Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PWMTC 2019/05/07 2018-2020Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit 7th Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii May 7, 2019 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit ORDER: was called to order at 9:17 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Chair (via videoconference from Hilo) Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair Ms. Karen Eoff, Member, Member Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS FRC)N4 TNF PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: Relinquish Chair The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Abalghassem Abraham Sadegh: Dwight J. Vicente: Patrick L. Kahawaiola`a: Comm. 264; and Comm. 265; comment. Res. 141-19 (Comm. 238); and Res. 142-19 (Comm. 239); comment. Res. 141-19 (Comm. 238), comment. CHR. LEE LOY: If there are no other testifiers, I'm going to close public testimony. And at this time, just for functionality purposes, I'm going to ask my Vice Chair, Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, I'm going to relinquish the chair to him, because all of my colleagues are over in Kona. And hopefully, the meeting will run better with the Clerk introducing all the items on the agenda. So with that, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. At this time, the Chair relinquished the chair to Vice Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Mr. Clerk, let the record show I've taken over as Chair for the meeting. Can you please read in Communication No. 264? COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 264: NOMINATION OF ANDRES AUGUSTINE BACLIG, JR. TO THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION From Mayor Harry Kim, dated April 18, 2019, submitting for the Council's review and confirmation of the above nomination. Motion to Close File: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to close file on Comm. 264. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Can someone please, from Hilo, introduce the applicant? (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Rose Bautista came forward to address the members of the Committee to introduce and provide a brief narrative of the nominee.) Vote on Comm. 264: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend confirmation of the (Approved) appointment of Mr. Andres Augustine Baclig, Jr. to the Transportation Commission. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Acting Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. Acting Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder informed Mr. Baclig that he need not be present for final confirmation at the next reading at full Council. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, on to other business. Mr. Clerk, could you please in Communication No. 265? Comm. 265: REQUESTS AN UPDATE BY THE MASS TRANSIT AGENCY REGARDING FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION GRANTS AND THE AGENCY'S COMPLIANCE WITH REPORTING REQUIREMENTS From Council Member Susan L. K. Lee Loy, dated April 22, 2019. Page 2 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 Motion to Close File: Ms. David moved to close file on Comm. 265. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Is anyone from Mass Transit Oh, I see you Brenda. Okay, thank you. Ms. Lee Loy can you lead the discussion on this, please? MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, here in the Hilo Chambers, we have Director, Brenda Carreira. And then, from the State Department of Transportation, Ed Sniffen. (Note: At this time, Mass Transit Administrator Brenda Carreira and Deputy Director, State of Hawaii Department of Transportation - Highways Division Ed Sniffen came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Just by way of conversation, during our budget review process, some information was disclosed at that time about the funding. And so, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to kind of spearhead some of the corrective actions that could happen along with help the rest of my colleagues understand the Mass Transit budget and the needs to bring this department into compliance. So with that, I'll go ahead and turn it over to Mr. Sniffen and Ms. Carreira; if you guys will go ahead and share, thanks. MS. CARREIRA: Good morning, Council. Sorry, it's a little strange because you're there and here so, okay. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to give you an update about the situation that was brought up on April 18, 2019. What I wanted to say is since that time, actually right after the budget hearing, I want to say the 18th, I did have an opportunity to meet finally with the Mayor, Managing Director Wil Okabe, and Finance Director Deanna Sako. And also on April 23rd, the State Department of Transportation Deputy Director of Highways, Ed Sniffen; Ryan Fujii who is the Program Staff Manager for the Statewide Transportation Planning office, specifically the Federal Transit Grants Program, and his boss at that time, Mr. Robert Miyasaki. Mr. Miyasaki has since left that position. And the reason we had this meeting is because I hadn't completed those meetings because I needed to know after talking to Mr. Fujii on April 12th where were we. What is the state of the Mass Transit on the Big Island, because I was very concerned, as was everybody else. Since that time, we were able to meet. What normally happens is, as far as the funds we were able to draw down, and there was a letter that was written. I gave the two-page letter—was given over to the Council today, this morning, saying that we're able to withdraw funds. So, we are able to use the funds that we have now, and in the future I'll be working with Mr. Fujii for those particular funds Page 3 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 thatso, but what we are, and I'm sorry, I wanted to correct and I apologize to the newspaper with Nancy. I was talking about Ryan Fujii at the last one, and I didn't understand why Mr. Schatz's office called me that afternoon. Because then I was even more stressed out perhaps. And it wasn't Brian Schatz, although I'm sure he will help us if we need to, but I think we reallyI surprised him. And so, it wasn't Brain Schatz. Again, I apologize. It was Ryan Fujii, he's the person that I've been working with most. So, what we're doing is part of a three-year state management review. It's not guaranteed, but highly likely to include Hawaii County probably next year. It typically occurs in March to April, and what it is in the meeting is to have any corrections to be implemented by December 31st of this year, okay. And the five areas monitored by the state is: technical capacity, asset management, operations, record keeping and reporting, and compliance. Their top three priority concerns were record keeping and reporting, which was already talked about. We have identified deficiencies. We are implementing County corrections already, even from the time April 12th when I spoke to Mr. Fujii. And the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) is implementing a state process. The asset management, the second concern, again we're updating inventory, the maintenance plan and the record process. And again, for the third concern is the compliance, updating our financial process; updating our procurement process; updating our maintenance process, and updating our compliance process. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Sniffen, Mr. Fujii. Upon April 23rd when we met, again Mayor Kim was there; Managing Director Wil Okabe as well as the Finance Director. They immediately came together to help us. And I just really appreciate that. And so, special thanks to also Deanna Sako, Finance. Her staff has been helping us from the 15th. Andy Levin came and helped us. You know, Jay Kimura has offered to help. Everybody in the County is willing to help. I really appreciate that. So, I'm implementing procedures. We're going back two years of paperwork, and just to say each year at the minimum, we have 8,580 pieces of paper that we're looking at. We're also looking at the current one, July 2018 to June 2019, and when we can, go back to 2016. And so, but you know, it's good. It came up. I know about it; we know about it. We are already fixing it. We are in compliance and preparing for the audit, and we're not going to wait till December 2019 to get it completed. We're going to do it much sooner. And also in review when things happen I'll be sending it to Mr. Fujii to make sure we're on track. Page 4 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 But what I also did, and you know, the State is awesome. I called the Maui County Department of Transportation. They're also going to be helping us to send us some forms to see if we can have some consistency. But, you know, it's coming along fine. It's just everybody's so willing to help, and I am so thankful and blessed. Before I turn it over to Mr. Sniffen, I just wanted to say, a welcome to Mr. Baclig. It's been a while since I've seen him, but how wonderful that he's going to be on the commission. And so, if I can turn it over to Deputy Ed Sniffen. MR. SNIFFEN: Thank you, Brenda. Hello Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair Lee Loy, Council Members. Ed Sniffen with the Department of Transportation, Highways Division. First I'd like to say I really appreciate the discussion that this Council is having and the prioritization that the Mayor's Administration has put on this issue. Transportation is absolutely necessary for everybody. I mean it's a right for everyone. And the County's Transit programs absolutely fulfills a huge gap in the how we serve our public. So I really appreciate everything you guys are doing. I want to start off my saying that there is no money that's at risk at this time. There's a letter that we sent out to the County to say that you're in compliance now with your MOA's (Memorandum of Agreement), so start drawing the funds now. There's also no money at risk to be taken back by the Federal Government at this time, okay. So, I want to make sure that we make that very clear. Meeting with Brenda and her staff, Mayor and Managing Director Okabe, and Finance Director Sako, made me feel a lot more comfortable. There's a lot of concerns that we brought up in the past about the program that I see getting addressed. Deanna's group jumped in and is helping out with the auditing of that 9,000, you know, or so files that are coming up. Wil's involved in this directly to make sure that things are moving forward from Administration's perspective and really keeping at top of mind those top three priorities that we see from the State. Some of the big things in there, as Brenda has pointed out when she started looking at the system, she says the breakdowns. Some of big ones on the asset management side, when the Federal Government puts money into buying a system, their bus system, they want to make sure that you're maintaining it appropriately. So, they want to see the records every year on how we maintain our buses. If they don't see it, and they don't see their investment is being taken care of, then you can start getting at risk for future grant opportunities. So one of the things that Brenda had seen is, there's a breakdown from the mechanic shop going up the chain to make sure that report is being done. Page 5 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 And I think Brenda had put in a request for four positions. And two of those are really key. The Mechanic's position and the Garage Supervisor. So, these are the two key positions to insure that the asset management piece gets reported accordingly. The other two positions, the Administrative Assistant and Account Clerk are key as well. Because when you start looking at the compliance piece that the Federal Government requires, they don't like late; they don't like incomplete. They want to make sure that when they get the documentation, everything's done and they can move it forward. They want their job to be easy, which is why they dump it on the State. So, really looking at those pieces that they are missing right now that can be filled back in to insure that the processes are reset, are tremendous. And I really appreciate this Council's support on that and the Administration's support on insuring that we are resourced accordingly. The big thing for us, the State, our look at how we manage the system was a little broken as well. When we start looking at the Transit System, we protect federal funds coming into the State. So in '13 and '14, Hawaii County lost funding. The State didn't lose it, we just moved it to another island. That was our rule. That was our thought process at the time. Make sure that we protect the funds that come into the State. If there's other programs that can take it, fine. We've since adjusted insuring, because like I said, you guys are filling a huge piece of the Transportation network. So, our