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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2026/09/01 (2024-2026)CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: Present: STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: COMMUNI- CATIONS: Committee on Finance 43rd Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 September 1, 2026 The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at 10:36 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair. Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair Mr. James E. Hustace, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather Kimball, Member Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Kelly Hudik: Res. 665-26 (Comm. 1053), in support. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Communications. Comm. 23.41: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16 — 30, 2026 AND JULY 1-15, 2026 From Controller Jon Arbles, dated August 3, 2026. Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to close file on Comm. 23.41. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion on Communication 23.41? Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Just a question for Housing, please. Okay. So just for the record, Mr. Shiroma. FC-43 September 1, 2026 (Note: At this time, Housing and Community Development Specialist Royce Shiroma came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. SHIROMA: Hi. Good morning. Royce Shiroma, Office of Housing. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Mr. Shiroma. Just looking for some clarity on the transfer of funds, $90,000, on the Wilder transitional housing facility renovation improvements. It reads, "as additional funds are needed to award the pending construction contract." Why would funds be needed to award the pending contract? MR. SHIROMA: Yeah. So this one here we had awarded initially for the Wilder Road home, which is owned by the County, and they needed additional funds because there were something that was uncovered during the demolition. Initially this project is to provide accessible bathroom and kitchen in addition to the sewer to septic tank conversion. And during the demolition of the interior, something was uncovered so they need additional funds to address it. MR. HUSTACE: To increase that threshold in the contract itself then? MR. SHIROMA: I'm sorry. MR. HUSTACE: The contract hasn't been awarded yet then. MR. SHIROMA: It has been awarded. I think that's what was —I'm not sure the information you were provided. MR. HUSTACE: It's a pending construction contract. So something was discovered that you then need to increase the contract amount. MR. SHIROMA: Yes. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. Okay. Thanks for the clarification. Thanks, Chair. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Any further discussion on Communication 23.41? Is Parks and Recreation here? Yes. Charmaine, thank you. My question, while you're coming up, is regarding the fairly large transfer from a number of Parks and Recreation Maintenance salary and wages account to a number of other portions. Was Maintenance over budget or what happened there? Because I know that's a pretty heavy need in our community as far as maintenance. (Note: At this time, Parks and Recreation Business Manager Charmaine Felipe came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 2 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MS. FELIPE: Good morning. Charmaine Felipe, Business Manager for Parks and Recreation. Thank you for the question. So at the time, Parks and Recreation Maintenance had a lot of vacancies that we were filling, so we were able to use those funds to cover the end of the year expenses for the rest of the division while we were trying to fill the positions in Parks Maintenance. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. And then the biggest transfers into were admin salary and wages two times for $120,000 and $96,000, separately but from same account to same account. MS. FELIPE: Correct. So towards the beginning of the year we inherited the Veterinarian and Veterinary Technician positions that were not in our budget. So we needed to cover it at the end of the year. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And that's in admin section? MS. FELIPE: Yes. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you very much. MS. FELIPE: You're welcome. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Seeing no further discussion, motion is on the floor to close file on Communication 23.41. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 23.41: The motion to close file on Comm. 23.41 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Comm. 24.39: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: MAY 1-15, 2026 From Finance Director Diane Nakagawa, dated August 12, 2026, transmitting the above report pursuant to Section 2-12.3 of the Hawaii County Code. Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to close file on Comm. 24.39. Seconded by Mr. Onishi. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Hustace, discussion. MR. HUSTACE: Yes. Thanks, Chair. Just a note that in Communication 23.41, we talked about the Wilder Road transitional, $90,000. Just for the record here, Page 3 FC-43 September 1, 2026 the purpose on Communication 24.39 is rather vague. So just for the record, please identify a little bit more need. There are some other examples about the purpose there. I mean, it just says to increase funds, so rather it lack clarity there. And then I have a question for Parks and Recreation, please. Thanks, Ms. Felipe. Just a question on contract regarding the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium renovation. It mentions that the floor and bleacher replacements are packaged into a separate construction scope, so an entirely separate project, they've been separated out and moved somewhere else and gone out to bid separately. (Note: At this time, Parks and Recreation Business Manager Charmaine Felipe came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. FELIPE: Yes. They changed the scope of the type of flooring that they want installed and how they want to address the bleachers. MR. HUSTACE: So it's still included in this contract; the flooring and bleacher replacement. MS. FELIPE: Yes. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. But it says it's packaged into a separate construction scope. So still under the same contract for design. MS. FELIPE: For design. MR. HUSTACE: For design. Okay. So this was additional GeoTech investigation hazmat assessments for $132,000, but the design piece for floor and bleacher, we've yet to see that sort of cost come forward. MS. FELIPE: Yes. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. But that would still be part of the same contract with Yamasato? MS. FELIPE: Yes. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. Thank you. MS. FELIPE: You're welcome. MR. HUSTACE: And then one other question for Office of Housing on this one. Mr. Shiroma, I think you're still with us, right? (Note: At this time, Housing and Community Development Specialist Royce Shiroma came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 4 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. SHIROMA: Yes, I'm here. MR. HUSTACE: There was a contract for the affordable housing subdivision `Ainak6; this was a prep for public meeting, it was additional work public meeting, $26,000. MR. SHIROMA: Yeah. That's basically the Community Development Division. However, I would assume it's for additional work because there was a consultant doing the public meeting for the environmental portion of this development project, the planning stage. MR. HUSTACE: But it was revolving around a public informational meeting, so you guys and the consultant pulled together a community meeting, be in that space, holding that space. MR. SHIROMA: Yes, correct. Whatever expenses that were associated with this public meeting. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. Thank you. Thanks, Chair. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Onishi. MR. ONISHI: Thank you, Chair. Charmaine Felipe, you can come up again? I just had one question for that civic auditorium. So my question is, prior to this administration coming in, I guess, being elected, wasn't the previous administration had this work already been done; the scope of renovating the civic auditorium? MS. FELIPE: It was worked on and recently with the change in administration they want to address the current flooring issues differently. They don't want to put the same type of flooring back in because it's not working for our environment. They looked at a different type of flooring that would work better for our environment. MR. ONISHL Okay. So my question is going to be then, with the previous administration, when they went out to get the consulting, they had their own plan, right, and the County paid for that, correct? MS. FELIPE: I'm assuming, yeah. MR. ONISHI: And then now we're paying again to change some of the scope of the work. MS. FELIPE: Right. Because they believe the investment will be a better solution in the long term. Page 5 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. ONISHI: Okay. Now my last question is, so within whoever was doing all this, like getting the quotes or informing the consultant about having this project done, they left or what happened? MS. FELIPE: I think the newer technology was brought to the administration that it would be a better fit for the facility and what the uses for that facility are and that we wouldn't be running into the issues that we currently have. MR. ONISHI: Okay. And I mentioned that was my last, but this is my last. Okay. So because when we first got it we were told the civic is going to be closed and they're not going to take no reservations, nothing right? But it's not 2026, almost half of the year is gone. Is the civic still open? MS. FELIPE: Yes. It's still open. MR. ONISHI: Okay. When does the department plan on closing this civic to do all this work; do you have like a timeline? MS. FELIPE: Yes. It's not immediate and we will announce and put it on our webpage and social media when the time gets closer. MR. ONISHI: Because to my understanding is that when we do Kawananakoa renovations, a lot of the programs that they have there is going to go to the civic. MS. FELIPE: Right. So the department has to take into consideration the closure of other facilities that may affect the use of the civic. MR. ONISHI: Okay. Good. Okay, thank you. MS. FELIPE: You're welcome. MR. ONISHI: Thank you very much. I yield. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Charmaine, I have just one more. Just so we know to expect, are we going to get new bleachers, not just chairs; we're going to put like a backrest on that thing or what? MS. FELIPE: This is for the flooring section. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Just the flooring. MS. FELIPE: Yes. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So bleachers, separate then, which is the purpose kind of designates bleachers and flooring. Page 6 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MS. FELIPE: Bleachers are addressing the bleachers on the flooring, not the top seating area. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Not the top seating area. Those nice concrete backless, sore back bleachers that we have in there now, those are staying? MS. FELIPE: I'm not too sure what the design is, but I can get back to you on that. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, yeah. If you can. MS. FELIPE: Sure. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. MS. FELIPE: You're welcome. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEMFELDER: Thank you. And then I have a question for Housing as well regarding the Wilder transitional house facility renovation improvements. Thank you, Royce. MR. SHIROMA: Yes. I'm still here. Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Beautiful. So the original contract amount was $430,000? Sorry, it's just super small; it's hard to read this thing. MR. SHIROMA: Yes. $430,170. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That was December 5, 2024; one change order. This was the contractor; HOPE Services Hawaii, cumulative change orders, $90,000; what is that for? MR. SHIROMA: Yeah, so I think this is connected to the question that Councilman Hustace talked about. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: It is. MR. SHIROMA: So I stand corrected that it's not to award the contract for the services. What we did was we had to amend the subrecipient agreement to HOPE Services who applied for the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funding, and they needed that additional money in order to award and get into a contract with the contractor. So the contract for the construction is between HOPE Services and the contractor. OHCD (Office of Housing and Community Development) has a subrecipient agreement between us, the County, and the subrecipient, which is HOPE Services. So when the bids came in the bids were Page 7 FC-43 September 1, 2026 higher than what we allotted in the agreement to HOPE Services, and that's the reason why we had to increase the subrecipient agreement by $90,000 in order for HOPE to award and contract with the contractor. And, you know, part of it is the work that's going to be done to do ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) bathrooms and kitchen as well as the cesspool to septic tank conversion for the property. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And this is a County owned property? MR. SHIROMA: County owned property on Wilder Road. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's going to be a transitional house from the HOPE Services. MR. SHIROMA: Yes. We have a lease with HOPE Services currently right now. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEMFELDER: And the lease improvements are being done by the contractor HOPE Services. MR. SHIROMA: Yes. The subrecipient agreement, yes. The entity leasing the property; correct. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And one more time, what was the scope of the $90,000 improvements? MR. SHIROMA: Yeah. It was additional funding that when HOPE Services put out the bid, the lowest bidder came in $90,000 above what their budgeted amount was and therefor HOPE asked us at Housing to provide additional funds to their subrecipient agreement, which we did and this is what the change order is all about, so they can award to the lowest bidder to the contractor. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: What was the original bid that they projected? MR. SHIROMA: I think it was $430,170. So they increased it by $90,000, so the total would be $520,170. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And what are the improvements that $520,000 is going to cover? MR. SHIROMA: It will provide ADA accessibility to the bathroom of the facility as well as kitchen and also conversation. They currently have a cesspool there at the house. We're going to convert it to a septic tank system. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So the County purchased a home on a cesspool. , Page 8 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. SHIROMA: It was a while back that the County has took over ownership of that property. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And now we're paying HOPE Services through a contract to bring it up to code so they can run it as a transitional facility. Okay. Is this contract tied to an agreement with HOPE Services to run the shelter as well? MR. SHIROMA: No. That's totally separate. You mean the homeless shelter. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: This transitional housing facility, are we paying HOPE Services to run the transitional housing facility as well through a different fund or different contract? MR. SHIROMA: Yeah. I'm not 100 percent sure because they're not getting any additional funds for services through the CDBG program. However there may be a contract. I'm not too sure. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you, Royce. Appreciate it. MR. SHIROMA: You're welcome. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Any further discussion? Hearing and seeing none, motion is on the floor to close file on Communication 24.39. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 24.39: The motion to close file on Comm. 24.39 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Comm. 24.40: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 1-15, 2026 From Finance Director Diane Nakagawa, dated August 12, 2026, transmitting the above report pursuant to Section 2-12.3 of the Hawaii County Code. Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to close file on Comm. 24.40. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Council Member Hustace. Page 9 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. HUSTACE: Thanks, Chair. A question for Public Works, please. This is in regard to professional consulting services for public safety building improvements. Just curious on the initial scope for this project because we've seen it, you know, initial contract award was $280,000, $282,000, and over time we've added $2 million to it. So I'm just kind of curious on the original scope for that project. (Note: At this time, Public Works Business Manager Kelsey Kalua-Lewis came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Good morning. Kelsey Kalua-Lewis, Business Manager with the Department of Public Works. So initially this contract started as professional consulting services for the public safety building. I think it was somewhere in change order number three, we had done a change order which included the Kaiko`o Building, moving out the section of finance that was in the public safety building to Kaiko`o Building. So that I believe accounted for maybe $1 million back in change order number three, adding those scope of services on. MR. HUSTACE: And so the goal here is to stay with the same. Is there an end date for this contract? Because it initiated in 2022. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Yeah. I'm not sure of the end date. I would have to check with the engineers on that. But this is a priority project. I know they want to get construction going sooner rather than later. MR. HUSTACE: They were initially brought in just to do consulting services but now we've been layering in improvements and other conditions as this project has been built out over time then. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Yes. Because it was a renovation to the public safety building. This particular change order was for the —basically we have to replace the air handling unit, the chiller, and the cooling tower. So right now they're being rented. So as we're moving along in the process there are things that we're finding that need to be improved or replaced as well. MR. HUSTACE: Do you see any other significant changes with this contract in terms of other conditions or projects that we need to take on with this one too at the moment? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Not at the moment. I know a priority was for painting of the public safety building, which we are doing separately. The gap in original contract amount was just adding on that additional Kaiko`o facility. So other than that I don't foresee anything, but it is unknown. MR. HUSTACE: Okay. Okay. Thanks, Ms. Kalua-Lewis. Appreciate it. Page 10 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MS. KALUA-LEWIS: You're welcome. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEWFELDER: Thank you. Okay. Sorry, I was looking it over. I guess my only comment is these things are really hard to read and when you blow it up, it gets really blurry. It's not your fault. So to Finance and Council Services, if we can get —and even though I blow this thing up to like 500 percent, it's still blurry. I thought it was just me; I need glasses, right? But honestly this thing is really hard to read. Yeah, okay. So motion is on the floor to close file on Communication 24.40. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 24.40: The motion to close file on Comm. 24.40 was carried by Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Comm. 27.7: REPORT OF DONATIONS RECEIVED FROM THE DANIEL R. SAYRE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION AS OF APRIL 2026 From Finance Director Diane Nakagawa, dated July 27, 2026, transmitting the above report pursuant to Resolution 468-20. Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to close file on Comm. 27.7. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEWFELDER: We have our Fire Department here joining us. Please go ahead and tell us a little bit about the Sayre Foundation. (Note: At this time, Temporary Fire Chief Daniel Volpe and Ocean Safety Chief Brad Young came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. VOLPE: Good morning. Daniel Volpe, Temporary Fire Chief, Hawaii Fire Department. Sayre Foundation as you know is a nonprofit. They've been supporting the Fire Department for about 30 years or so with millions of dollars of donations, and not just towards fire, also everything that kind of falls under the fire umbrella. So that's our EMS (Emergency Medical Services) section, that's our Ocean Safety section. So today's donation represents some rescue water craft certificates as we expand our program and all of that. I'll let Ocean Safety Chief Brad Young go over these details. Page 11 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. YOUNG: Yeah. So this is the first time we're certifying our rescue craft operators in house in the department. So in order to meet the national requirements from the United States Life Saving Association we needed a certain certification from the university and the United States Coast Guard. So that's what the funding is for. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you. MR. VOLPE: That's our rescue watercraft for everybody, that's our jet ski program, right, operates out of Ocean Safety. Jet skis is two people, there's a grabber and there's an operator. We've just completed nine new graduates in our training program, so expanding and really shoring up the foundation of our program with the goal of seven days a week coverage; each of our beaches covered by jet skis. And then as we start building towards expansion, this training will support that. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much. Council Members? Seeing and hearing none. Mahalo to the Sayre's; mahalo to you folks; and then I don't know if the Sayre's passed it on passed it on or they probably missed it, but I think two of these thrill crafts are designated for the Council. It might've slipped their minds. MR. VOLPE: You'll have to work that out with the Sayre's. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Thank you, Acting Chief. Okay. So hearing no other discussion, motion is on the floor to close file on Communication 27.7. All in favor? Vote on Comm. 27.7: The motion to close file on Comm. 27.7 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Page 12 FC-43 September 1, 2026 Res. 645-26: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A MULTI -YEAR AGREEMENT WITH JUST APPRAISED INC. TO RENEW A SOFTWARE LICENSE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, REAL PROPERTY TAX DIVISION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a three-year agreement with an approximate annual cost of $61,110, to be used by the department to update ownership information that is used for issuance of assessments, tax billing, and other required correspondences. Reference: Comm.1019 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend adoption of Res. 645-26. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? We do have the Tax Division here if there are any questions. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I just want to provide an opportunity for them to talk about it. I rarely see in a resolution streamline workflow. So we would love to just know how this is going to help streamline your operations? Deputy Administrator Keita Jo is approaching. Thank you for being here. (Note: At this time, Real Property Tax Assistant Administrator Keita Jo came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. JO: Assistant Administrator Keita Jo. Thank you. This is a very transformative software for us. It bridges our challenges with staffing, the number of conveyances that come through. We're processing over 13,000 conveyances on an annual basis. So this software actually leverages AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology to help us process those transactions and still maintain control by our staff to be the final say when it comes to processing; who owns a property, who do we need to send a bill to, all that fun stuff. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Fantastic. And so the annual rate here is about $61,000; is that a cost that's going to be a fixed rate for the next three to five years or is it kind of on a year to year basis? MR. JO: I believe it is a fixed rate subject to an annual increase based on CPI (Consumer Price Index). MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. I'm so glad I asked and I'm so happy that you folks found the software that is going to be helpful to your very hard working staff. Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Onishi. Page 13 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. ONISHI: Thank you, Chair. So you mentioned this part of the software is going to be AD MR. JO: It uses AI technology to actually read the conveyance documents that come to our office and what it does is it allows our staff to focus on vetting the actual deeds as they come through as opposed to data entry. So they review the documents that come through and our process by this AI technology. MR. ONISHI: Okay. You know why, and this might make people laugh but this morning I was watching Korean news, which they have 30 minutes that they talk in English, right. So there's this company that does cosmetics and they use Al to help produce their cosmetics. The scammers use their AI to copy that. Okay and then now the manufacturer is using Al again to counter the AI off the other guys. I mean, it's crazy. So I hope you guys have things in place to kind of protect that service. MR. JO: Yeah. So we always will take the opportunity to use AI technology to improve our process, speed things up. So as an example, if you look a year back, it was taking us, we were about five months behind on our conveyance documents, meaning someone would sell a property and we wouldn't process it till five months later. That's a huge gap. And it was largely due by some shortages in labor and what not. And so we've been able to bridge that with this. And now we're probably behind about four weeks, which is where we need to be. The thing I like about this particular software is our staff are going to have that human component. They're always going to be the person to review it. It just streamlines it and makes it a lot quicker. So they're going to be the ones that presses the button that says, okay, this is a legitimate conveyance that we're going to go ahead and process. MR. ONISHI: There will be protection from hackers to come into your guys' system. MR. JO: Yes. This is actually managed through our existing software, which has protections in place. MR. ONISHI: Okay. Because it seems like this company, the manufacturer, must've had something but they still countered, they still hacked them. MR. JO: Yeah. So our real property tax records, we have a company, Tyler Technologies, which has a pretty robust program in place to keep our data safe. And we're pretty strict and protective over it, which is another reason why when you look at Real Property Tax, we rarely share the information that we have because we do have a lot of sensitive information. MR. ONISHI: Okay. Good, good. Page 14 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. JO: And that just speaks to our philosophy in Real Property Tax as well as the vendors that we choose to manage this information. MR. ONISHI: Okay. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. One question for you, Mr. Jo. Can we switch people to, you know like when you have your motor statement shows up and you just go paperless, or you go online and you can get a paperless option. Is that an option for people with this software given that this is the issue and some assessments, tax billing, and other correspondences? MR. JO: So this software is actually taking whatever people file electronically with the Bureau of Conveyances. It takes those actual documents; it used optical readers to then transcribe that information into our system. So it's already in an electronic format. So it's not like we're pushing paper so to speak. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I think about the cost of Real Property Tax Division in sending out all the correspondence to all the tax TMK (Tax Map Key) holders, right, and that's a big cost every year. So I'm trying to think of how we can step into the — MR. JO: I got your question now. Taxpayers have an opportunity to sign up for what's called E3 notices, and that's through our vendor, EMSS, Inc., for billing. So they can get their billing electronically if they select that option. So any time a bill is issued, taxpayers are provided with an option to select electronic delivery of their bills. When it comes to assessment notices, by code we have to mail out all of our assessment notices. So it would require a code change to send that out electronically. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Kind of overstepping a little bit, but not, would the department be wanting to move in that direction and does this software help? MR. JO: Electronic delivery would definitely help. So we definitely encourage taxpayers to select that electronic option when it comes to billing. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEWFELDER: Okay. Thank you. Okay. Further discussion? Thank you, Mr. Jo. Motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 645-26 with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Page 15 FC-43 Vote on Res. 645-26: (Approved) IMwIl wol Vote on Res. 646-26: (Approved) September 1, 2026 The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 645-26 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAI`I, DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, TO RECEIVE A GRANT FOR TRIAL ADVOCACY TRAINING Allows for the receipt of $86,932 in federally -derived funds to support trial advocacy training efforts to deputy prosecuting attorneys. Reference: Comm.1020 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Companion: Bill 182 Mr. Hustace moved to recommend adoption of Res. 646-26. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Res. 651-26: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAPI, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, TO RECEIVE A GRANT FOR THE HAWAPI FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY PARAMEDICINE PROGRAM Allows for the receipt of $2,355,000 in federally -derived funds to be used to fund personnel, telehealth equipment and software, and provide training, travel, and program implementation materials. Reference: Comm.1030 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Companion: Bill 188 Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend adoption of Res. 651-26. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. Page 16 FC-43 September 1, 2026 CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEEWELDER: If you could, Chief, this is kind of a cool one, so break it down for us and we'll go to questions from the Council. (Note: At this time, Temporary Fire Chief Daniel Volpe came forward to address the members of the Committee) MR. VOLPE: Good morning again. Temporary Fire Chief Daniel Volpe, Hawaii Fire Department. So this is a big deal. About 2016, 2017, we started a pilot program, the Community Paramedicine Program. What this has identified is that not everybody who calls 911 needs an emergency room. Sometimes there are a lot of other needs that we can address through alternate means. So that Community Paramedicine Program was a way of getting out in the community, connecting with healthcare providers of all kinds. That was over 10 years ago now. It's been successful, it's being continued, and what this grant represents is sort of the next natural evolution of that type of program as a way to connect our community members, our family, our friends in our communities with more specified, a little more wholistic care, a little more specific to their actual needs, again as an extension of that program. Chief Kilipaki Kanae, Chief for our EMS program, can you go over some of the broad strokes. (Note: At this time, EMS Battalion Chief Kilipaki Kanae came forward to address the members of the Committee) MR. KANAE: Hi, Chair, Council Members. Kili Kanae, EMS Battalion Chief for Hawaii Fire Department. Thank you for allowing us to speak on this. This is huge. This is all funding coming from the RHTP, or the Rural Health Transformation Program funding. It's a lot of money and we're not taking this lightly. But just like the title of what this funding is; it is transformative. This is going to take telehealth too and meeting people where they're at. It's something that's done across the rest of the U.S. We've been doing community paramedicine knowing that we're strained in our 911 service and our 911 window, or capacity. We're going to try to expand on that by bringing in what we call mobile integrated healthcare, bringing in some other specialist that can really dive into some of the more complex causes for some of these individuals that are medically fragile, the unsheltered population, behavior health, which we know we don't have enough resources as it is. And so we're trying to bring that care to them. We see this model work all across the nation and we're not trying to reinvent the wheel; we're just trying to bring it here. With the mobile integrated health, like I was saying, is that we're actually kind of moving away from really needing community paramedicine or paramedics to provide that care because they're great in the 911 field, prehospital medicine. But what we really need is that interaction with other specialists, social workers, case management, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), everybody else that can really impact on some of these more high 911 use individuals. And so what the objective of all of this is, like Chief Volpe was saying was that not every 911 call Page 17 FC-43 September 1, 2026 needs an ambulance, it doesn't need to go to the ED (Emergency Department) but try to meet them where they're at and get them the care that they need. I'm here to answer any questions if you guys have any. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Members? Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. This is very, very exciting. Thank you, Chief Volpe and Chief Kanae for your incredible leadership and advocacy in securing this funding. This six point plan looks fantastic. I know there's going to be a lot of work involved to kind of build up the structure to integrate all the pieces and partners. So my questions are going to be based on the six points of the program. The first is what does a telehealth kit look like? Because you talk about deploying that into the community but the important part for me is how that information is going to be integrated into your reporting and tracking dashboard? What is a telehealth kit? MR. KANAE: Good question. They already have these kits and they're already available through the Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center, PBTRC. That's at the state level where they can —and we've used it a few times for some of our individuals that we've visited through the paramedicine program. It's like a Lenovo pad/tablet and a mobile hotspot. And so individuals we know like when you talk about social determines of health; connection, communication are really there with housing, transportation. And so some of these individuals can't get transportation, they already don't have communication, so getting them out to them, all they need to do is sign up for a library card and they can actually rent these kits out. And so where they might not have the services that all of us have in our own homes, they can get these kits out already. That's something that's already in place. But a lot of that with connectivity would be in the type two ambulances that we bring, the full telehealth suite to include working hopefully to a subgrant to a licensed provider and having telehealth visits right there in the back. And so not only do we have kits that can be deployed out for individuals that need to be connected in the community but also we're talking that we're doing almost like PCP (Primary Care Physician) or specialty visits right there and we're mobile with it. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: That's great. And I love the fact that here you talk about dispatch driven cases because my partner at home tells me about 911 calls that don't rise to the level of sending an ambulance. But in this situation you're able to triage and find the right partner to help meet them where they're at essentially. What does that partnership network look like? I'm assuming you already have agreements in place. MR. KANAE: Yeah. We've been working informally and this is the whole community paramedicine program we had. It's been informal because there hasn't been a funding source. The problem and the good part about that is it Page 18 FC-43 September 1, 2026 allows us to be very autonomous. We can get solutions and we're just solution driven. The bad part about that is if you're not funded and it's not a standalone service; it will take the back burner to any other priorities. So we haven't been able to fully commit, but having this funding allows us to really identify and have a separate lane to go in. And so instead of looking at community paramedicine falling under the 911 house, it is almost like two separate lanes that interact with each other and run parallel, and they can dive in and converge as needed. If there's a case that gets diverted through dispatch, we already have a priority dispatching system Chief (Stacy) Domingo is making strides to best appropriate the care that we can give and then just integrating this service in being able to divert some of those calls away. We can keep adding ambulances to our system, it doesn't solve any problems and we know that. And quite frankly, we don't have the staffing to really fully support the ambulances we have. We're working on it, but it's a tough challenge that we've had over the last how many decades now. By having this and being able to take some of the strain off of the 911 system, ultimately it will affect everybody in the healthcare ecosystem. They'll get to the right people; we'll take them somewhere else; they don't need an ED. We all know that Hilo Benioff constantly ranks as top three busiest EDs in the state and if we can take some of the strain off of them we can really have a bed for the patients that we're using our 911 ambulances for. So kind of benefiting the whole ecosystem of healthcare for Hawaii Island. MR. VOLPE: I'll just jump in for a second. Regarding the staffing for the ambulance situation, we have the positions we need, we struggle like every other department in the nation about filling them with licensed paramedics, so we suffer. So while we have the positions, we do operate at about a 15 percent vacancy rate currently in our MICT (Mobile Intensive Care Technician) program. Those are the paramedics in the program. And Chief Kanae has made huge strides to fill that. We just had four recent graduates; we have seven people in class now. So our goal is to continue to fill those positions on the 911, to actually fill those existing funded positions. We've got to fill them, and we've got to get firefighters and licensed paramedics. We're making huge strides to do that. Again, one of the benefits of this program is that we're on track for 32,000 call this year. The busy medics are the busy medics; they aren't getting any slower any time soon. So if we can take one, two, three off the plate in a 24-hour shift, we improve the working conditions, we decrease the burnout, we decrease the utilization. So not only does this program really reach out to our community, but it's going to have a tangible benefit to our current workforce and any expansion that we plan. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, I can see that. And to your point, Chief Kanae, it's not about having more medics deployed, it's about evolving our whole healthcare ecosystem to meet the changing needs of community. I just have a couple more Page 19 FC-43 September 1, 2026 questions. The hiring of the license clinical social worker is that something that the department will do or is that an external partner, and what exactly is their role? That seems like a lot of kuleana for one person to take care of all of Hawaii Island. MR. KANAE: Sure. So what we're really hoping for, and this is I guess kind of the problem with the federal grant funding, especially this RHTP grant funding. They're calling it the hunger games and the reason why they do it is you have to justify your need year after year. Now we've gotten support informally verbally from the state. Everybody's been talking about community paramedicine and mobile integrated health and they're here to support everything we're doing but having that setup initially what we're trying to do is get that infrastructure first. It might seem like it's the cart before the horse, but while we still have the funding source we get it in place. So initially with the healthcare providers we want to subgrant out. We want to look at agencies that already have these positions. Again, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We've already been in talks with CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Dan Brinkman at HBMC (Hilo Benioff Medical Center). He's offered his support and wants to discuss more looking at LCSWs, case management social workers or nurses. We're trying to expand our reach into the community to take care of these that are using the 911 resource but we're trying to get them with the right providers. And so sub granting out will allow us just to pay through the federal funding initially and then ultimately for workforce development and sustainability we want to integrate them within the County. That is our long term goal but that's not a goal that's realistic in the next year or two. There's going to be a lot of position creation for that to happen. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I love how forward thinking you are. And some of us, our time on the Council is going to be coming to a close in the next few months but I know that there's a source of funding that we've been keeping our eye on and that's the homeless and housing fund. And there's kind of some philosophical debate around how we move forward in taking care of the needs of our most vulnerable populations. This is something I could get behind that fund supporting because you're creating this important response infrastructure that's very coordinated that I think might be missing right now. So I just want to urge conversation with Office of Housing to see how after this grant money runs out in five years, how we continue the wonderful work that's being built here. The last thing that I just wanted to note was, and you both mentioned it earlier, we just don't have enough places to send people to. The appropriate response is not a 911 bed, right, it's not the hospital. It's these behavioral health centers detox centers. Who's kind of tracking the data for what we actually need? Because we need to be in a position to present that information to the powers, whether that is federal or state, so that they can unlock funding to build, right, build the physical buildings that are needed here to take care of our residents that need help. Page 20 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. KANAE: Yeah, good questions. I think with the data and the metrics that are needed, I believe that partnering with someone like Hilo Benioff is great. If it affects us, it affects them. But even if we don't go into a subgrant with them, we can still be able to pull all these metrics, all this data. But that's part of this and why there's so much cost to this is that we need to be able to track the metrics in order to ensure that we are advocating for the right resources. And so we're going to be tracking all of that. We know there's only so many places to go right now, but in the future, absolutely what you just talked about detox centers, acute crisis, behavioral health centers. Those are huge standalone that have specialists that can treat those individuals, so they don't get caught in that 911 revolving door. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, and then in addition to building the physical spaces, making sure that we're working with UHH (University of Hawaii at Hilo) and HCC (Hawai`i Community College) to build up the workforce pipeline to be in a position to staff once built. This is so complicated. There're so many moving pieces I just applaud you folks for all of the great work that you're doing here. Hundred percent in support of the resolution. Thank you. MR. KANAE: Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any other questions? Thank you. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Yeah, just a couple comments. You know the relationships that your team creates with the people from the numerous calls are priceless and sometimes I think we could actually underestimate some of your capabilities to diagnose what the true issue is. Is it the cut on the leg or is it the fact that the person lives on the street and has some mental health issues, right? So you can treat that cut on their leg and get them to the urgent medical physical things, but I'm really excited to see a resource, a technology, being brought into our County to be utilized by our first responders and those with that relationship with people. My own mom having unfortunately some health issues over the years, I so appreciate those that come in the ambulance, whether it be an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) or what not, they remember her. They remember the circumstance and the situation, and hers have been physical, but I just see a huge opportunity for this collaborative work between organizations and departments and divisions and everybody. I really appreciate the comments by Council Member Kierkiewicz talking about our homeless and housing funds. And as we look forward to seeing the results of the audit and how things have been spent, I see the potential opportunity to work with organizations. I'd love to see money going to help facilitate the collaboration and placement of people with services for mental health or substance abuse or all the things that our first responders see day in and day out and understand that, sure, I can take you to the emergency room, but then what, right? So really grateful for your hard work in securing this sizable amount of Page 21 FC-43 September 1, 2026 resources and I appreciate your honesty when saying this isn't going to fix everything. No amount of money can fix these issues quite honestly, but through collective, collaborative work for the greater good that really supports those relationships and the insights and intuitions, and the knowledge people have that are on the street than interacting day to day. So thank you. MR. KANAE: Thank you. MR. VOLPE: I'm going to just jump in and say thank you very much for those comments and just recognizing that what our personnel do in the field, our EMTs, our paramedics, our firefighters, just like you said, they make an action. We treat, we spent much of our time away from home taking care of complete strangers and we pride ourselves on that ability to connect. We reflect our community, we work in the areas we live; we live where we work, we take care of our friends and family and recognizing that connection is super important. And those referrals, those extra relationships, when you can walk in the room and you know what happened two months ago because you were there, you can see the pieces, that's where the community paramedicine gets that referrals; our guys in the field see that situation, understand that they need more. We'll pass them to the program, the program then addresses it, and this an evolution of that. So I do thank you for recognizing the hard work and caring of our people. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Yeah, thank you guys for securing this funding and thinking about this. It's a very complex issue as you very well know. I'm wondering, we've talked in the past about one of the things being maybe needed is some kind of assessment center; somewhere you take people that's not the emergency room. If they're having severe issues you can't just leave them once you respond to a call because they are very, you know, in a severe state or something, but they also may be not right for the emergency room. Is this going to provide that type of support or are we still missing that piece even with this funding. MR. VOLPE: I will say that this program won't necessarily build facilities or centers, but what this will do though is exactly what you're talking about, is provide an alternative to an ambulance response. They can then triage and then get them to the existing centers where they exist. As we start doing this and as we start exercising some of those numbers and seeing some data and likely start shining some of the light on the gaps in the facilities side. We encourage other stakeholders and partners to see where can step in to build those facilities and infrastructure. There are a number of patients affected by this program. The number is in the thousands if not a bit more. Any hospital, any detox center, any precrisis facility, we'll run out of space eventually. And so while I think the belief is the facilities are outside of the scope of this, it's designed to do exactly what you're mentioning by gearing them towards to right spot. Page 22 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah. And I think you're absolutely right. We need to do a better job of collaborating and asking some of our state departments, especially - the Department of Health, to step up and when we see this -need happening really be focused as a whole County, whether it's your departments, or the Mayor's Office, or us, you know, we need to be saying, look, we don't have a Department of Health in the County and we need the State Department of Health to collaborate with us and provide equitable resources here on this island that they provide say on Oahu and the Honolulu area. So I think this will help to maybe focus on some of those areas where we can be working as a whole County to really collaborate with and ask for help from some of those state level organizations. So I appreciate it so much. Thank you both for your work. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, a couple questions. So the $2.35 million federal funds, looking at the wording that is cute cause it says, grant runs from October 2026 to September 2027 is anticipated to continue and you touched on this briefly with Council Member Kierkiewicz, but that little cute section, subject to federal approval. So this is one year $2.3million, or this is $2.35 million over five years, or we hope to get $2.35 next year? MR. KANAE: This is $2.355 for the first year, correct. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: First year. And then if federally approved we can go in for — MR. KANAE: The number will drop pretty drastically because the first year is equipment. And so part of that is the equipment infrastructure. Just the two or the three vehicles alone, I'm looking at this and that's $850,000 right off the bat, and that's what we budgeted for on the high side. But we budgeted for just to make sure that we could get the vehicles. Some of this other equipment that's on here is just for the stuff that we have to put inside. All the telehealth, the telecommunications, we're trying to think big here. We want to look at like i-STATs, portable blood gas to get labs right there in the field; portable ultrasound. This goes well beyond what the typical scope is of our paramedics, but that's the whole point of the mobile integrated health, it's just having the right providers on there that can use that equipment, but we've got to buy it first. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I like that. So real programmatic at first as far as what you're going to bring to the table, less staffing and then you're hoping to fill in staffing with existing funds or future funds if appropriated. MR. KANAE: Yeah. I mean we want to fill staffing as soon as we possibly can and just get the program running just so that we can show what the value is to the community. But that number, the $2.355 million, is definitely going to drop off when we don't have the equipment we have to buy in year two, three, four, five. The overall span is a five year plan, and after year five it's fully integrated into Page 23 FC-43 September 1, 2026 our dispatching system with a full staff running a 40-hour work week in both East and West Hawaii. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. One thing I saw kind of stepping from that idea, one thing I saw during Hurricane Lala, was a lot of areas of our island in general that are mobile hotspots. A lot of areas went down; don't have connections to a cellphone towers. Cellphone towers went down and then we're back to how do we connect. The one piece that seemed to stand out to everybody was the little Starlink minis or if the vehicles have it, the Starlink actual adapter. And I'm not sure if you guys are thinking like that but I just want to throw that out there because that seemed to be very useful in our rural areas especially when you're talking telehealth connectivity and being rural for folks who can't get to us and we're going to them. MR. KANAE: Yeah, the Starlinks are valuable. They were the main r communication link for majority of the community for a good part of the first week. These are going to be fully integrated with all of that. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Good. And then the second request I have come from more the trafficking side that I keep my finger on post for. They were requesting, and this falls in line with what you're discussing here as far as these six points, they're requesting a hotline for trafficked individuals. I can see it fitting in this, I mean long story short, I can make it fit, but I think it's important for you folks to look at that if you're interested. That would be the trafficked individuals have a dedicated hotline to call. It doesn't cost a lot. If you have a hotline already, or we only use dispatch, giving them a place to call for trafficking incidents may be a huge step in helping address some of the substance behind why this money is important. MR. KANAE: Yeah, we're not opposed to anything. This is a community asset. I would just be weary that this might have to live with PD (Police Department) considering the circumstances around that. There might be a safety hazard. Just so we're clear, you're talking about human trafficking, correct? CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: More sex trafficking. MR. KANAE: Sex trafficking. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Which is similar but it's different, and it's exploitation and it falls into some of these categories. It is a gray area. MR. KANAE: Yeah. We're here for everybody, but I would say that for the safety of our individuals, we have to make sure that we're in lockstep with PD to have the right safety resources for our personnel too. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I agree. So think about it. Page 24 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. KANAE: Yeah. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And then I'll touch bases with you after with some of the people who helped the idea come forward. MR. KANAE: Sounds good. Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, just really quickly because you brough up Starlink. I think that was something that we all recognized that the disaster was much more complicated because we couldn't reach one another in an instantaneous was that we're used to. I know that Senator Brian Schatz's Office coordinated a big donation of Starlinks to community, many of which went to fire departments and fire stations around the island. So Chief, I know that the offer is still there to access more Starlinks. So as we think about deploying this program, if there is a need for that connectivity piece, I know that Senator Schatz's Office is willing to make that kokua. MR. VOLPE: Yeah, thank you. We absolutely recognize when the communications go down. We lost 911, cell towers, we lost everything in those early hours and the hours following. We've been trialing the Starlink already on some of our Pahoa remote ambulances where they go in and out of cell service as a way to just maintain connectivity. I want to say at the height of activity we had Starlinks in Ocean View, Pahala, Nd'Wehu. We had a few other stations that were on generator power because they lost power. We had at least seven or eight out there kind of showing up some from resource hubs, some from Vibrant, some from CD (Civil Defense), as they came through. And right now the message that I've been telling them is hang onto them; may have to give them back at some point but you are right, they're not ours so they don't belong to the County necessarily, but we'll absolutely, as we work through preparation. I just left EOC (Emergency Operations Center) this morning, there's three more coming. And so these are the lessons that we're learned, and we have to continue to apply. So as you will know we are happy to receive donations of support from all types of organizations. MR. KANAE: And I'll just add to that. We were so close at working with the state to fully integrate Starlink in and have them permanently mounted on every ambulance. It's currently on Medic 10, or the Pahoa ambulance, and we've had people working behind the scenes to integrate this into our radio communications system so even with the radio towers going down or there's no service in certain areas, that it can actually use what they call ROI, or radio over internet, and actually use the Starlink to transmit a radio signal or communication back to our dispatch, back to our other units. So the timing was unfortunate. Obviously it was devastating with Hurricane Lala. We're months away from putting them each ambulance. Page 25 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Do you have enough Starlinks for the ambulances? MR. KANAE: So Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies went through Vibrant Hawaii. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sunny (Wakana) and Kalae, yeah. MR. KANAE: So Sunny was great. She was able to get them out there. We have the two months of enterprise use on them. We're going to hold onto it because it's hurricane season. Once we integrate and have them fully installed then we can either give them back to Vibrant Hawaii or figure out what our next steps are. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I think there's huge justification to make them part of the permanent infrastructure for your department. We've got two hurricanes headed our way. So we have to make sure that we're prepared for the next storm and just the sheer geography of our entire County I think•really does justify being able to keep the resources permanently. Yeah. Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Onishi. MR. ONISHI: Thank you, Chair. What is the cost? MR. KANAE: Sir, cost of? MR. ONISHI: The Starlink. MR. KANAE: Well it goes on data usage. And so it's not so much the cost of the unit. It's like a cellphone. They don't catch you on the cellphone, but they'll catch you on the monthly use and the subscription. So I don't know what exactly it's at now, but it all depends on your data usage. It can get pretty pricey. How we're going to be integrating with our ambulances is that it's on a switch over. So we'll have LTE (Long -Term Evolution) or the cell coverage. Once we lose that then it'll switch over to Starlink that way we'll kind of keep the cost down, but we are still fully connected and fully integrated regardless of where we're at. MR. ONISHI: Okay. No because I'm just thinking maybe we could use some of our contingency funds to help, right, providing that and then maybe at the next budget, working with the administration so we can get that more permanent. MR. KANAE: I can tell you this right now though, the cost is great because we have some awesome not for profits, community partners, and part of that service is the next two months is free. So we have a little bit of time to think about where that funding source is going to come from. But there is a cost. MR. ONISHI: Yeah. Well find out some information about the cost. Page 26 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. KANAE: Okay. Thank you. MR. ONISHI: Thank you. I yield. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: If I've learned anything during COVID (Coronavirus Disease), when the hand is out, take whatever you can get and you can figure it out later. I had one more question, but I can't remember what it was, so I think we'll let it go. Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much for the information. Great, great program; great funding amount. So mahalo to you guys for going after this and getting it done and see what you guys do. Thank you. Okay, motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 651-26 to the Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Vote on Res. 651-26: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 651-26 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON RES. 658-26 (Comm. 1040): Res. 658-26: The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public. The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Dorothy Staszkowicz: Tegan Staszkowicz: In support. In support. TRANSFERS/APPROPRIATES AND APPROPRIATION OUT AND FROM A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT AND CREDITS SAME TO A DESIGNATED FUND ACCOUNT IN THE GEOTHERMAL RELOCATION AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS FUND TO ENHANCE THE PAHOA AOUATIC CENTER AT THE WILLIAM `BILLY" KENOI DISTRICT PARK Transfers $113,000 from the Planning Department Geothermal Other Current Expenses account to the Department of Parks and Recreation Geothermal Miscellaneous Equipment account. Reference: Comm.1040 Intr. by: Council Member Kierkiewicz Page 27 FC-43 September 1, 2026 Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of Res. 658-26. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. We are here because of the strong and consistent advocacy of coach and community leader Dorothy Stazskowicz. I really appreciated our partnership over the last eight years. You have always been on the ground letting us know the condition of the facilities and what's needed there and just advocating for the people that use this incredible resource every day. Just because it's Pahoa doesn't mean we cannot have nice things. And so I love that we can invest in that facility and give our local kids of that town and in the greater Puna area a high quality facility that they can be proud to swim in, proud to train in, and the fact that we've hosted state and even national meets, I think just goes to show the importance of making sure that facility has everything it needs to be functional for regular every day use but also to meet the demands of that athletic level of competition. Tegan, it's amazing to hear your testimony as somebody that's utilized that facility your whole life and the impact that swimming and sports in general have had on you. This is a no brainer. To my colleagues, I think this is community - County collaboration at its finest. You tell us what you need then we as the County do our thing to find the appropriate resources. I especially want to mahalo folks at Parks and Recreation, particularly James Komata and Alejandro Flores-Morikami, their diligent effort to making sure that the requests that are submitted as part of this resolution are things that we can quickly achieve. So thank you, Dorothy, Tegan, for being here. Looking for everyone's support. Mahalo. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Thank you for supporting the Pahoa pool. I have one distinct memory of that. It's a beautiful space and I actually won BI1F's (Big Island Interscholastic Federation) there when I was in High School, over 20 years ago now, so it's an amazing facility so thank you for supporting the community spaces like that. So mahalo. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Love that you made this ask and worked to find some funding where available because that's always the battle, where do we get the money from and where can we put it. So mahalo, Council Member Kierkiewicz, for making this happen and for getting you what you need so you can better serve our community. Thank you. You've got to come up. If you want to say it, you have to say it on the mic. Thank you for coming in today so you can share with us: Page 28 FC-43 September 1, 2026 (Note: At this time, Constituent Dorothy Stazskowicz came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. STAZSKOWICZ: I just want to take a moment to thank you for allowing me as a member of the public to work together with the County. I think many hands make light work and that when we work together, great things get achieved. So I appreciate all of you. Thank you for allowing me to testify and thank you for your support very much. I thank you from the kids too. I just want to share one thing if it's okay. I was approached last week by three young women in their 20s and one of them said, "Excuse me, Ma'am." And I said, "My name is Coach." And she handed me a note. It literally blew me away. It was a note telling me just the good work that gets done down there that she's witnessed. I don't know her. She introduced herself, her name is Kawehi. It was a handwritten note. It was amazing. And it brought me to a quote, and I can't take credit for this but, "It's not what we're looking at, it's what we see." And so just doing my work and then thinking that somebody is actually watching me do my work, I appreciated that so much. Thank you so much for your time. Really, I appreciate it. I won't say anything else. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEE TELDER: Thank you very much. Okay. We have a motion on the floor to approve Resolution 658-26 and forward to the Council with a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Vote on Res. 658-26: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 658-26 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Inaba — 1. Excused: None. Res. 665-26: AUTHORIZES THE MASS TRANSIT AGENCY TO AWARD A GRANT TO PEOPLE FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION HAWAPI Provides $240,000 in grant funds to manage the HIBIKE bike share program. Reference: Comm.1053 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Page 29 FC-43 September 1, 2026 Vote on Res. 665-26: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend adoption of Res. 665-26. (Approved) Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Inaba and Kierkiewicz — 2. Excused: None. Res. 666-26: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, TO RECEIVE A GRANT OF WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT PROGRAM FUNDS Allows for the receipt of $1,300,000 in federally -derived funds to be used to provide services that enhance employment opportunities, job retention, earnings, skill development and literacy. Reference: Comm.1054 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Companion: Bill 190 Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend adoption of Res. 666-26. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: We have the department here. Do you want to speak on behalf of this? Okay. Any questions by the Council? Thank you for coming up, Deputy Director, Mr. Mercado. (Note: At this time, Research and Development Deputy Director Dennis Lin and Workforce Development Manager Clinton Mercado came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. LIN: Good afternoon, Council Members. Dennis Lin, Deputy Director for Department of Research and Development (R&D). I do have members of my team here who are on the workforce development as well as our partner Goodwill Industries, who can talk about how the funds are used for their programs. I can answer any questions that you guys may have. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Not seeing any questions. Council Member Kierkiewicz. Good to see you both. Thank you, Dennis, Clinton, for being here. You know how passionate I am about workforce and economic development. Tell us what's in store with this funding, the $1.3 million and plans Page 30 FC-43 September 1, 2026 to deploy it to meet the goals of the WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) plan. MR. LIN: Yeah. So maybe we'll start off with some federal context. I think Clinton can kind of talk about how the funds have been flowing through the state and what we're looking at in terms of the federal funding landscape. So Clinton, do you want to give us a brief? MR. MERCADO: Absolutely. Aloha, everyone. Clinton Mercado, Workforce Development, R&D. The funding is still flowing towards our way. We are getting roughly $1.3 million, so that's going to go towards the adult dislocated worker, youth and in and out of school program. We had a significant cut this year but we're still working our way and using what we have. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Clinton, what was that cut? MR. MERCADO: Roughly $260,000. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thank you. MR. MERCADO: And so we're going to continue to work on supporting our community with internship opportunity, with funding for apprenticeship, and working to HCC (Hawai`i Community College) closely on our eligible training provider list, and more so working with our communities and understanding the needs in our communities as well as the schools. So the funding is there and we're going to continue to move forward with it and if you folks have any questions I can answer them. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So the $1.3 million is to engage providers that run internship, apprenticeship programs for the populations you just described. MR. MERCADO: Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And then are there metrics on your website to show the impact? Because I know that we've had longstanding partners and Goodwill folks who are doing an incredible job. But I'm always curious to like dive into the data, so I would appreciate knowing where folks are coming from around the island to access these resources to inform whether or not we need to be in more communities. MR. MERCADO: Yeah. That's good. MR. LIN: Yeah. So we do have the information, we just haven't posted it on our website. That is something that we're working on. We just want to make sure that all of the information that we post right now we're trying to make it ADA accessible due to the mandate. So we are working on that. It's just a matter of Page 31 FC-43 September 1, 2026 making sure how the documents that we upload and all that are compliant. We definitely have that information. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And if folks want to know more about how*to access the programs they go to R&Ds website? MR. LIN: They have two options actually. You have the R&D website and then they have the AJC (American Job Center) website that they can access. I'm sorry, I don't remember the new name. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: It's the American Job Center that Change Makers are running at the old McDonalds. MR. MERCADO: Yes. That is correct. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: We should describe that for people not from here. MR. MERCADO: I know. The generation. We also have up and running our Hawaii County Workforce Development Board website where we store our policies and procedures and upcoming meetings. So we're finetuning that right now as well speak. So yeah, there's multiple placer that link back to our American Job Center where we house many of our professional services there, such as WDD (Workforce Development Division) for employment, senior programs, our WIOA team, you know, all the programs that I mentioned earlier. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. Thank you. I guess the final question that I have is the kuleana of the workforce development board. I know it's to help administer or determine how to administer the funding that comes through federal flows through state, but do they have a larger role in thinking about how to meet the workforce demand by current industry but also have eye to the future on what sort of jobs we need to be preparing our youth and residents for, like there's jobs of the future that we need to start building the pipeline for. So I'm wondering is that also their job to figure out the educational piece to meet demand today and in the future? MR. LIN: Yeah, so that is a topic that the board does discuss and more so now with Director (Benson) Medina being the representative on that board. We have had some struggles to get quorum on that board, so we're trying to get more members and updating our roster on that is a very important thing. So we do ask that if the Council does have recommendations on folks that would like to serve on that board, that would be really appreciated as well. And they do talk about different industries and specific, you know, like what is the role, like Council Member Onishi talked about AI and how does that play into the new world of workforce. Page 32 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Deputy, just correct me if I'm wrong but these seats are filled, direct appointment by the Mayor, no need for Council confirmation, correct? MR. LIN: Correct. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Could you email all of us and let us know if there's specific sort of skillsets, experiences, industries that are a puka on the board so we can lean into our networks and send over some recommendations. MR. LIN: Absolutely. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. Thank you for all of your hard work. I yield. MR. MERCADO: Thank you. MR. LIN: Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Onishi. MR. ONISHI: So I guess we've worked last year about working with HCC, Hawaii Community College, right, with this program for the wastewater. MR. LIN: Yes. MR. ONISHI: How is that program going? MR. MERCADO: It's going excellent. So working with HCC, the whole team, Carpe Diem, they have the entry level individual wastewater system entry level specialist, and we've also been working closely with Craig Kawaguchi and Daniel Girvin from DEM (Department of Environmental Management). So we just recently brought on board a new intern in their department and we're working on supporting that again with more internship. So yes, it's been working out good. HCC has been willing to create new training and certifications to meet the needs of our County and our community. MR. ONISHI: Okay. You know why, because I want to look at expanding the outreach like we just met with Fire, right, they need manpower. Police also needs. So somehow we can create that same kind of program for them. But then also, with our summer fun program, trying to get more I guess temporary employees to help with our all day summer fun because that's what they're having a problem with recently within the years, right? MR. MERCADO: Yeah. I can share too. Page 33 FC-43 September 1, 2026 MR. ONISHI: Yeah, so hopefully with some of this funding we can kind of work with the community college again. The only problem is now Chancellor (Susan) Kazama is gone, which was an awesome asset. So I guess now we've got to work the wheel with whoever is the new person there, yeah. But I'll be in contact with you guys. MR. MERCADO: Absolutely, absolutely. And we're doing great things with the County. So we're working with Sommer and her team from HR (Human Resources), we currently have 10 positions for internship. Me and her team have been going out, so we just met with Kea`au High School. We had nearly 60 high schoolers that are excited about stepping into the workforce industry and very akamai. These youth are smart. So already we've got about 20 of them signed up. Jennifer (Sakamoto) from the HR Department has been reaching out to all the departments to see who is excited about internship. And so the more people that we can get in our departments to get excited about internships because people they are the way as you all know of the future. We're all going to be replaced one day and it's them. And just meeting with them and this week Thursday we're going to go out to Pahoa High School as well and meet with probably 100 of them. And of those who are very interested in joining the County as well as just working in general. So yes, definitely we're making moves with the County and our team. MR. ONISHI: It's great that you folks mention that because prior when I got in, that's what I was trying to do working with HCC, right. And now, if you guys can take that lead it's going to be awesome. MR. MERCADO: Absolutely. MR. ONISHI: The other thing is that this past year, I worked with Keri Okumura, who's with the Food Basket on the nutrition side, we worked with Kea`au High School with the ag and the culinary to come up with healthy menus for our seniors in Kea`au Senior Center and from what I understand, I got a report, it was successful. There were like 30 participants and some of their health issues went down, which is great. Yeah. So I look forward to working with you more and we can share our ideas. But thank you very much for your hard work. MR. MERCADO: Thank you. MR. LIN: Thank you, Council Member Onishi. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, thank you very much. MR. LIN: And I just want to make this comment. I'm sorry about my phone. I have this emergency management app that pushes out critical alerts that can't shut off. Page 34 FC-43 September 1, 2026 CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I was going to make the note to everybody to put your phones on silent, but I didn't. Thank you, Mr. Lin. MR. LIN: Thank you. MR. MERCADO: Mahalo again. Look forward to working with you guys. Awesome. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you very much. I appreciate the update from the department. Getting back to the resolution that has the number that I shall not say. Motion is on the floor, all in favor? Vote on Res. 666-26: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 666-26 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. BELLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 182: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 26-44, THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAPI FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2027 Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants — Justice Assistant Grant account ($86,932) and appropriates the same to the Justice Assistance Grant Program account. Funds will be used to support trial advocacy training efforts to deputy prosecuting attorneys. Reference: Comm.1021 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Companion: Resolution 646-26 Vote on Bill 182: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend passage of Bill 182 on (Approved) first reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 35 FC-43 September 1, 2026 Bill 188: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO.26-44, THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30 2027 Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants — Rural Health Transformation Program account ($2,355,000) and appropriates the same to the Rural Health Transformation Program account. Funds will be used to fund personnel, telehealth equipment and software, and provide training, travel, and program implementation materials. Reference: Comm.1030 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Companion: Resolution 651-26 Vote on Bill 188: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend passage of Bill 188 on (Approved) first reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Bill 190: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO.26-44, THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2027 Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants — Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act account ($1,300,000) and appropriates the same to the following Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 2026-2027 accounts: Administrative/Planning ($150,000), Adult Program ($500,000), Dislocated Worker Program ($250,000), and Youth Program ($400,000). Funds would be used to provide services that enhance employment opportunities, job retention, earnings, skill development and literacy. Reference: Comm.1054 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Companion: Resolution 666-26 Page 36 FC-43 September 1, 2026 Vote on Bill 190: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend passage of Bill 190 on (Approved) first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. ADJOURN- There being no further business on our agenda today, Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder MENT: adjourned the meeting at 12:15 p.m. Thank you very much. Approved: Mr. Matt Finance ( MK/tk Ah'i-Kleinfelder, (Date) Page 37