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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2025-01-22 2024-2026 Hawaii County Council 41h Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii January 22, 2025 INVOCATION: Rabbi Levi Gerlitzky of Chabad Jewish Center of the Big Island gave the morning's invocation. CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at ORDER: 9:03 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. James E. Hustace, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member(via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent& Excused: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member PLEDGE OF The Chair directed the Council to the next order of business, Pledge of ALLEGIANCE: Allegiance. (At this time, County Clerk Jon Henricks led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.) PETITIONS, The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Petitions, MEMORIALS, Memorials, Certificates of Merit, and Expressions of Condolence. CERTIFICATES OF MERIT, AND (Note: At this time: EXPRESSIONS OF 1) Ms. Villegas presented a Certificate of Merit to Davelyn Barido for ten years CONDOLENCE: of service with Hawaii County; and 2) Mr. Inaba presented the January 2025 Haweo Award to Fire Equipment Operator Lyle Tamaribuchi of the Hawaii Fire Department.) Recess: At 9:17 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 9:20 a.m. STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Kevin Hedlund: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Going Home Hawaii) Charis Higginson: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in opposition. (representing Humanity Hale) (See Comm. 67.4) Echo Wyche: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Project Vision Hawaii) Danyelle White: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Project Vision Hawaii) Ric Parish: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), comment. (representing Men of Pa`a) Wendi Okazaki: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (See Comm. 67.6) Karen Anderson: Comm. 46, comment. (representing Puako for Reefs) David Henderson: Comm. 46, comment. (representing Puako for Reefs) Marie Addario: Comm. 46, comment. (representing Puako for Reefs) Dave Olson: Comm. 46, comment. (representing Puako for Reefs) Barbara Bell: Comm. 46, comment. (representing Puako for Reefs) Carla Silva: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Lokahi Treatment Centers and Going Home Hawaii) Page 2 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Hannah Preston-Pitz: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Big Island Substance Abuse Council) Nicodemus Mount: Res. 54-25 (Comm. 81), in support. (representing Hawaii District 4 Little League, Inc.) Shirley David: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing St. Michael's Church) Andi Pavel schat-Losalio: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Bridge House, Inc.) Brandee Menino: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Hope Services Hawaii) Paul Normann: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Neighborhood Place of Puna) Kristen Alice: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Hope Services Hawaii) Christina Whitworth: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Hope Services Hawaii) Gideon Ramos: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Hope Services Hawaii) Rick Mein: Res. 46-25 (Comm. 67), in support. (representing Hope Services Hawaii) Flaunn Jamieson: Res. 53-25 (Comm. 80), comment. (representing Kona Skatepark Association) APPROVAL The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Approval OF MINUTES: of Minutes. Chair Inaba announced that the Minutes of December 2, 2024 (2022-2024) and December 2, 2024, were approved. REPORTS: The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Reports. Page 3 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 GOEAC-1 APPOINTMENT OF COREY K. STONE AS DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION (Comm. 45): TECHNOLOGY Requires Council Confirmation by: January 31, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 1. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Corey K. Stone came forward to address the members of the Council.) Vote on GOEAC-1: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 1 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Member Kimball stated that she had some concerns with Mr. Stone's administrative experience and suggested he explore opportunities for growth in his leadership role, and encouraged the Mayor to support such training. She looks forward to supporting Mr. Stone's appointment.) GOEAC-2 APPOINTMENT OF WESLEY SEGAWA AS DIRECTOR OF (Comm. 46): ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Requires Council Confirmation by: January 31, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 2. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: I'll give you the opportunity, Mr. Segawa, if you'd like to say anything. I know you joined us via Zoom last time. So,please go ahead if you'd like to share any statements. I'll repeat that. Because you joined us via Zoom last time, please go ahead and make any statements you'd like before I open it up to the body for discussion. Page 4 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Wesley Segawa came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. SEGAWA: This is really new to me. Thanks. If you don't mind, I'd like to say a few words. Council Chairman Inaba, Council Members and fellow residents of the County of Hawaii, I wish to take this opportunity to thank Mayor Alameda and Managing Director Bill Brilhante for giving me this opportunity to serve our County of Hawaii as your Director of the Department of Environmental Management(DEM). I also wish to thank Sidney Fuke for taking the time to prepare and present testimony about my character and integrity during the Government Operations and External Affairs Committee Meeting held on January 7 h. His words of support touched me personally and it was greatly appreciated. I have been on the job for less than 50 calendar days and so far I've been able to witness the dedication, commitment, and hard work of many of our DEM employees from clerks to laborers, supervisors, managers, truck drivers, and operators. They are incredible and I applaud each of them for all they are doing to keep our department operating and responding to crisis, like the 3:00 a.m. blaze in one of our transfer station trailers at Kealakehe on January I Oh, or the power failure that almost caused a sewage spill at our Kulaimano Wastewater Treatment Plant this past Saturday afternoon; or even the truck drivers who make up to three round trips between Hilo and our Pu`uanahulu landfill in a single day hauling our garbage. Because of their dedication, hard work, and personal sacrifices that I've witnessed with a near 50 percent vacancy in my department, they are all my heroes. Our island has reached another tipping point, and I sense a positive paradigm shift about to happen within the next four years under the leadership of Mayor Alameda. If confirmed by this Council today, I pledge to do my best by applying my time, energies, knowledge, resources, and life's experiences for fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of this appointment. With that, I yield to Council Chair Inaba. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Director Segawa. Opening it up to the body at this time. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Director Segawa, for being here in person. Really appreciate you making that effort since we weren't able to see you face-to-face last time. MR. SEGAWA: Sure. Glad to be here. MS. KAGIWADA: So, you know, I absolutely have no issues with your character. Clearly you are a very, you know, stand-up guy and many people in the community have testified to that. I've met with you, and I feel you're very Page 5 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 warm and genuine. I do want to ask you a little more follow-up. I asked you a question when you were in Committee about our wastewater and going forward what we can do to help homeowners and people wanting to build on our island with wastewater issues. Have you had time to look into that and do you have any thoughts on what we can do as a county to support our residents in this way? MR. SEGAWA: Well, I'm pretty much a data-driven person. That's how I make decisions. At this moment, you know, I'm waiting for some very important reports to come forward that will help me with making some of these important decisions. Your question had to do with what we can do to support people with cesspool conversions; is that what it was? MS. KAGIWADA: Cesspool conversions or those who want to build new housing in our county and what to do around wastewater. MR. SEGAWA: Okay. I will be very frank. You know, like I said, I'm data driven. I need this report that's due probably in the third quarter of this year. That's going to give me information on what we can and cannot do, what our options are. It has to go through a governmental regulatory process. Okay. For the time being, between now and the time we get that report, and we decide what we're going to do, it's going to be, these people are going to be caught in a gap. I remember Managing Director Bill Brilhante saying that the former administration brought us up to the five yard line. I'm the new coach; we're trying to go for that touchdown. I'm waiting for the skybox to tell me what I need to do so I can decide what we are actually going to end up doing, what's that play. These guys that are in this gap are going to be pretty much spectators, the way I see it. I cannot help them at this point with their decision until we as a body decide what we can do to help them. But I think a lot of it is going to depend on what this report has to recommend to us, and it's a process that I'll be working with the Council Members on because it is a very important issue that we're facing. So, I just hope in the meantime we can build relationships with our state, who set that deadline in 25 years, and see how they can help us in this process. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you. So, in addition to, I know Mayor, you know, one of the big strengths he saw in you going for this position was overseeing some of our large projects like the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Program. In addition to that and this question around wastewater for building housing on our island and for our residents to convert from cesspools, I'm just wondering just your overall, and I appreciate that you're data driven, but putting that aside, what's your vision or what are your thoughts or concerns around our one landfill for solid waste on this island, and looking forward, what can we do to extend the life of our landfill and solve the issues around solid waste for our island? Do you have some thoughts on that? Page 6 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MR. SEGAWA: Well, the Mayor keeps telling me, Wes, we can bury, we can burn, or we can barge. That's what he keeps telling me. So, when it comes to burying, my understanding is our Pu`uanahulu landfill is about 60 percent full already. When they break it down without any unforeseen disasters, they estimate that we have probably about 15 years before we will need a new landfill if we're going to go that route. Okay. I was also told that the process will take a minimum of ten years to select another site and get to the point when we can actually start moving dirt—in this case, probably rock. But that's the information I have at this point in time. As far as the landfill, we do have a study that I'm waiting for also that's going to provide recommendations on our options in operating our solid waste system sorry if I use "wastewater"too; it's just the bill gorilla in the room but solid waste, I'm also waiting for a report on that. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. One thing I didn't hear that I would really love to hear your thoughts on is more about reducing what's going into our landfill. So, diverting, recycling, diverting not putting recyclables into our landfill. I mean, what are some of the things we can do because barging, burning, and burying should not be our only ways of looking at this. MR. SEGAWA: That's correct. Recycling, you know, right now, unfortunately, we don't have a vendor that will accept our recyclables. It's something we will be working on. At this time, I don't know what the true progress is, but it's something that has been hibernating that we've got to reactivate, wake up, and start moving forward on. I hear there are business interests out in our community that are looking at getting started with recycling and taking especially our plastics to recycle that. Hopefully things like that or opportunities come before us, and we can take advantage of them. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. You said you've been on the job for just over 50 days. MR. SEGAWA: Under. MS. KAGIWADA: For just under 50 days. You know, all the other directors, same thing. I feel like, you know, there's a lot that you could've been doing as far as learning what's going on and setting some priorities and goals for your department within this 50 days, and I have to say I'm a little bit disappointed in the answers that you're giving which are saying mostly that you don't know yet, you're waiting, and you know, 50 days is a good amount of time to really hopefully you came into this with some ideas around solid waste, wastewater issues. So, I guess I'm still looking a little bit more for the vision, the leadership, for this department as opposed to the waiting. So, I'm just going to leave at that statement right there for now and allow my colleagues to ask questions or make Page 7 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 comments. But I do appreciate your stepping up and you're obviously very much a man of character and important contributions to our community. I appreciate that so much. I yield. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Aloha, Director, Mayor. Thank you for being here today. Appreciate your time. Grateful for the residents that came from District 9 to share their thoughts on the opportunity to work with you and the department's next step forward for our coastal communities, particularly the Puako area, with the possibility of connecting with our other, you know, resort communities and kind of envisioning the future along that coastline as one of our key assets for the community. So, I'd love to hear your thoughts, Director, on the thoughts that the community had. There's really overwhelming support for you with regard to the partnership and that potential partnership there with the community that's invested time, energy and money, many years to kind of find a solution. So, I welcome your thoughts on that particular instance and that particular case for the Puako region and the opportunity to expand across the Kohala Coastline. MR. SEGAWA: Was that a question? MR. HUSTACE: Yes, sir. Just your thoughts on working with particular individual communities. MR. SEGAWA: Well, I appreciate the support I received from the Puako people that came here today. I know my office is scheduling a meeting with the former director, I guess, Barbara Bell, and it sounds like they've moved along to the point that they're ready to pull the trigger. I need to know what it is that they have in mind, get educated on that, and see how we can support them in any way because the environment out there in Puako is very important. As a youngster, we used to go to Puako every summer and basically live out there, and I've kind of hiked that whole area from Puako down to Anaeho`omalu as well as gone diving out in Mahukona. So, when people talk about how pristine it used to be, I still have memories of what it was like. So, it's something I don't want to see us lose. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you. Yeah, the County is making a substantial investment in our eastside Hilo wastewater treatment facility. So, we also have a need and an opportunity to support some of these other coastal communities on the island. And so, I look forward to working with you and our community members to really find that next path forward. You know, that hookup and that link with the Mauna Lani Resort community, it's something there. It's an asset that we can look into as a potential, but then we have to look for the next step of how do we invest in their system; is it something that we do as a municipality; is Page 8 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 it something that we invest with public dollars to improve that system, right? It's something that's not really up to code at the moment, so it's something that we're going to have to really look at, identify, assess kind of that situation. MR. SEGAWA: Right. MR. HUSTACE: The other thing, and I thank my colleague, Council Member Kagiwada, on asking about your vision for the department, for environmental management, for waste, and our waste streams. District 9, as I'm grateful for the conversation that I had with you last week with your deputy director and one of your planners as well to kind of get to know you a little bit more and really understand your thoughts and share the concerns that I have from North and South Kohala and the communities that I represent. You know, South Kohala is home to our solid waste landfill. All of our trash is hauled there on a daily basis. We're hauling sludge from the Hilo Wastewater Treatment facility to that landfill as well. So, you're right, the capacity, we can see the end date of the current site. So, the conversation about diversion is very important if we want to know the process and the timeline of establishing a new one, expanding the current one, it takes a while. So, whatever we can do to limit what's going in there should be of utmost importance. So, one of those is definitely a recycling capacity. The other, as I've discussed with you, is organics. And so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how we can move forward on removing organics from that waste stream and use it as more of a resource and a commodity for our communities and what we can do to expand that capacity on the island. MR. SEGAWA: With our organics, organics being our green waste. MR. HUSTACE: Green waste, yeah, any compostable materials. MR. SEGAWA: Yeah. Right now, a lot of our green waste gets trucked over and we have to, at this point, rely on the mulching. We have a contract with a company that mulches it. We're just looking for as many customers as we can find; we can give it away for free. That's what we're trying to do at this point in time and limit it. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Director. I mean, I think there's also an opportunity to expand our industrial composting capacity too. So, you know, I look forward to working with you in finding these solutions. We market; we sell these products that say they're compostable, but they pretty much go right in the landfill. We really need to find these better avenues and paths to limit what's going in our singular landfill, and then really find these kind of solutions. So, I do look forward to working with you in your department particularly on these issues, for my community, for the island community. But thank you for being here today and thank you for your thoughts. Page 9 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MR. SEGAWA: Thank you. And I appreciate the information and the input you're giving me. I look forward to working with all of you. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Hustace. We'll go to Council Member Villegas and then Council Member Galimba. MS. VILLEGAS: Sure. Thank you. Thank you for being here, Mr. Segawa. Being in the hot seat in person. First off, what's the name of that report that you're referring to? MR. SEGAWA: It's called the integrated wastewater management plan. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. So, this was the consultant that was brought in to create this plan based on the work of the prior DEM Director? MR. SEGAWA: Yeah. And that's because of the administrative consent decree that we all agreed to. MS. VILLEGAS: Yup. From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). MR. SEGAWA: That's correct. MS. VILLEGAS: Yes. Exactly. Okay. Thank you. I share my colleagues' concerns with burn, bury, or barge being kind of a fall back to what the options are. We're past that. We have to be past that. We're an island in the middle of the pacific that requires us to return to a circular economy and do better. I guess I'm having some concerns and a little bit of heartburn here because I really feel that we're at a tipping point about moving forward. And the responsibility of being a director is so vital that that person be a leader and be connected to and aligned with cutting edge technologies so we can skip the decades of practices that wouldn't get us anywhere, but that we can skip that and align with other municipalities that are incorporating technologies and science and environmental capacities that would help our county mitigate a lot of the challenges. I mean, I often think that it shouldn't be called the Department of Environmental Management; it should be the Department of Waste Management because it's wastewater and solid waste. Also, there were some constituents that reached out with some questions that I've been asked to present to you, and I wondered about the potential conflict of interest with your company's $4 million contract with the County. I'm not aware of it, but don't shoot the messenger. I just was asked if you could share some information about your prior contracts with the County. MR. SEGAWA: From my perspectiveI think I'm speaking personally? Page 10 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah. MR. SEGAWA: Okay. From my perspective, I don't feel like I've gotten that many contracts from the County of Hawai`i, and I've got to look at the numbers, right. But that's how I'm thinking. This contract of$4 million MS. VILLEGAS: $4 million. MR. SEGAWA: Correct. It's for that lava road project with the Department of Public Works (DPW), right? Okay. Just so you know, I have not been involved with the negotiations or even preparing our statement of qualifications to the County of Hawaii. They awarded the contract to us I think because of our qualifications. Our company does, besides engineering, which is design work, but we also do a lot of construction management work. We oversee projects with the Department of Transportation (DOT)primarily; huge projects throughout the state. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. But you do understand why I have to ask that question for potential conflict of interest or as we navigate a season; I mean, we were just talking about nepotism and whatnot yesterday with another issue here in Council. So I suppose I would ask for a little more research on that because there are some concerns. And I am not sure of the exact legality or where that line needs to be, but I think it's imperative that that be determined in order to eliminate any misperceptions about contracts, and then someone be in a position of leadership. My other question is, what is your position on public-private partnerships as we are looking at the Puako wastewater? And I've been working very closely with our prior DEM director and community groups on sewering the Kahalu`u, the mile stretch there. MR. SEGAWA: Personal, again? Is that—? MS. VILLEGAS: At this point, you, like I, it's all personal-professional in everything we're in. MR. SEGAWA: The only thing that comes to mind at this point is on private- public partnerships. They're excellent ways to move projects ahead. I can see a lot of collaboration. What I would be mostly concerned about is how the culture and the community could be impacted by decisions that are made with certain depending on the type of public-private partnerships you're talking about. You know, once you start going down that road, it becomes an enterprise, really, to become self-sustainable, and it could put burdens on a community that we may not be aware of upfront. If that's the context that you're questioning, because I might be thinking in a different Page 11 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MS. VILLEGAS: I think we're probably on different wavelengths there. But thank you for giving an answer for what it made you think of. I'm going to go ahead and yield now and thank you for your answers, and thank you for your willingness to step into this position of leadership. I truly believe that you have that heart and management and obviously the relationships with our County employees, and those departments, but I would be remised if I didn't express my concerns about the capacity and connectivity to the concepts and technologies and potential for what we need to lead our Department of Environmental Management as we continue to navigate really critical and crucial projects that are, yeah. So, I'll go ahead and hand it over to my colleagues. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. And I want to echo my colleague in thanking you for being willing to do this big job and serving the public. Definitely appreciate that. You mentioned previously that your department has a 50 percent vacancy rate. That makes it a very difficult situation to walk into. Do you have any plans or vision to how to address that vacancy rate? MR. SEGAWA: Well, we've already taken steps to move forward. First, I asked why all the vacancies, and I was told"Well, we were going through a reorg (reorganization)." And because of the uncertainty of reorganizing, a lot of the staff qualified long time either left or retired or whatever. So, I got those vacancies. That's what I was told. Okay. So, we immediately got a hold, made a decision, we're going to stick with what we have, get a hold of HR(Human Resources) and get them to start recruiting to fill these positions. Keep who we have; tell me what the issues are with our staff internally; what they need; how we can get back on track and get back on mission. So, we're reaching out through social media and other means. My understanding is there's a process in government; we need to look internally first and then externally. So, I don't know how long that process takes. But I'm in desperate need of good, qualified people that are technically competent. MS. GALIMBA: Thanks. Relatedly, you're having to step into a position where we have a lot of projects already required by the AOC (Administrative Order of Consent) with the EPA, but then there's more coming along; the Puako, potentially, Kahalu`u. So you have a lot on your plate. Do you have any thoughts about finding help on a managerial level to address that overload? MR. SEGAWA: Managerial help? MS. GALIMBA: Right. MR. SEGAWA: That would be great if I have managers with the technical competence that they need to deliver. I think having, I mean, right now we have, I think, three licensed engineers and one unlicensed engineer. We're losing one at Page 12 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 the moment. They're overloaded. I don't know how they get their work done, but I give them credit; their dedication. But management, I guess the process is that I need to go through the system as far as filling positions internally. Externally, I probably would need to look for consultants that can guide us through this entire process that I can trust, that I can validate their competence on. But that's the direction I think I'm headed at this moment. It could change but we'll see how it goes. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. This is sort of from District 6, from my district. We are the only sector of the island that doesn't have a seven-day-a-week transfer station. And so, we would really like to have one. And I know that we probably don't have the personnel at this time to do that, but I just want to put a plug in that we work on that to get that seven-day-a-week transfer station down south. Thanks. MR. SEGAWA: Thank you. MS. GALIMBA: I yield. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. Thank you for being here; appreciate it. Similar to the other comments made, you and I have a lot of mutual friends that can speak to the goodness of your heart and the public service intentions behind that. I do have a few questions. My first, and this kind of pertains to some of the questions that have been asked previously. We have over 50,000 cesspools that need to be converted on this island by 2045 per the state mandate. Who do you think is responsible for funding that conversion? Is it on the residents? Is it on the County? Is it on the state? Who do you think bears responsibility? MR. SEGAWA: Personally or ? MS. KIMBALL: In your role as director. I mean, that's going to be a decision that is going to need to be made by your department. MR. SEGAWA: I think we as government need to find ways to help our residents fund and pay for their cesspool conversions. The numbers I see are based on 2023 numbers. They're saying anywhere from $30,000 to $70,000 per cesspool conversion. I don't know who can afford that, you know, even with the cost of living increases we get on our social security checks. Government has to step in and help our residents. You know, the alternative;you own property in this county and to afford to pay this you basically gotta say, you know, do I want to stay here and have my children or grandchildren pay for this for me or do I sell my property and go find someplace to live that's more affordable and I don't have Page 13 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 to worry about this conversion. So, the way I see it, we as government have a duty to step in and find ways to help our residents, our community. That's my perspective. MS. KIMBALL: And I share your perspective on that. I think that one of the biggest challenges we face though is that, well there's two, right. We are mechanically at a point where we can't meet the deadline. We have to be converting a couple of thousands per year and we're doing about 200. So, there's really no way to hit that deadline at this point. So, what are your thoughts in terms of prioritizing and triaging where we provide that support for community members? And secondly, there are a lot of deterrents, primarily the cost, for getting folks to convert. How do we communicate the true cost to the environment and the human health and wellbeing of not converting and, you know, incentivizing people to connect to sewer when they're not used to having to pay for wastewater? MR. SEGAWA: I hope I got all your questions. MS. KIMBALL: I tried to be succinct, but you'll notice I struggle with that sometimes. MR. SEGAWA: So, your first question was how do we what? MS. KIMBALL: What are your thoughts on triaging and prioritizing because we are not mechanically going to be able to convert all 50,000 to meet the timeline? MR. SEGAWA: Okay. It's all going to fall down, like I said, this report that's coming. And if they're following what methodologies that I would expect them to follow, they would identify clusters or communities where wastewater is available, what the capacity of those treatment plants are in those communities and identify areas that can be reached to supply those wastewater treatment plants. And they have to look at factors like topography, distance, method of conveyance, all of these things that come into play and then that will help us to determine those cesspools that are kind of out of range because of the basis upon which we are coming up with our recommendations and then forming our analysis. So, there will be probably people or residents that are within these communities but slightly outside of the reach at this point. I think in the end it's going to come down to economics: What can the County afford to construct and build to take care of our wastewater needs? Same thing with our solid waste disposal. MS. KIMBALL: And to that end, as you may or may not be aware, you know, the state, certain members of the state think that we in the County need to raise property taxes in order to address all of these issues and it is our kuleana. A lot of this obviously we're going to require federal and state funding to support. What is your experience with securing funding from either state or federal entities? Page 14 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MR. SEGAWA: My experience, personal? MS. KIMBALL: Yes. MR. SEGAWA: I've had to rely on the grant writers, the people who search for these grants or opportunities for funding. I think,you know, we have to work with the Legislature. Some of these things, like you say, property tax is one source. The other is GET (General Excise Tax). I mean, we've got already a 5 percent for the Big Island. We have tourist accommodation taxes. I don't know if we have impacts or other types of user type fees that we charge; people that impact our system. But those are things that are out there that we will eventually need to look at and make some tough decisions, and I think it's going to come before this Council to get to that point and help us make those decisions together. I mean, it's tough. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. It is tough. And I would argue, you know, all those are great revenue streams, but they are not going to be nearly sufficient to address the need. Mayor Alameda, could you perhaps speak to your intentions moving forward with supporting the departments with grant writers for these sorts of efforts,particularly DEM because they're going to need to be bringing in, you know, the revolving funds from DOH (Department of Health) and federal funds from EPA. MR. ALAMEDA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. So, when I was campaigning, you know, we were asking questions about the buy-ins, give-back better, you know, build back better grants and all these grants. I mean, you know, the prior administration were telling that they got the most grants from any administration, and so I'm looking for that. You know, those grants apparently has gone to some of our departments, but I have still yet to research that. It's going to require way more than what we have now, I can tell you that. And so, you're absolutely correct that there's going to be a prioritization, you know, lower line, shoreline areas is probably going to have to be first; higher line, mauka areas is probably last. And you know, there is a prioritization already out there. But there again, we are forming a taskforce. We're going to be bringing in some experts and some folks who are connected to congress and to the feds to help us look at our island and to see, you know, the cesspool conversion. You're right. It's not just that. We don't even have engineers to put enough stamps, so it's mathematically impossible from all kinds of different angles. And so we hope with this taskforce, with some help from our federal delegation who's identified these individuals to help us, we'll have a better sense of how this can play out. I am also interested in technologies beyond the septic system that we could utilize as well. We're researching that too. And this is something that we're all going to have to work together on. So, thank you. Page 15 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. And this is a question for either of you, kind of a follow up onto that. Are you willing to consider projects where we have private contractors building us wastewater facilities that they'd then lease back to the County for operation and management? Mr. Medina can probably respond to that but, his former employer, you know, Sustainability Partners, had offered that sort of solution to us. Is that something that you guys are willing to consider as a department? MR. ALAMEDA: I think to answer your question, so that gets into union issues, yeah, when you talk about privatization and such. I think that's a discussion that we've got to have with our unions. Yeah, so I cannot comment at this time until we have that discussion. But the idea of partnering with the private sector is a good one because we're going to have to all pull together in this conversion, if you will. So yeah, I'm totally open to solutions. Whatever makes it better is something that I'm willing to look at. MS. KIMBALL: The concept would still be that civil service employees operated the facilities. We would just contract out for somebody else to build them and lease them back to us, avoiding some of those upfront capital costs. But it's a broader discussion for another day. I think that the one thing I would ask, Director, are you familiar with the Konno decision and how that impacts both our wastewater and solid waste management activities going forward? Do you have any thoughts around how we might work within that? MR. SEGAWA: The Konno decision, on the separation between the longstanding government service workers and private sector. And your question was? I am so sorry. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. I'm sorry. The acoustics are not great in here. You know, the Konno decision was a lawsuit against the County, as I'm sure you're familiar, which indicates that if there are activities that have been previously performed by civil service employees, then that has to be continued to be done by civil service employees. However, there are exemptions in the HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statutes) for experimental projects or emergency activities. Are you familiar with the lawsuit and maybe some potential ways that we can work within the confines of Konno but to expand our wastewater capacity? MR. SEGAWA: You know, I'm not familiar with all the details. I know that I have to rely on the experts in the department to advise me when I'm overstepping, you know, on that Konno decision. I think it's one I'll learn as I go along but I don't think I've gotten there yet where I've violated that. MS. KIMBALL: No, no. Of course not. One thing I would suggest is reaching out to the Director of Environmental Management in City and County of Honolulu and discuss with them how they have worked within Konno decision to expand some of their wastewater services. Page 16 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MR. SEGAWA: Oh, yeah. MS. KIMBALL: Did you have a comment on that, Mayor? MR. ALAMEDA: I was just going to respond. I mean, we did have discussions on a procurement strategy, you know, that you referred to earlier, I think that where, you know, we work with a company who kind of like treats the wastewater like a utility. So, we've had those discussions. That's an option. That's what I've been talking about as well in my campaign, that we cannot just rely on bonds; that if we look at other procurement strategies,perhaps we can get through this. So, we've had those discussions. Thank you. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. I think that it's going to be all-the-things kind of solution because there's not going to be enough revenue from one source or another. I do want to come back to some of the comments that Council Member Villegas identified. So, your company, Segawa and Associates, that is owned by you and your wife? MR. SEGAWA: Yes. MS. KIMBALL: Okay. And you currently have contracts with the County of Hawaii; your company currently has existing contracts with the County of Hawai'i? MR. SEGAWA: You know, I don't know what stage those contracts are in. I really have not been involved with day-to-day operations of the company for probably ten years. MS. KIMBALL: But you and your wife are still the managing owners of the company? MR. SEGAWA: Yeah, in that sense. But I have engineers and managers that take care of the day-to-day operations. They go forth with, you know, business development, do the performance, satisfy our contracts, close out contracts, recruit the personnel the company needs, take care of a lot of the issues. I pretty much get involved with risk management, risk mitigation issues. I spend my time doing a lot of expert witness-type work, volunteering my time for my profession at the national level. And I have some other activities I'm involved with. So, it takes up a lot of my time, that paying attention to my business I feel bad. But I haven't been paying that much attention to my business lately. MS. KIMBALL: Certainly understand. And you have tremendous qualifications, and I said you've been well spoken for by the community. I do, with the Chairman's leeway, would like to ask Finance and perhaps somebody from Page 17 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Corporation Counsel just to come forward and address the potential issue of conflict of interest here with the director having ownership in a company with contracts with the County. CHR. INABA: Sure. We're going to give a moment for them to prepare and then I'm going to look if there's any other members who have questions right now, and if not they can come forward. Alright, with that then, Council Member Kimball, you may direct your specific question to the director; or to finance director, I believe, was your concern? MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. I'd like to direct my question to the Finance Director and/or the Corporation Counsel, most appropriate deputy or assistant, to respond to any potential conflicts that may come from a sitting director having ownership in a company that has existing contracts with the County regardless of their oversight of that particular contract and thinking about what that might mean in terms of potential extensions of the contract, change orders, things of that nature. (Note: At this time, Assistant Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto and Finance Director Diane Nakagawa came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. YOSHIMOTO: Good morning, Chairman, Council Members. J Yoshimoto, Assistant Corporation Counsel. MS. NAKAGAWA: Good morning, Council Members. Diane Nakagawa, Finance. MR. YOSHIMOTO: So, Council Member Kimball, my understanding is you have a question about conflicts of interest. So, normally, our process would be we would evaluate each specific case situation. The Code does provide for, well, pretty straightforward guidelines as far as what constitutes conflict of interest and ways that that can be addressed. So, I would rather not opine today without looking into it with more detail. But generally, that's the process and we will be able to address it. MS. NAKAGAWA: As J mentioned, I would defer to Corporation Counsel for a little additional time. But I do see some of the concerns that relate to Finance if your question is around procurement and contracts and how we ensure that there are safeguards in place to have our contracts properly and openly evaluated. And we can talk a little bit more about panel members selection and limitations of those contracts when it comes to these conflict-of-interest issues. But I would like to have a little more information from Corporation Counsel and then we can have a bigger discussion about contracts. MS. KIMBALL: May I offer one quick point of clarification? Appreciate wanting to do a deeper dive before deliberating but I'm curious, do we have any Page 18 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 standard procedures? For example, in some jurisdictions, municipalities, an individual would have to, you know,push their ownership over to some other entity so that they didn't have managing interest in an entity that had contracts. We don't have anything in place like that that would be required or any standard procedures where we have a director that has relationships or contracts with the County itself. I mean, I can't imagine that this is an unusual experience. I would think that a lot of the folks that are qualified for these director positions are also folks that have potentially either current or historical relationships with the County. We don't have any standard procedures in place for that? MR. YOSHIMOTO: I can't speak to the specific procedures, but I can speak to what's in the County Code, conflicts of interest. And again, it talks about processes, procedures, what you can do, you know, and it goes through a pretty in-depth analysis as far as what needs to be done, right. So, yeah. And then of course it would be the Board Ethics that would be able to handle issues, you know, if there's something that needs to be determined because the Board of Ethics is empowered. It's the only board that has the authority to weigh in and provide opinions as far as what is okay and what is not. So again, I can't speculate, though, because we need again to look at the details of the situation and make a determination at that point. MS. KIMBALL: If I just may conclude, Chair, I'm not sure how to proceed here. I do have concerns that we don't have very, very clear answers. And let me be clear, this is to protect you and your integrity and the administration's integrity, right, and not have any appearance of, you know the optics of I scratch your back, you scratch mine, kind of thing. That's the reason I'm asking these questions. I don't know. I think this is an automatic appointment if we don't act on it today. But, Chair,please advise. I have concerns about not having a clear answer at this stage. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kimball, to be clear, your concern is that there aren't safeguards for existing contracts or for even future contracts as well? MS. KIMBALL: I'm concerned about the existing contracts. CHR. INABA: Okay. MS. KIMBALL: You know, given the particular contract, there's like huge potential for change orders and other related issues that I think bears consideration. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Can we get confirmation on the date in which we need to act on this appointment, Mr. Clerk? Page 19 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MR. HENRICKS: According to the agenda and our calendar, that would be January 31. CHR. INABA: Okay. So that does leave us in that place where inaction today would result in an automatic approval. We have experienced this before with a former director having clients come before that department. Once that person was the director, in those cases the Mayor ended up transmitting and overseeing any of the contracts required. Initially, I know, the deputy had but that wasn't very sensible since the director oversees the deputy. But I don't necessarily have concerns for the existing especially that we've discussed it now and Corporation Counsel, you know, and Finance Director can have a close eye on it. But I would recommend that the Mayor do have oversight of any of those contracts that Mr. Segawa and his company have with the County currently. So, with that, our only option today is to vote. Is there any other discussion first? Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Director Segawa, if I could ask one more kind of follow up on this issue? Thank you, Director. On this issue, are you willing to follow any recommendations by our Finance Director and our Corporation Counsel on things that you would need to do to make sure that your interest, your company's interest, are not in any conflict with the County's interest as we go forward since we're not able to say exactly what those are? I would love to hear a verbal confirmation from you that you would agree to anything that they say is necessary in order to do this to make sure that there's no conflict of interest. Are you willing to say that right now, that you're willing to do that with your company? MR. SEGAWA: Like I said, I'm data driven. You're asking me to make a decision based on what I haven't seen. I personally don't feel I have a conflict of interest. Like I said, if I am appointed to this position, I'm going to do my very best and if there is a conflict, I need to address it one way or the other with the Council and with the Mayor. Like Councilwoman Kimball says, "Hey, Wes, this is to protect you." MS. KAGIWADA: Right. So that's why I'm asking, are you willing to? MR. SEGAWA: I'm clueless when it comes to what those conditions are. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. But are you willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you don't have an existing conflict because that's what we're discussing? MR. SEGAWA: I think, obviously, I would not want to have any conflicts because of my business. Page 20 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So, you are willing to do whatever is recommended from the County as far as making sure you have no conflicts. If there are changes that need to be made as far as your position in your company, anything like that. MR. SEGAWA: I will evaluate it when I see what my conflicts are, if I have any conflicts. I'm sure they will be forthcoming with me and say, "Hey, Wes, this is a conflict" or "This is not a conflict." Then I will be given the opportunity to decide, hey, is this something I can accept or not accept. I think any reasonable person would want that chance to decide. You know, it's like asking me to sign something before I've seen what I'm signing off on. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Mayor Alameda MR. SEGAWA: I don't know how many people would do that. MS. KAGIWADA: Are you comfortable with someone who says they're not willing to say that they would do everything recommended by the County? MR. ALAMEDA: Council Member Kagiwada, if this was a court I would say, "I object,"because what you're putting our director through is nonsense. The bottom line is he said, I don't know in how much other words, that he's willing to look at the recommendations from our Corp. (Corporation) Counsel and if there's conflicts, he'll address it; if there's not conflicts, you know, there's no problem. MS. KAGIWADA: That's what I'm asking. If there are conflicts, are you willing to MR. ALAMEDA: He just said. He just said that he was willing. He has a reputation to defend, like anybody else would be willing. MS. KAGIWADA: I didn't hear a"Yes, I'm willing to do what's recommended by the County to make sure there are no conflicts." MR. ALAMEDA: I heard a yes. MS. KAGIWADA: Did you say, yes, you're willing to do what's recommended by the County to avoid any conflicts of interest? MR. SEGAWA: Do Iam I willing to? I would say yes, but it's a qualified yes. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Alright. Alright. Thank you. I mean, I came into today planning to support your confirmation. I'm feeling a little uneasy right now, I have to say, given some of your answers not maybe understanding some of the things in your department as well as, I don't know. This just seems a little bit Page 21 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 less clear than I would like it to be. And like I said, I had come into this planning to vote for your confirmation, but I'm just a little unsure right now. I'm just being honest with you, okay. MR. SEGAWA: Thank you. I appreciate your feedback. And perhaps you can help me in clarifying what you're searching for as far as a leadership, a style, or certain definitive strategies that you're looking for or knowledge. I'd appreciate that also. Thank you. MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah, yeah. I think we've talked about it quite a bit today and like I said, I just feel unsure about the answers I've heard today. I have one last question. Is it your plan to be in this position for the next four years at least? MR. SEGAWA: Definitely. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you. I yield at this time. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. You know, Members, I've known this family for a very, very long time. And I know Director Segawa would never do anything to bring down the family name, especially the father. He was the author of getting Hilo Medical Center done with the emergency room and everything. He got the funding as a State House Representative. So, they have so much backing. So, I cannot see how we're saying that if there's a conflict, he will, to me, relieve that duty or he will say there's a conflict. Because if it's within the scope of his work or the department, that would be a conflict. It's like members of this Council. We have sometimes conflicts because we have spouses or we have jobs that deal with the County, and we recuse ourselves because of that interest. So same goes for the directors and the Mayor and the Managing Director. So, I don't see all this talking about all this conflict. And if it's another department then so call within the department if they're going to determine because we all do also sign off on a disclosure. We also do that, right? And we all put in what is our interests in everything that we own, or we are participating with and so forth. So, to delay and to keep on going with this questioning I cannot understand because some—and I was going to hold back too,but like we talked about compost, okay. There is a company, Hawaii Earth Recycling; they got the contract I think back when we were on the Council in 2014 or something for a ten-year contract. And they were supposed to do not only the mulching but the composting, but they cannot get one facility yet, for I don't know what reasons. So, there is a process already going on. And this contract with them for the ten- years is going to be expiring pretty soon. So I don't know if we're going to have to renew that, and that's up to the department what they're going to do. Page 22 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Cesspool conversions. Department of Health was the ones that implemented this. They're the ones that didn't provide any funding or grant money to the residents of all the counties to help our residents and our kupunas that have their homes and they're on fixed income. We have an association called the Hawaii State Association of Counties. To me, they're supposed to be out there lobbying the legislators to get money to provide money to the Department of Health, to provide grants to our residents to convert. The other stuff about staffing. Back in 2008, 2010, the economy was going bad. A lot of the engineering firms were laying off a lot of engineers. They applied for the County because the County at Wastewater and Solid Waste had positions. But for some reason with HR, they told them they were over-qualified. When I heard that I was so outraged because I'm thinking, we're getting somebody with so much qualifications at a lower pay and we can utilize their resources. But they said they were over-qualified. So, you've got to just look back on history of what's been happening. And don't look at just today, okay. Ask questions but find out also what happened before because if you go back, then you're going to find some of your answers that we're talking to the director right now. So, I leave it with that. And I'll just say Director Segawa will do the best. He will make sure that he is not going to jeopardize himself, the Mayor, all of us, and his family. I believe in him. So, I hope we can move on and just vote on this and support him. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. I'm going to head over to Council Member Kierkiewicz in Hilo. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you very much, Chair. I completely kako`o the sentiments that were shared by Vice Chair Onishi. Director Segawa, I just want to thank you for being here today. You know, I've been listening very intently to the conversation unfold, and a lot of these questions that were asked today were also asked at Committee. You know, at that time,you didn't have too many specific answers. I think today, you definitely demonstrated a better grasp on the department, on the challenges of all that lies ahead. And you are going to be the third director that I am working with. I interned with Department of Environmental Management in the early 2000s, and I can tell you that the problems that we are facing today are the same ones that previous directors have faced. These are very complex challenges that we are asking you to solve for. And I get it, you don't have all the answers and that's okay because sometimes we don't always have the answers. But you haven't run out of the room yet. You are still willing to do this work, and I thank you. I thank you so much for stepping up. You don't seem daunted by the challenges that our County is facing. If anything you feel a bit energized to make our County proud and our community proud and to solve them. And I know that you know that Hawaii County can be a model of innovation in solving our waste issues. Page 23 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 So, I just want to thank you. And I know that Mayor Alameda has made it a point where failure is not an option. We will succeed. And so, I will be supporting your nomination today. And again, I just want to thank you for stepping up to serve in this capacity. Chair, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Quickly, if we can wrap this up. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Yes. Thank you, Vice Chair Onishi, for your reminder to look back at what's happened in the past to help us understand how to move forward. Unfortunately, in this circumstance, for myself, under the prior administration, there was a director that was brought forward, and we were told that director would recuse himself from any and all business dealings that he had done with prior clients that might be a conflict of interest. My constituency consistently struggled under that because while it may not have been illegal, it's highly ill- advised. We're operating in a time when trust in government is at such an all- time low, it's tragic. And so, I find myself really struggling with this, sir. And the contracts between—we all know government contracts are prized. It's a lot of money and it's taxpayer money. And I appreciate a construction company with the history and the legacy and the family name and the lineage, and the pride in that, and your expertise in the construction industry. My challenge comes with this position needing somebody with expertise in waste management, which is a whole realm of expertise and education and experience in working within that realm. I don't want to see history repeat itself. Unfortunately, when we start talking about septic systems and cesspools and, I get it, my brain wants to be like, "Oh well, you know, we do makai earlier and then mauka later." Well, my daughter works in coral reef restoration, and she calls kukai on that theory. Our aquafers are mauka. We just listened to testifiers talk about everything that's happening to our ocean ecosystems. To put it off, I get it. It seems insurmountable. We will have to find the funding, but we cannot pupu the need to manage this because it only becomes more expensive. What's happening in Los Angeles with the fires, our postponing taking cutting edge technological moves and investing our resources in finding solutions, especially as it relates to climate change, is only going to make it more expensive in the future. So, I apologize. Today, I won't be able to support your nomination. But in no way does it reflect my respect for you and your family's lineage and legacy in service and the construction agency and your relationships. And same with Mayor Alameda. This is a really tough position to be in, but I've never wanted this job more than I wanted to make sure I could be okay with myself and the decisions I make and the words I speak. So, my apologies but I won't be able to support your nomination today. I yield. MR. SEGAWA: I understand. You need to vote your conscience. Page 24 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Similarly, you and I had a good talk, Director Segawa. And I know you're coming into this from an absolutely good place, and there's no question about that. It's all service and you're giving. And I guess for me, if I'm going toI guess I just have to say this. I think that the hiring process here needs to widen out, to me. I think Director Segawa is kind of being put into a position that is not fair to him. So, although I have all the respect in the world for Director Segawa, I can't support him today as well because there is more to DEM than just the construction aspect of it. So, yes. Thanks. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. With that— MR. ALAMEDA: Can I share? CHR. INABA: Mayor,just real quickly please. MR. ALAMEDA: I just want to give you guys a real quick perspective. The directorship, technical knowledge we can get. Management, we cannot get. Connection to your employees, you cannot teach. Integrity is hard to find. We all have answers. All of you guys got expertise because you studied the issue, right? You know, your daughter teach you; you're a professor, you talk to the community. We all can sit up here and say what's best for environmental management; cesspool conversion, all of that. But where the County has lacked in several departments, this is one of them, is the connection to the employees. You can get the smartest guy up here, give you exactly what you want to hear, Council Member Villegas. They can just hit all your points, make you feel real comfortable, Council Member Kimball, Council Member Kagiwada; make you hit all your points, "Oh yeah, you said all the right answers." When I look for leaders, I look for integrity; I look for connection; I look for management because we can get answers. It's all over the internet. Just Google `em. What you cannot Google is this man right here, and I strongly ask you to reconsider because I'm not going to pick somebody who's going to fail. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Mayor Alameda. With that, Director Segawa, I'll be in support of your appointment today. Three things though. First, please submit a petition to the Board of Ethics for any open contract that your company has, to allow them to review. And then please also submit, whether it's in the same petition or a second petition, additional guidance for any future contracts that might affect or be related to your company. And then provide that to the Council upon conclusion of that Board of Ethics hearing. We just want to make sure that we're addressing some of the concerns of the Council. And for them to review that, you know, I think would ease some of the concerns. Page 25 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Secondly, you know, if confirmed, everyone up here has a real unique style of communication; some more direct, some more in a roundabout way. I would recommend taking some time to perhaps learn, you know, the ways in which some folks need answers. And that goes for all of the department directors to help streamline our communication. And lastly, so that we can avoid sometimes long discussions at Council, for real important and big decisions I'd recommend that you folks meet individually with Council Members to flush out any questions. I didn't have the opportunity to meet with all of the appointments today, but that would've been a wise decision for appointments to reach out. Some did; some did not. So, with that, there is a motion on the floor to close file on Communication 46 and confirm the appointment of Wesley Segawa as Director of Environmental Management. Mr. Clerk, roll call. Vote on GOEAC-2: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and Failed External Affairs Committee Report No. 2 failed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—4. Noes: Council Members Galimba, Kagiwada, Kimball, and Villegas —4. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Mr. Segawa, thank you for being here today to answer these questions. The Council has rules that allow for a holdover on decisions like this. If any member on the majority vote is to reconsider, that request can be brought back to the Council. Just wanting the public to be aware of an existing process. And Corporation Counsel or Department of Human Resources, if we can also get some information on the current status of Mr. Segawa's employment with the County should a reconsideration not be made. Yes. We're going to take a quick ten-minute recess. Recess: At 11:47 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 12:03 p.m. CHR. INABA: Calling this meeting back to order. Mr. Clerk, next order of business, please. Communication 47,please. Page 26 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 GOEAC-3 APPOINTMENT OF CLAYTON HONMA AS DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND (Comm. 47): RECREATION Requires Council Confirmation by: January 31, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 3. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Clayton Honma came forward to address the members of the Council.) Vote on GOEAC-3: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 3 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Members spoke in favor of the appointment.) GOEAC-4 APPOINTMENT OF JEFFREY W. DARROW AS DIRECTOR OF PLANNING (Comm. 48): Requires Council Confirmation by: January 31, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 4. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Jeffrey W. Darrow came forward to address the members of the Council.) Page 27 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on GOEAC-4: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 4 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Members spoke in favor of the appointment.) GOEAC-5 APPOINTMENT OF RENEE N. C. SCHOEN AS CORPORATION COUNSEL (Comm. 49): Requires Council Confirmation by: March 17, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 5. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Renee N. C. Schoen came forward to address the members of the Council.) Vote on GOEAC-5: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 5 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Member Villegas spoke in favor of the appointment.) GOEAC-6 APPOINTMENT OF WILLIAM V. BRILHANTE, JR., AS MANAGING (Comm. 50): DIRECTOR Requires Council Confirmation by: January 31, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Page 28 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 6. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee William V. Brilhante, Jr., came forward to address the members of the Council.) Vote on GOEAC-6: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 6 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Members spoke in favor of the appointment.) GOEAC-7 APPOINTMENT OF DIANE NAKAGAWA AS DIRECTOR OF FINANCE (Comm. 51): Requires Council Confirmation by: January 31, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 7. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Diane Nakagawa came forward to address the members of the Council.) Vote on GOEAC-7: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 7 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Members Kimball and Villegas spoke in favor of the appointment.) Page 29 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 GOEAC-8 APPOINTMENT OF BENSON P. MEDINA AS DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH (Comm. 52): AND DEVELOPMENT Requires Council Confirmation by: February 7, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 8. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Benson P. Medina came forward to address the members of the Council.) Vote on GOEAC-8: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 8 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Member Kagiwada spoke in favor of the appointment.) GOEAC-9 APPOINTMENT OF HUGH Y. ONO AS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS (Comm. 53): Requires Council Confirmation by: February 14, 2025 (Section 13-8, Hawaii County Charter) Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 9. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. (Note: At this time, Mayor Kimo C. Alameda and nominee Hugh Y. Ono came forward to address the members of the Council.) Page 30 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on GOEAC-9: The motion to adopt Governmental Operations and (Adopted) External Affairs Committee Report No. 9 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Council Members Kimball and Villegas spoke in favor of the appointment.) CHR. INABA: Before we take a short recess for lunch, Council Member Galimba. Motion to Reconsider: Ms. Galimba moved to reconsider the vote taken on Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 2. Seconded by Mr. Onishi. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba, go ahead. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. There are some technical considerations around it that make it pretty difficult to do this. However, I think it's perhaps best if we could postpone it at this time and work those out. CHR. INABA: Okay. So, the motion right now is whether to reconsider the vote. I just want to make sure everyone is clear on that. So, voting in favor of the current motion would bring Communication 46 back to the floor previous to the vote that was taken on it. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah. I just need clarity on the statement that we may be voting on this and then postponing. I just want to understand the process. CHR. INABA: Sure. So, the motion before us right now would allow us to bring back Communication 46 and discuss it. I don't know that Council Member Galimba is ready to revote on it today, so we would postpone, and a special meeting of the Council would need to be held next week sometime. And we'd have to discuss that once we have that motion on the floor. MS. KAGIWADA: I see. So, something as long as it's before January 31st CHR. INABA: Yes. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. That's what I wanted to know. Thank you. Page 31 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 CHR. INABA: So, again, motion is for reconsideration. All those in favor of reconsidering the vote on Communication 46, please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to reconsider the vote taken on Governmental Reconsider: Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 2. (Approved) was carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: Council Member Villegas — 1. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Thank you. With that, assuming everyone is holding to the previous vote if we were to revote on it today, we would need to schedule a special meeting sometime next week and it would be smart to select that and make sure that members are able to attend and vote on this matter. So, perhaps we check in if—Mr. Clerk, I guess we need to decide the date first before we can get a motion. Is that correct? MR. HENRICKS: Yes, it would be wise to select a date of a special meeting. Confirming people are available, of course, is essential to that. Might I recommend the 30'h of January as a starting point for discussion? We will need time to post notice of this special meeting per Sunshine Law. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Checking if members would be available for a special meeting on January 30''. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair Inaba, I am unavailable. CHR. INABA: Okay, checking in on Friday. Council Member Kierkiewicz, are you available on Friday? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes. I am available on January 31st CHR. INABA: Thank you. Members here in Kona? MS. KIMBALL: Morning, yes. CHR. INABA: Morning. Yes. Alright. So, with that, Mr. Clerk, do you MR. HENRICKS: Can we just confirm with Corporation Counsel that the 31" is a date, you know, it's not—the window closes on the 31`—it's still an open window to consider this. That is the final day. I just want to make sure that— Page 32 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 CHR. INABA: Alright. We'll have Assistant Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto, if you can just weigh in and confirm that the Council does have the ability to take up this matter on the 31 st (Note: At this time, Assistant Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yes. CHR. INABA: Thank you very much. With that, then, if there's a motion to postpone? Vote on Motion to Ms. Kimball moved to postpone Governmental Operations Postpone: and External Affairs Committee Report No. 2 to (Approved) January 31, 2025. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Thank you. We will post accordingly for our special meeting to be held on January 31". And Members, please attend at the chamber nearest to you. Council Member Villegas, questions? MS. VILLEGAS: That was going to be my question, if we can attend from either chambers because of CHR. INABA: Yes. We will notice it as such. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. And you'll be letting us know what's the timeframe? CHR. INABA: Yes. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. With that, we're going to take a 15-minute recess for the Council to reset. Thank you. Recess: At 1:40 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 1:59 p.m. Page 33 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 CHR. INABA: Order of Resolutions, from the top. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of RESOLUTIONS: Resolutions. Res. 30-25: AUTHORIZES THE ACCEPTANCE OF A GRANT AWARD OF $23,750 FROM THE URBAN SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR'S NETWORK TO THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE, EQUITY AND RESILIENCE Funds would be used to conduct a pilot project to train county staff and partner community-based organizations in participatory storytelling in relationship to place and what sustainability and climate action means to our community. Reference: Comm. 28 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-1 Vote on Res. 30-25: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 30-25 and Finance (Adopted) Committee Report No. 1. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 31-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, PURSUANT TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7 Allows for the receipt of$135,000 to assist coffee farmers by offsetting the cost of the insecticide used to control the Coffee Berry Borer and/or approved fungicides to control Coffee Leaf Rust. Reference: Comm. 29 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-2 Page 34 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on Res. 31-25: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 31-25 and Finance (Adopted) Committee Report No. 2. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 32-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, HAWAI`I CRIMINAL JUSTICE DATA CENTER, PURSUANT TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE HAWAI`I COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT Allows for the receipt of$318,240 of federally-derived funds to enhance the department's Records Section to improve accuracy, quality, timeliness, immediate accessibility, and integration of national systems of criminal history and related records. Reference: Comm. 30 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-3 Vote on Res. 32-25: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 32-25 and Finance (Adopted) Committee Report No. 3. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Page 35 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Res. 33-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES ARMY GARRISON POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES, PURSUANT TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, TO SUPPORT FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS Seeks to establish a framework for shared resources, response capabilities, and training opportunities to enhance public safety and mitigate risks across military and civilian jurisdictions. Reference: Comm. 41 Intr. by: Council Member Kagiwada(B/R) Approve: GOEAC-10 Vote on Res. 33-25: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 33-25 and Governmental (Adopted) Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 10. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 42-25: URGES THE STATE OF HAWAI`I TO IMPLEMENT A UNIVERSAL FREE SCHOOL MEALS PROGRAM THAT PROMOTES NUTRITIONAL EQUITY, SUPPORTS LOCAL AGRICULTURE, AND ENHANCES STUDENT SUCCESS Requests the State of Hawaii incorporate local and regional food procurement strategies to develop a program to prioritize Hawaii-grown and Hawaii-made products to strengthen local food systems and support food sustainability goals essential for academic success and personal well-being. Reference: Comm. 61 Intr. by: Council Member Kierkiewicz Approve: GOEAC-11 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Res. 42-25 and Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 11. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Just looking for everyone's continued support. You know, this request would only take up one percent of the Department of Education's budget. And it would be a tremendous investment in ensuring that our children are nourished throughout the day so that they can focus Page 36 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 on learning and growing and contributing. And with this resolution we are also calling for these meals to be sourced locally, which would also be a win for our economy and local agricultural system. So, looking for everyone's support. Thank you. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 42-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 42-25: The motion to adopt Res. 42-25 and Governmental (Adopted) Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 11 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 43-25: AUTHORIZES A GRANT OF EASEMENT FOR UTILITY PURPOSES TO HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY, INC., OVER TAX MAP KEY: 6-8-041:023 (POR.) Allows for a grant of easement from the County of Hawaii to provide electrical service to the new Keolalani at Waikoloa subdivision in South Kohala and allow for the installation of vacuum switch equipment, with an independent appraisal valued at$590. Reference: Comm. 64 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-1 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 43-25 and Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 1. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Any discussion? Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: We have Property Manager Hamana Ventura here to answer any questions, but it should be fairly straightforward in the resolution of what's necessary. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? Alright. Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 43-25, please say "aye." Page 37 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on Res. 43-25: The motion to adopt Res. 43-25 and Legislative Approvals (Adopted) and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 1 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 45-25: APPROVES THE AWARD OF FUNDS TO ROOTS ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Provides $50,000 of grant funds for the Roots Skate Park Phase three project at Kamehameha Park in North Kohala. Reference: Comm. 66 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-4 Vote on Res. 45-25: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 45-25 and Finance (Adopted) Committee Report No. 4. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 46-25: APPROVES THE AWARD OF FUNDS TO VARIOUS NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR PROGRAMS ADDRESSING HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS BY THE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Proposes 15 grant awards to 9 different nonprofit organizations for a total of $10,500,000 in funding that was derived from Residential Tier Two property tax revenues. Reference: Comm. 67 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-5 (Note: Comm. 67.2, from Housing Administrator Kehaulani Costa dated January 15, 2024, transmitting information regarding Res. 46-25, was circulated.) Page 38 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 46-25 and Finance Committee Report No. 5. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: We'll start with Council Member Kagiwada and then head over to Council Member Kimball. MS. KAGIWADA: She can go ahead. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I understand that there's some matters to be yet resolved with this, so I'm going to be making a motion to postpone to that special meeting that we're going to have on January 31 st Motion to Postpone: Ms. Kimball moved to postpone Res. 46-25 to January 31, 2025. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. INABA: Discussion? Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. I think we need more information about this. It sounds like there's been discussions not on the dais about issues to be dealt with, and I think we need to have them in public. So, could somebody please talk about what they think the outstanding issues are and why postponing until the 3 1"needs to happen? CHR. INABA: Sure, we'll call Administrator(Kehaulani) Costa from the Office of Housing and Community Development(OHCD) and our Assistant Administrator Keiko Mercado, if you could provide some insight here? (Note: At this time, Housing Administrator Kehaulani Costa and Assistant Housing Administrator Keiko Mercado came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. COSTA: Good afternoon. I know there are some questions about the process that we followed. The process that we have followed in the RFP (Request for Proposal), we go into contract negotiations after the award of funds. There is some question about whether or not we should be doing that prior to coming to the Committee and the Council. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. When that happens, do you anticipate any large changes? MS. COSTA: Not large. Maybe some clarity around program expenses as it relates to the program. Not significant. The awards would not be increased; they Page 39 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 would be decreased if anything. But the budgets that you all have are proposed budgets and not the final budget based on our staff's work. After the award is made to finalize those budgets and issue those contracts. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Is this how it has been done in the past? MS. COSTA: Yes. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. And we're just finding out now that maybe this wasn't the way to do it? MS. COSTA: New information. Yes. MS. KAGIWADA: New information. Great. Can any of you, and thank you for being here also, Ms. Mercado, talk about what some of the concerns might be in postponing? MS. COSTA: We have a number of programs that are currently under contract in Year Two of this fund, some of our emergency shelters. There are 11 programs that would be re-awarded funds for programs. We have extended—we are already in a little bit of an extension. Those contracts end January 31". There is concern that some of those programs would then have to not serve those services would be stopped or impacted until we get the awards and contracts out to those providers. MS. KAGIWADA: And staffing for these programs could be laid off, furloughed? MS. COSTA: Yes. MS. KAGIWADA: And do we have any knowledge that all 11 of those programs could financially basically float the County? MS. COSTA: I do not have that knowledge. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Alright. So, my concern is that this is a potential big loss for our communities if we have loss in service, laying off and furloughing staff potentially with what I think is kind of manini gains. I do understand that we probably need to get back on this track. But knowing that none of the contracts would be increased, they would only be decreased in this case, and that they would be for kind of more manini technical reasons like if something was looked at and it's like, is that really an administrative expense, and then checking to see if it needs to be moved to the administrative pot. And if there's enough money there, and if potentially not, reducing that contract in that small amount. Is that correct? MS. COSTA: Correct. Page 40 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MS. KAGIWADA: I guess I would prefer not to postpone our vote in order to get these contracts out, and to make sure that we do it correctly going forward. But because none of them can be increased but only decreased and the potential harm to our communities, I would prefer not to postpone. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Council Member Villegas, on the postponement. MS. VILLEGAS: Yup. To clarify, in my perception, this postponement is being asked for related to serious accusations made today by a testifier relating to misconduct, potential theft, and exclusions of certain service providers as it relates to the allocation of the funds. I've spoken out quite vociferously about my belief that there's a monopolizing of the majority of the funding to certain organizations. I have talked to a number of small organizations that provide homeless services that they feel that they've been blackballed and excluded. They're newer and often more dynamic and sometimes even more effective homeless service providers, and they're not getting an equitable access to funding. While mimicry may be the highest form of flattery, denying funding for programs crafted by newer homeless service providers, to then copy such program plans and then get them funded while may not be illegal, it remains ill-advised and unethical. I believe that we need to provide a diversity of services to the diverse needs of our unhoused demands and that we break up the monopoly of funding allocation and, to put it simply, share. The lion share of the funding for our homeless service providers gets allocated to the east side of this island and District 7 suffers. I support this fund. I want to be completely transparent there. I support the allocation of these resources, and I believe it is to the benefit of our broader community to continue allocating resources to the fund. However, I do not believe that our current patterns, and you guys are inheriting the system because we just had an administration change, but that our current patterns and prior patterns of bulk allocations to organizations and programs is still the best course of action for our County. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things and expect different outcomes. I would love to see the allocations and awards brought to us on separate resolutions. I don't like being put in a position where now we're postponing something potentially, and it would have adverse effects on organizations that are not and have not been called out by different people and members of the community. We have very different populations and very different demographics for our unhoused between East and West Hawaii. District 7 suffers more extremely from an inflow from people coming straight off the airport. All you have to do is drive through Kona and see people with their suitcases. Community policing would tell the same. And on the east side it is more of our kama`aina `ohana, families. So, I would like to see this be taken into account. Page 41 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 And while I concur and it does concern me for projects and programs that would have a pause in funding, I've witnessed in my district specifically and with an organization who has consistently applied for funding, be given none and have constant complications. And now all the organizations that rely on her organization in order to help these people go home, have no funding and can't continue to do the work. So, I'm in full support. Although it will have some repercussions, and my apologies to the organizations that that will affect, but until we stop this and we revamp the system and we more equitably distribute resources, we're just perpetuating the system that's really not working. And this is a lot of money and a lot of good can be done. So, I just thank you for your gracious understanding, and I humbly acknowledge and appreciate your work and having stepped right into this landmine, for lack of a better way. And I want to encourage those that work in homeless service provider capacities to step up, to speak up, to lean in. I hear lots of conversations on the backside about inequity and about potential collusion, and I'm asking for you to step up and speak up so that this can be brought to an end, and we can move forward with more appropriate and pono allocation of resources. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Any further discussion? Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. I'm sorry. I was not aware that that's what we were going to be pausing on this for and putting it on the 31". I don't see how those issues can be dealt with by the 31"of this month. I thought the issues had to do with the contracts and the administrative costs. So if those are the issues that you think that we need to pause on, I would advocate saying that we need to, you know, look at the next round of funding for those issues. I don't think at this point the issues that were brought up today are issues that we could or should deal with in this round of funding. But I do want to ask the staff here from OHCD on that particular issue because my understanding was the person issuing the complaint saying that she did not get her fair share of funding has not applied for funding in the last two rounds. Is that correct? MS. COSTA: That's correct. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So, I don't know how she could've got funding CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada, we're just on the postponement and it's not directly related to any specific application. We're taking a thorough review of all proposed recommendations that were brought forth by the Office of Housing. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So, my question, I guess, to the people on the dais here is, are those questions the things that we can work out by the 3 1"or are these things—in that case, I would even more strongly say let's not postpone if we Page 42 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 cannot work them out, if there are large-item things that are to be addressed. If there are, you know, some of these smaller administrative things, I still prefer that we do not postpone, but I can see maybe a possibility for that. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. So I just want to clarify. So, at the Committee meeting I mentioned about how these nonprofits have to start, I guess, finding other resources because, you know, like I wanted to kind of spread it to other areas, right. But now you're saying that if we don't pass this today and it passes January 31", a lot of these nonprofits who are getting these fundings are going to have to shut down. So now my question to you, Housing, is that—okay, so if we don't renew this program that we have for five years and we stop it, that means these nonprofits are going to get dissolved? MS. COSTA: Some of these programs are highly funded by this grant. MR. ONISHL So that puts pressure on us to make sure that we have to continue funding these funds to help them. But then now, it's harder for us to get other nonprofits awarded with this money that we take from the taxpayers, right. And so, that's where I have a hard time in like supporting this resolution, right. So, I guess for Housing, you folks have got to start thinking others, or when you folks get these nonprofits to participate in this program,they have to understand that it's not guaranteed that every year you're going to get this for lifetime. Right? Sooner or later they're going to have to start standing on their own feet. It's like, for example, when we do affordable housing or low-income housing, right. You're trying to help them build up and get them into a good situation where they can afford to move onto abetter house, right, and that's our job. So, I'm hoping that that can happen and, you know, depending on how the members vote on the postponement or if I hear more like, I guess, comments of why we should postpone, then I might support that. But thank you. CHR. INABA: Any further discussion on the postponement? Okay. One of the not benefits of chairing is not being able to explain first. So, as you folks know, in the previous term I worked with Finance to oversee the Waiwai Program, and there's just some concern right now that we need a little bit more information. There's some concern over some expenses in the proposed budgets that are provided in Communication 67.2 that Housing provided us today. We don't want services to end; that's why we are postponing to next Friday. In the interim, Housing will also be working to prepare the contracts so that should, you know, the Council pass it next Friday, they're ready to execute and funding can continue, and services can continue. So, I don't believe the expenses provided right now are in line with public purpose and our Code, Section 2-137 through 139 of the Code. So, I ask for your support in this postponement. And between Corporation Counsel, Finance Page 43 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Department, OHCD, and myself, making sure we bring back something to the body next week Friday and ready to vote and continue these services. With that, I've spoken on this matter now, so I'm going to ask for a roll call vote on the postponement to January 3 1"for Resolution 46-25. Vote on Motion to The motion to postpone Res. 46-25 to January 31, 2025, Postpone: was carried by the following roll call vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—6. Noes: Council Members Hustace and Kagiwada—2. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. (Note: Ms. Hustace voted "kanalua"then "no.") CHR. INABA: Thank you, Administrator. We'll work together in the next week. MS. COSTA: Thank you. CHR. INABA: Moving on to Resolution 47-25. Res. 47-25: APPROVES THE AWARD OF FUNDS TO VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS FOR PROGRAMS ADDRESSING AFFORDABLE HOUSING BY THE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Allows for grant awards to Hale Ola O Mohouli LLLP ($3,200,000) and Kuakini Family I LP ($5,000,000) for the development of affordable rental units and $5,075,000 to be retained by the Office of Housing and Community Development for the development of 25 single-family dwellings for workforce housing ($4,200,000) and to provide financial assistance to 17 low-income homeowners to conduct essential repair work($875,000). Reference: Comm. 68 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-6 Vote on Res. 47-25: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 47-25 and Finance (Adopted) Committee Report No. 6. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Page 44 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Res. 48-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, HIGHWAY SAFETY OFFICE, PURSUANT TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE HAWAI`I POLICE DEPARTMENT Allows for the receipt of$41,792 of federally-derived funds to conduct community engagement and enforcement activities related to pedestrian safety. Reference: Comm. 69 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-7 Vote on Res. 48-25: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 48-25 and Finance (Adopted) Committee Report No. 7. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 49-25: AUTHORIZES THE CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT OF SCHLACK ITO, A LIMITED LIABILITY LAW COMPANY, AS SPECIAL COUNSEL TO CONTINUE TO REPRESENT THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I IN HUI MALAMA HONOKOHAU VERSUS COUNTY OF HAWAI`I, CIVIL NO. 1:23-CV-00393 Extends the retention of Special Counsel Services with additional compensation of $300,000 and total compensation not to exceed $500,000. Reference: Comm. 71 Intr. by: Council Member Kagiwada(B/R) Approve: GOEAC-12 Note: Requires 2/3 vote of the entire membership, pursuant to Section 6-5.5, Hawaii County Charter Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 49-25 and Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 12. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: We have Deputy Corporation Counsel here if there's any questions on this matter? (Note: At this time, Deputy Corporation Counsel Section Chief Lerisa Heroldt came forward to address the members of the Council.) Page 45 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 MS. HEROLDT: Yes, good afternoon. Lerisa Heroldt, Deputy Corporation Counsel Litigation Section Chief. I have nothing really further to add other than what's in the resolution and the materials presented to you. But I'm available to answer any questions you may have. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Deputy. Seeing no further discussionoh, sorry. Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL I just thought you was going to give us good news. MS. HEROLDT: I would like to be here in just a couple weeks giving you really good news. MR. ONISHI: Thank you. CHR. INABA: Wonderful. Thank you again, Deputy. All those in favor of adopting Resolution 49-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 49-25: The motion to adopt Res. 49-25 and Governmental (Adopted) Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 12 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 52-25: ACCEPTS THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 2024 HAWAI`I COUNTY SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT YOUTH CONGRESS ON THE 2030 SUSTAINABILITY GOALS FOR THE STATE OF HAWAI`I Accepts findings and recommendations that focus on natural resource management, smart sustainable communities, solid waste reduction, clean energy transformation, local food and green workforce, and education. Reference: Comm. 79 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball Waived: GOEAC (Note: Comm. 79.1, from Council Member Jenn Kagiwada dated January 16, 2025, transmitting a letter in support in regard to Res. 52-25, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 52-25. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. Page 46 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yes, thank you. It's my privilege to present to you a resolution that was created by the Youth Congress that was held as part of the Sustainability Summit Activities in May of last year. This was an opportunity for 80 middle school students from across the County, and actually we have a few members from outside of the County from Maui and Honolulu, participate in a model United Nations-like format to deliberate around recommendations to provide to us on the Council as well as to our state and federal delegations around the six 2030 sustainability goals that have been adopted by the state. So the resolution created entirely by the students is presented here as part of—as an attachment to this resolution. We wanted to move this forward to Council today so that it could be presented to the State Legislature as they begin their deliberations on state bills. I just want to mahalo again all of the students that participated, the teachers and support that made it possible to organize this for them. It's something I think we learned a lot from and I hope to see expanded to increase both knowledge around the 2030 sustainability goals, but also civic engagement in our youth and understanding about how the process—as I said earlier, understanding process is power. So, the more we can get them to participate in these types of activities the greater influence our youth will have on the activities of our Council and the state. So, I ask for my colleagues' support and happy to answer any questions about the resolution that was created or the process itself. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Council Member Kimball, for, you know, really being the creator of this great opportunity for the youth on our council—eight graders who did an amazing job. I just want to call your attention to Communication 79.1, which is a letter of support from our own County Youth Commission supporting this resolution. Members of our Youth Commission were also invited to take part in the event as kind of youth leaders and helped with many of the areas that were discussed. So, they were very happy to support. You may notice that they have a little caveat on their support,just that they felt they weren't able to confirm all the factual information in some of the "WHEREAS" clauses, but they definitely support all the `BE IT RESOLVED" clauses. They're just very meticulous and take their position very seriously, so they wanted to make sure that you knew that they couldn't personally confirm all those, but they actually support this. So, thank you. And thank you again to Council Member Kimball and all the youth who participated. I yield. Page 47 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, Council Member Kagiwada, thank you for your continued work with our Youth Commission and making sure that they're aware and participating in this process. All those in favor of adopting Resolution 52-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 52-25: The motion to adopt Res. 52-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Res. 53-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE KONA SKATEPARK ASSOCIATION FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE KONA SKATEPARK Transfers $20,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 8); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 80 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 53-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Quickly,just want to ask for your support. Council Member Villegas and I are going in with both of our CRFs (Contingency Relief Funds) to support this project that will provide a park opportunity and resource for both of our districts, and Council Member Galimba's as well. So with that, all those in favor of approving Resolution 53-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 53-25: The motion to adopt Res. 53-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Page 48 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Res. 54-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HAWAI`I DISTRICT 4 LITTLE LEAGUE, INC., TO PURCHASE A PORTABLE PITCHING MOUND FOR LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL GAMES IN WEST HAWAI`I Transfers $10,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 7); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 81 Intr. by: Council Member Villegas Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 54-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Just a quick shout out and thank you to Nicodemus Mount and his continued dedication to all forms of baseball from little league up, and his identification of a solution, which I really appreciate in this portable mound. I also want to thank Council Members Inaba and Galimba for their support as well with some contingency. So, we're moving forward with this, very exciting, and this mount will be able to serve kids and games throughout the island. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Seeing no further lights on, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 54-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 54-25: The motion to adopt Res. 54-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Page 49 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Res. 55-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE LIONS CLUB OF KONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC. TO ASSIST THE KONAWAENA HIGH SCHOOL LEO CLUB WITH EXPENSES FOR ITS EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH EFFORTS Transfers $10,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 7); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Agriculture Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 82 Intr. by: Council Member Villegas Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 55-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Just want to express my gratitude for the Leo's Club and the students at Konawaena High School who are starting early, who are utilizing sweat equity and opportunities to educate our community about the need for healthy soils, for covering our soils, for carbon sequestration for planting native species and for stepping away from herbicide and pesticide uses. Just ask for everyone's support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of adopting Resolution 55-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 55-25: The motion to adopt Res. 55-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Page 50 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Res. 56-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE EAST HAWAI`I CULTURAL COUNCIL TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES RELATING TO ITS 5TH ANNUAL YOUTH ART MONTH FESTIVAL Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 2); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 83 Intr. by: Council Member Kagiwada Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to adopt Res. 56-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. I just wanted to give a shout out to the East Hawaii Cultural Center for continuing to focus on the youth of our community and give them opportunities to express themselves through many forms of art. There will be a free public event in Kalakaua Park on March 8 h, and you're all invited. There will be performances and art and demonstrations, activities for all. So, would love to have you there and keep this very important program that services youth from various parts of the island, not just my district. But would love to have you attend. You're all invited and looking for your support. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. All those in favor of adopting Resolution 56-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 56-25: The motion to adopt Res. 56-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Bills for ORDINANCES Ordinances (First Reading). (FIRST READING): Page 51 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Bill 1: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025 Appropriates revenues in the Fund Balance from Prior Year account($1,000,000); and appropriates the same to the Transfer to Capital Project Fund account. Funds would be used for the Waiakea Stream Mitigation project. Reference: Comm. 20 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Waived: FC Postponed: December 18, 2024, and January 8, 2025 (Note: There is a motion by Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Council Member Galimba, to pass Bill 1 on first reading.) CHR. INABA: Thank you. We have members from the Department of Public Works—Business Manager Kelsey Kalua-Lewis and Deputy Managing Director Neil Azevedo—here in Kona Chambers. If you folks would like to tee off the discussion. (Note: At this time, Business Manager Kelsey Kalua-Lewis, Public Works Department, came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Aloha. Kelsey Kalua-Lewis, Business Manager, Public Works. Just kind of wanted to get the discussion started with our Engineering Division providing a little background on what happened up in the area. You guys were all provided a handout. So, if I can invite the Deputy Engineering Chief up here and she can kind of walk you guys through it. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Ms. Kalua-Lewis. And just wanting to confirm with Corporation Counsel that this meeting is in open session and we're okay to proceed. (Note: At this time, Assistant Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. YOSHIMOTO: J Yoshimoto, Assistant Corporation Counsel. Chair, so yes for now, depending upon, you know, where the conversation goes. My understanding is the department will present what happened, and then if the need arises to go into Executive Session, then we'll make that request. CHR. INABA: Thank you very much, Assistant Corporation Counsel. With that, please proceed. MR. HENRICKS: Before we begin, I'm so sorry, can we confirm that these materials have been provided to Council Member Kierkiewicz. Page 52 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz, do you have a presentation there in Hilo Chambers? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I do. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. MR. HENRICKS: Thank you. (Note: At this time, Engineering Deputy Chief Melanie DeMello, Public Works Department, came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. DEMELLO: Good afternoon, Council. Melanie DeMello, Deputy Chief for Engineering Division. So, the handout that we provided is an overview of a portion of the Waiakea Stream in question. Our office received a complaint that got investigated regarding work done in this area. The first photo showing the overview of the subject area shows you kind of the limits of disturbance going between Kupulau Road, which is off to the left on the upstream side and Kawailani Street, which is on the makai end of this particular portion of the stream. So, you can see in red the area of the complaint that we received and we subsequently investigated. The next slide was intended to be a video, but for these purposes it shows you a snapshot of the investigation that was performed and kind of gives you an idea of the disturbance limits and excavation limits. This particular video clip is shown near the complainant property noted on the first sheet, and looking downstream. The second photo shows you an overview looking, from the other end, looking from downstream and looking up mauka, so you can kind of see the limits of work that was performed. Just to back up, the complaint was related to excavation in private property, and that was the reason for the investigation. The next couple photos also show you more detail as far as the work that took place. The panoramic photo that you can see is from the complainant's property looking mauka towards Kupulau Road and then makai towards Kawailani Street. And then lastly, more photos near the complainant's property. So, the reason of those photos was just to give you an idea of what we saw when we went out and investigated. It confirmed that there was excavation into the complainant property, which is kind of shown in the survey on the second to the last page. That shows a survey that we performed that's part of the investigation. The outline in green is the property line. And the complainant property is in that photo. So, the result of this for Engineering Division, we—the reason for the funding request today is to kind of provide a remedy to this situation. What we're looking for is addressing the complaint area. There was work done within that property, Page 53 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 so we're looking to rectify and stabilize that area where there was excavation done there by putting back with a retaining wall and stabilizing. We are also looking at procuring a consultant to perform a full study of the area, which you can see in that last slide. It kind of gives you an idea of the extent that they're looking to study, survey, and perform any—give us an idea of any permits and remediation measures that are necessary as a result of the work. So, that is what the result of our investigation is and the reason for the funding request that's before you today. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: And now that Melanie has kind of explained to you the background of this situation and what happened up there,just to let you guys know, some of the actions that we have done since our last Council Meeting where we asked to postpone, we got togetherAdministration, Highways, and Engineering—and we discussed. We looked at what happened and how this could be prevented in the future. We came up with some good plans on how to prevent this from going forward. Also, as far as work, you know, we are asking to pull the $1 million from the fund balance, but we have sent notices to tender a claim for insurance and then also notice for substantial breach of contract. We kindly request that if you want us to provide more details on that, that we go to Executive Session. CHR. INABA: Thank you very much. Can you just, before we open it up for discussion, let us know the amount for the, you know, to address what happened versus the general consultation study? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: So the way we estimated it, it's about$200,000 to repair the retaining wall along the private property, $200,000 for land acquisition to purchase some easements that we need to acquire to complete the work, and about a little under $600,000 for the consulting to do their study. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Opening it up for discussion by members. Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL How much was for the consulting? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: It's a little less than $600,000. MR. ONISHL $800,000? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: $600,000. Sorry. MR. ONISHL Okay. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: We do realize, and we've had this discussion with our Finance Director as well, that it seems, when you hear the price, it seems a little Page 54 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 high for a consultant. With our engineers who did a professional services, right now they don't see any, I guess they're not overcharging us. Maybe Melanie can explain better. MS. DEMELLO: Yeah. I will say we do realize the cost seems high, but we do have a number of consultant contracts that they spend those numbers. And what we've seen with other design contracts, other studies, that is an appropriate cost based on what we've seen with other contracts as well. We don't think it's out of the ordinary per se. MR. ONISHL And this was done—hired by a private contractor that did all this dredging? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: The work was completed via a price term agreement for one of our divisions. MR. ONISHL What division? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: The Highway Division. So it was initially a price term. MR. ONISHL I thought it was private. Okay. Got it. Okay, well I guess we've got to do something. Okay. Thank you. MS. KAGIWADA: Chair? CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. I have questions. I just checked with Assistant Corporation Counsel that I would like to ask in Executive Session. CHR. INABA: Alright. Go ahead and make the motion. Vote on Motion to Ms. Kagiwada moved to enter into Executive Session in Enter into order to hold attorney-client privilege discussion regarding Executive Session: Bill 1, as authorized by Section 92-5(a)(4) of the Hawaii (Approved) Revised Statutes. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: We will be going into Executive Session at this time. Thank you. Page 55 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Recess: At 2:50 p.m., the Chair called for a recess in order to clear the room. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 3:43 p.m. CHR. INABA: We're on Bill 1 and I'm going to call on Council Member Kagiwada, if you can just give a brief summary of the discussion. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you very much. We just wanted to let you know that we discussed this matter with the department and our Corporation Counsel. We got our questions answered, and we will continue on from here. So, thank you very much for the time. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. With that, is there any further discussion on Bill 1? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting Bill 1 at first reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 1: The motion to pass Bill 1 on first reading was carried by (Approved) the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Sorry. Mr. Clerk, can we go out of order? MR. HENRICKS: Sure. CHR. INABA: Bill14. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the of Business: following item was taken out of order: Page 56 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Bill 14: 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 —Housing Trust Fund Grant account ($137,592); and appropriates the same to the Housing Trust Fund Projects account ($130,351) and Housing Trust Fund Administration account($7,241), for a total appropriation of$2,987,592. Funds would be used to produce affordable housing through the acquisition, new construction, reconstruction, and/or rehabilitation of non-luxury housing with suitable amenities. Reference: Comm. 70 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-16 Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 14 on first reading and adopt Finance Committee Report No. 16. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: I want to mahalo our Office of Housing and Community Development for sticking through. Is there any further discussion on this bill, or did you folks want to make any statement? Alright. If not, thank you again for being here. All those in favor of approving Bill 14 at first reading,please say Ic aye. Vote on Bill 14: The motion to pass Bill 14 on first reading and adopt (Approved) Finance Committee Report No. 16 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Back to Bill 2,please. Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: Page 57 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Bill 2: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-33, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2024 TO JUNE 30, 2025 Adds the Public Works Waiakea Stream Mitigation project($1 million)to the Capital Budget. Funds for this project shall be provided from General Obligation Bonds, Capital Projects Fund—Fund Balance and/or other Sources. Reference: Comm. 21 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Waived: FC Postponed: December 18, 2024, and January 8, 2025 Note: Requires 2/3 vote of the entire membership to amend, pursuant to Section 10-6(e), Hawaii County Charter (Note: There is a motion by Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, seconded by Council Member Kimball, to pass Bill 2 on first reading.) Vote on Bill 2: The motion to pass Bill 2 on first reading was carried by (Approved) the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Bill 3: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025 Appropriates revenues in the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity and Resilience Private Contributions account($23,750); and appropriates the same to the Emergent Learning Funds account. Funds would be used to conduct a pilot project to train county staff and partner community-based organizations in participatory storytelling in relationship to place and what sustainability and climate action means to our community. Reference: Comm. 28 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-8 Page 58 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on Bill 3: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 3 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 8. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Bill 4: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025 Appropriates revenues in the State Grants —Coffee Berry Borer Pesticide Subsidy Program account($135,000); and appropriates the same to the Coffee Berry Borer Pesticide Subsidy Program account. Funds would be used to assist coffee farmers by offsetting the cost of the insecticide used to control the Coffee Berry Borer and/or approved fungicides to control Coffee Leaf Rust. Reference: Comm. 29 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-9 Vote on Bill 4: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 4 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 9. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Page 59 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Bill 5: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025 Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants —National Criminal History Improvement Program account($318,240); and appropriates the same to the National Criminal History Improvement Program account. Funds would be used to enhance the department's Records Section to improve accuracy, quality, timeliness, immediate accessibility, and integration of national systems of criminal history and related records. Reference: Comm. 30 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-10 Vote on Bill 5: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 5 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 10. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Bill 6: 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 —Hawaii County Police Department Data Grant account($27,780); and appropriates the same to the Hawaii County Police Department Data Grant account, for a total appropriation of$107,780. Funds would be used to establish a statewide traffic data system and ensure compliance with national standards. Reference: Comm. 31 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-11 Page 60 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on Bill 6: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 6 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 11. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Bill 7: 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 —Hawaii County Police Department Roadblock Program account($37,839.15); and appropriates the same to the Hawaii County Police Department Roadblock Program account, for a total appropriation of$532,839.15. Funds would be used to reduce the number of drivers operating a vehicle while impaired. Reference: Comm. 32 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-12 Vote on Bill 7: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 7 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 12. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Bill 8: 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 —Occupant Protection Program account ($1,724.50); and appropriates the same to the Occupant Protection Program account, for a total appropriation of$161,724.50. Funds would be used for occupant protection projects. Reference: Comm. 33 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-13 Page 61 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on Bill 8: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 8 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 13. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Bill 9: 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 —Hawaii County Police Department 2023 Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs Grant account($48,764); and appropriates the same to the Hawaii County Police Department 2023 Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs Grant account, for a total appropriation of$628,764. Funds would be used for training, education, enforcement, and community collaboration to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. Reference: Comm. 34 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-14 Vote on Bill 9: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 9 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 14. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Page 62 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Bill 11: AMENDS SECTION 25-8-33 (CITY OF HILO ZONE MAP), ARTICLE 8, CHAPTER 25 (ZONING CODE) OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY CHANGING THE DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION FROM SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL 10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10) TO INDUSTRIAL—COMMERCIAL MIXED —20,000 SQUARE FEET (MCX-20) AT CITY OF HILO, SOUTH HILO, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 2-2-036:065 Applicant: Nimr Y. Tamimi (Area: 22,900 square feet) The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for the requested change of zone, which would allow the applicant to expand its office space by converting an existing residential dwelling on the subject property into an office building. This property is located at 781 Laukapu Street. Reference: Comm. 39 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-2 Vote on Bill 11: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 11 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 2. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. Bill 13: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025 Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants —Hawaii County Police Department Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant account($41,792); and appropriates the same to the Hawaii County Police Department Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant account. Funds would be used to conduct community engagement and enforcement activities related to pedestrian safety. Reference: Comm. 69 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-15 Page 63 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 Vote on Bill 13: Ms. Villegas moved to pass Bill 13 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 15. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. OTHER The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Other BUSINESS: Business. (There were none.) ANNOUNCE- The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, MENTS: Announcements. CHR. INABA: That brings us to the end of our agenda. Are there any announcements? Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: We'll actually be seeing each other again next week, but I wanted to have—could you put on your calendar for February I", is the Waimea Heritage Cherry Blossom Festival. It's the 32nd Annual Festival supported by our Parks and Recreation Division. So, I encourage you to join me. It'll be a lot of fun the entire day. Waimea really comes out and the whole island really comes out to celebrate kind of the history and the culture of the area. So, I look forward to seeing you all there. Thank you so much. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Hustace. Mr. Clerk. MR. HENRICKS: Chair, since it is unusual for us to have a special meeting, we should just announce the fact that there will be a special meeting held with the full County Council; time not certain at this point but likely 9:00 a.m., January 31", to consider two matters: Communication 46 and Resolution 46-25. Just putting that out there for people for awareness. We will be posting tomorrow. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Appreciate that reminder. And we will meet together next Friday, January 31". With that, we are at the end of our agenda. Page 64 Hawaii County Council-4 January 22,2025 ADJOURN- There being no further business, Chair Inaba adjourned the meeting at 3:56 p.m. MENT: MAR 0 7 2025 Council Approval: CO YC JH/tk Page 65