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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PSMTC 2018/11/19 2016-2018Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit 17t' Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohaokdlole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawai `i November 19, 2018 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit ORDER: was called to order at 3:25 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Karen Eoff, Acting Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Karen Eoff, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Eileen O'Hara, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards III Absent & Excused: Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Chair. STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: James Makaio: Comm. 1170, in support. Abraham Sadegh: Comm. 1170, comment. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 1169: REQUESTS A PRESENTATION BY MEMBERS OF LAULIMA PAHOA, MAINSTREET PAHOA, AND PUNA PONO ALLIANCE REGARDING EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS PLANNING RELATING TO THE RECENT VOLCANIC ACTIVITY From Council Member Eileen O'Hara, dated October 30, 2018. PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 Motion to File: Ms. O'Hara moved to close file on Comm. 1169. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Ms. O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: I think this—we have the PowerPoint handout. We will not get the actual presentation, because the presenters are in Hilo, and were unable to make it to Kona for this presentation. But they can, I believe come up to the table in Hilo. (Note: At this time, Ms. Sara Steiner and Mr. Jon Olson came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. OLSON: We're here. MS. O'HARA: And I'm assuming that's Jon Olson, and Sara Steiner? And if there's somebody else, I can't see you guys. MR. OLSON: Present. MS. O'HARA: Okay, you two are present. MS. STEINER: Robert Petricci is not here from Puna Pono Alliance. He's been really busy with trying to get to Poho `iki, the land and things. But he knows— MS. O'HARA: Let me just say, can you please introduce yourselves and then kind of walk us through this the important parts of this very, very, very long PowerPoint handout. Okay. MS. STEINER: Well, we've been—sure, I'm Sara Steiner. I represent myself and Laulima Pdhoa, which is a nonprofit dedicated to arts, music, and the community, you know, infrastructure and wellbeing of our community. And Jon? MR. OLSON: Jon Olson here, and I'm Vice Chair of Pdhoa Main Street. MS. STEINER: So I want to thank Eileen, it's really strange to be here because I can't see anybody if they had a screen we could see you in Kona, but— MR. OLSON.: Just go ahead. MS. STEINER: Okay. What we need to do is—this is a request from the community and business people, residents for the County of Hawaii and Civil Defense to establish some volcanic emergency response planning for the Island of Hawaii. On the next page we've got Don Swanson the USGS (United States Geological Survey), and the Hawaii Volcano Observatory. They studied the last Page 2 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 2,500 years of the explosive activity at Kilauea, and they've figured out that 60 percent of the time it's explosive. And that's what was just happening up in Volcano when we had the big earthquake and the craters were dropping and then the lava comes out down below. That happened actually I think around 1924 or something, they had this big lava ash explosion up in Kilauea. And you see all the tourist and everybody was watching it, and then a while later maybe a month or I don't know, weeks something, the lava came out down at Kapoho. And so that's like 80 years ago the County has known that there's correlation between volcanos and rift zones and things. I'm interested, and a lot of us out here want to know if whoever is planning these emergency responses, or even whoever is planning, the Planning Department, for the people living in Puna, do they work with anybody from the visitor, you know, Hawaii Volcano Observatory or USGS? Since 1955, the planners here who have approved 80,000 lots. The Planning Department with approval by the Council allowed about 80,000 buildable lots out here in Puna. We got no emergency roads. Oh, some of us were—let's see, in 1955 the lava flowing in Vacationland and Seaview, and all along the rift zone and then our Planners—while that lava was cooling they were approving the subdivisions of Seaview and of Vacationland. And actually Leilani Estates was approved right on top of the rift. And nobody even like in the County blinked an eye, nobody in the State blinked an eye? I don't know, let Jon talk for a little bit. MR. OLSON: Okay, let me jump in here. Our point here today with this and unfortunately the PowerPoint didn't make it over like it was supposed to. The point of us being here is that this is now fresh in everybody's mind. We have not had in any past time in the 40 years that I've been here, a cohesive emergency response plan as it surrounds Puna and east rift zones. Having said that, we have certainly talked about it. There is a section in the Puna CDP (Community Development Plan), which is a document I shared. We tried to get the County to engage during that process to get a thorough review of emergency response. We were told that the County didn't have the money, didn't have the manpower, it would take too much time. There was a number of reasons that we were given not to insist upon. They said that they would do it later. Well; a decade later it still has not been done. The fact that it was not done is apparent. Which is not to detract from the people who did the response. I think given the amount of planning that they had at hand to rely on, the job that they did was outstanding. They pulled the rabbit out of the hat. MS. STEINER: Yeah, nobody died. Page 3 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 MR. OLSON: Nobody died. They should not have had to have done that, nor should have the majority of the residents who live out there who were surprised. They should not have been surprised about where they lived and what the hazard was. To be clear, I'm not here whining about my own situation. My house is gone. But I will tell you as I have told many people that have asked, I went up to HVO (Hawai`i Volcano Observatory) in 1991, had a long and interesting conversation with the then scientist in charge Ray J. Okamura, and he told me exactly what the crack in the back of my backyard meant. So with full knowledge I took the risk which is something, you know, adults do. You take risk, risk can benefit. My benefit was I got 30 years of opening my front door, and walking out into this amazing forest filled with plants and animals. You will find nowhere else on earth. My houses were minimal. Reggie back then promised me 48 hours notice, and I got 48 hours notice. Let's see to it that going forward, that everybody else who chooses to live in the high hazard zones gets the same 48 hours. And that's what this PowerPoint is about. In the meantime the people who live out there, Pdhoa, surrounding area, they have to make a living. Where is the money going to come to do this? Well I mean interestingly enough it should have been paid for by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency); FEMA gives out money for emergency response planning. I don't know how familiar you are with emergency response planning, but to start with there should have been at minimum, a table. what they refer to as a tabletop. I asked the current Planning Director if he had ever seen a tabletop for such a response. He told me he had not. Again, none of the people who are holding these positons are responsible for this failure, but it is a failure. It is a failure of government. The resources were there, the Council should have been aware, we should have moved forward with this. The community should have known what the appropriate response should have been and what the indicators were beyond the announcement. The only thing that I heard was the announcement from Hawaii Volcano's HVO up there, Observatory. The fact that they saw the eruption moving down the rift, and low and behold 48 hours it was coming up from the ground in the cracks in Leilani. So the health and safety issue has not been covered, it's been ignored, it's being ignored. The County is rushing to find housing for people, finding shelter, finding food. Again, no plan, nothing going forward that allowed for some kind of orderly evacuation. It was chaotic. Just the resources that the County had to put to it, took the fall 48 hours to implement. So you know, it's—I'm sorry that the PowerPoint didn't come out, because we were going to go over this in somewhat more detail. And maybe at some point we can get together with you and try to do this in a more ordered fashion. Page 4 PSMTC-17 Point of Order: November 19, 2018 The preparedness, the way that the elements of the National Guard were implemented, I think were poorly done. They weren't used to their best advantage. MS. STEINER: I want to talk about that, because I see commercials on the television a lot and it's all about the National Guard. We're the National Guard, we come and we help you in the time of disaster, we evacuate you, we help rebuild your communities, we do all this stuff. So here we have in 2014 the National Guard came out to help with the Iselle and they did not have one chainsaw. They spent months driving around Puna. In the middle of trying to clean up for Iselle, and they didn't have chainsaws. They also—some National Guard cars got stuck down in the mud and they had to even borrow chains from you know, the neighbors that were trying to chainsaw and chain out and move their own— MS. POINDEXTER: Madam Chair, point of order, please. Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out what the presentation is, because I'm hearing the complaints and I know that they're valid concerns and I think that should be addressed with us and Administration. But I don't know what the purpose of the presentation is, I'm not quite getting it. MS. STEINER: The purpose of the presentation is that all of us out here in Puna have been out— MS. ut MS. POINDEXTER: Excuse me, I have a point of order. I'm talking to the Chair. And I just need—because we can go on for hours with this. So I just need to know where is this heading, what is the presentation, what is the outcome that they want right now? I'm just not getting it, because I'm just hearing it all over the place, so. ACTING CHAIR EOFF: Let me check with the presenters. And you folks know we are running really late and we have Mass Transit Administrator waiting here in Kona. So can you give us an idea if you're going to summarize, or if you want us to study this. This is a lot of information. MR. OLSON: I would ask if you would bear with us for another five to ten minutes. What we're trying to do here is to at least give you some idea, when you walk out of here with some idea of