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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN GREDC 2019/08/20 2018-2020Committee on Governmental Relations and Economic Development 1Oth Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii August 20, 2019 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Governmental Relations and Economic ORDER: Development was called to order at 1:03 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Chair Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member (via videoconference in Hilo) Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Ms. Karen Eoff, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Valerie Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Absent & Excused: Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member 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 Chair called Dwight Vicente, who registered to speak to comment regarding Comms. 49.6, 49.7, and 405, and came forward when called. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 49.6: REQUESTS TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE JULY 29, 2019, MEETING OF THE HAWAII STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES' EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND THE MAY 9, 2019, COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES From Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, dated July 19, 2019. Motion to Close File: Mr. Richards moved to close file on Comm. 49.6. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter. GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 CHR KIERKIEWICZ: So as the new HSAC delegate effective July 1st—did I hear a buzz? Thank you, okay, sorry about that. So July 1, 2019, I assumed the role as delegate to the Hawaii State Association of Counties. And I've taken it upon myself to continuously provide this body with information. So the minutes that I have here, are for the Council's information, but I also wanted to defer any questions to Council Member Poindexter, she was at that meeting. I know you all had a chance to read through it, but just take a quick recap of what those meeting minutes say from the May 2019 meeting. As you know there was a new Council Member and leadership for the Honolulu County, and they were trying to sort through vacation rental issues. At this point and time Kauai was grappling with its fire arbitration agreement. For our county, Council Member Poindexter reported on our budget; the issues we uncovered via Mass Transit and the activities that were happening with the tourism association. Maui also provided an update with their budget, work that's being done to beef up their sustainable food systems and also work happening on the climate change fronts. There was also some discussion around the present HSAC budget, and the need to clean it up based on actual use. And then the reps for NACo (National Association of Counties) and WIR (Western Interstate Region) Boards were indentified. Any questions? Seeing none, I also wanted to provide a report on the meeting that I attended on July 29, on behalf of the Council. Formal minutes will be filed with this body, but I wanted to just recognize the fact that we have a lot of lag time between when the meetings happen, when the meeting minutes are reviewed and approved, and then our internal deadline here at the county to things on the agenda. So I just wanted to provide a recap as to what was discussed during the July meeting, and I will be filing the official minutes once they have been approved by the body. The treasurer's report is being finalized, so it was not filed because there was a need to reflect the HSAC conference profits. Honolulu started enforcing Bill 89, related to vacation rentals. And the HSAC President Joey Manahan, he noted he introduced a bill to ban certain single use plastic goods. I reported on the many things happening here at our county. Resolution related to hydrogen buses, a tanker donation to our county, a resolution regarding Bank of America to make good on its loan commitment to the native Hawaiian community. Efforts being done to support re -build of a Puna boat ramp. Our discussion around the moratorium related to the TMT (Thirty Meter Telescope) construction. The final policy updates we developed for the polystyrene bill. Updates on the lava recovery plans in case management system, as well as the Page 2 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 hard work that our Planning Department is doing to stand up the General Plan update. Kauai discussed passing a bill, giving planning the authority to lein properties, based on illegal building or illegal use. And their target is being vacation rentals. They're also struggling to address a parakeet problem, as they have more than 15,000 on the island. Maui shared that they hosted HSAC, and there is a pending profit of about $56,000. They recently formed an ad hoc committee to study and determine tax policy reform. And some of the things their looking into is streamlining tax classifications and assessments, merging valuations, tier rates, min -tax adjustments and exemptions among other things. They are—thanks to Riki Hokama going to be hosting the first ever National Council of County Associations Executives, on October 21-25. This conference is geared towards improving administration of programs and processes. Maui also passed a bill to ban commercial activities at a Lahaina beach, Hanaka`o`o, and this was a concerted effort to save a beach before it was taken over by resort activities. And finally they set up an invasive species committee to develop a plan to mitigate little fire ants, miconia, and coqui frogs. A couple other things we discussed in July, our website as you know for HSAC was hacked. And at the time Council Member Poindexter took it upon herself to basically redevelop it and create all the content and imagery that we see it there online now, so big shout out and thanks to Council Member Poindexter. There is discussion among the HSAC Executive Committee about handling the website internally for the time being, but also looking out to communication and outreach firms to help us with the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the website. We know that we want a digital presence, it's just that we're trying to figure out what exactly we want on there. And finally there was some consideration around whether or not we were going to be retaining the firm of record for HSAC, Becker Communications. Their account executive assigned to HSAC is actually also the lead spokesperson for the TMT project, so he's very busy. And we feel it's a very good time to just re- evaluate our current contract, and based on Val's time there, my short time there, figure out what exactly do we want from a communication outreach firm, and also making considerations around whether or not our body wants to entertain retaining a lobbyist. So putting out there for everyone what was discussed at our July meeting, again, you'll get formal meeting minutes once those are reviewed and approved by the committee. Available for any questions. Page 3 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 MS. POINDEXTER: Madam Chair? Oh, sorry this is so loud. I just want to say congratulations and you took great minutes apparently. So I'm sure HSAC will be very, very, pleased that you're there. So thank you, for all you do. MS. LEE LOY: Chair, may I? And maybe this is a question for Val, having had a lot of experience there. I was actually more interested in the website. And I kind of like this, where we actually hear in more real time information what happened prior to being approved by the larger HSAC body. But maybe something we can take back, besides the website. I was just wondering if consideration if we're going to be re -tooling that communications contract and what that might look like, besides a web presence is some social media presence. We see a lot of bandwidth on those particular sights. And as a spokesperson for this body, I would like to maybe loft that idea out to the rest of the HSAC Committee on maybe some social media sights so we can share information or highlight some of the legislation that not only we are doing but the other counties are doing. I like this idea where we hear, and then we can offer suggestions for you folks to take back to the next meeting. So Chair, thank you. Val, thank you for all of your work. I know that crashing of that website really sucked up a lot of time to repair, so thank you. And that was right at the time we were moving into the conference over in Maui. So thank you so much, for working hard on that. MS. POINDEXTER: And I just want to say that the WordPress, the program that's being used for website, allows for more social media interaction. So that is a very good suggestion. So whoever takes the website over, there's those capabilities CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Council Women. The social media aspect, that's something that's been kicked around a little bit. And we've talked about it having some sort of communication, some sort of venue for press releases through our Council itself. But I think from the State Association that also makes a great amount of sense to go forward. I know Oahu has been working on that, bringing that forward. Again, so we message better of what we're doing in real time. You know, I definitely support that, so I'm kind of acting more like a myna bird between Val and Ashley. But again, I support that going forward. Thanks, I yield. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. And I think, you know, when I first attended one of the HSAC meetings as alternate back in December, we talked about social media and wanting to beef up those capabilities. But in looking at the Becker Communications contract, it was beyond the scope of work. And I thought, Page 4 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 really? Because that's a communication an outreach tool. Why is that so? And there was also no wiggle room for them to also take up upkeep of the website, so we just feel that the needs of our body have changed. And so we're going to put out potentially a different RFD. Thank you all for your comments on that, I'll be taking that to our next meeting on August 26. Any other comments relating to this communication? Matt. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Can one of you speak to the other counties' discussion on the Fire Department raises, and then the spiking by Police and Fire? That came up in the County of Kauai report. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Yes, so I'm going to defer to Council Member Poindexter, because she was at those last meetings up until June. MS. POINDEXTER: Right. And that was on Kauai, but you know, that Kauai ending up passing the raises. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's what it looked like, but it also said that they had a hard time getting a final vote. MS. POINDEXTER: You mean their county? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah. Difficult to get final vote, no ability to pay, sets precedence for other unions. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah. I think, you know, it was Council Member Kagawa who was reporting on that. Who was on the opposing side of it as well, but when he came back to report the next time, it did pass. So in between then, if you have any questions on what was discussed at their meeting, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to give you some answers. Sorry about that. That's all I know. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: No, thank you. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Any other questions or discussion on this communication? If not, there's more to discuss for HSAC. But if not, do we have a motion to close file on Comm. 49.6? Oh sorry, that's what I meant to say. All in favor of close file on Comm. 49.6 please say "aye." Page 5 GREDC-10 Vote on Comm. 49.6: Filed Comm. 49.7: August 20, 2019 The motion to close file on Comm. 49.6 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Kierkiewicz — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Moving on to Comm. 49.7. PROVIDES MATERIALS RELATING TO RECENT HAWAII STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES' BUSINESS AND REQUESTS SUGGESTIONS FOR THE 2020 STATE LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE From Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, dated August 1, 2019. Motion to Close File: Ms. Lee Loy moved to close file on Comm. 49.7. Seconded by Ms. David. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: So what we have here is, what I'm hoping to be a very robust discussion. Again, then are minutes related to the June meeting that happen during the HSAC conference. And Council Member Poindexter, as well other Council Members who were there can speak to that. There were budget reports from the respective counties and affirming resolutions of the various HSAC, NACo, and WIR reps, which we have already done here at the Council level. I would like to turn your attention to the draft debit card and travel reimbursement procedures that were furnished to you and available in your Council boards. I think there was a desired by the current treasurer, Council Member Kelly King to really formalize a process so that whoever assumes that position in subsequent years has an idea of the processes and methodologies that the counties have been utilizing. She also wanted to ensure that our procedures were in alignment with the committee's bylaws. They're very straight forward. As part of your packet there is also an editorial calendar that was developed by Becker Communications, related to the development and promotion of our 2020 legislative package. The workflow reflects working on from July 2019 all the way through May of 2020. There's an outline of activities for each of the various months. There needs to be refinements around the recommendations, because they do not reflect the calendar that has been articulated by the HSAC president. But basically what this editorial calendar outlines is the need to engage with the key folks in our community, lived experience sector from business, from Page 6 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 nonprofits who are all stake holders in our community and might have ideas in policy changes they'd like see. There's also suggested media interviews with newspaper outlets, broadcast folks, press releases, up ads, and also various forms of digital media. I think what I'm really excited about the most to hear from colleagues about is, the potential for what we would like to see as part of next year's 2020 legislative package. I mean if you take a look at the outline after the draft procedures and the treasurer's report that has not yet been filed, because there are some tweaks that need to be made. There is a legislative package timeline, and they're couple of notes that I made on there, related to updates to this timeline. Our goal is to really get something passed by the counties in October. And the idea is to work very closely with the House and Senate, to be able to advocate way ahead of the legislative session opening to get our points across, and to see what are big wins for our various counties. And what we're trying to do is shift the dialog around to more policy updates rather than asking them for money. So even though the Becker's Communication editorial calendar talked about wanting a fair TAT (Transient Accommodation Tax) distribution between the state and counties, it's something that's been asked of for years, so we're taking that off the table completely. Just as an example of what we're trying to do. So at this point, between all four counties we are trying to identify shared challenges. And then develop themes as well as a priority package, which would be our final product. So the idea is to get these things done sooner. There is a meeting of this body on August 26, so I wanted to take the sentiments of this body back to HSAC Executive Committee and to be able to provide inputs. Maui Council has already been discussing their legislative package. They have some ideas of what they would like to see happen, and so I noted as well as the representatives from Kauai and Oahu that we all had meetings prior to the next August 26 convening of that body. So I would be having a conversation with my colleagues around what we would like to potentially see in this package. So far thoughts around invasive species, sewage and cesspool, coastal erosion, affordable housing, vacation rentals, and enforcement of laws. No one's really identified what exactly they want to see in terms of policy updates, but what we wanted to do is find some common ground around challenges that all four counties are facing and start there. So at this time, I just want to open it up to my colleagues to see if they have any thoughts as to what they would like this 2020 legislative package to look like. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, thank you. And I'm glad to hear that the other counties are working through their short term vacation rental option. Aside from what the Page 7 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 counties are doing legislatively within their own municipals, what we're seeing is maybe some synergies related to adjusting maybe some Hawaii Administrative Rules and/or HRS's (Hawai`i Revised Statutes). So in addition to what the policy piece is for each municipal, I would like to see some actionable things from those counties where there's a concerted effort that they've identified a particular section of HRS. And that feeds into we're not asking for money, we're asking for edits. We're asking for refinement of our statutes or our laws. And just as a side note, we always hear about changes we make here at home but we also know that the state has their layers. And sometimes the vinacular is not the same. So if we could start kind of identifying similar vinacular, so that when the state writes or edits or refines a section of HRS or Hawaii Administrative Rules the vinacular matches. So like for example, if it is short term vacation rentals, let's call it short term vacation rentals across the entire state in each county. So that's just one area. And I know those things are hard, but the definitions really kind of get different interpretations as we work across different counties. I also wanted to know how the other counties are working with, you know, the various chambers, our rotary groups, and identifying synergies within the business community. So that we could actually utilize them too as we lobby for change, and a little bit of more home -rule back home that we can actually use them as champions for some of the stuff that we want to see changed too. So if we provide them some talking points or white sheets, or they could provide similar to us. That would be another opportunity where we're taking this multi -prong approach, and making a shift up at the capitol. And then of course, you know, the unions, you know, what their needs are. And then again, similar vinacular what their looking for. So I do, I like this new way forward, I think it's refreshing. I agree we've tried a number of times to get policy passed, or get things from the legislature. And we're batting a thousand when it comes to not getting a thing, so I really want to shift that. So thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Again, thank you, Ms. Poindexter. That's what I'd like to see. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Mr. Richards, and then Ms. Eoff. And then Ms. David. Just kidding, Ms. Eoff first. MS. EOFF: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Richards. And thank you, Chair. One of the themes that came up at the HSAC conference that I thought was especially relevant, and timely that I think all counties need to deal with in some way, I don't know, really know, what it would be exactly, but this idea of capacity. You mentioned it earlier that Maui is worried about certain beaches, how many tourist it can handle or whatever. But it's not just specific beaches, but just in general. Caring capacity, and those impacts to our natural cultural resources. Page 8 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 Kind ofI guess the theme that I picked up from the HSAC conference was, you know, sometimes too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. And how do we determine when that, or how to balance enticing tourists to come here, and yet not destroying what it is that's so special about Hawaii. I'm not sure how that would fit into a policy, but it just seems that's a topic that I'm hearing more and more conversations about. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Ms. Eoff. It's interesting you say that. There was recently an article in Civil Beat around just that exactly. We as an island state rely on tourism, that's our number one driver. But at some point the islands are being so overrun at the cost of the communities the residents that live here, and call this place home. So very good observation, thank you. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Where to begin? Just verify for me, did you say you wanted to take the tax conversation off the table for the short term? CHR KIERKIEWICZ: TAT, yes. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Until we get indication from House and Senate, respective money committees and leadership, that this is something that they're willing to discuss. We're looking for wins here, for our counties. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, so just wanted to verify that. I'm going to push back on that. I think we shouldn't take it completely off the table because it is important. It's important to all of the counties. And one of the things that we are talking about is exactly what Ms. Eoff has just said, capacity and the ability to mitigate the impacts of our tourism. And so I'm not saying that state hasn't been supportive, I mean our county has been very much supported by the state in the last year with all of our volcano. So that's not what I'm trying to say, but for us to fiscally plan going forward, if we had some sort of metric I think that be easier and quite frankly be easier on everybody. As a case in point just for people on the Council to know, our lifeguard tower at Spencer Park was removed and taken to Kua Bay. Yeah, I got contact visits, how come, why us? And there's a point, there's a plan to move forward to get the new tower so we can have one back again at Spencer Park. But case and point, you know, if we had the funds and were being foresightful we should be able to mitigate that. So that's a point. I don't want to dwell on that, but I don't think completely taking it off the table but putting it in the background maybe. Now let's shift to my passion, agriculture. Where to begin on that one. I like the idea of invasive species, but more than that I think we have to focus in on shipping and the ability to have the facilities at our ports. Whether it be airport or Page 9 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 seaport, to move our commodities from the outer islands to the population centers. And this will also crossover to the invasive species side, as far as we have to be able to certify that these commodities being moved are thereby clean and ready to move forward. We can't do that right now very well, and we don't have the facilities in place. We need refrigeration, we need facilities to get going and I think that's a huge one. And those are economic drivers that I think all the counties do share. So I think that be a good one to go towards. It also attends to the invasive species as a whole. Another thing, and I can go on for hours and hours. But I think as counties, and specifically this county, we need to push to continue the conversion of the leases from DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources) to Department of Agriculture for the true agriculture leases. We have ranches that are still caught in the leases in limbo problem that we need to get moved forward. And we need to be an advocate for that. And we also have to talk about water. Water has to be addressed, and it can't just be a can kicking down. If we're going to embrace agriculture and we say we are, we have to embrace water management as well. The bigger picture, we have to have a cohesive and well -articulated water plan for both potable and for agriculture. So with that, I yield. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Ms. David. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair. And mahalo for doing this timeline, and for reaching out earlier. Last week or so you were asking for some suggestions or ideas and thoughts, and I think that's being proactive like that always help. Because when we get to HSAC it's always like, you know, the 1 Ph hour and stuff I just have a question. Okay, August, this month, we assemble the thoughts. Mr. Richards brings up a really, really important issue on Ag. So how do we assemble all the thoughts from, I mean we're discussing it today which is great and we're putting it on the record. But how do we get it all to you folks, and then we have to eventually decide on what form it's going to take. You know, which resolution will move forward as the package. So the timeline is very tight again, so I just wanted to get an idea what we're looking at. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, absolutely. So the point of today's discussion is to hear from everyone around what they feel are challenges they're seeing in our particular communities but also island -wide. And I'm going to be taking all of these sentiments back to the body, to report out. We are going to make as executive committee the tough decision to narrow the list down. We know that we can't accomplish everything, but when we do, then we can really start to work on lifting up some potential policies. MS. DAVID: Perfect, thank you very much. Page 10 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 CHR KIERKIEWICZ: But before any movement takes place, we're going to have to come before the Council via resolution. MS. DAVID: Right. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: So that this body will formally adopt, the stated package by this body. Ms. David still has the floor. MS. DAVID: Yes. Then thank you for explaining that, because I think right now everyone is discussing what they have on their minds right now that is important. But I think for the month of August the door is not going to close when we end this, I can still call you? Okay, cool. Thank you, I yield. Point of Order: MS. EOFF: I just have a point of order related to that. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MS. EOFF: So that's fine that we are discussing and other islands will collaborate at a meeting what's most important. But for us to meet at September 11, deadline to send in a proposal, the actual. That's a process that we have to have done next time we meet, or a Council vote at least. I guess waive to Council, and then you'd have that in hand. So that's a specific other thing, different than what we're discussing now. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, I mean this timeline was developed without the input of the other delegates to the committee. It's still being refined, but these are the general target dates that we want to hit. MS. EOFF: Okay. I'm not sure if I explained it right. (inaudible) could do a better job. But how we've done it in the past, Council Member would have to introduce a resolution with the bill attached at a Council meeting, right, to be passed by our Council, to be sent to HSAC as our Council submittal. If that's September 11, I think we would just have one more meeting before then to do that. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: And I believe we're also beyond our internal deadline to make that happen. MS. EOFF: Possibly. I don't know, I'm not sure if that deadline can moved or that's what it is. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: I mean I'm going to be advocating for moving it, and I'll call on Council Member Poindexter because she has more experience serving on this level. I think what we're trying to do as the new HSAC body, is just be really Page 11 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 more proactive and not wait till the last minute to identify some common themes that we all agree we want to tackle as counties. MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you, Madam Chair. I think what has to happen is, yes, we have to create legislation at this level and this body passes it. And then we decide which, what legislation we propose for the package for Hawaii Island. And we've already had bills come through. We may want to look at what we've had that we may want the state to start supporting, and doing something at the state level. I got to look back at what we've done, because last year what happen is, Council Member Kanuha took the resolution for what we were just talking about the lifeguards at Kua Bay. So he selected that to propose as part of the legislative package for HSAC, and our body said, okay, let's put that forward. Then that got on to the package, and then HSAC develops their package. And I think you're right, Council Member Eoff, when you say a lot of times we are last minute in it. And maybe next year we can start thinking about legislation earlier, and putting it before our Council so we can meet some of the deadlines for HSAC. Because HSAC has deadlines per their bylaws, that they have to follow. So they have a strict timeline as well. So I don't know, I would say if it's a rush maybe start looking at what we've already offered, and maybe consider some of that as a legislative package. I don't know what we'll find, but, you know, I know that something's coming up on shopping carts, and you know, not in parks and stuff like that. I don't know if that would be something we would want to go and ask the state to support, to make it a priority for the state as well. You know, I don't know, those are just my thoughts. But yes, we have to pass legislation here before we can offer it into the HSAC legislative package. Thanks. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, okay so if I'm understanding correctly we would develop like a draft policy for HSAC, which—no? Okay, yeah, help me understand that a little bit better. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah. It would be either resolution or a bill, more than likely its bills that we ask for. You know, like I think one time we did come in with a TAT, because somethingI don't know who proposed that at Council. And then we took that bill, and we asked for it to be on the legislative package. So it's legislation from us, asking the state to support that. And then every county puts forward what they'd like to see in the legislative package. Then HSAC looks at all of that and decides what should be the package. And everybody has to vote on it, for it to agree that's the package. MS. LEE LOY: So do we have a checklist of what we proposed that got maybe close, or you know what I mean, like one bat up. And we tool that working with, you know, the HSAC Committee and then key legislators. Is that something we Page 12 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 can do? Because I'm thinking about the e -cigarettes, and that flavor ban. That was so close. And I just know so many families with kids in school was pushing so hard, and I'm not going to really understand why it kind of fell by the way or what happened. But I think that one was something we could actually pick up, warm up, and really with a concerted effort from all of us here in Hawaii County, Maui, Kauai, and then, you know, take that up. I think that would be a real good win for our youth, especially in school. I mean, is that something similar to that? MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah. That is good thinking. Because I could see—but it has to be from this body, if we're proposing it. Or other counties could propose it as well, but somebody here needs to propose something. I don't want to go into it more, and talk about future legislation. Because I know Jon is shaking his head makingno, agreeing that we have to be careful on what we discuss because we cannot discuss future legislation. But the process that we're talking about, you're right on it. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Any other questions or comments? Council Member Eof£ MS. EOFF: Would there be time then, to have something on our next Council agenda? CHR KIERKIEWICZ: I can slate something for our agenda. I plan to, because we would have had the August 26, meeting before the September 3, committee day. And you know, there really is some wiggle room here, when you take a look at the timeline. And us wanting to at least pass resolutions out of our county, in October. So I think there is, I think some time for us to refine everything. The whole idea is, we don't want to be doing things piecemeal, and so discombobulated. I'm often feeling like all the counties will be proposing, and passing resolutions that are very specific to a challenge our island is facing. And so we just wanted to be a bit more cohesive, in how we were putting this package together. It's clearly a little different, than how things have been done in past years. But I'm very optimistic and hopeful that we'll have a really good, a very strong package that all counties can really sink their teeth into and get behind. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah. Can I just—one more thing, Madam Chair? CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Yes. MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you. And you know, Council Member Lee Loy, had a good idea with the e -cigarettes and doing a bill to address that. I think even Council Member Richards with Ag, which is important. Because things that could help all of our counties, that the state could help to initiate and support us Page 13 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 on. But I'm sure Council Member Richards would be able to come up with something maybe. Hint, hint. Thank you. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Any other comments or discussion around this communication? Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, thank you. I guess I'm just looking for clarity, because counties cannot propose, like for e -cigarettes. We cannot propose a flavor ban if the state doesn't give us that authority. So I'm trying to look for clarity as far as what is my role as far as crafting a policy, or piece of legislation that HSAC could help champion up at the legislation. So I—help me with that. MS. POINDEXTER: Okay, may I Madam Chair? Okay. So what that is, is us encouraging the state to do something about it. So the state would look at our bill, and a lot of times they want it in a word format. So that they can take it and they can redo it, and tweak it the way they need to, to be able to make a bill at the state level. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. And I think our September 3, discussion after I've reported out around the conversation, that happened at our August 26, meeting. Will give this body the indication of what kinds of bills, or resolutions need to be introduced in order for us to be able to act upon it via HSAC. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder just wanted to throw out there that we're nearing end of discussion, if you wanted to add anything relating to the legislative package. Okay, great. Okay, so seeing no other discussionoh, okay, Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, thank you, Chair. Just clarification, you just made the comment either bill or resolution. And so we'll wait, we'll get clarification coming back before we go forward. Is that what I'm hearing? CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah. And I think what I'm going to do is, I'm going to, in this form, send out a communication to this body about more details around the process. So that there is clarity among this body. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you. I yield. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Anything else? If not let's take a vote to close file for Communication 49.7. All in favoroh, you know what, I'm sorry, before I do, Chair Chung in Hilo, did you have anything you wanted to add? Forgot about our illustrious mind over there. Page 14 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 MR. CHUNG: Well, yeah, I wasn't going to say anything. But I really wanted to commend you for making the comment about focusing on wins. You know, I think in the past, I think it was Council Member Onishi who said that, the HSAC win percentage was something like, if I recall correctly about three percent. I said, that's horrible. You know, it almost makes us insignificant. And I think we have to look at things that are doable. You know, from my standpoint, you know, the things that came to mind in terms of possible suggestions, would be as it relates to public meetings. Not to relax the Sunshine Law, I don't want to frighten you guys or anything like that. You know, like right now, I'm sitting here in Hilo. And I think we've all come across this in the past, where we have to say that we're going to be in another site in order to perfect our ability to be at another site. And you know, the fact of the matter is, ours is a very large geographic island. So if something goes wrong, like if an emergency comes up, we're not able to quickly regroup and go to, you know, for example Kona if we're in Hilo. So I think something needs to be done to the public meetings law that would relax it, and make us able to participate from outer sites. Within reason or course. And then the other thing that I've been thinking about, and I have broached this with the legislature before. And I don't know if it only applies to our island or others. But if we could possibly use a small percentage of fuel tax monies on private roads. You know, I believe that would really help a lot of our people on this island, and of course we would have to set the parameters. But I just wanted to make those comments. But I—more than anything else, I wanted to commend you for focusing on wins. So thank you. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair Chung. So with that we have a motion on the floor, all in favor to close file Communication 49.7 please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 49.7: The motion to close file on Comm. 49.7 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Kierkiewicz – 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Villegas – 1. Excused: None. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Mr. Clerk, Communication 405, please. Page 15 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 Comm. 405: REPORT OF SISTER CITY ACTIVITIES: JULY 1, 2018 TO JUNE 30, 2019 From Executive Assistant and Sister City Protocol Officer, Rose Bautista, dated July 31, 2019, submitting the above report pursuant to Section 2-166 of the Hawaii County Code. Motion to Close File: Mr. Richards moved to close file on Comm. 405. Seconded by Ms. David. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Ms. Bautista, you have the floor. (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Rose Bautista came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. BAUTISTA: Good afternoon, Madam Chair, and the rest of the Council Members. For the record my name is Rose Bautista, Executive Assistant to Mayor Kim, and the Sister City Protocol Officer for the County. You have been given a copy with the annual report for the Sister City activities for fiscal year 2018 and 2019. As you can see, our Sister City program remains active and vibrant. There were numerous activities throughout the year with student exchanges, cultural exchanges, student art exhibits, discussion of educational programs, and economic developments of mutual interest, and the like. These are precisely the type of activities that are encouraged and promoted by our Sister City Program, in our effort to foster friendship and understanding among our local community. At this time, I'd like to provide you with an update of our Sister City Program. Currently we have 15 Sister Cities. Of those we have eight that are active, namely Oshima, Japan; Nago City, Okinawa; La Serena, Chile; Yurihama City, Japan; Shibukawa or Ikaho, Japan; Sumoto, Japan; Kumejima, Okinawa; and Cabugao, Philippines. We have three that are inactive at least for the past five years. And they are Ormoc City, Philippines; Gokseong, Korea; and La Reunion, France. And we have four inactive Sister Cities for more than 10 years. And they are Hualien, Taiwan; San Miguel, Portugal; Tasmania, Australia; Gangchon, Korea. We also had conversations with other countries wanting to be Sister Cities. One of them being Hanyoung, Korea; and Chongming, China. As you can see it's undisputed that the Sister City Program benefits the people of the affiliated cities throughout the exchange of culture exhibits, the educational programs, the economic pursuits, information relative to economic development and mutual interest, and the matters of common interest. Some of us have had the opportunity to hosting and meeting our Sister Cities, and have learned much from them during our exchanges either here in Hawaii or when we have traveled abroad to their cities, as some of us has experienced. And Page 16 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 I know currently Council Members Lee Loy and also Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, had a recent visit to one of our Sister Cities. That basically raps up my report. So thank you, for the opportunity to present before you today. But I also would like to thank the host organizations, who have generously donated their time and resources for hosting our Sister Cities. Especially the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and Industries of Hawaii, Hui Okinawa, Japanese Community Association of Hawaii, Ioane's Club, NELHA (Natural Energy Laboratories of Hawaii Authority), and Big Island Filipino Community Council. These organizations are the backbone of our Sister City Program, and without them we couldn't do it. It's obvious that those Sister Cities who are active, is because of the host organization that makes it possible. Additionally I would like to thank Council Members Sue Lee Loy and Val Poindexter, for contributing to this report. So mahalo, and I would welcome any questions at this time. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Ms. Bautista, it's always a pleasure to see you. Thanks for coming all the way to Kona. Any questions from my colleagues? Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Thank you, Rose for being here. And really, I too echo the sentiments that, you know, Japanese Chamber and some of these other organizations aside from us really help provide the resources and the connection. Even hosting them beyond, you know, us with the government to government piece. So I did want to reflect a little bit, because you mention we have a total of 15, eight are inactive, three of which have not seen activity for five years, and then five, which have not seen activity for 10 years. And then pursuant to our code, there is language that any Sister City relationship in which there is a failure to implement the agreement or exchange gifts, or goodwill missions within a five-year period may result in the termination of the agreement. And I know this might sound a little ugly, I think. But I don't know if anybody looked at hanging on to all of these Sister City relationships, because if we're not having them with more than half, I would rather guide more of our Sister City resources to the ones that are robust and really have a huge connection. And I know myself and Mr. Kaneali`i did one to Shibakawa, which has a very bright line connection with the festivals. The one we have here. So I just wanted to get your thoughts Rose, on, you know, do we want to explore the option of—termination is such a harsh word. But maybe putting down those relationships, and focusing our resources in the ones that are really providing some wonderful cultural exchange. But also so economic opportunities. Because one thing myself and Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder did when we were in Ikaho, was take a look at their waste and their waste management. And how they were doing it. So aside from, you know, the festivals itself, we started to look at their waste Page 17 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 and how they manage that. And I would rather see some of that being put into our Sister City conversations where we borrow some of their technology, or look at how they as an island have to management waste, solid waste, recycling, and plastics. Rose, your thoughts? MS. BAUTISTA: Well, as you know, those are the kinds of things that we the benefit of what the relationship is all about. So we certainly continue the conversations along those lines as to how we can benefit from each other. Now going back to those who have been inactive. Actually we after—like you said, like you cited, after five years of no activity we can actually terminate the relationship. And there is a process. It comes before you, we make the proposal, it comes before you and you approve the termination. From what I've looked, none of the eight that have been inactive, haven't gone through any of the process. However, there hasn't been any activity, so there hasn't been any resources allotted to any of those Sister Cities. So you know, that can be the next step that I can undertake, our office can undertake. However, what is interesting that came up this year is, after Council Member Poindexter came from Portugal she had asked, she was interested in having a Sister City relationship with Portugal. And which is great, because of our Portuguese population here in Hawaii. And when we looked at our records, we noticed that we have a Sister City and it has not been deactivated or terminated to date which means we can now activate it, so if we want to do that it's going to be a very simple process. So that was one of the benefit as far as not having any termination done. But certainly that is one of the things we're looking at. If there is no activity, why put it in the books. But like I said though, there are no resources allotted to any of those Sister Cities without an activity. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. If you don't mind Rose, like maybe comb through the ones that have no activity. Maybe share with us a white sheet on why that was established, and then maybe why there was inactivity. Was it lack of resources, or lack of interest? About why the establishment of the Sister City, right, did that. Did we walls away from that similar interest? I would love to see that. Just because I think there's a lot of value with the Sister City relationships. I just want to make sure, we're putting the right amount of resources. Because there's a lot of think-tank energy out there, that we could really begin to utilize a lot better. Which I hope can help our island, and our constituency. So yeah, Rose, if you don't mind putting together something related to the inactivity of those Sister Cities. I would love to see something like that. MS. BAUTISTA: Yeah. I'll gladly provide an update on that. Because I think it is interesting knowing how they were created. Because the initial process of creating, and why we came to Sister Cities are very important. And there were Page 18 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 strong ties and similarities from both ends, and that's the reason why we developed a relationship. For example, I know because I was involved during the Ormoc City creation, and that had to with the geothermal. And you know, I mean the whole idea of having the relationship with someone who was 100 percent dependent on geothermal, and how we could learn from them was so interesting. But after the trip, there was really no follow-up. And it goes back to, I believe the host city, the host organization. And that's why it's so important to have a strong host organization to be involved. Unfortunately that's kind of what I saw. And so it would be good to really like you said, revisit as to why we became established that relationship, because there are a lot of good benefits to that. So I'll do an update on that as well, okay. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Rose. Thanks, Chair, I yield. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, and I was going to talk about that Rose, about the reestablishment of San Miguel in the Azores. Because the Portuguese Chamber has become very active, and I think there's a movement now with all Portuguese Chambers. I mean, you know, Oahu, we have Tyler Dos Santos -Tam who has now shown a lot of interest in making sure that we have our Sister City relationships with Portugal as well. And so I needed to talk to you about how do we reactivate that, because when we look at Portugal and you know, intensified, diversified Ag. You know, things that we could learn from one of the islands are doing, you know, energy efficiency. You know, so we have a lot of things that we can learn from them. And visiting there was an eye opener, we didn't have to have large industrial things to be able to survive. So it reminded me when I got to Portugal, it was like stepping back into time. When we were able to survive without tourism. You know, we survived without tourism, we never had tourism when I was growing up in our area. And we survived, and it's because we had each other, of course. But it was because of agriculture. So we have a lot of things in common, and I'll be working to see how we can reactivate that. Since the chambers are now very active, and now we're going to be having a Portuguese Cultural Center as well in Hilo. So things are moving in the right direction. I attended one of their luncheons. And the Japanese Chambers was there, and I thanked them for all of their efforts and how we can learn from them. Because they have the connection with their Sister Cities, and how they been able to keep that relationship very healthy. And we're learning from them as well. Thank you very much. I yield, Madam Chair. Page 19 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Rose, you mentioned it; Sue, you mentioned it; I think Val, you mentioned it as well. Looking at our Sister City relationships we need to have the strong support, and the different chambers are those potential supporters. The relationships remind me of many years ago, I was on the rotary group study exchange program. And was sent off to Israel, of all places. But the whole intent of that GSE (Governor's School for Entrepreneurs) program, is essentially world peace through better understanding. And that cultural exchange back and forth I think is really important as we go forward. Kind of leap frogging off what Sue and Val have said, studying the history and understanding first of all why we have this relationships. And sometimes relationships have served their purposes, and then it's time to move on. We only have so much resources, and it's best to decide what you're going to fully support as supposed to trying to spread itself thin, you're not really supporting anything. So I like that concept. But rather than terminating a relationship, I'd be—and I don't know if we have this, if there's a way to kind of mothball the relationship and just park it in an archive. That something may come once again, like Val is discovering, and it may make sense to rekindle that relationship. So we don't officially terminate anything, we just put it on a back burner. So I might suggest we figure out, think on that as we go forward. Because we'll have to make some sort of legislative decision going forward, and maybe we can create an area where we just park it for the time being. So with that I yield. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Any other comments or questions from my colleagues? Ms. David, and then Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair. And I'm glad Mr. Richards mentioned that, because with the amount of effort that goes into establishing a Sister City relationship, I think like a temporary suspension or a holding area for inactive Sister Cities might be a good thing to do. Because then you would not be spending resources on those that have been either suspended, or put on the side because of the inactivity. So I'm kind of liking that idea, Mr. Richards. So thank you, I yield. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Ms. David. Matt, go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Rose. When we went to Japan, they took really good care of us. And the more I talked to Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and I bounced ideas and just had discussions with some of the people who been involved Ikaho Onsen Association, and Shibukawa, Ikaho, kind of County Council, Mayor, you know, all the representatives. I feel like they went out of their way to take care of us, and I don't know if we reciprocate the same Page 20 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 way when they come here. And that bothers me, because we are, you know, we are Hawaii, and we're supposed to have the most aloha and the most mahalos, and the most omiyages that, you know, that's our thing. So what do we do when they come here, do we take care of them the same way they take care of us? Is there a budget for that? You know, what is the breakdown? MS. BAUTISTA: Not quite at the level that they welcome us. And that's one of the things when I first started, I questioned that. But you're right, especially the Japanese Sister Cities. It's a whole different culture. I could share that. Because they provide everything. What I learned if they invite you to their city they're going to be fully responsible for everything; all the expenses associated with that visit or invitation. And as we know full well, we cannot reciprocate the same. And so that's why it's important the Japanese Chambers, the Japanese Associations and organizations actually are the closest that can provide, not to the level of assistance that they do, but just the aloha and that they will assist in hosting a lot of they're activities. The dinners, they help hosting. And the Japanese like the Chambers of Commerce, and the different organizations will share in the expenses. So that's how they've been able to alleviate some of the county expenses. But I can tell you, we cannot reciprocate the way Japanese host us when we get invited. I just got back from Yurihama, and that was as, you know, truly amazing in terms of their hospitality. So I just see that's just the difference in culture. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I think we should work a little bit harder at giving more aloha than we're getting when we go to their cities. Because it doesn't make sense that when we go to visit them, and they take of us. I mean they really took care of us. They made sure we were in places on time, they got transportation, they did some of our lodging. I mean they just went out of their way, which is in their style of being, you know. But we—when they come here I was asking Dwayne Mukai, "Hey, when they come here, what happens?" He's like "Oh, we kind of take care of their dinner and then hotel." I forget what he said, if they take care hotel. But it just—what they did for us, was not equal to what we do for them when they come here. MS. BAUTISTA: Oh, I got you, I hear you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So we should somewhere budget, find funds. I mean, obviously we can fund things as needed. So maybe we can find in our budget $100,000 or $50,000, to take care of Sister Cities incoming to Hilo. So we can give them the hospitality they showed us, when we went to their city. It seems it would be fair. MS. BAUTISTA: No, no, I got you. Because like Page 21 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So maybe you can poke the Administration a little bit, yeah. So do you have something to add to that? Because I forget what Dwayne actually said, but he broke it down for me pretty well, and I forget. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. No, you're right on the mark, Chair if I may? You're right on the mark. We provide some assistance, but it's these organizations that Dwayne Mukai and, you know, Art Taniguchi folks are involved in, Mike. Japanese Association, Japanese Chamber, some of those organizations. But you're absolutely right. And on that --our Chair guide the discussion, but when we approve the budget there's a line item for Sister Cities. And if we want to reciprocate, that's the mechanism. And I mean just off the cuff, and Matt can speak to this, we were looking to utilize our trip to Japan, to start looking at alternative ways to address waste. And they went out of their way to take us to a facility, give us a tour, talk about capacity, talk about how much tons of rubbish. Correct me if I'm wrong Matt, but it was valuable, valuable information. And Ikaho Shibukawa in the Gunma Prefecture, was similar in size as far as population to Hawaii County. So there was some valuable information as it relates to waste, that what they were doing we could actually somehow match just based on capacity and number of people. And I'll let Matt speak to this, but we went and there wasn't a single odor from their waste facility. It was immaculate. It was clean, managed really well. There was a lot of takeaways for me and Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder kind of taking this, which was not on our scheduled visit. But they stood it up for us, they made it happen for us. So with that Chair, I yield. But you're right Matt, its dinner, housing, lodging, transportation, but when we're working, right, the host organizations will take them on tours, provide the interpreter for them. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: What is our budget, you don't mind me asking for our Sister City, do you know? MS. BAUTISTA: The budget? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah. MS. BAUTISTA: We actually asked that, and we don't have a specific budget allotted just for Sister Cities. So there's expenses, and that was even difficult to, not to decipher, but to bring out. Because it's so lost in the budget. All I know, it's not a lot, we don't have a lot of funds allotted to Sister Cities. But actually, I do have to apologize. One of the things I said I was going to do last year, was to provide the expenses. And I started doing it, I just didn't complete it. But that's something that needs to be discussed, in terms of if we Page 22 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 want to do more activities. Such as, when you're talking about more economic development and when we have dignitaries coming from different cities that we can accommodate them. And as you know, we need to have a budget for that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I think that would be good. It seems, if you just look at it face value, it seems frivolous. But if you look at what we're getting from the back and forth from another country really, or maybe a city within the U.S., whatever it may be just—you gain a lot. You have a chance to gain. For Japan they have such a huge population, but they are an island. We can gain a lot from what they already learned in the last 50 years, they're way ahead of where we are. So that has—we just have a lot to gain from that relationship, so we should nurture that a little bit more. Sorry, Valerie was talking to me at the same time. Jon do we have line item that Council budget, for Sister City stuff? MR. HENRICKS: I just want to point out, we're 20 minutes past our next committee. I'm happy that—could you urge these things that we could perhaps discover and explore when we're not in a meeting, sorry. I mean we're just way behind already. I apologize for bringing that forward. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes or no? MR. HENRICKS: I'm sorry? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yes we do, or no we don't? MR. HENRICKS: Yes, we do what? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Do we have a line item in our Council Services, not Council Services, but Council section of our budget. MR. HENRICKS: We have a Sister City budget, yes. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Then I got to talk to you about that later. MR. HENRICKS: Absolutely. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Rose. I appreciate it. MS. BAUTISTA: Thank you. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: I got a text, saying that Chair Chung had a couple of comments. After that we're going to wrap this up, and move onto Planning. Chair Chung. Page 23 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 MR. CHUNG: Yeah, thank you. You know, very interesting conversations, and you know, I weigh in a bit on this on several levels. First of all, I wanted to complement Rose. You know, this is an excellent report, it integrated a lot of, you know, comments from other Council Members. So, I really appreciate that. But based on what's been said today, and I think all of you know how much of a supporter I have been of the Sister City program. I've always—even before becoming a Chair, I've always urged Council Members to participate in these matters, because they bring so much on both sides of the equation. But for Matt, you know, what happens here, and I think Rose will confirm this, when an invitation is extended from, you know, either us or it's usually from somewhere else, they will pay for the accommodations. But I think what you saw in Ikaho was an aberration now, because you guys weren't invited over there, you know, you guys were actually, you know, sent by me. But those aren't supposed to be paid by the host, okay. They did it out of their own good will, because we have a long standing relationship with that city. And you know, it gets us, you know, into the discussion about, you know, other cities where we don't have activities. You know, some of these things really stand the test of time, and Ikaho Shibakawa is one of them. We have a really close relationship with them, and that's why I think they extend those different benefits. But what hasn't been said, and I think Matt, you know, I would ask you to at least spend a few years on the Council to see how things go before, you know, making these kind of knee-jerk reactions. But you saw how they treated you guys, and then so now we have to reciprocate in kind. It's very difficult, because we have a lot of Sister Cities. And what I think you don't see is that, when a lot of these other people come here they go and are hosted by the host organizations. They play golf courses like Hualalai, maybe Hokulia, possibly even Nanea. We don't have that kinds of perks, whenever you go to, you know, the different places. So they get a lot of stuff here too. You know, I can't speak for other Sister City relationships. But I know Sumoto, Kurihama, and Ikaho, they are treated very well, but we don't pay for their hotel. They are hosted to some dinners, but no matter what we're never going to be able to match them dollar for dollar. But they are treated very well. So please just observe for a little while, couple years. Just to see how these things go, okay, because we don't want to break the bank either. Now with regard to deactivating some of these Sister Cities, you know, I wanted to make one comment to Rose. And it's through no fault of yours or your offices, but with regard to Gokseong, you know, you said there hadn't been some activity for maybe five years or more. But I know for a fact that they didn't come last year, because of the volcanic activity. But prior to that, they have been coming every year. And you know, they actually—some of their students have been Page 24 GREDC-10 August 20, 2019 staying with former Council Member Fresh Onishi. He would host them for about three years, straight. And the last time was just about two years ago. So you know, I'm going to point him in your direction, you know, and they're leaders in natural farming. And just maybe three or four years ago, we sent a big delegation from this island over to see their operations. And I think it was quite insightful for those who went. And you know, with regard to, you know, expenditures, you know, certainly we don't want to break the bank. But through the efforts of Ms. Poindexter two years ago I think it was, and Mayor Kim and Rose was instrumental in all of that, they put their resources together to get a 25�h anniversary for Shibukawa, Ikaho, and it was quite nice. Mark Yamanaka played, you know. So don't down play what we give. We can't match them dollar for dollar, but I think, you know, our island really does our best. You know, we do our best in trying to reciprocate, and you know, show our good will. So I just wanted to make those points. And one more, if I could just make a critique though based on what I've heard today. Rose, next time—and don't take this the wrong way because this is an excellent report that you provided—but maybe if you could put in the contacts, for the different cities. You know, whether it be Mayor, Council, and the organizations, and how we can get in touch with them. Because maybe that's one of the things. Because all we got to do is, have some minimal activity to keep these things going. So I just wanted to make those points. Thanks. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair Chung. As our most seasoned Council Member, he provides a lot of that historical context. Thank you, Rose. Excellent report, appreciate all of your effort as well as the contributions from my colleagues to really put together this very robust and detailed package. I think we're all very interested to know what the Administration's budget has been over the couple of years, and what you foresee as the budget for continuing Sister City relations with our active cities, but also looking at how we can reactivate, some of the agreements we have in place. It's really a great program, it is a platform for us to carry our very important message of aloha to the rest of the world. So thank you, we appreciate you. MS. BAUTISTA: Thank you. And thank you for your support. I know many of you attend the Sister City activities, so thank you. And we hope you continue, and support the program. Aloha. CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. Seeing no other folks that want to continue discussing this matter, I will take a vote on close file for Communication 405. All in favor please say "aye." Page 25 GREDC-10 Vote on Comm. 405: Filed ORDER OF R ESOT .T UTTONS August 20, 2019 The motion to close file on Comm. 405 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Kierkiewicz — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Villegas — 1. Excused: None. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order of Resolutions. (There were none.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of ORDINANCES: business, Bills for Ordinances. (There were none.) ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 2:25 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, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfleder, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Richards, Chair Kierkiewicz — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Villegas — 1 Excused: None. CHR. KIERKIEWICZ: GRED Committee is adjourned at 2:25 p.m. Approved: � uv� Ms. Ashley Kierkiewicz, Chair Governmental Relations and Economic Development Committee AK/rk LI (Date) Page 26