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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-19 Water Board Meeting Minutes MINUTES DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY COUNTY OF HAWAI`I WATER BOARD MEETING March 19, 2024 West Hawaii Civic Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Stephen Kawena Lopez, Chairperson,Dist. 8 (came in later) Mr. Michael Pono Kekela,Vice-Chairperson, Dist. 4 (via videoconference) Mr. James Kimo Lee,Water Board Member, Dist. 2, Mr. Steven Hirakami,Water Board Member, Dist. 5 (came in later via videoconference) Mr. Michael Bell,Water Board Member, Dist. 7 Mr. Benjamin Ney,Water Board Member, Dist. 9 Mr. Keith Unger,Water Board Member, Dist. 6 Mr. Keith K. Okamoto,Manager-Chief Engineer, Department of Water Supply(ex-officio member) ABSENT: Mr. Thomas Brown,Water Board Member, Dist. 3 Ms. Kea Keolanui,Water Board Member, Dist. 1 Director,Planning Department(ex-officio member) Director, Department of Public Works (ex-officio member) OTHERS PRESENT: Ms. Diana Mellon-Lacey, Deputy Corporation Counsel DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY STAFF: Mr. Kawika Uyehara, Deputy Mr. Kurt Inaba, Engineering Division Head Ms. Candace Gray,Waterworks Controller Mr. Gregory Goodale, Chief of Operations Mr. Eric Takamoto, Operations Division Mr.Warren Ching, Energy Management Analyst Ms.Nora Avenue, Recording Secretary 1) CALL TO ORDER—Vice-Chairperson Kekela called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. A roll call was taken for Water Board Members in attendance. Five Board Members were present: Mr. Bell, Mr. Lee, Mr.Ney, Mr. Unger, and Acting Chair Kekela. 2) STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC—Pursuant to HRS §92-3, oral testimony may be provided entirely at the beginning of the meeting,or immediately preceding the agenda item. There were no statements from the public at this time. Mr. Jeff Zimpfer,National Park Service,was present at today's meeting, as a guest. 3) APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the February 27, 2024, Water Board Meeting: ACTION: Mr.Ney moved for approval of the Minutes of the Water Board Meeting; seconded by Mr. Bell and carried by roll call vote Ayes: 5 —Mr. Bell, Mr. Lee, Mr.Ney, Mr. Unger,and Acting Chair Kekela;Absent: 4—Mr. Brown, Mr. Hirakami,Ms. Keolanui, Chair Lopez). POINT OF ORDER: Just for clarification, Diana,because we're doing this hybrid, do we have to do a roll call vote for every approval of agenda item, or we can just go with the—? MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well,because the majority of the members are present, I think we can do the "ayes,"because if there is opposition, I think— MR. OKAMOTO: I think if there's a non-unanimous vote,then we'll do a roll call,how does that sound? MS. MELLON-LACEY: Uh-hmm. (affirmative) MR. OKAMOTO: All right. So Mr. Chair, I guess if there's any non-unanimous vote on an agenda item, we'll do a roll call; otherwise,the general ayes will suffice, if that makes sense. 4) APPROVAL TO ADD SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA: ACTING CHR. KEKELA: Was there any submitted? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. ACTING CHR KEKELA: There was. MR. OKAMOTO: Sorry,we do actually have a Supplemental Agenda,and this is for the Power Cost Charge. It was emailed to the Board last week Friday(3/15/2024). MS. MELLON-LACEY: Mr. Okamoto,was this included in the Board packet? MR. OKAMOTO: No,that's why it's a Supplemental Agenda. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Actually, I've got to call for a recess so I could quickly—Supplemental Agenda out, is that right? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. RECESS: At 10:08 a.m.,the Acting Chair called for a short recess. MS. MELLON-LACEY: I'm inclined to think since this wasn't included in the Board packet—to the next meeting because the public—even though we had a Public Hearing,they haven't necessarily seen t. MR. OKAMOTO: That's the whole reason we have an agenda item for the Addendum or Supplemental Agenda. So my understanding is we can add something to the agenda after the typical Notice. Page 2 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MS. MELLON-LACEY: You can but it wasn't supposed to be anything substantive. Even if we could have a public hearing, I mean this is a substantive issue. MR. UYE14ARA: This agenda item is for the Power Cost Charge to schedule a future hearing date for the Power Cost Charge, so the Public Hearing we just did was for our 2025 Operating Budget and 5-year Capital Improvements Budget. MS. MELLON-LACEY: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was the actual. MR. UYE14ARA: So it was different— MR. OKAMOTO: Yes, so we'll still need to hold this— MS. MELLON-LACEY: This is for another Public Hearing? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. MS. MELLON-LACEY: Okay, I'm sorry. MR. OKAMOTO: For the Board to okay the Public Hearing at a following month. MS. MELLON-LACEY: Okay. No,that's fine. MR. OKAMOTO: Thanks for your clarification. Appreciate it, Diana. RECONVENE: The meeting reconvened at 10:09 a.m. Acting Chair Kekela called for a Motion to add the Supplemental Agenda for Item 4A, Power Cost Charge. ACTING CHR. KEKELA: I have to ask for a motion to accept the Supplement Agenda,right? MS. MELLON-LACEY: Correct. MR. OKAMOTO: Correct. ACTION: Mr.Ney moved to add the Supplemental Agenda; seconded by Mr. Unger and carried by roll call vote (Ayes: 5 —Mr. Bell, Mr. Lee,Mr.Ney, Mr. Unger, and Acting Chair Kekela; Absent: 4—Mr. Brown,Mr. Hirakami, Ms. Keolanui, and Chair Lopez). ACTING CHR. KEKELA: So the agenda is approved, right? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. So now we can actually take it up. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Does it require another motion first to move it up? MR. OKAMOTO: So what you can do now is you can reiterate for the public's awareness what this new agenda item is,the Power Cost Charge,and ask if there's any testimony for this particular Supplemental Agenda item. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Okay, added to the agenda for consideration is establishing a Public Hearing to discuss the Power Cost Charge fluctuation or change? Page 3 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. ACTING CHR. KEKELA: It's another decrease, right? MR. OKAMOTO: Actually, it's increasing from $2.37 to $2.77. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Okay. So basically,we're trying to schedule a Public Hearing,which will be for the adjustment of Power Cost Charge to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinions. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. And just as a suggestion,Mr. Chair,it would be good to read for those who are viewing and/or participating to view Zoom staff s recommendation on this particular agenda item. A. POWER COST CHARGE: Acting Chair Kekela asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. Departmental power costs from all power sources increased since the last Power Cost Charge rate was determined. The Department proposes to increase the Power Cost Charge from $2.37 to $2.77 per thousand gallons as a result of this increase. Power cost charges over the past year were as follows: Effective PCC February 1, 2024 $2.37 September 1,2023 $2.64 April 1, 2023 $2.70 January 1, 2023 $3.04 Before the Power Cost Charge is changed, a Public Hearing shall be scheduled to accept public testimony. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board approve holding a Public Hearing on April 23, 2024, at 9:45 a.m.,to receive testimony on increasing the Power Cost Charge from $2.37 to $2.77, effective May 1, 2024. (Note: Acting Chair Kekela noted, for the record,that Board Member Hirakami had joined the meeting virtually at 10:14 a.m.) ACTION: Mr.Ney moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr. Lee and was carried by roll call vote (Ayes: 6—Mr. Bell,Mr. Hirakami, Mr. Lee, Mr.Ney, Mr. Unger, and Acting Chair Kekela; Absent: 3 —Mr. Brown, Ms. Keolanui, and Chair Lopez). 5) SOUTH HILO: A. VEHICLE BID 2023-16, FURNISHING AND DELIVERING VEHICLES TO THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY: Acting Chair Kekela asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. Page 4 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes This project generally consists of furnishing and delivering vehicles to the Department of Water Supply in accordance with the specifications. Bids for this project were opened on March 7, 2024, at 1:30 p.m., and no responsive bids were received. Staff will seek alternative procurement pursuant to HAR 3-122-35 to procure the required equipment. PARTS Kama`aina Nissan A. Two (2) Only Mid-Size, Crew Cab Pick-Up, 4-Wheel Drive NON-RESPONSIVE B. One (1) Only 4-Door, Compact Cross-Over Wagon/SUV, w/All-Wheel Drive NON-RESPONSIVE C. Three (3) Only Passenger Van,with 2-Wheel Drive NO BID RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that this vehicle bid go out for Alternative Procurement pursuant to HAR 3-122-35 as no responsive bids were received and it would not be advantageous to the Department to issue a new solicitation. MOTION: Mr. Bell moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr.Ney. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Any discussion? MR. OKAMOTO: As is written on this agenda item,we put it out to bid and did not receive any responsible bids. If there are any questions for staff,we're open. MR.NEY: One question,do you feel that maybe there's a non-response to the request for bid because you guys put a ceiling cost and everything on these things? So there's nothing that's really discouraging from just giving you a price. Just wondering why they don't at least give a quote for it. MR. OKAMOTO: Right. As you can see in the table,there are two different results. Two of them were non-responsive, and one of them was a No Bid. So non-responsive can mean various things,but typically they might have provided a cost,but they didn't comply with the actual requirements of the bid. It's just the law that we cannot accept their bid because of that. Actually, from my understanding they did provide quotes for the first two items,but because of a fault in their submittal,we cannot accept it. So what we will do is we'll go to alternate procurement,which includes asking them for informal quotes like we do otherwise, or direct negotiations is another option available to us. MR.NEY: Is there a way to intercept this before it actually goes to the non-responsive category'? MR. OKAMOTO: No. MR.NEY: Call and say, "Thank you for sending this,but your submittal is not quite correct." MR. OKAMOTO: No because typically there's a bid deadline and oftentimes that bid is submitted just prior. MR.NEY: Got it. Page 5 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. OKAMOTO: Legally, I'm not sure if that would work either because it could open the department up to allegations of collusion or other improper acts. So,we'd rather keep it clean. We'll bring it to you folks in a transparent way. Our intent is—we did inform the Board that all these alternative bids we'll summarize, and we'll report to the Board at a future date, again for transparency purposes, so you folks all know what the results of the alternative bid process were. MR.NEY: Justin consideration of the delay,not just for vehicles but for procurement, it just seems like somehow everything has got to be more explicit. Something has to happen in terms of them submitting it correctly. Okay,thanks. That's all I have. MR. OKAMOTO: Thank you. Okay, any other questions? ACTING CHR. KEKELA: Yes,just one quick question. Is there a timeline they have to fulfill these? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,normally we put a timeframe,but for these vehicle bids, and correct me if I'm wrong Greg,we allow them to put in a reasonable time as part of their delivery. MR. GOODALE: That's correct. We've also had bidders request time increases. Typically, on the bid, there is a timeframe by which they need to make delivery of the vehicles. For those of you that's been around since COVID time,we were getting what's asked of us quite often,was the extension of the delivery dates,just because of the supply chain. MR. OKAMOTO: And also, it makes a difference in what type of vehicle we're putting out to bid. I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong Greg,but the first two are just regular vehicles that the dealership could provide without any significant modifications. MR. GOODALE: Correct. Actually, all three of them should be able to be provided without significant modifications. None of them are extraordinary. MR. OKAMOTO: No lift aids. MR. GOODALE: Yes,none of these are extraordinary bid specs that would take considerable effort to comply with. MR. OKAMOTO: Good question. ACTING CHR KEKELA: The other question I had is, does this affect,like any of your crews,the productivity of the department? This is about six vehicles. MR. OKAMOTO: Another good question. Replacement vehicles? MR. GOODALE: Clearly,the longer we have vehicles that are becoming high miles,we start to see additional maintenance requirements. Yes, some of these, especially with the meter reading vans, since it's something that we rely on for our income, so we want to make sure that we have something that's out there every time we need it. But yes,not getting some of these puts us in a position to become creative and find other vehicles that we can operate. One way or the other we're going to get the work done, but not optimal when you don't have vehicles that are running the way you expect them to. ACTING CHR. KEKELA: Okay,thank you for that. Any more discussion? Seeing none,all in favor? Page 6 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes ACTION: There being no further discussion. Motion was carried by roll call vote (Ayes: 6—Mr. Bell, Mr. Hirakami,Mr. Lee, Mr.Ney, Mr. Unger, and Acting Chair Kekela;Absent: 3 —Mr. Brown, Ms. Keolanui, and Chair Lopez). 6) SOUTH KOHALA: A. JOB NO. 2023-1223,WAIMEA WATER TREATMENT PLANT SLUDGE REMOVAL: Acting Chair Kekela asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. The Department is requesting a contract change order to increase the existing contract Not to Exceed (NTE)limit of$350,000.00 due to the increased frequency of sludge removal from November 2023 to February 2024 by the Contractor, 2B Environmental, Inc., at the Department's request. The current contract specified NTE was an estimate that assumed other sludge mitigation methods would be completed before the end of this contract's term. Increased sludge removal is needed to ensure continued sufficient sludge mitigation. ITEM QUANTITY DESCRIPTION UNIT AMOUNT AMOUNT Increase the contract NTE to 1. Lump Sum allow for an increase in sludge N/A $ 49,595.00 removal frequency as requested by the Department. TOTAL $ 49,595.00 Original Contract Amount: $ 350,000.00 Original Contingency Amount: $ 0.00 1st Additional Funds Request: $ 49,595.00 Total Revised Contract Amount: $ 399,595.00 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board approve an increase in the contract NTE limit of$49,595.00 to 2B Environmental, Inc., for JOB NO. 2023-1223,WAIMEA WATER TREATMENT PLANT SLUDGE REMOVAL. If approved,the total revised contract amount shall be $399,595.00. MOTION: Mr.Ney moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr. Bell. ACTING CHR. KEKELA: Now we can move to discussion. MR. OKAMOTO: As stated in the agenda write-up,basically we're asking for an increase in the not to exceed amount of the contract because we need to haul away additional sludge, or it's anticipated that we do so. If there are any questions? (Acting Chair Kekela noted, for the record,that Chairperson Lopez had joined the meeting in person at 10:26 a.m.) Page 7 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes ACTING CHR. KEKELA: If you are ready, I'm more than willing to hand the reigns back to you when you're settled. CHR. LOPEZ: Are you in the middle of an item? ACTING CHR KEKELA: Just discussion at this moment. CHR. LOPEZ: Please finish, and then if you wouldn't mind, I'd like a two-minute break before we go to the next item. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Perfect. CHR. LOPEZ: Please continue. ACTING CHR KEKELA: All right,thank you. So no further discussion? MR. UNGER: So you went into this contract knowing there could be a variable here? MR. OKAMOTO: Well,yeah. So went into this contract with I guess the best estimate of what it would take. What we were trying to accomplish in parallel with this hauling of sludge was some additional work for us to boost it up to our existing drying bed facility,up mauka. But because of some setbacks in that effort,we'll still have to continue hauling the sludge, so that's why we need to ask for an increase in the not to exceed amount. It's about an additional month's worth of hauling,possibly. MR. GOODALE: Approximately,yes. We hopefully won't need to use it,but we would rather have it than not need it,than the opposite. We have received our sludge pumps that will allow us to do the work we need to do,but again,this is really more to keep us in case we need it later in the year. Just increasing the contract. MR. LEE: Was there a contingency in the original contract? MR. OKAMOTO: It's more like a service contract, so it's not a contingency. MR. LEE: (INAUDIBLE)material. MR. OKAMOTO: Like we're paying, or by the haul,I believe,by the load. MR. LEE: By the load. MR. OKAMOTO: So if they do two loads, it costs so much; if they take three loads, it's three times that unit cost. This anticipated increase is for 40-something additional loads of sludge. MR.NEY: Sorry, one question,the haul distance is where to? MR. GOODALE: Actually, currently the haul distance is only up to our drying bed area. MR.NEY: Got it. We're just transporting uphill,basically. MR. GOODALE: Correct,yes. Page 8 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. OKAMOTO: Instead of pumping it,yes. So basically the sludge is a by-product of our water treatment process. It's all that biologicals from the raw water before we process the water into clean water for potable. So it's just a daily by-product of the process. MR. LEE: So you guys came up with the parameters of the contract? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes, so we came up with the parameters and put it out to bid. So 2B Environmental was the one that provided the lowest responsible bid for that effort. MR.NEY: This is a safe organic sludge. MR. GOODALE: Yes. MR.NEY: Is this something you guys can just grade out over time? You get hauling and the build-up of the drying beds. I mean how quickly are you able to dry it out and then maybe grade it out,just in terms of keeping up with that process? MR. GOODALE: It all depends. It depends a lot on the weather conditions and everything else,because if you get a lot of rain coming in—you know,this is not a covered area. But again,it's just material that we have to mitigate. It's just the material that comes in from the stream. Because this is a raw water source, it has all the organics that you normally find in a stream bed, so basically our filtered plant works the way it's supposed to and gets all that stuff out,now we've got to mitigate it on the back end. MR. UNGER: Do these funds get reimbursed to the Department of Water Supply if the funds are not used? MR. OKAMOTO: Well,we pay on an invoice basis. MR. UNGER: Okay. So this is up to— MR. OKAMOTO: Yes, so we only pay for the services provided. MR. UNGER: Got it. MR. LEE: So normally the contractor doesn't have any contingencies? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes, so for service-type contracts, again, it's a pay-for-the-service, so it's not a contingency like a construction contract,where there are unforeseen issues. So,we don't typically include contingency in these types of contracts. If needed,we'll come back to the Board to raise the ceiling of the not to exceed. MR. GOODALE: And honestly, had we taken delivery of the pumps when we were supposed to have taken delivery,we probably wouldn't have needed this amount,but again this is really being requested primarily as a"just in case"type thing. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Awesome,thank you. MR. OKAMOTO: All good questions,thanks. Page 9 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes ACTION: There being no further discussion. Motion was carried unanimously by roll call vote (Ayes: 7—Mr. Bell, Mr. Hirakami,Mr. Lee, Mr. Lopez, Mr.Ney,Mr. Unger,and Chair Lopez; Absent: 2—Mr. Brown and Ms. Keolanui). ACTING CHR. KEKELA: Chair Lopez, do we still need a recess? CHR. LOPEZ: Please. May I take just a couple of minutes to get my feet on the ground here? ACTING CHR KEKELA: Can we take a recess,please? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. ACTING CHR KEKELA: Thank you. RECESS: At 10:33 a.m.,the Acting Chair called for a short recess. RECONVENE: The meeting reconvened at 10:36 a.m. (Note: At this time, Chair Lopez resumed the chair.) CHR. LOPEZ: Good morning, everyone. My apologies for being late. I want to thank Co-Chair Pono for chairing the meeting in my absence. Thank you very much. We're on Number 7, I believe, correct? MR. OKAMOTO: Correct. 