role now is to insure that we protect funds to each island. The funds that we distribute should go to you. So we're going to do whatever we can to insure that happens. The State processes that we are fixing as well to insure that happens. So in the past, there were no set points of contact between the State and the County programs. We're insuring that everything goes through Brenda to insure that we know what exactly what pieces are coming up; how we operate on that piece, and we can plan accordingly from there. We're starting to look at the NTD (National Transit Database) early, and Brenda's going to be fulfilling it early to insure that by the time it needs to be posted, we know what's going to be out there and the County knows if there's any gaps from there. So, that's going to be our new role, to insure that we and each of the different Counties in the State are fulfilling our requirements. So, each of the programs can more forward appropriately. We're also going to be pulling some of the our TAT (Transient Accommodation Tax) funding, training funds to insure that we can bring the directors together and the staffs together, and we can bring down training classes from the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) on this data requirements to insure that everybody can move forward the right way. Page 6 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 So, we've adjusted our role. After meeting with Brenda and with the Administration, we're very comfortable that we'll fulfill all these requirements by the end of the year. And that's important because next year FTA is coming down, in the February -March timeframe. I want to make sure that whatever improvements we make is before the end of the year, so we can be operating in the next two months to understand if there's any gaps in the system; any breakdowns that we must adjust before FTA gets here. Thank you very much. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Carreira. Thank you, Mr. Sniffen. This has been completely refreshing. I think we walked out of our budget meeting back in April really all scratching our heads, but this is really refreshing. But more importantly, I think the partnership and the collaboration and the togetherness you know, Brenda, I think every single Council Member has always said, we want to help. This is a critical piece for our community, is transportation. And that's really refreshing, Mr. Sniffen, to hear how you folks have adjusted your roles, as far as helping support our Mass Transit; but also help them come into compliance. I think, you know, those funds are really critical, and we want to make sure that we're helping ourselves, but we're also making sure that the State is not being hurt by some of the gaps in our services. I do want to just really summarize. So the critical path items that you mentioned was the FTAI'm sorry, the data collection. That's one. The asset management and then the record keeping. So those three items are kind of the critical path to insuring that we're going to meet the compliance issues. We're not going to see any hiccups with future funding and Federal funding. But, this is all being done preemptively prior to the Federal Government coming in and looking at what we got. Why don't you just kind of re -share that part, Mr. Sniffen? MR. SNIFFEN: And, you got it absolutely right. There were no concerns that were brought by FTA about the program. We wanted to make sure that we brought everything into compliance prior to. So, it is preemptive, and it is an approach to insure—let me back up again. For us, from the DOT's perspective, we should be a profit center for the State. So any additional Federal funding that's out there, we want it. So, we've been working very well with FHWA (Federal Highways Administration) to bring about $60 million in additional to what our normal authority is to insure that the State of Hawaii gets more money than it should. We want to do the same for the Transit Program as well. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. And you know, really championing that with us really is a lot of comfort there. I do also want to talk about the various new positions, because that was something that was kind of talked about during our budget review process, but when this information came up, everybody kind of paused for a minute. And so what I hear State Transportation Department saying is, you know, those four positions will also help this critical path items and insure that we will be coming into compliance. Page 7 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 MR. SNIFFEN: Absolutely. Great question. Of the three priority areas that we show, really it all boils down to resourcing. The Hawaii Transit Department just really hasn't been resourced correctly to insure there's compliance. Right now, Deanna's group is jumping in to help catch up. But that's just an interim thing. If the group isn't resourced appropriately, we're going to fall into the same trap again. MS. LEE LOY: And maybe Brenda or Ed, one of those positions was a Shop Supervisor. And we have experienced a lot of mechanical breakdowns. And you know, I'll just put this out, it is my general concern that a supervisor cannot touch a wrench. So when we want to try and repair our vehicles, you know, it's good that they can supervise the paperwork and close the gap, right? We're closing the gap on the paperwork process. I just want to understand better how, you know, if this position moves into the budget, we really need help wrenching those buses to make sure that we have them on the road. Because that's what generates the revenue, right, and becomes a sustainable model. MS. CARREIRA: So, Cody Mattos is the Automotive Mechanic II right now. He is our working supervisor, the only working supervisor that we have. Right now, he's doing a lot of the paperwork, and then does wrench. That position is a wrench, okay. The Garage Supervisor is under a different union, HGEA (Hawai`i Government Employees' Association), does not wrench, but has all the experience and knowledge of what it is with buses. That person is going to be doing the paperwork, making sure we have compliance. We're looking at computer software. So, that person will take care of that part. And then, the other Auto Mechanic II that I asked for is another second person like Cody that can wrench. But when I expand the hours, I will have like, instead of one person, I'll have three, kind of supervisors; but one does