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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP GOEAC 015 2025-02-04 2024-2026REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DATE: February 4, 2025 Re: Comm. No. 97 PLACE: Council Chambers Hilo, Hawaii TIME: 9:00 a.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs, to which was referred Communication No. 97, reports as follows: Communication No. 97, transmitted by Mayor C. Kimo Alameda, dated January 8, 2025, requests the Council's review and confirmation of Laura Acasio as Administrator of the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience (OSCER). Mayor Alameda was present in the Kona Chambers to introduce Ms. Acasio, who was present in the Hilo Chambers, to the Committee. Ms. Acasio introduced herself and shared her understanding of the Department and goals that she would be focusing on. Committee Member Heather Kimball stated that despite how she feels about Ms. Acasio as an individual, she believes that she is not qualified to hold this position based on the minimum requirements outlined in the Hawaii County Code Section 2-271. She discussed each of the six criteria listed in the Code and explained the history behind how this OSCER was created and what the intentions were in including those requirements. Member Kimball was particularly concerned that Ms. Acasio did not have experience leading a major program in sustainability, climate action, or environmental management as required by the first criteria. Committee Member Holeka Inaba asked Ms. Acasio to describe her experience with the Kaiao Community Gardens. Through Ms. Acasio's description of her involvement with this project, Member Inaba stated that through that and her other experiences listed within her resume made him feel confident that she met the requirements of the first provision within the Code. Member Inaba questioned if perhaps the language in the Code might need to be revised as some Council Members might have different perceptions of what the definitions are regarding technical knowledge of climate change mitigation. He said that he would be in support of Ms. Acasio's nomination and believed she met the other requirements. Committee Member Michelle Galimba asked Ms. Acasio to address the concerns regarding technical knowledge as brought up by Member Kimball. Ms. Acasio stated that while she has no published papers, she has done deep study in her field and has applied her technical knowledge of the systems that are affected by climate change. She added that technical knowledge in the field of climate change is ever evolving and that she will continue to read and gain the knowledge necessary as the information continues to evolve. She additionally added that there GOEAC Report No. 15 GOEAC-15 Page 2 February 4, 2025 are three vacancies within OSCER and that she will be looking at adding people to her team that have some of the technical knowledge she may be missing. Ms. Acasio stated that from listening to the meetings that formed this office, the intention of Council Members was clear that OSCER was about collaborating with the other Departments to achieve goals of sustainability and that she will be keeping that focus top of mind. She mentioned that even while some federal funds for various projects might be frozen there is still much work that be done on collaboration and education within the Departments as well as with the public. Committee Member Ashley Kierkiewicz mentioned that the Sustainability Committee is housed in the Department of Research and Development and that they haven't been able to spend much time supporting it and wanted to know how Ms. Acasio felt about potentially housing that Committee in OSCER instead. Ms. Acasio said that it makes sense to her to transfer it to OSCER. Member Kierkiewicz also suggested involving young people by getting some fellows to assist in OSCER. Member Kierkiewicz asked what the top three goals would be for this office. Ms. Acasio mentioned waste management, including solid waste and cesspool conversion. Her second priority was to work with Destination Management and Hawaii Tourism Authority to collaborate on reducing waste and energy consumption within the visitor industry. Committee Member James Hustace asked Ms. Acasio to speak about costal protection and impacts from storms and sea level rise. Ms. Acasio said that she would be working with the departments within the County that are already doing work on these issues to find out what they are doing and how to support that work with best practices. Member Hustace questioned whether Ms. Acasio has any ideas regarding mass transit and transportation issues from a sustainability standpoint. Ms. Acasio shared how important she thinks that including discussions about transportation be an integral part of the General Plan. Committee Member Dennis "Fresh" Onishi asked Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen to verify if Ms. Acasio meets the qualifications as set forth in the County Code. Ms. Schoen said that she believes the Mayor's Office believes that she does, which is why she is present today to answer questions and that ultimately it is up to the Council to determine if the nominee does meet the criteria within the Code. Member Onishi asked Ms. Acasio to discuss the responsibility of Banyan Drive potentially being transferred away from the State and what that looks like, especially with potential for sea -level rise and the necessity of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) being conducted in that area. Ms. Acasio said that she just read that bill and that she agrees with an EIS and large-scale scoping being conducted before additional resources and development is planned for that area. Committee Members Rebecca Villegas and Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder spoke in favor of the appointment. GOEAC Report No. 15 GOEAC-15 Page 3 February 4, 2025 Committee Chair Jenn Kagiwada asked Ms. Acasio to explain how she balances being an activist with compromising with those she needs to work with who have differences of opinion. Ms. Acasio said she had experience navigating this in the Senate with many different people who had different opinions. Chair Kagiwada brought up examples of easy wins that she hoped OSCER could support, such as holding the County accountable to host zero waste events, eliminating single -use plastics for meetings, and encouraging and increasing ridership on the free buses that we do have. Ms. Acasio was in agreement with those actionable items. Pursuant to Article 49, Section 2-271 of the Hawaii County Code, the Administrator of the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience is appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council. Your Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs is in accord with the purpose and intent of Communication No. 97, and recommends confirmation of the appointment of Laura Acasio as Administrator of the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience. sim Respectfully submitted, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL EXTERNAL HAIRS NN KAGIWADA, CHAIR GOEAC REPORT NO.: 15 ADOPTED: FEB 1 9 2025