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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN CRCOC 2026/09/01 (2024-2026) Committee on Communications, Reports, and Council Oversight 25th Session Hawai`i County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai`i September 1, 2026 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Communications, Reports, and ORDER: Council Oversight was called to order at 7:10 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Acting Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Rebecca Villegas,Vice Chair Mr. James E. Hustace, Member Mr.Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Ms. Ashley L.Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Absent&Excused: Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Chair Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 1000: 2025-2026 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE KAILUA VILLAGE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT From Kailua Village Business Improvement District Executive Director Ross Wilson, dated July 20, 2026. Motion to Close File: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 1000. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. ACTING CHR. VILLEGAS: And with that, Mr. Ross Wilson,thank you for your patience with us this evening and for providing us with a very thorough, detailed report on the Kailua Village Business Improvement District(KVBID). CRCOC-25 September 1,2026 And with that, I will turn it over to you to do a concise and high-level review for us this evening. (Note: At this time, Kailua Village Business Improvement District Executive Director Ross Wilson came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. WILSON: Good evening, everybody. First of all,thank you so much for doing the people's work. I don't think the community understands fully the amount of time and effort it takes to run a government. And sitting here for the past few hours, I really appreciate what you're doing and the level of commitment towards doing the right thing for the community. I circulated the Kailua Village Business Improvement District '25-'26 annual report. It speaks for itself. I won't go into the nuances of what's in there. But I would like to say that the next time there's a committee meeting on the west side, in a couple of weeks, I'm happy to meet with you individually or collectively to go through what works, what doesn't work,how we can improve, and things that are really working well in the village. I think it's important to remember that KVBID was set up,you know,nearly 20 years ago because things weren't working well. And fast forward to,you know, 19 years later, and things are going well in historic Kailua Village. We have two initiatives. It's easy, it's clean, and it's safe. And I'm happy to report that the village is clean and safe. And,you know, it's been said before, but it really takes a village to get it done. Our job at KVBID is not to replace County government, our job is to collaborate, cooperate, and compliment County services. In a lot of discussions I had with the administration,with Mayor Kimo Alameda's administration, I really emphasize, it takes a village in all of the things that we are doing. As far as what happens with government, and government leadership,you know, I think we all need to do more. And we would need everybody's help so that we can enact new ordinances dealing with panhandling, loitering, and public intoxication. And we plan to work on those in this coming year. I really appreciate the job that the Police Depaitiiient's doing. And we have a great working relationship with the community police. And whatever budgets that they have,please,please,please increase them if you can. They're doing great work with us. But I think all of us working together from the County side, KVBID, and all the departments, our volunteers, our boards. Working together,we can truly make the Kailua Village Business Improvement District, which is historic Kailua Village, a better place to live, work,play, and invest. And individually or collectively at another time, I'm happy to go through all of the programs that Page 2 CRCOC-25 September 1,2026 we're doing and all the things that we've accomplished. But in addition to the clean and safe, we've done a lot of branding. We're bringing place—back into the village. And we're installing historic signs so that we can tell, not only our visitors but local people,the importance of all of the historic and cultural events that happened in historic Kailua Village. Happy to answer any questions on KVBID. ACTING CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ross. With that, I'll open up to any questions or comments from Council Members. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you, Mr. Wilson. Just want to extend our appreciation. I think especially down on Ali`i Drive which is the gateway, especially for the cruises coming in. We have seen tremendous improvement on that stretch and in general, in the whole business improvement district. And you know,this is something that Mr. Wilson and I have previously discussed, is whether the County right now, on those properties in the business improvement district, are paying that special assessment on top of their normal real property tax to the County. And something that this County might discuss is whether we want to support the creation of new business improvement districts and having those taxes already paid to the County be committed for use by that business improvement district. Because in some of the last discussions we had regarding Hilo, it's not wanting to pay more, but if we truly want and stand behind the business improvement district model as it's been working here in Kona,you know, that might be something that this County can kind of explore. But just want to thank you again, Mr. Wilson and your team,the contractors,the employees, everyone who makes it happen down there. We appreciate you all. Mahalo. ACTING CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I've received eight years' worth of presentations during my time on that dais. And I am always so impressed with the work that happens by the Kailua Village Improvement District. Mr. Wilson, you and the whole hui should be so incredibly proud of the work that you folks do on a daily basis. Just going through the slide deck, it's a lot,but I see a lot of happy faces. I see a lot of diversity in community partners showing up to take care of Kailua-Kona. And so I just, I want to mahalo you guys. This is a model for more communities around the island. And I love Chair Inaba's suggestion of taxes that are currently being paid by different communities, being diverted to support public private partnership, because you guys are boots on the ground. County cannot do it all, and I just love the idea of just more collaboration and people that live in these communities, having the resources and support to take action. So,job well done. Keep up the great work and so wonderful to see you. Thank you. Page 3 CRCOC-25 September 1,2026 MR. WILSON: Thank you. ACTING CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. I don't see any more lights here, so I'll just take a moment to express my gratitude as well. As the Council Member for District 7, in which the business improvement district resides, it's been part of my kuleana in this role to either have someone representing my office or myself, get to sit on the board and attend the meetings, learn more about the nuanced leadership roles and the partnerships that are so solidly nurtured and reciprocated. Thank you for your leadership in that, Ross, and continuing to keep this going through all different board members over many different years. But in a village that has seen many struggles in the last eight years, I can firmly say that we are continuing to move forward. And I think one of the highest compliments, a member of the prior director in one of the prior administrations said to me, was that he had never witnessed a Council Member and an organization like the business improvement district, have such a healthy, supportive, collaborative relationship with community policing. And I think that speaks volumes for kind of this new template that's been created, and I share the positive sentiment. Although having sat here during the resistance for the potential of the Hilo Business Improvement District, I can say from what has been accomplished in Kona,that perhaps, opinions and resistance will fade in future, and there will be opportunities for this program to be replicated in other areas on the island. So go ahead, Ross. MR. WILSON: We were the third business improvement district in the State after Fourth Street Mall in Waikiki. And a couple of months ago, Downtown Honolulu added a business improvement district. ACTING CHR. VILLEGAS: Yep, and I also want to give a shout out to one of my mentors and predecessors, Angel Pilago, who was instrumental when he sat on the County Council here in the creation of the Kailua Village Business Improvement District. So, thank you so much for being here for the support, for the leadership, and for making this a fairly quick committee this evening. So, if I don't see any other comments or questions, all those in favor of closing file.on Communication 1000,please say "aye." Fantastic. Page 4 CRCOC-25 September 1,2026 Vote on Comm. 1000: The motion to close file on Comm. 1000 was carried by the (Filed) following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, and Acting Chair Villegas—6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Galimba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, and Onishi—3. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. VILLEGAS: And seeing no other business on our agenda this evening,we are officially adjourned. ADJOURN- There being no further business,Acting Chair Villegas adjourned the meeting at MENT: 7:22 p.m. Approved: 1o/i111AA Ms. Miche*M. Galimba, Chair (Date) Communications, Reports, and Council Oversight Committee MG/mp Page 5