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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2025/10/08 (2024-2026) Committee on Finance 2011 Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 October 8, 2025 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 10:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. Matt Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Matt Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair Mr. James E. Hustace, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather Kimball, Member Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member (came in later) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Kelly Hudak: Res. 318-25 (Comm. 510), in support. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Committee Members, the of Business: following items were taken out of order: Res. 319-25: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A LEASE AGREEMENT FOR TWO MULTIFUNCTION COPY MACHINES TO BE USED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate total cost of$13,000 per year, to be used by the department's Hilo and Kona offices. Reference: Comm. 511 Intr. by: Council Member Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) FC-20 October 8,2025 Vote on Res. 319-25: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 319-25. (Approved) Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Onishi— 1. Excused: None, Res. 342-25: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A LEASE AGREEMENT FOR ONE MULTIFUNCTION COPY MACHINE TO BE USED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$120. Reference: Comm. 542 Intr. by: Council Member Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Vote on Res. 342-25: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 342-25. (Approved) Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Onishi— 1. Excused: None. Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business. of Business: COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 23.20: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16—30 AND AUGUST I — 15 2025 From Controller Jon Arbles, dated August 27, 2025. Page 2 FC-20 October 8,2025 Vote on Comm. 23.20: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 23.20. Seconded Filed by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Onishi— 1. Excused: None. Comm. 23.21: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16—30 AND AUGUST 16— 31 2025 From Controller Jon Arbles, dated September 16, 2025. Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 23.21. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I know it's a manini amount but I was just curious if there was someone from Public Works that could share with us what the $865 for Puna Road Miscellaneous Contract Services was for. We always love seeing more work happening in Puna. Again, a small amount but I was just curious what this contract was for. Hi, Mr. Thompson. (Note: At this time, Public Works Engineering Division Chief Keone Thompson came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. THOMPSON: Hi. Good morning. Keone Thompson, Engineer Division Chief, Public Works. I'll check on that. I'll find out. It looks like it's from Highway Division. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yes. MR. THOMPSON: I need to follow up on that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Ok. Thank you. I appreciate that. MR. THOMPSON: Sure. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I yield. CHR. KANEALI`l-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Seeing no further discussion. Motion is on the floor to close file on Communication 23.21. All in favor. Any opposed? Page 3 FC-20 October 8,2025 Vote on Comm. 23.21: The motion to close file on Comm. 23.21 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Onishi— 1. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Res. 318-25: AUTHORIZES THE MASS TRANSIT AGENCY TO AWARD A GRANT TO PEOPLE FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION HAWAI`I Provides $240,000 of grant funds for the HIBIKE bike share program to cover day-to-day operations and maintenance. Reference: Comm. 510 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder(B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 318-25. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Hearing and seeing, none. Just a general statement. I really do appreciate this program. I've seen a lot of people utilizing the bikes. I didn't believe in it at first,I got to say. But I've seen so many people riding it so I'm a total believer now. So, Thank you. With that, motion is on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Res. 318-25: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 318-25 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball,Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Onishi— 1. Excused: None. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Page 4 FC-20 October 8,2025 Bill 91: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-46, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2025, TO JUNE 30 2026 Adds the Public Works Kahakai Boulevard Safe Routes to School - Keonepoko Project ($530,000) and the Kahakai Boulevard Safe Routes to School— Keonepoko—Federal Project($2,100,000) to the Capital Budget. Funds for these projects shall be provided from General Obligation Bonds, Capital Projects Fund— Fund Balance and/or other Sources ($530,000) and Federal Grants Receivable ($2,100,000). Reference: Comm. 539 Intr. by: Council Member Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend passage of Bill 91. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS, KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Mr. Thompson, if you could come forward, thank you so much. I think this has been like, more than 7 years in the making. Trying to get some,just traffic calming mediation measures instituted near Keonepoko School. So, administrator, sorry, Chief Thompson. Could you talk a little bit about disappro-priation for Kahakai Boulevard and some of the work that we've been doing. Our offices, with Keonepoko School, to address some of the traffic issues that happened. Pre school, after school. (Note: At this time, Public Works Engineering Division Chief Keone Thompson came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. THOMPSON: Sure. I'll do the best I can. Keone Thompson, Engineer Division, Public Works. So this grant is the Safe Routes to School Grant. It's a Transportation Program Grant that we got from the Federal Government. This project is specifically for adding shoulders for pedestrians and bicyclists near Kahakai, Keonepoko School. Also, as Council woman, Kierkiewicz mentioned, we're working on the project where we're adding a turn lane to address the traffic issues afterschool were backing up and causing a traffic jam. So, right now, Highways and Traffic is working on making a turn lane so it can alleviate the traffic back up at that school. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And I just want to confirm that the $2,100,000 is coming from the Federal Government. MR. THOMPSON: Yes. The $2,100,000 is from the Federal Government and the County matches $530,000. Page 5 FC-20 October 8,2025 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Ok. Fantastic. I really appreciate your attention and your hard work on this particular issue and asking my colleagues for their support. Thank you. I yield. MR. THOMPSON: Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Thank you for working on these kinds of projects, they're really important. Just wondering, is there going to be kind of barrier or anything between the pedestrian, bike path, and the cars or not. MR. THOMPSON: So, the grant that we applied for and it's primarily on the Kalapana side of the roadway. Currently there's a berm and a walkway on the Hilo side of that, but we are not touching that side. So, there wouldn't be just a shoulder where they can—we're paving a shoulder and stuff like that and adding drains improvements to take care of some drainage issues. MS. KAGIWADA: Ok. I just have heard—like anecdotally from a lot of parents when they're, you know, either taking their kids to school or as they get slightly older, maybe even allowing them to walk with their friends. You know, having some kind of barrier would make them feel a lot, you know, more secure about cars that aren't maybe paying great attention. MR. THOMPSON: I believe currently there is an AC (Asphalt Concrete) berm, separating the traffic lane to the existing walkway, that's currently there. MS. KAGIWADA: Oh ok. So, on that side, not just the Hilo side. MR. THOMPSON: No, the Hilo side has it. On the Kalapana side we not planning to add that in. It's just going to be a wide shoulder. MS. KAGIWADA: Oh ok. So, it's only going to be on the one side that will have the barrier. MR. THOMPSON: Currently, it's there. I'm not sure—I believe that we're going to remove that, as part of the travel lane—the turn lane into the school. MS. KAGIWADA: Oh, that's too bad. Alright. Well,just in general, like I said, I've been hearing from parents who really want to figure out ways that if we are putting in these great, you know, additions, paths for walking and biking that we also make sure that the people can feel safe, being next to cars zooming by. So, anything we can do to look at ways to strengthen that safety, I think, would be appreciated. MR. THOMPSON: Most definitely. We'll look at it. Page 6 FC-20 October 8,2025 MS. KAGIWADA: Alright. Thank you, I yield. CHR. KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Thompson. One final question for you. What other schools are participating in this Safe Routes to School program where—or maybe I didn't phrase that right. What other county related, state, federal projects where you're applying to different schools across the island. MR. THOMPSON: So, yeah. As you know, these projects—we develop our projects; the County developed these projects, like 2-4 years ahead of time. And then when we do CIP (Capital Improvement Program)projects, we look at, you know, what kind of sources of funding can add to the projects and maybe some pieces we can add with the project. So, in this case, we have the Waidkea Complex Schools, that we have coming up. In fact, there's one coming up this year that we going to bid on right now. Where we're making some improvements along the shoulders and then we are applying for a TAT (Transient Accommodations Tax) Grant, which is the Safe Routes to School Program where we're going to add sidewalks near the Waidkea Complex. CHR. KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER: Ok. So, Waidkea, Keonepoko, what else? MR. THOMPSON: That's it for now. CHR. KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER: Ok. MR. THOMPSON: Oh, and then, upcoming there is one for the Wainaku side, Hilo Union School. But then that's not obligated yet from the Federal side. CHR. KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER: Ok. Are we expecting anything in Kona? MR. THOMPSON: We've looked at possible projects in that side. But right now, there's—we've been looking at that. Yes. CHR. KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER: Ok. Good to see some geographical equity. MR. THOMPSON: Yes. CHR. KANEALI'l-KLEI-NFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Ok. We have a motion on the floor to forward Bill 91 to Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Any opposed? Page 7 FC-20 October 8,2025 Vote on Bill 91: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 91 was carried (Approved) by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 92: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-46, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1 2025 TO JUNE 30 2026 Increases the Public Works Mohouli Street Rehabilitation Project ($635,000) and the Mohouli Street Rehabilitation—Federal Project ($2,550,000) to the Capital Budget. Funds for these projects shall be provided from General Obligation Bonds, Capital Projects Fund—Fund Balance and/or other Sources ($635,000) and Federal Grants Receivable ($2,550,000). Reference: Comm. 540 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Vote on Bill 92: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 92. (Approved) Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 93: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30 2026 Appropriates revenues in the State Grants— State Substance Abuse Prevention Coordination Grant account ($50,000); and appropriates the same to the State Substance Abuse Prevention Coordination Grant account. Reference: Comm. 541 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 93. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. Page 8 FC-20 October 8,2025 CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none. Thank you for being here Mr. Nagata and Department of Finance. Appreciate you all. Motion is on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Bill 93: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 93 was carried (Approved) by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. ADJOURN- There being no further business on our agenda today, Chair Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder MENT: adjourned the meeting at 10:18 a.m. Thank you very much. Approved: ti ,5- Mr. Matt Kdneali leinfeld , Chair (Date) Finance Committee MK/mp Page 9