HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-09-13. SKCDP.Minutes.DRAFT f�7i Zendo Kern
Mitchell D.Roth eP•�;,=
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Mayon i"" Director
Lee E.Lord •ir• �* Jeffrey W.Darrow
Managing Director �Te of 14A Deputy Director
County of Hawaii
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
SOUTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 • Hilo,Hawaii 96720
Phone(808)961-8288 • Fax(808)961-8742
1 Tuesday, September 13, 2021
2 Draft Meeting Minutes
3 CALL TO ORDER
4 Chair Smith called the South Kohala Community Development Plan (SKCDP) Action Committee (AC) to
5 order at 5:04 P.M. Due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting was held via the
6 Zoom interactive video platform.
7 ROLL CALL
8 AC Members Present: Ruth Smith (Chair), Julia Alos, Peter Hendricks, Tristie Licoan (Vice-chair), Kevin
9 McLaughlin and William Sanborn.
10 AC Members Absent-Excused: Karen Anderson and Mark Gordon.
11 County Staff: Planners— Rob Leasure and Keiko Mercado.
12 County Officials: Council Member Tim Richards
13 2 Members of the public attended the meeting via Zoom. The meeting was also available for
14 synchronous viewing via the COH Planning Department YouTube Livestream. The live stream recording
15 is available at South Kohala CDP AC Meeting -September 13, 2021 -YouTube.
16 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: None
17 ANNOUNCEMENTS: None
18 PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: One (1) member of the public provided written testimony.
19 Jojo Tanimoto, testifying on agenda item 2, commented on the AC member mapping matrix (June
20 meeting), stating the following:
21 • Kawaihae homestead would like to be included in the Heritage Corridor and added in the
22 guidelines for protecting Hawaiian history and culture.
23 • Include Kawaihae in the development of coastal resource management plan.
24 • Add Kawaihae in the section for developing/promoting community events.
25 Planning Staff has scheduled a follow-up meeting with Ms. Tanimoto's to discuss her concerns.
26 APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
27 Committee Member Peter Hendricks moved to accept the meeting minutes from March 11, 2021.
28 Seconded by Choir Smith.
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29 Committee Member Julia Alos expressed her concerns that chat comments made were not brought up
30 until later during the meeting. Specifically, the ability for members to nominate themselves as Chair or
31 Vice-chair was not mentioned at the onset of nominations. The inclusion of this topic in the revised
32 draft meeting minutes for March 11, 2021 did not occur as suggested.
33 Committee Member McLaughlin shared the Waikoloa Village Association Zoom chat policy: members
34 are treated as though attending an in-person meeting, they must raise their hand and be recognized
35 by the Chair before speaking, and only then will their input become part of the meeting record. The
36 chat feature is not permitted and therefore not included in meeting records.
37 Committee Member Alos asked if the AC would instate an official protocol regarding use of the chat
38 function on Zoom. Ms. Mercado suggested that AC members do not use the chat function, but instead,
39 continue to allow others in attendance to utilize the chat. Facilitators can help monitor the chat and
40 bring pertinent comments into the meeting, thereby allowing for more community participation.
41 Committee Member Hendricks expressed that use of the chat function is good for public inclusion, and
42 suggested that Planning Department staff may be able to provide clarification to attendees that they
43 can use the chat, but their comments would not necessarily become an official part of the meeting
44 record.
45 Chair Smith moved to amend the original motion to approve the revised March 11, 2021 draft minutes,
46 and instead, return to the approval of the original draft minutes, which did not include chat-related
47 additions. Committee Member McLaughlin seconded motion. Motion passed with 6 ayes, 0 votes nay.
48 Vice-chair Licoon made o motion to approve the June 29, 2021 draft meeting minutes. Committee
49 Member Hendricks seconded the motion. Motion passed with 6 ayes, 0 votes nay.
50 BUSINESS:
51 1. August 12, 2021 Joint AC Meeting Report—Communication No. 2021-3:
52 Vice-chair Licoan summarized the information shared by presenters and testifiers at the Joint AC
53 meeting.
54 Click here to read the August 12, 2021 Joint AC Meeting Report or watch the recorded meeting on
55 the Planning Department's YouTube channel.
56 Ms. Mercado presented a brief overview of the August 12, 2021 Joint AC meeting survey results,
57 which included feedback on how to improve the virtual convening and suggestions on topics for
58 future workshops. Survey results showed overwhelmingly positive feedback of the Joint AC
59 meeting.
