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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2025-02-05 2024-2026 Hawaii County Council 61h Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii February 5, 2025 INVOCATION: Assistant Professor Akeamakamae Kiyuna of Hawaii Community College gave the morning's invocation. CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at ORDER: 9:04 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. James E. Hustace, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (came in later) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, 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 (There were none.) EXPRESSIONS OF CONDOLENCE: 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-6 February 5,2025 Nicodemus Mount: Res. 63-25 (Comm. 106); and (representing Hawaii District 4 Res. 70-25 (Comm. 115), in support. Little League, Inc.) Roylen Valera: Res. 64-25 (Comm. 107), in support. (representing D.A.R.E. Hawaii) Emma Gerrish: Res. 61-25 (Comm. 90), in support. (See Comm. 90.7) Patrick Hurney: Res. 51-25 (Comm. 74), in support. (representing Hope Services (See Comm. 74.52) Hawaii) Steve Shropshire: Res. 51-25 (Comm. 74), in support. (representing Shropshire Group) Rebecca Melendez: Res. 51-25 (Comm. 74); Res. 57-25 (Comm. 85); Bill 17 (Comm. 77); and Bill 18 (Comm. 77), in opposition. (See Comm. 74.65) Jane Mireles: Res. 51-25 (Comm. 74), in support. (representing Habitat for Humanity) (See Comm. 74.47) 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 18, 2024, were approved. REPORTS: The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Reports. GOEAC-13 NOMINATION OF GREG YAMADA TO THE POLICE COMMISSION (Comm. 89): Requires Council Confirmation by: February 15, 2025 (Section 13-4 (k), Hawaii County Charter) Page 2 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Vote on GOEAC-13: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Governmental Operations (Adopted) and External Affairs Committee Report No. 13. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. (Council Members Onishi and Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder spoke in favor of the appointment.) ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of RESOLUTIONS: Resolutions. Res. 51-25: AUTHORIZES THE EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN CODE REQUIREMENTS, PURSUANT TO SECTION 201H-38 OF THE HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES, FOR THE HUALALAI COURT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT IN HILO, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 2-4-028:009 (Area: 3.2920 acres) The Applicant requests an exemption from Single-Family Residential District 7,500 feet zoning requirements, to be replaced with Multiple-Family Residential 1,000 Square Feet requirements, to allow for greater density and an exemption from Sections 5-7-1 and 5-7-3 of the Hawaii County Code regarding permit plan reviews and permit fees to reduce costs for the production of 104 affordable residential rental units, to be located at 364 Hualalai Street in South Hilo. Reference: Comm. 74 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-3 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 51-25 and Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 3. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: We had a pretty extensive discussion and presentation about this in Committee, but the applicants are here if there are questions. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I apologize. I wasn't here at Committee, so I do have a few questions for the applicant. Page 3 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 (Note: At this time, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Morales and Business Manager Demarco Morales of Hualalai Court came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Mr. Morales, it's great to see you. Happy New Year. Please activate your microphone. Thank you. MR. MORALES: Good to see you. Happy New Year. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. So 104 affordable housing units; the development is behind St. Joseph School on Hualalai? MR. MORALES: It's on Hualalai Street past the eye center where it dead-ends, and across the street from St. Joseph as well as the police station. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, fantastic and congratulations for getting rental housing revolving fund money. That is very competitive statewide funding, and so I'm glad that there's money being used to support housing development here in Hilo where there is infrastructure to support this kind of development. I know that you are targeting 80 percent, 100 percent AMI (Area Median Income), but wondering if you could share what folks can expect as the average cost of the housing event. MR. MORALES: The program for Tier 2 was addressing the needs of the missing middle of 60 percent to 100 percent AML Our unit mix is 80 percent— I'm sorry, 20 percent of the units are at an 80 percent AMI; 80 percent of the units are at 100 percent of AML So the rental income that's based upon HUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development) identifying what the Hawaii County average median income for a family of four is, will then adjust the rents down to 80 percent to 100 percent. So, to answer your question, the range is from roughly 1,600 to the low 2,OOOs and is adjusted yearly by HUD standards and what is vetted by Hawaii County. And income verifications will happen yearly, with multiple agencies of us reporting to the County, to the State, as well as the Federal programs. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And these are three-bedroom, two-bathroom type units for a family of four? MR. MORALES: Two bedrooms and three bedrooms, correct. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. All for families. MR. MORALES: All for families, correct. Page 4 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And so withI love the 201H process because it helps just provide a little bit of breaks where needed, to help with the overall building of the capital stack to make the development more affordable. MR. MORALES: Correct. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Once this resolution passes, what is the next step from here? MR. MORALES: Great question. Our application was actually submitted in 2023. If you look into our actual application, and because of increased interest rates and construction costs, there were value engineering things that we had to do to our design to get the construction budget back under control. And knowing that the emphasis from the County Council is going to be pointed and centered around that specific question on when are you going to be able to produce and start construction, and put heads in beds. So the reason why we are now pushing the agenda for the 201H is because we have the capital stack in line. We have,probably in the final stages of our architectural and engineering. And it'll be just a matter of a month or so to be able to submit revisions of those A&E documents. And our goal is to be under construction between July and September of this year. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: July to September this year, breaking down building construction. And we can anticipate being done with that process by when? MR. MORALES: In about 15 to 18 months. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Fifteen to eighteen months. Is it going to be a phased-in approach, or are you building everything at once? MR. MORALES: All at once. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Awesome. And then when you talked about the application being submitted in 2023, this was your permit application to the County? Which application? MR. MORALES: It was our 201H application. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And the Office of Housing, I'm assuming, and various County agencies were helpful in helping you to finalize the application? MR. MORALES: Absolutely. If you ever have the chance to see my public hearings at the State level, it's of high praise of all the different departments and leadership that we've come across. Access and communication channels have always been there for us, which is critical when we're trying to deal with a large- Page 5 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 scale type of development. At the end of the day, this is a $55 million commercial asset that has debt lenders that are making sure that everything's going to run appropriately. And working closely with all the different departments is the only way that we can do projects like this. And so, in my live testimonies in front of HHFDC (Hawai`i Housing Finance and Development Corporation) and the board, in front of them, my basic message to them is that Big Island is open for business for affordable housing. And so we've been blessed with champions in all departments housing, planning, department of environmental—and look forward to bringing in the next generation to continue that momentum. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Fantastic. And then in terms of local families being able to access this opportunity, are you working with a property management company or ? MR. MORALES: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Who's going to be managing? MR. MORALES: Right now, it's Hawaii Affordable Properties, Inc. That final decision is going to be coming in the coming days. Our general contractor is Nan. And it's a requirement that, in one of the key points that the State is looking at when it comes to the development team, who is the general contractor and who is going to ultimately be the day-to-day property management team. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Fantastic. In full support. Thank you so much for your dedication to helping us to solve our housing crisis. Chair, I yield. MR. MORALES: Thank you, Council Member. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Mr. Morales, thank you for being here today. MR. MORALES: Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Who's with you? MR. MORALES: This is DeMarco Morales. MR. DEMARCO MORALES: Good morning, Council Member. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good morning. Next generation? Page 6 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. MORALES: I'm sorry? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Next generation? MR. MORALES: Next generation. So, DeMarco Morales happens to be my oldest son. We came over when he was one years old. So Kona and the community of Kona raised him. Our mission is driven by our love of community and everything that we've gone through since 2003, 2004, since we've been here. And the way that we look at affordable housing and contributing to our community is looking at how we can use our skillsets and abilities at the highest level and what contribution can we have to our community, which happens to be affordable housing. DeMarco has made the choice to come back after college, which I think you've seen through the different testimonies from the youth that that's not easy to do. He has interest in real estate development, obviously affordable housing in the community that raised him. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: (Inaudible.) Good job. Not very often we get dad and son coming in, or to see the son follow in father's footsteps. Usually, the son wants to do something completely different. So good job. Well done. MR. MORALES: Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I hope my son does the same thing one day. He kind of is but, I mean, he's not here at work with me. MR. MORALES: Well, onto that comment, he's earned his way at the table. He more recently went on a business trip where one of the partners was there. And one of the comments that he made afterwards was that there's a lot of things that you can teach individuals, but you can't teach gumption in some cases. So there's the drive and there's an ability, and especially me being a partner in the project and obviously a loving father, he probably gets a little bit more pressure from me than normal. But one of the beauties of being here for such a period of time and the lessons of the decisions that we make today and the actions we take today, and how that affects seven generations down, this is our attempt to get the younger generation involved in the conversation. We have other people that we're mentoring. We welcome anybody in the public that wants to learn development, at whatever age, to do so. We are in a crisis and it's going to take everybody in our community to make a difference. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. Are you incorporating renewable energy or any kind of gardening space into your project? Page 7 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. MORALES: Yeah. For landscaping, we have walkways and a nice little playground. And one design that we took from a County park on the Kona side where it's smaller in size, but the way that the walking path goes around the fenced-kid area allows the adults to do their walking while keeping an eye on their kids. And the older kids have a grassy area to play in. So we implemented that design into our project. We are looking at solar to be able to provide lower cost energy to our tenants. That has to be a separate capital stack to the actual development of the apartments. But we are in the renewable space, and hopefully we can perfect that so that we can reduce the cost of electricity to the tenants. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I like that. In alignment with providing affordable housing, a component to me that is important is providing a reduction in the cost of living. MR. MORALES: Absolutely. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: By incorporating renewable energy into your project, you can begin to offset the cost of living here, which is extremely high, beyond just the cost of living in a house. MR. MORALES: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So I really like that incorporation. Thank you and I'm also expressing that to the younger generation. As you go to do your thing in alignment with your dad, or without, think about these components that tie in and kind of the bigger issues that affect us all in Hawaii. Mahalo for your straightforward and honest answers this morning. It was refreshing to hear such clarity in your answers, versus some of the other projects that we've had come in the door recently revolving around affordable housing. Thank you. MR. MORALES: Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. I just want to give DeMarco a chance to just express how important these kinds of projects are for him and his generation, and for his friends who have, you know, many of them have reached out to us, but it's clearly one of the issues of your generation for kids leaving and hopefully coming back to Hawaii. So can you just say a few words about what are you and your friends thinking around this stuff. Page 8 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. DEMARCO MORALES: Sure. Well, first of all, as one of the testifiers was saying in the beginning, from Jane, I really like these projects for the workforce community, especially those who can't find housing and they're contributing members of our community. And for me personally, to answer your question, I think something I can relate to a lot is when I hear from the older generation, especially when I'm in high school or in college, "Enjoy it while it last,"I feel like I'm of that age now where it kind of lasted and I've had my enjoyment and now I'm in the real world. And all my friends are either in the Mainland or on Oahu or somewhere else that's not here where we all grew up together. And I think it would be really nice if there's other opportunities for people like myself, and of course, everyone else from Kona and from the Big Island in general, and just Hawaii in general, to have somewhere to live from the place that they're from. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. I really do appreciate the voice of your generation being involved and speaking up because we don't always hear that from folks. So thank you so much for bringing that to this project. Wholeheartedly support this project. Thanks. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Thank you both for being here again for this Council hearing. Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thanks, Chair. I just wanted to clarify from the last time we met. I mentioned about the project owner before was Lim but it's Tai. Mr. Tai. MR. MORALES: Correct. Mr. Tai, correct. MR. ONISHI: Right. So you folks took over his project. MR. MORALES: Correct. MR. ONISHL Oh, okay. I had mentioned Lim but then afterwards I remembered, oh, it was Tai. MR. MORALES: Yes. MR. ONISHL Okay. Is he still involved with this project or ? MR. MORALES: Only as the seller of the project, not as the developer of the proj ect. MR. ONISHL Okay, got it. Yeah because he was having some hard times, too, prior to getting this project moving forward. Page 9 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. MORALES: Yes. I think we looked at his design concepts. There were similarities to the building layouts. But in terms of the overall concept in what could be feasible in today's world I think is what we perfected where it was a little bit more challenging back then. MR. ONISHL And then just maybe a suggestion. So he has another property, I think, down in Downtown Hilo. MR. MORALES: Yes. Keawe Street, yes. MR. ONISHL You guys can go look at that because we did give him, I think it was a 500 square foot living area, right. MR. MORALES: Correct. MR. ONISHL And so, that way would give that opportunity to, I guess, get some income to help build that project, right? MR. MORALES: Yes. MR. ONISHL And then supposedly it's supposed to be like—it was proposed to have it in a walking area, you know, everything. That way you don't have to get so much traffic, right? MR. MORALES: Yes. We're very familiar with that project. We've actually designed, in concept, roughly a four-to five-story building, looked at maybe having 5,000 square feet of commercial on the bottom for possibly the County offices. At one time, the VA (United States Department of Veterans Affairs)was looking for 16,000 square feet, so we had designed that. But, yeah, you're correct; he owns that site. It's across the street from spencer's gym, used as a parking lot. And because of access to downtown and transient and everything else, it would be an amazing workforce project for sure. MR. ONISHL I would suggest maybe like the first two floors being parking because then you could also maybe charge people to use it, but then also for the tenants, right. And then maybe the third floor is commercial. And then from there you can move up. I know there's a restriction on height, but you can come to us to get that exemption. MR. MORALES: Absolutely. The question of parking obviously would bring the total height a little bit higher. I think the current zoning allows a pretty significant amount of height as well. But all your points are taken, and I'm glad you know the property. Thank you. MR. ONISHL Yeah, thanks. Okay. Page 10 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yes, thank you. I just wanted to take this opportunity to make one note for your folks. In the HSAC (Hawai`i State Association of Counties) legislative package, this year we do have a bill that would allow us to put the housing preference program that we have incorporated here in our Chapter 11. So, providing a preference for folks that are either residents that are local workforce, returning students, into any 201H application. So the hearing for the house bill, which is S.B. 374 (Senate Bill 374 ), is this Friday. So if anybody is able to testify in support, the senate bill S.B. 466 has not been scheduled for a hearing yet, but it's going to be heard in Stanley Chang's committee. Senator Chang has actually helped us draft this bill, so we expect his support. But one of the things that we were not able to do in the County bill was to set aside a certain portion of the housing for County workforce. That is in the State bill as well. So, obviously, we'll not apply it to this application. But if this is successful at the State level, going forward, as these 201H projects come before us, we will be able to apply those preferences, which I think is important since we're, in essence, by waiving fees subsidizing these projects. We can attach those conditions. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 51-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 51-25: The motion to adopt Res. 51-25 and Legislative Approvals (Adopted) and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 3 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Thank you again for being here. MR. MORALES: Thank you, Council Members. Thank you. Page 11 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Res. 57-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT TO IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC CITATIONS IN HAWAI`I COUNTY Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year agreement with an estimated cost of $249,334 for the first year and $241,614.63 for years two through five to implement an electronic citation program. Reference: Comm. 85 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-17 Vote on Res. 57-25: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 57-25 and (Adopted) Finance Committee Report No. 17. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 58-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR A FACILITIES CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR HAWAI`I COUNTY FACILITIES Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a one-year and six-month agreement with an estimated cost of$328,640, for the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity and Resilience to develop a Facilities Conditions Assessment and Energy Management Plan for County of Hawaii facilities. Reference: Comm. 86 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-18 Vote on Res. 58-25: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 58-25 and (Adopted) Finance Committee Report No. 18. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 12 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Res. 59-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT Allows for the receipt of$3,600,000 of federally-derived funds to support the assessment, design, repairs, and renovation costs of the old Hilo Hospital, located at 34 Rainbow Drive in South Hilo. Reference: Comm. 87 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-19 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 59-25 and Finance Committee Report No. 19. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I'm just going to put it out there to anyone listening, there were mixed reviews on this at the last Council meeting—well, Council Member Kimball saying no—and I understand her reasoning. My comment to anyone listening is that the County is in need of a morgue. Given some of the recent changes by the Hilo Benioff medical facility, we have a decreased ability to store our bodies in our County. And this facility, given some of the funding coming in along with County funding and its proximity to both the police station and the hospital and where we're currently doing our forensic examinations, would be sensible. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I'll just reiterate that I maintain my opposition to this. I hope I am wrong, but I will be voting against it again. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of adopting Resolution 59-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 59-25: The motion to adopt Res. 59-25 and Finance Committee (Adopted) Report No. 19 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: Council Member Kimball — 1. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 13 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Res. 60-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, PURSUANT TO HAWAI`I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE AGENCY Allows for the receipt of$1,000,000 of federally-derived funds to be used towards the Rural Emergency Medical Communications Demonstration Project, which focuses on enhancing lifeline capabilities in rural communities. Reference: Comm. 88 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-20 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 60-25 and Finance Committee Report No. 20. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Mr. Magno, our administrator. Thank you for being here this morning. I haven't seen you in two months, three months. (Note: At this time, Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. MAGNO: Good morning, Council. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good morning. My question for you: How is this grant going to be demonstrated into the community? Is the communications demonstration project lifeline capabilities and rural communities, how are you broadcasting to those communities? MR. MAGNO: The last time I appeared, I presented a PowerPoint that laid out all the objectives. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I wasn't here; I apologize. MR. MAGNO: I understand. So CHR. INABA: You can just be very brief. He can review the presentation later. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, summarize. MR. MAGNO: So we've got a number of partners. This is a Homeland Security grant that was brought to us through the State Department of Health. And so they're one of the partners incorporating some of our other community partners Page 14 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Vibrant Hawaii—and so looking at all the different projects that both of us have, we will be reaching out I guess to fund projects that we had already in mind. So I think it was seven objectives, talking about communication, basic first aid, mental health concerns, taking that all out to the community. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. Who were your partners? MR. MAGNO: So, like I said, Department of Health and Vibrant Hawaii. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's it? MR. MAGNO: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. On that sort of same subject, I wanted to ask ifI recently got an email from Animal Control, who's working with an organization that wants to do something very similar to the animal safety part of this. So I just wondered if you've been in touch with them. MR. MAGNO: Thanks for bringing that up because HAKA (Hawai`i Animal Kuleana Alliance) is one of our partners as well. MS. GALIMBA: Great. Okay. Awesome. CHR. INABA: All right, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 60-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 60-25: The motion to adopt Res. 60-25 and Finance Committee (Adopted) Report No. 20 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. MR. MAGNO: Thank you, Council. Page 15 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Res. 61-25: URGES THE STATE OF HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CONSULT WITH LOCAL POULTRY FARMERS TO DEVELOP AN AVIAN FLU RESPONSE PLAN AND TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES TO DEPOPULATION AS A RESPONSE STRATEGY The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza response plan would include preventative measures, testing and monitoring protocols, and strategies for public outreach, while promoting quarantine and vaccination as opposed to mass culling. Reference: Comm. 90 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball Approve: GOEAC-14 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 61-25 and Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 14. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. Again, the intent behind introducing this resolution was to use this forum as an opportunity to build some public awareness about best practices around poultry raising with respect to Avian Flu. It does present a hazard to a bird population as well as potentially to human health. And the main ask again is just that DOH (Department of Health) consult with our local farmers and have a plan to respond to Avian Flu. So thank you for your previous support, and I hope you will continue to support this resolution. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I like the resolution. I'll be supporting the resolution. My comment is, over the past there's been a very consistent push towards removing funding from HDOA (Hawai`i Department of Agriculture), the different circumstances. And I do hope that this not only sends a message to work with our local poultry farmers, but also that the State needs to invest heavily in our Department of Agriculture and Department of Health to make sure we don't have any of the invasive pest diseases coming in, and that they're actually able to do their job. Pushing back into HDOA at the State level is extremely concerning by some of our State representatives and State senators. So thank you for bringing this forward. I'll be supporting. And I really want to clearly send that message to anyone watching that they need to be very cognizant of what they're doing at the State level in supporting our Department of Ag and Department of Health. Thank you. Page 16 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 61-25,please say "aye." Vote on Res. 61-25: The motion to adopt Res. 61-25 and Governmental (Adopted) Operations and External Affairs Committee Report No. 14 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. 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: 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 (Note: Comm. 39.2, from Council Member Heather L. Kimball dated February 3, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 11, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 11 on second and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. CHR. INABA: We have the applicant here today if anyone has further questions. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Before we proceed, I do have the housekeeping amendment that is required to add the tolling language and the language with respect to what the applicant will have to do if there's a failure to meet the conditions. The applicant Page 17 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 who is here for questions is aware of this amendment and has no objections. So if I may, I'll make the motion to amend Bill 11 with the contents of Communication 39.2. Motion to Amend: Ms. Kimball moved to amend Bill 11 with the contents of Comm. 39.2. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Any discussion on the amendment? Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Maybe the applicant can come up. (Note: At this time, Nimr Tamimi, applicant, came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONISHI: You can introduce yourself. MR. TAMIML Aloha. Nimr Tamimi. MR. ONISHL So you got to see the amendment. You're okay with it? MR. TAMIML Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you. MR. ONISHL Okay, good. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Vice Chair Onishi. All in favor of amending Bill 11 with the contents of Communication 39.2,please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 11 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 39.2 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 18 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Vote on Motion to Ms. Kimball moved to suspend Council Rule 23 to waive Suspend Council the holdover for the substantive amendment of Bill 11. Rules: Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following (Approved) voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Vote on Bill 11: The motion to pass Bill 11, as amended to Draft 2, on Draft 2 second and final reading was carried by the following voice (Adopted) vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Thank you for being here today. Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: Res. 62-25: AUTHORIZES THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO NEGOTIATE A LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY, SITUATED AT KAILUA-KONA, COUNTY AND STATE OF HAWAI`I, IDENTIFIED AS TAX MAP KEY: 7-5-008:027, TO THE ASSOCIATION OF APARTMENT OWNERS OF KAILUA VILLAGE Allows the Association of Apartment Owners of Kailua Village to continue to lease the parcel for Kailua Village Condominium's visitor parking and fire lane access purposes. Reference: Comm. 92 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-4 Page 19 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Vote on Res. 62-25: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 62-25 and Legislative (Adopted) Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 4. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 63-25: 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., FOR THE PURCHASE AND SHIPPING OF A PORTABLE PITCHING MOUND Transfers $6,395 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 6); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 106 Intr. by: Council Member Galimba Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 63-25. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. This is a collective effort by the West Hawaii Council Member team to get a traveling pitching mound for our kids. I ask for my colleagues' support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 63-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 63-25: The motion to adopt Res. 63-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kagiwada— 1. Excused: None. Page 20 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 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: Bill 15: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 16-85 WHICH AMENDED ORDINANCE NO. 06-114, WHICH AMENDED 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 GENERAL COMMERCIAL—20,000 SQUARE FEET (CG-20) AT WAIAKEA HOUSE LOTS, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 2-2-034:066, 078, AND 079 (Applicant: Big Island Candies, Inc.) (Area: Approx. 45,450 square feet) The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for the applicant's request for an eight-year time extension to Condition C (Time Requirement to Complete Construction) and Conditions D, E, and F (Roadway Improvements) for the development of a production facility, cold storage, and visitor center. The property is located along the makai side of Kekuanao`a Street between Laukapu Street and Hinano Street, Waiakea House Lots, South Hilo. Reference: Comm. 75 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-5 (Note: Comm. 75.2, from Council Member Heather L. Kimball dated February 3, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 15, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 15 on first reading and adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 5. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. INABA: Any discussion? Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: This one also requires a housekeeping amendment. Motion to Amend: Ms. Kimball moved to amend Bill 15 with the contents of Comm. 75.2. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Any discussion on the amendment? Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can I have the applicant come? (Note: At this time, Tom Yeh, applicant's representative, and Allan Ikawa, Chairman of the Board for Big Island Candies, Inc., came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONISHL You can introduce yourselves. Page 21 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. YEH: Good morning, members of the Council, and aloha. Tom Yeh representing Big Island Candies. MR. IKAWA: Good morning. Allan Ikawa, Chairman, Big Island Candies. MR. ONISHL So you guys got to see the amendment? MR. YEH: We did and it looks fine. Thank you, Councilwoman Kimball. It's a good, consolidated measure. Kind of makes the reading a little bit simpler. We're good with that. We appreciate it. MR. ONISHL Okay, sounds great. Thank you. MR. IKAWA: Thanks. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Vice Chair Onishi. All those in favor of amending Bill 15 with the contents of Communication 75.2,please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 15 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 75.2 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Any further discussion on the main motion? Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good morning. MR. YEH: Good morning. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I just wanted to say I appreciate small business in Hilo and not so small, but I mean you kind of are a small business according to Federal standards. But you guys do a tremendous job in our community, and you provide a lot of jobs. And watching you grow has been a joy to me over the past 20, 30 years. MR. IKAWA: Thank you. As you know, it's really tough to do business now. It's really hard. It's a struggle. But it's our role to give back to our community, so thank you very much. Page 22 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. As a fellow small businessperson, yes, it is extremely difficult, and it's not getting any easier lately. You've got a good lawyer. I appreciate you guys. Thank you for coming in today. Tom, good to see you. MR. YEH: I appreciate it. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I yield, Chair. MR. IKAWA: Thank you very much. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Bill 15 at first reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 15: The motion to pass Bill 15, as amended to Draft 2, on first Draft 2 reading and adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions (Approved) Committee Report No. 5 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: Res. 64-25: 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 ITS 2025 D.A.R.E. DAY EVENT IN WEST HAWAI`I Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 6); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 107 Intr. by: Council Member Galimba Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 64-25. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. Page 23 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. It's my privilege to be able to support this program, and I ask for my colleagues' support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of adopting Resolution 64-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 64-25: The motion to adopt Res. 64-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 65-25: 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 ISLAND HIV/AIDS FOUNDATION TO PURCHASE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT FOR ITS KONA OFFICE Transfers $4,800 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 8); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 108 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 65-25. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. CHR. INABA: This is from my office. The resolution provides funding for Kumukahi for their office in Kona, to provide computers that are used by those who go to the facility to access medical care and other community resources. So I ask for your support. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: I just want to take this moment; maybe it's a point of personal privilege. But during a time in our national government when members of this community who have suffered from AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) are directly being targeted and their resources removed, to their names expunged and a litany of other repugnant actions, I am deeply grateful for your allocation of resources to this. And I claim this as a reflection of the value system of our County and our acceptance and embracing of people with diverse lifestyles and who find themselves in times of health issues and challenges. I, myself, will personally continue also to support this population in our community. So thank you, Chair Inaba. Page 24 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Just speaking on behalf of this organization. They work in Puna. They work in Hilo. They work in Kona. They work island-wide and they do tremendous work to uplift our community and different sectors within our community. So, to the organization, mahalo for what you're doing. And to Mr. Inaba, thank you for providing this funding so they can better serve the area of Kona. Mahalo. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of adopting Resolution 65-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 65-25: The motion to adopt Res. 65-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 66-25: 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 EXPENSES RELATING TO ITS KEIKI BOWL PROJECT Transfers $20,000 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. 109 Intr. by: Council Member Villegas Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 66-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Just ask for the support of my colleagues for the allocation of this funding to join our prior approved allocation of funding from Council Chair Inaba. Super excited, super grateful, and really impressed and proud of our community for collaborating, coming together, and organizing this. Also a huge mahalo to Parks and Rec (Recreation) and their support of the project. I think this Page 25 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 is a wonderful example and reflection of what collaboration between public and private partnerships can bring to fruition for the benefit of our community. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 66-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 66-25: The motion to adopt Res. 66-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 69-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION WITH EXPENSES RELATING TO THE 32ND ANNUAL WAIMEA CHERRY BLOSSOM HERITAGE FESTIVAL Transfers $3,283 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Culture and Education Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 114 Intr. by: Council Member Hustace Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 69-25. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate the support for this resolution. This past weekend the Waimea community celebrated its 32nd annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Festival, which was a fantastic event. I didn't see all of you there, unfortunately, but we were graced by—I did invite you so I do hope that you join me next time. But we were graced by Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, the Mayor and his team, the Consul General of Japan in Honolulu as well as the Honorary Consul General of Japan here in Hilo, Senator Richards. And then later in the day, Congresswoman Jill Tokuda was in attendance. But the resolution really speaks to the history. It speaks about the history of the festival, as well as all the events. Fabulous to see the community come out, averaging around 20,000 people that came out for the event that one particular Page 26 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 day, celebrating bon dance. There were line dancing, mochi pounding, taiko drumming, really the unique culture and heritage and blend of culture and heritage in Waimea. We also honored the late Ruth Dick, who was a member of the Bon-yu Kai Bonsai Club in Waimea, and really celebrating the heritage and history and all the work that the community does to keep that peace of our culture moving forward. Really did see a lot of those beautiful trees that are much older than some of us here on the dais that generations have kept up through the years in that space. But I'm grateful, of course, to the Parks and Rec division, particularly the Culture and Education Division. It's a team of two. Morton Carter, Jr., does an amazing job. We also had support from former staff from that division: Bert Mukai and Mark Carvalho. And then of course, are supported by community groups like the Waimea Lions Club. So it's a lot of volunteers and volunteer efforts that really bring this event together, and it really was a fabulous event. So these funds are covering the cost of the souvenir booklets that were given out at the event. So I appreciate your support on this. And like I said, I hope to see you next year. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Hustace. With that, all those in favor of approving Resolution 69-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 69-25: The motion to adopt Res. 69-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 70-25: 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 8); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 115 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba Page 27 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 70-25. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. CHR. INABA: This measure is alsoI have a halfsies measure with what Council Member Villegas introduced at the last meeting. This is for the portable pitching mound in Kona. So I ask for your support. All those in favor of approving Resolution 70-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 70-25: The motion to adopt Res. 70-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. 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): (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Bill 12: AMENDS CHAPTER 5D, ARTICLE 1, SECTIONS 5D-1-3 AND 5D-1-6, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO THE ELECTRICAL CODE Adds electrical work performed by an electrical utility on any generating plant, receiving station, switching station, distributing station, supply lines or mains, overhead service drop, and underground or station service supply conductor as exempted from the provisions of the County Electrical Code. Reference: Comm. 62 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball and Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder Approve: PCPWMT-1 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 12 on first reading and adopt Policy Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit Committee Report No. 1. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. I'm not sure if DPW (Department of Public Works) Director is here for this particular item, but I do have the department's support. This brings us in line with the other three counties exempting the transmission Page 28 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 and power production, electrical, from our building permitting process and inspections. We don't have the ability to do it anyway, and it's under the PUC's (Public Utilities Commission's)jurisdiction. It should be pretty straightforward. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Happy to be a part of this, and thank you for incorporating me into the bill, given my background as an electrician for ten years. I like this. I did something completely different but in the same alignment with all the other counties are doing it a certain way and we tend to be the last one rolling over to the same way it's done everywhere else. So I'm really happy to see us move this way and hopes this opens up opportunities for our renewable energy folks acting as a utility in our County, so we can propose more large-scale renewable energy projects. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Bill 12 at first reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 12: The motion to pass Bill 12 on first reading and adopt Policy (Approved) Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit Committee Report No. 1 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. 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 29 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Bill 18: AMENDS SECTION 25-8-7 (NORTH AND SOUTH KOHALA DISTRICT ZONE MAP), ARTICLE 8, CHAPTER 25 (ZONING) OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY CHANGING THE DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION FROM AGRICULTURAL— 1 ACRE (A-la) TO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL— 10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10) AT `OULI, SOUTH KOHALA, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 6-2-001:075 (POR.) (Applicant: Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation) (Area: 14.321 acres) The Leeward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for this amendment to the State Land Use Boundaries Map and for the requested change of zone, with an amendment to Condition N(Fair Share), which would allow the applicant to subdivide the property into 43 lots. The property is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Kawaihae Road and Waiula Drive, Kawaihae 2nd-Lanikepu, Waimea, South Kohala. Reference: Comm. 77 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-7 (Note: Comm. 77.2, from Council Member Heather L. Kimball dated February 3, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 18, was circulated.) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 18 on first reading and adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 7. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Similar to the other land use ordinances that we looked at today, this has housekeeping language. Again, it has to do with the tolling language, the process that should be utilized should terms of conditions not be met. I did also want to highlight something that is different with respect to this one, which is the amendment to Condition M, which removes the clause "Should the affordable housing subdivision not be developed as represented, the Applicant shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 11, Article 1, Hawai`i County Code relating to Affordable Housing Policy." This amendment has been presented to the applicant but Mr. Kato is here. I ask for my colleagues' support in amending Bill 18. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Mr. Kato, do you have any opposition to the amendment before us? (Note: At this time, Keith Kato and Jeremy McComber of Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation came forward to address the members of the Council.) Page 30 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. KATO: Good morning. We had a chance to review the proposed amendments and we have no objections. CHR. INABA: Thank you very much for being here. Any further discussion on the amendment? Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Just a quick question for my own clarity. Here we had discussed potential amendments to the longevity of affordability requirements for this project in prior discussions, and I'm wondering if this was the amendment that was crafted in order to cover that. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I did have that discussion with the applicant. When we get back to the main bill, I will share where we are with that, but this does not include anything relating to the term of affordability. This is just housekeeping. MS. VILLEGAS: Gotcha. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of amending Bill 18 with the contents of Communication 77.2,please say "aye." Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 18 with the contents of Amend: Comm. 77.2 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Going back to you, Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I would love to have Mr. Kato talk a little bit about the term of affordability. We did have a discussion about what an amendment might look like, but we have not drafted anything. But I did want to share, and he can expound upon this, that with respect to these housing units, there is a contractual agreement for 15 years with revenue-sharing if the units are sold. But Mr. Kato did share out some statistics with respect to how many folks actually hold onto these homes, and two-thirds actually have been in there for 25 years in other projects. So, with the concern that the Council has, I think it warrants further discussion. It looks like we are being provided some of this information right now. Page 31 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 But I leave it to Mr. Kato to talk a little bit about the term of affordability. This is different, I think, than other projects from the fact that it is a self-help. And part of the value is that sweat equity. People have a different level of commitment to these units perhaps than others out there. So, Mr. Kato, I leave it to you to expound upon our discussion and share your thoughts. MR. KATO: Thank you very much. We basically looked at what it is that our program is in. What we're planning on doing is having a 15-year buyback provision, which is basically over and above what Chapter 11 requires. But we've put some statistics together so we can compare apples to apples here (see Comm. 77.3). On the top, you see the green bar, which the top line basically—let me just walk through it. We have 43 units in total. Chapter 11 would require 20 percent of the units be affordable, which would then be nine units. And it would be affordable for ten years,per Chapter 11, which if you take the nine houses at ten years each, you get 90 years, or basically guaranteed affordability. Alternative to Chapter 11, which has been discussed, is changing the ten to thirty would result in 270 affordable years. Our proposal is a hundred percent affordable for 15 years, and as you can see, it's like 645 affordable years that are assured by what we propose to do. We also looked at what's happened with the there's an adjacent 40-unit subdivision quite adjacent to this project. And we did this project 1999 to the year 2000. So 25 years later, basically two-thirds of the units are still owned by the original self-help builders. There's two other units that we bought back during the buyback periods, and we resold them basically back to the target market. And so, in total, 70 percent of those homes are still with the target market. There were some sales. Thirty percent of the homes did sell. But, really, they sold after an average of 15 years from the time that they completed the home. So I think that the project, really, has achieved this purpose of providing affordable housing, and also providing some opportunity for the self-help builders to utilize the equity. In summary, we would just suggest that basically let us do what we plan to do, which is to have a 15-year buyback on all of the houses. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Kato. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha, Mr. Kato. Thank you for creating this graph and for petitioning for it to stay the way that it has been for you guys to manage this. Unfortunately, I'm going to continue to push. Doing things the way we've done Page 32 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 them has gotten us to right where we are, over and over and over again. And we have an opportunity that far supersedes prior opportunities by a billionaire purchasing property and giving it to the County for this. I just have to point out this math doesn't make sense to me. But if you have nine affordable units and they're affordable for ten years, that doesn't give you 90 years of affordability. You still have nine units for ten years. The numbers here, I have to question those. I understand what's the message you're trying to send, but I'm afraid this isn't an accurate reflection of the houses. We don't end up with 645 affordable years off of 15 units. So I would just humbly continue to petition. You were offered an opportunity by Chair Inaba to help draft the terminology that is asking for more progressive paradigm for affordable housing that allows for these homes and these properties to remain in the arena of affordability for much longer and for these families, and for families in the future. I think that we talked about a potential of 25-30 years being a time frame. That's a typical time frame for a mortgage anyway. So I don't think it's pushing too far. I think it is being progressive, and it is really taking this opportunity and ensuring that these properties and these homes remain within the reach of our local families for authentic ownership moving forward for decades. So thank you. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Just to kind of share. The metric under the last column here under the green section is really just a way to compare across the three different platforms. So it's not saying that there's 90 years of affordability. It's just saying that you have nine times ten is ninety. If you have nine times thirty, two hundred seventy. It's not a meaningful metric except by basis of a way to compare how much time you have of affordability for the project as a whole. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Hustace and then Council Member Kagiwada. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. I'd also like to note that the percentage you're100 percent are in the affordable category. So I just want to point that out, versus the 20 percent from the other options there, another pass on that. Could you elaborate, Mr. Kato, on the donation of the land and what that has allowed and granted you and your efforts and/or the community at large? MR. KATO: The donation of the land was specifically to do affordable housing. So our agreement is that we are going to do the entire project as affordable. When we were discussing it with the donor, we basically let them know here's what we do; here's the kind of requirements we have. They were concerned that Page 33 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 there wouldn't be an immediate flip over of the property so people would be profiting right off the bat. And we assured them that's not what we propose. And so we basically told them this is what we plan to do, and so they understood that. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you. If I'm not mistaken, this is just the initial phase that you are proposing for this donated parcel. MR. KATO: Right. We'd like to do more. It really depends on how much water we can secure. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. And the total acreage that was donated? MR. KATO: Four hundred forty acres. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. So, first of all, thank you for taking the time to come and meet with me about this project because I also didn't really understand what the metrics meant before we met. And I really was also very interested in looking at pushing out the time frame on affordability. But once I understood the project and these metrics a little more after asking you questions and you being patient and explaining it to me, I feel like this is actually the most progressive way we can do this. It's getting 43 families into affordable homes at the onset. And right now is when we need this. Right now is when our people are leaving the island. Right now is when we will not get people back once they move away. And so, for me, the hundred percent, all 43 units,would be at an affordable rate is more important than nine families getting helped only; nine units being affordable for an extended period of time. So I absolutely am very happy to support this project in the way you've laid it out and now that I really understand what it means. So thank you for taking that time. I think that was really important. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Vice Chair Onishi and then Council Member Kierkiewicz. MR. ONISHL My question is, so when you folks sold it at open market, what was the price at that time? MR. KATO: No, I'm sorry; we didn't sell it at open market. After the affordability period was over, then the family was able to sell it on their own. MR. ONISHL They sold it. Oh, okay. Page 34 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. KATO: But I presumed that they sold it at market, whatever that was. MR. ONISHL Oh, okay. So you guys don't monitor that? MR. KATO: No. MR. ONISHL Oh, okay. Is there a possibility of you folks monitoring or it's just ? MR. KATO: It's another task that we have to do, which takes away from our ability to do more homes, but yeah we can monitor it. MR. ONISHL If we want to keep it affordable, right, we want to kind of—if they're going to pass it on to someone else who can afford it, right. MR. KATO: Well, at that point, it really becomes like a whole other program we'd be running then. And I think we'd rather focus our efforts on building the homes. MR. ONISHL Okay. The last thing that—that's okay. I'll yield. Thanks. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Mr. Kato and Mr. McComber, great to see you. Thank you for being here. Mr. Kato, could you give us a sense of who you are serving? We often talk about wanting to make sure that housing goes to local families, but I wonder if you could just go high level list of individuals in the community, what they do for a living. Because, I think with a program like this, homeownership is just out of reach for so many folks. So if you could give us a sense of who you're serving, I think that would be really helpful. MR. KATO: Sure. We've had a whole range of people. We've had people work for material supply houses, specifically HPM (HPM Building Supply). We've had some of their employees in our projects, public school cafeteria workers, receptionists at accountants' offices, people work at Starbucks, KTA (KTA Super Stores). So it's really they're all employed and they are basically local people. I think we did sort of a tally one time of one of our projects; half of the participants are part-Hawaiian. So it really benefits the local community. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you for that overview. I continue to be amazed by the fact that 100 percent of the units for this particular project will be available at an affordable rate. I appreciate your model of families being actively engaged and involved in the construction process, building a sense of not just ownership but a sense of community. And going back to Council Member Kagiwada's point, you are servicing immediate needs right now. I don't know of other developers that are building at the rates that HICDC (Hawai`i Island Community Page 35 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Development Corporation) is, and so I'm not going to be supporting any amendments to change the model that you folks have successfully demonstrated over the last few decades. I'm going to be supporting the measure as is. Thank you. MR. KATO: Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Vice Chair Onishi and thenoh, sorry, Council Member Galimba, go ahead. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. I understand the desire to have more affordability for a longer period, but I think there's a couple of things that are important to consider. And I know first off, of course, is building equity for our local families. So I don't think it's fair to sort of restrict them from building equity in the houses that they helped to build. So that's why I see this 15 years as a reasonable thing. And the other part of it is there's almost sort of negative incentives. If you keep the affordability out for a very long period of time, it's almost like they aren't owning their property. You start to get some of the negative effects of sort of social control of market assets. So, for those two reasons, I think that 15 years is a reasonable amount of time to keep it affordable. I just wondered if there'd be a previous development. We did ask that there be deed restrictions that would prevent it from going on the short-term vacation rental market. And I was wondering if there is any of that in this plan for this or if you'd be open to making that kind of deed restriction, which I think would help allay some concerns about us building—sort of going backwards. MR. KATO: Okay, I guess I'm not really clear what the current legislation is on the short-term rentals. My understanding, though, is that it would not be allowed in this area. This is a single-family residential zone MS. GALIMBA: Is it agriculture? Is it—no? MR. KATO: The request is to rezone it. MS. GALIMBA: (Inaudible), right? MR. KATO: Yeah. MS. GALIMBA: Right. So, yeah, it could be allowed, essentially. MR. KATO: I think if it'sI would think that is really a function of the short- term rental bill, to regulate where you can do these things. And it's certainly kind of outside of our field to say, "Well, we're going to monitor the homes to see Page 36 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 whether they're doing short-term rentals or not." So I can understand what you're saying, but I don't think that it's a condition that ought to be imposed on this project and its particular—or on our function, really. MS. GALIMBA: Thanks. There was some language that we used in a previous change of zone request, and perhaps we could look at that. But, for now, thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Vice Chair Onishi and then Council Member Kimball. MR. ONISHL I just wanted to, I guess, make a note that we want to thank first Mr. and Mrs. Benioff, right, for(inaudible) of properties. But also they provided some funding for infrastructure, correct? MR. KATO: That's right. MR. ONISHL And that was, what, seven point something million? MR. KATO: In total, yes. MR. ONISHL Yeah. And that's how we can—well, your organization can do this project, correct? MR. KATO: That's right. MR. ONISHL Yeah. Okay. Because of the because if you folks had to put in the MR. MCCOMBER: Sorry, can I clarify? Jeremy McComber, HICDC. So we can do some of the infrastructure work with that money, not all of it, yeah. MR. ONISHL Right. Yeah, I mean, but at least it helps offset the cost. I mean, if you guys had to do it a hundred percent, it would be harder for you guys to offer what you guys are offering. Right? MR. KATO: Yeah, definitely. MR. ONISHL Right. Yeah, okay. And I just wanted to let the public know about this whole thing. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah,just for the record, the zoning would not permit unhosted rentals because it would require a nonconforming use certificate. Those are no longer available in residential. The previous project that Michelle was referring Page 37 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 to, Kona Three, those were RM (Multi-Family Residential). Unhosted rentals are permitted in RM with kind of minimalization. So it is prohibited, as you said. And so that amendment, I think, is unnecessary. I will say that our current language allows for STVRs (short-term vacation rentals) that are hosted. So, if the residents wanted to rent out a room on a short- term basis, they would be permitted to do so. And this is stepping into the boundary of that legislation, like that's been one of the things, is we also know that being able to rent a room on a short-term basis is one of the ways people make ends meet. So I would recommend against any sort of amendment to this bill with regard to STVRs because it's managed elsewhere. I'll leave that there for now because—well, let me just say that one of the possibilities, if folks are interested, that I suggested to Mr. Kato was that, in broad strokes, the terms of their agreement, the 15 years, the buyback provisions, the revenue-sharing, that could be added as an amendment. It's already in their contract with the recipients of the program. But if there were concerns, to have that in writing as part of the bill; that was a recommended mechanism. Obviously, we'd need to still do some work on that, but I suggest that's a possibility. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you, Council Member. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you for being here this morning, gentlemen. I am looking over the documents provided by Planning, and I'm running through some of the requests that you have made for exceptions from the Subdivision Code. And I am going to ask a series of questions that I find a little bit concerning given that the land was donated and that your costs have been reduced in some aspects, and what you're asking for under the kind of affordable housing justification. And I'm going to preface this statement by kind of explaining it at the bottom of these requests for exceptions that DPW recommended in the opposite. So please explain your justifications for wanting to decrease the thickness of the roadways, and if that's still true. MR. KATO: Sure. Just to back up a little bit, the request for the changes to the construction standards was through a PUD, a Planned Unit Development. And that was approved by the planning commission. So it's not really a matter that's part of this application. But in terms specifically regarding that two inches of asphalt as opposed to three, it has been the requirement of the County for decades upon decades that the asphalt be two inches minimum. And we are basically just saying we'd like to go back to that because it'sif you add more asphalt, you add more cost. And we're basically trying to keep the cost down as much as we can wherever we can. Page 38 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I understand that. I think my issue is if you don't build to County's dedicable standards, when you're done with the project you're hoping to dedicate the roads back to the County, which is what this application asks for. But DPW is saying that they will not accept it if they're not built to dedicable standards. MR. KATO: We've done this kind of adjustment request before. And this is the first time out of allI don't know what we've done; maybe about five subdivisions the first time that Public Works came back with this comment that they won't accept dedication. And to be honest with you, I think it's a matter of who was reviewing it and their outlook on things. It's not like a longstanding Public Works policy. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I would caution in my district, having these massive sprawling subdivisions that were created in the '70s, '60s, created thousands of miles of private roadways without a Subdivision Code in place that have since become probably the biggest issue in maybe even Hawaii Island because the County doesn't want them. The County won't accept them because they're not dedicable standards. They're not built to a standard. They're not even right-of-way width acceptable. That problem lingers and will continue to linger until we're able to address it. So, when I look at this application and I see the request to step away from dedicable standards because it's costly, I am reminded greatly that 50 years later, we are all now trying to figure out how to help the residents who have begun to infill into these communities with their roadways. Because, we allowed via a lack of Subdivision Code and lacking County Code, the development of miles and miles and acres and acres of subdivisions without proper infrastructure. So I'm going to kind of rehash that question again before I bring up DPW, how are we going to explain this to our kids that we're going to step back from standards because it's costly; we'll let the future generations figure it out. MR. KATO: Well, okay, I guess to be clear, what we're planning on building is nowhere near the substandard roads that you have in Paradise Park MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Agreed. MR. KATO: Eden Roc and all of those places. So to compare them is quite a stretch, I would say. Now, if you want to really compare it, I think what we're proposing to build is probably more substantial than 70 percent of the roads in Hilo, all of which are dedicated to the County. This is basically the typical subdivision standard that was used I think since the adoption of the Subdivision Code in 1967. So this is not anything that is going to be a particular thing that is going to be standing out as a problem. Page 39 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. With the move from State land use ag to State land use urban, are you looking at the potential of having these units be able to build ADUs (accessory dwelling units) on their property, given the recent County Code changes? MR. KATO: I think whatever the County Code is going to allow. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then water. It looks like there's 35 or 38 water credits available. You're seeking 8 more. Have you secured water, or is water development planned as part of this request? MR. KATO: Well, actually, the overall water allocation we have I think stands at 58 right now. So we're not using all the water that's allocated to the property. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Within the document, it says something different. It says you have 35 water credits; you're seeking an additional 8. There's also a request for water development by a third party—unless I'm reading the wrong application but it also speaks to stepping away from drywells because of the requirement or the need to have water development for the project. MR. KATO: Well, there's designated sites on the property that could be used for water wells. And because of that, we don't want to be doing the deep drywells, because that wouldn't be allowed by the Department of Health. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. That's what I'm reading too. MR. KATO: But that's the issue regarding the drainage. In terms of the water availability, we haveI don't know what is in there, but the Water Department wouldn't have gone past the Planning Department if we didn't have water commitments for these properties. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. If DPW could come up, please. Mr. Ono. (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Hugh Ono came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONO: Good morning, everybody. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good morning, Director Ono. How are you doing? MR. ONO: I'm doing fine. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: My time is short because I spoke already at length. My question for the department is there are a number of requests to step Page 40 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 away from the requirements under our Subdivision Code, which we've seen before in the past for affordable housing projects, and some of which I'm not opposed to. But a few of them caught my attention, which was decreasing the thickness of the asphalt for the road; decreasing and stepping away from sidewalks, curbs, and gutters; and then drainage, flood, and erosion mitigation measures. At the very bottom of these planning documents, it says, "Despite the preceding, DPW recommends that the applicant provide improvements to project street frontages, including but not limited to concrete sidewalks, drainage improvements, and any required utility relocations, meeting the requirements of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Thus, while DPW supports some of the deviations from the subdivision code requested in the PUD application . . . they do not support relief from minimum right-of-way and pavement widths and relief from the requirements of curbs, gutters, and sidewalks. If these exceptions are granted, DPW is not willing to accept dedication . . . ." I'm asking you, what happens when they finish the project and they come back and ask for dedication? MR. ONO: Well, the whole concept of dedication is really good, because what you're going to end up with in the end is what I call a"complete street." And for those of us that have dedicable streets really don't have to worry about it because the County in the end is responsible for that. For myself, I live in a subdivision that is not dedicable. It's nice but I regret that the streets aren't dedicable. We have to do our own thing over there. So it's a disadvantage for a property owner. So always best to try and achieve dedicable standards. But to balance this with affordability is a delicate balance there. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I agree with that. Chair, can I have one more question, please? CHR. INABA: Quickly. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So, should the project move forward the way it is right there, and they proceed with creating a subdivision code but stepping away from some of the requirements that we currently have under the affordable housing justification, what happens when they're done and they come in front of DPW and they say, "We want to dedicate these roads to you," and they're not built to the Subdivision Code's current standards and they're not complete streets? MR. ONO: I don't know the answer to that, but there's a new bill that we're working on right now which has to do with construction, maintenance, and improvements on private roads. The procedure is being developed right now, and that's a big step forward for these substandard roads. But it's the law so we're going to implement. Page 41 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: It's an interesting answer. Thank you. I yield, Chair. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Mr. Kato, I was wondering if you could remind me. I think when we met you told me, but what is the mission of your organization? MR. KATO: The mission is to provide affordable housing for residents of the Big Island, low- and moderate-income residents. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So, when you have any cost savings in a project, say it's donated land or a reduced cost for some of these items, what happens to those cost savings? MR. KATO: I think if you look specifically at this case, we were, as Councilman Onishi pointed out, we were given some—we have an agreement to receive money to do infrastructure. And the agreement is that whatever funds that are there at the end of the project will roll over into the next project. And so that's basically what we're going to do, is any money we can save will benefit us in terms of going forward and building more homes. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. So, when you have cost savings, it just means you can do more projects for workforce and affordable, as in your mission MR. KATO: That's right. MS. KAGIWADA: For people on this island. Okay. All right. I just wanted to clarify that because I think that's a really important distinction as far as we work—we see a lot of projects before us, and sometimes they're for-profit developers. Sometime, they're different organizations. And I really see your organization as having a very specific mission that continues to support our people. And any cost savingsgranted, we want to make sure that they are the right cost savings but any cost savings that you get from whether it's however you get those cost savings, it's going to help build more homes for our people on this island. Okay, thank you so much. I appreciate it. MR. KATO: If I may point out that what we're proposing to build is actually one of the County's standards. There's a curb, gutter, sidewalk standard and then there is a fully-improved paved Swale standard. So what we're basically talking about doing is doing this kind of subdivision that you see all over the place, which is the entire 50 feet is paved. There's paved swales. The roadways are paved. It's nowhere near anything that's going to deteriorate rapidly over time. And it's basically something that has been built and approved by the County for years. Page 42 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 CHR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Kato. We also have folks from the Engineering Division. Do you folks have any comment at this time? You're just here for questions or ? You can come forward. (Note: At this time, Deputy Chief Melanie DeMello, Public Works Department, came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. DEMELLO: Good morning, Council. Melanie DeMello, DPW Engineering Division Deputy Chief. I can't speak to the specific comments that—I'm not familiar with the specific comments made on this application. I will say that generally for PUD development, DPW does stick to dedicable standard requirements. We generally don't deviate from what we consider dedicable standards. That being said, it is a Planning Department document. So if the PUD ends up—depending on what the result is and what the PUD document says, that's generally what we would end up adhering to when the construction plans come in. So, with this one in particular, I know you read off some of the comments we had. I guess what I could say to that is that, yes, generally we would stick to our dedicable standard that we feel is best for public safety as far as right of way, sidewalk, curb, and gutter, that kind of thing. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Going back to Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. What is your name again? MS. DEMELLO: Melanie DeMello. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. DeMello. MR. ONO: She's our deputy in the Engineering Division. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I can see why because that comment that she just made is exquisite and simple. I would like you to review this planning document in front of us. The department did comment and I'm just reading the comments that were provided. What I understand is, Subdivision Code is created to create standards so we don't have issues going forward. And we do move that line a little bit here and there to help developments. Sunrise Ridge is no different. That's Swale. There's no curbs and gutters. We've improved things there as well at other affordable housing projects with the same idea. So some things I think we can move on. But right-of-way width, pavement width, those lend themselves to problems down the line in 10, 20, 30 years. Because, these are dedicable standards that we create that we adhere to that we require all community to adhere to. And that's a struggle that I face in my district. What I Page 43 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 really don't want to see is we help pass a project that becomes a problem in 10 years because we allowed for things to be done on a minimal aspect. Some areas we can do that. Some areas we should not do that. It's not pono. It's not best practice. Thoughts? MS. DEMELLO: Right. I can certainly go back and look at this particular document, which I was planning to do. Yeah, like I said, right now I don't know the specifics of the conversations that were had. It does sound like, if I'm hearing correctly, that the PUD was already approved. So there may have been those conversations. The Planning Department, I believe, ultimately makes the decision on what goes into that document. So I will go back and review. Like I said, I can speak to what generally our standard comments would be. I'll definitely go and look at what was discussed for this particular project. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. MS. DEMELLO: Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And to the applicant, your affordable housing guidelines I like. Your math is interesting. The total affordable years category is kind of an interesting take on the affordability of the project. But 43 units a hundred percent affordable, 15 years, your 65 percent of 25 years later self-help builders remaining as owners, you're allowing for equity to be built in community—all those things I can get behind. I'm sticking to that point of we've got to build good so that the people who live in these homes for 25, 30 and they build the equity aren't stuck trying to foot the bill for fixing their roads later on, or wishing they had 10 more feet to get in and out so that the County could actually dedicate that road back to the County and take it off of their expense, like a private road would be handled by any other entity in the County. That's kind of my gripe right now. I'm going to work with Planning on that going forward. So, the affordability piece, thank you very much. I know what you guys do for our community. The build part I'm going to push back on. MR. KATO: If I could just, yeah,just to clarify one thing. There's one section where we had requested a reduction in the right of way to 40 feet. And this is a short road; I think it's something like 300 feet long. It serves four lots. It's not a through street. So it's really almost like a cul-de-sac I guess you might say. It will be 40 feet of—all of it would be paved. It would be swales. It would look just like a typical County street except that it's only 40 feet. We felt that that was helpful because the terrain is such that if we were to go 50 feet, then we'd be pushing these lots kind of down the slope. At that point, we would be making it more difficult to build the homes. Page 44 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Kato. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I just want to say that Mr. Kato is not someone that cuts corners. He could teach a master class on housing development; has decades of experience of building workforce housing in our community. And I think the insinuation of trying to cut corners and sacrificing public health and safety is wrong. I'm going to encourage Deputy DeMello to work closely with HICDC to make sure that, yes,we'd like to get as close to the standards that are on the books, but if there are ways to be flexible to ensure that the project is affordable, I'm going to encourage that. I've convened a number of housing developers that have talked about the issues with development are related to our Code and our permitting process. That is what is costing developments today. And so I want to make sure that—Mr. Kato, you know we appreciate all of the work that you are doing, and you are not making suggestions out of thin air. There was a lot of thought that went into the planning process, the concept of this particular community. So I want to thank you for that. Chair, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. With that, Mr. Kato, the plan for the roads that are not being built to dedicable standards, is that for an association to manage in the future, assuming that the feedback from DPW is that they would not be accepting the roads? MR. KATO: Yeah, well, I guess it would end up that way. It's our hope, really, that with the new Administration we can revisit the issue with Public Works. CHR. INABA: Okay, thank you. With that—go ahead. MR. ONISHL Okay, I just wanted to echo what's been happening with Public Works. So my question to Public Works is the cost, right. When we look down the line and we're talking about taxpayer money going have to repair these roads, right, what are we looking at? Because, in Hilo, we have a lot of roads that need to be paved, and I know you folks are limited on funding for paving roads, right. And so that's my question. And it also, with being two-inch compared to three- inch, what is the lifespan? MR. ONO: Councilperson Onishi,please rephrase the question for me again. MR. ONISHL Looking down the road, if the County accepts the roadway, right, what would be the cost maybe 20 years from now if we need to repave those roads? For example, by my house there is, on Kahaopea Street, there's an apartment building that was done previous. The work that was done, now it's sinking. I guess the foundation on the bottom is kind of sinking down. So there's Page 45 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 a little bit, what you call, those dips or whatever, right. So my question is what would be the cost for Public Works to maintain? Because like even within Hilo, right, we have roads that are dedicated to the County and we've got to maintain it. But you folks have limited funding for paving. I mean, it's great now compared to before, because now we have the equipment and so forth, right. And so a lot is done in-house now, right. But there's only limited funding and it has to go island- wide. So my question is, for the department, is it okay to continue accepting this kind of standard roads? MR. ONO: No. Let me explain. No matter what the infrastructure is, it does not last forever. Okay. Proper maintenance is actually a reconstruction of the roads as necessary. It just never ends. You can see that. A good example would be the water lines with the water supply in Honolulu. They're better now, but they were facing mainline breaks day after day after day. And it's the same with roads and highways. The maintenance doesn't end. So, we as a County are going to end up with the responsibility for doing that. The funding will always be a challenge. MR. ONISHL Okay. Now, by having it two inches compared to three inches, lifespan-wise the three would last longer. MR. ONO: Yes. MR. ONISHL Okay. And so, as was mentioned in the report or by DPW's comments that they wouldn't accept it at two inches. I mean, that's what I think it is. But if it's a three inch MR. ONO: I'm not familiar with that. But my comment to that is the best product for roads is concrete. But when you build with concrete, you get a 50- year life out of that; really good. But when you have to go repair a waterline or something underneath it, it's very difficult and that's why asphalt flexible pavements are much more favorable than other pavements. They last decently long enough, and they're easy to fix because you can cold-patch them or hot- patch them. There's a lot of ways to refresh them. We have chipseal treatments that can refresh the surface treatments. That's the best that I can offer. MR. ONISHL Okay. Well, I'm just looking at and just make it clear about just the maintenance part in the future, right, when we're going down the line, like it was mentioned, for generations. So, when people ask, oh, why did we approve it, now we've got to repair it and we've got to repave and so forth, or reconstruct the whole road again—dig it all up and then Public Works might now, instead of two inches, might go to the regular three inches, right. So that's going to cost us more money. MR. ONO: Yes. Page 46 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. ONISHL That's what I wanted to make known or to find out how you folks feel. Okay. Thank you. CHR. INABA: All right, thank you, Vice Chair Onishi. Planning Director Darrow, you're on Zoom joining us. Did you want to make any statement at this time? (Note: At this time, Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. DARROW: Sure. Thank you, Chair Inaba, Vice Chair, and members of the County Council. My name is Jeff Darrow with the Planning Department. I've been listening to the discussion regarding the dedication of the roadways as well as the Planned Unit Development that was approved. So just to shed a little light here, the Planned Unit Development went concurrently with the State Land Use Boundaries amendment as well as the change of zone. Because the Planned Unit Development is approved by the planning commission, there's a condition that's placed in there that it's not effective until the State Land Use and the change of zone become effective. Additionally, one of the conditions within the Planned Unit