HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-24.HCDP.Minutes.DraftMitchell Roth
Mayor
Lee E. Lord
Managing Director
Zendo Kern
Director
Jeffrey W. Darrow
Deputy Director
County of Hawaii
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
HAMAKUA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742
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2 Wednesday, March 24, 2021
3 DRAFT Meeting Minutes
4
5 CALL TO ORDER
6 Chair, Brad Kurokawa, called the Hamakua Community Development Plan (HCDP) Action Committee
7 (AC) to order at 3:07 p.m. via video conference.
8 ROLL CALL
9 Action Committee Members Present: Nicolette Hubbard, Tawn Keeney, Crystal Kua, Brad Kurokawa,
10 Jeff McKnight, , Rhonda Pollard
11 Action Committee Members Absent -Excused: Carol Ignacio, Robert Nishimoto
12 County Staff: Planners — Eric Cook, Keiko Mercado, Kamuela Plunkett, Planning Director Zendo Kern
13 County Officials: Council Member Heather Kimball
14 Members of the public: 1 member of the public, Cory Harden, was in attendance. Members of the
15 public observed the meeting via the YouTube Livestream. The livestream is available at Hamakua
16 Community Development Plan Action Committee Meeting
17 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: None
18 ANNOUNCEMENTS:
19 1. Message from Planning Director, Zendo Kern:
20 Director Zendo Kern addressed the members of the action committee and thanked them for
21 their service to the community. Director Kern went on to clarify his concern regarding an article
22 in the newspaper that called out uncertainty for the CDP Action Committees. He explained his
23 intentions around empowering the Action Committees to take a more proactive role in
24 implementing the CDPs. Chair Kurokawa opened the floor to questions.
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a. Committee Member Tawn Keeney asked if there would be any changes to the status of
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the action committee status in the General Plan update. Director Kern's response was
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that it is premature to provide a definitive answer, but the goal is to have the AC's,
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CDP's, and the GP to link up to culminate down to infrastructure and infrastructure
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planning.
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30 b. Chair Brad Kurokawa asked if other AC seats were currently being filled. Director Kern
31 responded that he is hoping to begin recruiting AC members within the next few
32 months.
33 c. Committee Member Crystal Kua asked the Director about what assurances he could
34 provide that the ACs will continued to be supported in going in the direction towards
35 actionable items. Director Kern emphasized that he intends to hold to his words in
36 support of this direction. Council member Heather Kimball noted that the CDP provides
37 a breadth of clear action items and that she intends to hold the Director to account in
38 utilizing the action committee to deliver on these actions.
39 d. Committee Member Tawn Keeney asked if the Director would share proposed changes
40 in the General Plan with the action committee prior to presenting it for ratification by
41 County Council. Director Kern affirmed that the process of public comment, including
42 the ACs, will occur prior to the adoption phase.
43 PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: There was one (1) member of the public who signed up to
44 provide public testimony.
45 1. Ms. Cory Harden expressed her appreciation to Director Kern for clarifying the misconstrued
46 information in the article. She voiced her concern regarding the lack of legal authority with the
47 three -to -six-month delay in filling the AC seats and hopes that procedures will become more
48 efficient given the change from monthly to quarterly AC meetings. Ms. Harden asked Director
49 Kern for more clarification on the type of data and the reason for collecting that he referenced
50 at the Kona CDP AC meeting earlier in the week. Ms. Harden's final concern was that Director
51 Kern's intention to empower the AC would be rooted in support of sustainable practices to
52 benefit the community and not developers.
53 a. In response, Director Kern clarified that he is gathering information about the programs
54 and other activities prior to making decisions and changes.
55
56 BUSINESS:
57 1. Election of Action Committee Officers: Action Committee Member, Robert Nishimoto, was
58 previously nominated for the position of Vice Chair, but was not present at the meeting to
59 accept his nomination. Mr. Nishimoto respectfully declined his nomination for the position of
60 Vice Chair.
61 The floor was opened to nominations for the position of Vice Chair.
62 Action Committee Member Town Keeney motioned to nominate Action Committee Member Jeff
63 McKnight for the position of Vice Choir. The nomination was seconded by Action Committee
64 Member Crystol Kuo. The motion to nominate Jeff McKnight for the position of Vice Choir
65 passed with 6 votes Aye and 0 vote's nay.
66 2. Action Committee Member Initiatives and Network Maps: Mr. Cook presented a visual portrait
67 of the AC members' network of community groups and projects with which they are involved.
68 This network image was created on the on-line Kumu software and shows the community
69 groups and specific projects linked to each AC member. See Communication Number 2021-02.
70 Mr. Cook noted further that the planning staff would like the committee members' suggestions
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71 on other information to include and ways to organize the data that would be useful to them in
72 their effort to prioritize and implement CDP -related implementation actions.
73 Committee Member Hubbard suggested different colors for organizations vs. projects to
74 facilitate visual interpretation. Chair Kurokawa suggested flexibility in coding the mapping as
75 implementation occurs, where different views may be useful such as on the ground synergy
76 with actions vs. by CDP sections. Committee Member McKnight commented that the image
77 may be simplified by removing organizations/projects that are not directly linked to CDP
78 actions to be implemented.
79 Mr. Cook noted that he would work on different versions to address these suggestions and that
80 Planning Staff will provide guidance on how committee members may identify and
81 communicate changes, recommendations, and alignment with CDP Community Actions.
82 Chair Kurokawa asked if the Planning Department has identified General Plan and CDP actions
83 that it will prioritize and work on. Ms. Mercado confirmed that the Planning Department needs
84 to work in this direction, too, to be able to align efforts and secure support to the action
85 committees.
86 2. Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Recommendations:
87 Having asked the Chair for some leeway in time, Council Member Kimball introduced the CIP &
88 CDP Implementation agenda items with comments on the economic and extensive
89 infrastructure needs within the Hamakua district and her reliance on the CDP to provide
90 guidance on the actions that County Council and the action committee should take in response
91 to the community input that the CDP represents.
92 Regarding the CIP recommendations, Council member Kimball noted that Council member
93 Matt Kaneali'i-Kleinfelder sent out a request for each district to provide their top 5 project
94 priorities.
95 Ms. Kimball shared a few Hamakua projects that are part of the Mayor's list of priorities: 1)
96 New force main for Pauka'a to be funded by bonds (#6).; 2) Kula'imano and Papa'ikou
97 wastewater treatment upgrade with some state funding contributing to the projects (#19 &
98 #20).; 3) Honoka'a fire station replacement with have no additional funding (priority # not
99 stated by Ms. Kimball)., 4) Two affordable housing projects, Papa'aloa for contamination
100 mitigation and Pepe'ekeo (priority # not stated by Ms. Kimball). In addition to these specific
101 projects, Ms. Kimball noted that there are many parks and bridge repairs are on-going to meet
102 the December 2022 ADA compliant deadline.
103 Committee Member Hubbard enquired if Ms. Kimball had gathered a list for the Top 5 request.
104 Council Member Kimball's responded that the County's role is to protect human health and
105 safety, so her concerns are how to build resilience and provide emergency preparedness. Ms.
106 Kimball mentioned improvement with agricultural and economic opportunities are her
107 personal priorities.
108 Committee Member Hubbard voiced her concerns with safe public access to the coastline
109 areas like Laupahoehoe point and Hakalau, which are closed, but her biggest concern is the
110 restoration and repair of the Laupahoehoe swimming pool. Council Member Kimball assured
111 the Laupahoehoe pool is expected to be repaired within the next few weeks, excluding
112 resurfacing.
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113 Committee Member Keeney enquired about the possibilities of the County discussing with
114 Kamehameha Schools regarding County contribution of infrastructure to their lands for
115 increased utilization for agriculture and access to the ocean. Council Member Kimball's noted
116 that most of 'open space' areas are triggered by entitlements through permit approvals (e.g.,
117 subdivisions) and that new avenues need to be explored with private landowners through
118 building networks and addressing landowners concerns regarding safety and protection of their
119 property.
120 Committee member McKnight raised the community's need for safe bike trails and hiking trails,
121 sidewalk safety in Honoka'a, and participation in food hubs to provide locally produced items
122 (with reference to possible grant money from State Senate Bill 338, which recently passed).