what the high points that were missed, that need to be addressed. Now maybe this is not—you would not consider this to be the appropriate forum for that, and I would understand that if that's what you decide. But at some point we need all of your faces in the room, so that you know what I know, and I know what you know about how we move forward. Because you are an integral part of this beyond the Administration. Page 5 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 I don't have to necessarily give this explanation to Harry, he already gets it. He knows what was missed and what was not. He knows what he inherited. So you each have a function to play in the chairs of the individual committees. You have Mass Transit waiting there, Mass Transit should have played a role, and it did not play a significant role in the evacuation. They had no idea how they could play a role, as an example of what you are facing. Where was Mass Transit in this? So Housing, every, every, every department of this government in a tabletop would be present in a room where a scenario is played out, and points that they are to intersect with are clearly defined so that when the bell rings everybody leaves the gate at the same time. That is the point of it. It is a document created by FEMA, FEMA usually pays for them and as Chairs of these individual committees of which each of the department have a responsibility, you should understand what those obligations are. And they are obligations that were not met. And this is not to say anything unkind about the people who stood up and came to help. Far from it they did an amazing job with nothing more than what they could pull out of the air. So if you would like to continue this at a later time, or if you would like us to come and meet with each of you individually and have some discussion about the expectations that we should all have. Because this is not just about the lava. When is the next hurricane, when is the next tidal wave, when is the next earthquake? And I don't see the planning across the board in the County for the response that should be in a book that the guy in charge of Civil Defense pulls off the shelf, and says, "Hey, this is what you're all going to do," and every department is on the same page, on the same day at the same hour of the same minute. And I don't think that's unreasonable, I know it's not. Your call. MS. STEINER: Also I just want to say that there's a lot of—we were talking about this recovery. I went to the Planning Department, you know, the Puna CDP action. And the Planning Department was giving their little synopsis about the recovery, but they're just going to study the problem for another year. And then maybe think about what to do about it, and that's not good enough. Because this has been going on, and on since Royal Gardens and Kalapana were covered. There's no provision to replace any land, yet they don't want us to build on the lava lot. We're not allowed to have a small house, because it has to be hooked up to a sewer or and utilities and we don't have that out in Puna. We can't have small micro houses, because if there's more than one or two on a lot the County's going to consider it a subdivision. So you put all of us out there in Puna, we're not allowed to build anything small, we can't have mobile homes because Public Works doesn't approve of them. There's no effort made at all in the last 80 years since the eruption's been coming, and you have allowed these subdivisions to be made. You're just kicking the can down, there's no plans made for any of it, and it needs to change. Emergency planning and the regular planning for the people in Puna. Page 6 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 MR. OLSON: Your call. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Ms. O'Hara, you still have the floor. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate what you brought before us, Sara Steiner and Jon Olson and the other gentleman who couldn't make it. I really appreciate all the work that's in front of this, and some of the information of course is not new to me as a 40 year resident of Puna. I can say that we recently passed, was it a $114,000 grant to do an update for our Emergency Response Planning? The last time it was done was 2014, it has to be done every five years as I understand. And when I asked the question did they in 2014 do any planning for lava inundation, the answer was no. And yet we did experience a lava event in 2014 that was quite significant. Didn't take out all the homes and properties that this one has, but it was still quite significant. So I would suggest and I'm very disappointed, I'm going to say I'm very disappointed that no one from Civil Defense is here, unless I'm not seeing them in Hilo, because they were put on notice that you guys were going to come and do this presentation. Is there anyone from Civil Defense? No, okay. MS. STEINER: I don't see anybody else. But I just also want to say, you know, because every time there's an evacuation and that's why we need a separate volcanic eruption evacuation plan. MS. O'HARA: I agree. MS. STEINER: Because when it's a hurricane or something that comes, the people go to the community center they're there for a few days or whatever and then they go home. And what happened now, in the last four years the Pdhoa community has only been able to use their community center for three of those years. For an entire year now, six months each time the lava comes or a hurricane comes our seniors, and our kids, and our park, and our pool is shut down. And it turned into like this FEMA camp. Excuse me I don't mean it bad, but people up there couldn't leave. They had to stay up there by their things, they would have been stolen if they left. There was two murders or suicides, or whatever there at that place, it was miserable. This shouldn't happen to people in Puna, because we know the lava is going to come. There should have been a better plan for us. So I think it needs to be—yeah okay. Thank you. I just wanted to get on the agenda. MS. O'HARA: I'm not disagreeing, Sara, not at all. I'm just telling you there is a venue that is developing, that I think it's important that you know about so you can have input into that. We do need better planning for emergency response in Puna, not just for volcanic and lava events, but with PGV (Puna Geothermal Page 7 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 Venture) coming back online, we don't have a community response plan there either. And we have been hit by hurricanes and likely to be hit by them again. So yes, I fully agree, and as I said we just passed and approved receipt of some grant monies to begin that planning process, the five-year update. And it needs to include the type of planning that you're asking for. And I really hope you can put your energy into advocating for that, I will help you with that. And I really appreciate all the information you put before us today, I really do. It's significant. MS. STEINER: Well, yeah, I mean if you guys look there's our whole request. We tried to do this in 2014 when the lava was coming, and we were kicked out of our town. And the military closed, you know, Malama was closed for six months. I mean it's just part of the emergency response is to preserve the community and our economic thing. And then they've done nothing. It's been over six months we don't even have a viewing area for the lava. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MS. STEINER: You know, yeah, I'm sorry I can't—it's just, it's a fact of our life. MS. O'HARA: I understand Sara, and I'm just trying to say please listen, there is a venue to advance your concerns. And let's get connected with that, and let's start to be productive with it. But we do need to move on, and we do have another item on the agenda and it is getting late. And I really, really, appreciate that you brought all this forward, so thank you. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Thank you, Ms. O'Hara. I'm just going to check if any Council Members have any comments before we vote on filing. Seeing none. Okay, thank you both, and we have a lot of work to do and we know that. So all in favor of filing Communication 1169, please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 1169 The motion to close file on Comm. 1169 was carried by the Filed) following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Lee Loy O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards and Acting Chair Eoff – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Ruggles – 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Mr. Clerk, can you please read Communication 1170. Page 8 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 Comm. 1170: REQUESTS A SECOND STATUS REPORT ON THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE DIRECTION AND PRIORITIES OF THE MASS TRANSIT AGENCY WITH THE NEW MASS TRANSIT ADMINISTRATOR From Council Member Sue L. K. Lee Loy, dated October 26, 2018. Motion to File: Ms. Lee Loy moved -to close file on Comm. 1170. Seconded by Mr. Richards. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. And we have Brenda Carreira here today. And I'm hoping we can start off on a different foot then we have in the past with Mass Transit. And we had gotten an audit done and a Mass Transit Master Plan done, and we were working with a different individual. And during those conversations we have set some corner stones with the audit along with the Mass Transit Master Plan. And since that time, that Director stepped down and we have a new one. And so I was actually hoping to use this opportunity maybe to just kind of ease Brenda into this position, she just started. I don't know if any of you have met her, but often times I think it's always best to just get to know one another, so we can have some real fruitful conversations going forward. I did make this request as a kind of matter of course based on the audit and based on the Mass Transit Plan. And every member of this body has wanted to help Mass Transit, we saw it as a problem. And so this request was put in when there was a different Director. So what I'm going to ask is if, you know, Brenda if you could just share, you know, about your passions, you know, you're excitement about kind of taking the lead in this position. I didn't want to really open it up to the audit, if this is not a great time for you, and we can at some point maybe bring this back up. But you know, why don't you just take the time to introduce yourself to all of us, and what great things we might see coming forward? Thank you. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Just make sure your mic is on, and then just reintroduce yourself. (Note: At this time, Mass Transit Administrator Brenda Carreira came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. CARREIRA: Thank you, yes, my name is Brenda Carreira, I was born and raised on the Big Island. I actually was born in North Kona, and raised in Hilo. Actually my biological mother died giving birth to me, so the very next day I came to foster parents, which is the Carreira family. And when I was three, I was adopted by them. I have 26 aunties and uncles, pretty much throughout the Big Island and some parts of the mainland. So my immediate family was four, and Page 9 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 they all passed. My parents, and my brothers. Just me, but the extended family is just everywhere. So I've been blessed with a huge family whose values have been family, working, and working hard. Being humble, being respectful, showing up to work and giving a good day's work and more. Just had a wonderful, wonderful childhood. My dad is from Hilo, the Wainaku side, Ama`ulu. My mom was actually from the Pa`auilo side, the plantation. So every weekend we were there running through the cane fields, you know, when Hdmdkua Sugar was still working. And actually right now I'm staying up Pa`auilo, P6hdkea with my aunty and uncle, they're in their 80's, but they're like my parents. I went to St. Joseph's School 13 year student, kindergarten to 12 grade. I attended college at the Colorado College in Colorado Springs, with a Bachelor's in English. After that I came back to Oahu, Oahu Law School, got my Juris doctor degree. My first lawyering job where I met Aaron, I was a Prosecutor for 14 and half years. Was a Senior Deputy, head of Career Criminal Program. Loved it, went into private practice. That was okay, but I do not practice anymore, I do not have my license. After that, I guess in 2006, I did all sorts of jobs, you know, and then I ended up in 2005 with the Polynesian Adventure Tours. I started at the airport, became a dispatcher, became in charge of Hele-On when Poly Ad got the three-year contract. And was then offered the Operations Manager Kona position for Poly Ad, and then I moved to Kona in March 2008, have been there for the last 10 and half years. In 2012, I left Polynesian Adventure Tours, went to Roberts which is right next door. Started as a dispatcher, and then became the Operations Manager for Roberts. My last day was October 31, of this year, and I started with the Mass Transit on November 1. I'm absolutely excited to be here, it's like coming home. You know, I started with the County, I loved it. Coming back here. There's always purposes in life. My purpose is to serve people. You know, private was okay, but sometimes it was little hard for me because it's all about money. I'm not saying this job is not about money, but it's about the people. I know that this is a tough job. I mean, I did apply for this last year, Ms. Sole Aranguiz had the job and I had a chance to meet with her before I started the job. But sometimes it's all about timing; not my time but somebody else's time, you know. And I guess I needed that year, that extra year to get more experience, to understand. My background has always been communication, and with tourism it's excellent customer service. It's just not customer service, its excellent customer service. I led and worked with a lot of drivers. I understand buses, I understand mechanics. There's a lot of things, I don't know, so right now I'm listening, I'm Page 10 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 observing, I'm learning, I'm educating. But the most important part for me was to getting to know my staff, and becoming a team. That is a big goal of mine, the team, and I want them to be a family. That doesn't always happen, but I have to have the team first. Communication is the key, is the only thing, and it's an open communication. I tried to be there early in the morning, talk to everybody. You say hi, you talk to them, you sit down and discuss things. I understand it's been a very frustrating time for a lot of people. A lot of people told me congratulations and the next two words was good luck. I said, thank you, okay. But I understand, I try to read a lot of stuffs. I am not here to reinvent the wheel, I understand there is a Master Plan and I've been slowly reviewing it. Slowly so that I get it, you know, I'm not one to come in here and say let's change all these things, no. I don't personally really need or want more studies, there's been a lot of studies, there's been audits. Let's just do it. But I also understand, I'm sorry I missed a lot of Council Members when I started. I tried to come to a Council meeting, and I met some people. Came back again, but I know you're all in your respective districts, and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to speak to each of you before I came here. I totally understand the importance of me coming to the Council, not you coming to me, okay. I want to work with you, and for me part of me is not really dealing with the unions, but I've already talked with them, and I said we're not on opposite sides we're on the same side. It's all for the people. So I'm so happy that I built all of these relationships with Poly Ad, with Roberts, with the drivers. I know half of the drivers that are still working there, you know. And we greet each other with hugs, which is what I wanted. And that's relationships, and that's what I want to build with you. I know it's a hard job, I'm trying to get the buses back on where it's up to 13. So I understand money, there's 29 routes, I'd like to get more buses back on. I work very closely with the mechanics and everybody, and I'm just saying they're tired, they're frustrated. I'm going to work on routes, because they already audited the routes. All I needed to do is get the finals, and give it to the drivers. They have to live and die by the—it's like you look at it, is