60 Click the link for survey results: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/112479/Pagel.aspx.
61 Committee Members voted to accept and file Communication No. 2021-3 with 6 aye votes and 0
62 nay votes.
63 2. Implementation Updates from Action Committee Members:
64 a. Committee Members Hendricks & Sanborn: Open discussions have occurred with Director
65 Messina of Parks & Recreation (P&R) to stay updated with the Waimea community. Recent
66 discussions centered around:
67 • General planning and the need to maintain the open space of Minuke'ole Park as the
68 town develops towards Maunakea, including assisting P&R through collaboration with
69 a nonprofit that can help with lawn maintenance.
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70 • The current lack of stewardship for Waimea's skateboard park (graffiti, etc.).
71 • Status of the Kamuela Post Office—if the post office should ever vacate its structure, it
72 would be of value to the Senior Center as an adjunct building because of its proximity.
73 Council Member Richards recalled that a student from HPA put together a caretaking group for
74 the Waimea skateboard park (similar to a "friends of the park" situation) prior to COVID-19. He
75 drew attention to the park users often being the individuals most interested in caring for the
76 park.
77 b. Committee Member Alos: Ms. Alos gave an overview of initiatives that the Waikoloa
78 Community Leadership Council and Waikoloa Village Association, including the Firewise
79 Committee, have been working on (i.e., Park related sponsorships through 501c3s).
80 Mayor Roth, Council Member Richards, and various County directors, including Fire Chief Kazuo
81 Todd, have been engaged in meetings with the Waikoloa community to work on short and long
82 term concerns. Concerns include emergency sirens, better emergency communications, and a
83 request to work with State agencies on the issue of widening certain fire breaks. The Firewise
84 Committee have discussed lessons learned from the recent Mana Road fire and are working on
85 evacuation plans. A community evacuation/fire survey will soon go into circulation.
86 Ms. Alos has been working with the Planning Department on the feasibility of a Wildland Urban
87 Interface designation (WUI), which does not exist within the State of Hawai'i. More access to
88 fire-related funding may be a benefit of a WUI designation.
89 3. Letter to the Planning Director— Emergency Preparedness and Access Routes:
90 Committee Member Hendricks moved to discuss the letter to the Planning Director. Motion
91 seconded by Committee Member Sanborn.
92 Chair Smith drafted a letter to the Planning Director requesting specific information regarding the
93 emergency evacuation response to the Mana Road fire.
94 Council Member Richards stated that when people initially began requesting information from the
95 County about the fire, they hadn't put out the fire yet. Now that the fire has been extinguished,
96 they're in the process of collecting the information needed for the After-Action Report. It is being
97 worked on at many levels, from the military to State level, and across County departments. The
98 report will address what we can do better, why some things worked while others did not, etc. He is
99 interested in having Mayor Roth visit Waikoloa and participate in a community meeting.
100 Council Member Richards said there were many things they did well, but communication was one
101 thing identified that needs improvement. He noted that communication between County and
102 Federal agencies was better than between County and State.
103 Council Member Richards is currently in the process of putting a narrative together to present to
104 our federal delegation. Recovery will look at more than just the amount of money spent, it will look
105 at the economy of what was impacted (homes, homesteads), as well as the environmental aspect.
106 The now 50,000 acres of denuded range could create flooding issues with heavy rains. He
107 estimated the impact on community being least 10 million dollars in loss of production, not
108 including the cost of fighting the fire. The cost for bulldozer time alone was a million dollars.
109 Council Member Richards suggested that the information the AC is requesting will take a while to
110 compile, but everyone is diligently working on compiling it into the After-Action Report, which will
111 eventually be ready for distribution and accessible to the entire community.
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112 Committee Member Sanborn stated the value in getting the letter to the Planning Department and
113 on record, so it is known that feedback is requested through this channel.
114 Committee Members voted 6 ayes, 0 nays to approve the Letter to the Planning Director.
115 Click here to read the draft letter to Planning Director Zendo Kern.
116 PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING:
117 1. Update on General Plan timeline
118 2. Update from Committee Member Hendricks and Sanborn (Waimea)
119 3. Update from Committee Member Alos (Waikoloa)
120 ADJOURNMENT: Committee Member Licoon moved to adjourn. Seconded by Committee Member
121 Hendricks. The motion passed with 6 aye votes, 0 nay votes.
122 The meeting was adjourned at 6:06 P.M.
123
124 All Action Committee information can be viewed and downloaded from our website:
125 https://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/south-kohala-cdp
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