not repair buses. And that's how that truly, truly helps us. And the Account Clerk, again also will help with all kind of things and could help also with capturing that data for the Federal grant. So that's how all four—so you will have the Garage Supervisor; paperwork and overseeing. And the two working Auto Mechanic Supervisors and then the four mechanics under them. And that is for the Master Plan. That's what we're asking for. MS. LEE LOY: One of the concerns that was brought up back in April was some of the paperwork, right? The forms. And I know that the department was looking at coming up with the forms for the drivers to kind of tally their rides. But I also suggested that we look at other municipalities and take a look at their forms, because we didn't want to create our own form that works for us, but doesn't work for the funding. How are we resolving that? MS. CARREIRA: Okay, so when I was talking to Ryan, he was explaining to me to check maybe with the other Counties, especially Maui. Now Maui, they have a Page 8 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 private—it's Roberts that takes care of that plan. Then when I talked to Diane now the difference with Maui is they're urban versus rural based on population, but what she does is she came up with the form. She gave the form to Roberts. They have to complete it every month, then it comes back to her. She inputs information, but she goes directly into the Federal computer line. We go through Ryan because we're still rural. So, she's going to send that to me. I'm going to look at that; I'm going to look at what Trixy Miller, borrowed from Department of Public Works but still wonderful with accounting, she came up with the form. That's the forms that the Finance staff was doing and we have to merge it. So, I'm just trying to see if we can come up with one form and get to the form immediately to see if there's any issues, we're going to do that. We're also redoing our Driver Vehicle Inspection report that has the miles to make it more compliant with what the Federal data collection needs. And then we go in and we train with either Polynesian Adventure Tours or Roberts, because we're working with both at this time, and have them use the forms too. And give it to us in a much more timely manner so we can correct any errors. MS. LEE LOY: Perfect. And this leads me into the next part, because Mr. Sniffen, you mentioned that some of the funding allowed for training, the driver training. Because we heard testimony not only today but in the past about the aloha that the drivers have on our busses. Does this funding provide for that type of training or is it just the compliance piece that we're looking at? MR. SNIFFEN: The training can be extended. The training funds can be extended to the operations portion. MS. LEE LOY: Training, perfect. And then the last part, and this is my final question. You mentioned that we hope to see improvements by the end of the year. And everyone on the Council knows we're more deliverable -driven, right? We want to see some measurable. So, what kind of framework can the Council expect or the larger public expect as far as how we are meeting these critical path items moving in the different positions? What's the measurable that we are moving forward? And then, what's the deliverable back to the community? MR. SNIFFEN: Definitely. At this time, and I'll turn it over to Brenda afterwards, at this time, we're working on the catch-up to make sure that the data that was necessary in the past comes forward so we can base the program on it as we move forward. Then we're looking at setting up the process as we go forward. So, we're meeting, Ryan and Brenda are meeting to insure that we set up a schedule so that we set everything by the end of the year. And that's something that I'm happy to share with the Council and with the public to ensure everybody understands kind of where we're going. Page 9 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 MS. CARREIRA: Yeah, so the first thing that we're doing is to look from July 1't, 2017 to June 30th, 2018. Because that's what we had reported in April that we came to this situation, because it was a different revenue miles compared to previous. So, what I'm doing is checking to make sure, were we accurate in giving it, because now we're actually looking at the paperwork versus going through each route, and saying how many miles should it be. To check that and then I will give that information to Ryan so that Ryan can review it. We need to, you know, specify what the differences are. And then, we're also going back to 2016 to 2017 to see whatever paperwork we do have. And check those miles, you know, if we can. I've got to look for the paperwork. And then right now, I'm currently working on procedures right now, and I've pulled all the paperwork to look at to see if we can put it together. I meet daily with the mechanics. We talk to the staff Whatever we have to do to see how we can make it easy. Just, it's more easy, you know, because the mechanics poor things, you know, they're worried about the busses; they're waiting for parts and now they've got to look at the paperwork. But I told them how important it is. And so, they're coming to understand that and they're willing to help. And so, I talk to them to see how we can make it work. So that's what I'm doing. MR. SNIFFEN: So, I think overall on the deliverable side, what the public can expect to see is the process to insure that we are delivering to FTA what they require every year. So that action plan that we'll set with Brenda and with Ryan will show the timeframe by which we'll get into compliance with each piece. So that the mechanics won't have to worry about that. So that our staff won't have to worry about those types of things. And hopefully, we can fold those four positions kind of into that mix to insure we show how that action plan moves it forward. MS. LEE LOY: And then the bigger check after all of this will be when the Federal Government comes in and then does their own audit come 2020, right? And then we'll actually be able to demonstrate, right, what we did to improve the system, and then even identify gaps again, right? MR. SNIFFEN: The hope is that we'll be in identifying why we can take more funding. I mean, that's the overall push. MS. LEE LOY: There's lots of money. Thank you, all of you really. It really is refreshing to hear everybody really coming together to help us out. I'm going to yield at this time, Chair. If you have any questions in Kona? ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Is there any discussion here in Kona? Mr. Richards. Page 10 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Brenda. Thank you, Ed for being there. I think I'm probably the most outspoken critic of Mass Transit these last couple of years. And as I've said previously, I am greatly refreshed that we have somebody like Brenda at the helm now that has the management acuity to deal with some of these problems. We have now what I would term a great Mass Transit master plan come forward. But every time we turn over a rock, it seems like we've had a problem. And Mr. Sniffen, I really appreciate the fact that the State has come in to help us show up in some of these obvious deficits that we've had in our overall management. And I appreciate the fact that Brenda, you've taken charge and gone forward. We're looking at a budget, previously it was $14 million. I think the first year was less than that, $12 or $12.3 million. Now, we're being asked for $22 million. Our fares that we collect are under a million, so we're substantially and very heavily subsidized. And as I've said before, we absolutely need Mass Transit, but it needs to be managed well. These deficiencies concerning the funding and all. How were those turned up? Was that an internal audit or was that a State audit? And Brenda or Ed you can answer. MS. CARREIRA: We had to prepare what they call a NTD report for FTA, which has to go through Ryan, and Ryan reports it. On the 2018, which is from July 1't, 2017 to June 30th, 2018, it was a revenue miles report. What happened is we came up with a certain amount which was different from the previous years. And there was a discrepancy there, and that was part of it, and we were trying to explain what happened. And then to talk to Ryan at the same time, and that's, I think, how it came up. We were late on that report, and that's how it happened. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, so what I'm understanding, there is as you start going through the paperwork, you're discovering these issues and these problems? MS. CARREIRA: It was actually before we had to turn in the report, and I think we might have gotten it in on April 5th, the week before I talked to Ryan. Tiffany, Ms. Kai; Trixy and I sat down and we recalculated. We went through every route to make sure, because Tiffany had noticed that there was a difference already, and she needed help. She asked for help, so we did. Then we came up to an amount which was substantially less than the first year, and we reported it, and, you know, informed Mr. Fujii. MR. SNIFFEN: Tim, if I may, I give Brenda a lot of credit. When she started looking at the discrepancies and the program of what she was going to report, she started to turn over some of the rocks and finding some of the issues. She discussed with us. The State audit was done in the 2013, 2014 timeframe. They talked about resourcing limitations, about reporting limitations, and about documentation concerns that the State had given at the time. So she and Ryan got Page 11 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 involved in the discussions to insure we start moving forward on those corrections sooner rather than later. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And I really appreciate the issues being laid out before us and the projected solutions to those, and the timeline and all that. Mr. Sniffen do you feel that all of this is very accomplishable in the timelines that we need to have it done? MR. SNIFFEN: Absolutely. After working with Brenda and seeing really her leadership in the way she's looking at this; meeting with Mayor Kim and with Wil, and seeing the prioritization that this Administration is putting on this. And seeing the questions that are coming from the Council, absolutely. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And one of the things that we as a Council when it comes to our budget, we are having the trust of the constituency spending their finances well. The reports coming out of Mass Transit have not been good the last couple of years. And now, we've asked to increase the funding by 50 percent. Brenda, like I said, you're the first one that I've seen that actually I believe in and can actually get this done. Council Woman Lee Loy has said, where are the measurables? And I think one of the measurables that we've talked about the programs and all that, but one of the measureables is going to be ridership. How are you planning on measuring that Brenda? MS. CARREIRA: So the other reports that we're doing doesn't really look at what the revenue miles that we report is. The drivers have to prepare trip sheets every day. And those trip sheets put down how many people they pick up where they pick up. We're also gathering that information to be able to put into a report. Excel, spreadsheet so that I can look at or we can look at where we're picking up riders; where we don't, to make changes. And that captures how much people are riding. And that, we look at the actual trip sheet from the drivers, because they all have to turn it into us. We have the Account Clerk and other clerks looking at that; capturing that, so that I would be able to see both. We are also playing catch up on that. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And one other question. One of my other colleagues asked, on the four positions that are being requested, if I'm understanding what I'm hearing, is that these are essential for our compliance with filing the appropriate paperwork and being in compliance with the FTA grants and funding. Is that a true statement? MS. CARREIRA: That is also true, and also it is part of the master plan, but now that I know the reporting requirements and other things, now I know in the future what I need to add to their job duties, because I'm also looking at job descriptions and making them more specific. So, now I can add this particular paperwork in Page 12 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 the actual job description and then send it to Human Resources and consult with the union. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, I'm going to get ready to yield. And Brenda, you inherited this mess. You didn't create it, and so I fully appreciate that. And in our conversations, I can see you have the management grasp. I think we can actually address some of these things. I am still bothered by more problems we keep identifying with the request of increasing the funding by 50 percent, but with that, I do support you. So, and again, appreciate you coming before us, Mr. Sniffen. I yield. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Ms. David? MS. DAVID: Thank you, Vice Chair. Ms. Carreira, I'm presented with a copy of Communication 265.1 which basically outlines the County's Federal share that we've been discussing this morning of the approved grant that's available for us. And my colleagues have been discussing the four positions that's being requested, and I'm looking at the correspondence or the communication, and it has, on the first three line items, it has Project Administration. Are these positions covered by the Federal grant funding? On the first page that lists the Federal funding, it says Project Admin $25,000; Feds; Local $6,250; and then a total of $31,250. Are these positions with Mass Transit, and we've already secured these positions with this grant funding? MS. CARREIRA: With the first page, with clarification from Mr. Sniffen. It's a 50150; 50 percent Federal and then a 50 percent County match. Yes. MS. DAVID: Okay, so these positions are already—you have these personnel already? MS. CARREIRA: No, we don't have the personnel yet, but these funds can be used to help. Sorry. MS. DAVID: Okay. And so, are those different from the four positions that you discussed in your budget? MS. CARREIRA: That's the existing budget. I'm sorry, I'm not sure if I answered your question. I'm going to ask Ms. Sako. MS. DAVID: Okay, thank you. (Note: At this time, Finance Department Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 13 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 MS. SAKO: Good morning, Deanna Sako, Director of Finance. I know Ryan will correct me if I say anything wrong. But, you know, this is a grant we have been getting in the past, and it helps with operations. Not just for positions, but with a lot of our operational needs, and we're very appreciative of it, because it does help us, you know, stretch our dollars. But, we have identified funding in the budget for the four new positions. Part of their time could also be allocated to this grant, I believe, but we're not necessarily saying this grant will fund those four positions. Those are four County -funded positions that, you know, we need whether we get the grant or not. MS. DAVID: I see. So, you're saying that some of the monies to fund those four positions could possibly come from this grant? MS. SAKO: Yes. MS. DAVID: Okay. Okay, alright, so these are not three more positions is what I was trying to figure out? I'm trying to understand that. MS. SAKO: Well, they are. I mean I think we're trying to say that we need those three positions or those four additional positions anyway. It's really only a net three because we need to return the one position to Highway Fund. So, just to clarify, I mean this money can help contribute to those. But, you know, we need those positions whether the grant funding comes through or not. MS. DAVID: I see. Okay, thank you very much, Director, for explaining that. And also before youI just wanted to say thank you to Ms. Lee Loy and actually to Director Carreira, Mr. Sniffen and Mr. Fujii for bringing forth the answers to the questions that were raised in our prior meetings. And I really appreciate your efforts in bringing clarity to this discussion. And I yield. Aloha. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. David. Council Members, any other discussion? Ms. Kierkiewicz? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I just want to echo some of the sentiments that my colleagues have offered up today. This is an issue that we've uncovered in our special hearings, the budget last month. And it's a problem that Ms. Carreira has inherited, but I firmly believe that, and I have a lot of confidence in her. She's been incredibly impressive so far, and she's a very effective leader, and I know that we have our Agency in good hands. I want to thank Director Sniffen for joining us today. We know that you're a really busy man, so appreciate you being here and helping us through this process. You know, I think when we discovered the system's breakdown, there was a lot of concern and we were all very clearly shook about what we uncovered, but after hearing how the State and Finance and MTA (Mass Transit Agency) and all of Page 14 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 these players are working together, I feel that we haven't done the same old thing of applying a Band -aide to a problem. I really feel that we've come up with a system solution. So, I just want to commend everybody for their work on that. If Director Sako is still in Hilo, I just have a couple of questions for her. Ms. Carreira mentioned that Finance is going to be providing some temporary assistance, and I was just wondering what that looked like. And once a clear process and framework is established for how we sort of do all of the record keeping and insure compliance with various grants, I just wonder if there are checkpoints along the way from Finance or it is going to be a complete handoff to them? MS. SAKO: Well, I think, as Brenda mentioned earlier, you know, we're providing manpower. So her staff came up with a spreadsheet and we're really going through those 8,000 documents from last year to, you know, enter the miles into the spreadsheet, and the previous year as well. And so, we kind of had a team together working in a conference room and we got through a good chunk of it. And then we'll get that team assembled again. We had to stop and work on the budget a little bit. And we'll get the team assembled again to finish up that kind of historical part, but the thought is that going forward with that new Account Clerk position, that they would be able to maintain that going forward on their own. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Excellent. And then, Director Sako, if you could just elaborate going forward, the process; any policies that Finance is creating to insure that our departments have the capacity support and things that they need to be successful in completing the necessary paperwork for these very important Federal monies. MS. SAKO: I think, you know, each department has their own procedures and you know, we kind of make sure that they're trying to comply. But, it's kind of a two-way street that the departments need to kind of say too, if they need assistance. So, as our staff goes out to close the grants of the end of the year, they'll be double-checking, but you know, we also need the departments to say, you know, we need help as well. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I'm going to yield. Thank you. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Anyone else? Anything further to say? MS. LEE LOY: Yes, Chair. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Ms. Lee Loy. Page 15 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I heard a couple of things about the schedule in improvements, right? If you don't mind, Brenda, would you mind sharing that schedule with the Council so that we can kind of track on our own. And then, I do want to kind of toss this out to you, because we're hopeful with changes coming by the end of the year. And maybe we can have you guys come back right at the beginning of next year and share with the community; share with the public, the improvements made. Is that something we can do come January of 2020? MS. CARREIRA: Absolutely. You know, and also before the end of the year, you know, I know we serve the people. So whenever you guys want to call us in for an update, and I will be, you know, working with the State, unless you want me to send emails to everybody as reach certain points if that's allowable, I can do that. MS. LEE LOY: Either way, you know, Ms. Carreira. I think, I want to demonstrate to the public it is their money that it is being well spent, and we are making progress. I think it would go a long way for transparency and showing the public that we are using their tax dollars wisely. MS. CARREIRA: Absolutely. I understand. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I yield. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Any further discussion? I would like to say thank you to Ms. Carreira and Mr. Sniffen, and to the Mayor's Office; to Deanna, to everyone else who got involved in this to make this better. I really appreciate you jumping in front of this and getting everything that you've done. And I look forward to further updates. Hopefully, positive updates, and I think this really goes to show that when our County is in need, everyone does jump in and help paddle that canoe together. And it happened for years; it happened after our eruption and during our eruptions. So, it's just a good example of how we can all work together. So, thank you very much. With that, I would like to close file. All in favor of closing file on Communication 265? Vote on Comm. 265: The motion to close file on Comm. 265 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Acting Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung — 1. Excused: None. Page 16 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 MS. LEE LOY: Thanks guys. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Clerk, could you please read in Resolution 141-19? ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 141-19: AUTHORIZES THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF KEAUKAHA ROAD ON A NIGHTLY BASIS TO PREVENT LOITERING, LITTERING, AND OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITY Pursuant to Section 24-153.3 of the Hawaii County Code, a gate would be installed at the intersection of Keaukaha Street and Kamokuna Street, with appropriate times for nightly closure and reopening to be determined by the Chief of Police, the Director of Public Works, and the Director of Parks and Recreation. Reference: Comm. 238 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend adoption of Res. 141-19. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Ms. Lee Loy, this is your item, would you like to continue the discussion? MS. LEE LOY: Yes, please. Thank you, Chair. For the rest of my colleagues this is really is one of the final steps on a process that we started back, late in 2016, early 2017. It started with Bill 48, which was the prohibition of alcohol at James Kealoha Beach Park. That was adopted and became Ordinance 17-55. Then we moved into Bill 80, which provided the one-way traffic pattern for Keaukaha Road. And then, this is the final step which has been a large community ask to shut that road down, you know, in the evening, which really we saw a lot of loitering, littering, or other illegal activities. And so at this time, I want to turn it over to our Community Policing Officer, Matt Lewis. And again to share some of the gains that we've made and really addressing the community and their needs and their asks for this area. Officer Lewis. (Note: At this time, Community Policing Officer III Matt Lewis came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. LEWIS: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Good morning Council Members. Again, I'm Officer Matt Lewis, Community Police Officer for the Keaukaha area. This again started, as Council Member Lee Loy said, several years ago. And it came forward from the community, you know, through us. And between the Council, myself, the community partners, meaning the several Page 17 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 community associations, Kamehameha Schools, residents in the area. Marc Lau, you've seen here before; Uncle Pat (Patrick L. Kahawaiola`a), who's here today supporting it. I'm really grateful that this is hopefully coming towards an end to push this project that's taken so long. After this, hopefully there will just be the park improvements to finish it up. Part of the main concerns would be, you know, security in the areas, there is some elicit activity. And hopefully, moving the gate further down the road, as it already is at the end of the road. Well, it'll help address some of those issues. We've sat down with Kamehameha Schools, Marc Lau, you know, Parks and Rec. Hopefully, you know, to get to this point took a long time. So hopefully, with your support we can wrap this long project up. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Officer Lewis. For the rest of my colleagues, Resolution 141-19, staff has so brilliantly attached the various exhibits. So, we've identified the roadway in Exhibit A, along with what is a requirement under Section 24-153.3, Subsection (b). In the past, we've seen a former Council Member try and do this in an area, but it really fell short of the requirements. So, what you find attached as Exhibit B is our notice to surrounding adjacent property owners, which is Kamehameha Schools. They have gone on record in past to talk about their support as the major adjacent land owner and wanting to see this area be better utilized by the community, but also for their educational opportunities at Honohononui. We also did get a letter from the Department of Public Works for their support along with the Police Department. And so, if you look at that section of the Code, my staff and my office has really checked every part of the box to insure that this resolution really did meet all of the criteria for this particular section of the Code. And then give it back to the community in a fashion that they've been asking for, for many many years. With that I will be asking for your support and I yield at this time. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Is there any further discussion in Kona? Or any questions? Okay, seeing none. All those in favor of forwarding Resolution 141-19 to Council with a positive recommendation? Page 18 PWMTC-7 Vote on Res. 141-19 (Approved) May 7, 2019 The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 141-19 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Acting Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung — 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Okay, resolution advances to Council with a positive recommendation. Mr. Clerk, Resolution 142-19. Res. 142-19: ACCEPTS THE DEDICATION OF LOT 2-13, IDENTIFIED AS TAX MAP KEY NO.: 2-2-036:042 (POR.), SITUATED AT WAIAKEA, DISTRICT OF SOUTH HILO, ISLAND AND COUNTY OF HAWAII, STATE OF HAWAII, FROM CHEDHOLD, LLC, A HAWAII LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY The landholder seeks to dedicate these private roadways to the County for public roadway purposes. Reference: Comm. 239 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. David moved to recommend adoption of Res. 142-19. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. ACTING CHR KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Again, Ms. Lee Loy, this one is yours. So, I'll let you begin the discussion. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Yeah, this was sent to me by request. I think this is just a function for us to accept the dedication of the various roadways. We do have Director David Yamamoto here if you folks have any questions. ACTING CHR KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Are there any discussion or any questions here in Kona? Okay, seeing none, Mr. Clerk, could we get a roll call vote on the motion to forward Resolution 142-19? Vote on Res. 142-19: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 142-19 was (Approved) carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Acting Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung — 1. Excused: None. Page 19 PWMTC-7 BILLS FOR ORDINANCES: May 7, 2019 ACTING CHR KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Sir. Okay, Mr. Clerk, moving on could we do Bill 64 please? The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Bills for Ordinances. Bill 64: AMENDS CHAPTER 24, ARTICLE 2, SECTION 24-12 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC Amends "Aliyah's Law" by adding that vehicles with window glazing that is not in compliance with State law and that are parked or operating on public highways may be cited and removed at the registered owner's expense. Reference: Comm. 247 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy ACTING CHR KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Can I get a motion to forward Bill 64 to the Council with a favorable recommendation? Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend passage of Bill 64 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Eoff ACTING CHR KANEALII-KLEINFELDER: Ms. Lee Loy, would you begin the discussion? MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. And this one actually really is a new tool in our tool belt, especially for our police officers. This discussion started with Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth last year. And more recently there was a news article about vehicle inspectors using what is already an existing tool in our State Law to test for tint. This particular bill kind of dovetails into that. All too often when a vehicle does go for their safety inspection, either it passes or they tint their car after. I do have Community Policing Officer Matt Lewis here, and if I could call him forward just to share a little bit of what this bill does as it relates to a tool that they don't have in their tool belt. And it's actually related to the towing of vehicles. Officer Lewis, thank you. MR. LEWIS: Good morning again, Council. This would add to the "Aliyah's Law" that we already currently have, and many patrol officers do use this. And I would say not only adding another tool but the safety of other motorists on the road. And as well as, you know, the officers when they do the traffic stops, it's fairly important in this aspect, being able to see within a vehicle when they make the stop. As a motorist, not being able see out of the vehicle when operating is another safety aspect as well. Page 20 PWMTC-7 May 7, 2019 MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Officer Lewis. So for the rest of my colleagues, really I had hoped to dovetail this into Police Week and giving our police officers just another tool in our tool belt to keep our community safe, but keep themselves safe. So with that I will be asking my colleagues to support this ordinance. Thank you. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mahalo, Ms. Lee Loy. Thank you Officer Matt. Sorry, what is your last name Sir? MR. LEWIS: Lewis. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Officer Lewis. Is there any discussion in Kona? Seeing none, I will call for the vote on Bill 64. All in favor? Vote on Bill 64: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 64 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Acting Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung — 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Bill 64 passes on to Council with a favorable recommendation. And I believe that is the end of our business today. Move to adjourn? Page 21 PWMTC-7 May 7,2019 ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 10:36 a.m., Ms. David moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Villegas, and Acting Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Chung— 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. And we are adjourned. Approved: N A • . .n L. K. Lf. o 'i .it (Date) Public orks and Mass r. o ittee SL/dt Page 22