the time reasonable, like what time they have to be at work, at school, make it happen and give two weeks or one week notice and put it into place. I know we need to get the trust back from the people. The ridership, Mr. Makaio, it went down. I know it went down. It's been the Master Plan, but it's the truth. And the reason is because even before I started this job when I was with Roberts, I trained all drivers and all routes that Roberts did. And I went on all of them, and I trained all the drivers. And I talked to the passengers, or our customers if you will. They're not just riders, they're guests okay. And I asked them, "Oh, what happens?" Well we didn't know if the bus was going to show up, a, b, we don't know if they show up who's going to show Page 11 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 up. You know, Poly Ad, Roberts, Jacks, you know, so they just didn't come. And I said, and I'm sorry for that. You know, I'm not the previous Administrator, but I am now. So I accept responsibility, and I got to make it happen. But I have so much help, so I'm so happy, you know. So I already talked to Poly Ad and Roberts, and we're going to get together so we can get the best buses and be the best of the best, you know. But I need to make sure we get the right buses, our terrain is different. The Big Island is different from every other island, those—Kawaihae Road, you know, it just doesn't make a lot of it. And yes, Mr. Makaio was right, and I will talk to him. Maybe he's going to have some great ideas, love it. Why not? So I'm open to all suggestions, all of them. I know I'll meet each and every one of you, and I know you all have great ideas too. So I look forward to it. Thank you. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Thank you, Brenda for sharing all of that, really is a very pivotal time for the Mass Transit Department. And so we're going to be really looking at you to put your shoulder in, lean in hard, and make it work. And I just want to stick to the communication that we had before us, because the request really was an opportunity for another status update on the audit recommendations. And the rest of my colleagues have Communication 1170. 1, and you put some work into it. So I just kind of wanted to either give you the space to share where we're at, or maybe even at a future date when you feel a little bit more grounded if you want to come back. It's entirely up to you. I'll let you go ahead and explain. MS. CARREIRA: Okay, and actually I cannot take credit for this. This was Kasie. Kasie's the one that's been doing the report and she prepared it and got it ready. I have reviewed it and read the audit, and I understand that there were 30 recommendations, 16 I believe might have been taken care of. There's 14 here. A lot of it is an ongoing process. Because I know how it was before, we're a lot better. I'm still trying to monitor that. I will tell you that the biggest problem that we face is West Hawaii. Because we don't have a baseyard or somebody—right now the Real Property Tax Office here gets the monies from Polynesian Adventure Tours, and Roberts. And they've been counting it and depositing it, but Steven Hunt from Finance informed me that would probably end at the end of this year. Because they have to do taxes and stuff for themselves, so I'm going to have to look for a way. It's really hard trying to get the monies in a timely matter. We try to get everything on that side, but I am looking at more suggestions and other people as to how we can get it more of a timely matter. Because we're going to have to take care of that, yeah. MS. LEE LOY: Well I don't have any other questions. But I think you've really begun to touch upon the real cornerstone of getting the public's trust back, because it has been broken. And the audit, especially on the cash handling Page 12 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 procedure is what really bold out that trust. Because we put so much of our people's money by way of taxes into this program, and they should be getting back something in return. It is the people's money. So I cannot thank you enough for just validating the need to gain the public's trust back. I'm going to yield at this time, I'll leave the floor open for the rest of my colleagues. But you know, I don't want to lean in too hard, because she just started. I yield. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, welcome aboard. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. MS. POINDEXTER: And I was very pleased to hear it was you. I just have one suggestion, because this past week we were at an event down in downtown Hilo. And there were buses going around and stopping. And it wasn't clearly stated that it was a Hele-On bus, it wasn't marked or anything. And I know that a young gentleman who has a child said, "I wouldn't put my kids on that bus," because you don't know if you're getting on a Hele-On bus, you don't recognize the driver. So I did see one of the buses, it was kind of like painted all blue. But it didn't say Hele-On or didn't have a big thing that said County of Hawaii, or anything. But they came to that bus station. So all I ask if you could check on those buses that we contract, or even if they are our buses, if there properly marked. I guess, you know, parents feel safe if their kids are going to get on a Hele-On bus. And maybe that's why ridership maybe is kind of dropping, because people are not sure if that's a Hele On bus, or you know, what's happening? MS. CARREIRA: I do know that the Maui buses if it's a light blue and white, those just came, we just put them into service. And I've got to check if it does say Hele-On. Thank you. MS. POINDEXTER: This one was like a smaller one. MS. CARREIRA: Smaller, right. Like a mini -bus? MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah. Medium size buses. MS. CARREIRA: Yes, we finally got the license plates and stuff, so as soon as we can we put it to service. But signage, absolutely important. MS. POINDEXTER: Because of safety, you know. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. Page 13 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Any other comments? Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Director, thanks so much for coming before us. I too echo what Council Women Lee Loy says. I like the fact you started out by saying, you need to come to us to talk story get to know each other what's going on. And I too not going to push real hard, because you're just getting your feet wet. I've been known to be a little critical of Mass Transit. Mainly because I'm concerned about our constituents, and our people having the right program running for them. And we've seen the ridership fall in over the last probably four or five years, I think having that trust is key to going forward. So this is what we're looking for, I'm also very concerned about the financial side. And just putting more money into something, does not mean it's going to work we have to manage it well. The audit is very concerning, but I know you've read that, you're digging into that. And then the Master Plan for Mass Transit as a whole, this was funded by the previous Council. I think it's a pretty good document, but I'm very curious to hear what your take on that is. A lot of the people coming to my district, I'm District 9. And a lot of the people working at the hotel want to ride the bus. They have trouble, because either it doesn't show up at the right time, or shows up late, whatever the case may be. And I've talked to the hotels about it, they're understanding and sympathetic to a point. But we have to be very reliable, if we're going to build that ridership. So again, like I said, I'm not going to push very hard yet. We'll talk story a little bit later, I do look forward to sitting down one on one with you and catching up. And I'm liking that tone of what you're saying, so look forward to working with you. I yield. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you, Mr. Richards. And yes, I know I was just talking to the driver today. And we had great intentions on the double-decker, but it's broken down. Four times I've taken it out of service. And the riders are very happy that we're not using it right now. So okay, yes. MS. O'HARA: Thank you. Welcome aboard. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. MS. O'HARA: And I'll be leaving, but I worked very closely with Cheryl Soon and Joanna Herkes in trying to get the public aware of the process that we went through for the Mass Transit Master Plan. Of course when we were going through that process Puna was a different place, at least lower Puna. And things have changed a bit and that's impacting our Mass Transit Systems. Obviously Page 14 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 we've lost some roads and we lost the people, we've lost some communities entirely. But all in all it is a very good plan and it is island -wide, and one thing it does call for is no more receipt of used buses. We need to establish our own fleet that is consistent and the type of vehicle that we need for the rounds that we're going to run. So I hope you are getting well schooled in that, and are working very closely with Cheryl and other folks from SSFM to become as familiar as possible with that plan. Yes, the audit was a bit concerning, but I'm hoping that's the past and we have a better system moving forward and I think you can help us there. Yeah, the plan is something that would be really beneficial for this island to implement to get on a whole new page with our Mass Transit System. Not just regenerating the old system, which never really functioned very well and has gotten to the point where it's not functioning. We're just getting back on our feet. So again, welcome. I hope that you can carry this one forward, because it's a big ball to carry. So thank you for coming on board. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. Yes, I did meet with Cheryl this last week, and so she's going to of course continue to help us. Just also wanted to say, regarding buses we do have a bid out for two vans and four 26 seaters. So at this point from the bid process, we just wait as who's going to bid. And then just to let people know is that it doesn't happen just in two weeks. Once we get the bid it would take probably nine to ten months to get the new buses. And we're hoping to put it into service into the Puna district, the feeder buses and things like that. Deanna from the Finance Director informed me that at this time I thought we had lost the possibility of five new motor coaches with our last Administrator, but she said it's still open, so that something that I'm working with mechanics and other companies to say what is the best one, that we can hopefully put that in place. And again, unfortunately it's another 10 months, but then we're looking at 16 new vehicles coming to serve our community, yes. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Thank you, Ms. O'Hara. Thank you. Ms. David. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Vice Chair. Aloha, Ms. Carreira. MS. CARREIRA: Hi. MS. DAVID: And I want to welcome you as well. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. Page 15 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 MS. DAVID: It sounds like you had a great experience in the private sector, being the Operations Manager for those two huge bus companies. And I have a good sense, because like Ms. Lee Loy said when you opened up, it's really nice when you can express your connections to the people, the communities that you are going to be serving. I think that's really important, because our island is so diverse and different. And we've got Kailua, we've got rural districts, my district is District 6 Volcano, Ka`u, and South Kona. A lot of my constituents rely heavily on the buses, and getting them to work on time. I'd like to ride the bus one of these days too. Anyway welcome aboard and I appreciate the fact that you have a community perspective on this, and personal knowledge. So mahalo and aloha. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you, very much. Also I still have residence in Captain Cook, and so what I'm hoping to do when I can is to be able to be in Kona at least once a week or at least twice a month. So I'm keeping my place in Kona, and then hopefully in January I'll be getting my place in Hilo. But I'm aware that, you know, it's not just the East Hawaii, I got to come out West Hawaii too. So I thank you. MS. DAVID: Thank you, very much. Aloha. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Thank you, Ms. David. Any other comments? Mr. Chung. MR. CHUNG: First of all I wanted to thank Ms. Lee Loy for you know bringing this presentation, or requesting a presentation. And also for keeping it on a get to know you basis, because we've been through a lot of presentations today. And quite frankly it's mentally and emotionally exhausting, so this one was very refreshing. I mean you particularly since I know Brenda. I've known her for a long time, right. I view her as being a really smart individual, humble, but she can be tough at times when she needs to be. You know, what I really am impressed about, you know, when she mentioned it, that she wants to build a team at Mass Transit. And in doing so she's incorporating all of the input from the different employees, and that's real important. And from what I've heard anyway, you know, it's not really a good situation over there, hopefully you can bring everybody together and then they can all work and be focused on we all want. It's a really, really top notch Mass Transit System for the entire County. So welcome Brenda, thank you very much for taking on the job. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. And also one of the last things is I know we're going to get a blessing and we're kind of waiting also for December 3, the swearing in of the three new members. And of course I would invite all of you to come down and if you wanted to come down and visit our facility at any time. I Page 16 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 don't know if you.'ve ever been invited, but you're definitely going to be invited for that and for other things, so that you can come and see our facility. It's a beautiful facility, I'm really happy. I know we're kind of far away, but yeah, thank you. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Thank you. Any other comments? Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I just have to say, Mr. Chung taught me you've got to get to know someone first. So I really did actually take the lead from Mr. Chung. But I want to follow that up with when you know someone you will know how they lead. And so I'm so appreciative of everything that went on just in this 15 minute briefing. And we do, we look forward to really great things. So thank you. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Thank you. And thank you, Ms. Lee Loy, for bringing this communication, and for allowing us to meet Brenda Carreira, new Mass Transit Administrator. And I congratulate you, and I'm thankful to the Mayor for selecting you. It was quite a refreshing presentation. MS. CARREIRA: Thank you. ACTING CHR. EOFF: I'm really looking forward to good things now that we established this initial introduction. So mahalo again, and unless you have something else to add we can conclude. MS. CARREIRA: Just be safe going home. ACTING CHR. EOFF: Alright. Thank you. Okay, Council Members all in favor of filing Comm. 1170, please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 1170: The motion to close file on Comm. 1170 was carried by the (Filed) following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Lee Loy O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards and Acting Chair Eoff — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Ruggles — 1. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order RESOLUTIONS: of Resolutions. (There were none.) Page 17 PSMTC-17 November 19, 2018 BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Bills ORDINANCES: for Ordinances. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 4:27 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Lee Loy O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards and Acting Chair Eoff — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Ruggles — 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. EOFF: We are adjourned. Thank you very much, Council Members. That concludes our committees. Approved: _C-11 Ms. Karen Eoff, Acting Cha Public Safety and Mass Transit Committee KE/rk 1a.1i. 199 Date Page 18