Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP GOEAC 120 2026-04-21 2024-2026REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DATE: April 21, 2026 PLACE: Council Chambers Kailua-Kona, Hawaii TIME: 9:04 a.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Comm. No. 821/Res. No. 517-26 Your Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs, to which was referred Resolution No. 517-26, reports as follows: Resolution No. 517-26, transmitted by Research and Development Director Benson Medina via Communication No. 821, dated April 1, 2026, authorizes the Mayor to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the University of Hawaii, Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC), for the purpose of awarding grant funds to control and combat the spread of invasive species. Funds in the amount of $250,000 from the Department of Research and Development would be used to support critical invasive species efforts. Deputy Director Dennis Lin and Economic Development Specialist Glenn Sako were in the Hilo Chambers to answer questions. Mr. Lin began by explaining that as the work BIISC does is under the purview of the University it is necessary to enter into intergovernmental agreements. Mr. Sakc highlighted some of the invasive species that BIISC is working to control but mentioned these are just a few of the many species they are working on. Committee Member Michelle M. Galimba asked questions about the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB) and their use of detector dogs. Mr. Lin clarified that there is only one dog doing this work for the state and that they are working to train the dog to be more specific on whether the CRB is a live larvae or dead one. Committee Member Dennis "Fresh" Onishi asked about the positions for the staff members who will be working on the Two -Lined Spittlebug mitigation. Mr. Lin said that he didn't have specific details on their job positions but that without this grant those two staff members wouldn't be funded. Member Onishi asked which campus these positions would be created for. Mr. Sako explained that BIISC staff are housed within the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Member Onishi asked if the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience would be a better place for these positions or funding, to keep things more local. Mr. Lin said that BIISC is trying to help support the other agencies and organizations that are already doing similar work and fill in some gaps in funding across the board. Member Onishi asked how much of the $250,000 would be used for the salaries of those two positions. Mr. Sako said that he didn't have those numbers with him and would provide them at the next meeting. GOEAC Report No. 120 GOEAC-120 Page 2 April 21, 2026 Committee Chair Jenn Kagiwada said that some of the items they mentioned out loud don't match the items listed in the resolution and inquired if there was flexibility in where they can apply the funding. Mr. Lin said that these are the items that are coming to the forefront currently, so things are regularly changing in the invasive species arena. Chair Kagiwada asked if these are the items they currently want to fund or not. Mr. Lin said he would work on an amendment to include clarifying language on which items need to be included currently. Committee Member Ashley L..Kierkiewicz asked if this funding was filling in a gap or attempting to increase BIISC capacity. Mr Lin said it was more of filling in a gap, while increasing capacity in other areas. Member KierkieWicz said she agrees with flexibility in where these funds go due to the changing nature of this work. Committee Member Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder stated that he could see the salary in the expense report included with the resolution and that it is $172,000 out of the $250,000 grant. He said what concerns him is that more than half of the funds are going towards staffing and administrative expenses. Mr. Lin explained the necessity of the funding for those staffing positions as those are the people tasked with doing educational community outreach and work to help combat invasive species. He said that while programs are great, without people running the programs, that's not going to happen. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked what was stopping us from sending these funds directly to the nonprofit. Mr. Lin said it is basically one entity, and BIISC is considered a division within that larger entity and the fiscal responsibility goes into the larger entity. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said that he sees this as the County expending funds for something he believes should be an area of state jurisdiction and responsibility. Committee Member Rebecca Villegas agreed with Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder and advocated for more work to be done around stopping invasive species at the source from arriving here and that needs to be done at the state level. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked if the state provides similar funding to BIISC that the County does. Mr. Lin said they provide funding to the Hawaii Invasive Species Committee and they allocate funding from there. He did not know for certain how much of those funds go to which entities for either research or mitigation efforts. Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked for a short list to be ready before the next meeting that shows a breakdown of which funds are coming from the state towards invasive species programs. Your Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs is in accord with the purpose and intent of Resolution No. 517-26, and recommends its adoption. MM AYES NOES ABS EX GALIMBA X HOSTACE X INABA X KAGIWADA X KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X KIERKIEWICZ X KIMBALL X ONISHI X VILLEGAS I X Respectfully submitted, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS AND zTERNAL AFFAIRS JE KA W , CHAIR GOEAC REPORT NO.: 120 ADOPTED: MAY 0 5 2026