7) NORTH KONA: A. JOB NO. 2023-20, FURNISHING AND DELIVERING KAHALU `U SHAFT DISCHARGE PIPING MATERIALS—PHASE 1: Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. Bids were opened on March 7, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.,and the following are the bid results: PART DESCRIPTION BIDDER AMOUNT NO. I DUCTILE IRON PIPE, SPOOLS & Core &Main LP dba $ 37 200.00 ADAPTERS Pacific Pipe Company 2 DUCTILE IRON FITTINGS Core &Main LP dba $ 21,100.00 Pacific Pipe Company 3 FLANGE GASKETS No Bids NUTS, BOLTS,AND 4 THREADED RODS No Bids Page 10 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes PART DESCRIPTION BIDDER AMOUNT NO. 5 COPPER PIPE &FITTINGS Core &Main LP dba $ 1,638.40 Pacific Pipe Company 6 BRASS PIPE &FITTINGS No Bids STAINLESS STEEL PIPE& No Bids FITTINGS 8 BUTTERFLY VALVES, 2504 No Bids CLASS 9 AUTOMATIC CONTROL No Bids VALVES NOZZLE CHECK VALVE— 10 RADIAL GUIDED RING DISC No Bids TYPE 11 FLOW SWITCH No Bids ELECTROMAGNETIC FLOW 12 No Bids METER—INSERTION TYPE For the Sections where no bids were received, staff shall seek alternative procurement pursuant to HAR 3-122-35 to procure the required materials in the best interests of the Department. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board award the contract to the following bidders for MATERIAL BID NO. 2023-20, FURNISHING AND DELIVERING FURNISHING AND KAHALU`U SHAFT DISCHARGE PIPING MATERIALS—PHASE 1 FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY, on an as-needed basis, as listed below,and that either the Chairperson of the Vice-Chairperson be authorized to sign the contract(s), subject to review as to form and legality of the contract(s)by Corporation Counsel. Core &Main LP dba Pacific Pipe Co., Inc. for Parts 1,2, and 5 MOTION: Mr. Unger moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr. Ney. CHR. LOPEZ: Discussion? MR. OKAMOTO: Staff are trying to make repairs or upgrades to our existing piping at the Kahalu`u Shaft, so this is part of that effort to get the materials ready for that effort. If there are any questions, Eric is available to answer. MR. UNGER: So it's helpful before—Department of Water Supply does an estimate and you run that column on the side with an estimate, did you do any estimates before the bid? MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes,we did. Page 11 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. UNGER: All right. It's always helpful in the agenda to post those,the recommended, as opposed to— MR. TAKAMOTO: It is now. MR. UNGER: Oh, okay. Yes, it's really helpful,for me at least,because I had no idea if this is good,bad, close, and that does inform me to see how close it was to your estimate. MR. OKAMOTO: Just for the Board's awareness,we had an internal discussion prior to the Board meeting, and it was our fault,we anticipated that need but we anticipated it too late. We anticipated it yesterday. So on future bid results,we'll add the estimates. MR. UNGER: Yes,that's very helpful if you need feedback on that. MR.NEY: I noticed there were a lot of items that were "No Bids," This is more of a comment,not a criticism,but I also procured from them. I went in and just not a lot of things in stock, and I go, "It's kind of a problem if you need something right away." Are we going to be at a time delay because of—I mean,looks like they can satisfy some of the material that we need but not all of them. MR. TAKAMOTO: It was anticipated that we might not get participation in all sections, so that's why this was solicited ahead of the anticipated repair,to give time to do the alternate procurement;then yes,yeah. MR.NEY: Alternate,got it. And you guys do have alternative vendors. MR. TAKAMOTO: We have potential vendors that we believe we can work with to, I guess,procure the materials that we require. MR.NEY: Got it,thanks. CHR. LOPEZ: Question,when we went on that field trip to eternity,the center of the earth, down there,this Kahalu`u Well, at that time there was a pump that was set to be replaced, I believe, for service. Is this work related to that? MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes, it's directly related to that. CHR. LOPEZ: Directly related. Thank you,it helps to know that. MR. OKAMOTO: So besides just the pump unit,probably the portion you couldn't see, it was in the water. Then there's that discharge head on the concrete pad that you guys could see, and there's that big motor unit on top of that. This is all pertinent materials to those mechanical units, all the piping stuff. CHR. LOPEZ: So when this is completed,when all these things are done and the works done,will that pump be back in operation? It's a replacement. MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: It's a replacement? MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes. Once this work is done,that unit will be fully operational. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you very much. That's good news. Page 12 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR.NEY: Sorry, one more quick one. When do you guys anticipate a service down there, I think the prior discussion was there's a lot of work needed to be done at some point, and that site might be decommissioned if it gets to be such a financial burden to keep it running. Is this work extending out? The service life is quite a ways out in terms of keeping this as an active site. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. So to go beyond that, eventually we'd like to reduce our reliance on these types of sources,these types of sources meaning sources that tap the basal lens and shift more pumping to the higher quality water up mauka. That does take some long-term effort, so for the foreseeable future we'll still need to use the shaft and our other sources that tap into the basal lens. MR.NEY: Okay,thanks. CHR. LOPEZ: Any other discussion? Hearing none. ACTION: There being no further discussion. Motion was carried unanimously by roll call vote (Ayes: 6—Mr. Bell, Mr. Hirakami, Mr. Kekela, Mr.Ney,Mr. Unger, and Chair Lopez; Absent: 2—Mr. Brown and Ms. Keolanui; Excused: 1 —Mr. Lee). B. JOB NO. 2024-07, REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF KAHALU`U SHAFT INCLINED LIFT: Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. This project consists of furnishing all transportation, labor, equipment,tools and consumable materials necessary to provide quarterly maintenance and repair services to the inclined lift system and its related appurtenances at the Department of Water Supply's Kahalu`u Shaft facility for a period beginning July 1, 2024,through June 30, 2026. Bids for this project were opened on March 7, 2024,at 2:30 p.m.,and the following are the bid results: Bidder Bid Amount Centric Elevator Corporation $447,500.00 Heide &Cook, LLC $385,000.00 KONE, Inc. $299,000.00* *NOTE: Bid amount shown for bidder has been corrected. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended the Board award the contract for MAINTENANCE BID NO. 2024-07, REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF KA14ALUU SHAFT INCLINED LIFT,to the lowest responsible bidder,KONE Inc., for their bid amount of$299,000.00. It is further recommended that either the Chairperson or the Vice-Chairperson be authorized to sign the contract, subject to review as to form and legality by Corporation Counsel. MOTION: Mr.Ney moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr. Kekela. CHR. LOPEZ: Discussion? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for bringing up your site visit and going down that lift that we're talking about. That probably helps your understanding of realizing why maintenance should be done on that particular piece of equipment, and that's what this is for. It is a mechanical unit,basically it's on Page 13 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes rails to take personnel and equipment up and down, from the surface down to the pump gallery. We'd like it to remain in good operating condition. CHR. LOPEZ: What's the drop in elevation, from the entrance to the floor? MR. OKAMOTO: Elevation, approximately 600 feet, about 575. CHR. LOPEZ: So that lift is going 600 feet on the vertical. MR. OKAMOTO: On the vertical. MR. UNGER: Easier to walk down to the bottom. MR.NEY: It's a longer run distance. MR. BELL: It's easier to walk down to the bottom. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. You can't physically carry the equipment; or even the piping,you guys saw the size of the piping, right? CHR. LOPEZ: Yes, it's huge. Thank you. I have another question, and I'll wait. Ben? MR.NEY: KONE,who serviced it before, or do we not have a contract to do the work? MR. TAKAMOTO: During the warranty period,when this lift was replaced, it had a two-year warranty, and Heide &Cook was the contractor that provided the maintenance work. MR.NEY: Okay, and this is not a service contract with the ceiling. This is a set amount that you pay them over a year or two. What's the timeframe for this? MR. TAKAMOTO: Two years. MR.NEY: Two years. MR. OKAMOTO: Included in your packet were the bid tabs for this,which include a description of the work. So typically what this type of contract will look like, is if they perform the work, and it's like either monthly,quarterly, or some type of routine type schedule,they do the work,they submit the bill for that work,but they can only bill up to whatever their bid is. MR. UNGER: The bid is. MR.NEY: Contract, okay. CHR. LOPEZ: Well,that answered my question. This is for ongoing preventative maintenance,not necessary (INAUDIBLE)repair. MR. TAKAMOTO: It's actually for both. So Part 1 was for routine quarterly maintenance,but the second part is for any emergency work that may come up during that period. CHR. LOPEZ: Is there anything now that needs attention'?We better get on this right away. Page 14 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. TAKAMOTO: At this time,there are no repairs. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. Any other discussion? MR. UNGER: I find it interesting that the existing company that's warranting it and maintaining it has one bid, and then KONE came in under it. So just a small red flag that Heide knows what it takes to maintain this the way they want it maintained and these guys came under it, I'd just keep an eye on KONE to make sure that the services are equivalent to what is going on right now. MR. OKAMOTO: Good point,yes. CHR. LOPEZ: Any other discussion? Hearing none. ACTION: There being no further discussion. Motion was carried unanimously by roll call vote (Ayes: 6—Mr. Bell,Mr. Hirakami,Mr. Kekela, Mr.Ney, Mr. Unger, and Chair Lopez; Absent: 2—Mr. Brown and Ms. Keolanui; Excused: 1 —Mr. Lee). C. JOB NO. 2023-08 (MAT), F&D SPARE PUMP AND MOTOR SET FOR KALAOA#1 DEEPWELL -REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS AND TIME EXTENSION: Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. The Contractor, Derrick's Well Drilling and Pump Services, LLC. is requesting a contract change order for the additional costs to perform a wire-to-water test of the complete pumping assembly at the pump manufacturer's facility. The description of the additional work and associated fees are as follows: ITEM DESCRIPTION AMOUNT Motor lead extension for Summit 738 motor to conduct 1 the wire-to-water testing. Motor lead shall also be kept as $ 3,805.26 a spare motor lead for other Department owned Summit 738 motors. Inclusive of, shipping and other related costs. 