Development is as follows, this is Condition 7: "Should PUD roadways and drainage facilities not be dedicated to the County, restrictive covenants in the deeds of all proposed lots fronting the private roadways shall require the homeowners of said lots to maintain the private roadways and drainage improvements. A copy of the recorded deed restrictions shall be provided to the Planning Department." So that is a condition in there with the understanding that the request for dedication may not be approved. At that point, they would remain private. A lot of developers request Planned Unit Development permits to be able to provide flexibility in their design of overall layout of the lots or the particular development. But they also ask for variances. It's almost like a series of variances. In this case, it was mainly focused on roadways. When you look at the comments from DPW dated November 1st, 2024, which was our Exhibit 9 in the background, it said regarding the requirements for dedicabee streets, DPW would still recommend dedication of the right of way to the Council if this request was allowed. So there's still that ability for the Council to approve this, but it wouldn't be to the normal standard of dedication. There were other comments regarding dedication that were regarding the sidewalks and the curb and gutters as well as the drainage. This is a unique project, and I've kind of spoken to the Chair about this yesterday, is that, normally, with these 100 percent affordable housing projects, they will Page 47 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 come in and request a 201H through the Office of Housing. In this particular case, when they do that, then they request the series of exemptions as part of the 201H request. And, normally, it's these types of similar requests. The Council reviews it and ultimately either approves it or does not approve it. And then in the past, as Keith had mentioned, these roadways as part of the affordable housing projects had been approved by Council, but most likely they were under a 201H project. This particular case is coming in the normal pathway of change of zone as well as State Land Use Boundaries amendment. So it's unique in that sense. But it still is a 100 percent affordable housing project. And my understanding is the Council does have the authority to accept or not accept the roadway. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Director. With that I think if anyone has questions, DPW folks can talk story with Planning just to clarify and provide an update. And if Council Members have questions, please go and get those questions answered prior to the next hearing. Mr. Kato, thank you and your team for your work and your contributions to the community. I hope you folks understand the interest of the Council is to make sure that we're not causing any issues later. So hence the questions. With that, there is a motion on the floor to approve Bill 18 at first reading. All those in favor,please say "aye." Vote on Bill 18: The motion to pass Bill 18, as amended to Draft 2, on first Draft 2 reading and adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions (Approved) 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: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Absent: None. Excused: None. Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: Page 48 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Bill 17: AMENDS THE STATE LAND USE BOUNDARIES MAPS FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I BY CHANGING THE DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION FROM THE AGRICULTURAL TO THE URBAN DISTRICT AT `OULI, SOUTH KOHALA, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 6-2-001:075 (POR.) Reference: Comm. 77 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-6 Vote on Bill 17: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 17 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 6. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 19: 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 —Community Project Funding Old Hilo Hospital account($3,600,000); and appropriates the same to the Community Project Funding Old Hilo Hospital account, to be used to support the assessment, design, repairs, and renovation costs of the old Hilo Hospital, located at 34 Rainbow Drive in South Hilo. Reference: Comm. 87 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-21 Vote on Bill 19: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 19 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 21. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—6. Noes: Council Member Kimball — 1. Absent: Council Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas —2. Excused: None. Page 49 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Bill 20: 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 —Rural Emergency Medical Demonstration Project account($1,000,000); and appropriates the same to the Rural Emergency Medical Demonstration Project account, to be used towards the Rural Emergency Medical Communications Demonstrations Project, which focuses on enhancing lifeline capabilities in rural communities. Reference: Comm. 88 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-22 Vote on Bill 20: Ms. Galimba moved to pass Bill 20 on first reading and (Approved) adopt Finance Committee Report No. 22. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas —2. Excused: None. Bill 22: AMENDS CHAPTER 25, ARTICLE 5, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO HOSPITALS, SANITARIUMS, OLD AGE, CONVALESCENT, NURSING AND REST HOMES Adds hospitals, sanitariums, old age, convalescent, nursing and rest homes as permitted uses in the Industrial-Commercial Mixed Zoning District. Reference: Comm. 93 Intr. by: Council Member Kierkiewicz (B/R) Approve: PCPLUED-1 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to pass Bill 22 on first reading and adopt Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Economic Development Committee Report No. 1. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. There was great discussion in Committee, and I believe Director Darrow is online in case folks have questions. But this is a pretty straightforward request. Thank you. I yield. Page 50 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 CHR. INABA: Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor of approving Bill 22 at first reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 22: The motion to pass Bill 22 on first reading and adopt Policy (Approved) Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Economic Development Committee Report No. 1 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—7. Noes: None. Absent: Council Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and Villegas —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): (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) 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) Postponed: December 18, 2024, and January 8, 2025 First Reading: January 22, 2025 Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to pass Bill 1 on second and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Any discussion? DPW is here if there are any questions. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: No discussion. We did have the Executive Session around this. It's a lot of money, so let's make sure this does not happen again. That's all I'll say about it. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Vice Chair Onishi. Page 51 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 MR. ONISHL Thank you. You folks have any updates on this? Yeah, okay, thank you. Director Ono. (Note: At this time, Public Works Director Hugh Ono and Business Manager Kelsey Kalua-Lewis came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONO: This is Kelsey. MR. ONISHL Kelsey will take care. MR. ONO: She's our No. 1 administrative officer. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Good morning. Kelsey Kalua-Lewis, Business Manager at Public Works. So we do have an update for you. Point of Personal MS. KAGIWADA: Point of personal privilege. Privilege: CHR. INABA: Sure, Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Do we need to go into an Executive Session for any of this, or are we okay with proceeding? CHR. INABA: We'll see right now. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: I think that it's safe to say that we are in discussions. The insurance agency has reached out to us. So we're working with them, and they are currently I guess investigating the information we provided. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Vice Chair Onishi, you still have the floor. MR. ONISHL And the homeowner(inaudible)? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Public Works is working with the parties involved. MR. ONISHL Okay, good. Thank you, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Bill 1 at second and final reading, please say "aye." Page 52 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Vote on Bill 1: The motion to pass Bill 1 on second and final reading was (Adopted) 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 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) Postponed: December 18, 2024, and January 8, 2025 First Reading: January 22, 2025 Note: Requires 2/3 vote of the entire membership to amend, pursuant to Section 10-6(e), Hawaii County Charter Vote on Bill 2: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to pass Bill 2 on second and final (Adopted) reading. 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. MR. ONO: Mahalo very much. CHR. INABA: Mahalo to you, Director and Ms. Kalua-Lewis, for being here today. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Thank you. Page 53 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Vote on Bill 3: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 3 on second and final (Adopted) reading. 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. 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to pass Bill 4 on second and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: Any discussion? MS. GALIMBA: Briefly. Our coffee farmers are really suffering with these pests. And so I ask the department to get this funding out as quickly as possible. Page 54 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. All those in favor of approving Bill 4 at second and final reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 4: The motion to pass Bill 4 on second and final reading was (Adopted) 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 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Vote on Bill 5: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 5 on second (Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 1. Excused: None. Page 55 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Vote on Bill 6: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 6 on second (Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Page 56 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 Vote on Bill 7: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 7 on second (Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Vote on Bill 8: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 8 on second (Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 1. Excused: None. Page 57 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 9 on second and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, if I could. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Once or twice a year, we see Mr. Keltner come in, and he provides these documents to us. But it is important that we recognize him because he puts in a tremendous amount of work to get these allocations to our County budget. And I just want to commend him for his work. He brings in probably $500,000 to $1,000,000 a year to the Hawaii County Police Department. I really do commend his work. So mahalo, Chair, for that moment. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Yes, mahalo. With that, all those in favor of approving Bill 9 at second and final reading, please say Ic aye. Vote on Bill 9: The motion to pass Bill 9 on second and final reading was (Adopted) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 1. Excused: None. Page 58 Hawaii County Council-6 February 5,2025 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Vote on Bill 13: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 13 on second (Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kierkiewicz— 1. Excused: None. 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) First Reading: January 22, 2025 Page 59 Hawai`i County Council-6 February 5,2025 Vote on Bill 14: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 14 on second (Adopted) and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. 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.) ADJOURN- There being no further business, Chair Inaba adjourned the meeting at 11:38 a.m. MENT: APR 0 2 2025 Council Approval: JH/dg Page 60