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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-08 Redistricting Commission Public Hearing minutes (District 9) 2021 HAWAII COUNTY REDISTRICTING COMMISSION COUNCIL DISTRICT 9 PUBLIC HEARING North and South Kohala Monday, November 8, 2021, 6:00 p.m. Waimea Community Center 65-1260 Kawaihae Road Waimea, Hawaii 96743 CALL TO ORDER: HUSTACE: Aloha! Good evening. Welcome to the ninth session of the County of Hawaii Redistricting Commission. Today is Monday, on November 8h. My name is James Hustace. I'm the Vice Chair for the Redistricting Commission. Just a quick announcement. Because of the Coronavirus Emergency and State and Federal guidance on large meetings or gatherings, and pursuant to the Mayor's Proclamations regarding COVID-19, the Redistricting Commission meetings are currently not open to the public to attend in-person until further notice. Members of the public may view or provide oral testimony via the Zoom platform by requesting for this information as noticed on our posted agendas. Thank you for understanding. I will call this public hearing to order. It is 6:02 in the evening. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC HUSTACE: I'm here stationed at the ninth and final public hearing, in this preliminary round, at the Waimea Community Center. Grateful to have some of the commissioners online here. And potentially members of the public to provide testimony to the Commission. Relley, I'll pass it over to you, if you have anyone lined up ready to go. ARACELEY: Thank you, Chair. We have one person in the Zoom room named iPad, who may wish to testify. If you would like to testify, feel free to unmute your mic. You'll have three minutes to provide that testimony. And just let us know your name as you testify, please. TANIMOTO: Hi, I'm Jojo. I'm just learning. Thank you. (Pause) WILLE: Margaret Wille. I live in Waimea. I worked on the last time for the redistricting, working on this map plan. I was inspired to do that because Waimea would have been There were two plans. One would have cut, going right down Mamalahoa Highway largely and cut Waimea in half there. And the moreActually, the plan that was being looked at, went down the mountain road and moved part of North Kohala over with Hamakua. And everything sort of went by how theIt really sort of destroyed the community of, what I consider, South Kohala and Waimea. So, I guess the one thing. I had thought that maps, some of the proposals were going to be here that we could look at and comment on. But I guess this is just preliminary comments. And I wanted to say,just that to really focus on how to keep communities together. So, that you're not just going down highways, you're looking at the communities. And of course, the problem with District 9 was how we had, you know, Waik6loa was there in Waimea, and what one sort of got cut off. But, you know, it may mean that one whole community needs to move and move all the way around. But I guess that's really my main point. Is thinking about how you do the lines. We could not do it perfectly last time. Especially, in Puna area. But just sort of keeping that in mind so that you're cutting across a highway. You're not just going down the lines and what makes it easy. And we may have to hold, in order to get Council, you know, area 6 and 7, which are low. You may actually have to move some communities right around. So, that's really all I can comment at this time. And I hope to be able to take a look at the maps, and then at another meeting, make comments on them. I did try to look at it online. I didn't find it easy to—where it said on the agenda to click and go to them. I say it didn't click for me. So, I look forward to offering additional comments. And it is this whole process is very important. Communities get very upset when, you know, people and how it's divided. So,to really think about these things carefully. It took me many, many tens of hours,just to work on it last time. And how we could do it best. Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to testify. HUSTACE: Thank you, Ms. Wille. I appreciate your testimony. TANIMOTO: James, I have my hand raised. ARACELEY: Chair, the person named iPad has raised their hand. If they'd like to provide testimony,please clarify your name and you'll have your three minutes once you start. TANIMOTO: Thank you. My name is Jojo, again, Tanimoto. I was former South Kohala Community Development Program member and Chair at one time. And Margaret Wille brings up a good point. And that is, what are the boundaries that are being proposed? Where does it end? It looks like it's including PTA and Mauna Kea. And maybe part of Mauna Loa. So, it's kind of hard to make a testimony if you're not sure where the boundary line is up there. And where the boundary line is going north of homestead. And that would be from the perspective of the CDP mapping that the County has. Thank you. HUSTACE: Thank you, Ms. Tanimoto. Appreciate your testimony. (Pause. Multiple voices can be heard away from the microphone at this time.) TANIMOTO: Excuse me, James. I'm understanding what you guys are talking about. You're not talking in a mic, I don't think. HUSTACE: Jojo, do you mind repeating yourself there? 2 TANIMOTO: Yes. The whole conversation after my testimony, I cannot understand you or even hear you. Probably you're not speaking in mic because I hear you, but I don't I haven't understood anything anybody said. HUSTACE: Yeah, that's just a different microphone on a different computer right now. There's just some side conversations going on in the physical space. TANIMOTO: That's all going to be in the minutes, right? The side conversation? HUSTACE: No. TANIMOTO: Oh. HUSTACE: No, unfortunately, they're not. They're not testimonies. Sorry. TANIMOTO: No, no. Not testimony. But you guys are having a conversation and I'm not able to hear you. So, whatever your conversation, it's not in a mic. So, is that your conversation, going to be a part of the minutes? And the public cannot understand you. Because I can't. I can't hear you guys at all. Thank you. HUSTACE: Yes. Sorry about that, Jojo. I'll make sure it's very clear going forward. TANIMOTO: Thank you. Please note that during this time, Commissioners and support staffwere on stand-by. ANNOUNCEMENTS / CLOSING REMARKS HUSTACE: Hello, everyone. Welcome back. It is past 6:30 right now, and as with our previous public hearings, we do not have any other testimony, testifiers, at this time. Just a quick reminder. This is our final public hearing for this preliminary phase of the redistricting process. If you would like to provide testimony at any point, to the commission, or learn about the process, please email the Commission at redistrictingcommission@hawaiicounty.gov. We do have a full public meeting this Friday, which is November 12''. That will go live at 9:30 and you're also welcome to view and join virtually. Please use that same email address, which is redistrictingcommission@hawaiicounty.gov to request that Zoom information and any details about that. Grateful to the testifiers that joined us this evening. And grateful to the County staff for setting us up. And also, the commissioners for being on the call and listening to the testifiers. We hope you can join us at our next meeting. Thanks, and have a nice evening. Aloha. 3 Respectfully Submitted, Nicole Bello, support staff to the Commission 4