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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN CRCOC 2026/08/04 (2024-2026) DRAFT Committee on Communications, Reports, and Council Oversight 23`'d Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii August 4, 2026 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Communications, Reports, and ORDER: Council Oversight was called to order at 2:31 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Chair Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Vice Chair Mr. James E. Hustace, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba,Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Mr. Dennis"Fresh" Onishi, Member(came in later) STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS; Communications. Comm. 977: AFFORDABLE HOUSING AGREEMENT FOR WUNG SUBDIVISION LOCATED AT TAX MAP KEY: 2-4-003:035 From Housing Administrator Kehaulani M. Costa, dated July 7, 2026, transmitting the above report, pursuant to Section 11.19(a) of the Hawaii County Code. Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 977. Seconded by Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. CHR. GALIMBA: I believe we have the Office of Housing online. Oh nope. Here. Sorry. (Note: At this time, Housing and Community Development Specialist Anne Bailey came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MS. BAILEY: Good afternoon. This is Anne Bailey. I'm with the Office of Housing, based in the Kona office. And I'm here today to report on the matter referring to Ordinance 23-34, which was a rezone for a parcel located in Hilo. The trigger was the rezone. It's Condition Zero. But we negotiated in an Affordable Housing Agreement for a five-lot subdivision. The agreement is presented in the Communication. Do you have any questions? CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member, Inaba. MR. INABA: Yes. Thank you. For the excess credit that was purchased, who was that purchased from? MS. BAILEY: The excess credit has not been purchased yet- This is an agreement which outlines the intention of the developer to do Option One or Option Two. Option One is to purchase an excess credit. Option Two is to build a rental housing unit. The completion of the—we believe that the individuals will purchase the credit that has not been completed yet at transaction.- Still at Corporation Counsel. So when that transaction is completed, we'll report it on,our quarterly report, which is coming up. MR. INABA: So maybe for Corporation Counsel. This is the first Affordable Housing Agreement that I believe has been transmitted since, or has there been another? MS. BAILEY: That's incorrect. We've transmitted quite a few. MR. INABA: Sorry. You've transmitted? MS: BAILEY: Quite a few. MR. INABA: Okay. So this might be the first that we are actually discussing here at Council, which I've asked that we do from now on,just so it's agendized and we have the opportunity. But Corporation Counsel,just as a matter of,you know, in light of the issues the County experienced for the Affordable Housing Credits; I'm wondering how we can tighten things up. Because right now, the agreement offers two methods for satisfaction of the Affordable Housing Requirement; either the acquisition of the one excess credit or the construction and rental of the one unit. Has it been the County's practice in the past to execute agreements when we still are unsure of their actual method of satisfaction and it's just providing options in Page 2 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 an agreement? And then at what point would the Council or the public be informed of which option was selected, and how an Affordable Housing Agreement was actually, or requirements, sorry, were actually satisfied? (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SCHOEN: Renee Schoen, Corporation Counsel. I'm not quite sure. I do understand, well, I should say that I believe the credits are`reported to this body, and I think that's a recent development. But whether the developer would choose the alternative, you know, I don't know the mechanism by which you all would have notice of that. MR. INABA: Ms. Bailey, do you have an answer to that? MS. BAILEY: In the agreement,we always provide two options because by the time a developer gets around to actually,finding a'credit to purchase, it's been verified and authenticated by our office. And then it can be used in this case. There's a bit of time passing, so there may be no credits available when that transaction is completed. Hilo side has very'few credits available right now. So it depends on who gets in line first for whatever credits are available. And those are currently with Armstrong, which"are formerly DHHL (Department of Hawaiian Home Lands) credits, that can be used island-wide. MR. INABA:,, So I guess that's my concern. I still feel like there's a gray area here because what public record is available, unless your office is contacted, that allows us to know if and how an Affordable Housing Requirement was actually satisfied? Right now, we have the agreement which shows us the two options. But then when'do we know? Because we have the reporting requirement for the excess credit transfers,which is done separately on a quarterly basis, I believe. But how are we lo,know? I mean, I feel like that's what kind of put us in the hole the last time. Things were happening outside the public purview, which is why we try to provide these agreements here. Which is why I have these questions now, as, like, when or how do we know, when and how they were satisfied? MS: BAILEY: Satisfied. So there's a release of an agreement that's executed between the County and the developer when it has been satisfied. Copies are provided to Planning Department at this point. Nothing has been provided to Council because we're not required to do so. MR. INABA: Okay. But I think we maybe need to have MS. BAILEY: But it does come out in a quarterly report, where you'll see the subtraction from one developer and the subtraction from the redeemer. Page 3 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MR. INABA: Okay. MS. SCHOEN: So if you would like, I can work with Housing,just to maybe work out a system where it can be tracked and provided to this body. MR. INABA: Yeah. I mean, I totally understand that things could happen, right? So that's why we have two options here. But we're missing that link of the public reporting when we know someone has actually,satisfied. Because someone could transfer the credits and then still not completely finalize the Affordable Housing Requirement, being officially MS. BAILEY: I'll tell you why. As a developer, they want to get that release because they don't want to have anything to do with that condition on the ordinance. MR. INABA: Yeah. MS. BAILEY: So they're very active in"Pursuing the release. MR. INABA: Okay. So yeah. Maybe we can:have a discussion, Corporation Counsel, on how the release may be as a follow-upto the agreement, or there's some actual public documentation'to show that the requirement has been fulfilled. Because I feel like that's the missing link after this agreement. But this agreement does really inform us on the direction the developer intends to take to meet their requirements. It just doesn't show us what actually happens in the end. And recognizably so,we're not there yet. But we need to figure out how we can report that. So thank you, Ms. Bailey. Appreciate it. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member, Villegas. MS: VILLEGAS; Yeah. I guess I'm just looking for this to be interpreted in laywomen's terms. So we have a piece of property that was zoning was approved,to change it from agricultural to residential, correct? MS. BAILEY: Mm hmm. MS: VILLEGAS: So they have the opportunity to build homes on this property, a total of three, they end up with MS. BAILEY: Lots. MS. VILLEGAS: Three lots, right. MS. BAILEY: Chapter 11 has, in 11-5, there's seven satisfaction methods. Page 4 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MS. VILLEGAS: So essentially their development makes them required to provide an Affordable Housing component to this, right? MS. BAILEY: Right. But they have seven options. So you can build on site, you can rent on site,you can have unfinished lots,you can buy credit, you can donate infrastructure for an Affordable Housing Project, you can donate land. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. So but right now, what we're being asked to do is to approveI'm just—thank you, Council Member Inaba, I don't know if it helped or harmed. But I'm a little bit confused on the way this is coming forward. Because now they're looking for approval of this. This is not an Affordable Housing Development, though, right? MS. BAILEY: No. This agreement is fully executed by the Mayor, and it's been negotiated by our office. So there's no,further action thatl'm aware of. Is that you guys approved the ordinance in 2023, which was for the rezone. Then it was given to our office to negotiate an'Affordable Housing Agreement. This is the Affordable Housing Agreement. We submitted it to Council as a Communication, which is required through Chapter 11. MS. VILLEGAS: Great. So they're basically, and thank you for helping clarify, this is to approve of the options'thatare now available to this developer. MS. KAGIWADA: No. Not Approving, it's a communication. MS. BAILEY: No the options have been outlined. They can either do Option One or Option Two. MS. VILLEGAS: Okay. So they have to do one of those. MS BAILEY; So this is simply a Communication to your office, the legislative body here. MS. VILLLEGAS Thank you. I just want to point out one correction here, under the "Now, therefore,"under Section 1, number 2. It says, "Developer is/has the full legal right, power, and authority to execute this agreement." MS: BAILEY: Thank you. MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah. Okay. Just, you know, in the land of loopholes, looking to make sure, I mean, I would like nothing more than for there to become actualized Affordable Housing through this project. But thank you for walking me through, kind of, how and why this has come to us in this format. I yield. Page 5 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 CHR. GALIMBA: Seeing no other lights on. All in favor on closing file on Communication 977, please say "aye." Any opposed? Vote on Comm. 977: The motion to close file on Comm. 977 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewcz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Galimba-9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. GALIMBA: We can move onto Communication 978. Thank you. Comm. 978: REQUESTS A PRESENTATION ON THE STATUS OF VIRTUAL ACCESS FOR COUNTY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS From Council Member Holeka Goro Inaba and Council Member James E. Hustace, dated July 15, 2026. (Note: Comm. 978.1, from,Council Member Holeka Goro Inaba and Council Member James E. Hustace dated''July 30, 2026, transmitting correspondence received from the Office of the Mayor, was circulated.) Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 978. Seconded by Mr. Iustace. CHR;,GALIMBA; Council Member, Inaba. AMR. INABA: Thank you. Council Member Hustace and I recently attended a forum, a disabilities forum at the Kona Imin Center, where a question came up regarding accessibility. Not just for the public to observe and participate, but also for board members to participate in different board and commission meetings. And I do want to point out that Resolution 287-23 was previously passed by the County Council, which requested that all board and commission meetings provide virtual access for public participation, live viewing, and post-meeting viewing. We did attempt to legislate this to require it. The Corporation Counsel, at the time, adivsed that that may have been an overstep of the County Council's powers. So the Resolution was passed instead. But the question remained,you know, when and how will we get to the point where most, if not all, of our boards and commissions as a County allow for access via interactive technology? Page 6 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 So, Mr. Alameda provided Communication 978.1,which is available in our Pinkies. And, Mr. Alameda, I'll hand it over to you to give us a quick overview of which boards and commissions allow for remote public participation, remote member participation, and then if and how folks can view it live or after the fact. (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Micah Alameda came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. ALAMEDA: Mahalo nui, Council Chair Inaba. Mahalo, Madam Chair Galimba, Vice Chair Villegas, Council Members, Mahalo for the opportunity. My name is Micah Alameda, Executive Assistant, Office of the Mayor. I would jump right into the handout that I shared with you folks. And we can just work through it from the columns to the left to the right: First and foremost, it's been the honor and privilege of my life to serve this boards and commissions program, which is housed in the Office of Management. And where I'm sitting right now, I'd just like to mahalo every person who came before me, who did this work, who provided support to this vast network, and then every person who will come after me. Because, as you folks know,just a§this body is, our boards and commissions program is one of the most,front-facing elements to our government. It involves hundreds of volunteers who help us hire top-level executives here in our County, who help us draft the policies for departments. So, big kuleana here within this 30-plus boards and