2 De-staged Pump Bowl Test performed by Simflo to $ 3,360.00 obtain certified pump bowl performance data. TOTAL $ 7,165.26 Original Contract Amount: $ 67,916.25 Original Contingency Amount: $ 0.00 Is'Additional Funds Request: $ 7,165.26 Total Revised Contract Amount: $ 75,081.51 The Contractor, Derrick's Well Drilling and Pump Services, LLC. is requesting a contract time extension of 23 calendar days for this additional work. Page 15 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes Ext. 4 From (Date) To (Date) (Ca ens Reason 1 03/31/2024 04/23/2024 23 Additional work noted above Total Days (including this request) 23 Staff reviewed the request for additional funds and found that the $7,165.26 can be considered justified. Payment of this work shall be performed by force accounting. 1st time extension—23 calendar days RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board approve an increase in the contract funds of $7,165.26 to Derrick's Well Drilling and Pump Services, LLC, for a total project cost of$75,081.51, and approve a contract time extension of 23 calendar days for JOB NO. 2023-08 (MAT), F&D SPARE PUMP AND MOTOR SET FOR KALAOA 41 DEEPWELL. If approved,the contract completion date will be revised from March 31, 2024 to April 23, 2024. MOTION: Mr. Unger moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr.Ney. CHR. LOPEZ: Discussion? MR. OKAMOTO: As you can see,there are two tables and quite a bit of write-up. I'll try my best to explain,and Eric can fill in the technical details. For your information, F&D is Furnish and Deliver, for folks' awareness. Basically, it was to supply this material,which is the MAT part in the parentheses. Because of another procurement,the motor was procured,but of course, as a spare we'd like the whole unit, right,the pump,the motor,and the cable. Those are the three major components of a submersible well. What we also wanted is that they do an overall efficiency test to make sure that the motor that was already procured would meet up to the pump that we'd like to now procure as well as combined with the power cable, and that it meets the specification that we'd like it to meet, so that's the additional work. Of course, for us asking the contractor to do that additional work, it requires additional time. CHR. LOPEZ: Any questions? MR.NEY: So the cable going down,these pumps have a wide range,a load, differences? In terms of the conductor going down to the pump, is that something that you don't have on record,to try to retrofit something else, is what I'm trying to get at. So if you're taking a new pump or retrofitting, don't we have all the information specified on the table, I guess is what I'm asking. MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes,the manufacturers do print the, I guess, cable specifications on the cable itself, so the cable that we did procure through that prior repair that we had the power cable and the motor from,we do have in our inventory at this time. So, it is ready to go if we ever need it. MR.NEY: Okay. But you guys have it if you put in a bigger pump then the conductor no longer supports the load requirement of the pump. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,they all kind of work together. The pump,the motor,and the power cable all have to be matched up appropriately. It's basically the motor that tells you what kind of power cable you need. Page 16 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR.NEY: Got it. MR. OKAMOTO: What we also try to do is we try to get enough cable to wherever that motor sits in elevation,to bring it to the surface without splicing. Sometimes if we got to,we'll splice;but as you folks know,that's a potential location for failure. Moving forward,because of the strategies that we've learned because of the challenges we've had with our deep wells up mauka,we try to have spares;pump,motor, and cable are all verified to be good to go,all together,instead of us trying to Frankenstein a motor to a pump,to a cable that we might have sitting around. We'd like to avoid this, as far as crossing our fingers hoping it will work type situation. If got to, if that's all we got and it's a matter of bringing water to the surface,that's what we'll do,but if we can prepare in advance,we'd rather have this type of spare sitting, ready to go. MR.NEY: Are those, like what size? Is it like two aught,three aught, like what size cables are we talking? MR. TAKAMOTO: It probably is two aught because that site uses medium voltage, 2,300 volts. MR. OKAMOTO: 2,300 volts. But it kind of depends on the amp. MR.NEY: (INAUIDBLE)oversize the conductors,just to be safe on voltage drop and stuff like that? MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes,we do factor safety into the cable just to account for losses. MR.NEY: I saw electricians, sometimes they'll run larger wires just in case they change, and they can still support the load requirement. MR. OKAMOTO: We definitely don't want to undersize that. That will not be good. MR.NEY: Okay. Thanks,guys. CHR. LOPEZ: I have a question. I hate to bring it up again,not too distant history,we had both pumps going out in Kona and parts were not interchangeable, does this kind of policy contribute to correcting that whole environment'? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: Outstanding. That goes a long way. MR. OKAMOTO: Thank you. Thank you for putting it in for the record. MR. UNGER: Can you clarify for me again why wasn't this test part of the contract going out? MR. OKAMOTO: I knew that question would come up, and I asked that same question,but I had to remind myself. So we procured the motor under a different scenario where we thought we'd have to do an emergency repair for this well. MR. UNGER: Oh, okay. MR. OKAMOTO: But after going through, actually the extraction,it was found that existing one was still okay. So now we have this motor sitting,but it needed to be mated to a pump,but if we're going to do that, then we may as well make sure that everything works together. Page 17 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. UNGER: Okay,but if it would have been all— MR. OKAMOTO: Frankenstein together— MR. UNGER: If it would have been all purchased together— MR. OKAMOTO: Yeah, if it was all done. MR. UNGER: It would have deleted this test. MR. OKAMOTO: So moving forward,that's kind of our standard, if we're going to purchase spares for wells, everything,pump,motor,and power cable. MR. UNGER: We've tested that? Back-up, as a(INAUDIBLE) MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,as much as possible. MR. UNGER: Feasible. MR. OKAMOTO: So they cannot run the whole wire test, right? MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes. MR. OKAMOTO: So they'll do the best they can to the pump,motor, and then from the motor,there's a short segment of what they call motor lead cable, and so they need that to get— MR. UNGER: To test it to that. MR. OKAMOTO: To test it to that,yes. MR. UNGER: Good. CHR. LOPEZ: Any other discussion? Let the record show that Board Member Lee has returned. (Note: At 10:58 a.m., Board Member Lee returned back to the meeting.) MR. LEE: Is this on Derricks? MR. OKAMOTO: We are on Item No. 7-C. MR. LEE: Yes, I had a question about that. CHR. LOPEZ: Go ahead,please. MR. LEE: Is this for time and material? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. So what this is,this is for furnishing and delivering material,but we're asking them besides just furnishing the material to run this test,that wire-to-water test,to make sure that it meets the efficiency that we're looking for. It will be done on a force account basis? Page 18 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes. MR. OKAMOTO: So basically,they'll need to show us exactly what their costs are when they take it to test. MR. TAKAMOTO: Simflo. MR. OKAMOTO: So this is our best guess estimate of the cost to do— MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes,this is. MR. LEE: Why wasn't the test required at or thought of at the beginning? MR. OKAMOTO: Board Member Unger asked the same thing. MR. LEE: Oh,I'm sorry. MR. OKAMOTO: No, I think it's worth repeating. We had procured the motor under like an emergency procurement in the past because we thought that well was going to fail. So when we pulled out the pump and motor at that time, it was found out that the components that were pulled out of the hole,the motor was still good, so now we had this spare motor sitting around. MR. LEE: Right, oh okay. MR. OKAMOTO: But to have an actual replacement set,we wanted the whole set; so we had a motor already,now we wanted the pump and the cable, all to make sure that they all function together properly. So hindsight,we could have probably put this in the original request procurement,but we would rather come back and do it right now before trying to put it down the hole without this test. MR. UNGER: I'm not familiar with the term "force accounting." MR. OKAMOTO: Force accounting,there are ways for us, as a government, can pay for services. So sometimes on a bid or a change order,we can do an agreed lump-sum,where there's kind of shared risk. So we could've asked them to do, "Hey,give us your best guess," shared lump-sum,they might've said $7 grand ($7,000). If it came out more than that,they would eat it,but if it came out less than that,they'd make more money. The staff has determined that a force account basis would be more appropriate, which is basically like time and material; so they got to show who worked on it,what their hourly rate was,what the actual material was used, quantity,what the invoice for that was. MR. UNGER: Versus a bid, accept it,high/low. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. MR. UNGER: Got it. Thank you. CHR. LOPEZ: Any other discussion, questions? Hearing none. Roll call vote,please. ACTION: There being no further discussion. Motion was carried unanimously by roll call vote (Ayes: 7—Mr. Bell,Mr. Hirakami,Mr. Kekela, Mr. Lee, Mr.Ney,Mr. Unger, and Chair Lopez; Absent: 2—Mr. Brown and Ms. Keolanui). Page 19 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MISCELLANEOUS: A. DEDICATION OF WATER SYSTEMS: Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. The following is a dedication for action by the Water Board. The water system has been constructed in accordance with the Department's standards and are in acceptable condition for dedication. 