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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-12-08 Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission Minutes - 1 - HAWAI‘I COUNTY PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES-REGULAR SESSION December 8, 2014 West Hawai‘i Civic Center Building G Conference Room 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740 Present: Chair Enock Freire Commissioner Barbara Bell Commissioner Wilma Matsumura Commissioner William Meyers Commissioner Marilyn Nicholson Absent: Vice-Chair Timothy DeLozier Others Present: Craig Masuda, Deputy Corporation Counsel Hamana Ventura, Property Manager, Finance Alexandra Kelepolo, Property Management Technician, Finance CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Enock Freire at 10:02 a.m. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Freire asked if there are any changes to the minutes. Ms. Nicholson said that on the bottom of page 3 and the top of page 4 “after heavy” is repeated twice and should be removed on one of those pages. In addition on the top of page 4, add a comma after public and change cost to “costly.” She also wanted to clarify that on page 5, second paragraph, if the word reminiscing is correct. Ms. Kelepolo replied that it is and was taken exactly how it’s written from Mr. DeLozier’s site visit report by the Ad Hoc Investigative Committee. Mr. Masuda noted that the word “remnant” in parentheses be added after reminiscing. Motion: Commissioner Bell moved to approve the minutes of September 8, 2014 as amended. Seconded by Commissioner Matsumura; all members voted aye, motion carried. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Communication No. 14-022: Letter dated November 4, 2014 from Scott Henderson, re: Support of the Countys’ proposal to Legacy Land Grant for the acquisition of the Vacationland Trust Property - 2 - Mr. Freire read page 1 of the support letter from Scott Henderson who is in full support of the County’s application to the Legacy Land Conservation Program (LLCP). Ms. Bell asked if this would be the time to talk about the LLCP Grant for Wai‘opae. Ms. Kelepolo told Ms. Bell it will be discussed under the Finance Report. Motion: Commissioner Bell moved to file Communication No. 14-022. Seconded by Commissioner Matsumura; all members voted aye, motion carried. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REPORT Ms. Kelepolo reported on the summary of acquisitions as listed below: White Sands Mauka (N. Kona) – (3) 7-7-08:21 & 23 Escrow closed on October 10th completing the 9th PONC acquisition for 10.775 acres on Ali‘i Drive. This additional acreage will eventually become an expansion of the adjacent Kīpapa Park. Pohoiki (Puna) – (3) 1-3-08:por. 34 Mr. Van Bergen attended the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) meeting in November and the BLNR approved the Conservation District Use Application for the Pohoiki subdivision. The Planning Department issued tentative approval for the subdivision and once final approval is obtained the County can execute a purchase agreement and acquire the property hopefully within the next two months. Vacationlands Land Trust, Wai‘opae (Puna) – (3) 1-4-02:22 Ms. Kelepolo and Mr. Ventura along with Ms. Bell and Ms. Simsarian recently attended the LLCP meeting and the County was awarded 1.3 million, a 50% match towards the acquisition of Wai‘opae. Ms. Bell commented that she was also able to answer questions raised relating to wastewater which seemed to come up a lot and added that Senator Ruderman also testified in support of the project. She added that a lady from the Environmental Protection Agency testified in support and mentioned about the recent fish kill which was one of the reasons the wastewater questions came up. Kahuku Coastal Property (Ka‘ū) – (3) 9-2-01:75 A technical desk review of the yellowbook appraisal should be completed this month and the County is working with the Department of Land and Natural Resources to submit all required documentation for both State and Federal grants which should take another six months. The Federal grant is expiring in September 2015 and the LLCP is in the process of being extended to February 2016. Banyan Trees Property (N. Kohala) – (3) 5-5-15:42 Mr. Ventura is currently negotiating with the landowner for this property that appraised for 690,000 in July and have yet to come to a mutually agreed upon price. - 3 - Mr. Meyers asked if the PONC budget could be increased towards education and workshops for the Commission which could be very helpful in the assessment and selection of properties submitted. He said that with the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee, there will be more site visits conducted also to help in their ranking process. Ms. Kelepolo replied that when PONC was implemented there were workshops for the commissioners. However; over the years there were cuts to the PONC budget which is the reason meetings got reduced from twelve to only six a year. Mr. Masuda told the Commission to send a request to the Department of Finance requesting to include training in the budget. Mr. Ventura stated that he will follow-up with Finance at the next Budget meeting. Ms. Kelepolo added that she can also ask The Nature Conservancy and Hawaiian Islands Land Trust to do a presentation on conservation easements as well. Ms. Bell asked if there were any stewardship grants issued yet to non-profits who applied for funding for maintenance of PONC properties. Ms. Kelepolo replied that she will need to follow up with Parks and Recreation since they will be handling that. The balance reflected is current as of now. OFFICE OF CORPORATION COUNSEL’S REPORT Mr. Masuda thanked Mr. Freire and Ms. Matsumura for their service but since there are three vacancies he is asking that they serve for an additional 90 days. If not the Commission cannot meet since they will no longer have a quorum. Mr. Masuda said that the Mayor’s office is responsible for filling those vacancies in Districts 2, 5, 7, 8 & 9 so if they know anyone that might be interested to let them know. CHAIRPERSONS REPORT Mr. Freire had nothing to report. NEW BUSINESS  Commission to review, finalize and approve the 2014 Annual Report to the Mayor (the commissioners went into discussion) Motion: Commissioner Matsumura moved to approve the report with corrections made. Seconded by Commissioner Nicholson; all members voted aye, motion carried.  Election of new officers for 2015 Ms. Kelepolo indicated that Mr. DeLozier is OK if he’s elected for 2015. Mr. Freire asked if anyone is interested in being Vice-Chair. Ms. Bell told Mr. Freire she would be interested. Motion: Commissioner Nicholson moved to nominate Mr. DeLozier for Chair and Ms. Bell for Vice-Chair for 2015. Seconded by Commissioner Matsumura; all members voted aye, motion carried. - 4 -  Schedule Commission meetings for 2015 Mr. Freire asked the commissioners to check their schedules to see if there are any conflicts with the tentative dates listed below: January 12 (Kona) March 9 (Hilo) May 11 (Kona) July 13 (Hilo) September 14 (Kona) November 9 (Hilo) (the commissioners went into discussion) Mr. Freire confirmed that there will be a quorum for the January meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Kelepolo noted that for the January meeting they will be reviewing the Assessment Criteria and Suggestion Forms and discussing the evaluation process of ranking properties. Ms. Matsumura added that they also need to select members for the Ad Hoc Investigative Committee. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 12, 2015, 10:00 a.m. in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i (meeting location to be determined). ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 11:33 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Kelepolo Property Management Technician