commissions network. Jumping,right:into it. We do have30 active boards and commissions currently right now,in the program If you take a look at the third column, the Remote Public Participation, that kind of outlines where the public can find these meetings in the remote world, which primarily, it is on Zoom. So, if you are a public individual who's looking to testify at any one of these boards and commissions that do take remote testimony, that is how you can testify, viathatplatform, which is Zoom. Currently, right now, out of the 30 boards and commissions that are active, we have four of them that do not provide remote opportunity. And those four are the Liquor Commission, the Liquor Adjudication Board, the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (PONC), and the Tax Board of Review. However, I would like to provide context. We are bringing the Liquor Commission and the Liquor Adjudication Board meetings online. You can expect to see the September 2026 Liquor Commission on Zoom. Page 7 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 Currently, we run Zoom webinar for most of our boards and commissions, and you can find those links, of course, on the agendas and on the County calendar. Moving on to the final two that aren't online yet. PONC, we're expecting them to be online in January 2027. Speaking with Shannon Arquitola and the PONC team, they are confident that we can hopefully get a virtual meeting for PONC in January 2027. And then that would just leave us with Tax Board of Review, which will be the only remaining board or commission that is active that wouldn't be online soon. And I can say that we're talking story. But the Real Property Tax staff, I had fruitful discussions last week, also with our Deputy Corporation Counsel, Keyra Wong, who manages the Counseling and Dxafting section. So we are looking at ways that we can get the Tax Board of Review online. Just, as of right now, it is still a discussion and that's where we are.,No definitive answer on, like, PONC, or we going shoot for January 2027, and for Liquor Commission, where we're going to shoot for September 2026. And then if you take a look at the fourth column on the or the third column on right, Remote Member Participation. So these ar6 the boards and commissions that are in the "yes." These are boards and commissions that do allow their members to participate via Interactive Conference Technology (ICT), which is full on remote meeting. Yeah, so that's full on remote. If anything were to happen to the platform that is streaming thatmeeting, then the meeting's got to get put on hold for either 30 minutes, whatever those rules are, for that commission to get back online. And then, if not, in that'proper time, then that meeting is cancelled and would need to be rescheduled. So, for those meetings that are in the "yes,"they are fully remote. For the,meetings that are in the "no,"they remote, such as this body does, it's a fully in-person meeting but the remote opportunity is a courtesy. Right, so for this meeting right now that we're operating in, if this Zoom platform were to drop, we carry on. I mean, up to the Chair or the Clerk, right? We could recess to give the opportunity for the public. But technically, according to Sunshine Law, this meeting can carry forward. So those are the benefits and the cons to having an Interactive Conference Technology full on remote meeting, where our members can attend from the communities they serve. Which is powerful. That is so powerful. Especially living on an island that's 4,028 square miles big. Nowhere bigger than the state of Rhode Island. I don't think we're bigger than the state of Maine. We're close to Delaware, but they outweigh us by just a little bit more mass. Page 8 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 But, you know, that just shows the sheer vastness of our island. Right, so having these members participate from Haw!, from Ocean View, right, from Keaukaha. That's a dream come true. So I do see the benefits of being here in person, right. The discussions that happen physically in the room with the bodies and the energy, oh man, that's lightning in a bottle, right. But then that's,you know, for quorum, we got to show up, we got to be there. That makes it harder for our members to fully commit. It's having physical meetings all over the island that they have to attend in person, right? So I'm seeing the benefits of this'very vast program. And ultimately, whatever the committees can do and the boards and commissions can do, I'm there to support, right. So just looking at the program that we inherited, there were a few boards and commissions that are now online that weren't before. If you take a took at Resolution 287-23, that will outline what was never online and now is. Like the Police Commission, which back in January,cif this year, we just hired our Police Chief in the wide open with sunshine beaming in, hours-long meeting of testimony, and the candidates up here one-by-one oral interviews. That was all online by Zoom webinat, That was fantastic". Right, we're looking for that shortly with the Fire Commission. They're about to go through that same exact process. Fore Fire One, out in the open with the sunshine beaming in. Thanks to the staff, right. Thanks to the staff. And, you know, Council Member �Villegas earlier today in the meetings I was watching, you know, I heard you say collaboration, yeah. It takes collaboration. And the boards and commission program is one that'requires collaboration. You know I cannot come in here; Ms. Bartolome no can come here, Charmaine Shigemura no can come in here. You know Rose Bautista cannot come in here and think alone, they can just shake it up. By experience, a year and a half,you need to work with the civil staff, who are there doing the work, when we come and go. Right, it's them who are here making sure that the train keeps moving. Now L'm just going to move on to this final column, and I'm going to help make sense of it. I understand that it's confusing, and I realize that I submitted the wrong draft for this final column. But basically, it just tells you what is live and what is not. But really, what it should articulate for you is where you can find the post recordings of these meetings. And that's what I failed to outline there, which I will submit an additional Communication so that it is clear to you. Page 9 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 But really, all that should say is either YouTube, right. So, for example, the Planning Department, they house almost 37 percent of this boards and commissions program. Eleven boards and commissions and committees fall within Planning. Now, as we all know, Planning is the gold standard when it comes to running online meetings, right. They have a fantastic, elaborate YouTube page. All of their YouTube meetings, I mean, all of their Zoom Committee meetings, are streamed to their YouTube. Which, for most of us who know, once it gets streamed on YouTube, it is archived. So now that meeting is archived on their YouTube page. Which is fantastic. I am now trying to model that. So we have a communications page in the Mayor's Office. It's'calledCounty of Hawaii Media YouTube at County erf Hawaii Media. I've now went into that YouTube channel and created playlists. And'now we're going to make playlist for every single board and commission that I can get my hands on. The recordings that I can,�get my hands on and upload into YouTube in the County of Hawaii Media page., where we can find boards and commission recordings that aren't on'the Planning Departments YouTube. Right, because, like I said, they have 11 boards and commissions. So they're kind of the kingmaker when it just comes to doing things'in boards and commissions. We just want to model that. They clearly got it going on. So we just got to get everybody else on too. The Water Board,is one that they also do their own thing, like Planning. They upload their'meetings to Facebbok. So you can find their livestreams on �Facebook hive. However, if you do want to testify as a member remotely, they do have ways for you to do that. You can do that by phone or contacting staff, and'they'll send you a link to appear by camera. But aside'from that, I will outline for you in this final column that I will adjust, and I'll provide for you where you can find the recordings for each board, committee, or commission. Which I think should fix up this hand out. This should have not even went out to begin with. Kala mai. But I will make sure thatitis updated. MR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Alameda. And we do have our Real Property Tax Administrator here, and I want to say that the reason for the Tax Board of Review not allowing this is sensitive discussions sometimes happening at that boards specific to people appealing. Is that the case? And we have a nod, yes, there, so recognizing that reason for the Tax Board of Review not allowing remote public participation. Page 10 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 But, yeah, I did see it three years ago when we passed the resolution that Planning has and continues to be the model for public access to board and commission meetings. So we appreciate, Mr. Alameda, your providing of this and then your providing of the updated column for, again, either live or post-recording viewing. But again, if there's anything that we can do to helpsupport your efforts in getting all of our different departments who oversee a board or commission, into the same channel, whether it's YouTube or whatever it may be,please let us know because I think it is very helpful. For not just post viewing, but Planning board and commissions do allow for immediate review of a meeting as it's happening live, which is actually more than this Council does via our current platform. But we are also headed,in that direction as well. So we look forward to this. I'll pass it over to Council Member Hustace. Thank you. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member, Hustace; MR. HUSTACE: Thankyou, Chair: Thank you,Council Member Inaba, for working on bringing this item forward;and,Mr. Alameda, appreciate the details here and,going through our very active boards and commissions. I know it's a big lift you have and kind of managing that space and working with the different departments on providing this source and resource to community and opportunity to engage with the County in a very public setting, as you mentioned; Look forward to seeing that updated reports on the recording piece and seeing,what that looks like. This,conversation',as Council Member Inaba discussed, it came out of a conversation legislation forum about equitable access to government and government platforms and our boards and commissions. Where some community members are mobility limited, right? And they're unable to attend physically a lot of our spaces for one reason or another. Access across the county is challenging, especially if boards are meeting only in one place, physically in one place. So the opportunity to provide participation by members is a fantastic sort of lift for individuals in community that need that support, for sure. I know some of the boards and commissions, little bit more prohibited in terms of the items they are discussing, the work that they have to do, and sometimes it's paramount that they are meeting in person, and I understand that for sure. Page 11 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 The YouTube repository, really, that only, as you mentioned, is only with Planning Department at the moment, correct? MR. ALAMEDA: Yes. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. And then in terms of your projection and anticipation for recordings of other meetings that have that Zoom capacity, is that something that you would want to house? Because Planning does their own and a lot of these'.boards and commissions sit with different departments. However, I'm curious your thoughts on what that may look like if you want to do a YouTube repository in:this department or that department or have the remainder of them sit under the Mayor's Office. I don't know what your thoughts are on that. MR. ALAMEDA: Thank you, Council Member. And, you know,I thought about this, and I think for the time being,I would prefer to just drive it onto one YouTube channel, which is one that we've already created when we came into office. That is where we put our 2025 Community Meetings that the mayor held. We put a couple of public service announcements on there. So I already just saw an infrastructure just sitting. So I kind of just took it. But now that's on me to contact every point of contact in the boards and commissions program. Which isn't a lot, but, I mean, it's,you know, it's about 15`individuals that I would need to coordinate with to make sure I get those recordings. So I can upload them to YouTube. Now I do benefit a couple ways. There are more and more boards and commissions that want to utilize Zoom webinar. And the County, we don't have many Zoom webinar licenses. If I'm not mistaken, we only have two, and one of them sit with us in the Mayor's Office and the other one sits with Mr. Relley in the Clerk's Office. But Zoom webinar, the features for host controls, are premier. Less opportunity for hackers who try to compromise the meeting, which we've experienced in the last year alone. So, for security and safety, Zoom webinar has been great, and a lot of boards and commissions are looking to utilize that. So I tell them to record the meeting and just save it to the cloud, which I have access to. I give users who utilize the Zoom license that I have the logins. So we