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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PWPRC 2018/02/06 2016-2018Committee on Public Works and Parks and Recreation Committee 15th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii February 6, 2018 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Works and Parks and Recreation ORDER: was called to order at 9:05 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Chair Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member (came in later) Mr. Dru Mamo Kanuha, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Eileen O'Hara, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair. Natalie Epenesa: Chad Tolentino: Jon Olson: Mark Hinshaw: (representing Pahoa Main Street) Ilihia Gionson: Bill 99 (Comm. 718), in support. Bill 99 (Comm. 718), in support. Bill 100 (Comm. 719), in support. Bill 100 (Comm. 719), in support. Bill 97 (Comm. 704), in support. H. Katherine Lamat: Bill 100 (Comm. 719), in support. PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. (There were none.) ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order RESOLUTIONS: of Resolutions. (There were none.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Bills ORDINANCES: for Ordinances. Bill 96: AMENDS CHAPTER 24, ARTICLE 10, DIVISION 5 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO PARKING ON PAVEMENT PROHIBITED AT ALL TIMES Amends Section 24-279, Schedule 27 (Parking on pavement prohibited at all times), Subsection (c), South Hilo, by adding a portion of the North Hamakua side and all of the South Hilo side of Government Road (Onomea). Reference: Comm. 703 Intr. by: Ms. Ruggles (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Poindexter moved to recommend passage of Bill 96 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Eoff CHR. RUGGLES: This is a bill that I introduced by request. Is anyone from Parks and Recreation here—excuse me, Public Works? Well, if anyone has any questions, it also come before us again. Is there any discussion? Go ahead, Ms. O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: I'm just glad that you were able to get this done. We talked about it previously, and how important it is. So thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Okay, thank you. Anyone else? Seeing or hearing none, all those in favor of Bill 96, please say "aye." Page 2 PWPRC-15 Vote on Bill 96 (Approved) The motion to recommend passage of Bill 96 on first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Ruggles – 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. RUGGLES: Next, Bill 97. Mr. Clerk. February 6, 2018 Bill 97: NAMES A BUILDING LOCATED AT THE HO`OLULU COMPLEX, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 2-2-033:016, AND AMENDS CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE 8, SECTION 15-68.1 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED) RELATING TO THE PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITY SCHEDULE Names the building located adjacent to the Aunty Sally Kaleohano's Luau Hale at the Ho`olulu Complex the "Aunty Dottie Thompson Hale" in honor of the late Dorothy Thompson. Reference: Comm. 704 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of bill 97 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Richards. CHR. RUGGLES: Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Just for a bit of a background—and first of all, I really want to take the opportunity to thank Ili for providing a phenomenal backdrop of what that entire complex contains. He hit it out of the park. When we talk about honoring our community and community members who have done so much, it's just so full and rich. By way of backdrop, I initiated this conversation to name that facility back in 2016. As that conversation moved forward, we had a bit of a hiccup with the Merrie Monarch Festival and the use of the gym facilities, and I just felt that the timing wasn't right. I didn't want to move something forward that appeared maybe spiteful because our culture, we don't do that. We do things and we name things with meaning. So I put this down, and then 2018 rolled around. We saw our lahui rise up again with honoring the 125th overthrow of the monarchy, and then a big push at our Legislature to honor 2018 through 2019 as the year of the Hawaiian. So I picked Page 3 PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 this back up again and thought this is how it's supposed to be done. We're supposed to honor our kupuna at the right time in a meaningful way. So I'm going to be urging my Council Members to support this. I do want to call out specifically, I even took it a little step further. Although we're discussing it here in February, I put in language for this particular ordinance to take effect on May 16, which is Auntie Dottie's birthday. So although we approve it here and move it through its process, I just thought it was more meaningful for it to be done on her birthday. Again, if I could get my colleague's support on this. I yield at this time. Thank you. MS. RUGGLES: Is there anyone else wishing to speak? Go ahead, Ms. O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: Yes, I think this is a great action, and I thank Council Woman Lee Loy for following through and discussing about the appropriateness of timing and proper ways to honor people. So I totally support naming this complex in honor of the late Dorothy Thompson, and I won't say this is long overdue, because as you just pointed out, it's all about the right timing. So thank you for doing this, and doing it well. CHR. RUGGLES: Anyone else? Okay, seeing or hearingoh, go ahead, Ms. David, I didn't see your light. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair. I really want to personally thank you, Ms. Lee Loy, because things like this go on for generations, and it's meaning, it's significance lives on. I think that's what's so important about this culture of ours and how we can perpetuate that. So every little small step that we do in honor of our kupuna will live on for generations. So I mahalo you so much. Aloha. CHR. RUGGLES: Go ahead, Mr. Kanuha. MR. KANUHA: Thank you. I fully support your efforts, Ms. Lee Loy, to pursue this and name this building after Auntie Dottie. You know, and all the contributions she did, not only to hula and the Merrie Monarch Festival, but to this entire island. I always brought up when we name things, as you said earlier, it really means a lot in our culture. That's why you take time, you think it out, you talk to people, because there's a lot of mana in the names. So I know you thought about this a lot and really took it to heart in how to put this forward into the community. So it feels really good, and I know there's a lot of mana behind it, there's a lot of mana behind Auntie Dottie and her family, continuing her legacy. So fully support you. Fully support the community. Page 4 PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 Also, you talked about timing. In 2010 I think it was, Mayor Kenoiactually February 13 I think, in a week, it said that he proclaimed February 13, 2010 as "Auntie Dottie Thompson Day." So again, the timing kind of works out perfectly. I know it's not February 13, but it's pretty close. So fully support your efforts, and congratulations. CHR. RUGGLES: Ms. Eof£ MS. EOFF: Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to add what everybody else has been saying, I wanted to thank you for the background and the history, and putting all that into our reading material. And to Ili, for going in depth a little bit more. I think as Ms. David said, us and our fellow constituents and colleagues, it's really important that we learn as much as we can about the history of our island, and honor those people who contributed so much to their community. So I'm just going to add my support. Thank you. MS. RUGGLES: Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: I don't need to repeat everything everyone said, but thank you so much, Council Member Lee Loy, for bringing this forward. Because we all know that Auntie Dottie made such a significant impact for the County of Hawaii. What we had recently gone through and what you had explained, you know, this symbolizes the strength and the support of the people to say this is where Auntie Dottie wanted it to happen, this is where it should stay, and the history—you know, like Karen talked about the naming of that building and giving us some of that history and making sure our keiki get to learn that history. So thank you so much for bringing this forward. Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Mr. Chung. MR. CHUNG: Thank you. I really wasn't going to say anything, but since everybody was talking, I figured I'd better say something unless my silence be interpreted as being some kind of objection to this thing. You know, as part of this bill it references Auntie Sally Kaleohano's Luau Hale, and I think it's really appropriate. I just wanted to tell you guys a little story about how that was named. Many years ago, the County Council named it after a long time County employee, Auntie Sally Kaleohano. She had just retired, and just like maybe a few months after, she passed away. She was a most beloved individual. What we said at the time was that this wasn't about Auntie Sally, this was—the naming of that luau hale was representative of more things. All of the County workers who work tirelessly and who are just loved by so many individuals. You know, they're not famous people, they go about doing their business, and do it affectively. This is the same thing. Page 5 PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 You know, Auntie Dottie is a very famous individual, and she means so much to all of us. But at the same time, it's broader than that. So I really thank Ms. Lee Loy for bringing this forward. It's all of the people who have worked on the Merrie Monarch for many years, and you know, many of them are gone already. They worked tirelessly to make that festival what it is today. I really thank you, Ms. Lee Loy, for bringing it up, and you know, in such an appropriate manner and the timing and everything. It's just wonderful. Thank you. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Chair Ruggles relinquished the Chair to Vice Chair David. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Let the record show that I'm assuming the chair. Ms. Ruggles had to leave for a minute. So everybody's done? Mr. Richards, go ahead. MR. RICHARDS: So now I do have to speak, since Councilman Chung said he wasn't going to. And without question I will be very brief, but I obviously support this, and as a testament of the endurance of the festival. That comes down to leadership and the recognition of succession is so important for planning going forward. So without question—"appropriate" is not even the right word, it's beyond that. So again, thank you, Council Woman. I yield. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. I will yield the chair back to Chair Ruggles. Relinquish Chair: At this time, Acting Chair David relinquished the Chair to Chair Ruggles. CHR. RUGGLES: Thank you. Is there any more discussion? Were we talking still about Bill 97? MS. DAVID: Yes. CHR. RUGGLES: Okay great, thanks. All those in favor of Bill 97, please say Ic aye. Vote on Bill 97: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 97 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Ruggles – 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. RUGGLES: Bill 99, Mr. Clerk. Page 6 PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 Bill 99: AMENDS THE PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITY SCHEDULE, CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE 8, SECTION 15-68.1 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO NAMING THE LOWER BALLFIELD AT HONOKA`A PARK THE "LALA EPENESA, JR., BALLFIELD," IN HONOR OF LALA EPENESA, JR. Recognizes Lala Epenesa, Jr.'s, numerous contributions to sports in the Hamakua community. Reference: Comm. 718 Intr. by: Ms. Poindexter Motion to Approve: Ms. Poindexter moved to recommend passage of Bill 99 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Richards. CHR. RUGGLES: Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: We heard testimony this morning, and we received a lot of testimony through email. I saw on Facebook it went viral. I got phone calls. It's just incredible because Lala Epenesa, I know he left usI'm like, you know, we just named another facility after a kupuna, Lala was a very young man, but in such a short period of time in his life he had so many selfless contributions that left such a positive impact on a lot of our keiki, a lot of our families in Hamakua. It was just an honor for me to put this forward. I got a call from Steve Offenbaker who said he's been getting calls, and how can we bring some closure and some healing to some of the kids who were calling, and teens and families. So we put this together, and it is something that is for a man who was so humble and fun loving. If you knew Lala, he was just always, like Chad said, always, no matter what the situation was, he brings some life and light to it and just made it a pleasurable thing. You know, he