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REPORT OF THE <br /> COMMITTEE ON FINANCE <br /> DATE: August 20, 2019 Re: Comm. No. 407/Res.No. 253-19 <br /> PLACE: Council Chambers <br /> Kailua-Kona, Hawaii <br /> TIME: 4:10 p.m. <br /> Council Chair and Members <br /> Hawaii County Council <br /> Hilo, Hawaii 96720 <br /> Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred Resolution No. 253-19, reports as follows: <br /> Resolution No. 253-19, transmitted by Finance Director Deanna S. Sako,via Communication No. 407 <br /> dated August 1, 2019, authorizes the Office of the Mayor to enter into an agreement with the United <br /> States Geological Survey. <br /> Funds in the amount of$46,672 would be used to continue the cooperative flood-monitoring program, <br /> which consists of the planning and designing of flood management systems such as bridges, culverts, <br /> and levees. <br /> Director of Public Works (DPW) David Yamamoto noted that the funds are part of the United States <br /> Geological Survey(USGS)program that the department has been participating in to collect data to map <br /> flood-prone areas for land-use management. This program is also used by NOAA in order to be able to <br /> track and respond to major storms and by FEMA in its flood'insurance studies that provide the basis for <br /> FEMA insurance rate maps. <br /> Mr. Yamamoto stated DPW has been participating in the monitoring of streams and noted that <br /> USGS monitors a total of twenty-four streams around the island, tasking the County with eight of <br /> the twenty-four and the remainder being supported by other agencies. <br /> Mr. Yamamoto stated the reason for requesting this matter be waived out of Your Committee is because <br /> the agreement starts in October of 2019 to September of 2020. <br /> Council Member Herbert M. "Tim"Richards, III commented that$46,000 for fourteen streams is not <br /> a lot of money to monitor for a year and asked if this money is part of a matching fund. Mr. Yamamoto <br /> confirmed that was correct and stated that the total amount given to USGS is $60,000 for eight streams <br /> out of twenty-four total island-wide. <br /> Council Member Ashley Kierkiewicz asked for confirmation of how long DPW has been monitoring for <br /> the USGS. Mr. Yamamoto stated since 2006, for a total of 13 years. He noted that DPW will take this <br /> information and decide where the focus should be directed. Ms. Kierkiewicz requested that <br /> Mr. Yamamoto transmit the most recent version of the monitoring report to Council and going forward a <br /> year from now, once the monitoring program is complete, requesting that the two reports be compared <br /> and an analysis prepared over the last 13 years to see if projects are prioritized based on this data. She <br /> FC Report No.48 <br />