all share the Zoom account. I'm just saying. Page 12 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 But yes, I would have to physically upload each meeting to the YouTube, which I'm willing to do. MR. HUSTACE: And you prefer to go to that route versus livestream it, right then and there, and it's being stored on YouTube. MR. ALAMEDA: So I'm going to do that. So I've, myself,just yesterday, figured out how to live stream from Zoom to YouTube. The only thing I haven't configured is how to set up,a livestream that's upcoming on YouTube. So if you were to go to our YouTube page right now, you wouldn't see upcoming livestreams, right. But on Thursday, there's a Fire Commission meeting, a special one, that's in this chamber, that they're going to decide a lot of the process that they're,going to use to hire the next Fire Chief. Thatspecial meeting is going to be in here on Thursday, and I'm going to live stream it as my first trial to YouTube. MR. HUSTACE: Fantastic. MR. ALAMEDA: So hopefully they'll be an automatic repository from Thursday's meeting on YouTube,because I'm going to successfully livestream it. That's my goal. MR. HUSTACE: And I wouldn't be afraid to lean on,you know, our Department of Information Technology to support you in trying to get these tools active and forthcoming. So, I'm sure there's a lot of skill there, for sure. I think there's definitely opportunity. I mean, we have, it's fantastic to see the remote participation pretty touch across the board on a lot of these. Member participation`almost,you know, large a lion's share of it as well, and it's moving more in that direction for some of them too. I think that can be more appealing to the boards that aren't active as well, right. I mean, some of that conversation was about the Elections Accessibility Needs Advisory Committee. And that's providing equitable access and making sure that all its members and community can vote and have the ability to vote easily and,safely too. So, I think as you bring a lot of this technology into play, it provides an opportunity to stand up some of these other boards that may have been a challenge to stand up to. I think that's,you know, I think you're still working on Cost of Government Commission. There's all these different pieces that sometimes, community Page 13 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 members that are volunteering their time, necessarily, can't always get physically to these spaces. So if there's ever that opportunity to have all these tools working, I think we could really be the benefit of the County to really stand up some of the commissions that have been a little more challenging, for sure. MR. ALAMEDA: Thank you, Council Member. You know, in my opinion,just because I serve as a secretary to several boards and commissions, the Youth Commission, the Arborist Advisory Commission,I help Aging with the Committee on People with Disabilities, and,you know, in serving in these roles, I found that it's almost easier to do remote meetings for our members to be remote. So ICT, Interactive Conference Technology,for me as a secretary,it's easier to run a fully remote meeting than trying to get people into a physical space. So for all the boards and commissions that Lfacilitate we run remote meetings. Except for the Fire Commission, which I've been helping in the last month or two. Just helping them with the Zoom and whatnot. But we really, we've seen staffing challenges affect this system. You know, the Police Commission"Secretary is also the Fire Commission Secretary. And that one individual falls within the HPD (Hawai`i Police Department) `ahana. But they service both Police and Fire. That individual moved on to a better role, which left a vacancy in that critical position,especially now that we're hiring Fire One. So I stepped in. I stepped in to k6kua in'ways that I can,particularly just making sure that the Zoom is up and running. Making sure that it's recorded. So in many ways,,I just physically,just, you know, I'm trying my best to not just provide level support but to elevate us, yeah. One of the best parts about this job, Council Member, is, in order for these commissioners to do their jobs, they have to be sworn in. And that Oath of Office got to take place for them to do this work. So to make it easier on these nominees or commissioners, who are confirmed by you folks, I drive out throughout the island. I'm swearing people in police stations, here in Kona, in Waimea. And why police stations, because there are government notaries in those police stations, right. So when I just put out the kahea and I'm like, "Eh, tita. Can k6kua get one nomination." They're more than happy to help. And that saves our Page 14 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 commissioner, Shawna Kaulukukui,just last week from driving all the way to Hilo. Who, she get, you know, keiki, keiki get dental appointments, they get, you know, they got to get back-to-school supplies they got to buy. So for her come all the way to Hilo she's like, "Sorry, no can." But me, I go out. Here in Kona I swear in a lot of people here in Kona. Jessie Jumalon, she is my savior. She's a clerk here who swears in so much people for me. But I'm not able to do any of this work. The work would be stalled if it wasn't for collaboration. And,you know, it's just beautiful work Sorry. I can go on- and-on. MR. HUSTACE: No. Thank you, Mr. Alameda. I appreciate:your passion, your energy, and your willingness to kind of step forward and really fill those gaps. So thank you for that. And I appreciate; as Council Member Inaba has said, please let us know how we can support our boards and commissions. Any sort of insight that we can assist you with kind of moving this more, let us know. Thank you. Thank you, Chair, MR. ALAMEDA: Thank you. Chair,if I could just add this. You know, it's never lost on me that Council Member Kierkiewicz is a product of our boards and commissions program. She literally went through that. She went through that and now she's here. Four term council member for Puna, arguably one of the most effective leaders to come out Puna and Hawaii Island. So she came`through ths'program. She's considered what I would say, an alumna. So what I would like to do in the time that I have, I would like to bring some of you, on:your availabilities, into these meetings, where we can just kind of get,you to kukakka. So one thing that I want to do is when I get the Cost of Government Commission active again, which will be very soon. The next time I do that, Council Member, Kagiwada, I want to bring all remaining seats to you. The three names that I got to bring to you, I want to bring one time and say, "Here we go. Can we just get them on an agenda and get the work rolling." I have Aunty Margaret Stanley already committed. So I just got to get people that can just help them do the work. And we're going to get that back active, alright. But,yeah, I`m sorry. Page 15 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you so much for your energy, Mr. Alameda. I know you're working super hard to make it the best possible boards and commissions experience for our people that volunteer. MS. KAGIWADA: Real quick. Thank you, Chair. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member, Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Yes. Mr. Alameda, can you do a quick plug for your and my favorite commission? MR. ALAMEDA: Yes. No. Absolutely. MS. KAGIWADA: To make sure that we are getting the support we need from the Council here. MR. ALAMEDA: Thank you, maam. -Council Member Kagiwada, as you folks know, she is an ex officio member on Hawaii County`s Youth Commission, which hasn't met in the past several months. . But we do have a meeting scheduled in the next couple of weeks, which we'll absolutely use as a motivator t6recenter us and geld us back onto the mission. Right now, we do have expiring commissioners that are in various districts. Council District 2,yep, Sage, we have already talked about that. Bejamin Rudo yin Council District 4, he's recently expired. Council District:5,we have someone that's interested in serving. Council Member Kanealii T,leirifelder, I will forward you that application. `Council Member.Galimba, in District 6, Marques Fonoimoana, he's recently expire and then Colt Baptista is expired, but he wants to continue serving, so we will reserve him in before he heads back to college next week. So those are the districts that have vacancies. And then, in the mayor's portion, because, as you know, the mayor can nominate six people, we have two seats that are open, that have already been filled. And we have individuals applying from all over the island, from Hawaii Prepatory Academy. We have an individual from who applied recently. So yes, I would say the energy is alive and well. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. Because it has been really challenging. I think it might be one of the exceptions to the rule where Zoom is a really good thing to get more people. Page 16 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 I think it's been a little challenging for folks who maybe need that energy of being in a room with each other to really keep going. The Zoom has, I feel,you know, had a little bit of effect, now "get on or I won't get on," kind of thing. And so, as we look forward to everybody's new nominees, and understanding that many people are, you know, terming out and maybe they want to give a chance to the next person coming in to appoint that person. But it's kind of been a year like that, where we've had people stepping off or stepping back and not had those seats filled and rlot,being able to meet. So thank you for continuing to make the effort, Mr. Alameda, and work with these young people and try to get them together. Because I know when they do get a chance to meet, it is just magic and so exciting. So thank you for that. MR. ALAMEDA: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. And yes, I'll just say one more thing on the Youth Commission. Maybe in the future meetings we could bring,in some guests speakers, as in some County legislators, to help provide that boost: If you recall, we brought the Mayor in one time last year for a meeting, which I think, you know, it did something, right. So I think bringing another,guests speaker could absolutely do something. Great idea. Thank you, Council Member. CHR.,GALIMBA: Good ideas. Anyone else? So all in favor of closing file on Communication,978,please say "aye." Any opposed? Vote on Comm. 978: The motion to close file on Comm. 978 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Galimba—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. GALIMBA: We can move on to the next Communication. MR. ALAMEDA: Mahalo. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Page 17 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 Comm. 979: REQUESTS A PRESENTATION BY MARLENE ZEUG OF THE PEWA PROJECT ON THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD SYSTEMS From Council Member Jennifer Kagiwada, dated July 16, 2026. Motion to Close File: Ms. Kagiwada moved to close file on Comm. 979. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member, Kagiwada, MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Just wanted to bring this presentation forward. They presented down in Pahoa about this, and,I wasn't able to attend, but my staff attended for me and just catne.back saying that it was a really fabulous presentation and that maybe we should share with the entire Council. I was able to connect with Marlene. Marlene,if you don't mind;just before you get started, quickly introducing yourself and what organization you're from and then all your team here, because I think it's very impressive that so many people flew over here for this and care about this go deeply that they made the effort to come herein person and be part of this. So, if you don't mind just doing a quick introduction, that would be fabulous. (Note: At this time, Educational Consultant'Marlene Zeug came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS:,ZETIG:;Good afternoons Chair, Madam Chair, Vice Chair, and Council Members. My dame is Marlene Zeug, and I am with the Pewa Project, and I think it's probably more accurate to say that we are here on behalf of Angela Thomas and the team that she hasput together. So you have Angela Thomas, who is aai`i County's Early Childhood Coordinator, we have Doug Imig, Who works for Friends of the Future, the State on Evaluation, and is the writer behind some of the federal earmark and ARA (American Relief Act) funding that we're going to discuss in a little bit. Chelsey Ching, she's here, also part of the Early Childhood team, and we have Lori Farrow-Smith. So, yes, we have quite a team here. Pretty excited to share, and so mahalo for the opportunity to share an update onthe County's investment in Early Childhood. So, for the past four years, I have had the wonderful opportunity to facilitate the Pahoa Promise, which is a place-based initiative that brings schools, healthcare providers, nonprofits, government, and families together around shared goals for young keiki. Pahoa Promise is one part of the County's broader Early Childhood Strategy and has served as a demonstration community for what coordinated action can achieve. (Note: At this time, Ms. Zeug came forward and provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Page 18 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 Clerk's Office or online at http://hawaiigounty.gov.granicus.com. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 979.) MS. ZEUG: Mahalo for your time. I'm here with members of the team, and we're happy to answer any questions. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Marlene. This is fabulous information for us to have. I guess you were talking about some of the federal funding, and I don't know,you can go ahead and answer, sorry;I don't know if Doug can answer some of this too. You've been working on some of the getting the funding, right? But what are the restrictions?. Do we have some flexibility in that funding, or is it specifically for early childhood, and is it specifically for certain places on the island or for specific things? Can you just give us a little more on that. That would be super helpful. And you can also elaborate if you see other pots of money potentially ire the near future. (Note: At this time, Program Liaison for Friends of the Future Doug Imig came forward to address the members'of the Committee.) MR. IMIG: Good afternoon; I'm Doug Imig. I weak for an organization called Friends of the Future. Marlene mentioned two specific grants. The first is a federal earmark Congressionally Directed,,Spending (CDS) award that we were encouraged to write for by both`Senators Hirono and Schatz. That award has now come through. It was a fiscal year 2025 award. It's for $1.37 million, and it was awarded'to Early Childhood Action Strategy (ECAS) to support the development of Pahoa-like communities in four new places, one in each county. So, there is,a boundary'around the use of that money. It is to model the work that Marlene'described in Pahoa and to see if we can replicate, export, and fit that same vision:of a place-based partnership, is community driven, in another community. And there have been several communities on Big Island that have been under consideration. The second—and I believe our colleague Benson has a meeting later today or this week with ECAS to discuss where that might take place and what it might look like. The second award that Marlene mentioned is a disaster,relief award that came from the Administration for Children and Families in response to the federally declared disaster for the North Kohala fires in August of 2023. That award was made to three different counties: Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii Island. Maui, obviously, for their fires in 2023, and Kauai for their flooding. The total award is, as Marlene said, is for $48 MS. ZEUG: $44.9. MR. IMIG: $44.9 and change. Of which $8.9 million will come to Hawaii County. The terms for how the money may be spent are generous. It allows for Page 19 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 infrastructure development, it allows for community capacity building efforts, it allows for early language and literacy development efforts, and I still can't believe there's this beautiful phrase in the authorizing language that says, "We don't fully understand the needs of individual communities. So we look forward to you sharing with us what your needs would be to create a sustainable, replicable, strong Early Childcare and Education System that would lead to stronger kindergarten readiness and third-grade achievement outcomes." MS. KAGIWADA: Right. MR. IMIG: Yeah. And if folks want, I can also speak to some of the open and granting opportunities. MS. KAGIWADA: Just quickly, maybe just touch on just a couple. MR. IMIG: Yeah, so we're pursuing relationships with four collaboratives. One is the StriveTogether Network; a second,,Save the Children; the third is the Education Commission of the States; and the fourth is, I've forgotten, let's see, oh, the Partners for Rural Impact. And Partners for Rural Impact is the federal fiscal agent for the Community Schools movement. Save the Children is a federal fiscal agent for the Promise Neighborhoods, which our Department of Education grantee, StriveTogether, is,funded in large part by the Balmer Group and the Blue Meridian Partners. Collectively,those four entities control close to $2 billion a year in private philanthropic funding. And all have now visited Pahoa'Promise;. MS: I AGIWADA: Nice. MR. IMIG;, And we visited with many of them in D.C. (District of Columbia) in June along with our colleague Camille Masutomi from the State Department of Education, and we are very excited about the possibilities. MS. KAGIWADA: Perfect. One last question on this is just the timing. For the funding that's already been earmarked and coming, what's the timing on spending that down? MR. IMIG: So, the disaster relief funds are a four-year grant, 2027 through 2030, so four years. So $8.9 million are for four years for the County. The earmark, the CDS funding, is again $250,000 to $300,000 over two years and likely from January 2027 through December 2028. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you so much. I want to give my colleagues a chance to jump in here with questions as well, and then I'd love to hear from our county department on, you know, obviously they've been key players in all this and going forward. But I would like to yield for now. Thank you. Page 20 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Council Member, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. Couple questions for you. I love what you're doing, thank you. Ms. Thomas has been here for awhile and always around the outside edges for early childhood education. How many individuals have you trained to be Early Childhood Educators? It's in here but it dances around, it seems like. (Note: At this time, Early Childhood Resource Coordinator for Research and Development Angela Thomas came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. THOMAS: Angela Thomas, Research and Development, County of Hawaii. We have a page. I think there's 37 students have graduated. There's a lot more than that, though. We've provided'scholarships through Chaminade University because they provide Mbntessori Education background:' And we've provided scholarship through Hawaii Community College. I guess 37 have graduated. We have also provided PACE(Professional and Career Education) classes, which are modularized unit-learning,classes that you take four units of four classes and then you can convert them to credit. So it's a much more, sort of, you don't have to be on'the campus. There are online classes, and we're on our third series of three classes each;which all provide the qualifications for what's called the Child Development,Associate, which is a CDA. And a CDA basically is the bottom layer of teacher qualifications for the Department of Human Services. So we've done those, and then we have, probably, I don't have the numbers with me, I don't know why, but we have at least one master's degree student,who graduated, completed her degree at Chaminade. And then we've done anumber of other students through Hawaii Community College that have finished. We've had at least two more that have finished an AS (Associate Degree), and the others are in the process. MR: KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good job. MS. TH0MAS: But we have six CDAs that are going to be completed. We have four that have been completed already and two more that are completing in September, by September. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you. And then Pahoa Promise. How does that translate to the rest of the island? It's almost like two presentations you brought forward. MS. THOMAS: So, the training that we do—so my job is to provide for the entire island. But the community we selected to work in was Pahoa. So this is a model program in Pahoa, model community-based program. And we selected Pahoa because there was interest in the KKP (Ka`u-Kea`au-Pahoa) area. But Page 21 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 KKP is huge, and in order to sort of hone in on a community that we can start with and then expand from, we decided on Pahoa. One of the reasons was we've had a principal at Pahoa who was to go, and she's now our on-the-ground coordinator for the Pahoa Reads Program. So Michelle Payne-Arakaki is now our coordinator. She works with us. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Sorry, from Parks and Rec. From previous administration. MS. THOMAS: The principal of the DOE. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Sorry. MS. ZEUG: And I think to add on towhat Angela is saying is,I think when you look at the sort of the strategy and the visions countywide, right; So there was a need to focus on capacity development. There's a need to focus on workforce development. There was also a needto figure out how to bring healthcare, education, family-serving organizations, early childhood organizations to actually come together and talk about whatis an experience that families are having. Is it disconnected? Is it coordinated? And so, it almost is two presentations. It's more, probably more appropriate to say that it's a comprehensive whatever-it-takes kind of strategy. And that we could've focused just on workforce, we could've focused juston Pahoa. But Angela's vision is big enough that we were going to do all of them at the same time. MS. THOMAS I think the other thing to, in the selection of Pahoa, we found a community thatwas ready for us. So they were ready and willing to come together and partner. And it's really interesting because we spent about the first year and"a half allowing them to figure out how we should divide up the work. Because we could've gone in and said, "Hey, you know, you're going to have three committees. Healthy, Safe, and Ready." And they ended up coming up with those committees on their own. But they owned it because they decided these are the three buckets we need to work in. And so, it took us awhile to get them to get there. But now that they own it, they're the ones that drive the work. It's been really exciting to see what they've done. Especially now that they're working together, the resources are collaborating. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. I was looking at some of the pieces of your the Baby Steps Media Kit. One that stood out to me isI went to a DOE (Department of Education) meeting, somewhere in the middle of COVID (Coronavirus disease), and they brought in people from the community to sit with the principal. This is for Waiakeawaena. And what was interesting is that they had the kids come back, as they're reentering school, they were noticing that the keiki were actually testing higher. And I immediately thought lower. But they said, "No. They're coming in and they're testing higher." And the only Page 22 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 thing that we could really figure out, because they've been out of school, they're testing, they're doing other stuff online or at home, was that they were actually spending more time with `ohana and on the computer. And somewhere in there, when they came back to school, they were testing higher than they had ever previously before. Was an interesting component of what, what I think was more family time, hands-on learning with keiki with their families actually helped improved testing scores on the back end, which.is really interesting. I was thinking about that as I looked at the rural island model, of what Hawai`i Island can teach rural indigenous pacific in geographically isolated communitites. I loved that statement, but I almost go back the other way where it's, what Hawaii Island indigenous pacific communities can teach the rest of the world. I think I almost want to reshape,that sentence a little bit because we do things differently here. And the way our `ohana works and that DOE experience, kind of reshapes how we approach education and the way the simple wording change can actually redirect how we approach things and what the importance of Hawaii is to what's going on here: Just a thought: And then finally, you know this is an interesting one. You know, I'm on Facebook, you know. Lori Smith, are you Lori Smith? So there was a post from about a week ago, I mean two weeks ago. Something regarding Ilagan. But it was said, "Sadly the current mayor doesn't seem to care about early education." This is from you, SMH (shake my head),; What is that? We're here on behalf of early education. What component do you think he's not missing or he's missing? (Note: At this time, Baby Steps Program Coordinator Lori Farrow-Smith came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SMITH: So that post was,just for clarity, it was my personal post. But I still stand behind it. The mayor does support Early Childhood Education (ECE). The pest was in reference distinctly to a situation that I see going on where there's a funding gap. We have spent millions of dollars in ECE to advance Hawai`i'Island and help our keiki, and now we have about$10 million coming into this island, and I don't see any coordinated staff from the county, and that really concerns me, personally as a parent. So that's where that comes from, right., I don't—when you've got earmarks coming from the federal government, somebody has to shake that. You can't just turn that over to multiple nonprofits and expect the county's interests are going to be protected. You need that coordinated staff. You need someone looking out for the county's best interests. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Sorry. Could you identify yourself for the record? Page 23 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MS. SMITH: So my name is Lori Smith, also Farrow. But that, Farrow was my maiden name. I was divorced years ago, and now I go by Lori Smith. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. MS. SMITH: Many of you know me as Farrow. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, I saw that comment and I was like, it's interesting since you're like the media person for the Baby Steps Program. Just kind of with your insight into what the program is and that comment and the disconnect between mayor and funding, and from what you just said, wanted to get your take on that. MS. SMITH: Yeah. In my feeling T think it's just, it's not really that they don't support it, it's just a disconnect:in-between the change of the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding and now this new funding coming. Where do we go next? How do we support what we've already built? It's not about any one person or any one person's job. It's about the programs that have been built and the relationships. And how do we protect that and go from where we are now, and move into this next phase of funding and,protect the county's interest. We see the needle moving, right. We see these silos being-when you go to a Pahoa Promise meeting and you see there's no silo's right. The silo's have been dropped, the data is shared,the issues are shared and we're solving things at the table and making things happen'. You're watching the needle move, right. I don't want to see the needle stop. That's my concern as a parent and a constituent and as a voter on this island. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, and then for all you folks, what are your thoughts on Lori's stand right now with the funding coming in and the different things„that are going on and our progress as a county? MS: ZEUG: I meant I as the facilitator for the past four years, I watched a community that came together, right, realize, started to build they knew who each other were, didn't necessarily know what each other did. And then as those relationships have strengthened over these past four years, how the conversations have shifted to what is it that we can do together? What can we work on together better? That takes coordination. I mean, I am not kama`aina to Hawaii Island. I live on Oahu. I was lucky to be invited in to the conversation to be able to facilitate. And it takes work to pull them together, to coordinate. I think the biggest pieces are to be consistent. You have to convene them regularly, and you have to provide and create space that it feels safe enough to share information. And as simple as that sounds, it's not. You have to keep doing it. And you have to keep showing up. Page 24 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 So, Angela had referenced that it took us about a year and a half to get really clear on what does the vision of every keiki in Pahoa look like? If we say the vision is every keiki in Pahoa is healthy, safe, and thriving, what does that mean? What does that look like, right? It means that we have kids who are not overdue on their well-child visits. It means that we are moving the needle on the number of kids who are keeping up with their developmental screenings. It means that we have kids who are entering kindergarten ready to learn. There are symmetric points that are in there, but it took a year and a half for folks to understand what is the landscape of what's happening in Pahoa. What's happening among our families and children? And then, does the lived experience that I have as somebody working in this community, right, does thatmatch the data that's publicly available? And how do we move the needle on'that? And so, we're just at the point where, like, I feel like the flywheel is starting to catch, and so you want to keep that momentum. We invested tremendously, I think in building community capacity. To understand what is happening in Pahoa, who is in Pahoa, who are the families and children that are in Pahoa? And where do we need to work to get the strength and show up places? And so, I want to keep that momentum going. And I also think that, having had the County be a very active and engaged part of the Pahoa Promise conversation for the past four years, has been very critical. You know, one of the things, in the firsttwo years, there was a companion project happening on Oahu in Waimanalo. And Oahu also has an Early Childhood Coordinator, right. Different setup, similar scenario, both counties have Early Childhood Coordinators, that Hawaii County had some funding to give to implement, to give to operations, really, or I think is what really jumpstarted and kind of catalyzed things. And then; as partners started to see initial success, and some of that initial success was just, "Let's get books!" I think to your early point, early literacy, building family,reading routines at home. Family is your first educator. Even just that?right, to he able to say that we're going to put some money into having kids go home through Pahoa Library, through pediatric clinics, through a number of businesses. That,just to be able to say that to be able to do that, it might be one little thing, but it was a start, right. And then the next thing, and then the next thing. And so, really, the person who's held the vision has been the County, embodied in Angela, right. So that vision has really driven what has been happening. So, I mean, I would love to see, if I can even say that I would love to see the County, you know, the opportunity to continue to have County's presence in these community place-based initiatives like Pahoa. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you. I like what you guys are doing. Again, that rural island model,you best work on reshaping that a little Page 25 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 bit and really exemplify what Hawaii brings to the table versus the rest of the world. Because we have something special here. Thank you very much. I yield, Chair. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Council Member, Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Marlene and Doug, it's so nice to see you. I really appreciated being invited to the initial conversations and seeing our community partners get to know one another. So many silos, I think, were broken down through this process, so mahalo nui for all of your convening and facilitation. I was curious, and perhaps you said its maybe I missed it,I'm sorry. But once the initial funding runs out, will Pahoa Promise continue? Is there additional funding to support that in addition to expanding to more communities similar to Pahoa? Funding is always an issue with program continuity. MS. ZEUG: And I think Doug can, he can explain more to it because he was the grant writer behind securing a lot of the fu ding. I think we were hoping, planning and hoping, and intending that some of the federal earmark at least and the disaster relief funding could help go towards continuing the opportunity for partners to convene in Pahoa and to continue that work. MR. IMIG:,,Yes. So, in a way, we're dancing around an issue, I think, which is thatour understanding is thatthe County will be eliminating the early childhood positions. And so, if that were to continue, if that's the direction the County chooses to goy I think we will lose a great deal of continuity. We do have $9 plus million,secured and, in my view,we have four other very interested partnerships on the line that would be continuing source of the funding. I would wish there was a way we could find some bridge funding or we could frontload some of the gap between`where we are now. I think ARA dollars have to be returned here in the nekt month or two, if there's any dollars left, and I don't think the new money will start probably till February-March. So, my understanding is we're looking atthe gap, and that's bluntly the issue. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I'm just sorry. Taking that all in. So potential pause in the program until some additional funding comes through, and then the bigger discussions around the permanency of staff within the County to continue this work, knowing that there is some federal funding coming through. MR. IMIG: Right. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And that's not a decision that or discussion we're going to have today. We're going to focus on, like, what's happening with the program. So, I'm a numbers girl. Really impressive with the preventative care. Page 26 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 I think it was 36 percent of families who are not, and then that number lowered to three, a little under four percent. So, a lot more families are, in fact, getting preventative care. And then there were some of those workforce scholarships that were issued. Was there a commitment that the individual receiving the scholarship would then do work in the Pahoa area? Because if it was for the Pahoa Promise Project, I`m just curious about the nexus between—we talk about building capacity for that community, so was there a commitment with the scholarship for these folks to work in Pahoa? (Note: At this time, Friends of the Future Early Childhood Program Lead Chelsey Ching came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. CHING: Chelsey Ching with Frierids,of the Future. Lam their Early Childhood Program Lead there. I work with Doug. My mairi:focus is workforce development. So I run the apprenticeship program that is funded by the county, and we also house the funding for the scholarships that you're speaking about right now. Those scholarships are isldwide. It's county funding, it's ARPA funding, and so it's not designated to Pahoa. There is a commitment from the folks that do receive scholarship funding from my apprenticeship program and the regular County of awai`i, the Chaminade,land the HCC (Hawai`i Community College) scholarships that they have to live and work in the early childhood field on this island. They commit to one year after any class taken. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So,there's a benefit to the island but not specifically Pahoa. �MS: CHING: 'Yes. It's not specifically Pahoa. Correct. MS. KIERKIEWICZ; Okay. That's a helpful clarification. Thank you. And then the books that were distributed, the 23,000, that was to Pahoa keiki, or was that islandwde? Sorry, I'm just trying to understand, like, what's Pahoa- specifc,because we're talking about the Pahoa Promise Project being very successful. So,ju9t trying to understand what data is for Pahoa versus islandwide. MS. CHING: Yeah, the 23,000 books is through the Reach Out and Read. It's islandwide. Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And then we also understand that there's such a tremendous need for childcare for the babies, right. I think it was mentioned in the slide—was it three or five startups that were supported? MS. CHING: We supported. I also did that program. Page 27 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. So, over four years we were able to support five startups. MS. CHING: No. We only had a year and a half,really, from when the county released the funds to Friends of the Future. So, we would've liked it to be four years, but it was not. We supported, actually, a lot more family, child, or we worked with them. We funded five, and three have become licensed. And the other two are still in the process with the Department of Human Services. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And what communities are they located in? MS. CHING: We have one in Pahoa, one in,Waimea;and Hilo town. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And there was obviously more interest than five? MS. CHING: Oh, no, sorry. Two in Hilo and,one in Pahoa. No,two in Waimea and one in Pahoa that have become licensed. Those are the three that have become licensed. We are working with"two in Hilo that are still in the licensing process. So, that makes five. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah,there's a lot to go through to get licensed. And then, in terms of, like, you know,tracking division for the kind of driving healthy keiki in Pahoa, there are these initial supports that are provided. Are we then also tracking how a youth does over the course of their life? And who is responsible for tracking them? MS: ZEUG: Yeah, we've been having some of those early conversations. With some of the funding that oh, this is going to get a little bit confusing. So, some of the funding has 'supported more, we called them New Mom Kaiaulu Groups, right. So, healthy mothers, healthy babies, and Family Hui Hawaii, they came in and created more Mommy and Me-type of interactive programs. And YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association), specifically in the Pahoa area. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Is that the Mama Hub thing that was mentioned in the report? No. Different? S. ZEUG: Mama Club? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Mama Hub. It was mentioned in your media kit. New parent support. Is that what that is? MS. ZEUG: Yes. As part of those early conversations, I think now they're talking to each other, and because that really starts, some of it's almost prenatal, that the conversations now, partners are having, like, how do we create some kind of a, like an ID (identification) card, if you will, to be able to track the child Page 28 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 through all the different programs and services? Or, and the family, right. From birth, as they participate in all of these programs all the way into kindergarten and then just continuing to add on. Because after readiness for kindergarten, third grade reading is kind of the next big benchmark that partners seem to be focused on. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: You know, and I think another huge factor in ensuring successful outcomes for youth is, are they safe? Do they have shelter? Do they have a strong `ohana unit? Is any of that information being tracked? Because without that you can deliver all these programs and,services. It'll help, but I don't think it'll really have the impact you're looking,for because all those other really important foundational pieces are not in place. MS. ZEUG: Yeah. And you were part of those very early conversations. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Those are'the things thatI brought up. MS. ZEUG: Yes. In that first year and as half, when we were working backwards from trying to define what does healthy, safe, and thriving mean, and how do we track that. We had gone through this process with the community to identify the headline indicators,right. Well, first they had identified 36. And then we said, "Well, as a'community, tracking 36 indicators is just too much." And so, could we identify three to five that as a community, we would say, "If we're moving the needle on any one or more of these five, then we know we're making'progres�s towards that bigger impact of every keiki in Pahoa healthy, safe, and thriving." And the biggest one that we couldn't, as a community, that had the hardest time wrapping,their heads around really was the safe. Was, how do you define safe? And what do' you prioritize? Is it food? Is it housing? Is it water security? Is it, what is it, right? And so, this has been one of the ongoing conversations that the community has continued to have. And so, actually tomorrow, at the next in- person meeting that we're having for Pahoa and then the end of year summit, trying to identify what that headline indicator is going to be for what it means when we say keiki are safe has become the priority. So, what we're in the process of doing, I think we've identified that several organizations are tracking the six protective factors. And then we learned that they're not tracking, they don't define it all the same way. And they aren't tracking it all the same way. So, now the collective conversation becomes, how do we compare what YWCA is collecting with what Neighborhood Place of Puna is collecting, with what PACT (Parent and Child Together) is collecting? Everybody has these elements to the bigger piece of the picture. But how do we track it and then put it together so that it actually shows a story, right, that the Page 29 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 community can look at. And we've been doing that with a number of the different data measures. Yeah. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: You know, I'm curious. Many years have gone into supporting our Pahoa community, and I'm really grateful, and I think we're telling a really nice story today about the wins, and we absolutely have to celebrate the wins. But I think we would be remiss if we did not talk about the challenges and barriers that were faced that could be or could not be overcome. And so, I'm curious about if this model is going to be taken to other communities, and if the idea is to continue to deg the work and deepen it within Pahoa. What are the lessons we're learning that we have to carry forward? What didn't work, right? Like, how are we going to iterate this process to keep that in mind so that we're not making the same mistakes ifi-other communities? I don't, Doug's like chomping at the bits, and maybe answer that. MR. IMIG: I really appreciate your:gpestions, and I think we have lost sleep over the same questions as well. Circling back just for one second, we do have a data sharing agreement with the Department of Education for individual level student data in both Keonepoko and Pahoa Elementary to look at kindergarten readiness and third grade achievement scores.-And so, that is a helpful way for us to start to see the relationship,between certain configurations of interventions and school readiness and,school success. In one kind of measure. We also have engaged an outside evaluator, Shelby May, with the A`ali`i Alliance to do an assessement of the limitations, that are speed bumps, the roadblocks, the lessons learned from the Pahoa Initiative. And she's been working with us for the last six months. And her report should be ready here in the next, she said August. So, I'm hoping in the next few weeks. MS. KIERKIEWICZ; I loved the, you know, I appreciate that there's going to be some, like,kilo and reflection here. If you're thinking about when we first started and where we are now, like, how would you grade that? Do you want to give,,like, a score? Would you say that we're, like, 50 percent there? How far has this community come? And how close are they to this vision that's been created? MR. IMIG: This is a great group participation moment. So, as one voice in the conversation, and actually having watched other communities go through the same process in different parts of the country, I feel, in my judgment, I guess I would say, in terms of developing a sense of collective identity and developing a consistent platform where different partners in the work understand how they fit into the work and they see themself in the work, we're 40 percent of the way there. In terms of our understanding and ability to say the children are in better shape than they were when we started the project on the key indicators associated with Page 30 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 health, family safety, and school readiness, I'd say we're 15 to 20 percent of the way there. And I think so much of that is, first of all, is good news, because it takes the time it takes. And, you know, we're not going to paddle the canoe until everyone's in the canoe. And so we're working on this together. But I also think that, you know, there's a lot more work to do. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you for your honesty. I'm out of time. I yield. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member, Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thanks, Chair. Thanks, Marlene. Appreciate the presentation and really diving into the positive impacts ofthe ARPA funds that were presented to communities, specifically„the,Pahoa Promise. It really showcased, with bringing up different team members here, the relationshipwith the County, I mean, it really is a collaborative effort between not just who's' here in this space, but the families, the community members, educators, facilitators, that are all participating in this. I guess some of the questions have a more on'the financial side of things. And Doug, you talked a little bit about it. Marlene,ypu talked about these other partnerships and potential philanthropy. These are contingent upon these other dollars that are coming into the County, though. Is that what I'm understanding? So, Save the Children, STRIVE Together, Kosasa, and Weinberg, they're all kind of waiting in the wings until someone that says, "More applied to Pahoa Promise and other sort of models that we're trying to present to community?" MR. IMIG: Not necessarily. These are ongoing relationships that we are, have been working on for five years. And so,you know, as our colleague at STRIVE Together e were at,the national STRIVE Together meetings in June, and as our colleague there putit, funders are, in a sense, circling. Looking for places to land: They're looking for proof of concept. They're looking for opportunities to make,a difference., STRIVE partners For Rural Impact, ECS (Early Childhood Studies), and Save the Children. All are using very similar metrics for understanding their movement forward. And they include kindergarten readiness and third grade reading. And so, I think our focus is dead . I think our commitment to supporting development of kids in rural underserved communities is exactly in alignment. I think the energy we built has been based on the truthful story and I think that that appetite is real. MS. ZEUG: And it's been from what they've seen with Pahoa Promise. Because they have attended each of them. MR. HUSTACE: That's a critical piece, right. Page 31 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MS. ZEUG: Yeah. MR. HUSTACE: That's, it's MS. ZEUG: It's the proof of concept. MR. HUSTACE: Right. Exactly. These were actual things that have been happening in community. MS. ZEUG: Yep. MR. HUSTACE: So, with future investment and with the partnerships you're building with Kosasa and Weinberg, I mean, they would only continue to support if something is like, something that's actively going on in community that they're going to see that impact, that positive impact in community. So I guess that's where my concern is This gap period, for sure, because, Marlene, I think you mentioned it before,"maybe Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder asked it about what happens with ARPA dollars at the end of this calendar year for Pahoa Promise specifically'. Gould you reiterate that? Because you mentioned the hope for these other funds. Yeah, those are on the way, but we have this transition period and We have to kind of work through this, but, so what does that look like for Pahoa Promise specifically, come December? MS:,ZETIG:,I mean, we'll have the end-of-year summit, the end of October. And then, I think there's potentially a gap between the end of October and 'Vebtuary, potentially, right. There has not been funding identified currently. And se, usually what comes out of that end-of-year summit are usually partner commitments. There's energy and enthusiasm around some initiatives that they Want to take,together as a collaborative. And that would probably have to be paused until some funding is secured. MR. HUSTACE: The federal earmark, the timeline for that one,you said it was, it's a two-year commitment, but when is that date, kind of initiate? MR. IMIG: Those dollars are available now, and Early Childhood Action Strategy is negotiating with each county for the distribution of those dollars. So they could be available, again, our colleague is in better position to talk about this than I am. MR. HUSTACE: Well, I'll bring up the Director in just a moment. But I'm curious about, you know,you have these sort of partnerships, national partnerships, private philanthropy, but we also have partnerships here on the island, right. We have community members that are stepping forward. What is that space? And Ms. Thomas, I think maybe you could speak to this a little bit, Page 32 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 on the work place partnerships and opportunities we have there to really support families where they're working in community. I don't know if you want to share a little bit about that. Where kind of these next steps could go and the potential there. MS. THOMAS: I think the ARA money can be used, some of it for Pahoa. So I think that's something we can continue, at least, a piece of the work. I also wanted to mention that Save the Children and, before I answer your question, Save the Children has a small piece of the earmark. And they'll be supporting ECAS in the work that they are doing right now to identify four communities in new counties. But they also have a part-time position because they're only doing part-time with ECAS: 'Whey also have a part-time position to support Hawaii Island. So I think, or Hawaii County. So that's one of the things that they're looking at. They're very I'm bragging here they're Very impressed with Pahoa Promise and the work that we've been able to des in'the community. And the auxillary work that we've done around it, in terms of workforce development and supporting other programs. So they've become interested in our island and using our work as a model. So'we're,very excited about that, and they're in the process of hiring somebody right now;atthe local Level to be based in Hawaii to do that work. So that's it. -In In terms of your question, I think if you want to speak about the disaster recovery money, part of it is to do something about capacity building for childcare in the burn zone, which happens to be in the Kawaihae area. So one of the things that I was thinking of when we submitted the request for funds was to do something about'a childcare'center for hotel employees down on the coast. There are already—oh, I did a survey of,just a brief survey, there's over 250 children of existing employees under the age of five. And the school we were thinking of is a four-classroom childcare center that would have infants, toddlers, and preschool children. I've already had conversations with the managers of all the hotels. They are all in need. They have staffing openings. They've had them for years. They're very interested in something. And I think the time is right because there's a tax incentive at the federal level that will, they'd be able to recoup some of their investment, should they invest in the childcare center or supporting employees in other costs. So, that's part of it. The other part of it would be to continue workforce development because you could build facilities. But unless you have staff to be in them, to welcome the children,you know, it's not, doesn't work that way. Page 33 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 So we're very excited about the students that we've moved forward. I just want to give you an example. In Waik6loa, for instance, they have, the ones who go to Waik6loa Baptist, and they have two classrooms. But they have four staff and only one teacher. So they could only operate one classroom, 24 children. So we've been able to, through the apprenticeship program that Chelsey runs, we've been able to train up two CDAs. They just got their CDA credential. They're going to be able to open their second classroom. So they'll be 24 more children enrolled in the fall. So while we're talking about—so there's two kinds of capacity development. One is building buildings; the other one is just filling the buildings that have been emptied because of COVID. So they used to have a robust enrollment, and because parents had to stay home with their children, a lot of women left the field because they had to take care of their—even elementary aged children. So, we've lost a lot of staff in that process. So one of my charges in my scope of work, originally when I started with the County, was to rebuild the capacity to at leastCOVID levels and beyond. But that's what we're trying tee do. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you. Yeah,I know. I think it's an amazing picture, an opportunity for economic development,workforce development. So, thank you for highlighting that, Angela. Director Medina, if I could just4 if you could join us up here in the front for a moment. Thank you. Just curious on theposition of the departments. You know, we're hearing the presentation,about the work that's been done in the community, the other possibilities around the County, and my colleagues here, for experiencing it longer than I have, in terms of the ARPA dollars and the timeline of that, the challenges the County's faced with, and previous administration, all of those issues. So I'm kind of curious what that timeline looks like at the end of the year here, and where are you kind of perceive the next steps to support initiatives who are already up and running, that are already in community, that we already have connections built, that we already have collaboration, you know, going across the County. And just kind of curious,you know, we had about$5 million from ARPA dollars going to specifically the Early Childhood Education. We $9 million we kicked out elsewhere for one reason or another. So I'm kind of curious what your Page 34 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 position is on that. Is there anything left in there? We're throwing some back to the feds. I'm just kind of want to unpack that a little bit. (Note: At this time, Research and Development Director Benson Medina came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. MEDINA: Okay. Benson Medina, Director of Research and Development. So the ARPA funding that funds basically the program that Angela does, it expires on December 31" of this year. So there is no additional funding after that. Now Angela and her team actually, there wore°some disaster relief funding that came down, I guess it was about a year ago. And they applied for it and received it. And I believe it was like $45 million. Now the segment of that funding that is supposed to come, or we've been'Iold.that's it's going to come to Hawaii Island, it's almost$9 million, $8.9 million. So when we were informed, I think, some time this summer, that,yeah, this funding will be there, they didn't tell us exactly when it would be there, and they didn't define the scope of what those funds could be used for. So, when we inquired about it, they said, "Well, we are developing the scope of what those funds are right'now." 134we don't know, and they detail their process. You know, we have to get this approval and then it has to go to that committee, and I'm not exactly sure, and probably Angela knows it better than me. And when all of that is done, then those funds will be available to the County. So when We ask, "Do you have any idea?" And they don't. Now they did say, "So perhaps the County can,you know, bridge finance it until these funds arrive." So then our response was, "Okay. Can you give us an estimate of what that is?" Because obviously I can't go to the Mayor and say, "Can we bridge fund this for inderminate amount of time until these funds arrive?" So, we had hoped, when we were informed that there would be funding, that it would come before the end of the year. So, the first that I heard of it, it could come by the end of this year so that there wouldn't be much of a gap. And so this gap that they're talking about, is a gap between the end of the ARPA funding and the beginning of the disaster relief funding. So that's kind of where we're at. In fact, we just, where Angela is, got an email from the Administrator, which he sent to me, that basically just detailed the process they're going through. But Page 35 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 they give no details in terms of when that funding will be available to us or the scope of work that that funding is supposed to cover. So we're not even sure what it can cover. So, I don't know, Angela, if you have more to add on that. That's what I got, in the least, in what I was copied in on the email. MR. HUSTACE: And this is the federal earmark? Could assist as well, though? MR. MEDINA: Excuse me? MR. HUSTACE: The federal earmark. The$300,000 for Hawaii County could assist with some of that. MR. MEDINA: Yeah. I don't,I'm talking specifically about the disaster relief funding. But the $300,000, I'm not really sure about that one. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. I'm just trying to dig a little bit in terms of seeing what—with these kinds of commitments, possibilities, as well as partnership, and philanthropy, like how can we all bundle this so that we can have continuity, right? MR. MEDINA: Right. MR, HUSTACE: That we don't have this stutter and kind of a break in services or having to restart programming, those sort of things. So I'm just trying to patch it all together. MR. MEDINA: So,believe me, between us and these guys back here, they're shaking every tree that's available out there to see if we can keep the programs going,,don't have a loss of continuity. So I can only really deal with what the County has and what's coming into the County. And so, you know, like I said, the ARPA funding that was designed for early childhood education, it expires on December 3I't. Now, as far as Angela's position, it goes forward with the County. We did submit a supplemental to basically take her position and put it on as a county position. But as you know, the mayor did not approve any positions throughout the County, new positions. Because we were aware that at the end of December 3I't, the funding of her program would end. I mean, we're going to try again this year, but we'll see what happens. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. Alright. Page 36 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MR. MEDINA: So I don't know. Angela, if you want to add anything on to that. Did I miss anything? Okay. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. Thanks, Director. Appreciate your perspective. MR. MEDINA: Yeah. MR. HUSTACE: And partnership in this. Like I said;I just think we need to find a way. Whatever the mechanism, until, like,that continuity,you know, try and patch these things together somehow. I mean, what, we have community members that are reliant upon services or a consistency, an education on it. And it speaks to what you've shared to the Council and community before about economic development,workforce development. Just how we support our community, you know, through this different lens, we don't always think about. But it's there. It's supporting our workforce, right there in some of these entities and places. So there is that possibility, and we just need to kind of move forward on some of these MR. MEDINA: Yeah. We agree: And I think like,because the mayor does support early childhood. Okay, that's the buzzer. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. I got two buzzes. So, time's up. �M& KIMBALL: That means you can start again. MR. HUSTACE: 'Yeah. Oh,okay. Thanks, Chair. I'll pass it on. Thank you. `CHR,;GALIMBA: Thank you. Council Member, Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. I'm going to ask just a couple of brief questions, and I would ask all of you to be succinct because we're very tired. And I think I appreciate the comment earlier that we're dancing around a key issue, which is this position, which I think all of us think is critical to continue to coordinate this issue. So, Director,just to be a succinct, yes or no, the Council has the ability to draft a budget amendment that would fund the position and continue it. Would you be supportive if that was initiated from the Council side of that, on budget amendment? Page 37 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MR. MEDINA: I would, as long as it works within the mayor's budget. So I have to support whatever the mayor puts forward. MS. KIMBALL: So given, at this point in time,you know, we have several budgeted positions across the County that have yet to be filled. We can anticipate a minimum of three months each for,you know, advertisement. All of that. We can probably come up with sufficient funding to support, at least through the remainder of the fiscal year. So given that, you would support? MR. MEDINA: I would. Yes. MS. KIMBALL: That continuation. Okay. , I will submit to my colleagues that I think that this is fundamentally necessary. You know with Council Member Inaba and Kierkiewicz, earlier,should they issue or introduce the Bill, kind of refraining what R&D (Research and Development) does around economic development. You have five moms on this Council. All of them would tell you that childcare is economic development; I was able to go back to work because I had a reliable place for my kids to go. And more often than not,that child-rearing responsibility falls to the women,in'the household;and not having reliable childcare, where you know your kids are'safe, is a huge barrier to women returning to the workforce,who could contribute. So I see it entirely—and I know you do too because we've had these conversations. It's entirely in alignment with the objective of the County to reframe R&D as an economic development engine, to focus and continue to provide support for early childhood education. So I will leave it there, and I will work with my colleague who I believe also shares this interest in introducing the budget amendment to continue that position in the County. Thank you. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Council Member, Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. I just want to make sure; we went all over the place today But, when it comes to our early childhood education, what we've been operating on was the ARPA funding that in the end, we contracted out through an RFP (Request for Proposal), to Friends of the Future. The contract expires, I believe, originally at the end of September. But was granted an extension to the end of October. Is that correct? I'm seeing nods, so far. Page 38 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 So in terms of what the deliverables were, now maybe I can clarify, the funds that were given to Friends of the Future are separate the contract employment with Ms. Thomas, correct? MR. MEDINA: Correct. MR. INABA: Okay. So Ms. Thomas is our County point person who oversees and is working together with Friends of the Future to administer the funding that we gave out? $2.2 million or something like that. Okay, so Ms. Thomas then, can you walk us'through what deliverables, being that we're coming up on the end of the contract. What deliverables are we still needing to achieve by the end of the contract for October=31,2026? MS. THOMAS: So, Friends of the Future has three separate contracts. One is to manage Pahoa Reads, one is for thelsey's work with the apprenticeship model, so it's a workforce development contract. It's worked for the apprenticeship model and our conference. So our conference this year is September 11 'and 12, which is why they ended up with the extension. And I believe,Friends of the Future extension is until the end of September to complete the conference, and then their reporting has to be in by October 15t'. We also have another contract with them, Family Childcare, which has been completed. All we need is the report in, and then that will be done. The other contract is with CSS, which is Collaborative Support Services, and that's a branch, or that's ECAS. And they manage Marlene's work. It gets confusing. arlene's work for Pahoa Promise, which is the facilitation of the community. And so that contract has been extended through the end of October because the end-of-year summit is on October 28th. And their report will be in mid-November. So we have four contracts, I guess. So I created the RFPs, and these are the people that got the awards. And then we have two others. One with `Akahiau, which is a family childcare, it`s kind of like a preschool up at Huehue Ranch. And they increased their numbers from six to twelve. So they have two family childcare licenses. So that was one of our successes. And then the other contract is with the YWCA. And they are buying a modular building that will allow 35 more children to be enrolled. Page 39 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MR. INABA: Okay. So if we look at our family center childcare startups, then maybe I can get some clarification. I thought it was one contract with different sets of scopes of services. Is it four separate contracts? MS. THOMAS: Three. Yes. Right? Yeah. MR. INABA: I'm only seeing one agreement here that covers all of the scope, so MS. THOMAS: Well, Friends of the Future, they were the only bidders, so they ended up with three different RFPs. They responded to three different RFPs. MR. INABA: But it was batched as one contract, one agreement? MS. THOMAS: Um. MR. INABA: Do we have somebody in Hilo Chambers from Finance Department? MS. THOMAS: Yeah,I'm not sure. MR. INABA: Oh. No Hilo Chambers. Okay. Alright. So, when,it comes to the family childcare startups, I believe the scope of services says that we Were to increase the number of family childcare providers by eight to ten per year. Where did we land with that? MS. THOMAS: Oh,that's what, when Chelsey was saying, we supported eight of them: There are three thatare licensed and two more that are going through the process., And the big holdup, the challenge, if you will, is the Department of Human Services. Their licensing is difficult. MR. INABA: Okay so a total of, sorry, of, how many? Either completed or in process. MS. THOMAS: Five, hopefully. Three for sure. NM. INABA: Okay. MS. THOMAS: And we're working with, yeah. MR. INABA: And then when it comes to the training and apprenticeships, how many workshops did they complete in total? Because I believe there are two to three work, or three annual conferences and two to three workshops. Page 40 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MS. THOMAS: Right. Actually, our third conference is in September, and we've done a number of workshops around literacy that have been open islandwide for people to participate in. We just did our last one, July 25�'. MR. INABA: Okay. And then where have we been sending out that information? Is that something that the County is taking the lead on? Or is the Friends of the Future taking the lead on? MS. THOMAS: Yeah, we have a mailing list thail F"riends'of the Future is sort of managing for us because Chelsey does the conferences, and that's our largest participation. So anybody that comes to conferences or our workshops gets added to the list. And then Lori's our media person. So she sends it out through social media. MR. INABA: Okay. MS. THOMAS: Oh, and then it's on our website,., R&D. Right. MR. INABA: Okay. MS. THOMAS: That R&D website MR. INABA: And there is one more cbriference that's happening? MS:,THOMAS: Correct. September 11 and 12. King Kamehameha Hotel. �MR. INABA: Okay. I think that's been kind of a missing link. Because I just don't feel like we've been notified to help push out some of these conferences. So, I think that one is going to be during our own council conference on Maui, for September. But definitely, as we look to the future, I think we really need to 'try and see how we can better close the gap on communication to help get the word out. And then,lastly, can you just recap how many positions we funded through this ARPA funding, through Friends of the Future, across these three different areas, that we got the funding to? MS: THOMAS: There are two people who aren't here today. So there are eight of us, or eight altogether, and Marlo and I are with the County, so six. MR. INABA: Okay. And then would you mind sending us—so the last report to your office from Friends of the Future came when? MS. THOMAS: We're waiting. The July 5t' one is late. So that's the one we're waiting for. Page 41 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MR. INABA: Okay. When do you anticipate getting that? MS. THOMAS: Tomorrow. MR. INABA: Okay. That'll cover everything thus far or is that just for a certain period? MS. THOMAS: No, it's probably the quarter, right? April to June. And then they'll be another report in October. MR. INABA: And that will be for the final? MS. THOMAS: Right. MR. INABA: Okay. So based,on the reports you have so far, I won't circle back to my original question, is what work have we not accomplished that was set forth in the scope of services thatthe agreement was set to accomplish? MS. THOMAS: I think the MR. INABA: Like, what's the biggest ones that we didn't get to that we should've gotten to? From your perspective. MS. THOMAS: I think family childcare. We wish we could have opened more because it allows two children under two, and that was part of the problem. Because we wrote that into the RFP, that if you wanted us to help you build your fence or buy your startup equipment, you needed to accept two children under two. And a lot of people didn't want to do that. So they didn't come to us for support: I think that was the big issue. Which I don't get. But, you know, I love babies. So,yeah. I think that was our biggest,probably disappointment. The other ones are our apprenticeship model. I mean, people are looking to us to find out how we did it because we have eight. The original group that started the apprenticeship model in Honolulu is Keiki O Ka`Gina. And they're doing it within their own organization. They currently have two apprentices. We started it here. We changed up the model a bit. And we have eight in four different preschools across the island, so people are looking to us to see how we did it. Page 42 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MR. INABA: So we have an MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) with Keiki O Ka `Aina? MS. THOMAS: Yeah, I think so. Is that what it is? Chelsey? They're our sponsor. So they have the national, they're registered nationally with the Labor Department, and then they're registered locally. And so they had to get an extension for us to go, for them to be allowed'to have apprentices outside of Keiki O Ka `Aina. And so we're the only island that does it. MR. INABA: So we don't have an MOA with them? MS. THOMAS: Yeah, we do. Well,yeah,we have an agreement with them to be sponsored by them. MR. INABA: Okay. And then,because you're saying that our apprenticeship model is something that people are asking us about, do we have something drafted up that describes how the model works? MS. THOMAS: How we do it? Yes. Mm hmm.: MR. INABA: Okay. And where is that available?' MS. THOMAS: That's what Chelsey uses when she recruits new schools to participate., MR. INABA: Okay. Perfect. So, would you mind updating the Council after they get their report in tomorrow? I'm looking at the scope of services that were articulated in the agreement, as to what justreai clear what was for sure accomplished. How was it accomplished? And then if it wasn't accomplished, how are we going to accomplish it before the end of the contract? Or where are we going to land? Because it gives us a good idea. I mean, Early Childhood Education (ECE) is important to everyone here. Mother or not. But I think, if we're going to have this discussion about moving forward with an ECE position or funding in that sort, I;think we really need to get an understanding of how this $2.2 million played out over the course of the contract. Then what services we did accomplish and what scope of services we fell short on and why. MS. THOMAS: Sure. MR. INABA: Director. Page 43 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MR. MEDINA: Could I ask you to call Chelsey up to make a couple more points? MR. INABA: Sure. Chelsey, want to come forward to provide us a little bit more. MS. CHING: So the Family Childcare Startup, it was not as planned as Angela said. We have closed that. Not because we wantedt6., But because I am not physically able to spend any more money. And we are returning 50 percent of that grant back to the County for Wastewater. I don't what they're going to use it for. Or what you guys are going to use it for. But we will be returning it, I think, onFriday, actually. S6 that it's closed down and done. MR. INABA: Sorry. Remind us what amount was that and for what program, the training or apprenticeship? MS. CHING: That's for Family Childcare.Startup grant with Friends of the Future. So it was originally $310,000 for that'cvntract that Friends of the Future received, and we were only-1 don't know the exact number, I don't have it written down right now but we were only able to spend about half of it. Oh no, little more than half, I would say -like 60 percent of it on startup costs. MR. INABA:,,And the primary reason for that was? �MS: CHING: I worked with more than eight folks. I've been in Ocean View, I've been in Kona,;I've been all over the island, and we've had at least three of them say, "I cannot deal with DHS (Department of Human Services). I will not continue. I cannot deal with it." And that's the expression on the east side of the island. They were set to go, and they said;"I cannot deal with the DHS workers, and I cannot do this, and I cannot have to do this." Because they check on you every year, and they left the program before I began to fund them. So it's been a big challenge. MR. INABA: Okay. I'll just wrap up by saying, you know, I do want to thank Friends of the Future for stepping up to take in this funding. What I'm concerned about is the lack of outreach we received from within the County to try and make connections in our communities. We have one whole section of this agreement that was for Pahoa. Awesome. But I was never contacted to see what connections we could make within our own Kona community, and I don't know how exactly it played out between Friends of the Future, Ms. Thomas, Director, and anyone else working in the department. Page 44 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 But I feel like we've missed an opportunity. Getting the funds out originally, you folks were our saving grace to try and still have those funds go to good use, and yet we found ourselves again, at the end, having to return funds, with not anything to show for it. So I think, Director and Ms. Thomas, the outreach to the Council and our specific communities needs to improve if we aren't going to be continuing with this ECE. But thank you again to Chelsey and each of you who have managed different parts of this program to help us try and move the needle. Thank you. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member,Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah. Just kind of one quick suggestion anct something. Something that's just come up forme in this is,you know, the communication. And from a personal and professional standpoint,"I would humbly advise that you have some conversations within your organization on what comments are helpful and hurtful from people you employ to manage your communication strategies. At a time when this current administration and you guys are navigating budget cuts and whatnot. We have free speech and whatnot, but we have to do the same amongst ourselves in what we,make comments on social media. And take a look at that strategy and that plan because I'm hearing from Council Member Inaba that it's not as effective as we would like it to be for you. And,I would hate for anything to have come back negatively, based on the avenues of where you're allocating resources. Communication is a viable expenditure for any projector program. Especially in this wild world of digital and social media. But relationship building so that we can connect and get you the avenues and resources, having been a single mom who had to find childcare and thankfully I had my mom who could help me so I could work at night, for those times. But my daughter had a baby last week, and she starts the nursing program next year. So we're going to be juggling as a family for, you know, Lord knows we need medical care providers here. So, support the cause fully and wholeheartedly, and just hope that you take my humble recommendations for improvements in those capacities. MS. CHING: Am I allowed to ask a question? MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah. Page 45 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 MS. CHING: From,just from the Friends of the Future. But how is it that we should get information to you folks, directly? Is there like a path because we try to go through the mayor a lot and say, "Hey,you know, we have this coming up, can you " Because I'm MS. VILLEGAS: Sure. Totally. And this is one of the challenges in government because we MS. CHING: What is the avenue that we should take? MS. VILLEGAS: Emailing us directly. MS. CHING: Okay. MS. VILLEGAS: I get emails from non-profit organizations all the time with their newsletters of their specific'asks or their events, or those different things, and then each of us tend to have our oven email lists, that we then share out with members of our community and constituents. So that kind of helps it spread just a little bit more. You know you got the legislative and the administrative branch and the beauty of the creation of this government system. There are reasons for that separation, but, you know, times like this is when we want that connectivity in order to get your message out there better. Alright. Thank you; I yield. CIIR. GALIIVMBA: Thank you, Thank you, really, all of you, for all you do. Such an important part of keeping our society going in these times. I do hope you guys cone outto Ka`u more because we do need lots of help out there. I joke around with my daughter that, like, nobody does urchins better than Ka`ii, which is both a testament to their families but also a little bit of a need that we have for more early childhood education, and I really admire the work that you folks are doing. Connecting folks together and bringing out the best and more capacity in the network of people that are trying to work at this area, that is so essential. So thank you so much. All in favor of closing file on Communication 979, please say "aye." Any opposed? Page 46 CRCOC-23 August 4,2026 Vote on Comm. 979: The motion to close file on Comm. 979 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Inaba, Kagiwada, Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Galimba—6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Hustace,kierkiewicz, and Onishi —3. Excused: None. CHR. GALIMBA: And that brings us t6 the end of our agenda. And we'll be back at 9:00 a.m. for Council, tommorrow. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at*43 p.m. Chair Galimba adjourned the MENT: meeting. Approved: Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Chair (Date) Communications, Reports, and Council Oversight Committee MG/mp Page 47