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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN AWEEMC 2019/10/15 2018-2020 Committee on Agriculture, Water, Energy, and Environmental Management th 11Session Hawaiʻi County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaiʻi October 15, 2019 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Agriculture, Water, Energy, ORDER: and Environmental Management was called to order at 1:05 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Acting Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Ms. Karen Eoff, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent & Excused: Mr. Herbert M. “Tim” Richards, III, Chair Mr. Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair Announcement: ACTING CHR. DAVID: Before we proceed any further, please note that the Chair of this committee, Mr. Tim Richards, and also the Vice Chair of this committee, Matt Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder are both out of the State and they’re excused. So, according to our Rules, Finance Chair will take charge of the meeting until we elect someone to chair it. So I’m leaving it to my colleagues— any suggestions? MS. LEE LOY: I’d like to make a motion that Ms. David continue to Chair this meeting. Can I get a second, please? ACTING CHR. DAVID: I’m supposed to ask for that. How quick we are. MS. LEE LOY: I’d like to call for the vote. ACTING CHR. DAVID: All those in favor? AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Vote on Motion to Ms. Lee Loy moved to nominate Ms. David as Chair. Nominate Chair: Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by (Approved) the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Acting Chair David – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder and Richards – 2. Excused: None. STATEMENTS Acting Chair David directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of FROM THE business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Kailin Kim: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing Ho‘ōla - Honey Relocation-Kohala) Kimberley Bennett: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Jade P. McGaff, M.D.: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (See Comm. 489.148) Oliva Ling: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Emely Salmo: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Geoffrey R. Last: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Cory Harden: Comm. 531; Res. 301 (Comm. 462); and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Donna Fischer: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing La‘Akea (See Comm. 489.75) Permaculture Farm) Dave Kisor: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Kelly Chahbazi: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Page 2 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Topher Dean: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (See Comm. 489.228) Melodie Reyes: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Lisa Andrews: Comm. 531, comment; Res. 301 (Comm. 462), in opposition; and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Michele Prevost: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Hanalei Fergerstrom: Comm. 531; (representing Na Kupuna Res. 301 (Comm. 462); and Moku O Keawe) Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Ernest Sittig: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Jamie Lynn Reid: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Phaethon Keeney: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing 350.org Hawaiʻi) (See Comm. 498.324) Roger Christie: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing the THC Ministry) Blake Watson: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing the Sierra Club, (See Comm. 489.239) Hawai‘i Island Group) Araya Pathwalker: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Sharon Willeford: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (See Comm. 498.323) Jaerick Medeiros-Garcia: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Mark Crivello: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing 3C Goat Grazing) Abel Lui: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Colehour Bondera: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing Kanalani Ohana (See Comm. 489.23) Farm) Page 3 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Lucinda Moran: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (representing Friends of Honoka‘a (See Comm. 489.159) Park) Jennifer Navarro: Comm. 531, comment. (representing Zero Waste (See Comm. 489.20) Big Island) Isiah Haliburtan: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Dr. Joe Kassel: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Rachel Mason: Comm. 531, comment. Terri Markovich: Res. 301 (Comm. 462), and (representing Recycle Hawai‘i Bill 101 (Comm. 489); comment. Misha Kassel: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (See Comm. 489.110) Josephine Keli‘ipio: Res. 301 (Comm. 462); and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Cherie Griffore: Comm. 531, comment; and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Danny Li: Comm. 531; Res. 301 (Comm. 462); and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Ben Cohn: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Eda Rassner: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (See Comm. 489.257) Springer Kaye: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), comment. (representing Big Island Invasive Species Committee) Jon Olson: Comm. 531; and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in opposition. Koohan Paik-Mander: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Page 4 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Kristine Kubat: Comm. 531, comment; and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Colleen Mellor: Comm. 531; and Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. (See Comm. 489.152) Ben-Joseph Canaan: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Cathy Lam: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Jerne Willis: Bill 101 (Comm. 489), in support. Roy Kadota: Comm. 531, comment. (representing Mr. K’s Recycling) ACTING CHR. DAVID: Mahalo. And I believe that concludes our Public Testimony portion, and I really thank everybody for their patience. And I’m going to take a five-minute recess. Okay, I’ll take ten because I think we’ve all been sitting here for quite a while and we’ll be right back after our ten minutes. We’re in recess. Recess: At 3:25 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 3:43 p.m. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, could we start with Communication 531, please? COMMUNI- Acting Chair David directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of CATIONS: business, Communications. Comm. 531: REQUESTS AN UPDATE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT REGARDING CHANGES TO THE 2-BIN COUNTY RECYCLING PROGRAM From Council Member Matt Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder, dated October 3, 2019. Motion to Close File: Ms. Poindexter moved to close file on Comm. 531. Second by Ms. Eoff. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Ms. Poindexter. Go ahead. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, and I would like to ask that we postpone this till our th next Committee meeting, which is on November 5. Page 5 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Vote on Motion Ms. Poindexter moved to postpone Comm. 531 to to Postpone: November 5, 2019. Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by (Approved) the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Poindexter, Villegas, and Acting Chair David – 6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, Lee Loy, and Richards – 3. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk. Order of Resolutions, Resolution 301-19. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 301-19: URGES THE DIRECTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO COLLABORATE AND DEVELOP A PLAN FOR A WASTE STREAM REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY FOR RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY GENERATION FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI Seeks to address an increasing supply of solid waste through a waste stream reduction technology mechanism that would conserve County funds, reduce the use of fossil fuels, and improve environmental conditions on Hawaiʻi Island. Reference: Comm. 462 Intr. by: Mr. Richards Postponed: September 17, 2019 (Note: There is a motion by Mr. Richards, seconded by Ms. Eoff, to recommend adoption of Res. 301-19.) Motion to Postpone: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to postpone Res. 301-19 to November 5, 2019. Second by Ms. Eoff. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Just one note, Council Member Richards is not here, and we want to make sure that the resolution reflects the comments that were th discussed at the September 17 meeting of this body. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you for that. Any other discussion? Seeing none all those in favor please say “aye.” Page 6 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Vote on Motion The motion to postpone Res. 301-19 to November 5, 2019 to Postpone: was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Acting Chair David – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, and Richards – 2. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you for that. Now we move on to Bill 101, please. BILLS FOR Acting Chair David directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Bills for Ordinances. ORDINANCES: Bill 101: AMENDS CHAPTER 14, HAWAIʻI COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE 24, RELATING TO HERBICIDE USE Prohibits the use of certain prohibited herbicides on County owned or maintained parks and alongside County roads, bikeways, sidewalks, trails, drainage ways, and waterways; and creates a transition committee to research and develop alternative methods of vegetation management. The ban will take effect on or after January 1, 2024. Reference: Comm. 489 Intr. by: Ms. Villegas ; and Comm. 489.1: From Council Member Rebecca Villegas, dated September 16, 2019, requesting a presentation by Autumn Ness, Program Director of Beyond Pesticides. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And do I—I have a question. So, the motion on the bill and the motion on the communication, or do we—? MR. HENRICKS: Just the bill is fine. It will close out the communications that are associated. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Okay, awesome. Mahalo. Ms. Villegas, go ahead. Motion to Approve: Ms. Villegas moved to recommend passage of Bill 101 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Eoff. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Discussion? Ms. Villegas, go ahead. Page 7 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MS. VILLEGAS: Yes, if I could I’d like to start off by introducing Autumn Ness. I’m calling her up for the communication. She’s going to share a presentation with us. (Note: At this time, Autumn Ness, Program Director of Beyond Pesticides came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. NESS: Aloha Committee, my name is Autumn Ness. Thank you so much for having me and giving me some time to explain. I’m here to present and talk to you guys a little bit about what is possible if and when this bill passes, because there is so much more possible than what we are currently doing. Like she said, I am the Hawai‘i Organic Land Management Program Director for Beyond Pesticides. I’m based on Maui, but I work all over the state with various local governments, agencies, the school board; private resorts and golf courses. A lot of different large-scale entities that are trying to move away from this stuff. And it’s working. There’s a lot that’s possible and that’s what I want to tell you about. Really quickly I submitted a 14-page written testimony from Beyond Pesticides that’s full of citations and the scientific literature that I will not go over now, but please refer to that if you have questions. In summary, I will just say that of the 30 most commonly used lawn care pesticides, 16 are linked directly to cancer; 17 are hormone disruptors; 21 are reproductive toxicants; 12 are linked to birth defects; 14 are neurotoxic, and 25 cause kidney and liver effects. I will leave the rest for you to look for yourself. On the back of this written testimony, there is a table of 30 most commonly used lawn pesticides. And there is another table about 30 commonly used pesticides in general that go into more detail. And there’s scientific citations on there. Beyond Pesticides have been around since 1981. Do you have it? Oh, there’s one that was written and submitted with all of the written testimony to the Council. ACTING CHR. DAVID: We don’t have a copy. MS. NESS: Oh, okay. So in the back you’ll find the table. So Beyond Pesticides has been around since 1981, but just recently we opened a Hawai‘i specific program because the movement around the state is so fast and furious. And we live in a unique place. So we put some resources to Hawai‘i specifically to help push this whole thing forward. The last thing I’ll say is that, in addition to the health problems, we are in a cascading environmental crises. And I think you’re all in some way, shape or form, aware. Alone I will just talk about the honeybee decline. We are losing our honeybee population across the U.S. And Hawai‘i is not immune to this statistic at 30 percent give or take per year. So we are in trouble. I will leave you with those facts. Page 8 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Okay, so for the purposes of this presentation, sometimes I’m going to use the word pesticide and sometimes I’m going to use the word herbicide. In general, a weed qualifies as a pest. So pesticides also include herbicides. It’s an umbrella topic. Some of the science and recommendations I’m going to make include all pesticides. Some of them are herbicide specific. So please bear with me as I interchange, but know that that’s done intentionally. I know that your bill talks about herbicide reduction and that’s great too. Let’s see, so where are you guys in this whole scheme right now? In Hawai‘i, there has been some really watershed changes made to the conversation around pesticides and their regulation. Two years ago, I was part of the team in the State of Hawai‘i at the Legislature that banned the use of chlorpyrifos in our state. The State of Hawai‘i was the first state to do so. And California and Nevada quickly followed suit. And now there is a bill going through Congress at the Federal level to band chlorpyrifos. We were all waiting around for the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to do so, because the science against chlorpyrifos is so clear. But the EPA under this current administration brushed it under the rug, so Hawai‘i was the first state to act. And I worked at the Leg for a long time and I’ve never seen the legislators so cohesive around one topic. Passing the chlorpyrifos’ ban was very easy comparatively, because the science is just so clear. And, like I said, our action allowed California and New York, and the Feds are going to follow suit. In 2016, I was working for Council Member Cochran for the Maui County Council as her Legislative Advisor and we were getting calls from citizens around Maui. They were concerned about spraying in their parks, much like what’s happening today. The ones that really hit home for us were the ones from the parents who have children with already pre-existing autoimmune disorders or cancers or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), or autism that couldn’t use the County parks because they didn’t know when or what they were being sprayed with. And if you have a child that is already at risk, those things are alarming. So we contacted Beyond Pesticides. Beyond Pesticides came to Maui; trained our Maui parks staff, and we made four pesticide-free parks as a pilot program. They are still pesticide free today. They taught them how to manage those landscapes differently in a way that doesn’t use, not only pesticides or herbicides, but not even chemical fertilizers anymore. So we are about to expand that program county-wide. Our Parks Department has committed to going 100 percent, and our Public Works Department actually who manages the highways has decreased their use of pesticides and herbicides by 90 percent over the last few years. Maui County Council is about to hear a bill that’s similar to yours codifying that. Let’s see, the Board of Education, you might have heard in June of this year, we Page 9 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 brought Lee Johnson to meet with some of your members and some of the Administration. Lee Johnson is the first man to win a lawsuit against Monsanto, proving in a judicial forum that his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is directly related to his use of Roundup at work. He came here and talked to various agencies. He talked to the Board of Education, and his story is so compelling. He was actually a school groundskeeper when he got sick, ironically. His story was so compelling that in something that I’ve never seen before, the State Superintendent of Schools and the President of the Board of Education issued a memo the very following day, less than 12 hours after the meeting convened, that clarified that there is to be no herbicide use, period. Not just Roundup. No herbicide use, period on any public school grounds in the State of Hawai‘i. And if there is any stock of herbicide on campus, they should be disposed of immediately, because the evidence is so compelling. Also, last thing. On Kauaʻi, they’re also doing something where they’re going to convert all of their parks and roadways to pesticide-free spaces. But they’re not doing so through legislation. They’re doing so by mayoral directive. So, you guys are not alone in this conversation, is the point that I’m trying to make, which is good because it means that you have help and resources along the way. (Note: At this time, Ms. Ness proceeded with a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk’s Office. A copy of the presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 489.1.) MS. NESS: Okay, I just talked a lot. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of that. Thank you. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Autumn. I really appreciate you being here. MS. NESS: My pleasure. MS. VILLEGAS: This has been such an interesting journey for me personally and professionally. I’ve tried to be very forthright in given credit where credit is due. Blake, sitting right over there, and Jen Ruggles worked very hard on this legislation prior to my getting into office. Blake has been irreplaceable, and the amount of knowledge that he brought to me and my team, and the connections with people like Autumn. And you know, Margaret Wille and those who have been in office before me, and so many of the people who spoke today have worked for years to bring something like this to fruition. So I feel fortunate to have the opportunity. I also feel very responsible, and I feel like it’s a privilege and an honor. Kind of serendipitously, it’s all lined up with timing with Dwayne Johnson being in the islands and able to Page 10 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 come with the heads of our Departments. And Autumn coming back and meeting with the Mayor. And really, the goal being, not to change a policy and then make things harder on the Administration and our staff and our County workers, but to bring in support. The education, the resources, the ideas, the passion; the determination and tenacity that it’s going to take to transition to some of these new systems. But you know, after coming back from New York and the United Nations global assembly, general assembly and climate week, and all the issues we’re facing as society and humanity with relation to climate change, and the need for carbon sequestration, it just continues to pop up everywhere. And I really feel the time is ripe. We, I forget the term that you said, but basically you can’t deny it anymore and trying to claim that it’s not there just isn’t really plausible. So I am hopeful and excited that the rest of the members of this Council will support this bill moving from Committee to Council, and I just am extremely grateful for this opportunity. So, thank you so much for everyone who’s worked so hard on this. And we’re going to continue to work hard to make the changes necessary to keep our eco systems healthy for all the necessary biomes, and also for our children. You know, making sure that our kids rolling around in the baseball field doesn’t expose them to the potential of being covered in sores and other issues. So, with that I yield. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you Ms. Villegas. Anyone else, comments? Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. You know, I’m reading this and Ms. Ness brought it up. Springer Kaye put together a wonderful letter identifying some areas of improvement. And I just wanted to ask the author of this bill if there were ways to integrate some of this information that’s been provided to us by Big Island Invasive Species Counsel, because I really think it would add to what I think everybody is after, right? If you don’t mind. Is that something you would commit to? Like we would see a draft two that would fold in some of these proposed edits or refined language. MS. VILLEGAS: I’m not comfortable making that commitment right now. However, I would be comfortable sharing the letter, and the suggestions and recommendations that were provided with some other members of the team and the Environmental Commission, yeah, just bouncing those off of I think some are good. But yeah, I’m not comfortable with committing to that right now. I want to make sure that what we have goes forward. Things can be amended at another time. I’ve also had other scientists bring the names of other chemicals and potentially hazardous chemicals and want to have that included. But right now I feel, you Page 11 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 know, we heard a lot of testifiers with concerns about a four-year transition. And we’ve gone back and forth on that timing. I’m really grateful to have heard from so many members of the Administration that the hope is that the transition could happen sooner. But it allows for that window. I also am very grateful that there’s a commitment from Beyond Pesticides of how people have expressed concerns that this would hit our budget super hard and cause all kinds of financial constraints, but the commitment is that it will remain within the budget. And other people have expressed fears, and I think they misunderstood. This bill does not prohibit people from utilizing these substances on their own private property. But I’d like to take a look through and go a little more in-depth on what BIISC (Big Island Invasive Species Committee) suggested. But I don’t think that I would be changing it, or I’m not willing to make that commitment right here right now. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, let’s just try to keep an open mind, because this is committee. This is our first look at this. We’ve heard testimony, and you spoke specifically about the chemicals, because I heard a lot of testimony about the Roundup. But there’s a number of other chemicals listed. And so, I just want to hear from you how this list was developed and why these specific ones. MS. VILLEGAS: Sure, and I’m going to actually defer, if I could to Blake Watson and perhaps maybe Autumn, because the science is not my forte. But if you guys wouldn’t mind coming up and explaining a little bit about that list and how it correlates, that would be fantastic. (Note: At this time, Blake Watson came forward to address the members of the Committee.) ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Just identify yourself first before you begin. MR. WATSON: Hi, I’m Blake Watson. MS. LEE LOY: Mr. Watson, thank you. And I am all ears, but it would be really great for you to just give a little bit of background on yourself. That way we can kind of receive your testimony as maybe even expert testimony as it relates to these chemicals. Just a little bit, you know what I’m saying, right? Thanks. MR. WATSON: So I’ve been doing landscape management, land development for about 15 years and have a background in organic agriculture. And I’ve developed methods to get rid of invasive species without using any pesticides using complete organic methods that require persistence, but the least amount of labor. So that’s the part of me that pertains to this. Also, I’ve been an advocate Page 12 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 for not using pesticides; not using chemical based agriculture in general. I see that as being a major paradigm shift that we need to go through that addresses a lot of issues. So a background in advocacy. Generally, I’ve got that going in my background. As far as the list of chemicals. The reason it was written that way, as far as the rationale, previous attempts to write bills like this where a mechanism was developed to stop the use of certain pesticides, but they weren’t specified. They were like, okay, if it has a certain signal word on it like “danger.” You know, there’s a whole like list of signal words used for different pesticides depending on how they’ve been tested and what the potential risks are. And that became problematic, because some things say “danger” on them when they’re actually something we might want to use. Just that if you use a substance too much, a too concentrated amount, it will be harmful. So to go around that, we just said, well look, we’re going to arbitrarily pick every herbicide that’s been used that we can find in the State of Hawai‘i that is chemically based; has some sort of toxic effects that’s been shown, and some peer reviewed science somewhere that we can address, that this is something that we would like to, you know, have the County ban. So that was sort of like a preemptive way to, you know, if we just ban one pesticide then there would be another pesticide that would pop into its place. So we figured if it’s been used in Hawai‘i going back to the 40’s, it’s on that list. So that’s basically it. MS. LEE LOY: Okay, because this particular bill is related to herbicides only. MR. WATSON: Herbicides only. Yeah, I may have used the word “pesticides” interchangeably, but I mean, it’s all just herbicides. MS. LEE LOY: Right. Because I’m walking back to the Big Island Invasive Species letter, which is more pesticides. But I’m like, I’m hoping that somebody would provide this information to me. If some of the list or chemical listed in this bill would actually take a tool out of our tool-belt when we’re looking at addressing fire ants or Albizia or Rat Lung. Do you have any information on that? MR. WATSON: Well, if you noticed in the bill, there is an emergency exemption clause. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you for that, but we have a letter from Big Island Invasive Species asking us to refine that. MR. WATSON: Sure. Yeah. MS. LEE LOY: Okay, thank you for that answer. I wanted to bring up Ms. Ness. If she could come forward? Page 13 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 (Note: At this time, Autumn Ness, Program Director of Beyond Pesticides came forward to address the members of the Committee. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I’m glad that slide is up just because, like I can appreciate the collaborative effort, right? And bringing the training. And then you mentioned—sorry I have a lot of notes in front of me. Some of the pilot programs you did on Maui. Well, let me ask this because I like to compare apples with apples. Does Maui have fire ants? MS. NESS: Yes, we do now. Yeah. MS. LEE LOY: And were the parks that were in this pilot program, kind of identified as a park with fire ants? MS. NESS: No. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. And you mentioned that the training, Beyond Pesticides will contribute 100 percent of the cost of training. MS. NESS: Yeah. MS. LEE LOY: Are you a lobbyist? MS. NESS: I’m a lobbyist for the State, yeah. I lobby on State issues. MS. LEE LOY: Have you registered here? MS. NESS: With Hawai‘i County? MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. MS. NESS: No. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. You might want to check our section under Lobbyists. It would be ideal. MS. NESS: Sure, okay. If I may about the Invasive Species? In the Maui version of a similar bill, there is also a similar clause that allows for waivers in the event of public health, Invasive Species. We had that—I don’t know if you had Zika (Virus) over here. We had a big Zika thing on Maui. So we had those kinds of things in mind when we wrote the bill. So, yeah, I think something similar. MS. LEE LOY: Have you seen a copy of the Big Island Invasive Species letter and some of the refined language? Page 14 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MS. NESS: Only what I heard in testimony, yeah. MS. LEE LOY: Oh, okay. But I also heard you, yeah. I mean it’s clear that you’re part of the team that’s helping. MS. NESS: Yeah, I’d love to see your written copy. Sure, thank you. MS. LEE LOY: Would you have an open mind to consider some of these, what I think are good suggestions? MS. NESS: Yeah, of course. I mean I can’t tell right now what they look like, because we have to work, you know, working out the wording of a bill is—there’s a lot of wordsmithing to go on, but yeah I think it’s best to be open. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. You also mentioned, part of this program on the parks that were adopted on Maui, you used compost, right? You folks have a composting facility on Maui. MS. NESS: Yes. MS. LEE LOY: Do you know how much tons of compost you folks generate on Maui? MS. NESS: I don’t, off hand. MS. LEE LOY: Because we don’t have one. MS. NESS: Okay, I could find that for you. MS. LEE LOY: And so back to comparing apples with apples right? It’s lessons learned, right? You guys learned some lessons, but we might not have the same tools in our tool-belt. MS. NESS: Oh, of course. That’s why each of these things is so—that’s why we don’t even start making recommendations until the team comes here. I will say that when the turf report was, like the recipe book I was talking about was first put together for Maui, the compost product recommended was not the locally produced compost that I was speaking of. That was an added bonus that we ended up getting. We got a bunch donated just because the guy was so excited that we might be using his product all over the island to build soil. But the original recommendation was them substituting a nitrogen-based fertilizer that we were purchasing on repeat—so that was an existing cost within the Parks Page 15 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 Department—and substituting that for the purchase of compost. So even if you don’t have locally available and locally produced compost, we can work around that. MS. LEE LOY: And then, since you helped author this, are there enough work-around solutions for that contained within this bill? Well, you just mentioned, right? MS. NESS: Oh, totally. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat once you get away from being dependent on pesticides. There’s a lot of different models that you can work around and still follow the letter of this law. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. My final question. This Beyond Pesticides, that’s who you’re a lobbyist for? MS. NESS: To be clear, I work for Beyond Pesticides as a community builder. This is the first time since I’ve worked with Beyond Pesticides that I’ve actually sat in front of a body and talked about legislation. I am an Organic Land Management Program Director. So if you want them in tiers right now, I guess I’m lobbying, yeah. But this is the first time I’ve ever done that, working for them. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. You mentioned you are a lobbyist, yeah? MS. NESS: At the State level, yeah. MS. LEE LOY: Registered for whom? MS. NESS: For the Hawai‘i Center for Food Safety. MS. LEE LOY: Okay, since I don’t have time, I yield. Thank you. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Mr. Chung, go ahead. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, can I call up David Yamamoto, our Public Works Director, please? I mean, we don’t have the Parks and Recreation people here, but I think they’ve already, you know, stated either to me or to others that they’re working towards going pesticide free so. What’s your take on this, David, from an operational standpoint? You know, you’ve got four years—you might not be here I mean, 2024, but what would you do in furtherance? You know, if this was passed, what would you do in furtherance of it? What would be the cost; what would be, you know, some of the operational concerns? (Note: At this time, Public Works Director David Yamamoto came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 16 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MR. YAMAMOTO: You know, we’re looking at this. We would probably need the assistance of someone like Autumn to help give us some education as far as the alternative means to maintain the roadways without the use of pesticides or herbicides. I was told that currently we have attempted to reduce our herbicide use and they have reduced it by 50 percent. But they continue struggling with trying to keep the grass down on the side of the roads. And I guess, herbicides is the more, you know, current go-to-quick fix to get the grass down. So I would imagine, you know, working with a consultant that’ll teach us and train us on the alternative means, and then have an audit in as far as what it will take operationally, if we would need additional manpower and equipment. At that point, we can propose a budget for approval with the, you know, audit indicating that these are our needs and the resources we need to start implementing our wean off of herbicides. MS. CHUNG: So, but right now, you wouldn’t have an idea then? MR. YAMAMOTO: No, we would have audit our current operation. You know, what kind of manpower we’re using. Work with a consultant to— MR. CHUNG: That’s fair. MR. YAMAMATO: That’s why we asked, you know, I think it’ll take a while for us to get the education and training as well as being able to get our budget in and procure the necessary resources that we would need. So four years is probably going to go by real quick. And as far as this process to try and convert from herbicide use. MR. CHUNG: Right, but if this bill were passed, though, you would move forthwith in trying to secure a consultant and try to get up to speed. And then try to modify your operations, yeah. Okay, that was all I have to ask of you. MR. YAMAMOTO: But we’d be required to, right? We got no choice, yeah? MR. CHUNG: Yeah, but you can say that you’re not going to be here in four years. Somebody else’s problem right? MR. YAMAMOTO: Yeah, I might go down the grass roads. MR. CHUNG: Okay, maybe now, if Blake, Mr. Watson, if you could come up here? (Note: At this time, Blake Watson came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 17 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MR. CHUNG: Could you kind of go through all of these—the schedule, because the only one I really know is glyphosate. You know, we’ve heard that so many times and Roundup. But all these all these other things, you know, if I’m going to vote in favor of something, I sure as hell would like to know what I’m voting on, right? I mean because I don’t know any of these things. Could you just maybe go one by one and tell me what—try to help me relate to something? Why don’t— anybody who could provide help would be greatly appreciated. MR. WATSON: To be perfectly honest with you, Council Member Chung, these—I mean Dicamba I’m most familiar with because of its use recently. MR. CHUNG: Which one is that? MR. WATSON: Dicamba. MR. CHUNG: Is it under Active Ingredients, Chemical Family, or brand? MR. WATSON: Active Ingredients. MR. CHUNG: Okay, oh right there, okay. MR. WATSON: Yeah, and just to kind of also generalize before I try going, breaking bit by bit. It’s just that, one row is an active chemical, and there’s a chemical family, and there’s the commercial name. And there’s a reason for that because if you ban something, it’s real easy for a chemical company to just change it by a little molecule shift, but it still falls under the same chemical family. So if we want we could mince hairs about every single chemical, but generally, these are all herbicides that have been used in the State of Hawai‘i, and that’s basically what I use as a basis. Like herbicides that are synthetic-based herbicides. MR. CHUNG: All relating to plants? MR. WATSON: All herbicides would be only vegetation management. So, I mean, that’s the basis of how I created it. Just because it seemed like the most— yeah, the full way to do it. MR. CHUNG: And are all of these on the market right now? MR. WATSON: Some of them may not be. MR. CHUNG: Like which ones? MR. WATSON: I think there’s Paraquat on here. MR. CHUNG: Paraquat? Page 18 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MR. WATSON: There’s things on there that aren’t used anymore. MR. CHUNG: That’s illegal, right? Paraquat? MR. WATSON: Yeah, and so—but you know, leave it to chemical companies to be like resurrecting an ancient chemical a little bit and finding a way to reintroduce it to the market. So, just to cover that base, we put everything in there. MS. NESS: If I could, again I’m not a scientist, but since you’re looking for some way to identify with any of these, I can give you some—just gleam a little light onto just a few of these. Dicamba, like Blake said, this one is in the news a lot lately because of the way that it volatilizes. It’s a huge deal, especially in Central United States because people are using it. There’s Dicamba resistant crops right now, right? If you plant Dicamba resistant soy bean or corn, the farmer should be able to spray Dicamba on his farm and kill all the weeds except for the crop. MR. CHUNG: Oh, so this is like for food crops then? MS. NESS: Well, this is one way’s it’s used. MR. CHUNG: I mean not on food crops, but to the tree. MS. NESS: Oh yeah, it is used on food crops, because the corn is resistant to the Dicamba. MR. CHUNG: Right, I mean it’s to control the weeds around. MS. NESS: Not alone, but this is just anecdotally that will give you a way to identify with this chemical. So it’s in the news right now because when it heats up to a certain temperature it volatilizes and the gases blow down to the next farmer. And if you don’t have Dicamba resistant crops, you get crop damage because Dicamba kills not only just you and me, but the crops. MR. CHUNG: How about this? Because I got to leave at 5:30 and pick up my daughter. MS. NESS: Okay, sure I’m done with that one. MR. CHUNG: And I don’t care what you guys tell me today, I’m not going to be able to digest it anyway. So, how about from now until the next time, if you or Blake, or Ms. Villegas could just come up with some kind of description so that I can understand what I’m voting on. Because I’m going to be voting in favor of this today. And you know, I’ll tell you why. You know, if it were a blanket Page 19 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 prohibition against, for example Glyphosate or herbicides, then I would have a hard time, and I think we’ve dealt with that before. But, this is something that’s within the purview of what we do. It’s the County, right? And our operations. And you know, kind of just thinking about this. You know, there’s several reasons why I’m more comfortable with doing it from an operational standpoint, you know, David already said, he would hire a consultant to help us out. And you know, we have to adapt, of course. It’s always a good thing. One, we have our composting facility coming online. I’ve talked to our Environmental Management person today, and we’ve all supported it here on the body, yeah? And it was good news when, actually Greg Goodale told me, “All systems are go.” That’s going to be huge in the, you know, grand scheme of things. So that’s one reason. And I might forget some of the other reasons. But another one, which I haven’t heard of too much, but you know, I really think it could build communities by developing volunteerism, yeah? People can go into the parks; they can have, Friends of the Park. Go over there, and you know, because we’re really talking about controlling weeds, really right? So they can do that, and I think that’s a good thing. You have to deal with the public employee unions, though I think on that one, but it’s doable. And you know, since the last time we visited all of this, we’ve had some huge judgements, yeah, against Monsanto and others. And you know, that’s something that we have to take into consideration as employers. So