1. Bill of Sale Kaloko Heights Apartments Grantor: Kaloko Heights Affordable Housing LLLP Tax Map Key(3) 7-3-009:032 Puapua`a 2nd,North Kona, Island of Hawaii,Hawaii Facilities Charge: $405,000.00 Date Paid: 6/27/2013 Final Inspection Date: 2/14/2024 Water System Cost: $99,000.00 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Water Board accepts this dedication subject to the approval of the Corporation Counsel and that either the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman be authorized to sign the documents. MOTION: Mr. Kekela moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr. Unger. CHR. LOPEZ: Discussion? MR. OKAMOTO: The map that was provided in your mailout,the callouts were shifted, so funny kind. Kurt corrected that and handed out a revised map today,which probably makes more sense. And then if you have any questions, Kurt is available. Basically,it's the development up Hina Lam. Is that the affordable housing units? CHR. LOPEZ: Oh,the new ones going there. MR. INABA: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: So essentially,the contractor put the system in, filled out whatever specs were required, and now they're turning it over to the department for operations? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,exactly right. CHR. LOPEZ: And they paid their fees. The water system cost, is that a liability to the Department of Water Supply? MR. OKAMOTO: No,we kind of use that to value the system, and then it will get depreciated as part of our typical financing. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. MR.NEY: One question. When you say the system was done to acceptable the well conditions meeting our standards, are you guys inspecting authority when it's installed? Page 20 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. MR.NEY: So you guys had eyes on it? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. MR.NEY: Okay. MR. OKAMOTO: Great question, and I think it's worth elaborating on it a little bit more. If there's any development that's—and typically they want to turn it over to us to operate and maintain because they don't want to be in the business to do that. So from the plan review phase, Kurt and his staff are involved in reviewing that before it even goes into construction. Once it goes into construction,they assign an inspector to physically observe while the infrastructure is being installed. MR.NEY: Okay. Yeah,I was curious how—like all they had to proceed with the completion of putting the infrastructure in. Now,that inspection cost comes out of their pocket to the department, or is that like we're doing that pro bono? Not pro bono,but I mean we're not collecting a fee to have personnel up there? MR. OKAMOTO: No. The only time we collect a fee, correct me if I'm wrong Kurt,is if—so Subdivision Code requires that the system be designed and constructed to our standard. It could actually be for a system that we don't own, operate, or maintain, like Waik6loa Village or something like that, and in that case,we will charge an inspection fee because we don't get the end benefit. MR.NEY: I mean these are engineered plans that are given to you guys. You guys are just going up to verify the work's done accordingly. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. MR.NEY: All right got it. Thanks. CHR. LOPEZ: Any other discussion, questions? Hearing none. Roll call,please. ACTION: There being no further discussion. Motion was carried unanimously by roll call vote (Ayes: 7—Mr. Bell,Mr. Hirakami,Mr. Kekela, Mr. Lee, Mr.Ney,Mr. Unger, and Chair Lopez; Absent: 2—Mr. Brown and Ms. Keolanui). B. DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY COLLECTION AND DELINQUENCY POLICIES: Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. Information will be provided to the Board on status updates on collection efforts due to delinquent balances for water service charges with information on current policies and procedures in place for collection and water shut-offs. Discussion will follow along with any recommendations that should be considered for future action. CHR. LOPEZ: This is optional if there was progress. Is there anything to report? MR. OKAMOTO: There is. I think we've provided some supplemental information that we were able find from prior Board meetings as this discussion—you know, it's not the first time that the delinquencies and Page 21 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes potential liens were discussed at the Water Board level, all prior to you folks' tenure,but we wanted to provide that for you,and Candace does have some information for you folks. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. MS. GRAY: I'm just going to continue from where you left off, January. I did provide like an agenda, an outline of the information that I provided. So for February 2024, our greater than 90 days delinquencies had a slight increase to $975,911.24 during the month of February 2024. As we've seen in the January meeting, I provided a table of those accounts, and a breakdown of the number of accounts that are active, closed, and the dollar amount shows delinquency,greater than$1,000, ranging from $100 to $999, and then$1.00 to $99.00. So as of the November 2023, Aging Report,this table that I've provided reveals that 55%of the total amount owing in this category, or$529,816.00,comprises 9%of the total count, or 209 accounts with 48 active accounts and 161 closed accounts. The remaining 45%of the total amount owing or$436,615 comprises 92%of the total count or 2,201 accounts with 7139 active accounts and 1,462 closed accounts with delinquent balances less than $1,000. I continued the next page,Table 2,which breaks down the 2,410 accounts with delinquent balances in this greater than 90 days delinquency category. You'll see in Table 2 the breakdown of the status for each of these accounts. I just want to point out that as of this November 2023 Aging Report, 71%of these accounts have already been referred to the collection agency. Continuing on, I did include a section where in January our Collection Section had 43 water shutoffs; in February,they had a total of 29 water shutoffs. I'll just kind of go down the line and then you can ask questions, does that work? In the next section,I did provide the Flow Chart from our collection agency,Aargon, so you can have an idea of what happens once we refer it to them for collection. As of 2024,the total amount we referred to the collection agency is $665,556.50. I have a breakdown by the total of dollar amount within the past six years of what was referred to collections. CHR. LOPEZ: So this is the history over the last years? MS. GRAY: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: This is not what's currently outstanding,but they haven't collected it. MS. GRAY: This includes, as of today,what's outstanding. CHR. LOPEZ: The question I may have rephrased, 2019 you referred$123,870. Is that remaining outstanding? It's still in Collections'? MS. GRAY: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, so these accounts have been in Collection for a number of years, and right now the total is $665,000. MS. GRAY: Correct. Page 22 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,thank you. MR.NEY: Mr. Chair,this amount doesn't include the debt that we wrote off on those accounts were—I forget how many years out that were never paid. We wrote off some of that debt off our balance sheet. This is not reflective of that, is that correct? MS. GRAY: Correct. MR.NEY: So you got to consider that was other money that we never collected too,just to put it in perspective, on what we're losing in terms of not collecting. CHR. LOPEZ: So it's the bucket of money that is in Collection, and the bucket of money that we've written off due to nonpayment. MR.NEY: No,this doesn't reflect the write-off. CHR. LOPEZ: No,plus two buckets. MR.NEY: Oh,you had it correct. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,thanks for that clarification. Go ahead, Candace. MR. OKAMOTO: Looks like Mr. Hirakami has his hand up on Zoom. CHR. LOPEZ: Mr. Hirakami. MR. HIRAKAML I wanted to see what the Collection success of the referrals is. How much have they collected, and what percentages of the referrals have we gotten success rates on because it doesn't show the success of the collection? MS. GRAY: I would have to provide that report maybe in another meeting. I don't have that report with me today. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,we'll take it as an action item. Thank you. MR.NEY: I've got to say,Keith,looking at this flow chart of the Collection Agency's actions and attempts,I don't like the bottom things. You know what they say—I mean,broken promise to pay. I mean the bottom line is if we don't get paid,and enough time goes by and there's a lapse of time,we're not seeing that money. We need to fix this problem, so it doesn't even have to get to this point to address it. Because again,it seems like a lot of time, expense, and headaches trying to go through the process to collect money that's owed,or we need to stiffen up the policies on how we collect and who is responsible for making those payments on the accounts. I know I've said this a million times,but just reiterating that point once again. MR. OKAMOTO: Thank you, Ben, and that's why we're putting in this effort now,to kind of quantify and show to the Board what it is,the situation we're in. We need to make some decisions moving forward. Candance has some additional notes that might be worthy of— CHR. LOPEZ: Please go ahead, Candace. Page 23 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MS. GRAY: In the January meeting,I did provide samples of the shutoff letter and final bills, and the final bill reminders, for your information. I did not provide it again in this meeting, so it should be with your meeting notes for January,as well as the Rules and Regulations. I did include additional notes, as an update,we have started to implement as a routine method of sending our final notices to customers that have emails and closed their accounts with unpaid balances. I did also provide copies of sections of minutes for the period November 25, 2014 through October 27, 2015, so that includes information related to the discussion about the placement of liens on real property for nonpayment of water bills. So there are two agenda items discussed in those meetings,and one item was pertaining to amending the Department of Water Supply rules, and the other agenda item was related to submitting bills to the Legislature. There was one Board Member that was actively working on that. So looks like this effort went on for about a year. MR. OKAMOTO: One other thing on Candace's additional notes that I think is worthy is that the County of Hawaii DEM has the ability to enforce a lien on the owner's property for nonpayment of sewer bills. I know Ben has brought that up as a possible solution. MR.NEY: That's a level we should have because we're not exercising any kind of consequence for people just to shun the Water Department on paying. Thank you, Candace, for this breakdown. Looks like you put a lot of work into this because it does make it more clear on how things are broken down, so I appreciate compiling it. Yes, Keith, I think we need to amend the rules. Can you do something quick,because we can kick this conversation back and forth,but honestly,we've got to put something into effect to plug the holes in the boat. I mean you look historically at this, it's still a problem So anything we can do to speed along getting to that point,let's do it. I don't know what it takes. CHR. LOPEZ: My perspective presently, and if somebody disagrees,please say so,we needed to get to a point where we understood the process. Before you start throwing solutions,you've got to know what it is you're dealing with. All I could see,all the details, and Candace has worked to deliver, she's done that; with the flow chart with Aargon,with her flow chart,with these breakdowns of these tables. Again,my perspective is at this point,following up on what Ben said, it's now the point of time where we understand the process,we know what the problems are. I mean how do we fix the process to address the problem, and I think that's the next step. So my question is, are there resources in your department to take this problem and address where could we tweak it? It's kind of like a work breakdown structure,and how do we improve this step,how do we improve that step,leading to help the (INAUDIBLE). Are there resources to do that? Perhaps the Board could consider a Permitted Interaction Group (PIG)to work with the department to dissect this,working towards some proposal to the Board of a solution. I'm asking kind of a two-fold question. MR. OKAMOTO: Right. I think those are, actually,perfect next steps. I think in part of the old minutes that Candace provided to you,that's what the Board did at that time,kind of come up with a Permitted Interaction Group, so I would say that's a great step on the Board. We'd love to get that input from members of the Board willing to participate in that. As far as resources,we're stretched thin,but at the same time, I think we—if the Board feels that this is an issue that needs to be resolved or addressed,then we need to move forward on that. Whether or not we do it in-house,with staff that we have available, or outsource it,those are options that we could consider. Then we can also do further outreach to other utilities that may have implemented liens on properties and learn from whatever experience they have. So I think there are options,but I think the Permitted Action Page 24 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes Group would be a great first step, and then they can work directly with Candace and her staff to see what we could move forward on. CHR. LOPEZ: What I'd like to avoid,is we're sitting in December,we're still in landline with data, right. (INAUDIBLE)three months,by the end of his term have a solution in place. And I don't disagree, certainly we got time,whether we have the resources or not.Where the funds to make that happen remains to be seen. Any discussion on that whole concept? MR. UYEHARA: I think Mr. Hirakami has his hand up. CHR. LOPEZ: Mr. Hirakami. MR. HIRAKAML Hey, Keith kind of touched on this, can we see what collection agencies, and other utilities like water companies are using? Maybe we should use a different portfolio of collection agencies to see which ones are more effective;because some collection agencies might be just picking the low- hanging fruit,the easy one to collect, and they might not be the larger numbers. Because they make a percentage,they'll probably just go after the easy one. I kind of wanted to see the efficacy of collection agencies and measure how efficient they are at actually collecting money. That's my point. CHR. LOPEZ: Good point; and your earlier comment about excessive collection of these items here will aid in that understanding,and then we compare them to others,would that be easier? Thank you. MR. OKAMOTO: Maybe a question for Diana, so moving forward,maybe on the next agenda item,I mean not next month's agenda,would we put an item to create a Permitted Action Group? MS. MELLON-LACEY: You'll have a discussion, creation of Permitted Action Group, and then you have to have specifically what the groups going to do, so that's another— MR. OKAMOTO: Okay. MR.NEY: That was the problem with the first one we formed,it wasn't described what the purpose of that was. MS. MELLON-LACEY: One or two Board members,before the creation of the PIG, could have discussions with staff to help define what that PIG would do before we come back to the next meeting. CHR. LOPEZ: That would help because then at the meeting we'll just discuss all that and hopefully form the PIG. I fully understand. MR.NEY: I want it done before I—I'd really like to see,you know, it has happened, even if it's outside and when my term expires, at least get the ball rolling. I know I might not be there,but I'd like to make sure it gets done. CHR. LOPEZ: I think your suggestion,Keith,with the counsel, is a good one. Put it on the agenda for next month and see if some Board members work with the department to help define what those parameters are. MR. OKAMOTO: Yeah, if anybody's willing,just provide their thoughts to our department on topics that we should maybe take a look at as options to resolve this. I know Ben could probably provide his thoughts, but anybody else just send an email. I think Diana had something else. Page 25 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MS. MELLON-LACEY: I just had a question, do we know what the collection rates are for the other Water departments in the State, in other words, do we know how we compare to other Water departments; and do we have their collection policies by way of something that would help us and compare in an exercise like this? Just to know what— MR. OKAMOTO: We haven't specifically asked for those types of information,but it's just a simple,yes me sending out an email to my counterparts at the other utilities and seeing what they're willing to share. So we'll start that, I don't have to wait for that. I can get that information. MS. MELLON-LACEY: It would be interesting to see how we stack up. Maybe another Water department has the answer, right? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,no sense we reinvent the wheel if there's something working well already. CHR. LOPEZ: To make this a package, I think we've got it here,package of all the details you've worked on,but asking us to go back to January to look at your flow chart, it's probably a long request. MS. GRAY: Sorry. CHR. LOPEZ: No it's okay,it's us. We don't have a way to look up history. MR. OKAMOTO: Working on it. CHR. LOPEZ: Could you send that out again to us? And Board members I ask you to take that flow chart together with all of this material that Candace has just provided us and begin to—particularly if you're going to work with them,but maybe take a look at it to understand if you see something independently. But short of that, I think if you just give us that flow chart again,we should take the responsibility to form this package ourselves, something that we can digest. This was an update. Do I have any Board members that would like to participate in this effort with the department and try to assimilate this and look to—actually,what would a Permitted Action Group look at; how do they approach this topic? What are deliverables,what's the process? So when the next Board meeting comes,we have something to work on, as far as launching it. MS. MELLON-LACEY: So from a Sunshine Law perspective,two Board members could do that together. Individual Board members could talk to the staff. CHR. LOPEZ: Outside (INAUDIBLE). MS. MELLON-LACEY: Yeah,bring old ideas. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,thank you for that. MR.NEY: Who would be your point person within the department if the PIG forms on this,in terms of Board members collaborating? CHR. LOPEZ: A lot of figures (INAUDIBLE). All right, so do I have any volunteers? I need a couple to work on this. MR.NEY: I'll work on it in terms of at least the discussions and getting together to brainstorm with Candace. I don't think there's much outside of that that I can do. I mean,who do I go to discuss this with? Page 26 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes CHR. LOPEZ: No, I think that's the right— MR.NEY: It's more of an internal issue. CHR. LOPEZ: Internal,with Candace,yourself, and one other Board member;just what do we have here, what is the goal? What are the issues we're trying to drive to, and how do we get there so that we can launch a PIG? So the first step is just getting together and trying to (INAUDIBLE). Yes, Candace? MS. GRAY: I just want to add, first with that long explanation. The information in these minutes would give you a good idea of what we went through in the past and I guess things that they discussed regarding the (INAUDIBLE). CHR. LOPEZ: It's good input too. I need one more. MR. UNGER: I'll help Ben with it. MR. OKAMOTO: All right. CHR. LOPEZ: All right,thank you, Keith. So the minutes will show that Board Members Keith Unger and Ben Ney will work with Candance, so between the three, somebody could figure out who gets the (INAUDIBLE)to—the effort is to understand what we're dealing with, and in what way would a Permitted Interaction Group function and deliver specifics;to bring it to the next meeting so we can vote to launch the PIG if that's the right action. Got it? So good? So,I'll leave it up to you three to sit together. Thank you very much. We're on our way. And in the meantime,you'll send out that flow chart of January to everybody. C. FINAL REPORT ON PERMITTED INTERACTIVE GROUP (PIG) Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. MR.NEY: Okay, I'll just kind of read from my script. We formed a PIG and we kind of got off on the wrong foot with understanding how that works, so I'm just going to brief,which kind of summarizes how to start it and where we're at, and we're going disband this current one. (Note: From Board Member Ben Ney, District 9, dated March 19,2024,transmitting the Final Report for Permitted Interaction Group,was circulated. A hard copy of the report is made part of the record and is available for public viewing at the Department of Water Supply's office.) CHR. LOPEZ: Well,first you have to have a motion. MR.NEY: Oh, Motion to dismiss. MS. MELLON-LACEY: You don't because it automatically dissolves as soon as you give your report, so you don't have to do anything; and according to OIP,you cannot discuss, deliberate, or make any decisions regarding the report until a third meeting held separately after the meeting at which the Findings and Recommendations were presented by the PIG. Waiting until a subsequent Board meeting to discuss an act on the PIG's report gives the public the opportunity to present before testimony at the meeting, Page 27 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes where the Board will discuss an act on the report. So according to OIP,you've given the report, and that's it. If you want to discuss it,you have to do that in the next meeting. MR.NEY: Point of clarification,that doesn't pertain to this report. You've brought this up that when a Permitted Action Group gets formed, it's got to be very specific and define as to what the purpose of it is; and that it's one final report,there are no reports that are given updates. So basically, PIG forms,works done, and then a Final Report is made. Is that correct? MS. MELLON-LACEY: Correct. MR.NEY: Okay,thank you. That's all I got. CHR. LOPEZ: So the report is entered into the record. Did you submit a copy of that to the secretary? MR.NEY: I made a whole bunch of copies. CHR. LOPEZ: So it's submitted, and for the next agenda we'll open up discussion. Is that correct? MS. MELLON-LACEY: Correct. CHR. LOPEZ: And then you said three meetings? MS. MELLON-LACEY: Well,this is the third. I mean the first meeting is when form the PIG. The second meeting is when the PIG reports, and then it's automatically dissolved, so you don't have to make a motion to dissolve or anything. In fact, if you give any updates,according to OIP that dissolves the PIG,you don't want to do that until you're ready; and then the third meeting, lets you discuss, deliberate, make decisions,make motions, decide to create another PIG, or do something different. CHR. LOPEZ: Well,the next agenda item will be discussion of the PIG Final Report. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: All right,good. Moving right along. D. MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT: Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. Submission of Progress Report of Projects by the Department. Department personnel will be available to respond to questions by the Board regarding the status/progress of any project. MR. INABA: Mainly just wanted to let you guys know we started, for the Lead and Copper Rule revisions we did start yesterday going out,that initial phase of inventorying. Again,the difference this time is that the law now makes us responsible for inventorying the customer's line, after the meter. Right up until this point,basically we went only up to the meter.We started yesterday in Hilo. We'll continue probably for about two weeks and move on to the different districts. So,we'll do all of our water systems. It went well so far. Page 28 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes CHR. LOPEZ: I'm sorry, I don't know if I didn't understand,but I do have a question. You said, "If not two weeks,you'll start in about two weeks?" You've already started it. Is it included in two weeks, or what's the two-week thing? MR. INABA: Conclude Hilo in two weeks,the Hilo water system. CHR. LOPEZ: Oh,the Hilo water. That one. MR. INABA: Yes, so we'll work within the Hilo district,but with the other water systems that fall within our operation's district. CHR. LOPEZ: And understanding that this is a dictate to the department. MR. INABA: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: How long is expected this process to go? MR. INABA: We'll be complete with the inventory and our sampling requirements by October. CHR. LOPEZ: It's actually a good timeline. MR. INABA: Yes, it's basically randomly generated customers. CHR. LOPEZ: Oh, okay. MR. INABA: Yeah,we need to have a minimum amount. CHR. LOPEZ: Sample. MR. INABA: Yes, sample. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,thank you very much for that clarification. Is that it? Go ahead. MR. INABA: Pretty much. It's a pretty quick turnaround from last month. Puak6, I just confirmed they're a little over 8,000 feet complete now. MR.NEY: What percentage is that of the total (INAUDIBLE)? MR. INABA: Roughly 75%still. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, any other question for that report? No. All right, Keith. MR. OKAMOTO: All right. Thanks, Kurt. So we can move on to the next agenda item, Mr. Chair. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,that was it,what we talked about. E. REVIEW OF MONTHLY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the agenda item. Page 29 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes Submission of financial statements and information relating to the financial status of the Department. Department personnel will be available to respond to questions by the Board relating to the financial status of the Department. MS. GRAY: So for this month, February 2024 Financial Statements,in regards to the balance sheet,I do have a new explanation that was added and bold,your coversheet, and that includes accrued interest payable,which decreased$266,455 or-43%from the prior year due to the timing difference when we pay our GO Bonds. CHR. LOPEZ: I'm sorry, I didn't get a—due to the timing difference? MS. GRAY: Timing difference of our payment for our loans. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,thank you. MS. GRAY: The other items that are included on the coversheet you've already seen in previous months' reports. The Income Statement for February 2024, our revenues year-to-date is $45,603,454, and Operating Expenses are at$40,825,980,with an Operating Income of$4,777,474. Our Net Income after our non-operating revenues and expenses are at$4,861,875. Moving on to our Budget Status Report, as of February 2024, our revenues exceeded our target at 67%, so we're currently at 71%; and our Expenditures are under target of 67%,at 59%as of February 2024. CHR. LOPEZ: Good except for hearing the finish line. Any questions? Thank you, Candace. MR. OKAMOTO: Thanks, Candace. F. MANAGER-CHIEF ENGINEER'S REPORT: The Manager-Chief Engineer to provide an update on the following: 1. North Kona Wells 2. AWWA ACE24—June 10-14, 2024 MR. OKAMOTO: Moving right along, for Item No. 1, status of North Kona Wells, again turn it over to Kawika. MR. UYE14ARA: Okay, so for this month we have again 11 of our 14 North Kona sources running or available to use, so offline is the same as last month: Honok6hau,Wai`aha and Makalei. Honok6hau,we had some updates. The contractor has been out there trying to remove some of the existing shroud material that fell into the well. They're having some challenges with that,and from what I understand the contractor is adjusting their methods to try to remove whatever they need to, and we still need to get a schedule update from them on that. Wai`aha, again,contractors procured materials. Those are in production for assembly. I believe the completion date is later part of this year. Makalei,we actually got some updates. The contractor is doing electrical demolition now, and they provided a completion in about three months, so that's actually promising. Thank you. Any questions? Page 30 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes CHR. LOPEZ: So just to understand, in 90 days we'll potentially have Makalei online? MR. UYEHARA: Potentially. CHR. LOPEZ: Key word in contacting us. MR. UYEHARA: That's the status as of this month. CHR. LOPEZ: And Wai`aha is later this year sometime? MR. UYEHARA: September of 2024 was the— MR. OKAMOTO: Potentially. MR. UYEHARA: Yes,the completion date. That's the schedule. CHR. LOPEZ: And Honok6hau? MR. UYEHARA: That one, I think we've got to get an update on the schedule. CHR. LOPEZ: It's unknown. MR. UYE14ARA: To be determined. CHR. LOPEZ: So under the best situation, given the possibility,we could be online with 13 or 14 by the end of the year? MR. UYE14ARA: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: So the whole thing is running. MR. UYE14ARA: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,that's good. Thank you. MR. UYE14ARA: Thank you. MR. OKAMOTO: Thanks, Kawika. And thanks for summarizing that, Mr. Chair. A couple of us have been knocking on wood after that statement. Following that,we wanted to mention, and it's going to come up quickly,the Annual Conference for the National American Water Works Association. It's happening the week of June 10'. Nora passed out this flyer that has some basic information. So again,as usual, if you would like to attend,please email Nora. Typically what we'd like to do is offer consideration to the Chair,Vice Chair, and senior members of the Board. Just feel free to put it in. We'd like to send—I think we have a budget for four Water Board members to attend. CHR. LOPEZ: Don't be bashful,write us and to submit if you're interested because sometimes you can get— Page 31 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,this National one, I've got to say, it's huge. I forget what the typical attendance is,but just the exhibits alone will practically blow your mind on what's out there. The technical sessions, also great information. Yes, it's a good learning opportunity for folks to attend. CHR. LOPEZ: The sessions, I've looked at the agenda,the technical sessions are one thing,you might think that's engineering-oriented,and I'm not an engineer,but there are many other educational types of sessions; how other water districts operate, a lot of good potential for sharing information, and also hearing what they're sharing. As Keith said, it's a good educational process,the whole concept of one water. So I encourage it,if anybody's interested. Even if we get six submissions,it's okay. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,we'd rather have six submissions than two. My apologies, Mr. Chair,but Item No. 2,under Chairperson's report, actually it should have been under my report unless you really want to share what you know about Mr. Donn Ushijima. So,we'd like to add that to my report,and for that, I'd like to ask our Chief of Operations to say a few words. (Note: At this time,the Board Members and staff expressed their appreciation to retiree Donn S. Ushijima for 26 years of service as an electrician with the Department of Water Supply.) CHR. LOPEZ: Do we have a vacancy, or are we filling it some way? MR. GOODALE: We are currently in the process; and actually,with things like this it's good for us because it gives us an opportunity in a lot of cases to update some of the descriptions and the positions and whatnot. But yeah,we're actively in the process of doing that. CHR. LOPEZ: So when's his retirement effective? MR. GOODALE: The end of this month. CHR. LOPEZ: So on April 1st,you have nobody to fill his spot until you— MR. GOODALE: Correct. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. MR.NEY: Sorry, one quick question regarding that. What is usually the timeframe that you guys give notice that someone says, "Hey, I'm retiring,"just for preparation of filling those vacancies? I know we've had attrition problems with people dropping off and not new people coming in. I mean I know you can't ask them years ahead of time what day you're going to retire,but just in general,what kind of timeframe they usually give you guys notice? MR. OKAMOTO: So it varies, of course,by individual. Normally,two weeks is kind of the norm, some people give us more advanced notice. The difficult part with government and recruitment is we cannot technically—we can start the process if we get a formal separation notice; but even with that,we run the risk if we start the recruitment right then and there because they can change their mind too. But depending on the situation,we'll typically start the recruitment process. Greg is really good about it; as soon as he knows, he'll initiate that,what we call "a request to fill,"and basically that starts the process of recruitment, and then to actually get a live body in that position takes a while,months and whatnot. Request to fill,then it goes to County Human Resources,then they'll post it for a period of time and then people can apply. Then if there's any appeal,because maybe their application was denied for lack of meeting minimum qualifications,they have an opportunity to appeal that decision. Then after that whole list gets submitted,then they have to vet it. Page 32 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes Then they send a list of names to us for those who meet the qualifications. Then we'll schedule interviews, and then make a selection and do background checks and whatnot. And then that person,typically if they have a job,will have to provide their notice to their current employer. So as you can see, it's a process. MR.NEY: No quick hire processes. CHR. LOPEZ: Following that, do you have like succession process where when you list you somebody, whether its retirement/termination,whatever termination would be, okay well we've got two or three,they're working their way up to it, so you don't have to go out— MS. MELLON-LACEY: It's called internal recruitment. CHR. LOPEZ: Internal recruitment,yes. Do you have a process for that? MR. OKAMOTO: Certain positions we do. Certain positions we're limited just because of the nature of Collective Bargaining and HR processes. I know Greg folks have available as an option to downgrade a position for recruitment purposes, and then as that person progresses and meets qualifications, it can be upgraded and things like that. So we try to use whatever tools we have available within our means to do that. MS. MELLON-LACEY: I think the other thing too, retirement is through the State, and there's all sorts of rules around that, and things people have to do to be able to retire. So if that doesn't mean being able to walk in and say, "Hey, I'm retiring next week." It doesn't work like that. It's only on certain days that people can pick. It's very regulated. CHR. LOPEZ: Anything else, Keith? MR. OKAMOTO: Anything else you want to say about Donn? MR. GOODALE: No. MR. OKAMOTO: Thanks, Greg. That's it for my part, Mr. Chair. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. Is there an Energy Report this month? MR. OKAMOTO: Not this month. CHR. LOPEZ: Last month,we didn't do Energy. Chairperson's Report. G. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: 1. Chairperson to report on matters of interest to the Board. 2. Retiree of the Department of Water Supply—Donn S. Ushijima CHR. LOPEZ: I believe,correct me if I'm wrong, Steve Hirakami, is this your last meeting? MR. HIRAKAML Yes,it is. CHR. LOPEZ: I'm sure I can speak for the Board on this,we're going to miss you. I've worked with you for over two years on this Board, and I really enjoyed all your mana`o and all the conversations we've had. You bring an outstanding outside perspective on how things are done otherwise, and also,the questions that Page 33 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes you pose are very detailed and require us to think. So I want to thank you for your service, and I want to thank you for being here with us. You're on your way,to what, Fire? Did you get Fire? MR. HIRAKAML Yes,it's Fire. Jumping from water into the fire. It should be the other way around. CHR. LOPEZ: It should be. All right,well best to you. MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,thanks, Steve. CHR. LOPEZ: I wanted to also recognize IT for the hybrid meetings. This is I believe our third one? MR. OKAMOTO: Second. CHR. LOPEZ: Second one. But from my side of the fence,I haven't seen anything go wrong. I mean maybe on your side you've seen,but it's very transparent from my side that it's run very smooth. Thank you for your attention in putting this together,in a relatively short timeline. I think we started this in December, we said we're going to try for March. But again, IT,thank you very much for this. Is there an opportunity for a field trip? Do you have anything that you might suggest? Those of us who have been on a little while have gone, like the Water Reservoir is up there, seeing sludge and the transformation from just murky water to clean water, and then down to the journey of the center of the earth kind of thing. Is there anything that you can propose or think about? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,we'll ponder it. I think we'll have discussions with Greg. If you guys have any requests,we'll definitely try to make it work for sure. I think the next one we were thinking about was down in Ka`u,wasn't it? MR. GOODALE: We were talking about Ka`u,yes, and there's sites in Hilo too. MR. OKAMOTO: We want something kind of interesting and meaningful,but yes. CHR. LOPEZ: And if there's a Board member that has not gone down to the Keauhou shaft or gone up to the reservoir in Waimea, did they approach you into going off on those? MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. CHR. LOPEZ: Those are both really interesting. MR. OKAMOTO: Mr. Chair,thank you for recognizing our IT folks. I just wanted to introduce them to the Board really quick. We have Dean Takamine and Lindsey Howell,yes "Aces"for sure. CHR. LOPEZ: Are either one, or has anyone stepped up to the vacancy you have,the director? MR. UYEHARA: No,we're still working on that. CHR. LOPEZ: You're still working on that. I'm sorry to pressure you. But there's still an open position for that? MR. UYEHARA: Yes, it's still vacant. Page 34 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes CHR. LOPEZ: The only other thing missing in my report,and I don't want to enter discussion,but I just wanted to say that there were some things brought up that are history in the minutes, and if we don't keep them on the forefront,they'll go into the historical abyss—you know, come back and revisit,we had tried to do that a couple of months ago. One of them was this discussion about delivering an online lookup to the minutes and agendas of past meetings. It's not here; I don't want to open discussion,but in future meetings I'll keep that—I'd like it on the agenda. Again, if there's no report,that's totally legitimate. I just don't want to lose sight of it,that's all. MR. OKAMOTO: IT is working on solutions as we speak. MR. UYEHARA: Actually, if I can give an update on that? CHR. LOPEZ: Oh,good. Go ahead. MR. UYE14ARA: So we do have, actually with Dean and Lindsey,and we have another IT Analyst, Damien Joaquin,they did load that plug-into our web page that we were discussing last month. At least on our DWS web page now,under the Board dropdown menu,you can enter a key word there (search word), and it'll search the PDFs that are on our website right now. CHR. LOPEZ: Not necessarily minutes, it being everything. MR. UYE14ARA: It's the minutes and the agenda right now. CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,that's good. MR. UYE14ARA: So, it's a start. We're discussing other things like what Council might— CHR. LOPEZ: Yes,that's excellent. I'm very happy to hear that. Thank you,that's excellent. MR. UYE14ARA: That's all of them,the IT folks that made it happen already. MR. OKAMOTO: But yes,moving forward, do you want that item on your report every time? CHR. LOPEZ: Yes,please. MR. OKAMOTO: Okay. Online look-up of past— CHR. LOPEZ: Any other items to discuss? With that,I entertain a motion to adjourn. MR. UYE14ARA: Sorry, Chair, if you can just go over the announcements because there are a couple of things that you guys want to put on your calendar. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you, I need all the help I can get. 8) ANNOUNCEMENTS: • Next Meeting-April 23, 2024, 10:00 a.m.,Hilo Operations, 889 Leilam Street,Hilo,Hawaii • Public Hearing—Presentation on Final 3-year Rates—April 23, 2024, 6:00 p.m., Liquor Control Conference Room,Hilo Lagoon Centre, 101 Aupum Street, Room 230,Hilo,Hawaii Page 35 of36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes • Public Hearing—Presentation on Final 3-year Rates—April 24, 2024, 6:00 p.m.,West Hawaii Civic Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona,Highway CHR. LOPEZ: So I noticed that there's two, one on the east side, one on the west side. Now,these are not necessarily Board attendance, it's just open to the public to come. MR. OKAMOTO: Correct. CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. But it would be nice if you were here, and they could see your face. Now, motion to adjourn. 9) ADJOURNMENT ACTION: Mr.Ney moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Unger and carried unanimously by voice call vote (Ayes: 7—Mr. Bell,Mr. Hirakami, Mr. Kekela, Mr. Lee, Mr.Ney, Mr. Unger,and Chair Lopez;Absent: 2—Mr. Brown and Ms. Keolanui). CHR. LOPEZ: Meeting adjourned. Thank you very much. (Meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.) Recording Secretary APPROVED BY WATER BOARD APRIL 23, 2024 Page 36 of 36 March 19,2024,Water Board Minutes