turned everything, it could be a storm, but you'd see the rainbow beyond those clouds. So that was Lala. I got a testimony from Steve Morifuji and his wife, and he said in here, and I just wanted to read it, he said, "He was a positive role model and has a tremendous influence and scores of young adults fortunate to have coach Lala in their corner." He also said, "A humble man that taught our kids to get over mistakes on the field of play by saying, `no say sorry, just fix it." You know, he was such an inspiration for a lot of us hopefully to give back more to the community, and Chad testified to that, that he had inspired him to start giving back. So let Lala and Lala's memory for all of us to share some of our time and talent in our community like he did. So I all of my colleagues for your support. Thank you. Page 7 PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 CHR. RUGGLES: Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to comment? Okay, seeing or hearing no more discussion, all those favor of Bill 99, please "aye." Vote on Bill 99: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 99 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Ruggles — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. RUGGLES: Bill 100, Mr. Clerk Bill 100: DESIGNATES TAX MAP KEY: 1-5-002:020 AS "PAHOA DISTRICT PARK" PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE 8, SECTION 15-67 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED); AMENDS SECTION 15-68.1 TO ADD IT TO THE PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITY SCHEDULE; AND AMENDS ARTICLE 9, SECTION 15-72 TO ADD IT TO THE FARMERS MARKET FACILITY SCHEDULE Officially designates the Pahoa District Park and adds it to the Farmers Market Facility Schedule to enhance sustainable agriculture objectives, encourage farm -to -table opportunities, and provide greater use of County parks and facilities by the public. Reference: Comm. 719 Intr. by: Ms. Ruggles Motion to Approve: Ms. O'Hara moved to recommend passage of Bill 100 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Richards. CHR. RUGGLES: So this is a bill that I introduced to give the community an option to have a farmers market at the new Pahoa Park, which is massive. It's in response to the loss that we had when the Akebono burned down. We did have a small farmers market there, and since we haven't been able to have one. This is something the community has been wanting. So I've met with Parks and Recreation about this multiple times, and we were able to come to a mutual agreement in that they have full control and authority according to the Code, as far as the details of the farmers market. So there have been farmers markets like this in other areas of the island. The Volcano Farmers Market, and most recently the Hakalau Farmers Market. And how this works is, a nonprofit can go to Parks and Recreation and work out a Memorandum of Understanding that works out the details so that concerns of the Page 8 PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 public and concerns of Parks and Recreation can all be addressed. Things like who's going to clean up the trash, how many vendors, what's allowed to be sold, where the market will be, how the parking will work. All of those will be worked out within a mutual agreement within Parks and Recreation, to be clear. I think that this is going to greatly improve the quality of community in Pahoa, and also while increasing the economic activity and supporting local farmers and craftsmen. So that is why I introduced this, and I hope that my colleagues will support it. Thank you. Ms. O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. Thank you for bringing this forward and working out all the bugaboos that had to be done. We finally have a name for this wonderful park in Pahoa. That's number one. Great, it's finally introduced into the inventory of County parks. Now we have a numbering order for the sections of that large, large park for other naming such as the skate park which we recently named after Ms. Aste, Ginny Aste. So I really appreciate that you were able to work all that out and get that work done. The farmers market would be a welcome addition to the village. We have a lot of acreage up there, and a lot of parking area. It also helps to introduce the Puna community to the park. A lot of people still aren't even aware that it's there. It's kind of tucked away in Pahoa town. There's no signage as of yet. So hopefully this will lead to signage and allow us to make better use of this really good facility that has been provided to the Puna community. There are other things that might end up going in that park. As we're well aware, the State is considering building a new learning center or library, and that is a possible location as well. So it's not done yet, the park still has room for expansion, but this is a welcome addition. So I fully support this. Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Thank you. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. I'm going to support this, coming from the community. But one of the questions that Councilman Chung has brought up in the past is, are we displacing any sports while it's going on? It sounds like you've already got this worked out. I just wanted to verify that, because I think we as a Council are sensitive that we have the parks for our athletics; however, if we're not using it for that, repurposing is a great idea. So I assume that's all been worked out. Is that a fair statement? CHR. RUGGLES: So as far as the details of when and where the market will be, those have yet to be worked out with the nonprofit. But Parks and Recreation did raise similar concerns, and they will be addressed. Page 9 PWPRC-15 February 6, 2018 MR. RICHARDS: Okay,just wanted to make sure the question was asked. So thank you, I'll be supporting it. CHR. RUGGLES: Anyone else? Okay, with that all those in favor of Bill 100, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 100: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 100 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Ruggles—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. RUGGLES: May I have a motion to adjourn? ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 9:47 a.m., Ms. Poindexter moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. David and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Ruggles—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. RUGGLES: We are adjourned. Thank you. Approved: 5 -5 - rg Jennifer Ruggles, Chair Date Committee on Public Works and Parks and Recreation. JR/ja Page 10