you know, I’m not saying that I totally agree with what the jury came up with, but it is what it is, right? And you know, whatever we can do to try to protect the tax payers from undo liability, I think we have to. I’ve got to say something funny, though, and that’s only three things. I can’t remember what the fourth thing was. But you know, I really do want a little bit more explanation on these chemicals and things, because I got to know what I’m voting on. MS. NESS: Yeah, every community grapples with this. You know that big list of communities that you’ve seen, people that have passed legislation. This is not— there are so many—that’s probably old. You probably need to add a few communities to that list, but every community grapples with this situation. How do we define what’s banned and what’s not? MR. CHUNG: Oh the fourth one, bees. I think everyone here knows how much I love bees. You know, and my wife actually has this whole bitter melon patch because she heard from her bee friend that, bitter melons are really good for bees. MS. NESS: Okay, noted. Page 20 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MR. CHUNG: Right? And so, whenever I see the bees I’m really happy, and you know, I just think we have one of those things—the colony collapsed or whatever that’s happening with the bees. I don’t know if it’s related to any of these chemicals. I really don’t, but intuitively it’s possible, right? And you know, we really do need bees. So that was the fourth thing. But I got to share this funny story, because I was upstairs, you know I haven’t been feeling too well actually. And then you know, Cherie (Griffore) who’s a really nice person kind of calling me out, in a nice way, right? About how I had said one time that I put on all of these white garbs, and you know, when I spray my herbicides and close all the doors; keep my kids inside and stuff. And I have to admit, that’s what I said. And maybe, you know, it could cut both ways, right? One, it’s that I’m being irresponsible. The other one is that I’m kind of wary of, you know, what the hazards are. But, for her to say that, and I’m saying this really in a good way. It’s kind of like a lighthearted way. Her family owns a liquor store in Kona right, which I went to and I bought this special bottle of Hendrick’s Gin. It’s a purple bottle. She said this is a special bottle. I’m looking at this, “Examples of international agency for research on cancer, carcinogenic classifications: Glyphosate, Category 2-A.” Higher than that, Category I, alcoholic beverages. I never heard her telling me, “Hey, but you know, Aaron, I’m going to sell you this bottle of Hendrick’s Gin, but you know, it’s Class I on the carcinogenic scale.” I just had to make that comment. But, yeah, I’ll be voting in favor of it, but I would like, you know, some of the Big Island Invasive Species concerns to be incorporated into—you know, I can only make that request, and it’s something I can require, but I’d feel more comfortable if those things were put in there. Thank you. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Ms. Eoff, and then I’m going to go to Ms. Poindexter. MS. EOFF: Okay, thank you Madam Chair. And thank you to everybody today for excellent comments, and I don’t need to repeat how important it is that we take a step forward at this point in time. But I do remember when we, I was on the Council several years back when we discussed this and we couldn’t really make enough headway. But at that time we did and I brought forth a measure to amend our budget, because the only line item we had for weed control actually just said Roundup. So we made that change to our Operating Budget and that probably allows Mr. Yamamoto and others to purchase other alternatives and use other alternatives at this point. But I’m glad we did that and I’m really happy to support what is here before us. Page 21 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 And regarding this BIISC testimony, I just went through it, each numbered concern, and several of them I think are not anything we have to change in here. But as far as—her number one is to include a member trained in weed science and one in wildfire management onto this transition committee. But the committee already identifies five out of seven required professions, and maybe this is already there, because one is tropical horticulture; one is agroforestry. I don’t know if those exactly fit someone trained in weed science and wildfire management. But if not, you could add those two things. I’m not sure if you need to, but that wouldn’t be hard. And then, the number two is, she’s asking for an exemption for control of new species with high risk, but that’s already dealt with under the section that Blake mentioned, in case of emergency. So I think that wouldn’t—she wouldn’t have to be concerned about that. And then, they also wanted to add an exemption to prohibit herbicides when using an application method other than spraying. Like for instance, just shooting the trunk of an invasive—yeah, and I don’t know about that. That’s something I think you would really need to talk about, and don’t know the science of that. But I think I don’t see an answer for it within the bill. And then the name Aminopyralid, I couldn’t really find that one, except for you do have—yeah, I saw Amine, is that it? Yeah, I see it, okay. And I don’t know if we have any other way to control Albizia. And if that’s what we’re using, I guess that’s something to think about. Unless we can consider, like Blake said, Albizia sometimes as an emergency could fall into that exemption. And then, she was concerned about—because they do receive grants in aids from the County, and whether their grant would then—if this bill would then prohibit them from using County funds to apply some prohibited herbicides. But she says on non-County land, so I would say the answer would be, “No.” Because this bill only applies to County roadways, parkways, bikeways, and facilities. So, I think that would be subtle there. And she wanted to know whether they would be able to fall under the exemption for prohibited herbicides in the County easement, which they don’t control, but they do, I guess, control areas around those. And I think that’s also addressed in that Section 14-144(b). So actually there’s not too much in her letter that we can’t deal with. Anyways thank you so much for flying here and talking to us and sharing your experience and giving us the courage to go ahead and join with other Counties and even in our State. Other Counties that are getting on board to find better ways to control weeds without using harmful herbicides, and I’m really happy to be supportive of this. Thank you, Rebecca. Page 22 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Eoff. Ms. Poindexter, go ahead. MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to say, thank you first of all to Rebecca for being a champion for this; and Blake and Autumn for helping. And all those who were instrumental in getting it to this point. I think it’s important. I know that Parks and Rec. has been very, very active in making sure that we eliminate the use of Glyphosate in our parks. I know we’ve been working on a lot of the Friends of the Park agreements. I know I have on in my district. I’ve already funded last year. I think it was for equipment. This year I’m funding rubber mats for under the bleachers. You know, getting it to that point. So the Parks and Rec., I’m real comfortable with what we’re doing in our parks. And I want to thank them for, you know, starting that and taking that initiative knowing that all of this is coming up and making it safe for our keiki and our families. You know, a lot of playgrounds, baseball fields, just a lot of parks. And you know, as far as DPW (Department of Public Works), I say, buy more weed-eaters right now. Because I know a lot on our old Māmalahoa Highway, there’s a lot of—we have guardrails, right? You can go with the big tractors, mow them real easy, but hard to jump out of the truck with a weed-eater just to whack that; but easier to spray it. I’ve seen that done. It’ll take maybe 20 minutes of their time, getting out to do a guardrail with a weed-eater. Just got to work with the unions to make sure they’re okay doing that. I’m just saying that there’s things that we can already do. And I hate to use the word, lazy, but sometimes we get so dis-convenient when it’s just sitting in a truck, you know. So I’m not saying that our guys are lazy, but what I’m saying is sometimes, I see these things and I report it. And then it gets taken care of, but we can do better. Volunteers, when we talk about even our homeowners. I know a lot of people I know in ‘O‘ōkala that I see a lot of homeowners taking care of their own front yards and across the road. So we’re taking care of a lot of—some of the County areas too, because we don’t want it sprayed. So we agreed to take care of those areas, which helps. So you know, it’s all of our kuleana, yeah? It’s everybody’s kuleana. So we should all be able to do some volunteer work there. And I think that’s it. I just want to say, I’m in full support of this. I’m glad it’s happening. You know, we talk about global warming and climate change and all of that. And all of this all ties in. So I’m glad we’re moving in the right direction. So, I’ll yield at this time, Madam Chair. I’m definitely supporting it. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Ms. Villegas. Page 23 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Thanks for everybody’s input and conversations. And I think we’re headed in the right direction. I also just quickly wanted to touch on, a number of different testifiers mentioned their concerns about the areas outside of their homes or in front of the roads where they lived being sprayed. And I just wanted to mention that the Department of Public Works Highway Maintenance has a form that’s actually on our County website. It’s called the request to maintain County roadside area. And there were a number of people who wanted things changed, you know, by next year where this bill outlines a four-year transition period. But in that interim, they can locate this form on the website under Public Works, under Highways and Vegetation Control forms. It’s DPW Form 33, and they can outline the areas that they would make a commitment to maintain. Thus, eliminating it from an area of being sprayed in the future. So I just wanted to point that out, so in the interim people can have some respite and a way to proactively contribute to their areas and keeping them safer for themselves. I also just wanted to say that today we all received three emails. There were too many written testimonies to send them all in one email. There were a total of 265 written testimonies turned in with regards to Bill 101; 263 of them were in support of Bill 101. Only two were not. One of them was from a gentleman that I’m wondering, and I’ll have to get back to him. I think there might have been a little confusion about whether or not the bill prohibits people from utilizing these products on their own private property. And the other one was from somebody who just seemed adamant that it was going cost us intense amounts of money and whatnot. The only other person that I’ve spoken to who had serious concerns—oh, and also of that 265, 12 were doctors and one was a marine scientist, of people who supported Bill 101. And the only other phone call I got from somebody who had concerns about Bill 101 actually runs his own chemical company. And when I looked it up later, there are four employees in the company and they make between $8 and $10 million dollars a year. So while speaking to him, I had to kind of just say, it was difficult to take his concerns because there was a financial benefit to his life and not necessarily taking the considerations of the safety, health and well-being or our communities. Yeah, so I just want to thank everybody again, as we move through this process, I want to thank the members of this body who have expressed their support. And this is a journey, and we’re all in it together. And I think it’s time. So thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Villegas. Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. I think there’s no question that there’s shared commitment here to reduce unnecessary exposure to toxins, especially Page 24 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 when we have this within our purview and our kuleana. The easy part is going to be passing this. The heavy lift is going to be the implementation. So, thank you for coming forward Autumn. It was nice to meet you prior to this meeting. And for you to just put yourself out there to be a partner to our County. I wanted to hear from Parks and Rec. I know Mo Messina is here. If you don’t mind coming forward and weighing in on this. Council Member Villegas, were you able to speak with Neil Azevedo or Jason Mattos about your bill? MS. VILLEGAS: Prior to bringing this legislation forward, I met with the Director of Parks and Recreation and the Deputy Director. I met with the Director of Public Works and Deputy Director. The Director of Finance. Who else was in the room? We also met with the Mayor. So I met with the heads of all the departments who would be most impacted by this. Because once again, my goal was to not bring legislation that makes their jobs harder without also seeking their input, their concerns, and how they could be best supported. To execute the transition. So I did not speak directly to Neil Azevedo or the other gentleman you just mentioned, but I did speak and met at different times with all of them. And in our meeting with the Mayor, it was unanimously agreed that it was time. And regardless of the challenges that we would be facing, we had to begin moving in this direction. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, that’s helpful. Because I called Neil, he heads Highways Division; and Jason Mattos is actually supervisor for Parks Maintenance. And they just wanted to make sure that they can totally do this. They just want to make sure that come next budget cycle, we’re going to be supporting them with the manpower and the equipment to get the job done. Deputy Messina, just wondering if Parks could weigh in on this bill? (Note: At this time, Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Maurice Messina came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. MESSINA: Maurice Messina, Deputy Director of Park and Recreation. You want me to talk about the bill itself or are we talking about Beyond Pesticides? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: How it’s impacting your department, potentially should it pass. And are you folks ready to implement? MR. MESSINA: Well that would depend on the implementation date. What the date is for, yeah. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: It’s based on implementation through 2024, I believe. Page 25 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 MR. MESSINA: Right. And we would like to see the final bill as well. You know, after you guys make any amendments to it before we can really comment on it right now. But I can tell you that, we have been working with Autumn with Beyond Pesticides, and we’ve identified our four parks that we want to do the testing of the—what is it? Microorganism testing. And we’ve identified parks that we’re having issues with the ground itself. Waikoloa Park, some fields up there. They’re really hard as rock and we would like to know why. And how can we make them softer. Pahoa Park facility. Our soccer fields out there. We’re going to be doing some FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) work. When we scrape off that top layer, we would like to know what beneficials we could add to that to make the facility better. We have soccer field Number 4 in Hilo. We’re having couple issues with that soccer field, so we’d like to know how to maintain it better. And then the football field at old A’s (airport). So we’ve got pretty much four different parks throughout the island, and we would like to see if they could really benefit us. You know, like they say, and we would like to get some of our guys trained up on how to do it. We know the writing’s on the wall. And that was the commitment to the Mayor. It’s that we identify the four parks and work with Beyond Pesticides to see how we can control those parks. Jason Mattos, our Manager of Parks Maintenance for the island. In the bill we already a lot of the things. We already put the signs up. We already put the purple dye inside. We’ve got a very, very small portion of our budget being used on pesticides, you know, herbicides. And if we’re going to completely cut that out, we’re going to have to increase our manpower. We’re going to have to increase our supplies, and our maintenance, and our equipment. So just be forewarned that we’re going to be asking for some funding to help out with that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And tell me about cemeteries. That’s within the Parks and Rec. purview as well, right? Jason shared with me that they brought in six prison inmates to Alae Cemetery, and they tried to mow where they could. They sprayed where they couldn’t. But even with additional workers, it took them two weeks to get through the entire cemetery and clean it up. MR. MESSINA: Correct. So, yeah, when and if the bill goes through, it would affect all of our park facilities. Every single one including—yeah, dragstrip, everything. Everything that we’ve got. Thirteen cemeteries that we have. The facilities around all of our senior centers; our community centers, everything. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: So, it’s a huge lift. Lot of kuleana, not just the responsibility of the people that work at the County, but I this is, I think, a time to strengthen our Friends of the Park, or Friends of Community Center agreements, Page 26 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 because I think we all need to make that shared commitment to do our part. So I like the idea of when you’re at the ballfield or soccer fields picking up weeds. When you go give grandma flowers at the cemetery, pull some weeds on your way out. So, there’s a lot we can do together. MR. MESSINA: And the public would have to understand too that the fields wouldn’t look as pristine as they do. You know, we would be counting on the baseball teams, the football teams, the teams to come out there to help us out. We already use Friends of the Park agreements. We’ve tried different things already. We’ve tried, you know, the steam, the salt water. We burn the track up in the Hāmākua field with propane to keep that away. We’ve used goats and it worked out good. We’re working on a contract right now to get that through. So we are trying a lot of different things, because a lot of the people in our department, they’re coaches and their kids play on teams and stuff like that. So, but we just really want to reiterate that we will be asking for additional funding for manpower and equipment. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: All these things that you’re testing out, are you working in partnership with Public Works on any of this? Because there’s a lot of roadways that I think they’d appreciate some help with. Say, with the goats, yeah Director? Director Yamamoto is saying he’s not sure about goats on the roadways. MR. MESSINA: I would leave that up to DPW to testify on that part, yeah. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I just hope that there can be some departmental collaboration as we look for solutions on this. MR. MESSINA: Well, we collaborate with DPW a lot. We really appreciate the work that they do. Neil Azevedo and Jason Mattos, they collaborate a lot, you know, throughout the whole island. So, they’re good team members. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Great. Thank you. MR. MESSINA: You’re welcome. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I yield. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. And Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, Mr. Messina, please stay. Friends of the Park agreement. Sponsorship agreement, where are we on those rules? And I’m asking this question in an effort to help Ms. Villegas, because I asked that question about the composting center. Mr. Chung picked up on it, right? Because we need that. But Page 27 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 if that Sponsorship agreement is another tool to help us further, right, this ban, where are we on that? MR. MESSINA: Good news. So the sponsorship agreement came back from Corporation Counsel. We have it now. It’s going to be our Park Rule Number 17, and right now we’re working with the County Clerk’s Office to set up the public hearing for the sponsorship bill. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you for that. And that’s why I’m putting it all on the table, because if we want this to be a successful piece of legislation, we need to look at the tools that Maui used, but also the tools that we have in our tool belt in addition to some of the tools that Maui didn’t have, or any other County didn’t have, and learn those lessons. Which is why I’m going to ask one more time, Ms. Villegas, there’s some real good information from Big Island Invasive Species. You’ve heard from the other members of the Council. There‘s a little bit more work I think that would enhance this bill and actually springboard it forward in a manner that we’re not going to have to revisit it during that four-year phasing period. So, I’m willing to support this. I hope we can move some of the tools that we have and legislate it in. So it gives the Parks Department, and the Public Works Department a little bit more opportunities, and even Environmental Management to keep that composting facility on track and stood up as quickly as possible. With that, I yield. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? Ms. Eoff, go ahead. MS. EOFF: I would just like to suggest that we go ahead and move it to Council, but in the meantime if there’s only a couple of questions, that I think, Ms. Villegas and others might need to just take a little bit of a look at it between now and then. It seems easy enough. That would be my preference. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Do you yield? MS. EOFF: Yes. ACTING CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Eoff. Anyone else before I go? Ms. Villegas? Okay. Well, I guess it’s my turn. I waited all afternoon, but I thank you, Autumn Ness, for that presentation. And I don’t have to repeat everything that my colleagues have said to this point in support of Bill 101. And it’s almost like when you take a lesson, it’s 101. So I think we’re learning. This is the basics, we’ve got to start somewhere. And I thank you, Ms. Villegas, for working very hard on this, because what I heard loud and clear today from Page 28 AWEEMC-11 October 15, 2019 people that were testifying is that, I think it’s our responsibility. And this applies to only things under our kuleana, our jurisdiction, and so we need to take that first step. Thank you, Public Works Director for your willingness to work with Ms. Villegas, and also the Parks and Rec. people. I think you folks have the most horrendous geographic area that this applies too. And thank you for noted what we need to do come the following budget, because that’s the next step, which is the most difficult one when we talk about money. But I think we’ve prioritized what our desires are for this island and our communities. So I think we’re on the right track. And it’s not perfect yet, but we will work to get it that way. And I know Ms. Villegas will do a good job. So between now and then, I think we’re ready for the vote. Council Members all those in favor of approving Bill 101 and moving it forward to Council with a positive recommendation and filing all related communications, please say “aye.” Vote on Bill 101: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 101 on (Approved) first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Acting Chair David – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, and Richards – 2. Excused: None. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 5:11 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Poindexter, Villegas, and Acting Chair David – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, and Richards – 2. Excused: None. Page 29 AWEEMC-11 October 15,2019 ACTING CHR. DAVID: And we are adjourned. Mahalo everybody for your patience. Approved: - --t? s. Maile Medeiros Davi a,Acting Chair (Date) Agriculture, Water, Energy and Environmental Management Committee MD/dt Page 30