Sure. Happy to. I think first, probably when the amendments were being made to the County Code, was the right time to have those community forums. I think that's really the piece that was missing that caught a lot of people off guard. I don't know that they really noticed when it went through the County Council. So more so, when the letter went out, just enacting what changes the Council had made, the public was caught off guard. But also in the letter it said to call the Real Property Tax Division. And they have been handling hundreds of calls and explaining that, and to everyone they've talked to, they found a way and a path forward. And so, we just continue to encourage the public to call. And, yeah, we can work more closely with Council in the future. But really the time to have had those forums was when it was going through the County Council. Page 24 FC-42 August 21, 2024 ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah please, I know we can do better. But thank you. We'll work with you. MS. SAKO: Can I just say, I really want to thank Keita (Jo) and Lisa (Miura), and all of their staff at Real Property Tax for doing the template and for doing the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and everything for the public. And, you know, they continue to work withI know even the template can be confusing. But if they can call Real Property Tax, their team can help them, you know, fill that out. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thanks for saying that because I do want to say thanks to Real Property Tax Division. So, my constituents I said, please contact them because your property is your property, very unique. Can't compare yours to the person next door. What's your situation? You need to know what your options are, what your alternatives are, and make the best decision for you and your family. So, that'sI sent them your way. Anyway, thank you. Thank you, everyone. In strong support of this. So, seeing no further discussion, we have a motion. All in favor? Vote on Bill 188: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 188 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 189: AMENDS CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 1, SECTION 19-2, ARTICLE 7, SECTION 19-53, AND ARTICLE 8, SECTION 19-61, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY TAXES Amends definitions for "Community food sustainability use" and "Diversified agriculture", allows for properties under the Community Food Sustainability Use Assessment and Short -Term Commercial Agricultural Use Dedication programs to be eligible for the Homeowner tax classification if the property is used as the owner's primary residence, and removes the limit of three consecutive, three-year terms for dedication in the Short -Term Commercial Agricultural Use program. Reference: Comm.968 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball and Ms. Galimba Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend passage of Bill 189 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. Page 25 FC-42 August 21, 2024 ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, thank you. I also want to extend a big mahalo to the Real Property Tax team. Administrator (Lisa) Miura did a really great job, I think at the public hearing kind of explaining all the different programs. And just to kind of expand on your point about communication, I think that we as a Council may want to consider more direct contact than community meetings when we have big changes like this because I will say there were actually several community meetings. I had my staff actually put it together. We have three pages worth of notifications and community meetings that were provided and we're still not reaching everybody like the letters do. So, we may want to think about that as a Council. If we have things that have this sort of broad impact, we might want to do a more direct connection with the public. The bill that's before you in 189 addresses some additional recommendations and comments from the public that were provided during the July 18a' hearing. And I'll just kind of walk through them real quickly_ The first item that you'll see under Section 2 of the bill, adds to the community food sustainability use the pasture usage. Now, I think that one of the issues where there was points of confusion whereas I think that many folks assumed that the nondedicated ag program was being replaced with the community food sustainability program. The nondedicated ag program is more appropriately, kind of related to the three- year program. The benefits are the same, the requirements are pretty much the same. And so, we left the pasturing out of community food sustainability because community food sustainability is really exclusively for food production. It is not for just like pasturing, which is an agricultural practice. Like not all pasturing produces food. We did hear that folks wanted this ability to be in community food sustainability and to be doing pasture. The bottom line is this is going to cost you more. Sure, you can be in community food sustainability, which you are assessed at 30 percent of your market value as opposed to being in short-term or long-term, which is going to be $420 or $210; $420 for the three-year program, $210 for the long -year program per acre is your assessed value. But if people want to pay us more on their property taxes, I'm not going to say no. So, that is the one thing, we're putting that back in. Although, if you're doing pasture, you really should be in either the three-year or the ten-year program. That is a much better tax benefit for you. The other thing that we changed here in the definitions of diversified agricultural, we had some comments about folks that are doing like food forest. The diversified agricultural definition was like for transition periods. But we have people that are doing a mix of different types of agricultural practices. And so, we kind of tweaked this definition to cover that sort of scenario so it's either during transition or if you're doing kind of sort of a mix of crops on a regular and continuous basis. So, that expands that definition a little bit. Page 26 FC-42 August 21, 2024 In Section 3 here, this is really just housekeeping. So, if folks recall, Vice Chair Inaba introduced legislation that we passed in July of 2023 that allowed folks that were in the agricultural programs to participate in the homeowners tax class if the property also served as their primary residence. Many people in agricultural programs who use their land also as their primary residence will have seen a reduction in their taxes in their 2024 bill because they are now in that homeowners class, which means their tax rate is at 5.95 percent instead of 9.35 percent per thousand. So, a lot of folks are actually already seeing that benefit. When we pass that bill, the short-term program and the community food sustainability weren't quite in existence yet. So, what this does is it just also this section of the bill includes those in the programs that are eligible to be in the homeowners class if it also serves as the primary residence. The Section 5 here of the bill, if you recall, when we were deliberating about these programs, we added as an amendment a limit of three times that people could renew the three-year program. The thought being if you're in the program for nine years, you should really be in the ten-year dedicated program. One of the things that we heard loud and clear in the public hearing was that folks liked the flexibility of being in the three-year program as opposed to the ten-year program even though they pay a little bit more in their taxes to have that flexibility. So, we're looking to take that limitation out under Section 5, so that people can stay in the short-term program. And that pretty much covers all of the changes. I'm happy to take any questions. ACTING CHR_ EVANS: Okay. Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. There's been some discussion regarding the financial part of the community food sustainability use and, you know, having to have that financial value whether it be through sales or through donation to local nonprofit. I'm wondering if that is something that the body wants to reconsider, especially for folks who many of us probably know do good work but they're not selling. And some of those folks came to testify this week. And I'm not sure if this is the bill or if you have another bill coming forward. But I think that's something that the Council might want to consider in light of things that we heard during the Finance rule change updates and in some of the testimony that we received this week. So, I just wanted to throw that out there to the Committee. And if there is something coming down the pipeline, then we can take it up then. Thank you. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kimball MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, thank you. So, one of the things that, again, I think was clearly misunderstood is that the dedicated programs, either the three-year program or the ten-year program are for folks doing agriculture. And it does have the suggestion that you have a $2,000 annual gross income. However, Page 27 FC-42 August 21, 2024 there's a really important "or" in that definition that says if you don't have that $2,000 gross income, if you are maintaining practices that are acceptable agricultural practices, you still qualify. And so, what I would suggest to Vice Chair Inaba is that folks that are doing agriculture and maybe it's the presenter, the testifier today, like she's producing products that she's sharing, that she's giving away. But she's doing agriculture. Like, that's the big difference. Community food sustainability is really meant to be a program that is different and new and has to —it's for people that are not doing like full on agriculture, but they have extra food that they can give away. And we need some accounting that they are actually giving it away. And so, I am disinclined to take that away from the community food sustainability because folks that are doing agriculture should really be in the three-year or the ten-year program. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah. I suppose there's an irony for me in all of this because we have this western land management tax structure system and we have the people of this land, who have for generations taken care of it and growing food and self -subsistence, right, which is what we want to be moving towards anyway. So, I recognize the challenges you're trying to navigate in creating within a colonial western system, the definitions, therefore, for the taxes. But I just also want to say that I hear, and I recognize from the people of this place how foreign and odd all of that would seem, to have to provide paperwork and documentation for how you're feeding your family, multi -generational on properties. We all know the price of groceries. And so, you know, in so many of these issues that we've been talking about here in the last few months, the term generational wealth continues to come forward. And what was striking me last night is, generational wealth for who? Because the generations of people who are from this land struggle to even be able to keep the land because of the price. They're being priced out; and the taxes that come along with it. So, I really, I honor and recognize the struggle that you're navigating on how to quantify and qualify and put within the systems, which do provide federal funding to support programs and bring money into the County. But I also just have to point out the irony and the incompatibility in so many ways of that value system and even that language, I find so ironic and incongruous with the —you know, we're facing all these challenges with climate change and global warming, and everybody should have a garden, right. I mean, that's the goal. We have a storm headed this way and whether or not people make money off of selling that agriculture, I just, I recognize the ironies here and I also recognize the intentionality of doing away with those that have exploited the agricultural tax bracket and, you know, "I have a mango tree; therefore, I'm going to get this. And I have a 10,000 square foot mcmansion, but I want to pay ag taxes." So, we Page 28 FC-42 August 21, 2024 are navigating a time that truth and alternate facts are too prevalent, and greed also. So, navigating these things is really challenging. So, I commend you for trying to take that up. I also commend the people who came and sat here today and who are enduring a system that is tedious and uncomfortable and not relatable in so many ways. So, just my mana`o there. MS. KIMBALL: Chair, if I may? ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Kimball, do you want to respond? Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. And thanks for that. I think another thing in the mix here is that there actually are other programs that our tax office has which would be really relevant and are very little known such as our native forest restoration program. There's also a kuleana land program where if it's, you know, if you've had this land since forever, you can apply to that. So, there are other programs that I think a lot of people don't know about. And so, part of this perhaps would be to raise up some of those other options that folks might want to explore. And also, possibly we might want to make some changes to make those a little easier to navigate as well. I do think that it's important that we —it is called an agricultural tax program, so I think it's important that people do agriculture to be in the program. And I know there's a fuzzy line there between gardening, large scale gardening, and agriculture, and we might need to perhaps look at other programs too, look at that fuzziness. But I think it is important to ask folks that are in an agricultural tax program to do agriculture. So, those are my thoughts on that. And I think these are great amendments that are responsive to the feedback that we got. Thanks. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. Anyone in Hilo? MS. LEE LOY: Yes, Chair. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I just wanted to highlight Council Member Inaba. You know, we're working, myself and Council Member Kierkiewicz is working with Real Property Tax. It's taking a little bit longer because it's just a little more complex. But what I'd like to offer is if we could just go ahead and set this and move this along. We'll be working with Real Property Tax to address those issues. But one thing that I want to also introduce when we come forward with that future amendment or maybe just a whole other bill is, that introduction of our indigenous and native crops. As Council Member Galimba was talking about, there's an opportunity here for us to advance our culture, like hula plants, that should be considered agriculture Page 29 FC-42 August 21, 2024 because we talk about feeding people, but there's things that feed our soul and culturally feed our soul. And I want to be able to the elevate that in future legislations to really identify and honor some of the generational kuleana lands that we have that do exactly that. So, if everybody's okay with this, I am too. I'd like to call for the question and we can move onto other things. Thank you. I yield. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Thank you. I just want to make one quick comment before taking the vote. I too, had constituents come up to me and say, you know, our family grows food, and we give to our children, we give to our kupuna, you know, we do this and of course, there's no farm plan and there's no donation or record of it. And so, they had some concerns, and I'll just put that out there. And so then we'll go for the vote. All in favor? Vote on Bill 189: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 189 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 190: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DUNE 30, 2025 Appropriates revenues in Federal Grants — Volunteers in Service to America Support Grant account ($40,000); and appropriates the same to the Volunteers in Service to America Support Grant account. Funds would be used to provide community -based training and regional education from local historians, cultural practitioners, and other sources to AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America personnel. Reference: Comm.979 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend passage of Bill 190 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, this is a sister bill to Resolution 585-24. I look forward to everyone's support. Page 30 FC-42 Vote on Bill 190 (Approved) August 21, 2024 ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Thank you. Seeing any red lights? No. Any discussion? No. We'll take the vote. All in favor? The motion to recommend passage of Bill 190 on first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 191: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DUNE 30, 2025 Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants — Hawai `i County Trek the Trails account ($96,000); and appropriates the same to the Hawaii County Trek the Trails account. Funds would be used to promote alternative transportation options, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and introduce the community to the interconnectivity provided through the Trek the Trails project. Reference: Comm.980 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend passage of Bill 191 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Any discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, again, this is a sister measure to Resolution 586-24_ I look forward to everyone's support. ACTING CHR. EVANS: Okay. Any discussion? Seeing none, we have the motion. All in favor? Vote on Bill 191: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 191 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kimball — 1. Excused: None. Page 31 FC-42 August 21, 2024 Bill 192: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025 Increases revenues in the Federal Grants — Volunteer Fire Assist account ($17,800); and appropriates the same to the Volunteer Fire Assistance — Federal account, for a total appropriation of $317,800. Funds would be used for public safety supplies for Volunteer Fire Operations. Vote on Bill 192 (Approved) ADJOURN- MENT: Approved: Reference: Comm.981 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Mr. Kaneali `i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend passage of Bill 192 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Evans — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. There being no further business on our agenda today, Acting Chair Evans adjourned the meeting at 10:47 a.m. Mr. Matt Kaneali `i-Kleinfelder, Chair Finance Committee MK/tk (Date) Page 32