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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN COUNCIL 2026-01-07 2024-2026 Hawaii County Council 301h Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii January 7, 2026 INVOCATION: Council Chair Holeka Goro Inaba gave the morning's invocation. CALL TO The regular meeting of the Hawaii County Council was called to order at ORDER: 9:02 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Chair Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. James E. Hustace, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (via videoconference from Kona; came in later) PLEDGE OF The Chair directed the Council to the next order of business, Pledge of ALLEGIANCE: Allegiance. (At this time, County Clerk Jon Henricks led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.) PETITIONS, The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Petitions, MEMORIALS, Memorials, Certificates of Merit, and Expressions of Condolence. CERTIFICATES OF MERIT, AND (Note: At this time, Mr. Onishi presented a Certificate of Merit to Keola EXPRESSIONS OF Fukunaga for winning the 2025 Hawaii High School Athletic Association Air CONDOLENCE: Riflery Individual Boys State Championship.) Recess: At 9:13 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 9:16 a.m. Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 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: Renee Godoy: Res. 429-25 (Comm. 663), in support. (representing Friends of First Responders) Blake McNaughton: Res. 436-25 (Comm. 671), in support. (representing Makahanaloa Fishing Association) APPROVAL The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Approval OF MINUTES: of Minutes. Chair Inaba announced that the Minutes of October 8, 2025, were approved. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the of Business: following items were taken out of order: STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public. PUBLIC ON RES. 429-25 The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by (COMM. 663): the Chair: Lauren Williamson: In support. Nikol Lonokapu: In support. Daniel Volpe: In support. Bobby Jean Leithead Todd: In support. Jordyn Mantz: In support. Page 2 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Res. 429-25: EXPRESSES THE HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL'S PROFOUND CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF FIRE CHIEF KAZUO SCOTT KU`IKA`ALEOPELEPOHAKALANI LEITHEAD TODD, HONORING HIS LIFE OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP Reference: Comm. 663 Intr. by: Council Members Inaba and Kimball Waived: GOEAC Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 429-25. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you to those who came in and spoke today. And thank you most profoundly to the family: Bobby Jean, Steve, Mineko, Akane, Kathy. Thank you for sharing somebody who was, at the very basic level, a good man. He was warm, caring, exceptionally skilled, intelligent. And as I've read all of the different statements online and in the news, one thing just rose to the top, whether it was a colleague or a legislator or somebody that he worked with in the department, everybody said, "He was more than just a colleague. He was more than just the Fire Chief. He was my friend." And I felt that too. As mentioned, a meeting with Chief Todd was not an hour. If it was in the schedule for an hour, it was not an hour;you plan for two because he could talk. And that is because he just had so much information about so many things and so much inspiration to do good for this community, and to think outside the box and to be creative. I think we moved from disbelief to just settling into this profound silence, because it's not only a tremendous loss to the County and to the State—he had influence across the State but for many of us, it is a profound loss of a friend and one that will not be filled quickly or easily. I'm glad, Bobby Jean, that you mentioned the budget, because I think that that is probably what I will remember most about Chief Todd, is when he would come in here and ask for the moon. And I remember Council Member Kierkiewicz saying, "Fire One, step back,"you know, because he would push and push for everything for you guys in the department. And we often acquiesced, I have to say. But that title "Fire One," in my heart, will always be Chief Todd. We will miss him deeply, and I send my deepest condolences to you and the family. Again, thank you for sharing him with us. And to his colleagues in the department, I know how sorely you will miss him. Lauren, I know that you were his right hand, and this will be so hard for you too. Page 3 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 I'll put it to my colleagues now. I'm sure we're all going to have a hard time with this, but it has been my honor to present this resolution to recognize our body's sincere condolences to you all. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Thank you to you and Council Member Kimball for putting this resolution forward. I was asked to provide some remarks at the Sunday event, so I will keep my remarks today brief. Fire One was an extraordinary individual,public servant, and as we've heard,just a dear friend to so many of us. Incredibly hardworking. I sometimes would be in the office before 6:30he was there. Lights are out. It's like 7:00 atnight—he is there. You'd often see him working on the weekends. If he wasn't at the office, he was out in the community and serving. And, Lauren, I don't think he just moved fast. I think he moved at lightning speed. He was always thinking, always analyzing, always pushing; but pushing to make community and systems so much better. He was data-driven. And we all looked forward to some kind of PowerPoint or infographic that he had to share. And he didn't just share for the sake of numbers, but because he believed in information and facts and preparation and accountability. That is how he'd take care of people. He knew the department inside and out, and he used that knowledge to advocate fiercely for the men and women of the fire department and to ensure the safety of our communities. I think what I'll remember most, though, is just how much he cared, how he made time for you, how he showed up. He always responded and he always followed through. And he never lost sight of the people behind the work. And we are all better off because of his leadership, his service, and his friendship. And I just want to say thank you to the `ohana for sharing him with us, and our hearts and prayers go out to you. Thank you, Chair. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. To the family, I send my condolences to you folks. I really didn't know Chief for a long time. I really got to know him when I got on the Council this past—last year. Fire guys,you guys know I've been always trying to help you guys out. So we've had multiple meetings, and I got to discuss with him. The one thing I noticed about Chief was that the back door was always open. It was like—in the past, when I was on the Council before, with previous chiefs we had to go to the front, get recognized, get called in, and we'd go in. He was so open. So that made it easier when we had to talk story and talk about projects or funding or whatever that we needed to do. So that's my memory about Chief. Page 4 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Also, what happened during this last year, I got to meet his better half. As guys, we tell the other guy, "Your better half is the other person, your wife," right, and so I got to meet Mineko. She's a Japanese school teacher in Waiakea High School. We were at the process of trying to plan some future events for their students at Waiakea High School to go to Japan and do some work there. And so, I'm hoping that you will stay and continue doing your great work at school too. And I look forward to working with you, and you can honor your husband and move on with that. So I just want to say to please take care. And then, I guess, whatever the Council can do to help you folks out,the family,please let us know. Thank you. And then also, to the department personnel,you guys all did a great job. I look forward to working with you guys more and then moving ahead, because Chief Todd had set up these different standards. And so, we need to continue to improve that. So I'm here to help support you guys, and I know my colleagues are too. So just come and ask, okay. So take care and good to see you guys. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Heading over to Kona, Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Mahalo, Chair. This is a tough one. It has been since it first happened. But having a bit of time to ruminate on this man, this incredible man, and my first time getting to sit down with him and meet with him here in Kona, the humor, the expertise, the books we spoke about, kind of the philosophies of servant leadership and the uniqueness of our island and our fire department. I was touched and heartened to have a man of his caliber and value systems and passions in this position of leadership. I want to say to his family, to his wife, and his daughter, in that conversation he spoke of you with such love and adoration and utter respect and reverence for the roles you play in his life. And his humor and humility and vulnerability of knowing his place with all of you. He adored you and served also because of you. I professionally appreciated his ability to bring to us at Council PowerPoints. But those PowerPoints explained, validated, and justified the fire department, and made it palatable and understandable for exactly why they were where they were, and broke it down in a way that, for me, professionally and personally, it made so much sense and provided a pathway for the solutions and the funding necessary. People squawk about why this and why that, but he brought the reasons why no excuses, factual explanations—and ways we could support him and the fire department that he served with such humble servant leadership. Lauren, I just personally and professionally want to thank you for the support you provided and continued to provide the fire department, seeing you and seeing him and the partnership, keeping him going. Thank you. Page 5 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 And just quickly, one of my favorite memories with Kazuo was at a Sayre awards, at the silent auction where I was bidding on this papale and a speargun and mask. We took a photo together after I won both items and were joking about how I had been holding the speargun to protect my bid on the papale. He was a man that made you feel seen and appreciated and accepted, and like you belonged. These positions can often be awkward and very vulnerable. But he created an environment where everybody belonged and had purpose. The man had a damn good sense of humor,just a brilliant man. So thank you to his family for sharing him with us. He will live on in our hearts and our minds and the legacy of our fire department forever. Thank you for the opportunity to share a few words about my respect and appreciation for this incredible man. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mahalo, Chair. Thank you for bringing this forward, Council Members Kimball and Inaba. Mahalo for the words so far. There is no way to properly express how we feel. 2025 was not a wonderful year for myself and for many others, and especially with the loss of our Chief Todd. My memories of him are many. But condensed, he always listened and he was very present, and that's unique. Not everyone will stop and actually listen to what you're saying and take it in, digest it, and have a conversation with you. And Chief Todd always did that, no matter what we spoke about. That speaks to the way he was raised. That speaks to his family. So mahalo for bringing him up right and sharing him with us. I will miss him. Yesterday, we had an agenda item, and it was fire business. I immediately looked to the door for Mr. Todd and he wasn't here. It's at those moments when you realize he's not going to walk back in those doors. So I will miss him and I'm sorry for your loss. Parents should never outlive their children. He was a great man. He was an exquisite leader. I will miss him. If there's anything that I can do for your family, please let me know. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Thank you for the resolution, Council Member Kimball, Council Member Inaba. Mahalo nui to the Leithead Todd `ohana for being here, for sharing Chief Todd with the County, with the community. Mahalo to the Administration and the department for your dedication and your commitment to community, and of course to the community at large for your support during this time, and through this weekend ahead of course when you share your aloha. Before sitting in this role in this official capacity and getting to know Chief Todd, I saw Chief Todd's leadership and partnership as a community member with the Page 6 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Pu`ukapu fires and the August 8 h fires, and the camaraderie around him and really the partnership with community through those dire and tragic events. And through the last year, I had the privilege of sometimes sharing the stage with Chief Todd at different community events, whether in Honoka`a or Waimea or Waikoloa, talking about what was passionate to him and his leadership and engagement and the things that we need to do going forward for resilience and prevention and mitigation. And then seeing his leadership, of course, at the wildfire summits. Fantastic to see him share his mana`o on so much out to the community. And then even those times whenI think I always had lunch meetings with him, to be honest—but sitting in his office, him pulling up maps, showing technology, an opportunity for the department, an opportunity for community resilience through technology, demonstrating scenarios and trying to provide some sort of preventative measure as we look to ideas moving forward. And there were times when—one of the last lunch meetings I had with him—and, Chaplain Godoy, thank you for mentioning this earlier, but—of course, we talked about fire prevention and mitigation and the work we need to do in community, and some of our planning goals and our planning efforts at large when we're thinking of how we design and prevent things from happening. But it shifted towards talking about artificial intelligence. He talked about Ray Kurzweil and singularity events. And I'm sure he talked to the department about this all the time, but it was amazing to have these other-worldly kind of conversations with him, beyond the norm, in those kinds of spaces. I also had the honor of sharing the sand with him actually on December 13, the day before losing Chief Todd, down in Kawaihae. Dr. Frank and Laura Sayre were there. Uncle Danny and Aunty Anna were there. And Chief Todd, at any event, at any of these community meetings, any opportunity, he spoke very highly of our volunteer firefighters and the work that they do, sometimes being the first ones to respond on a scene, sometimes supporting the department. But he always spoke very highly of volunteers. So, that day, we blessed and welcomed a fire tanker truck for Station 14 alpha in the Kohala region. And beyond the support of all the volunteers that he spoke highly of at many different events, he always recognized the community and the generosity of community, whether through the Sierra Foundation, but always recognizing the donations, the commitment community had to support the department, to support the volunteers. He always took that time to do so. My deepest condolences to the `ohana. Mahalo nui, Chief Todd. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. Page 7 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MS. KAGIWADA: Thanks, Chair. I'm not going to be able to speak as eloquently as some of my colleagues here. I'm well known to be a big crier on the dais here. But I did want to share the last conversation that I had with Kazuo, Fire One. It was having to do with the recent fires in Hilo. He was providing me with some updated information, but what struck me is he also shared some very personal information that I think drew so many people in and made people feel like he was their friend regardless of how much time you spent with him. Clearly, I did not have the amount of time spent with him as many people here, or the working relationship of many people here. But he volunteered that this had been a very hard year for him because of the number of fires involving deaths that he had to investigate. We connected about his always carrying any issues around dealing with children who had been in these situations, that he never forgot any of those deaths. Community was so important to him. And like I said, he volunteered this information, and it was something that we shared. His warmth and his heart, that's what really made people draw to him and feel like you had a connection with him. So I just wanted to share that with everybody and express my condolences to his fire family and his actual `ohana. I yield. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: I just wanted to say thank you to the family and sorry for your loss, and also to the fire family as well. Losing someone as brilliant and funny and kind as he is just unspeakable. I just wanted toa couple of quotes. One of them, Lauren mentioned that I think it was Lauren that he was into Stoic, which I didn't know. So one of them is in that line, and it's a line from a movie. And it is, "What we do in life echoes in eternity." And that is very true for him and for all of us. The other quote is from one of my favorite poets, and it's a very simple quote. It's a Chinese poet. It is, "There is no beginning and no end." I think most religions have some way of saying that, but it's kind of my favorite way. So he's gone in some sense, but he's also here always. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. We don't always do this, but I'd like to call on our Clerk, Jon Henricks, to say a few words as well. MR. HENRICKS: Just as a neighbor working in this building—it's not sunk in yet,just walking around and not seeing him in the hallways. It's been a tough year for fire, losing Ray too. I just can't imagine,because we spend so much time here. I talk about it sometimes. We spend more time working than we do anything else because sleeping doesn't count. So this is like a home for a lot of Page 8 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 us. Sometimes it's a better home than our homes. I just really feel for you guys. I can't imagine the tough year that you had, and you have to carry on. You have to keep going. I was thinking about this last night, and it's what Jordyn said. It's just when someone is taken so soon, it's a reminder that each day is a blessing. And our job is to make the most of that day and to lift each other up in the community and do what we can to make a better world around us. So let's just all do that for each other every chance we get, remembering that this is the best day that we'll have today. And if tomorrow comes, we'll do it again. So, to my neighbors in the fire department, I feel you. And imua. CHR. INABA: Thank you, Clerk Henricks. I'll wrap us up. I was thinking back as I prepared to drive over to Hilo this week, that I'd be driving over to Hilo three times this week. And I said, "Damn, Kazuo, you going make me drive Hilo three times." But I said, "You know what, I'm going to be able to get to enjoy and see the faces of people that we don't maybe always get to see." And that's one great thing when we come together to celebrate the life and legacy of those that we lose. And it also made me think back that this Council had approved, in one of my last discussions with Chief Todd, a CRF (Contingency Relief Fund) for an ice machine at Makalei Fire Station, and somehow that ice machine didn't ever make it to the station. So I called him one day and I saidI had found out it made it to some other station; I didn't know what station but I said, "Hmm, I don't know. My ice machine, it didn't make it, you know." He goes, "Oh, that's strange." So he calls me back two days later, and he goes, "Hey, boss, I have some bad news and some good news. Bad news: Your ice machine got taken to a different station and installed there. Good news: I have your replacement on order, and it's going to be here in a month." But that's how he was, right? Never going to let something just be not right. He was going to come back with the solution. And I think about his name that Aunty BJ shared, and that light that comes from that pelepohakalani. And he was that in this role here at the County, a light that really helped illuminate the areas that we needed to improve public safety, how we could do things better as a County. And I think he really lived up to that name, maybe more than he even realized in his own life. So, on this day while we recognize Chief Todd, I had him up here with us because I said he always was over there answering our questions. But today he's up here with us hanging out. And to the `ohana, we extend our deepest condolences. And again, we invite the public to attend memorial services this Sunday at the Hilo Civic to pay honor and tribute to Chief Todd. So mahalo to the `ohana for being here today, and to those of the fire department also here in chambers. Page 9 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 With that, we'll take the vote. All in favor of approving Resolution 429-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 429-25: The motion to adopt Res. 429-25 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. CHR. INABA: We're going to take a brief recess for a photo with `ohana. Thank you. Recess: At 10:05 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 10:13 a.m. STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public. PUBLIC ON RES. 427-25 The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by (COMM. 661): the Chair: Marissa Harman: In support. Patti Cook: In support. (Note: Ms. Cook also spoke in support of GOEAC-87 (Comm. 652)—see Comm. 652.1 Res. 429-25 (Comm. 663), and Bill 103, Draft 3 (Comm. 593.6).) Josephine Keliipio: In support. Res. 427-25: SUPPORTS AND REAFFIRMS THE KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS' ADMISSION POLICY, MISSION, AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY, AND EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY AS IT DEFENDS THE LEGACY OF KE ALI`I BERNICE PAUAHI BISHOP Reference: Comm. 661 Intr. by: Council Members Inaba and Onishi Waived: GOEAC Page 10 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 427-25. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. After, I guess, listening to the news, getting the meeting with Kamehameha Schools, and just through history it's really kind of sad that, at times, the way people think of the different rights and how they don't understand the real local culture, and the understanding of how it was created. And they come in with their own ideas, thinking that this is how it has to be. Hawaii is unique. Hawaii is a place where you have, I guess, generations of how the culture of Hawaii has been moving forward. And so, after hearing that, Chair Inaba and myself, we got to talk to some other Kamehameha School administrators. And we decided that we wanted to do this in support of not having, I guess, the courts, that to allow non, I guess, qualified people be able to be pushed upon how the system is. So I'm just asking for my colleagues' support and I'll yield at this time. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. I'll open it up to members of the Council. Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Very much in support of this resolution, and thank you to the introducers for doing this. My daughter benefited very much from a KS (Kamehameha Schools) education. So, very grateful for that. What Princess Pauahi did was so brilliant. This legacy that she gave to this State and these islands is just incredible. My partner went to work for an Alaska Native Corporations, and that has led me to have many conversations with him about the kind of structures that have been created in the United States to try and deal with the fact that that basically is a there was an occupation or a takeover of lands by one culture onto an existing culture throughout this country. And so the Alaska Native Corporations is one way of dealing with it. And they—in case you don't know, this was an act of Congress in the '70s that created these corporations that are in charge of the assets and resources of the Alaska Native people, and then provide benefits to the people, the descendants of the original peoples there. On the U. S. (United States) Mainland, we have the reservation system, which is very imperfect, but there is a sovereignty there. And here in Hawaii, unfortunately, I think we have the weakest forms of helping to redress what happened. But the KSBE(Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate), the brilliance of Princess Pauahi, is one of the better ways, and it's just amazing that she was able to make this kind of impact with her will. Page 11 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 So, definitely support and support the organization for what they have done over the years. It's not been easy. And they've had to really think and change with the times. But thank you. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. A wonderful resolution. Mahalo to our testifiers for speaking in support of it. I have watched with interest over the years as a number of outside organizations have continued to try and sue their way into opening the admissions into Kamehameha Schools. And I completely disagree with those lawsuits. I completely disagree with the idea that what is being done is incorrect, and I completely support Kamehameha Schools in their actions and how they educate the next generation. I've had the privilege of working with a number of graduates from Kamehameha Schools, and I have found them to be incredible speakers, exquisite in their own nature, and incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly polite. And that speaks to the education of the school itself and to the vision of Ms. Pauahi. So in full support of the resolution, and I'm glad to see this body lending itself to the struggle that continues as we look to better our Native Hawaiian keiki. Mahalo, Chair. CHR. INABA: Mahalo. Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Mahalo for the introduction of the resolution. In full support of recognizing the intent and legacy of Ke Ali`i Pauahi. Mahalo. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you so much, Chair. Thank you for bringing forward this resolution, which I hold very close to my heart as well. I am grateful for the meetings we get to have with the leadership from KS annually to find out and learn more specifically the details of their work. I have incredible respect and reverence for the brilliant strategy of Princess Pauahi. On how she set things up is such a reflection of wise leadership. While she struggled and saw such devastation, she made decisions that would allow for future generations. While she may not have seen the benefits, she in her decision-making ensured that future generations had opportunities for education and perpetuating traditions and learning. I have seen her legacy impact so many people that I hold dear to my heart who have gone to Kamehameha Schools. At a time when certain branches of government are attempting to rewrite history, ban books, erase the truth about the devastation caused by colonialism, illegal overthrow of lands that did not belong Page 12 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 to other countries, the ironies are so profound even in the news this week. I stand strong in support of Kamehameha Schools, their vision, their purpose, their legacy. I have empathy for those that stand in the positions of leadership, because it's hard when you're being attacked by a system and a belief system that is so, in my opinion, vile and intrinsically connected to racism, extraction, colonialism, and attacking rights and resources that native peoples, not only in Hawaii but in the country and in the world, have been under attack for decades and centuries. And I am heartened to believe that Hawaii will continue to be the place that creates a model for standing up, leaning in, reclaiming, realigning, and recalibrating as we recover. And we continue to find that pathway back to regenerative practices and returning to the wisdom of our host culture as we navigate the issues that face us as a global community. So thank you so much for bringing this resolution forward, and I wholeheartedly support it. I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Just reiterating my support for this resolution and for the work of Kamehameha Schools. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Really appreciated the Kamehameha Schools' leadership for hosting members of the Council for the annual informational briefing. It was so wonderful to just see and know all the good work that you are doing across Hawaii. And in strong support with the resolution and stand in solidarity with my colleagues. I'm just continuously impressed with the foresight and the brilliance of Princess Pauahi investing in the education and the future of our local keiki because she knew, with that investment, that they would be leaders not just locally but globally. Mahalo nui. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Thank you, Vice Chair Onishi, for co-introducing this with me. I never had the privilege of serving with a fellow warrior on this Council, but as the only KS grad serving currently, thought it was important. And want to express our mahalo to the leadership of Kamehameha Schools for their continued outreach to elected officials throughout the State to continue to share the impact of Ke Ali`i Pauahi's legacy, and the numerous learners that I can say "we"because I'm still a preschool teacher at Kamehameha Schools that we do for our community and for our keiki. Page 13 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 For those who don't know, Pauahi was also known as Ka Wahine Hele La `o Kaiona and is a reference to a deity that resided in the mountains of Ka`ala Oahu. And this goddess would bring people out of the mist when they got lost in the mountains. This is the legacy that Pauahi has left. And as we know, the status of Native Hawaiians today is still dire and still difficult. So, for outside entities to try and dilute and force their way into a school that has really attempted to try and rehabilitate and get Hawaiians on a path forward is distasteful, to say the least. So I thank you all for your support on this resolution. And to Kamehameha Schools, we do stand in solidarity as a Council with you all in this fight to upkeep the admissions policy. So all those in favor of approving Resolution 427-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 427-25: The motion to adopt Res. 427-25 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. Return to Order The Chair directed the Council to return to the order of business. of Business: REPORTS: The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Reports. GOEAC-85 NOMINATION OF ALLEN A. SALAVEA TO THE POLICE COMMISSION (Comm. 650): Requires Council Confirmation by: January 8, 2026 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) and Comm. 650.1: From Mayor C. Kimo Alameda, dated December 17, 2025, withdrawing Allen A. Salavea's nomination to the Police Commission. Withdraw CHR. INABA: We won't take a motion, being that there is an official GOEAC-85: communication from the Mayor withdrawing this nomination due to an incorrect district. But I believe we'll be seeing the correct district for the same nominee coming forward shortly. So thank you. This nomination has been withdrawn. Page 14 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 GOEAC-86 NOMINATION OF SHANE PALACAT-NELSEN TO THE KONA (Comm. 651): COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Requires Council Confirmation by: January 8, 2026 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Vote on GOEAC-86: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Governmental Operations (Adopted) and External Affairs Committee Report No. 86. Seconded by Ms. Galimba 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. GOEAC-87 NOMINATION OF FRANZ "JUNIOR" FISCHER TO THE POLICE (Comm. 652): COMMISSION Requires Council Confirmation by: January 8, 2026 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Vote on GOEAC-87: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to adopt Governmental Operations (Adopted) and External Affairs Committee Report No. 87. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kimball — 1. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, Order of RESOLUTIONS: Resolutions. (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Page 15 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Res. 405-25: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAI`I, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, TO RECEIVE A GRANT FOR FOOD ACCESS SUMMITS Allows for the receipt of$40,000 of federally-derived funds to plan and facilitate two Food Access Summits that will be used to collect data, support community collaboration, and showcase successful projects. Reference: Comm. 631 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-114 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to adopt Res. 405-25 and Finance Committee Report No. 114. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I look for everyone's support. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 405-25: The motion to adopt Res. 405-25 and Finance Committee (Adopted) Report No. 114 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kimball — 1. Excused: None. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the of Business: following items were taken out of order: Bill 107: AMENDS CHAPTER 17 OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 (Draft 2) EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO THE FIRE CODE Adopts the State Fire Code as the County Fire Code; and adds administrative procedures relating to fire code enforcement, including permits, reviews, and inspections. Reference: Comm. 604.3 Intr. by: Council Member Hustace (B/R) Postponed: December 3, 2025 First Reading: December 17, 2025 Page 16 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Vote on Bill 107: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 107, Draft 2, on second Draft 2 and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and (Adopted) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Kimball — 1. Excused: None. Bill 108: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2026 Increases revenues in the State Grants —State Emergency Medical Services account ($1,750,000); and appropriates the same to the following Emergency Medical Services accounts: Salary and Wages ($749,000), Other Current Expenses ($90,000), and Equipment($911,000). Funds would be used for the opening of ambulance operations at Makalei Fire Station in Kailua-Kona and six new positions. Reference: Comm. 619 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) First Reading: December 17, 2025 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 108 on second and final reading. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. INABA: We have Chief Kanae here as well as other members of the department. If you'd like to say anything further? Good to go? Alrighty. Well, I'll take the opportunity again to this is another one of Chief Todd's contributions to our department, most especially my community. He was actively involved in submitting testimony and outreaching to members of the Legislature to ensure that we could get this funding for Makalei. So with that, thank you again, Chief Todd, for getting this medic for us in North Kona. Thank you to the members of the department for being here today. All those in favor of approving Bill 108 at second and final reading, please say "aye." Page 17 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Vote on Bill 108: The motion to pass Bill 108 on second and final reading (Adopted) 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. 423-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN PURCHASING VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE TO INITIATE ITS VOLUNTEER CENTER PROGRAM Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 8); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Hawaii County Resource Center account. Reference: Comm. 657 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 423-25. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. INABA: This is from my office and I believe R&D (Research and Development) will be joining us. If you'd like to share little bit, quickly, on this program? (Note: At this time, Research and Development Deputy Director Dennis Lin came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. LIN: Good morning, Council Members. Dennis Lin, Deputy Director, Research and Development. Yeah, so this is an ongoing discussion that R&D has had with the Council before on getting a volunteer program up in terms of being more of a hub for community organizations as well as the County to post events where they need volunteers. It's very similar to what Maui has already, which is kind of like a database where certain events can be posted onto the website. They can say, "We need this many volunteers to help support this event." But it really just provides a chance for the community to have a resource where they know where all these community events are happening, and how we can, as a County, help out with disseminating that information. Page 18 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 CHR. INABA: Thank you, Deputy Director Lin. Yes, this is something I began discussions with former Director Adams. And now, Director Medina has taken the reins and is working to get it done. So this $5,000 is for the actual platform that we're hopefully going to be encouraging any of our grant recipients at the County to be here and to engage in this platform, not just for our own community but also for those visiting. Because, in a lot of the discussions we've had with Japanese and Korean tourism and even other tourism, people are looking for valuable experiences while they're here. And when we can provide them a tool like this to be engaged and to give back to the community they're visiting, it bridges together two of those areas that the Department of Research and Development covers. So thank you, Deputy Director, for being here today. Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. This is great to learn about and hear about, and appreciate the support going towards this effort. Just curious, Deputy, what does that look like in terms of recruiting volunteers, vetting volunteers, looking for certain skillsets. How do you go about doing that sort of effort? MR. LIN: It's really on the organization to provide what they really need. We just serve kind of as the conduit. So it can be any of the Council Members. If you guys have an event that you'd like to post on there, you should say, "Hey, we need `x' amount of volunteers on this date from this time at this location. Wear shoes, sunscreen,"those kinds of things. We're not really trying to dictate from the County side what the volunteers need to do. It's really based off a need basis of the organization. MR. HUSTACE: Got it. Thank you so much. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. Have you folks—are you folks going to be reaching out to the Elderly Activities Division with the RSVP program? MR. LIN: Any department is available to post on there. MR. ONISHL No, no, my question is, are you guys going to be reaching out to MR. LIN: We will be,yeah. MR. ONISHL The senior volunteers, they also provide manpower, right? MR. LIN: Correct. MR. ONISHL And so, if we can work them together. Page 19 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MR. LIN: Yeah. So it's kind of an expansion of all the volunteer opportunities we already have within the County. But we just didn't have a consolidated platform for it,yeah. MR. ONISHL Right on. Thanks. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor—Council Member Kagiwada, go ahead. MS. KAGIWADA: Sorry,just a quick question. When will this be up and running? MR. LIN: So we purchased the software already; we're working on the implementation. So kind of like an initial scope of work of what the vendor needs to do to set up the website. And then we have staff in our department. And we're trying to get a little bit more help, maybe like an intern or somebody who can help us develop that website. So I would expect it would be sometime within the first half of this year that it'll be up and running. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. I just wanted to mention, and maybe, yeah, she's still available. I did have an intern a couple of years ago that actually did put together a database for me, of all of the different organizations and their various activities and contact information. So I'd be happy to share that with you. She may be still available to help with some of this implementation. So, glad to see that this is finally happening. It's great. Thanks, Holeka. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 423-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 423-25: The motion to adopt Res. 423-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Page 20 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Res. 424-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO KAHUA PA`A MUA, INC., FOR THE KOHALA INTERGENERATIONAL CENTER'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT Transfers $1,751 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 658 Intr. by: Council Member Onishi Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 424-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHI: Just asking for support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 424-25: The motion to adopt Res. 424-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Res. 425-25: 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 BIG ISLAND RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES RELATED TO THE 2026 KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 6); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Agriculture Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 659 Intr. by: Council Member Galimba Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 425-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. Page 21 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Just asking for my colleagues' support of this coffee festival out there in Ka`u. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 425-25: The motion to adopt Res. 425-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Res. 430-25: 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 KOHALA CENTER, INC., TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES FOR ITS "KEEPER OF THE BAY" COMMUNITY SCREENING AT KAHILU THEATRE Transfers $3,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Liquor Control, Public Programs account. Reference: Comm. 665 Intr. by: Council Member Hustace Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 430-25. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Just looking for support for this. This kind of, you know, a nice dovetail off of our conversation yesterday, and recognizing the impacts on our reef systems. This is particularly a community screening of "Keeper of the Bay"with Aunty Cindy, a steward of our oceans and of our reefs in Waimea Kahilu Theatre. It will be this Sunday, unfortunately at the same time as another community event, as we all know. It will be at Kahilu Theatre at 2 p.m. in the afternoon; an opportunity to learn more and support our reef systems. So thank you for the support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 430-25, please say "aye." Page 22 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Vote on Res. 430-25: The motion to adopt Res. 430-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Res. 431-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO NORTH KOHALA COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES FOR THE KING KAMEHAMEHA DAY CELEBRATION Transfers $3,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 666 Intr. by: Council Member Hustace Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 431-25. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. This resolution is to support efforts in the North Kohala communityKapa`au, the birthplace of King Kamehameha—for the celebration later this year. So thank you for the consideration and support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 431-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 431-25: The motion to adopt Res. 431-25 was carried by the (Adopted) following voice vote: Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Council Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. Page 23 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Res. 432-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO KOHALA ANIMAL RELOCATION AND EDUCATION SERVICE TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES FOR VETERINARY CARE AND SPAY/NEUTER SERVICES FOR FAMILY COMPANION PETS IN COUNCIL DISTRICT 9 Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Business Development account. Reference: Comm. 667 Intr. by: Council Member Hustace Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 432-25. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Just seeking your support on this one. Mahalo. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 432-25: The motion to adopt Res. 432-25 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. 433-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO FRIENDS OF THE FUTURE TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES FOR ITS TUTU'S HOUSE PROJECT Transfers $5,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 9); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Business Development account. Reference: Comm. 668 Intr. by: Council Member Hustace Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to adopt Res. 433-25. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. Page 24 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you for your support on this resolution. Tutu's House is an amazing community space in Waimea; a lot of different resources that are freely provided to the community. So just looking to support their efforts further. Thank you, Chair. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 433-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 433-25: The motion to adopt Res. 433-25 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. 434-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO HANA LAULIMA LAHUI O KA`U INC. FOR ITS 10TH ANNUAL PRINCE KUHIO DAY HO`OLAULE`A 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. 669 Intr. by: Council Member Galimba Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to adopt Res. 434-25. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. I just ask for my colleagues' support for this annual festival in N5'51ehu that celebrates the legacy of Prince Jonah oh, gosh, now I'm forgetting his name and I just saw it right in front of me CHR. INABA: Kuhi6 Kalani`anaole. MS. GALIMBA: Kuhi6 Kalani`anaoleI was just reading it—and all that he did to help the Hawaiian people with that other leg of the DHHL (Department of Hawaiian Home Lands), which he worked so hard and for so many years to get through on the Federal level. Thanks. Page 25 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 434-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 434-25: The motion to adopt Res. 434-25 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. 435-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO KEKELAOKALANI FOR HONOMU MARTIAL ARTS Transfers $3,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 670 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 435-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I'd just like to take this opportunity to recognize all of the community members in Honomu. This particular facility where these grants will reside is one of our older facilities. It has a lot of needs, and this was just one way to help in a little way. The community has taken a lot of leadership in creating new programming and taking care of facilities on this site at this location. So I want to mahalo them for those efforts, and ask for your support on this resolution. CHR. INABA: All those in favor of approving Resolution 435-25, please say Ic aye. Page 26 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Vote on Res. 435-25: The motion to adopt Res. 435-25 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. 436-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO MAKAHANALOA FISHING ASSOCIATION FOR ITS KUKUILAUMANIA TRAIL CLEARING PROJECT Transfers $3,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 1); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 671 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to adopt Res. 436-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Just once again asking for my colleagues' support. And want to mahalo Makahanaloa Fishing Association for all of their work in keeping access available for the fishermen in this area. If all of you want a good workout in a really beautiful place, you can joinI see Director Darrow back there. Director has joined me with his weed whacker. It's a great way to spend an afternoon, helping them keep this area open for public access. So I ask for your support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 436-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 436-25: The motion to adopt Res. 436-25 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. Page 27 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Res. 437-25: 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 FOOD BASKET INC. FOR THE FOOD IS MEDICINE PILOT PROGRAM Transfers $20,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Administration Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 672 Intr. by: Council Member Onishi Motion to Approve: Mr. Onishi moved to adopt Res. 437-25. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Usually, when I disburse my CRFs, I don't really give $20,000. But what happened was that I got to visit Kea`au High School, and I got to participate in the judging of these vanilla beans. So their culinary classes had to develop pastries to do that. And so from that class, I kind of thought about how Kea`au High School, those—like, our future leaders can help their community in Kea`au and in the different facilities. Then I got to meet up with Kerri—you can come forward—with The Food Basket. I got to meet with her, talking about what we can do for our seniors in Kea`au. And so, you can introduce yourself. (Note: At this time, Kerri Okamura, The Food Basket, came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. OKAMURA: Hi, good morning. My name is Kerri Okamura. I'm the Food is Medicine Director and the Bucks Community Engagement Manager with The Food Basket, Hawaii Island's Food Bank. MR. ONISHL And so, we kind of brainstormed on how we can help our seniors out in Kea`au. So she brought in their ag teacher,which is Terence MS. OKAMURA: Terence Moniz. MR. ONISHL Moniz. And so, we started working with Terence, trying to figure out how are we going to do this. Then we brought in elderly activitiesI mean, recreation's services Iris Higa, who is the head person there, and to have her also working with us in helping provide these services. So maybe you can explain a little bit of how this is going to be working. Go ahead. MS. OKAMURA: Yeah. So we will be doing, in collaboration with the Elderly Activities Division, cooking classes at Kea`au Community Center for up to 20 kupuna. It's a ten-week program. Kea`au High School's agriculture program Page 28 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 will be growing our produce. Their culinary program will be preparing recipe kits. So, not prepared meals, but recipe kits with the ingredients. And their multimedia class will be doing videos about the recipes. At Kea`au Community Center, we will be doing hands-on cooking classes with the seniors there, talking about the benefits of eating fresh produce because we are with the Da Bux program. So we promote locally grown fruits and vegetables. In addition to preparing in-class meals, they'll be taking home these meal kits to prepare at home for themselves and their families. We're going to take baseline biometrics and the program biometrics. So the College of Pharmacy's A.L.O.H.A. (A Life Of Health and Awareness) Project students will be helping us with that. So it's really a collaborative effort between multiple partners. And we feel like it's a really good community engagement, bringing together—like intergenerational community engagement for the Kea`au community. MR. ONISHL When do you expect this to start? MS. OKAMURA: We're hoping to start the end of February—so the last week of February. And we're going to go through May. (Inaudible.) MR. ONISHL Right on. Thank you. So I'm just asking for support. Hopefully, this will be the model that we can do island wide,working with all of our high schools and their programs. But, yeah. Thank you, Kerri. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 437-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 437-25: The motion to adopt Res. 437-25 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. Page 29 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Res. 438-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO THE HAWAI`I POLICE DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES FOR THE HAWAI`I ISLE POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE 3 ON 3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Transfers $2,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 3); and credits to the Hawaii Police Department, Hawaii Isle Police Activities League Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 673 Intr. by: Council Member Onishi Withdraw MR. ONISHL Chair, at this time, I'm going to withdraw Resolution 438-25. Can Res. 438-25: I give a reason why? CHR. INABA: Sure. MR. ONISHL Okay. I've been involved with this getting organized, because I wanted to try to build up the HI-PAL (Hawai`i Isle Police Activities League) program. So one of our first projects is this 3 on 3, but we started Iate and we don't foresee having the "x" amount of numbers that we wanted, which is 50 teams participating. So the amount of funding they might need is not needed maybe. And just to recognize my nephew—his name is Ryan Higahe donated from his foundation to the police department$5,000 from his foundation. So a thousand dollars from that$5,000 is going towards this 3 on 3. So we're going to see how it works first to see if going need more money. And if they do, then that's going to come back in for the additional funds. But I'm just hoping to see this become a success and moving on. Thank you, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. We'll proceed with Resolution 439. MS. VILLEGAS: Chair? CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Onishi, for clarifying on that. I actually got a call yesterday from Randy Morris about this event and was going to reach out to you. So thank you for helping to clarify the details around the event and the funding available and whatnot. Look forward to supporting in the future as funds are necessary, potentially if this happens in District 7. But thanks for clarifying all the details. I appreciate it. I yield. MR. ONISHL Thank you. I'll keep you updated. Page 30 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 CHR. INABA: Thank you. Res. 439-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE LIONS CLUB OF KONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, INC., TO ASSIST THE KONAWAENA HIGH SCHOOL LEO CLUB WITH EXPENSES FOR ITS EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH EFFORTS Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 7); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Agriculture Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 674 Intr. by: Council Member Villegas Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 439-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: I just want to express my gratitude for this organization and their work with the young people at Konawaena, and their continued diligence and vigilance in prioritizing care for `aina and replanting and education and just all the things they're working on. So I ask for my colleagues' support. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All those in favor of approving Resolution 439-25, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 439-25: The motion to adopt Res. 439-25 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. Page 31 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Res. 440-25: TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AN APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE A GRANT TO THE LIONS CLUB OF KONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, INC., TO ASSIST WITH EXPENSES FOR NATIVE TREE PLANTING AT KONAWAENA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Transfers $5,000 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 7); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Agriculture Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 675 Intr. by: Council Member Villegas Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 440-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. A very similar contingency relief allocation. Organizations working on very important work, and it's a pleasure to support. Just ask for my colleagues' continued support. I yield. CHR. INABA: All those in favor of approving Resolution 440-25, please say Ic aye. Vote on Res. 440-25: The motion to adopt Res. 440-25 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. 441-25: 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 SANCTUARY OF MANA KE`A GARDENS FOR ITS INTERNATIONAL HAWAI`I FRUIT FESTIVAL Transfers $2,500 from the Clerk-Council Services —Contingency Relief account (Council District 7); and credits to the Department of Research and Development, Agriculture Other Current Expenses account. Reference: Comm. 676 Intr. by: Council Member Villegas Page 32 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to adopt Res. 441-25. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: At a time when we are all very focused and speak in high support of sustainable agriculture and regenerative practices, these gatherings of our precious and priceless farmers go a long way. So it's an honor and a privilege to be able to provide some funding to support this work and this event. I yield. CHR. INABA: All those in favor of approving Resolution 441-25, please say Ic aye. Vote on Res. 441-25: The motion to adopt Res. 441-25 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): STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Council to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public. PUBLIC ON BILL 63 The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by (DRAFT 2) the Chair: (COMM. 33n: Riley Smith: In support. (representing Lanihau Properties) (See Comm. 333.22) Bill Moore: In support. (representing Lanihau Properties) Josephine Keliipio: In opposition. Page 33 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Bill 63: AMENDS CHAPTER 25, ARTICLE 5, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE (Draft 2) 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO DWELLINGS Permits residential dwellings within the industrial-commercial mixed use (MCX) zoning district. Reference: Comm. 333.7 Intr. by: Council Member Onishi Approve: PCPLUED-8 Postponed: October 22, November 19, and December 3, 2025 (Note: There is a motion by Council Member Onishi, seconded by Council Member Hustace, to pass Bill 63, as amended, on first reading.) ; and Comm. 333.8: From Council Member Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, dated November 17, 2025, transmitting a proposed amendment to Bill 63, Draft 2. ; and Comm. 333.9: From Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee Chair Charles Young, dated October 17, 2025, transmitting testimony regarding Bill 63, Draft 2. (Note: Comm. 333.14, from Council Member Dennis "Fresh" Onishi dated January 6, 2025, transmitting proposed amendments to Bill 63, Draft 2, was circulated.) CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can I get Director Darrow? Can you come up, please? (Note: At this time, Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ONISHL Why I'm bringing up Director Darrow is that we've been working on this for a long time. And just yesterday, we kind of figured out what we can do to kind of help everyone to, I guess—well, I don't want to say, "satisfy everyone,"but at least something where it can help the intent of what I wanted to see. And so, do you want to mention something before I do the amendment, or do you want to wait until I do the amendment? MR. DARROW: Sure. Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the Hawaii County Council. Happy New Year. Here we are again—starting the new year with a bang. I think, with all the back and forth with really taking time to not rush Page 34 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 this, I think we've come up with a solution that I think will work for everybody. So, hopefully, as we get into discussions, we think this might be that balance that we've been looking for. Thank you. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Director. Also, we were working with LRB (Legislative Research Branch) to, I guess, find where we could have the amendments done. So Communication 333.8 is not on the bill yet, right? It's just a draft? Okay. So I'm going to—it's on the floor? It's not on the floor? Okay, good. So, I want to amend Bill 63 with the contents of Communication 333.14. Motion to Amend: Mr. Onishi moved to amend Bill 63, Draft 2, with the contents of Comm. 333.14. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thanks, Chair. So, like I said, yesterday we had a meeting. With LRB's help, also with Director Darrow's help, we decided that what we would do is we'll amend Chapter 25, Article 5, Division 13, Section 25-5-132. In (c), it had in the past`Buildings and uses normally considered directly accessories to the uses permitted in this section shall also be permitted in the MCX district." So it was recommended that we add in "dwellings." So it's going to be `Buildings, dwellings, and uses normally . . . ." And so, it's not going to be in the general area of where the uses are, where people can just go into the Code and look at the uses of what are allowed. They would have to come into this section to see that this is going to be allowed. Now, accessories, meaning that—Director, correct me if I'm wrong—has to be something existing, right. So it cannot be something new. I think some of the Council Members thought that what would happen is people would come in and just develop on these properties, right, vacant properties that are in MCX. By having this, now we're talking about businesses can, I guess, create some kind of place for either themselves or their workers to stay close to work. You can add anything, Director. MR. DARROW: Sure. Thank you, Vice Chair Onishi. There were some concerns. No. 1 is allowing dwellings as a primary use in the MCX District— single family, double family, multiple family—so that there could be the possibility that somebody can come in, purchase MCX or have MCX, and not do the actual uses in MCX but do dwellings instead. So we think that this amendment would balance that and make it very clear that dwellings would need to be accessory to the main use in the MCX District. The dwellings would not be a main use. It would be an incidental and subordinate use to the permitted uses within the MCX District. I might add, not only would this apply to existing. If somebody had a business and they wanted to add a dwelling, or dwellings, they could. But also, if someone Page 35 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 has vacant MCX land that they buy and they're proposing to build a business, they would have the opportunity to build dwellings that would be in support of that business. Typically, we look at that in a sense as workforce housing, because you're providing an opportunity for people to live close to the business. There was concern regarding affordable housing requirements. This is MCX. In Chapter 11 right now, MCX does trigger when you reach a certain level of jobs. And I believe it's quite large. It's like a hundred full-time jobs. And then you have to meet the requirements of Chapter 11 through an agreement through Housing. So this would apply to somebody coming in that has a rezoning currently that calls for an affordable housing agreement, or somebody new that comes in and applies for a rezoning to MCX. There would be that. Granted, that may change shortly with the changes that may occur with Chapter 11. But to be clear, if somebody had MCX original zoning that didn't have an ordinance attached to it and they wanted to do a dwelling, or dwellings, there is no affordable housing agreement requirement there or triggered there. And I don't see an avenue to really do that. I think in that case, we'd just—if it's accessory and it is subordinate and incidental to the use, it should be okay. Thank you. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Director. I yield at this time. CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Director Darrow, does this change the intent of the original bill? MR. DARROW: This actually takes into consideration the concerns that were brought up mainly by the Kona community action committee, as well as others. I think this is really the intention we were trying to seek for, in the sense that we're trying to allow the opportunity for that live, work,play option. And as mentioned, we do have some language in some of our other districts that allow for the ML and the MG that allow for a watchman's quarters or something to that effect. But, really, this is what we're trying to achieve, that connection that somebody can live and work in close proximity. MR. HUSTACE: In my mind, it does change the intent of the bill. You've eliminated it as a permitted use, and it's now become just secondary to the facilities—something that exists or something that develops. So my question is, what are the thresholds that could then be allowed? Say you have the permitted uses are lengthy, from apiaries to plant propagation, nurseries, those sorts of things. What is the threshold to then have multiple multi-family homes beyond what I'm hearing right now is it's just for a custodian, security, that it's just a Page 36 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 single individual or single family as an accessory. What are the thresholds to allow for more workforce housing? Because, now you've eliminated dwellings from a permitted use. MR. DARROW: It actually does not really specify, No. 1, a living quarter for a watchman. MR. HUSTACE: Right. MR. DARROW: That's not in this bill. It also MR. HUSTACE: That's been an example that's been talked about, though, like it—yeah— MR. DARROW: Yes, because that's MR. HUSTACE: As a workforce opportunity. MR. DARROW: Yeah, that's just been kind of a work-around in the ML and the MG for people to add a unit with their business. And as mentioned, typically we'll get that come in not often but sometimes. Because the MCX bill, I think in discussions with the Council, identified that this district is majority, I would say 90 percent commercial and 10 percent light industrial, that dwellings really should be kind of connected, or an option, to this particular district. The concern was that making it a permitted use, as we do in the commercial districts, a lot of developers will come in and purchase a commercial property and do apartments or condos. They won't do it in connection with the other permitted. I'm not saying they won't, but most of them come in to maximize the dwelling capacity in that particular property because the density is high. In the commercial zoning, the density is 1.25, which is 1,250 square feet per dwelling unit. So, if you have an acre of land, that can allow quite a number of dwelling units on that one acre of commercial. Whereas this the intention here is to provide that connectivity between the business and people being able to live there as part of that. It's an opportunity. MR. HUSTACE: I'm going to go back to my other question about these thresholds. You're saying that a majority of them are commercial in those MCX areas. How do we subsequently tie a dwelling unit to that commercial unit? How are we saying that this is the shopkeeper from downstairs? MR. DARROW: We don't. Page 37 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MR. HUSTACE: So then you're saying that you have one commercial unit, but you have no there's no connection between that dwelling upstairs, or two stories up or whatever the case may be, right? MR. DARROW: I see your point. You're trying to find an avenue that Planning would, when a permit comes in for a dwelling, or dwellings, be able to identify that there is that connection to that particular use that's already either on the site or being proposed. I don't MR. HUSTACE: But it has to be onsite, though, right? MR. DARROW: Correct. MR. HUSTACE: As an accessory, it has to be onsite, somehow related to, connected to, the primary use. MR. DARROW: Correct. MR. HUSTACE: So if we have a future development being proposed in the Kona community, residential workforce housing down the block can't be tied to the project, then. MR. DARROW: I mean, somebody could live in there and work there that's not a problem. MR. HUSTACE: But on the site, they have to have had some sort of permitted use, whatever the scale and size is. MR. DARROW: There should be a clear distinction that the business is main; the dwellings are subordinate to the main use. You can't have, for example, something that's reversed where you have 20 multi-family units and you have a small little MR. HUSTACE: That's kind of what I'm also asking, like what are those thresholds? Because, you could say someone—one of the permitted uses is an apiary and they have a beehive. But we to kind of meet the workforce demands in the area, they're going to want to have those dwelling units at a larger scale versus what—because it's not being the primary permitted use right now. MR. DARROW: Correct. MR. HUSTACE: It's only accessory. MR. DARROW: Right now, this section that we're looking at, if you notice, it's not just dwellings. It's buildings, dwellings, and uses. Buildings and uses have been in this Code for over 20 years. And what that means is that if somebody Page 38 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 comes in and requests a particular building or use that is clearly not listed as permitted but is clearly subordinate and incidental to the primary uses, Planning could allow that through the review. We're trying, again, to find the balance where we're trying to address the main concerns that we're hearing, which is that the dwellings are not the primary use on these properties. That the primary use continues to be the permitted uses in the district. MR. HUSTACE: No, I understand that relationship in trying to solve that workforce demand in those areas, but it may not be at the scale that we might be needing, though. We scaled it way back because now it's not a primary permitted use. It's my understanding. I'm not quite clear on the threshold. So we may see a greater need in these areas down the road. MR. DARROW: For housing. MR. HUSTACE: For workforce housing in these areas that are mixed use that have potential down the road. MR. DARROW: I completely understand your point. I think, at this point, we've had nothing. This is adding something, and I think it's actually a pretty good balance that it's not specific to a living quarters watchman. It really opens up the door to allow something, as discussed earlier through testimony, where you can have a large-scale business and workforce housing on the same property. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Director. I'll yield for now, Chair. CHR. INABA: I'm going to go over to Kona real quick. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Chair. A couple of questions. Council Member Onishi, I suppose I just have a few questions based on the testifiers. Was the instigation of this legislation started by the two testifiers as it relates to the property that they manage? MR. ONISHL No. If you listen to my discussions prior, when this first started, I mentioned about when I first was on the Council, the Council allowed homeless shelters in the area. And so then, that's when I brought up about having family housing, the dwellings, which got shut down. And then earlier last year, we allowed hospitals and senior homes, and that's what had brought this back again. If we're going to allow those uses, why can't we have our families that have, I guess, working in these certain areas, to be having their homes there? And then they don't have to worry about traveling so much. They can be close to them. So, yes. To your question, no. Page 39 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, thank you. Thanks for clarifying that. I really appreciate that. A couple of things. After speaking to members from the Kona CDP (Community Development Plan) Action Committee, I do have a request that this Bill 63 be postponed until our next meeting, which would allow the action committee to review this draft of the bill with this amendment, and be able to come back with their recommendations and,potentially, amendments. But it provides them the time to review this as it's been amended. I suppose I have some reservations, because while the intention may be to allow for workforce housing, there is no requirement that that is what would legally be required to happen. When I look at Oahu, and as they navigated the same terminology of"housing crisis" and "workforce housing," I look at all the condo units that were built on Ala Moana Shopping Center. Those are not workforce housing. And yeah, they're in city central and could be and could allow for people to have access and work especially at that shopping center, they're priced way out of anything attainable for local workforce. Same thing we're seeing happening in Kaka`ako. So, when I look at Kona and I look at the desirability to live down kind of more in the urban corridor, I don't see our families wanting to live down there. I see people who want—they're looking at that as this wonderful way to live in an urban corridor and walk to spaces not necessarily for our families. So I have serious concerns. While I recognize the intention to create this workforce housing, I have real concerns about how that makes us vulnerable for manipulation of the system and continued escalation of prices for people to live. And there's too many opportunities for a work-around and exploitation and manipulation, yeah. And looking at what happened on Oahu and continues to happen CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas, I just want to remind us that we are on the amendment right now. MS. VILLEGAS: I'm sorry, Chair. I can't hear you very well. CHR. INABA: I just wanted to remind us that we're on the amendment right now, Communication 333.14. MS. VILLEGAS: Oh, gotcha. Sorry. And I have concerns about this amendment and what this adds in. I think it muddies the water. And I want to thank Council Member Hustace for his questions about whether or not this changes the intention of the bill as a whole. With that, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. We'll head to Council Member Kimball. Page 40 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. Appreciate the discussion around this. I had a couple of conversations this week about this bill. This particular amendment doesn't address my specific concerns about Bill 63 in its current format. And I actually think it presents potentially some other problems. So I'm not going to be supporting this amendment. I have an alternative proposal to make to the drafter of this bill that I'm happy to share in the context of the discussion of this amendment, but I think that might be inappropriate. But I think there's another mechanism to kind of address some of these concerns while still keeping this bill intact. I'll just leave it there for now, unless the Chair, if you feel like it's appropriate to expand on what my alternative proposal is. CHR. INABA: We'll wait so everyone can chime in on the amendment. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah. I (inaudible). CHR. INABA: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder then Council Member Galimba. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. MS. VILLEGAS: Chair? Can I just ask that you guys speak closer to your microphones? It's very soft and hard to hear. CHR. INABA: We're going to take a five-minute recess right now. We'll be back at—actually, we'll be back at 11:45. We're in recess. Recess: At 11:37 a.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 11:45 a.m. CHR. INABA: We are on Communication 333.14 and, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, you have the floor. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. On the amendment. It took me a second, but the amendment, I'm used to seeing the Ramseyer format listing out the sections removed. So, instead of crossing out the wording in Section 2, it just says it's removing Section 2 completely. In doing so, it removes some of the aspects of Bill 63, Draft 2, that I think protected the density requirements that the Kona committeeI forget the name of it. Was it Kona—action committee is requesting. And I appreciate the density requirements because in building within the MCX District, if the goal is affordable housing, then the requirements for density should be there. So that first, No. 1, in the amendment removes the density requirements, in my opinion. Am I tracking correctly, Mr. Darrow? Page 41 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MR. DARROW: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then by amending Section (c)to add "dwellings,"the definition of dwellings is very open within the Hawaii County Code. So by adding "dwellings"to Section (c), it opens up to any kind of dwelling. Am I reading that correctly? MR. DARROW: Any type of dwelling, is that what you're saying? Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes. Okay, so no density requirements. Single family, multifamily, duplex, any dwelling possible. Correct? MR. DARROW: Correct at this point, and that is a good point. Typically, if you were to look at something similar, like the commercial zoning that we're trying to compare this to, which we tried to compare to originally, the zoning is 1,250 square feet per dwelling unit. So, as mentioned, if you have an acre, that's quite a bit of dwelling units on a particular acre. But we're the concern was more it appeared that they really wanted to tie it in with the business, right, workforce housing, that type of thing. It's hard to create workforce housing or identify it unless somehow you have a mechanism that you're going through, like an affordable housing agreement where you're identifying a particular AMI (Area Median Income) that says, "This is workforce housing." We're trying to look at it from the standpoint of, by allowing dwellings with the businesses to be able to accommodate the people that work there, it would be a type of workforce housing. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, I understand that. I find the wording to be very open. (Inaudible) as much as when we previously discussed the bill, there was a sense of directedness towards a specific kind of dwelling and/or livable areas in the MCX District that we were opening the door to. And I have hesitancy about allowing residential-style dwellings inside of the MCX District. It's not allowable now. I wanted to ask, is it allowable in other counties? Do other counties allow for what we're doing here? MR. DARROW: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Which ones? MR. DARROW: The wording that we came up with before this change, that wasn't introduced, came from Maui. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: From Maui. MR. DARROW: And it was—I'll just mention it so that you understand. It said, "dwelling units that are accessory to permitted uses within that district." And so Page 42 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 that wasagain, we saw that and we were thinking, well, that seems to make it pretty clear. But again, it didn't have a density identification. And this particular amendment seemed to address that. But not being in the permitted uses section, it was in the section that spoke to subordinate and incidental- or accessory-type uses. So again, it seems like we were just trying to provide an option. People in the past have asked for that particular option. This is an attempt to try to accommodate that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So, with the amendment in place, removing Section 2, which listed the dwelling types allowable and the density requirements of those dwellings, with the addition of dwellings in Subsection (c)just per the amendment, what is allowed, then, in the MCX District if this were to pass? MR. DARROW: An example would be—I'll give a few examples. So let's say that you have a mom-and-pop type of business. In Waiakea Houselots, you have a number of smaller lots that transitioned from residential to MCX. They would be able to have a unit that could be onsite with the business that they have. That's a very small type of opportunity that could be provided. If you had something larger, like what we're seeing in North Kona, these larger MCX properties that are going to accommodate larger businesses, it could accommodate for multiple-family type opportunities where you could have a number of onsite workforce housing opportunities. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: With the wording in that Section (c), Ic . . . uses normally considered directly accessory to the uses permitted in this section . . ."meaning buildings and dwellings and uses directly accessory to the mixed use industrial? MR. DARROW: To the business. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: To the business. MR. DARROW: To that permitted use that they are requesting be accessory use. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And the permitted uses being industrial-type activities? MR. DARROW: Not necessarily. As mentioned,this district has a majority of commercial uses, very few light industrial-type uses. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So we could sum it up by saying, "any of the uses allowed in the MCX District." Page 43 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MR. DARROW: Yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So it's a very open and broad MR. DARROW: Yeah. Council Member Hustace brought up a good point. I mean, you have some unique uses that are identified; apiaries is one, right. You have apiaries on MCX, and you ask for a dwelling. You know, it's like you could, "Yeah, I've got to take care of my apiaries." Right? So it could make sense. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I agree. I agree with that. That's a good vision of what this could be. What would the tax rate be? I don't know if this is specific to the amendment, but it— CHR. INABA: It's not, or the bill, so we're not going to ask that right now. That's separate. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Actually, it is for me because if we're allowing for affordable housing and it could be tied into the business, and this actually ties into the communication, would the tax rate of the property change if the uses permitted on it were, say, affordable housing? CHR. INABA: Are you asking about the rates? Or are you asking about—? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes, the tax rates. What would they be considered? Because, they're MCX. They're industrial. Yet, the property tax is based on the use. CHR. INABA: Is your question whether they would be eligible for an affordable rental tax (inaudible)? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Correct. Yeah. CHR. INABA: Okay, we can answer that question. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Maybe not you, Mr. Darrow, but I do see Administrator Miura in the back. I may be totally off on this, Lisa. If I am, correct me, but it seems like an open door. (Note: At this time, Real Property Tax Administrator Lisa Miura, Finance Department, came forward to address the members of the Council.) MS. MIURA: So, from hearing what was spoken about this morning, it would have to stay in commercial tax rate. Because, we would not grant a homeowner exemption, even if there was a homeowner in there, on any industrial zoning. Page 44 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 And even if it's an apiary, they would not get ag values. They couldn't apply for the ag on commercial or industrial zoning. It has to be ag zoning. So they can use it per Planning's Code, but they would be taxed as commercial use. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: What if they built affordable housing? Would it be considered affordable housing and taxed at that rate? MS. MIURA: So right now, we don't do affordable housing or any type of home exemption or change on the highest and best use if it's zoned commercial industrial. So we would have to probably look at creating a rule that would allocate for it if this goes through. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So this bill could change what we do now. Right now, it doesn't. But if the bill passes, then yes it could. MS. MIURA: Correct. And there are some commercial areas, I will say, in Hilo, for example, that it has been utilized as residential all the years, despite it being converted to commercial area, that it's still residential houses. But we would definitely have to take a look at it even though we weren't here for this particular bill today. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: No, it came to me, you know, the way things come to me. MS. MIURA: Thanks. Good. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: With that said, what is the difference in rate between commercial and affordable housing? MS. MIURA: Commercial is $10.70 per thousand, and affordable rental is $5.95 per thousand. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So the properties would be roughly taxed at half if the bill were to pass and affordable housing was to be built. MS. MIURA: Correct. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I yield, Chair. CHR. INABA: All right. On the amendment, Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Michelle (inaudible). CHR. INABA: Council Member Galimba. Page 45 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. I think I'm generally in favor of the original language, but I actually am coming to see that there is some value in this concept of accessory. So I'm sort of on the fence right now. But I wanted to ask about— and it has to do with this accessory concept. So if there is a large business, such as a hospital, and they want to build a large amount of workforce housing that would be directly accessory to their business and it would be rentals, thenI mean, they could put on it I guess I'm asking what makes it accessory. So they could perhaps put on the name of the housing project"The Hospital Housing Project,"but life being what it is, at one particular moment they might not be able to get a hundred percent folks in there that are working at the hospital. And as a business, they would want to, and I think they should have the freedom to, get renters to fill the space so that it can work. So I'm just wondering about what that word"accessory" means in this context, and if there's any sort of intent- versus-reality kind of considerations there, Director Darrow. MR. DARROW: Well, typically—again, when somebody comes in with their proposal or their permit or application, whether it's a plan approval or a building permit or whatever, that's when we look at whether or not this is accessory or subordinate to that particular main use. I don't think we're in the business of monitoring what happens later. If the intention was there originally, we would that option that we were trying to achieve by allowing them to have that live-in, working, close proximity has been achieved. I mean, they may find themselves that,you know, like you were saying, they need to they have extra space; they rent it out. I don't know what more we can do, as far as in the Code, to enforce that or restrict it. MS. GALIMBA: Okay, thank you. And the fact that it's right near the hospital is probably going to make it more likely that they will have MR. DARROW: We had a project that was in the Waikoloa resort area that they proposed workforce housing. And the same kind of thing; we allowed them to build this with the intention that they're in close proximity to the resort area. They're thinking they're all going to work and live there. Unless somebody's strictly monitoring that, there could be people renting in there that actually don't work there. The hope and intention is they are they need the workers. They're providing an opportunity that is going to draw the workers to them, because there's such a great need for workers right now. Most of the businesses are really struggling to find that aspect, that demand. And by providing this service, that's going to help them. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. I totally agree with that and wanting to, if anything, err on the side of creating workforce housing. Because, I do think that Page 46 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 there are a lot of people living in their cars and having to drive from very far. And that causes a lot of problems for our island, as far as road infrastructure as well as, obviously, for these folks and their families. The reason I'm asking is not to criticize the need for workforce housing, but just wanting to make sure that I understand what the impacts are. I yield. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. On the amendment. I guess I'm going back to the maker's original stated intention. And I was thinking about the idea that homelessness shelters were allowed, but then there wasn't the ability to have, say, low-income permanent housing for the very same people to live in in the same areas. My concern is that this amendment no longer would allow something like that to happen, whereas without this amendment, I think it was going more in that direction to allow more density and housing residential within the MCX. I did relate to something that Council Member Villegas said about if we build a whole bunch of units and they end up going more for visitors or part-time people, vacation rentals, those kinds of things. But that was my understanding much of the feedback from the Kona CDP Action Committee was around trying to tighten some of that stuff up a bit. And so, I guess I was thinking I was more on the page with where they were going with that. And to me,this is quite different. So I guess I have a question: Do we need to vote for this amendment if we want the CDP Action Committee to take a look at and give feedback on this? Or can we, as suggested by Council Member Villegas, ask for input on the implications with this potential amendment and hold it, or not vote for it? I personally can't support this amendment without a little more deep dive. Do you have any ? CHR. INABA: Yeah, we don't need they can comment on a communication. We don't need(inaudible). MS. KAGIWADA: Okay,just on the communication. Okay. So at this point, I'm not prepared to support this amendment as written. Thank you, I yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I'll be brief. Just to follow up on Council Member Galimba's questions. With the definition of"accessory,"that would inherently mean on the same building site, and not on the adjacent property. MR. DARROW: With this language, it would limit it to be on the same building site. If the—as originally proposed, the dwellings were—as permitted uses, they could obviously be on adjoining parcels or separate parcels. It would be an allowable permitted use without being connected to any type of permitted use. It would be a main use. Page 47 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MS. KIMBALL: I think that's a pretty significant requirement in terms of the definition of"accessory." And agree, fully support the need for workforce housing for some of these uses. But in this particular case, with the example given, it wouldn't actually apply because it's a different property, a different parcel. I yield. CHR. INABA: All right. If we can wrap it up, Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate the time. So you spoke specifically of the hospital and the Kona side. Because, I think that's where a lot of our minds are when we're talking about workforce housing down the road, those sorts of things, that's on the horizon. So some of the sites that this potential opportunity has, could they be then consolidated, and to answer that question, and solve this issue then? If they were built as an accessory on a neighboring parcel, but then those properties are consolidated? MR. DARROW: Yes. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. Thank you, Chair. CHR. INABA: Vice Chair Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thanks, Chair. Director, the intent for us to do this was basically, businesses that are in operation right now, give them the opportunity to build a place for them to stay and their family, or an employee. So, within the property that business is on, they were required to have "x" amount of parking stalls and so forth. So, if they wanted to build multiple homes,they would need extra land in order to, I guess, qualify or to—illegal to get built. Correct. MR. DARROW: Correct. MR. ONISHL And so, I mean I'm hearing, which is great discussions, but I think where it's getting mixed is because people are looking at vacant properties that are MCX. Do you have that same ? MR. DARROW: I think originally that was the—there was that thinking that, again, somebody could come in and do apartments or condos or even a single- family dwelling on an MCX property. I think that was why the shift occurred so that we could tie it in, so it was clearly tied in to a main use. MR. ONISHL Right. And so, it's kind of MR. DARROW: If I could maybe bring this full circle again. So, originally, when Vice Chair Onishi proposed the bill, it was identical language that we have in the commercial zonings. It allowed for single-family dwellings, no density. It's just single-family dwellings. Double family, multiple family, whether density Page 48 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 was limited to 1,250 square feet, which is pretty high density. So there was concern maybe we should take out the single-family dwellings because we don't want peopleI mean, my thought is that—the thinking was we don't want people to build single-family dwellings on MCX. We want the businesses there, and we don't want dwellings there. But there was the thought to keep the double family and the multiple family, because that seemed to make more sense where it could be workforce housing. The other concern was we want this to be workforce housing. Right now, the way it is, MCX is reviewed by Housing as an industrial-type use. It only triggers when it's a large-scale project that triggers a hundred full-time employees. That's very difficult to come by. But if that review was done similar—if these dwellings were added as a permitted use, similar to the commercial, a simple change could be done to Chapter 11 to allow the review for the dwellings that are built. And, therefore, the affordable housing is focused on the amount of dwellings that are built, not on the industrial uses. Or there could be a combination of both. But at least, at that point, they are focused on meeting affordable housing requirements. So that is a big opportunity that could be looked at as well. Thank you. MR. ONISHL For the intent, I wasn't looking at having businesses with over a hundred employees. We were just looking at having dwellings for these families of small businesses. And the thing is, too, we talk about all this, but then you try think back, like with my discussion with Ms. Keliipio the other day. She said that on this one property, they could build a mega home, right. And so, I told her, "Okay." But now, we already approved senior homes. So they could build a mega home, and we cannot do anything about it. Right? So then she kind of thought about it and went, "Yeah, that's true." Right now, with this, it's basically you have to have an accessory, and then you're allowed. But you have to have the space. So the only way, if they don't have the space, they've got to go to a second story onto their existing building. And that's about it, what they can do. And basically, what's going to happen, if the structure of the original building is not suitable to have a second story, then they can't build it at all. So, to me, it's going to be limited on how many homes we're going to be seeing getting built. And so, I know, Ms. Kimball, you had something. So why don't we just vote on this and then, if you can then we can mention about your process. Okay. Yes. Chair, I'll yield. CHR. INABA: Thank you. All right, I'll chime in on this. I have concerns about what those lines are for accessory. I think the bill has merit as it's currently drafted, while keeping in mind some of the comments that were provided by the action committee regarding short-term vacation rentals. And I think that's something that still needs to be closed up with regards to the bill. Director, would you want to ? Page 49 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MR. DARROW: So, MCX zoning does not allow short-term vacation rentals. So that should clear that up. CHR. INABA: Perfect. Thank you for clarifying that. So, with that, we'll do a roll call vote on the amendment then. Vote on Motion to The motion to amend Bill 63, Draft 2, with the contents of Amend: Comm. 333.14 failed by the following roll call vote: Failed Ayes: Council Member Onishi — 1. Noes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—8. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: As I mentioned before, I want to make a suggestion with this, and I'll just preface this by saying, we talked about some specific locations. But whenever we're talking about an amendment to Chapter 25, we have to be cognizant that this is going to apply across the board to all parcels that are in this zoning district. And if there's one thing that I think has come to the fore in this conversation, it's that there are many different things that can be developed in MCX right now. And so, the idea of allowing dwellings in a one-size-fits-all fashion maybe is where the problem is, or at least that's where I have an issue. And so, what I'd like to propose is that I believe, similarly to what was proposed in this just recent amendment, that instead of having these dwelling allowances under the permitted uses, we actually move it to Section (b)where it becomes a permitted use with a use permit. That way, given each individual unique situation, there would be some oversight to say, "These are the conditions that would apply to this site, based on the unique development of that site and the businesses that are on that site." So that is my proposal. I only came up with it yesterday afternoon at like 3:00, so I didn't get an amendment together for today. But if that's something that the body is willing to consider, I will bring it to the next hearing. And that's generally my proposal with respect to (Bill) 63. Thank you. CHR. INABA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Kimball. That was something that had come to mind for me as we talked about the hospital and the homeless shelter here on the west side. Page 50 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Mr. Darrow, can you confirm that those facilities,was it a special use permit that was applied for, for them to get exemptions and be able to build in MCX and utilize for those purposes? MR. DARROW: Aloha, Council Member Villegas. Are we speaking about the proposed hospital or an existing hospital? MS. VILLEGAS: I'm sorry. The proposed hospital. MR. DARROW: So, previous to this, I believe it was eitherI think it was last year, there was an amendment to the Zoning Code to allow for hospitals within the MCX District. So now, it is a permitted use. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, gotcha. Thank you. Something mentioned by Council Member Onishi about the homeless service facility in the Kona industrial area; an exception was made for that to be in industrial, or MCX. MR. DARROW: So I looked at that. I, too, was like, how did that come about? So it actually was through an emergency proclamation. I believe this was when Mayor Kenoi was Mayor. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay, thank you. Thanks for helping to clarify that. MR. DARROW: Thank you. MS. VILLEGAS: I suppose, for me, this fundamentally comes down to trust. And unfortunately, with land use and zoning that covers the entire island—zoning changes to the principles and what's allowable, when it covers the entire island that's MCX zoning, I don't see that as a wise change. I think there's wisdom, and I like this idea that Chair [sic] Kimball had just brought forward, that it be on a case-by-case basis. It was a struggle with the Waikoloa land. They brought forward their employee housing and all these units that they committed to build, and it be for their employees. But like you said, once it's approved there's no legal responsibility, nor do we necessarily have the bandwidth to police whether or not they in fact rent to employees. But tied to that was their asking for a zoning change to build 1,100 more time-share units. So there's trust. And we have a lot of issues with trust, I know I do, when it comes to development and across-the-board changes in what we allow and how we allow it. I think of an employer like Merriman's that bought—and they have a property for their employees that they rent to and it's residential. And so, they went about it in that way. I saw something recently in the news: Costco is now and I forget which state it's in but they're building condos and apartments on top of their Costco buildings for their staff. Page 51 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 So I see the positive and the opportunity, but in a place historically fraught with allowed changes, you know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And I haven't seen a lot of the good intentions come to fruition, unfortunately, and then accidentally or maliciously be manipulated for fiscal gain and benefit. So I would be open to and I'd like to see this remain on a case-by-case basis, where specific requirements are written into the ordinances as they relate to each project with an MCX. So that's my two cents. I yield. CHR. INABA: All right, how do we want to proceed? Do we want to keep it here and postpone? Or are we trying to send it back to Committee so we can have these discussions and flush things out? MR. ONISHL I'll just postpone it and wait for the amendment to come in. CHR. INABA: All right. Vote on Motion to Mr. Onishi moved to postpone Bill 63, Draft 2, to Postpone: February 4, 2026. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and (Approved) 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 110: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 25-45, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2026 Increases revenues in the revenues in the State Grants —Hawai`i County Food Access Summit Program account($40,000) and appropriates the same to the Hawaii County Food Access Summit Program account. Funds will be used to plan and facilitate two Food Access Summits that will be used to collect data, support community collaboration, and showcase successful projects. Reference: Comm. 631 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Approve: FC-115 Page 52 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Vote on Bill 110: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to pass Bill 110 on first (Approved) reading and adopt Finance Committee Report No. 115. Seconded by Ms. Galimba 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 111: 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 AGRICULTURAL—3 ACRES (A-3a) TO SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENTIAL— 10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10) AT WAIAKEA, SOUTH HILO, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 2-4-080:014 (Applicant: Mailani Development, LLC) (Area: 4.4669 acres) The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for the requested change of zone, which would allow the applicant to subdivide the property into 14 house lots and a road lot. The property is located at 1077 Ahe Street. Reference: Comm. 638 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) Approve: LAAC-26 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 111 on first reading and adopt Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 26. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: We had a good discussion about this in Committee. The applicant and the applicant's representative have been here waiting patiently. Thank you all. So, if there are any additional questions for them. Just recommend supporting this and moving it forward. Mahalo. CHR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. I'd like to call, I guess, Mr. Arai up. As you're coming up, I just want toso, thank you for reaching out to me. Mr. Arai reached out to me and let me know that there were some neighbors who had voiced some concerns about the street going all the way through and Fire turnaround, for trucks and things like that. So I did ask that we have Deputy Fire Page 53 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Chief Volpe here to answer anything. But do you want to just kind of lay that out a little more so that people understand what the concern was, and then maybe we can have the Deputy Chief come and speak to it? (Note: At this time, Land Use Planning Consultant Daryn Arai came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. ARAI: Thank you very much. Good afternoon, Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi, and members of the Council. My name is Daryn Arai, here assisting Mailani Development with this rezoning request. Mailani Development is represented by Charles Umemoto, who is sitting in the audience. And assisting me today also is Sidney Fuke. One resident of the adjoining Ahualani Estate Subdivision reached out to me. That individual mentioned that he has spoken with other neighbors. He mentioned possibly seven neighbors who have potential concerns about fire trucks driving along Kikaha Street through the project site, and then terminating temporarily at Ahe Street, which remains unimproved to this current day. The concern was those residents as well as residents in his subdivision would not appreciate a fire truck reversing when needing to turn around and get out, and using individual driveways in order to turn the truck around. We took a close look at it. We looked at—Kikaha Street is planned as an extension all the way to Haihai Street. In fact, if you look on the south side of Haihai Street, there's a new subdivision that was recently constructed. Homes are currently built. And the new connecting road to Haihai that services that subdivision is called Kikaha Street, because it's intended to make a through connection all the way. So we see no opportunity to basically dead-end Kikaha Street, because the current I almost said current policy of the department, but this is something you can validate with them, but when I was working there, it was always a policy to interconnect subdivisions and interconnect roadways as much as possible in order to distribute the traffic load throughout the entire area. So we appreciate the concerns being expressed by that individual, but we see fire trucks as not a very frequent occurrence. Usually when there's a responding, I would imagine medical is the most prevalent response by the fire department. So an ambulance can easily turn around on a 50-foot wide, fully paved and improved roadway. If an ambulance is not available, they normally, I would imagine, send a utility truck out there. That happened to my father when he didn't need a full fire truck to basically go and tend to what is a medical emergency. So I imagine that fire trucks would be a rare occurrence. And in that particular instance, if they need to back around using someone's private driveway, they'll do so. Page 54 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Mr. Arai. We do have Deputy Fire Chief Volpe here and also our Planning Director Darrow. I don't know if you want to come and just kind of verify. I just want to make sure the public is aware that we heard their concerns and that I'd like to get your professional and expertise positions on this, so that people can understand kind of where the County is going and what our stance is. So maybe, Director Darrow,just if you can quickly just verify what Mr. Arai said about the plans for that area and everything. (Note: At this time, Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. DARROW: Aloha, Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi, members of the Hawaii County Council. Jeff Darrow with the Planning Department. Completely agree. Connectivity is priority. That's why, in these particular opportunities to change of zones, we try to provide that connectivity. There was one just recently,just to the south of this project, that again has conditions that when the Department of Public Works requires that to be dedicated, it will be dedicated and provide connectivity through Ahe Street and Kikaha Street. So that is a priority with the department. Thank you. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Director. Deputy Fire Chief, if you can just maybe speak to any concerns or issues you think there might be around access for your personnel getting in in case of emergency. (Note: At this time, Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Volpe came forward to address the members of the Council.) MR. VOLPE: Sure. Good afternoon. Daniel Volpe, Deputy Fire Chief, Hawaii Fire Department. The fire department finds a way to get to where we need to get to. So in this instance, specifically in that area, Station 3, they're making a fire engine and ambulance and (inaudible) vehicles, the smaller utility vehicle. As earlier mentioned, a vehicle based on—and their company officers have the discretion to apply the appropriate resource to whatever the emergency is. Another thing we task or firefighters with is kind of familiarization of the districts. That includes access, bridges, areas, roads, inclusive of turnarounds, blind spots, hills. And so our guys are familiar with that area and will not have an issue. Again, predominantly run about 80 percent medical calls. An ambulance would have no issue in that area. Even a small utility vehicle would have no issue of turning around in those areas. In the event of a fire, we'll bring the appropriate resource. Once the emergency takes priority over—unfortunately sometimes for the neighbors, but the Page 55 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 emergency will take priority over inconveniencing and displacing sometimes the occupants. And so, we will take care of the emergency at hand, and then we'll remove. Currently, there are numbers of kind of dead-end roads, long stretches of roads that do not go out. Their only way out is reversing. I've personally reversed fire engines very, very far as a means to sort of—after you deal with the emergency. After that, we should have no difficulty accessing those areas. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that because as neighborhoods change, people obviously have concerns around those changes. And I think it's just really good to hear from the experts and the professionals that we looked at this and that we understand what the changes are going to be, and think that they are the best way to go forward. So I appreciate you both being here. Yeah. And I think that's all I have. I support this bill. CHR. INABA: All those in favor of approving Bill 111 at first reading,please say "aye." Vote on Bill 111: The motion to pass Bill 111 on first reading and adopt (Approved) Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Report No. 26 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. 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 103: AMENDS CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 7, SECTION 19-53, OF THE HAWAI`I (Draft 3) COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY TAX Applies the homeowner classification's three-percent annual assessment increase cap to a property's agricultural assessed value under certain conditions, including if the property is no longer assessed according to its agricultural use; expires on December 31, 2029. Reference: Comm. 593.6 Intr. by: Council Members Kimball and Hustace First Reading: December 17, 2025 Page 56 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to pass Bill 103, Draft 3, on second and final reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I just want to thank Administrator Miura and Assistant Administrator Keita Jo for their assistance in collecting the data and reviewing the various situations so that Council Member Hustace and I could come up with a final draft here. Thank you, Council Member Hustace, for your engagement and support on this. And just ask for everybody's support to close the file on this. Thank you. CHR. INABA: All those in favor of approving Bill 103 at second and final reading, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 103: The motion to pass Bill 103, Draft 3, on second and final Draft 3 reading was carried by the following voice vote: (Adopted) Ayes: Council Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Inaba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 109: AMENDS CHAPTER 24, ARTICLE 10, DIVISION 5, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO NO PARKING AT ANYTIME Prohibits parking at any time on Hina-Lani Street, from Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway to Anini Street. Reference: Comm. 620 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba First Reading: December 17, 2025 Vote on Bill 109: Mr. Hustace moved to pass Bill 109 on second and final (Adopted) reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba 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 57 Hawaii County Council-30 January 7,2026 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, condolences were expressed for the passing of former Council Member Dominic Yagong. Additionally, Council Members made announcements regarding community events, activities, and other unofficial business.) ADJOURN- There being no further business, Chair Inaba adjourned the meeting at 12:35 p.m. MENT: Council Approval: APR 0 8 2026 COUNTf-CLEF4�-� JH/dg Page 58