123 Council Member Kimball noted that the sidewalk concern is complicated by State ownership of
124 that road, which should be traded with County ownership of part of Highway 19. Ms. Mercado
125 took the action to clarify if improvements would be a State or County improvement
126 requirement.
127 To provide more visibility to the scope of CIP under consideration by the County, Ms. Mercado
128 stated that the planning staff would send a link to the latest CIP submission to the action
129 committee members. In addition, Ms. Mercado stated that the planning staff would contact
130 R&D on their efforts towards food sovereignty and provide that information to the committee.
131 Council Member Kimball proposed that action committee members perform community
132 outreach and provide to her priority items for CIP consideration, and committee members
133 agreed to do so by April 2, 2021.
134 3. Opportunities to Advance CDP Implementation:
135 Council Member Kimball asked the committee with help on constructing a community needs
136 assessment process for the following: 1) 5.9 Improve Emergency Preparedness & Hazard
137 Mitigation, focusing on gaps in services such as CERT teams, radio communication, etc., 2) 5.2
138 Expand Affordable Housing Options, focusing on infill growth through accessory dwelling and
139 ohana units., 3) 4.8 Establish and Manage Public Access and Trails, focusing on piloting open
140 space solutions to identify the challenges in doing so, with a long-term vision of a biking/hiking
141 trail network from Hilo to Honoka'a to Waimea to allow people to truly experience the Heritage
142 Coast., 4) 5.8 Improve Recycling and Solid Waste Facilities, focusing on lack of green waste
143 disposal opportunities and addressing illegal dumping., 5) 5.3 Improve the Roadway Network,
144 focusing on funding bridge repairs and improved communication and planning for bridge
145 closures., 6) 6.2 Strengthening Local Agriculture.
146 Vice Chair McKnight offered to help Ms. Kimball with item 1, Emergency Preparedness &
147 Hazard Mitigation. Committee Members Hubbard and Pollard volunteered to help with item 2,
148 Expand Affordable Housing Options. Vice Chair McKnight and Committee Member Keeney
149 volunteered for Item 3, Establish and Manage Public Access and Trails. Ms. Hubbard and Chair
150 Kurokawa offered to assist with item 5, Improve the Roadway Network. Committee Members
151 Kua, Pollard, and Keeney volunteered for item 6, Strengthening Local Agriculture.
152 As three committee members noted interested to assist on item 6, Strengthening Local
153 Agriculture, the AC discussed whether to form an investigatory subcommittee. In lieu of doing
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154 so, Committee Member Keeney removed his expressed interest on item 6 to reduce the need
155 to form a committee.
156 4. Updates from Action Committee Members:
157 Chair Kurokawa addressed a couple of concerns. The first item regarded the unexpected
158 closure of the Kahakini Bridge without notice due to flooding. He and the community came
159 together and designed a few temporary bridges that could be used to open as soon as possible.
160 They have requested a meeting with Director Rodenhurst at the Department of Public Works
161 and are awaiting a response. The second item regarded the inability to renew the permit for
162 Hakalau School, so the intent is for the building to be converted to a community center or a
163 disaster preparedness shelter.
164 AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING:
165 Chair Kurokawa asked that the Action Committee Members reach out to himself or Planning
166 Department Staff before the next quarterly HCDP Action Committee Meeting to share any suggestions
167 that they may have for the next meeting agenda.
168 APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
169 Action Committee Member Crystol Kua motioned to approve the draft meeting minutes from the
170 December 15, 2020, HCDP Action Committee Meeting. Seconded by Committee Member McKnight. The
171 motion to approve the minutes of the December 15, 2020, meeting passed with 6 vote's aye and 0
172 votes Noy.
173 Action Committee Member Jeff McKnight motioned to approve the draft meeting minutes from the
174 December 16, 2020, HCDP Action Committee Meeting. Seconded by Committee Member Kuo. The
175 motion to approve the draft meeting minutes form the December 16, 2020, meeting passed with 6
176 votes Aye and 0 votes Noy.
177 ADJOURNMENT: Chair Kurokawa adjourned the meeting at 5:10 PM.
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179 All Action Committee information can be viewed and downloaded from our website:
180 http://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/hamakua-cdp
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