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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2025-03-19 2024-2026 Hawaii County Council 91h Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii March 19, 2025 INVOCATION: Kahu Kealoha Ka`opua of Calvary Community Church in Kona gave the morning's invocation. CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at ORDER: 9:10 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 Mr. James E. Hustace, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (via videoconference from Hilo; came in later) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member(via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent& Excused: Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, 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.) 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: 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: Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Keith DeMello: Res. 92-25 (Comm. 160), in support. (representing Ulupono Initiative) Neil Barth: Res. 97-25 (Comm. 171), in support. (representing Island of Hawaii YMCA) Beau Donegan: Res. 97-25 (Comm. 171), in support. (representing Island of Hawaii YMCA) Laura Mallery-Sayre: Bill 10, Draft 2 (Comm. 38.2), in opposition. (representing The Daniel R. Sayre (See Comm. 38.4) Memorial Foundation) Frank Sayre: Bill 10, Draft 2 (Comm. 38.2), in opposition. Hope Alohalani Cermelj: Bill 33 (Comm. 162), in support. Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: 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, Mr. Inaba presented the March 2025 Haweo Award to EXPRESSIONS OF Firefighter Kekoa Eskaran of the Hawaii Fire Department.) CONDOLENCE: Recess: At 9:33 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 9:36 a.m. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of RESOLUTIONS: Resolutions. Res. 92-25: AUTHORIZES THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DONATION OF SERVICES TO PURSUE FEDERAL AWARDS AND ASSISTANCE The donation of supportive, consultive, and technical services from Ulupono LLC, with an estimated value of$90,000, would be used by the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience in its pursuit of federal awards and funding opportunities. Reference: Comm. 160 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-30 Page 2 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Vote on Res. 92-25: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 92-25 and Finance (Adopted) Committee Report No. 30. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—6. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, and Kimball—3. Excused: None. Res. 97-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO ISLAND OF HAWAI`I YMCA TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES RELATING TO ITS YOUTH SAILING PROGRAM Transfers $9,650 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 171 Intr. by: Council Member Hustace Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 97-25. Seconded by Mr. Onishi. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. I welcome the support of my fellow colleagues. As you heard from the testifiers, these funds will go to support specifically the safety of the sailing program in Kawaihae. A fabulous program; a very unique program that provides an opportunity for our keiki and youth to get on the water, develop skills on the sailing vessels in the Kawaihae Harbor, in the Kawaihae area along the coast. This particular piece will provide that safety mechanism that was needed to safeguard our keiki but also allow eyes on and the capability of rescuing those that are uneasy on the water, but really providing that safety need there. It's a great program. Ms. Botelho wasn't able to attend to testify today, but it's a great program. I encourage you to look at it through the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association). My staff has a good opportunity working with them and bringing this resolution forward. So I appreciate your support. Thank you so much. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 97-25, please say "aye." Page 3 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Vote on Res. 97-25: The motion to adopt Res. 97-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Res. 98-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT FOR THE ANNUAL OUTSTANDING OLDER AMERICANS AWARD LUNCHEON ON MAY 9, 2025 Transfers $10,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 8); and credits to the Office of Aging, Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 172 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 98-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: This resolution, introduced by my office, helps to support the cost of the meals for the kupuna luncheon that occurs on May 9 h of this year. I ask for my colleagues' support. All those in favor,please say "aye." Vote on Res. 98-25: The motion to adopt Res. 98-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Page 4 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Res. 99-25: 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 PACIFIC TSUNAMI MUSEUM FOR SALARIES, TRAINING, AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 2); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Business Development account. Reference: Comm. 173 Intr. by: Council Member Kagiwada Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to adopt Res. 99-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. I know it's a little unusual to be providing funds for salaries, but the tsunami museum has recently experienced some major dips in their donor base because they had several donors who were actually survivors of the tsunamis who have recently passed. And so they had an unexpected, very large dip in their normal donation amounts, and they are struggling right now just to make that up. So this is just a little bit of gap funding to help them as they figure out the plan going forward. But I'm sure you all know how unique and interesting and really important the tsunami museum is in our community. They provide education and stories of survivors. But the education is really important for letting people know what to do in the case of a tsunami and how to recognize signs. So they do double duty as both talking about what's happened in the past but also how to remain safe going forward. So, a very special place in Downtown Hilo and looking for your support. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor of approving Resolution 99-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 99-25: The motion to adopt Res. 99-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Page 5 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Res. 100-25: 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 ZONTA CLUB OF HILO FOUNDATION FOR ITS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THERAPY THROUGH ART PROGRAM Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 174 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to adopt Res. 100-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: I'm just seeing that this is put forward by our colleague Council Member Kimball to work on Domestic Violence Therapy Through Art program. I am very happy to support. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Council Member Kimball asked that I speak a little bit more about this particular contingency relief request. And full disclosure, she and I are both members of the Zonta Club of Hilo. This funding is going to their foundation to support art therapy workshops that have been happening in February and are currently underway. They're being led by a Swedish artist who's visiting from Sweden. Their government provides stipends for artists to go to various communities and share their gift of art. And so she has been meeting about eight women in our community who are survivors of domestic violence through a process-based workshopping experience that's very iterative. It really depends on how much the individuals want to share in what they feel like creating. But the workshops have been very successful so far; happening in various communities and venues around Hawaii Island. The idea is to have a collective art piece that is very reflective of their personal stories and the resilience that they have gained through their life experiences. I've suggested to them that should there be a collective art piece that can be shared with communities, to maybe do a short presentation to the Council and perhaps have it installed in our Hilo or our Kona county buildings just to kind of showcase the power that the arts have to help heal and also communicate important messages. Happy to be supporting this generous CRF (Contingency Relief Fund) from Council Member Kimball. Thank you. Page 6 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz for that extra information. Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor of approving Resolution 100-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 100-25: The motion to adopt Res. 100-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public. PUBLIC ON RES. 101-25 The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by (COMM. 175): the Chair: Roylen Valera: In support. (representing D.A.R.E. Hawaii) Res. 101-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO D.A.R.E. HAWAI`I FOR THE 2025 D.A.R.E. DAY CELEBRATION Transfers $2,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 175 Intr. by: Council Member Onishi Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 101-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. Just wanted my colleagues' support. We all have been, I guess, supporting D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and their programs, so I just wanted to continue doing that. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor of approving Resolution 101-25, please say "aye." Page 7 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Vote on Res. 101-25: The motion to adopt Res. 101-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Res. 102-25: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE FOR A MULTIFUNCTION COPY MACHINE FOR THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, ELECTIONS DIVISION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$270. Reference: Comm. 177 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba Waived: FC Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 102-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Mr. Clerk, this was waived from Finance Committee direct to Council. If you could just give a little insight. MR. HENRICKS: Ah, yes. Thank you, Chair Inaba, for introducing this on behalf of our administration. It's pretty simple, straightforward. Elections is operating a copier that is fussy at times and not entirely functional. Just asking for a replacement for that so they can continue to do the great work that they do. If you have any questions, I don't really have any answers beyond that. Thank you so much for your support. CHR. INABA: Pretty straightforward. Thank you very much, Mr. Clerk. Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor of approving Resolution 102-25, please say "aye." Page 8 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Vote on Res. 102-25: The motion to adopt Res. 102-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. 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): Bill 28: AMENDS CHAPTER 6, ARTICLE 2, SECTION 6-12, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO PROHIBITED HIGHWAYS FOR COMMERCIAL BICYCLE TOURS Adds Old Mamalahoa Highway, from its intersection with Mauna Loa Street in Honoka`a to 46-4265 Old Mamalahoa Highway at the Department of Water Supply water tank. Reference: Comm. 121 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball Approve: PCPWMT-3 Postponed: March 7, 2025 (Note: There is a motion by Council Member Kimball, seconded by Council Member Galimba to pass Bill 28 on first reading.) ; and Comm. 121.4: From Council Member Heather L. Kimball, dated February 27, 2025, transmitting recommendations from the Public Works Department regarding Bill 28. ; and Comm. 121.5: From Council Member Heather L. Kimball, dated March 11, 2025, transmitting recommendations from the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and Hawaii Police Department regarding Bill 28. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Discussion on this matter? Seeing none MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair? CHR. INABA: Oh, yes, Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sorry, I just want to make note that, as the Clerk stated, there were transmittals from Public Works, the State Department of Page 9 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Transportation, and Hawaii Police Department that are included as part of this bill. All entities see no concerns with the Police Department actually going in so far as to say they are very supportive of what is being proposed here. So I just want to make note of those transmittals being received for the record as they are a requirement of this section of Code that we adopted last term. I'm going to be supporting this moving forward. Thank you, Chair. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. And, yes, it might be a good idea for Council Member Kimball to consider the recommendation by Police as to an extension of this prohibition area. So, with that, all those in favor of approving Bill 28 at first reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 28: The motion to pass Bill 28 on first reading and adopt Policy (Approved) Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit Committee Report No. 3 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Bill 30: AMENDS SECTION 25-8-33 (CITY OF HILO ZONE MAP), ARTICLE 8, (Draft 2) CHAPTER 25 (ZONING CODE) OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY CHANGING THE ZONE MAP CLASSIFICATION FROM SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL— 10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10) TO NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL— 10,000 SQUARE FEET (CN-10) AT WAIAKEA, SOUTH HILO, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 2-2-036:113 (Applicant: Jack Vanderhoff, Jr. and Sau-Yin Yeung) (Area: 19,500 square feet) The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for the requested change of zone, which would allow the applicant to convert the existing dwelling to use as an accounting business office. This property is located at 900 Manono Street. Reference: Comm. 157.3 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-10 (Note: Comm. 157.4, from Council Member Jenn Kagiwada dated March 19, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 30, Draft 2, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to pass Bill 30, Draft 2, on first reading and adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 10. Seconded by Mr. Onishi. Page 10 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 CHR. INABA: Any further discussion? We have Planning Director and Deputy here in chambers. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. I see that we also have the applicants' representative here. We also have Planning. I'm wondering if I could get the Planning Director to come up. Actually, Chair, is it okay if I put my amendment forward right now? CHR. INABA: Oh, yes, of course. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you. Motion to Amend: Ms. Kagiwada moved to amend Bill 30, Draft 2, with the contents of Comm. 157.4. Seconded by Mr. Onishi. CHR. INABA: I want to confirm that everyone has a copy of the amendment in Hilo chambers as well. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes, Chair, we do. CHR. INABA: Thank you. You may proceed, Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Director, thank you for being here. Can you just talk a little bit about this amendment, as we discussed it, and what it means for this particular application? (Note: At this time, Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. DARROW: Sure. Good morning, Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi, members of the County Council. Jeff Darrow with the Planning Department. This added condition, the new Condition I, is a condition that we will add to change of zones when the original request would be somewhat a minor type of use. Like in this particular case, the applicant is proposing to use the existing dwelling and to do an accounting office, which is relatively non-impactful, you would think. But because the zoning is changing, in the future this could turn into any of the number of uses that are allowed in this particular zoning district. So this added condition, once there is a proposed change—for example, it will normally kick in if they have to come in for a plan approval, which is when they propose to do an addition to the existing structure or knock down the structure and build a new structure. Once they come in for plan approval, the planner will look at the ordinance, see this condition, and check to see if a Traffic Impact Analysis Report would be triggered by the proposed use that's coming in. If it is, they will Page 11 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 be required to do that, go through review before Department of Public Works, and be able to improve any of the required improvements through that Traffic Impact Analysis Report. So it's a check and balance for any future use. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. Thank you for working with me and with the applicants on this amendment. Basically, I just wanted to make sure that we're being thoughtful to the neighborhood. So it didn't seem like there were major concerns with the proposed accounting office. Since it would be changing the zone and making things like a restaurant or a bar possible for that site, we just want to make sure that there was an additional look at that if it were ever to go in that direction. So thank you so much, and I believe the applicants have agreed to this amendment as well. Thanks. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada, on the amendment. Any discussion? All right, I just have a question then for you, Director. I see here that it's requiring review and approval by DPW (Department of Public Works) and DOT (Department of Transportation). Are any of these roads under the State's jurisdiction? MR. DARROW: Not to my knowledge. I believe Manono Street is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works. This particular condition is a standardized condition that we use. It's been amended a little bit from our friends at the legislative auditor's office. But, overall, it kind of covers in case it is under the jurisdiction of one or the other or both. CHR. INABA: Okay. MR. DARROW: In this case, if we want to remove that, my understanding is they're not involved. We can confirm that with the applicant. But I believe Manono Street is under Department of Public Works. CHR. INABA: Director Ono, could you chime in on that just to confirm? I want to voice my support for what this stands for, but I don't want to have to go to the State Department of Transportation if we don't need to and put that burden on the applicant. (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Hugh Ono came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONO: Confirmed. Manono Street is the County. CHR. INABA: Iolani Street as well? MR. ONO: Yes. Page 12 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 CHR. INABA: Okay. How do we want to proceed, Council Member Kagiwada? We do have one more reading. MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah, we do have one more reading. If it's okay with this body, I'll amend it before the next reading. CHR. INABA: Sure. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thanks. CHR. INABA: Thank you. So you want to proceed with this vote? MS. KAGIWADA: Let's proceed with the vote. CHR. INABA: All right, sounds good. Thank you very much. All those in favor of amending Bill 30, Draft 2, with the contents of Communication 157.4,please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 30, Draft 2, with the contents of Amend: Comm. 157.4 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Vote on Bill 30: The motion to pass Bill 30, Draft 2, as amended to Draft 3, Draft 3 on first reading and adopt Legislative Approvals and (Approved) Acquisitions Committee Report No. 10 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of THE DAY the Day (Second or Final Reading). (SECOND OR FINAL READING): Page 13 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Bill 10: AMENDS CHAPTER 22, ARTICLE 3, DIVISION 2, SECTION 22-3.3.2, OF THE (Draft 2) HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO ALLOWABLE AREAS FOR SPECIAL ACTIVITY PERMITS Allows for authorized commercial activities to be conducted at the following area in Kona: "Ane Keohokalole Highway, makai side, between the West Hawaii Civic Center and the `Allied Quarry' access road." Reference: Comm. 38.2 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba First Reading: March 7, 2025 Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to pass Bill 10, Draft 2, on second and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Chair Inaba relinquished the chair to Acting Chair Onishi. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Go ahead. MR. INABA: Thank you. I want to mahalo Dr. Sayre and Ms. Laura Mallery- Sayre for coming to testify today. I'm respectful to them very much and mahalo them for their work, not just with the foundation but with the committee and their work throughout the years regarding this area. I think this might be the first thing we've disagreed on in my time in office, and I again respect them for coming to share their concerns. I do want to remind the Council that a lot of work has gone on with the Police Department and with the Department of Public Works to ensure that safety barriers do go up to keep folks who are going to be either visiting or engaging in any commercial activity within this zone away from the highway. DPW has also committed to posting signage. Right now, we have folks doing some of this commercial activity across the length of Ane Keohokalole and, again, across different streets and roads in our County. This is a pilot program because there is no place for them to go legally. Our permitting process would allow the Director to revoke any permit should safety issues of any type arise. And ultimately, this is an opportunity for economic development while also balancing the safety of our residents and those who would be visiting any of these sites. So, happy to take any questions at this time but ask for your continued support. And again, we've all agreed with the Police and with DPW that if this doesn't work, we will be revoking those permits. But this is a pilot program. Thank you. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Thank you. Ms. Kagiwada. Page 14 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. I'm glad that you cleared with the Police Department and DPW around safety issues, but my concern is around the potential loss of the area for what it was originally intended. And I'm just wondering if you might be willing to have a community meeting with some of the folks that have worked on this project over the years and have concerns about this kind of change of use of this area. Because, it seems like maybe the public that had worked on it before weren't really informed or didn't know about this change until maybe very recently. So just wondering if that's a possibility. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Mr. Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Yes, we had a little brief discussion with Ms. Sayre on this topic, and I think ultimately they strongly oppose the concept. There isn't necessarily a work-around here. It's whether we do it or not. They prefer it not to be on this corridor. And based on the discussions that we've had with Police and with DPW, this is one of the safer areas in the community to do so. And we aren't doing it along the whole corridor;just for a distance of about 200 yards. Thank you. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Ms. Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: I guess having not heard from like PATH (People for Active Transportation Hawaii) and some of these other groups that worked on this, I wouldn't feel very comfortable supporting this at this time. It seems like there's a push and pull on the usage of this space. And if decades have been put into trying to gear this space towards recreation and a safe place for families to walk and exercise, I would just love to take a little more time and get a little more input from the community members over here. It sounds like maybe they haven't been involved even though the County agencies have been very involved. So that's I guess where I am right now. Thanks. ACTING CHR. ONISHL You want to respond, Mr. Inaba? No? Council Members? Ms. Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: I have a lot of respect for all the efforts put into this to create the legislation behind this, but I myself wasn't in support of it on the get-go because I think that there are—we don't need to be utilizing our public roadways and sides of the roads when we have shopping centers that provide their parking lots to be markets. There are just other places for people to conduct business. Utilizing these public spaces, I get the intention but I won't be passing any legislation to create a space like this in District 7. So I just share some of the concerns, but I also empathize for all the work that's been put into this and also honor all the work that's been done with Police and DPW. I'm not comfortable Page 15 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 I guess I'm getting a chance to vote against this out of principle, because I don't really think that we should be providing spaces for vendors on the sides of the roads. There are other places for them to do business. I yield. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Anybody in Hilo? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes,please, Chair. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay, go ahead, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, sir. Nice job of pronunciation today. I like that. Thank you. My question is to the maker, and I would assume that if we're selecting an area of the highway—and I wanted to check; this is the area on the road from Hina Lani towards the County Building. Is that correct? MR. INABA: The area as stated in the bill right now begins at the West Hawaii Civic Center heading north, along the makai side for about 200-300 yards. There's an alley quarry road on the makai side. So it's just that space in that distance between here and that road. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So from West Hawaii Civic Center going towards Hina Lani on the trail side of the road where the new cement pathway is? MR. INABA: Yes. The mauka side. There is a curb. There's no ability to pull over along the mauka portion of the road. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, understood. I think my assumption is that businesses are ready to jump into servicing the County Building and offering whatever they're going to vend along that side of the pathway. As a business owner, I can see the appeal for that. And I would assume that there are businesses who have been working to make sure this is enabled for them. I'm not opposed to the idea, but I do understand the comments from the testifiers this morning. So, to the maker, do we have a number of businesses that have already been working to get to this point? MR. INABA: Yes. We began this process as a result of enforcement activity both along State highways and along County streets. Any of the folks who are doing it along any road throughout the community are doing so illegally. So, to help Police as well,providing an area that it is permissible if the permit is secured, putting conditions on the time in which these folks can do it, and having things removed every day takes away the issue of it becoming a permanent commercial spot. So we are working with DPW to ensure that these folks have a place to do this activity that's currently being done illegally in a legal manner. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, is Mr. Ono in chambers in Kona? Page 16 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. INABA: Yes, Director is here. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: How are you doing, Director Ono? (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Hugh Ono came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONO: I'm doing super. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: You are always super. MR. ONO: Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Have you received any applications for the special activities/uses for this section of roadway? MR. ONO: No, I haven't, not as of this moment. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Nothing to date, okay. For the department, is the department going to be improving the egress/ingress out of the area we're allowing the activities to happen? MR. ONO: Indeed we are. This proposal has been extensively discussed between Police, Fire, ourselves. So we're going to be grading the area. We're going to be putting up appropriate signs. And so the area will not go out for use until we have completed that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Just estimate wise, how much do you think you're going to spend on improvements? MR. ONO: It'll be all done in-house. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Cost? MR. ONO: It's minimal. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Minimal like under a million? Minimal like under ten thousand? MR. ONO: Under ten thousand. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Signage, grading, gravel? MR. ONO: Yup. I don't believe we're going to pave it. We're just going to grade the gravel, put up appropriate barriers and signs. So the work is all done in- house. Page 17 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: How far back will the activities be from the roadway? And roadway, there's interesting definitions of roadway. Let's just call it the white stripe line on the road. How far back from that white stripe line on the road? MR. ONO: I'm guesstimating that it is about 50-60 feet. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Are the applications on a first-come, first-served basis? MR. ONO: I do not know that. We haven't gotten to that point yet. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Okay, thank you, Mr. Ono. To the maker, interested to see how this plays out. I do understand the concerns to the community from the answers given by the department. I would say that the costs are minimal. I do see a potential conflict in the future as far as who gets what space and who got set up first, and the first-come, first-served basis and maybe even a potential for more space needed by vendors depending on what we're allowing for. I also can see a potential for some ugliness if not done well and maintained and upkept. That may not be attained through the application process. So it may need further review as we get down the line. But I like the idea. I like supporting small businesses in the community. It's a nice opportunity. To the Sayres, I do appreciate the testimony, and I do completely understand the approach and the concern. I would say that if you look at what's being done in other communities where you design walkable markets, you really do have something beautiful for the community in the end, as long as it's done safely and well. So there is potential for this to be quite nice if done in a manner that kind of maintains the aesthetic beauty of the area as well as making it walkable, and evening markets. Those are beautiful on the Mainland. So I'd love to see some here; more opportunities for our small businesses. I'll be supporting today, Mr. Inaba. Thank you for bringing this forward. This was a lengthy workpiece that both you and Council Member Kierkiewicz put together, and I think the intention is good. ACTING CHR. ONISHL If you want, Mr. Inaba can answer some of your questions. Would you want that? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, if you have a response, Mr. Inaba. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Yeah, okay. Go ahead, Mr. Inaba. MR. INABA: Yeah,just briefly. I see Council Member Kierkiewicz' light on. There hasn't been any applications submitted because the application doesn't exist yet. We can't create that or even allow for it without this bill passing. So Page 18 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 we are working to get it done and to make sure that everything is done correctly and slowly. We're not trying to rush this through at this time. I just wanted to provide a response to that question. Thank you, Vice Chair Onishi. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. Ms. Kierkiewicz. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: It's all right. Actually, I still have the floor. Thank you. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: One more question then. I am seeing the amendment ACTING CHR. ONISHL Right now, you ran out of time. So we'll go with Ms. Kierkiewicz first and then we can come back to you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Vice Chair. I'll keep this quick. I just wanted to chime in and lend my support for what's being proposed here. I reflect on some recent travels that I've done to other cities across the nation, and our recent visit to Japan. And what we are proposing to do here, other locations are already doing. They have businesses on the side of the road that blend really nicely with pedestrians walking, with bicyclists, with vehicles. Folks are able to coexist very safely and really in an organized way. So I welcome the opportunity for there to be a pilot and to demonstrate how this could work in our community, and appreciate Chair Inaba's commitment to making sure that everything happens safely and adjustments are made in real time. Continuing to support. Thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Thank you. Anyone else in Kona first? Mr. Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. I just had a question for the maker,just some background for my own knowledge here, if there are limited hours of operation given the special permit and these activities. MR. INABA: Yes, we didn't put those conditions in the bill because we wanted to allow for flexibility at the discretion of the Director of Public Works. So if things—we didn't want to prescribe it. We wanted to allow them to make those decisions and also be able to change those permits should they need to without having to revisit the ordinance. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you. I appreciate that information. And then waste and refuse from vendors and from the public that attend and visit and conduct business; how is that typically handled in this condition? Page 19 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. INABA: The vendors would be responsible for collection and removal of any of the waste that is generated by their activity. MR. HUSTACE: So,just for clarification, it's typically the individual business that will be coming for the permit. There's not particularly like a hui or organization that's connecting all these vendors that would be using the space and pulling different pieces together that we'd be working with. MR. INABA: Correct. They would be individual applicants who come to apply with the Department of Public Works. MR. HUSTACE: Okay, thank you. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay, any others? If not, we're going back to Hilo. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. Okay, to the maker, Bill 10 passed or didn't pass? MR. INABA: Bill 10 is before us right now at second and final reading. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And this is Draft 2? MR. INABA: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I'm interested that Bill 10 only has, right now, one section which is an addition, but nowhere in this packet is a copy of Bill 10 in whole. So, if Bill 10 is still on the floor, and I see the Draft 2 having only one sentence, I am back to asking for a version of Bill 10, as amended, in its complete form for our review and for the public's review as well. I do not see that in my packet today. MR. INABA: I can clarify. We did pass an ordinance that added an article; Chapter 22, Article 3, Division 2, which speaks to vending. So that was the bill that Council Member Kierkiewicz and I co-introduced that did pass. And part of that bill created a schedule in the Code with different districts. What this Bill 10 is doing is inserting a specific location within the schedule that exists in the Code already. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That is what I thought was happening. Thank you. Okay, so the application process is ongoing with the Department of Public Works. And this is the section where we add in the allowable areas, which was what the bill that Council Members Inaba and Kierkiewicz passed earlier which is where I thought we were at. So Draft 2 of this bill. So the process has already been created. This is just adding the first section of roadway to the existing ordinance that was passed earlier. Page 20 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. INABA: Correct. And that was Bill 184. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. That's kind of where I thought we were at. Thank you for clarifying. I do not need a full, complete build-in because that's existing Code language. And again I'll be supporting. I'm interested to see how this plays out. And just to the maker, in supporting the businesses, we have to ensure that they do as Mr. Hustace spoke to—take care of their rubbish, maintain the area, keep it clean—and really be on this as a pilot project, program, however you want to call it. Just ensure that we're doing good as we mean to do good, and that the businesses participating in this special activity area will be doing their utmost to ensure the area is kept clean. That will provide, I think, a safety net for the community that's asking for this not to happen. But again, to the testimony this morning from the Sayres, I really do appreciate your comments. I understand them. And I'm hoping that this is done in a well- prescribed manner and to your liking, as well as the community's liking, and then we'll see how it goes from there. Thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay, Ms. Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. I can see where this is going, and it looks like it's going to pass. But I do want to restate, well, first I want to say I really am supportive of the concept. I did vote for this the last two times it was heard in front of us, but I do want to say that given what I'm hearing from some members of the public and feeling like the public wasn't really brought into this discussion, even though they might have pushed back and not been supportive, I think it's really important to hear those things before going ahead. So I'm still going to vote against this at this time. And I hope, going forward, when people bring these forward that they do consult the public and have meetings in their communities about these sections of roads that they want to make significant changes on. So thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Thank you. Any other members? Mr. Inaba. MR. INABA: Yeah,just one last comment. Again, we're not—by us passing this today, folks can't go out there today and start vending. So there is more discussion to be had. I'll reach out to Ms. Sayre and the committee to figure out what conditions we want to impose specific to these permits because we have that ability. And I understand that there's opposition in general to any use. But if this should pass, we'll make sure that the use has conditions that are acceptable to the committee and to those who came to testify today. So, again, thank you. We'll work with you and DPW before any permit gets issued. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. If no others, can I make some comments? Okay. To Director Ono, it was brought to our attention that during Mayor Page 21 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Kenoi's administration, there was an agreement made about this area. Would Department of Public Works have any documents or any, I guess, agreements to that area that was designated for, I guess, exercising, bike paths, and walking? MR. ONO: I'm not aware of any previous agreements. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. Would you be able to, I guess, check with your office? And maybe, if you guys would allow, we can table this for a little while. But then also what was brought up is with these highways—vending from highway prohibited, on 264-101 vending from highways prohibited. But is that more of a State ? MR. ONO: That's a State regulation. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Not County? MR. ONO: Not a County regulation. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay, so then the County does not have to follow this. MR. ONO: That is specific to State highways. I'm not aware of any statute that covers County systems. That would be under the County ordinances, and I'm not aware of any. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Ane (Keohokalole) Highway is County? MR. ONO: Yes. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. So the only thing I'm concerned is, if there is an agreement that was done back during Mayor Kenoi's Administration, I think we should be able to at least honor that, or make some adjustments to that area so that agreement will be protected. Is that possible? MR. ONO: That is possible. Neil Azevedo is probably most knowledgeable because he was here during Mayor Kenoi's Administration as the head of the highways maintenance branch. I can contact him. Unfortunately, he is not here now. He's in Arizona. He's playing. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. Well MR. ONO: I can give him a call. ACTING CHR. ONISHL You can? MR. ONO: Yeah. Just excuse me for a while. I can call him. Page 22 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 ACTING CHR. ONISHL Chair Inaba, would you be okay if we table this then? MR. INABA: Sure. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay, can I have a motion? Vote on Motion to Mr. Inaba moved to table Bill 10, Draft 2. Seconded by Table: Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Villegas, and Acting Chair Onishi —7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Acting Chair Onishi relinquished the chair to Chair Inaba. Bill 27: AMENDS CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 45, SECTION 2-235, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO THE GENERAL EXCISE AND USE TAX SURCHARGE Adds County-appropriated housing infrastructure costs and the definition of "Housing infrastructure costs"to use of funds to codify the Session Laws of Hawaii 2024, Act 30, which took effect on July 1, 2024. Reference: Comm. 119 Intr. by: Council Member Kierkiewicz and Council Member Inaba First Reading: March 7, 2025 (Note: Comm. 119.1, from Council Member Dennis "Fresh" Onishi dated March 18, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 27, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to pass Bill 27 on second and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I really appreciate the opportunity to co-introduce this measure with you, which would allow our County to utilize a portion of our General Excise Tax (GET), currently half percent, for things outside of transportation. That would be housing infrastructure. As folks know, last legislative session the Legislature adopted Act 30, which would allow for counties that did not take advantage of the GET some years ago, Page 23 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Maui County specifically, to now leverage GET for housing infrastructure costs. Because we had adopted an ordinance I think in 2019 or 2020 that gave us the authority to leverage the GET, we have been using our portion to cover things like transportation and Mass Transit Agency. What this bill would do is give us an opportunity to help pay for housing infrastructure costs if it's for affordable or workforce housing. This does not dedicate any funding. This merely provides the County the opportunity to pull this lever and invest in housing infrastructure. There has been discussion about how much money should be dedicated to something like this. I think as we go through our budgeting process, which commences in a few weeks in April, that would be the most appropriate time for us to think about how we allocate funding that we are currently generating as a County with General Excise Tax. I do want to note that we have our Finance Director here, Diane Nakagawa, if folks have any questions or concerns about what is being proposed. But I do want to thank members for their support thus far. Thank you, Chair. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. We'll come here to Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Mr. Chair. And you folks have Communication 119.1. Motion to Amend: Mr. Onishi moved to amend Bill 27 with the contents of Comm. 119.1. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL In Section C, housing infrastructure costs, LRB (Legislative Research Branch) had some, I guess, grammar which they wanted to strike out "means costs that include," and instead adding "includes the costs for." And then I'm adding in also the "roadways, curbs, and gutters" as part of the expenses that could be paid for. I'm asking for your support, and I did work this out with Director Nakagawa. So if there are any questions for either she or I, you guys can let me know. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Vice Chair Onishi. Any discussion on the amendment? Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. I see we have Housing Administrator here. I'm just wondering if you have any feedback on this, since it would be looking at the possibility of investing and having housing infrastructure costs, and if you think Page 24 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 the roadways, curbs, and gutters are an important addition or a good thing to have as a possibility I guess. I wish you could come and weigh in on this. Have you seen this before? Or is this the first time you're looking at it? (Note: At this time, Housing Administrator Kehaulani Costa came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. COSTA: Good morning. Kehau Costa, Housing Administrator. First time I'm seeing the amendment. I have been tracking the bill. Completely supportive of infrastructure for affordable housing. I think that is primarily, what we're trying to do with much of our EO'd(executive ordered)properties that we're setting aside for affordable housing is to provide the infrastructure to go towards private-public partnerships in developing affordable housing. In particular, roads, sure. Lots of other infrastructure needs as well. So if it's not limited to that, that's great. But if it is limiting, then maybe reconsider. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you so much. So you're okay with it expanding to that, but that wouldn't necessarily be your first priority around infrastructure is what I'm hearing. Thank you. That's all I needed. I'm happy to support this amendment. Thank you so much. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Seeing no further discussion, all those—Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, sir. Ms. Schoen, can you come up, please? (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you for being here today. MS. SCHOEN: Good morning. Renee Schoen, Corporation Counsel. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I'm just checking. Pursuant to Act 30did you read up on Act 30? MS. SCHOEN: Yeah, I do have the act in front of me. The bill, as written, appears to track the language of Act 30. So the proposed amendment, my reading is that it just simply adds in roadways, curbs, and gutters to housing infrastructure cost. I believe those things arguably are covered under the transportation section, but I can see the desire to be more clear and to add it in. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Do you have a copy of Act 30 in front of you? Page 25 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MS. SCHOEN: I do. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Maybe when we get past the amendment, I'm going to have you come back up. MS. SCHOEN: Okay. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I yield, Chair. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion on the amendment? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, I have a question for Ms. Schoen. CHR. INABA: Sure. Go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: By adopting this very specific language, do we then limit ourselves for what we could use the funding for? I'm of the mindset of you mentioned earlier it's covered in transportation, roadways. It's very sematic in nature, and now I worry that we're boxing ourselves in to only spending it in this way by including roadways, curbs, gutters. What about signage? What about lighting; other things that are required for transportation and roadways? MS. SCHOEN: Yeah, I understand that position. I think the original act basically just says housing infrastructure cost includes pedestrian pathways. There's a whole list. I think that you can read a County roadway as necessarily being included. And so the addition of curbs and gutters, according to our County Code, would naturally be part of a County roadway system. So it's really up to the body as to whether or not you want to be super specific, but I understand your concern. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Thank you, Corporation Counsel. CHR. INABA: Anything further, Council Member Kierkiewicz? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: No, Chair. I apologize; I yield. CHR. INABA: Okay, thank you. Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just added this in because of, one, when we had to approve one of those affordable housings down by Kawaihae, a lot of Council Members were concerned about the roadways, how thick it's going to be and so forth. And so I felt that if I add this in and we have that money that we can use, that could help with the project. And if you go to 201HAdministrator Costa, you can come up and I guess correct me if I'm wrong but with the 201H, the applicant can ask for exemptions Page 26 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 like to curbs and gutters and sidewalks, right. And so that's why I put that in. So if we wanted to I guess get it to County standards, then this money could be used to do that, right. I mean, you would be okay with that? MS. COSTA: I think there's more detail that I would probably need to know to comment on it. I just don't know the mechanism for private development, 201H, private development versusI'm just speaking to County/State properties and how that would be helpful. But there would probably need to be a mechanism by which a private developer could access these funds for infrastructure. I'm not certain. MR. ONISHL But for the County side, like with these affordable houses, they get these exemptions, right, to not put in those sidewalks, gutters, and so forth. So what I'm saying is that with this funding, it could help them MS. COSTA: It could, yes. MR. ONISHL Because like I mentioned earlier, like the project we had down Kawaihae, some of the concerns about those MS. COSTA: Two inch versus three inch, yeah. Yes. MR. ONISHL Right, okay. I yield. Thank you. MS. COSTA: If those funds are available to private developers on privately- owned property, yeah. MR. ONISHL Yeah. Alright, thanks. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion on the amendment? All right, seeing none, we will proceed. Can we do a roll call vote,please? Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 27 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 119.1 was carried by the following roll call vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—6. Noes: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 1. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Page 27 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Vote on Motion to Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to suspend Council Suspend Council Rule 23 to waive the holdover for the substantive Rules: amendment of Bill 27. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, you may proceed. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Corporation Counsel? Thank you. So, Act 30, does it expressly allow us to use this for housing infrastructure costs for both private and public in your reading of Act 30? I'm interested in what the State was trying to achieve with that Act. MS. SCHOEN: My reading is that it's for a County-related program for housing proj ects. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: County-related. So that is that specific terminology then, County-appropriated. I think we discussed this at the last meeting. I just wanted to follow up with you on the terminology. Very specific wording, specific language. But I'm also driving towards where we're trying to subsidize development and how we're using County tax dollars for what projects. MS. SCHOEN: The language in the act itself specifically says for County- appropriated housing infrastructure costs. So I don't know what kind of cost you are talking about or what kind of project you're speaking of. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I don't know what the State was trying to get it, which is why I'm asking you what your reading of Act 30 is, and what it is relating to as far as what improvement cost they're hoping to subsidize through our County tax dollars. MS. SCHOEN: I think the whole purpose of adding on this section was actually to assist, like Council Member Kierkiewicz stated, is to encourage the counties to create affordable-type housing projects. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Agreed. Meaning any and all or specifically County projects where we go out to bid and we create the housing? Or any private developer walking in to make an affordable housing subdivision? Page 28 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MS. SCHOEN: Well, I think it would relate to County-designated housing. And so we don't build houses. We don't actually do the construction, so we would go out and possibly have somebody do it. But I think the intent is that it's County- related for the purpose of providing affordable housing to the community. I guess I'm not really understanding your question. Sorry. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We have projects in the County that are County housing projects. They may be built by a third parry, but they're not owned by a third parry. They are operated by the County, correct? MS. SCHOEN: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Like the one in Pepe`ekeo, that's a County housing project. Correct? MS. SCHOEN: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So projects like that where we actually—and if I'm wrong in any of this,just correct me. MS. SCHOEN: Well, I think, like in that situation, I mean the act itself speaks to infrastructure costs. So, to me, that implies a building up of a new project, not any existing projects that are already operated by a third parry or someone else. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, understood. I guess my concern, Ms. Schoen, is that we have created numerous funds to assist in the development process for affordable housing, and there's a tremendous push for housing. But what I'm not seeing is—for one, I don't get phone calls for housing. I get phone calls for everything but not"I need a house." That has always interested me. And so I watch very carefully how much we subsidize and we provide for the development of housing in our County. We have multiple funds and we have appropriated tens of millions of dollars into housing, but we keep trying to fix a problem that keeps becoming worse because housing is market value, even with all the AMIs (Area Median Incomes) that we prescribe towards affordable rates. So I'm just watching carefully. I'm also making sure that we're doing this in alignment with how the public would hope that we would spend their tax dollars and on what. And are these costs that should be borne by the developer or costs that should be borne by the County? And the GE(general excise) fund was very specifically appropriated towards mass transportation and highways, which is what it has been used for classically over the last six to eight years since it was enacted by the State. That term "County-appropriated" is very interesting to me. MS. SCHOEN: Yeah, I mean there's no specific definition. I can tell you that there is a limitation, and the section says that housing infrastructure costs may be Page 29 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 an allowable use provided that a county that uses surcharge revenues for housing infrastructure shall not pass on those housing infrastructure costs to the developer of a housing project. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's an interesting sentence. Try break that down for me. What does that mean? MS. SCHOEN: I think if we're going to receive the funding designated for housing infrastructure, if we have a developer that's going to build a project, we cannot tell them "Okay, you have to pay for this part of the infrastructure,"that we will. So it says, ". . . shall not pass on those infrastructure costs to the developer . . . ." So, if we're going to take the funding to build housing infrastructure, that is our cost and the developer does not have to bear that cost. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Sorry, so, if we are going to take the funding from GE, or if we're going to take the funding from the developer to build? MS. SCHOEN: GE. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: From the GE. MS. SCHOEN: From the GE tax. So what this does, Bill 27, it basically tracks the language of the HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statutes)provision, and the State expanded the permissible use for those funds, right. So it's transportation. The other one was to comply with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). And now they're adding on this other piece, which is housing infrastructure. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Try read that sentence one more time for me. MS. SCHOEN: "Housing infrastructure costs; provided that a county that uses surcharge revenues for housing infrastructure shall not pass on those housing infrastructure costs to the developer of a housing project . . . ." MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So the GE tax funds can be used towards housing costs provided that we—if we use those funds for housing infrastructure costs, we will not pass them along to the developer. MS. SCHOEN: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So, without the enactment of this bill, we could not do that. Correct? MS. SCHOEN: What the bill is doing is amending our Code, okay, which is tracking the statute which allows us to expend the funds in a certain way. The State has already said this is a permissible way to use the funds. I mean, if you Page 30 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 don't adopt Bill 27, query whether or not you're limiting the GE funds just to transportation and not taking advantage of that, which the Legislature wanted to help the counties to do. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I understand that. Just the wording is interesting on the act. I like the idea of using the funds towards County projects. Not in love with the idea of just providing it to any and every developer that walks in the door to build an "affordable housing project." In yesterday's discussion at the Committee level,we had the report from the affordable housing folks, and they had a project that was student housing that was—it was affordable but at 120 percent AMI for 14 houses. CHR. INABA: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, your buzzer has gone off here, so if you can summarize, please. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Will do. That really summarizes for me that we have projects that I don't really qualify as an affordable housing project. That would be eligible to take care of more infrastructure costs, lessening the burden on the developer, but increasing the burden on the taxpayer and at what return for the taxpayer. Thank you very much, Ms. Schoen. MS. SCHOEN: Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I yield, Chair. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz, you want to wrap this up? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sure. The State Legislature granting the counties taxing authority is very rare. The bulk of our funding as county government comes from real property taxes. So when all of the counties were provided an opportunity to now levy half a percent of General Excise Tax, three counties took advantage of that opportunity: Kauai, Honolulu, and Hawaii County. Maui County did not. They did not in the time frame that was prescribed in the enacting legislation on the State's side. Last year, an amendment via Act 30 was introduced because Maui is really feeling the pinch around housing availability, affordable housing for their residents. They opened up the ability to use GET beyond transportation to include housing infrastructure. And the language around "County-appropriated," I checked with a number of legislators that were in the Legislature last year about why this specific term, because it has come up during Committee and Council hearings. It was to ensure that Maui County was taking advantage of this pot of funding, and they're restricted to only using it for housing infrastructure. Take Page 31 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 whatever you want from that, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, but it was very much targeting Maui County to ensure that they take advantage of the GET taxing authority. I'm hearing from my colleagues at the State that this authority will sunset in 2030. We will likely not enjoy this stream of funding past 2030. And so we're at a critical point where we think about, are we going to invest every single one of those tens of millions of dollars in our Mass Transit Agency, or are we going to answer the call and put money towards affordable and workforce housing development? I hope that we are going to be leveraging this pot of funding to help bring more affordable housing online. I do want to provide just one more opportunity for our Housing Administrator to weigh in and provide any clarification because I know she's been tracking the conversation here at the Council. Administrator Costa, if you're still around. Thank you. MS. COSTA: Thank you. I do want to say, and just to clarify, how important it is for us to have funds available for infrastructure for affordable housing for projects that the County is working on. We do not provide much subsidy to County-owned properties. Even with the Affordable Housing Production grant within OHCD's (Office of Housing and Community Development's)purview, we have to apply for that funding ourselves along with other developers. In order for us to be successful in projects, particularly I'm thinking about the Kamakoa Nui homeownership project 15 years ago that the County did to provide affordable homeownership, we need infrastructure and we need to fund that. I just wanted to clarify how important this is for County-funded projects, County-sponsored projects, and I'm totally supportive of it. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Administrator. I think the point of investing in the infrastructure will bring down the overall cost of housing so that it is more attainable by local residents. Looking for everyone's continued support. Again, this just provides our County the ability to start using GET beyond transportation. Thank you, Chair. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, I see your light on. Please be brief. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: What is the reason for me being brief, Chair? CHR. INABA: We've been asking the same questions at the different hearings. And if we're going to be asking the same questions that we got answers to, I want to proceed to the vote. But go ahead. Page 32 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Understood, thank you. Finance Director Nakagawa, please. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Diane Nakagawa came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. NAKAGAWA: Good morning, Council Members. Diane Nakagawa, Finance Department. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good morning. Can you summarize for me the different funds we have for housing—housing production, grants, anything and everything that we apply towards housing? MS. NAKAGAWA: Oh, on the spot? We have our Affordable Housing Production. I would like a little more time if you want to summarize (inaudible) what's going into housing. And maybe our Housing Administrator could assist in that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Administrator Costa? MS. COSTA: I'm also happy to provide a further report. I do know that we have our grants manager Royce Shiroma, not to put him on the spot, but in the room. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking we have CIP (Capital Improvement Project). That's limited. Federal funds that we help to apply towards development; HOME (HOME Investment Partnerships Program), HTF (Housing Trust Fund), AHP (Affordable Housing Production)that's County funds specifically. Diane, if that helps jog anything for you, but that's what's top of mind for me. MS. NAKAGAWA: Yeah, I would say those were the ones on my mind. CIP. You mentioned those are just County-sponsored projects included in our CIP, bond-funded. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Do you folks have an idea of how much we are applying towards housing in the County? MS. NAKAGAWA: In the fiscal year 2026 budget, we do have the 5 million for Affordable Housing Production. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's one. Ms. Costa, you mentioned about four other different funds that we have. Do you have an idea on dollar amounts being applied towards those different funds? MS. COSTA: So, HOME funds we receive every three years from the State; that's a Federal fund. It's about$3 million every three years. Again, Royce is there; he can correct me if I'm wrong. That's an RFP (request for proposal) process that goes out to developers, not necessarily County projects specifically, Page 33 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 but maybe County-sponsored or State/County land projects in partnership with private developers. So, HOME, $3 million every three years that we compete for. CIP. I'm not 100 percent up to speed on our CIP past awards. I know that we're requesting again this year, and I don't have that right in front of me. That's primarily infrastructure for affordable housing. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. HTF? MS. COSTA: That's with HOME. HOME and HTF are together. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And the Affordable Housing Production fund? Were we missing one? I feel like we're missing one. MS. COSTA: Affordable Housing Production fund; $5 million in the coming year. We have had more in past years. Again, that's a competitive process. We have to compete ourselves. County competes with private developers for those funds. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And what about through other programs, like our grants, our nonprofits who are doing housing? Are those included? MS. COSTA: I think maybe you're asking about—I'm not sure if you're asking about housing homeless fund. That is not housing development. That's services. So there's no funding provided for infrastructure. There may be rental assistance but not for development of affordable housing. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, understood. Okay, I'm going to dig in with you folks offline. I'm trying to get an idea of how much funding we're applying, because it's a responsibility to our taxpayers to understand how much funding is going out the door to increase development, and at what return for our community. I appreciate the conversation today. Although the State has granted us this opportunity, I'm really on the fence about where I want to put that funding. I like it in our Mass Transit Agency. And if you look at the first use of funds, No. 1, it does include public roadways or highways, pedestrian pathways or sidewalks and bicycle paths. So these things have been allowed in the past, and the question has always been, how much we tie them to our Mass Transit Agency or not. Because, that really is the interesting piece for me. So I appreciate that the State has allowed us to use the taxes. I also don't see the State decreasing our taxes or taking it away because government rarely lessens the tax. So thank you for the information, Director and Administrator. MS. COSTA: Thank you. Page 34 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I appreciate your time. Thank you, Chair, for the latitude. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. For the record, before we take the vote, is there any agency director who is opposed to this bill? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Bill 27 at second and final reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 27: The motion to pass Bill 27, as amended to Draft 2, on Draft 2 second and final reading was carried by the following roll (Adopted) call vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—5. Noes: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Absent: Council Members Galimba, Kimball, and Villegas —3. Excused: None. Bill 33: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 24-32, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2025 Decreases revenues in the Transfer to Housing Fund account(-$451,221) and reduces the Housing Production account by the same amount to return funds that could not be applied towards the cost of building materials for two self-help affordable housing projects, due to those building projects being completed after the July 18, 2024, deadline. Reference: Comm. 162 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) First Reading: March 7, 2025 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 33 on second and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: Any further discussion? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I do, Chair, actually. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Shiroma, are you here for this bill? Can you come up,please? (Note: At this time, Housing and Community Development Specialist Royce Shiroma came forward to address the members of the Council.) Page 35 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. SHIROMA: Good morning. Royce Shiroma from the Office of Housing and Community Development. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good morning. You almost got put on the spot earlier. Can you break this down for me, what happened here? MR. SHIROMA: Yeah, back in 2020, we have awarded funding HOME CHDO (Community Housing Development Organization) funding from the State to Habitat for Humanity, which they were using the funding to do self-help housing in Pahoa. And through numerous events throughout the course of building the homesCOVID (coronavirus disease), they had a change in administrationa lot of things happened. In the end, they didn't meet the deadline of completion for the HOME program. Therefore, HUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development) deemed this project ineligible, and therefore, we had to pay back the money that we spent; $451,000 of HOME money. And we were actively going to use the money in which this one here, Phase 1, which you're going to front the money with AHP, Affordable Housing Production fund, and we are working with habitat in order for them to actually repay the money back in installments. So that's Phase 2. We're working with a promissory note for that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, this is transferring money from housing production to general, is where it's going? MR. SHIROMA: Yeah. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So Habitat missed the mark due to a number of different things. MR. SHIROMA: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And then we had to pay back the money. MR. SHIROMA: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: The County had to. MR. SHIROMA: The County because the County ultimately is responsible. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: For the housing production missing its mark. MR. SHIROMA: For the HOME program missing its mark. It's Federal money that originated from HUD, which flowed through the State and then to the County, and we contracted. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you for that. I appreciate it. Page 36 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MR. SHIROMA: You're welcome. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Bill 33 at second and final reading,please say "aye." Vote on Bill 33: The motion to pass Bill 33 on second and final reading was (Adopted) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Chair Inaba relinquished the chair to Acting Chair Onishi. Vote on Motion to Mr. Inaba moved to remove Bill 10, Draft 2, from the table. Remove from Table: Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada and carried by the following (Approved) voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Villegas, and Acting Chair Onishi —7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. Go ahead, Chair Inaba. MR. INABA: I think Director Ono may have some response to your inquiry, Vice Chair. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Hugh Ono came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONO: Hugh Ono, Director of Public Works. I made contact with Neil Azevedo, and he said he has no recollection of any discussion with anybody regarding that property or that land parcel that we're looking at for the vending. Page 37 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. So there's—even at the office, there's no documents or agreements that is filed away? MR. ONO: Not to our knowledge and Neil would know. He's the one that would know. He said he doesn't recall anything. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Okay. You have anything to add, Chair Inaba? Okay, I guess that's—well, in case you folks do find any documents when you folks go back, can you please let us know? MR. ONO: I will do so. As soon as I get back, I'll make a query. I'm staying tonight for a community meeting in Waikoloa, but thereafter, tomorrow morning I can ask, or even while I'm there I should be able to send a query out on that. ACTING CHR. ONISHL This could be maybe like eight years ago, that's why, this agreement could have been done. So, yeah, if you can. MR. ONO: I will do that. ACTING CHR. ONISHL Please. Thank you very much. Okay, Mr. Clerk, can we get a roll call,please? Vote on Bill 10: The motion to pass Bill 10, Draft 2, on second and final Draft 2 reading was carried by the following roll call vote: (Adopted) Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, and Acting Chair Onishi —5. Noes: Council Members Kagiwada and Villegas —2. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Acting Chair Onishi relinquished the chair to Chair Inaba. CHR. INABA: Ms. Sayre, I'll reach out to you folks and confirm what records and discussions happened with committee prior to any further action on the application and this permitting process. Thank you. REFERRALS FOR The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Referrals EXECUTIVE for Executive Session. SESSION: Page 38 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 Comm. 168: HUI MALAMA HONOKOHAU VS. COUNTY OF HAWAI`I; CIVIL CASE 1:23-CV-00393 From Deputy Corporation Counsel Section Chief Lerisa L. Heroldt dated February 20, 2025, requesting an attorney-client confidential discussion to consult with the Council regarding the above-entitled matter filed by Earthjustice attorneys David Henkin and Elena Bryant on behalf of their client Hui Malama Honok6hau. Motion to Close Ms. Villegas moved to close file on Comm. 168. Seconded File: by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: This is a request to have a discussion for Executive Session. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Motion to go into Executive Session. CHR. INABA: Moved by Council Member MR. HENRICKS: Chair, I'm sorry, but the motion requires an explanation as to what provisions of HRS the Council is exercising to enter into Executive Session. And if it's helpful, those are included on the agenda that would pertain to this matter,just beneath the item. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Vote on Motion to Ms. Villegas moved to enter into Executive Session in Enter into order to hold attorney-client privilege discussion regarding Executive Session: Communication 168, as authorized by Section 92-5(a)(4) of (Approved) the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: We will now be entering into Executive Session. Recess: At 11:10 a.m., the Chair called for a recess in order to clear the room. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 11:31 a.m. CHR. INABA: Thank you. We are out of Executive Session, and I want to call on Council Member Villegas to give a quick summary as to our discussion. Page 39 Hawaii County Council-9 March 19,2025 MS. VILLEGAS: In Executive Session, Council Members were given the opportunity to ask some questions about the details of the Hui Malama Honok6hau versus the County of Hawaii settlement authority recommendation. And upon our consulting with Corp. (Corporation) Counsel, we have decided to agree with their recommendations. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Would you like to make a motion to accept the recommendation provided by Corporation Counsel? Vote on Motion to Ms. Villegas moved to concur with the recommendation of Concur: Corporation Counsel regarding Comm. 168. Seconded by (Approved) Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. Excused: None. Vote on Comm. 168: The motion to close file on Comm. 168 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Galimba and Kimball —2. 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. (Note: At this time, Council Members made announcements regarding community events, activities, and other unofficial business.) Page 40 Hawai`i County Council-9 March 19,2025 ADJOURN- There being no further business, Chair Inaba adjourned the meeting at 11:33 a.m. MENT: MAY 2 1 2025 Council Approval: CO JHJdg Page 41