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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP FC 048 2019/08/20 2018-2020 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE DATE: August 20, 2019 Re: Comm. No. 407/Res.No. 253-19 PLACE: Council Chambers Kailua-Kona, Hawaii TIME: 4:10 p.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred Resolution No. 253-19, reports as follows: Resolution No. 253-19, transmitted by Finance Director Deanna S. Sako,via Communication No. 407 dated August 1, 2019, authorizes the Office of the Mayor to enter into an agreement with the United States Geological Survey. Funds in the amount of$46,672 would be used to continue the cooperative flood-monitoring program, which consists of the planning and designing of flood management systems such as bridges, culverts, and levees. Director of Public Works (DPW) David Yamamoto noted that the funds are part of the United States Geological Survey(USGS)program that the department has been participating in to collect data to map flood-prone areas for land-use management. This program is also used by NOAA in order to be able to track and respond to major storms and by FEMA in its flood'insurance studies that provide the basis for FEMA insurance rate maps. Mr. Yamamoto stated DPW has been participating in the monitoring of streams and noted that USGS monitors a total of twenty-four streams around the island, tasking the County with eight of the twenty-four and the remainder being supported by other agencies. Mr. Yamamoto stated the reason for requesting this matter be waived out of Your Committee is because the agreement starts in October of 2019 to September of 2020. Council Member Herbert M. "Tim"Richards, III commented that$46,000 for fourteen streams is not a lot of money to monitor for a year and asked if this money is part of a matching fund. Mr. Yamamoto confirmed that was correct and stated that the total amount given to USGS is $60,000 for eight streams out of twenty-four total island-wide. Council Member Ashley Kierkiewicz asked for confirmation of how long DPW has been monitoring for the USGS. Mr. Yamamoto stated since 2006, for a total of 13 years. He noted that DPW will take this information and decide where the focus should be directed. Ms. Kierkiewicz requested that Mr. Yamamoto transmit the most recent version of the monitoring report to Council and going forward a year from now, once the monitoring program is complete, requesting that the two reports be compared and an analysis prepared over the last 13 years to see if projects are prioritized based on this data. She FC Report No.48 FC-48 Page 2 August 20,2019 noted that studies are a good thing,however if money is being spent to study the same thing which gets the same answers, she said monies might be better spent making the improvements. Council Member Susan L.K. Lee Loy commented that she hopes the data will assist in identifying areas which could be listed as high priority, so improvements to floodways can actually be made,instead of just studying and mapping the areas. Your Committee is in accord with the purpose and intent of Resolution No. 253-19, and recommends its adoption. dmm AYES NOES ABS EX Respectfully submitted, CHUNG x DAVID x COMMITTEE ON FINANCE EOFF X s----- KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X KIERKIEWICZ X LEE LOY X POINDEXTER x MAILS MEDEIROS DAVID, CHAIR RICHARDS X FC REPORT NO. 0�48 X01 VILLEGAS x ADOPTED: