HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-09-24 Water Board Meeting Minutes MINUTES
DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
WATER BOARD MEETING
September 24, 2024
Department of Water Supply, Hilo Operations Baseyard, 889 Leilani Street, Hilo,Hawaii
MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Stephen Kawena Lopez, Chairperson,Dist. 8
Mr. Michael Pono Kekela, Vice-Chairperson,Dist. 4
Mr. Michael Bell,Water Board Member,Dist. 7 (via videoconference)
Mr. Thomas Brown,Water Board Member,Dist. 3
Mr. James Kimo Lee,Water Board Member,Dist. 2
Mr. Benjamin Ney,Water Board Member, Dist. 9
Mr. Keith K. Okamoto,Manager-Chief Engineer,
Department of Water Supply(ex-officio member)
ABSENT: Ms. Kea Keolanui,Water Board Member, Dist. I
Ms. Emily Taaroa,Water Board Member, Dist. 5
Mr. Keith Unger,Water Board Member, Dist. 6
Director,Planning Department(ex-officio member)
Director,Department of Public Works(ex-officio member)
OTHERS PRESENT: Ms. Jean Campbell,Deputy Corporation Counsel
Mr. Jeff Zimpfer, guest
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,Mechanical Engineer III
Mr. Warren Ching, Energy Management Analyst
Ms. Lindsey Howells,Information Systems Analyst III
Ms.Nora Avenue,Recording Secretary
1) CALL TO ORDER—Chair Lopez called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Six Board Members were
present: Messrs. Bell,Brown, Lee,Ney,Kekela, and Chair Lopez.
2) STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC—Pursuant to FIRS §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.
(There were none.)
3) APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
ACTION: Mr. Kekela moved for approval of the Minutes of the August 27, 2024 Public Hearing on the
Power Cost Charge; seconded by Mr. Ney and carried unanimously by voice vote (Ayes: 6—Bell, Brown,
Kekela,Lee, Ney, and Chair Lopez).
CHR. LOPEZ: I want to thank Vice Chair Pono Kekela for chairing last month's meeting.
ACTION: Mr. Ney moved for approval of the Minutes of the August 27, 2024 Water Board meeting;
seconded by Mr.Kekela and carried unanimously by voice vote (Ayes: 6—Messrs. Bell,Brown, Kekela,
Lee,Ney, and Chair Lopez).
4) APPROVAL OF ADDENDUM AND/OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA—None.
5) PUNA:
A. JOB NO. 2023-1227,KEONEPOKO NUI BOOSTER A& B REPAIR—REQUEST FOR 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 time
extension of 46 calendar days, due to delays by the waterworks product vendor as a result of the
2023 Maui Wildfires. This was beyond the control of the Contractor.
Staff reviewed the request for the time extension and the accompanying supporting documentation and
found the 46 calendar days to be justified. Note: There are no additional costs associated with this time
extension.
Ext. From(Date) To (Date) (Ca ens Reason
1 08/1/2024 10/10/2024 70 Delays from waterworks product
manufacturer.
2 10/10/2024 11/25/2024 46 Delays from waterworks product vendor.
Total Days (including this request) 116
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board approve a contract time extension of
46 calendar days to Derrick's Well Drilling and Pump Services, LLC., for JOB NO. 2023-1227,
KEONEPOKO NUI BOOSTER A&B REPAIR. If approved, the contract completion date will
be revised from October 10,2024 to November 25, 2024.
ACTION: Mr. Kekela moved for approval of the recommendation. Seconded by Mr.Ney and was
carried unanimously by voice vote (Ayes: 6—Messrs. Bell,Brown, Kekela,Lee,Ney, and Chair Lopez).
Page 2 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
6) SOUTH KOHALA:
A. SERVICE BID NO. 2024-09, WAIMEA WATER TREATMENT PLANT SLUDGE REMOVAL:
Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the
agenda item.
This project generally consists of furnishing all labor,materials,tools and equipment necessary to
remove and dispose of settled sludge from the Waimea Water Treatment Plant 2.7 MG reservoir,
8.5 MG reservoir, and drying beds, for a period not to exceed one year.
Bids for this project were opened on September 5, 2024, at 1:30 p.m., and the following are the bid
results:
2B DWS
Environmental Engineering
Evaluation
Sludge Removal from 2.7MG Reservoir with Disposal Off-Site No Bid $0.27
Per Gallon Cost
Sludge Removal from 2.7MG Reservoir with Disposal at
Waikoloa#1 $0.28 $0.27
Per Gallon Cost
Sludge Removal from 8.5MG Reservoir with Disposal Off-Site No Bid $0.27
Per Gallon Cost
Sludge Removal from 8.5MG Reservoir with Disposal at
Waikoloa#1 $0.28 $0.27
Per Gallon Cost
Sludge Removal from Drying Beds with Disposal Off-Site No Bid $0.27
Per Gallon Cost
Sludge Removal from Drying Beds with Disposal at Waikoloa#1 $0.28 $0.27
Per Gallon Cost
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board award the contract for WAIMEA WATER
TREATMENT PLANT SLUDGE REMOVAL, JOB NO. 2024-09 to the lowest responsible bidder,
2B Environmental, INC., for a unit price of$0.28 per gallon, on an as-needed basis, and 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. The sludge removal contract shall be from the date of Notice to
Proceed,to June 30, 2025.
ACTION: Mr. Brown moved for approval of the recommendation. Seconded by Mr. Kekela and was
carried unanimously by voice vote (Ayes: 6—Messrs. Bell, Brown,Kekela, Lee,Ney, and Chair Lopez).
7) MISCELLANEOUS:
A. MATERIAL BID NO. 2024-08, FURNISHING AND DELIVERING SPARE PUMP AND MOTOR
SETS, AND PAD-MOUNTED TRANSFORMER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY:
Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the
agenda item.
Page 3 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
Bids were received and opened on September 12, 2024, at 1:30 p.m., and the following are the bid
results.
SECTION DESCRIPTION Derrick's Well Drilling DWS Engineering
and Pump Services,LLC Estimate
1 GROUP#1 $351,928.00 $284,500.00
2 GROUP#4 $355,744.00 $282,000.00
3 PAD-MOUNTED No Bid $120,000.00
TRANSFORMER
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board award the contract for MATERIAL
BID NO. 2024-08,FURNISHING AND DELIVERING SPARE PUMP AND MOTOR SETS,
AND PAD-MOUNTED TRANSFORMER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY,
by Sections to the following bidders for the amounts shown above, 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.
Section 1 —Group#1 to Derrick's Well Drilling&Pump Services,LLC
Section 2—Group#4 to Derrick's Well Drilling&Pump Services,LLC
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.
MOTION: Mr. Brown moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr.Ney.
CHR. LOPEZ: Any discussion?
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,for this one, Mr. Chair,I do want to share with the Board and have it on record,
this is an ongoing attempt for us, as we standardize our pumps and motor sets better, to have on-hand
spares so that our repairs can be done more efficiently. What we do want to share is Group No. 1 for
example,would be able to be used in three different locations,two locations in Kona and one location in
Hamakua. If you look at Group 4,that can be used at a well up Mountain View as well as one of our
main wells in South Kona,near the hospital. Again, for the record we wanted to share with the Board
and the public that this is ongoing in our attempts to be more resilient and more effective in our repairs.
MR. NEY: This is not actually anything to do with installing these components.
MR. OKAMOTO: No.
MR.NEY: The only thing that's a little concerning is when you look at the engineering estimates, I
mean are they making $90-grand to pick that up from the dock and drop it off at the site? I mean I'm
looking at the difference here and it's like, "Wow,this is not a job where you're actually doing any work,
right? I mean I guess it's a job in terms of delivering apart. It just seems like that difference seems
large.
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MR. OKAMOTO: Yes, and I think it's still ongoing. We're still trying to get better estimates,but I
think we're still seeing impacts; you know,post-COVID, and the impacts that it's having to the suppliers
and manufacturers. The prices have really significantly risen versus prior years.
MR. NEY: Because to me it's like,you know,if you go get something wholesale cost,there's going to
be a different price matrix,right? He might get it at a certain cost; he's adding his markup,but I'd just
like to know what is that markup. Is it just us,I don't want to say, "throwing away money,"but is it
reasonable,which is a concern for me?
MR. OKAMOTO: And again, as I think we've shared in the past,you know every time that we—even if
we have a single bidder,part of our process is to double check to make sure that cost we're getting is fair
and reasonable, because we do have the opportunity to not accept the bid if it's over and beyond what we
feel is fair and reasonable, and then we can pursue alternate means, as well. But I don't know, Eric,you
wanted to share anything about some of the prices we've been getting?
MR. TAKAMOTO: Well, speaking to the amounts,this bid also included requirements so that we can
meet the DWSSRF funding requirements, so it has BABA(Build America,Buy America) certification
requirements which require domestic manufacturers that significantly increase the costs.
MR. NEY: Sorry, not to prolong this discussion too much but is this like the off-the-shelf prices with
these kinds of items or is this like give us the specification of the pump and we'll get back to you. I mean
what's the turnaround on actually getting—like if we want to do our own research, what's the actual,you
know the reality of these costs? Is that something we can get right away or there's a time delay to that?
MR. OKAMOTO: I think as we've mentioned in the past,pretty much all our deep well,pump and
motor sets are not off the shelf. They have to be custom manufactured, one for the depth of the well.
A couple of other things,the motor specifications typically have horsepower, whether it's a two-pole,
four-pole,three-phase, I mean that's normal for us,but that's not typical things that they would just have
on the shelf waiting for somebody to order, that's my understanding.
MR. NEY: Variable costs.
CHR. LOPEZ: All right, I have a question. You said that costs have gone up, certainly since COVID.
I'm looking at, and it doesn't say why in here,I'm looking at the difference in the DWS estimate and the
bid,how far apart in time are those numbers versus is the DWS pre-COVID on the bid post-COVID?
I'm just trying to understand.
MR. TAKAMOTO: The estimated cost is based on pricing around about a year-and-a-half ago.
CHR. LOPEZ: That was when DWS did their estimate?
MR. TAKAMOTO: That's the most recent pricing that we had of equipment that's somewhat similar to
what was in this specific bid specification.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, and the bid submitted was as of?
MR. TAKAMOTO: This month.
CHR. LOPEZ: This month?
MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes.
Page 5 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
CHR. LOPEZ: So a year-and-a-half difference in estimates.?
MR. TAKAMOTO: Yes.
MR. OKAMOTO: I think the other significant point that Eric brought up was that it has to have this
Build America, Buy America,that BABA requirement, so it has to be built in the U.S.,basically.
MR. TAKAMOTO: Manufactured in the U.S., and 55% of the material component cost is also domestic.
CHR. LOPEZ: So that consideration is not part of your estimate,the year-and-a-half?
MR. TAKAMOTO: Yeah,it was not.
CHR. LOPEZ: All right,thank you.
MR. NEY: Sorry, one last thing. Now, would it be out of place if we ask like, "Hey, we get it. We're
not asking you to order this for free. There's going to be a profit margin for you in this,"but can they
furnish a receipt to us and go, "This is fair." How do we ascertain fair and reasonable if we don't
actually know what it is,the cost of him acquiring it?
MR. OKAMOTO: We can do that.
MR. NEY: That seems like kind of prudent,because I mean we're just going—I'm not saying there's
any dishonesty,but just to keep anyone who gives us bids a little bit accountable. To have that backup
seems like it would be wise.
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: Yes,Pono, question?
MR. KEKELA: Did you guys set a timeline as far as when you want to have these on hand for you to be
able to utilize?
MR. TAKAMOTO: I believe the contractor requires a delivery within 180 days.
MR. KEKELA: My concern is that these guys just always require another extension. I know that in the
past they've had problems with testing motors and pumps.
MR. NEY: And the shipping cost.
CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. Any other questions? Hearing none. All in favor of approving the motion?
ACTION: Motion was carried unanimously by voice vote (Ayes: 6—Messrs. Bell, Brown, Kekela,
Lee,Ney, and Chair Lopez).
B. MAINTENANCE BID NO. 2024-11, REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE EOF WAIMEA TREATMENT
PLANT HACH EQUIPMENT:
Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the
agenda item.
Page 6 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
This project generally consists of furnishing all transportation, labor, equipment, tools and consumable
materials necessary to provide maintenance and repair services to various Hach equipment at the
Department of Water Supply's Waimea Water Treatment Plant facility for a period beginning from the
notice to proceed,through June 30, 2026.
Bids for this project were opened on September 12, 2024, at 2:30 p.m., and the following are the bid
results:
Bidder Bid Amount DWS Engineering Estimate
No Bids Received N/A $57,645.00
RECOMMENDATION: No bids were received. Staff will seek alternative procurement pursuant to
HAR 3-122-35 to procure the required services.
MOTION: Mr. Brown moved for approval of the recommendation; seconded by Mr. Kekela.
CHR. LOPEZ: Any discussion?
MR. NEY: What's the Hach acronym for, or abbreviation?
MR. OKAMOTO: It's not an abbreviation.It's the company name.
MR. NEY: Oh, got it.
MR. OKAMOTO: It's a widely used equipment manufacturer for water quality testing equipment.
MR. NEY: Thanks.
CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. Hearing none,motion approved.
ACTION: Motion was carried unanimously by voice vote(Ayes: 6—Messrs. Bell, Brown,Kekela,Lee,
Ney, and Chair Lopez).
C. DISCUSSION ON THE DISASTER RECOVERY/MITIGATION PLAN:
For discussion and possible action.
Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the
agenda item.
CHR. LOPEZ: Is there any report for this item?
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes. So this was from back in May, you had made some mention about certain
cyber security incidents and things like that and wanted an update from the department on this topic.
Kawika will share.
MR. UYEHARA: Yes, I'll provide a brief update report,and I'm going to keep it general just because
some of the topics that are sensitive, some are confidential because they apply to our operations
internally and how we respond to things. But basically yes,we do have an Emergency Response Plan
Page 7 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
that was finalized a couple of years ago. It's pretty detailed; it goes into summarizing our systems and
customers who we serve, and it even goes into a list of high-risk threats that we could be faced with,
whether it's natural, like hurricanes or tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, or others like terrorism, or
cyber security. Even goes into power outages or pandemics. This response plan is pretty
comprehensive. It details those threats and pre-event,post-event activities before even in response, so I
think your question was particularly in response. So yes, we do have this overall response plan.
We also have our Continuity of Operations Plan, which goes into order of succession, delegation of
authority in case something was to happen. So those are kind of like bigger general plans. And we go
to event specific, like we have an Emergency Response Plan for our Waikoloa Reservoirs. We're
working on our internal protocols for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). On the IT(Information
Technology) side, our staff has been doing a bunch of training recently on cyber security,Incident
Triage and Response, so we're working with the Department of Homeland Security and the Cyber
Security Infrastructure Agency(CISA),but they had a lot of training recently on how to posture
yourself as a utility.
So yes,kind of in a nutshell,that's kind of what—there's probably other response plans that I'm not
mentioning right now. But again, I just wanted to inform the Board and others that yes,we do actively
draft these plans and keep them updated for the threats out there, so we can be as best prepared as
possible, for an event and afterward.
CHR. LOPEZ: This emanated from two different areas in my mind, one was a utility company had a
security breach, and probably in other areas they control water delivery through computer systems. I
don't believe we have that situation,right?
MR. OKAMOTO: No.
CHR. LOPEZ: How about internally? The security of customer information,you are on top of that?
MR. UYEHARA: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: And your IT team is going through training, so could we expect improved disaster
recovery procedures to address that in the future?
MR. UYEHARA: Yes, I mean we are doing training,but we also have processes and protocols in place
in the event something happens, as far as we do backups of full-server backups.
MR. OKAMOTO: Daily.
MR. UYEHARA: And then daily is when we do changes on the files. But every week, everything is
backed up, and right now it's on site,but eventually I think the concept is to also have it backed up on
the Cloud.
CHR. LOPEZ: So you have daily backups on a change basis when information is changed that day, and
you have weekly backups of the entire system,the server. How deep are your backups? Are they
grandfathered? Son, father, grandfather?
MR. UYEHARA: Probably.
MS. HOWELLS: You're talking months, like how far back? About three months.
Page 8 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
CHR. LOPEZ: Three months. So in the worst possible disaster,you can go back, and assuming you
had the three-month backup,which would mean catching up from three months back?
MS. HOWELLS: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, that's good. Are these backups kept offsite?
MS. HOWELLS: Right now,no. They are currently onfite.
CHR. LOPEZ: Are they kept in a fireproof safe place?
MR. UYEHARA: Yeah,part of the work is to get it Cloud-based.
MS. HOWELLS: Yeah.
CHR. LOPEZ: But you're not there yet.
MR. UYEHARA: We're working on the equipment.
CHR. LOPEZ: So there is an opening for security on that aspect, until you get data offsite, whether
it's Cloud, or offsite, or whatever, so that's an opening. How about in the case of a natural
disaster: earthquake,tsunami,what have you, obviously we went through some of this with the 2006
earthquake. If water systems are down, whether it's power,whether it's damage from an earthquake,
how do you respond to those, what's your overall plan to recover? Is that private information?
MR. UYEHARA: No,that's a good question.
MR. OKAMOTO: I'll start, and then everybody can add it. As we all know,we've been through
multiple,right, and we have natural disasters that no other county in the State has, typically earthquakes
and actual lava inundation, so we've gone through it all. Besides that,the common one is hurricanes.
Well,you don't even need a hurricane,right? You can have a tropical depression that sits over you for
a while, floods the whole region or knocks out power for an extended period of time.
Like every other incident, Civil Defense is the quarterback. We all huddle at the EOC (Emergency
Operations Center). We have typical protocols in advance. If we have advance warning,we try to—for
example, a hurricane coming,we try to top off our tanks,make sure our generator sets, and we know
where they all are.
During an event,none of our personnel are going to go out,right, for safety reasons. Once the"all
clear"is made,it's safe to go out. Our guys are out there, typically us and HELCO usually out there,
when things are still kind of gnarly; and then we're working with Public Works on access,typically,to
various facilities. So,that's a typical response for systems that we already have.
Now,in future planning,we're also looking at being better resilient-wise to put in infrastructure to help
us weather that storm a little better, and some of that includes, for a while now, our water storage tanks
have been designed differently to handle the seismic activity that we have on the island. Wherever we
can,we try to put redundant systems, like loop systems versus a single line, dead-end system, so that
should an earthquake or whatever incident sever a line, or even the regular normal main break,if you
just have a single dead-end line, everybody downstream of that break is going to be out of service until
that repair;but now if you have a loop system,you can isolate that break and feed it from the other side,
so those are things we're trying to do better.
Page 9 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
Warren again, continually—we're adding to our generator inventory and increasing our ability to plug
and play with the transfer switches. I think that's about all that I can think of at this point. But anybody
have any—?
CHR. LOPEZ: In summary, you have some areas that you are working on?
MR. OKAMOTO: Oh,yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: In the case of a high-water tsunami, and I understand that some utilities/municipalities
are protecting themselves from seawater intrusion or high water, with the water supply wells, and the
other is sewage systems at sea level. Do we have anything like that? I mean not the sewage, but do we
have any wells that may be inundated?
MR. OKAMOTO: Fortunately, all our sources are outside of the inundation zone,but we do have
infrastructure like water mains and services that are. So, we have pre-identified certain valve locations;
should that incident pose a threat, we'll have our guys kind of pre-position,ready to shut off those
valves in case that incident comes. Those valves are of course outside of the inundation area.
MR. UYEHARA: we have some smaller water systems on the island that have a single source, so
annually we, or maybe every two years,put out bids for water hauling. So in the event there's a natural
disaster or if some equipment failure, we are ready to haul water just to keep the minimum amount of
water to customers.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, so you activate certain outlets,where the water haulers can fill.
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: And the last one I thought of, Maui Fire is part of it, where one of the big scandals was
there wasn't enough pressure for the firemen to put out fires. How do we deal with something like that,
or is that an issue?
MR. OKAMOTO: For a situation like Maui, and we all kind of knew this intuitively,but Maui actually
had an engineering consultant just verify what we felt we already knew. In a situation like that, with a
whole community or town with structures being destroyed, every single service lateral is now a point of
leakage. Even if you had an infinite supply, so that's what their evaluation did, even if they had an
infinite supply on the production side,with all those leak points the system would not have been able to
sustain pressure,regardless. With an inferno like that, actually the firemen had to evacuate themselves,
so they wouldn't be in that area fighting fires.
We're trying to learn from them as much as we can, and I think the bottom line is awareness and
preparation as much as possible beyond outside. Everybody needs to be part of the solution I think, is
what we're hearing from the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization as well as the Fire
Departments. Long story short,that situation as well as lava is one of those that is really hard to
mitigate infrastructure-wise.
CHR. LOPEZ: For me to summarize,you've got plans for things that you're aware of and can control.
You've got some areas for continued improvement. You've got maybe a hole here and there that you're
aware of, and in case of a natural disaster of a magnitude we're talking about, it's all hands-on deck,and
we did the best we could and figure out how we dealt with it in past because you can't plan for every
single event.
Page 10 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
MR. OKAMOTO: That's about a good of a summary as—
CHR. LOPEZ: In my mind,you're on it, a backup generator,parts for our wells, certain wells are
available. We're seeing that through this procurement process. That's a long way from where we were,
when we had 11 wells down. Thank you. Any other questions, discussion? Just me, okay.
MR. OKAMOTO: Thank you for bringing that up. At least we could share with the public.
CHR. LOPEZ: My motivation comes from not only what I see and read,but also, it's the citizens in my
community, as you know there's a group on top of some of these things,who would like to know these
things. Any other questions`?
MR. OKAMOTO: Thank you.
D. DISCUSSION ON FUTURE WATER SYSTEM SITE VISITS:
For discussion and possible action.
Chair Lopez asked if there was any testimony for this item. There being none, he continued with the
agenda item.
MR. OKAMOTO: This is one thing that we wanted to bring up because I think there was interest. I
think Chair actually reminded us.
The two sites that we typically taken the Board to have been our Kahalu`u Shaft in Kona and our
Waimea Water Treatment Plant, so if there is interest for those again,we can schedule those. I think
Greg had another great idea for one just north of Hilo.
MR. GOODALE: Yes, one of the sites that I think doesn't get seen that often is one of our spring
sources,which is up in Hakalau. It's one of our spring sources that kind of got redone more than 10
years ago.
MR. OKAMOTO: Probably more than that.
MR. GOODALE: But anyway, it's just one of those sites. It's a little bit unique, different than like a
normal well site,where you've got pumping equipment. This is more of a spring source.
CHR. LOPEZ: It's just water emanating from the ground.
MR. GOODALE: It's still a groundwater source.
MR. OKAMOTO: The one thing about spring sources that are awesome is if you find a real good one,
you don't have to use electricity to get it to the surface. But the main thing is you capture it in a way
that satisfies the Department of Health and EPA requirements so that it doesn't have external influence
that could contaminate it. That was a significant project for us because we definitely didn't want to lose
that source,but we had to upgrade that intake box to meet those requirements.
CHR. LOPEZ: My interest would be seeing the spring and seeing the way you capture and seeing
where you separate the sediment and what you do with it after. Is that part of this site?
Page 1 1 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
MR. OKAMOTO: That's part of it too,yes. Let's go to someplace really interesting January 2025.
CHR. LOPEZ: It's really up to the Department of what they think is the best but,Board members, if
you have a particular interest I've been down the Keauhou site, and it's awesome. You're amazed
when you're way down there. The other one is very good to know, how water is caught and treated.
You could see it in its darkest form, and you could see it in its clean form. That's amazing.
MR. OKAMOTO: Right,right.
CHR. LOPEZ: So if you haven't been to those, I would suggest all three over time. Please let your
interest be known so that they know what to set up for us, and that would be just in a meeting, let them
know. Let Nora know, so she can give the feedback to us. At present,with members here,is there
anybody who wants to express interest in any one or three of those? I vote for all of them.
MR. LEE: I would vote for all of them.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay. Because wells have been a topic,I don't—have you guys gone to one of our
well sites? You know,just to see the magnitude of what goes into all these well repairs and things like
that, and the control building.
CHR. LOPEZ: Other than what we saw down the bottom of the shaft.
MR. OKAMOTO: Maybe we'll get you to one that's under repair, and you can see how big that pump
is, or even if it's lying on the ground.
MR. INABA: Just the pump column.
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,just the number of columns and the size of the pump.
CHR. LOPEZ: That would be impressive. So I think from what we've heard,just leave it to the
department to schedule based on availability. All four are of interest to the board.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay, sounds good.
CHR. LOPEZ: Would be good to get one this year.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay,we'll try to figure out something. Just for the Board's awareness, what we'll
typically do is try to have a Board meeting like this, and then go to the site visit right after. But once we
get to the site, it's still part of the meeting, it's still a public meeting. So stick together, and don't
everybody drift apart because Nora's going to still have to record everybody. But anyway, we'll figure
it out. If we can schedule something this year,we'll definitely do that.
E. 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.
Page 12 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
CHR. LOPEZ: Any report from the department?
MR. OKAMOTO: We do have something to share.
MS. GRAY: You should have received two handouts. The second handout is just a copy of the flow
chart that you folks have seen before,just for your reference. The report that I provided is just an
update and summary.
Our main concern for this delinquency is the delinquencies in the greater than 90-day category. When
we started this conversation, and it became a topic on the Board agenda,the total delinquency amount
was over$1 million. I'm just going to reference the tables in the first handout. The first table I included
shows the amounts reported for 2024,and you can see that the delinquency amounts have decreased,
although there is a fluctuation from month to month,but it has decreased down to the $800,000 as of
August 2024.
In the next section,I have another table there that includes a breakdown of that$884,000 delinquency
amount in the greater than 90-day category. You can see that 56%of that includes 199 accounts,which
is only 10% of the total accounts that have a delinquency in this greater than 90-day category. So the
total number of accounts that fall into this greater than 90-day category is about 2,060 accounts, which
is a small percentage of the total of our customer base. Our customers include about 45,000 accounts. I
just wanted to illustrate that so you can see as far as the amounts in the number of accounts in relation to
our total customer base.
The third table that I have on page 2, shows a breakdown of the accounts in the greater than the 90-day
category, with delinquency balances $1,000 or more. As you can see, I have columns labeled AA, CC,
LK,PP, and SO,that relates to how the accounts are currently being handled. In regard to AA and CC
column labels,those are the accounts that are currently being handled by our third-party collectors, and
the columns labeled LK and PP, those accounts already have payment plans with the customers. The
column labeled SO, those accounts are currently in the shut off process. So they are currently being
handled as far as collection efforts. The next section, I referenced our water shut off and collection
process,which is related to the second handout;you've already seen that in previous Board meetings.
In page 3, I provided the report of disconnections for 2024, for each month, from January through
September, and there's been a total of 2221 disconnections so far in 2024. In the next section,I
referenced the Rules and Regulations that we rely on, as far as how to manage our bill payments and
processes. In the last section,I also provided some possible proposed changes. These suggestions were
in coordination with discussion from staff, Collection staff, Customer Service, as well as review of the
data, the information that I provided, and of our current processes. I guess I can read through it. No
need?
CHR. LOPEZ: I don't think you need to.
MS. GRAY: Okay. I did identify two of proposed changes that would require Board approval.
CHR. LOPEZ: Say that again,you require what?
MS. GRAY: I guess Board approval, or a discussion.
CHR. LOPEZ: That would require Board approval?
Page 13 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
MS. GRAY: Yes.
MR. OKAMOTO: Yeah,if we decide to modify or revise our existing Rules and Regulations, we will
have to take it for action at the Board.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay,thank you.
MR.NEY: Mr. Chair? It's probably going to be an appropriate time because I have the draft of the—
CHR. LOPEZ: No, inappropriate. This is their presentation. It has nothing to do with PIG. Thank
you. Sorry. We can't discuss the PIG.
MR.NEY: Because I asked this to be agendized for this meeting.
CHR. LOPEZ: The way to agendize for a meeting is to request of the Chair and the secretary to get on
the agenda,never saw it. It cannot be—we were very clear on the rules for the PIG. You were to
submit your report, and it's discussed for the next meeting.
MR.NEY: Does the PIG got to be reviewed for 30 days, Keith,because that wasn't clarified to me?
MR. OKAMOTO: As far as the PIG report—
CHR. LOPEZ: Corp. Counsel.
MS. CAMPBELL: So if you formed the PIG, and the PIG—you probably already know this though,
but sometimes you want me to repeat it all for you anyways. The Permitted Action Group is a three-
meeting process. At the very first meeting,you will determine that you want to form a PIG. You will
them a task, so you articulate what it is the job they're going to go out and do, and you identify the
members of that group. Then they go out and do their work, and it could take them as long as it takes
them. Once they've completed all their work—and they do only get to come back and report once,
there's not like an update along the way kind of process. So once the PIG is either done or going to be
disbanded because they're not going to finish,they will come back at the second meeting and make a
report, and at that meeting there could be no discussion among the Board members about the report.
That has to wait for a third meeting,where the members of the public and the Board have all had a
chance to receive the information in the report, and then discuss things at that third meeting.
So it sounds like, if I am understanding this correctly, that the PIG has gone out and done the work, and
you have the report.
CHR. LOPEZ: Submitted today.
MS. CAMPBELL: Submitted today, okay. Because it's not actually an agenda item,the PIG can't
make its report to the group. So what I'm assuming will happen is probably at your next meeting,that
the PIG report will be identified on your agenda, and at that meeting the PIG will be able to say, "Here's
what we found," and talk about everything that's in your report; and then at the meeting after that,the
whole Board will be able to discuss the contents of the report.
MR.NEY: Okay, so this was a little more loosely explained about just,hey,when you're ready to
disband,you give a final report. Now, I guess I won't make a verbal request at the meeting if it's not
going to get recorded,I mean does it have to be via email? I mean a request is a request.
Page 14 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
MR. LEE: Well, can he discuss it during the discussion item?
CHR. LOPEZ: No,he can't discuss it. This is the Final Report, so it's got wait till next meeting,to get
agendized and discuss it.
MS. CAMPBELL: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: That's the third meeting that she just mentioned.
MR. LEE: Okay.
MR. OKAMOTO: I think maybe just to be safe,Ben,we'll take the minutes from this meeting, and
we'll likely just put it on the agenda for October; but just to cover your bases as the Chair of the PIG to
follow protocol,I would suggest you send an email to the Chair and copy Nora, specifically requesting.
MR.NEY: I can do that. Probably in the minutes that I made that request.
CHR. LOPEZ: It is,it is, and Keith said okay.
MR.NEY: Nora,there are a couple typographical, grammatical things.
CHR. LOPEZ: You're going off topic, excuse me. Get back on topic.
MS. CAMPBELL: Yes, can we get back on to where you are in your agenda.
CHR. LOPEZ: Thank you. We're back to Candace, discussing page 3.
MS. GRAY: As I mentioned earlier, I do have a list of proposed changes that you might want to further
discuss or we could actually just implement internally,if that's what we'd like to do.
CHR. LOPEZ: So there are several, it goes on to page 4, there's probably more there. Eight ideas.
MS. GRAY: Yes.
MR. OKAMOTO: We apologize we didn't get this to you guys in advance of today's meeting,but if
you folks want,you guys have it now in your hands and you can digest it; and if there's some specific
task that you would like us to pursue,we can—because we'll have this on the agenda again, next
meeting, as a kind of standing order agenda item, we can further discuss specifics from Candace's
report that you'd like to either have us follow up on or expand on.
CHR. LOPEZ: We'll hear what you may have to say,but probably come into the discussion of this
Final Report. I would say not to go on with possible PIG recommendations.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay.
CHR. LOPEZ: I have a question. So what do you attribute the decrease in outstanding collections for
the eight months, 2024,if you could put your finger on it?
MS. GRAY: I would say it's a combination of write-offs, collections. We do have a lot of these
accounts on payment plans as well as leak adjustments.
Page 15 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
CHR. LOPEZ: I guess I was looking for, have you done anything internally to make this improvement
or is this just the standard flow of your process?
MS. GRAY: As far as internally,I would say we are monitoring, especially the collections, more
closely. Internally,we've also like I said started collecting the emails. Prior to this,we've been sending
out communications,primarily by mail or phone calls,but we've added emails as part of
communications.
CHR. LOPEZ: So you have done proactive things.
MS. GRAY: Definitely,yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay. In the shut-off, I see you've shut off 3%, up on page 2.
MS. GRAY: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: What's the impact to you as the department in having to shut off somebody's water? Is
it just shut it off and no issues, such as screaming, crying, or go get legal help, going somewhere else, or
say, "You can't do that." Is there any such reaction?
MS. GRAY: There is a notification process prior to shut off, and I think the flow chart that I provided
illustrates the timeline as far as from notification to the shut off. It is, I would say, it is several months,
more than several months at times. A lot of times when we do go to shut off,the customers will pay on
site, or they'll immediately call in to our office and then pay their fees.
CHR. LOPEZ: Making some arrangements. So that's helped in terms of this outstanding collections?
MS. GRAY: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: What I'm really looking for, is there any negative, somebody coming at you with a
rubber-band gun or something and say, "You can't shut off my power,I'm going to do this or that?" Do
you take any abuse?
MS. GRAY: I'd say definitely safety is a concern,but incidents are not frequent.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, so there is some but not enough to really worry about?
MS. GRAY: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: Just wondering what responses you get when you shut off somebody's water.
MR. OKAMOTO: Typically, I think a lot of times it will be our field guys. As you know,the meter is
here and the house is typically distant from the meter, and we'll shut it off at the meter. Our collection
guy will try to see if that person wants to come up with something so that we don't have to. But they
usually go out, and at least in a pair,right?
MS. GRAY: Yes, always.
CHR. LOPEZ: Do they knock on the door, or do they just go shut off?
MS. GRAY: I believe they do make an attempt to communicate.
Page 16 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
MR. OKAMOTO: Don't we normally hang something, a notice saying shut off is imminent?
CHR. LOPEZ: Before you do it.
MR. OKAMOTO: Before we actually do it,yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: More worried about possible confrontation.
MR. OKAMOTO: Right. Appreciate that.
CHR. LOPEZ: Of these possible proposed changes, I think you've already explained it. Then you
would come back to the Board for several recommendations to change procedures or rules. Any other
questions? Yes, Ben.
MR.NEY: Yes,thank you for this report because it provides a better idea. I was surprised how small
the number for the accounts is to rack up this number. I think we've been a little too lenient in the past,
to be honest, and kind of over-emphasizing being sensitive to turning people's water off, I get it, and we
should have reasonable efforts to notify. But I'm to the point that it's very unfair to the paying
customers who pay their bill on time,that keeps this department financially healthy and solvent to
absorb the cost of someone who just doesn't want to pay their water bill. A lot of times these water bill
costs accumulate a lot of times on the negligence of the property owner to be the negligence of the
tenant,but I'm getting tired of kicking around this idea, "Oh, we got to(inaudible), we got the optics,
and what are people going to say when we shut off their water?" I'm sorry if we're going to nip this
problem in the bud, sometimes you've got to come down with the axe. This has just been deferred and
pushed back so far. Since I got on the Board,no progress has been made towards this.
CHR. LOPEZ: Ben,you're going off-topic. You should be addressing agenda items.
MR.NEY: I guess my question to you is, how are we going to set a target date to make some real
changes and not keep things just status quo here because status quo doesn't fix the problem? So that's
my question I guess I present.
CHR. LOPEZ: Any other question,discussion? Thank you, Candace. It's a good time to get updated
information.
MR. OKAMOTO: Thanks, Candace.
MR.NEY: Thanks, Candace.
F. 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: Just bind of letting you folks know,we just started the paving for the Puako project, so
that one is getting close to being completed.
Page 17 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
For Lalamilo, I know last month I said we would get the completion date. We just got the schedule; we
have to review it to make sure, so we'll provide that update. We wanted to note the contractor was able
to get back on site on August 5rh. 1 failed to mention at last month's meeting also,part of the delays
which were reported in previous meetings but were part of the UXO efforts to clear the site, so that one
was finally cleared, and the contractor was finally able to get on-site in August.
I also wanted to mention that our two Kona well projects have been long delayed. We have started, or
at least began,that Kapa`akai analysis,which is required for the well construction permit, so we're
hoping to get some (inaudible) on it. It will take quite a bit of effort. I think we're anticipating at least a
couple of months for that.
I do also want to make a correction on the Lead and Copper Rule Revision, well I want to make an
adjustment to that. At the time we did this, we believe we were just about ready to submit our inventory
to the Department of Health. We had a meeting with them and found we needed to do a few more
inspections in our North Hilo Systems, so that is being done this week,we should be submitting all of
the inventories next week, so we're still ahead of the October 16'deadline. Questions on that one?
CHR. LOPEZ: No,thank you.
MR. INABA: Today, there's a blessing for Highway 137 project. The contractor—well, it's in
conjunction with Public Works,that project. Pohoiki,we still don't have a definite timeline,but it
should be bidding out.
CHR. LOPEZ: So all of the issues of right-of-way and stuff got resolved? Don't know yet?
MR. OKAMOTO: Don't know yet.
CHR. LOPEZ: But you're proceeding with the blessing?
MR. INABA: So Highway 137,that one has been resolved. That one is okay. So that's as much as I
would know.
CHR. LOPEZ: All right,thank you.
MR. OKAMOTO: Thanks,Kurt.
G. 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.
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.
(Note: At this time,Finance Controller Candace Gray came forward and provided a brief
overview of the Financial Statements—August 2024,FY 2024-25.)
MS. GRAY: Do you have any questions?
Page 18 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
CHR. LOPEZ: I have a question,but it's not in today's report. I was looking at the minutes, and I just
wondered,what is SBIT?
MS. GRAY: That relates to subscriptions for software, or subscriptions based—
CHR. LOPEZ: IT use assets?
MS. GRAY: Yes.
CHR. LOPEZ: Anything else, Candace?
MS. GRAY: No.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, thank you.
H. MANAGER-CHIEF ENGINEER'S REPORT:
The Manager-Chief Engineer to provide an update on the following:
1. North Kona Wells
MR. UYEHARA: Okay, for this month we're happy to report that Kalaoa well was repaired and
put back in service, so kudos to Operations and the contractor that they pushed to get the well
back online. As a result of that, we downgraded the restriction, Water Restriction Notice, to
Voluntary Conservation, so the whole district, North Kona, is back on the Water Conservation
Notice.
So we still have the four wells offline: Makalei, Holualoa, Wai`aha, and Honokohau. So for
Makalei, they're making the electrical connection this week, and anticipating doing some start-
up testing. If that's successful. They probably got to pump and collect some water quality
samples before we can reactivate the source or put the source back into our system.
Holualoa Well, we're working on the bid specs, as a standard repair project. Planning to solicit
it on the end of the second quarter of this fiscal year.
Wai`aha Well, we're working on the—pumping assembly still in production, and that project
completion has been extended to December 19 of this year; and then Honokohau Well,
unfortunately that one is going to get pushed out till mid-February of 2025, estimated at this
point. There are a couple of things that are happening. So one, we mentioned the several
months, there's still some material down in the hole that has to get extracted. The contractor has
the materials for our fishing tool, they're starting to fabricate that. So we're working to get on
schedule for that fabrication on that equipment. So, that's going to have to be done.
But what also happened over the last maybe month-in-a-half, Waimea Well, the South Kohala
system up north, went down. We tried to repair that one. I'll touch upon in our Emergency
Procurement report, the next agenda item too. But we tried to repair Waimea Well, it wasn't
successful in our first go-around. So because Honokohau Well's pump and motor and
Waimea's pump and motor are kind of similar, right now the plan is we're going to use the
Page 19 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
pump, motor, seal,power cable from Honokohau and use it up at the Waimea Well repair, but
that now means we'd have to get another replacement equipment for Honokohau. So that is why
that schedule is being pushed at this point out till February of 2025-ish. Questions?
So again, the North Kona system, we still have the four wells down, but it's back on the Water
Conservation.
CHR. LOPEZ: I think it was in the last meeting, weren't we down in Kona three wells?
MR. UYEHARA: No, we were up at five.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, thank you.
2. Report on Emergency Procurement for FY 23-24 and FY 24-25(1st quarter)
MR. OKAMOTO: This spreadsheet, we wanted to provide the Board with a report of our
Emergency Procurement during Fiscal Year 2024. Here's a summary, and as you can see here,
typically well repair projects. So if you have any questions, ask Eric and Greg, they're ready.
Like Kawika said, some of it has been included is the recent Waimea Well repair. If you have
any questions, fire away.
CHR. LOPEZ: I noticed while I was gone,public relations sent out a message about 25 percent water
reduction.
MR. UYEHARA: That was for North Kona. Before it went down,we put it on the water restrictions.
CHR. LOPEZ: And then subsequently it was lifted.
MR. UYEHARA: Correct.
CHR. LOPEZ: Those broadcast, do they get out to the public? I mean people out there affected, they
know about it,but I don't remember seeing anything in the newspaper about it. I could be wrong.
MR. UYEHARA: I can double-check, but I know that one went on Big Island Now, the local media.
CHR. LOPEZ: So it does get out to the public. It's not just internal, Jason Armstrong.
MR. UYEHARA: North Kona,we used the message board again, I think this past situation,right?
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes.
MR. UYEHARA: I think folks in the area,there's a visual from the upper road .
MR. OKAMOTO: So when we put out Conservation and Restriction notices,we have an email blast
distribution list that includes everybody,whoever wants to be on it,but it also includes the radio stations,
who else?
MR. UYEHARA: Radio,the TV stations, some media to pick it up; in the newspaper, Tribune Herald.
Page 20 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
CHR. LOPEZ: Is it something that doesn't get out, Civil Defense, or Nixle?
MR. UYEHARA: No, we don't normally. We send it to Civil Defense,but we don't ask them to use
their messaging? system.
CHR. LOPEZ: Okay, thank you. Questions?
MR. NEY: Yes,this Emergency Procurement is just the timeframe of the month of August,is that
correct?
MR. UYEHARA: I think at the top we have Fiscal Year 2024-2025, so that's the procurements we've
done so far,this fiscal. Then the second—complete 11x17,we have Fiscal 2023-2024, so during that
fiscal year,this is the compilation of Emergency Procurement for the whole year.
MR. NEY: Oh, okay. The Notice to Proceed date signifies what?
MR. UYEHARA: we put out a Request for Quote, and once we get a bidder that has price and timeframe
that's evaluated,then we'll give, "NTP,"your Notice to Proceed,you have 14 days now from that date.
MR. NEY: Are all those consolidated,then you guys send out a Notice to Proceed? Because they all fall
within a kind of—
MR. UYEHARA: It's all unique to the contractor.
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes, unique to the project and the contractor
MR. NEY: Oh, okay. Because just in case of our spaced-out dates, that's all I'm trying to say.
MR. OKAMOTO: When the incidents occur and we have to do the Emergency Procurement. Although
Emergency Procurement would allow us just to go,hey,we pick one guy and we work out something
with them,we typically just to be fiscally responsible,we try to get some quotes, and then we still
process a contract so that there's terms and conditions to the work.
MR. NEY: Okay.
MR. OKAMOTO: Including a Notice to Proceed and a completion date.
MR. NEY: Okay,thanks.
MR. KEKELA: Any of these projects complete?
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,most of them. Any one not complete yet? 2024-08 is done,the leak repair, and
it wasn't that cost. The stock chemicals is not complete yet.
MR. KEKELA: I just wanted to see how effective Emergency Procurement was for the last couple of
years.
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes, we don't use that lightly,really because there's the potential to affect the health
and safety of our customers, and not having water typically affects their health and safety. Not having
safe water is—
Page 21 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
MR. KEKELA: Can be worse. Thank you.
CHR. LOPEZ: 1 have a question, oriented towards North Kona wells. 1 noticed that there is a1 need to
notarize a document today regarding Dan Bolten's well proposal. Did that come before the Board
earlier?
MR. OKAMOTO: Yes,that was that Agreement—Wai`aha.
CHR. LOPEZ: So is that in the well property that's been dormant for so long, or is this a different well?
MR. INABA: Different. It's a developer proposed well. It's an Agreement to agree. It's kind of a
Memorandum of Agreement.
CHR. LOPEZ: This has nothing to do with that well.
MR. INABA: Yeah, sorry.
CHR. LOPEZ: That's all right. It does have a TMK number. So there was an Agreement many years
ago when that subdivision was approved. All right, are you done?
MR. OKAMOTO: I am done. Yes, sir.
1. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT:
1. Chairperson to report on matters of interest to the Board
2. 2025 Water Board Schedule
CHR. LOPEZ: The Water Board Schedule, for the first time in my tenure on the Board I saw a schedule
of next year's meetings, the earliest I've ever seen,but it is tentative. As discussed in the last two
meetings, at least you were made aware that I was working with Kona side,to schedule the conference
room over there, and I was successful in doing that, and I just actually got the misinformation yesterday
afternoon. They entertain to the various commission secretaries what is your request for next year? They
do that about July,but they don't actually have calendars until September, and on the Hilo side they still
don't have the calendars.
I had a discussion with Barbara Kossow yesterday, and we do have scheduled the Kona Conference
Room every other month beginning January.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay.
CHR. LOPEZ: Same time, same place. I just wanted to make you aware that I think for public parity in
participation.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay.
CHR. LOPEZ: And then we can vote on it in a future meeting.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay.
CHR. LOPEZ: But the room is reserved already.
Page 22 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay.
MR. BROWN: Mr. Chair, okay so it will be alternating, it will be different than this?
CHR. LOPEZ: Yes.
MR. BROWN: Like if the first one is in January—
CHR. LOPEZ: No, Kona.
MR. BROWN: Oh,Kona. Then Hilo in February, Kona in March?
CHR. LOPEZ: The purpose for that is to provide parity across the county. But it wasn't on paper,I just
wanted to let you know that I did secure that, and I'll work with Nora to produce a new proposal to work
with.
MR. OKAMOTO: Okay, sounds good.
CHR. LOPEZ: I was thinking about the things we've accomplished this term and recall IT giving us
keyword searches to the minutes and attachments, and some of you had a chance to use that, I have.
Also,the department's action to have the Zoom meeting on site, which have gone without a hiccup,
which some of our members have taken advantage of that. So we have had some wins, and I'm more
than happy to see those things happen, as a matter of the Board and how it comes together in a better
fashion, and gets done early. So with that,I'll close the meeting.
8) ANNOUNCEMENTS:
• Next Meeting—October 22,2024, 10:00 a.m., Department of Water Supply, Hilo Operations Baseyard,
889 Leilam Street, Hilo,Hawaii.
9) ADJOURNMENT:
CHR. LOPEZ: For the minutes, I entertain a motion to adjourn? All in favor say"aye."
ACTION: Mr.Ney moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Kekela and carried unanimously by
voice vote: (Ayes: 6—Messrs. Bell, Brown,Kekela,Lee,Ney, Chairperson Lopez).
CHR. LOPEZ: We're done. Thank you.
(Meeting adjourned at 11:19 a.m.)
Recording Secretary
APPROVED BY WATER BOARD
(October 22, 2024)
Page 23 of 23 September 24,2024,Water Board Minutes