Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-11-28 Environmental Management Commission Minutes ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, November 28, 2017 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. West Hawaiʻi Civic Center Council Building A – Conference Room 75-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi 96740 Commissioners present: Staff present: Richard Bennett, Vice Chair William Kucharski, Director Jon Olson Diane Noda, Deputy Director Susan Osborne Keyra Wong, Deputy Corporation Counsel Jeffry Fear Mary Fujio, Secretary Rick Vidgen 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Vice Chair Bennett called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. No one had any announcements. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Regular Session Minutes of September 27, 2017. Motion and vote: Commissioner Osborne moved to approve the minutes, Commissioner Olson seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. b. Regular Session Minutes of October 25, 2017. Vice Chair Bennett explained that although no quorum was present on that date, they did have presentations that were quite long, as well as a lot of sharing of information. Motion and vote: Commissioner Olson moved to approve the minutes, Commissioner Osborne seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. 3. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS No members of the public were present. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Review draft memo from the Commission to Director Kucharski regarding “Sewer and Wastewater Alternatives to be Considered in the Keauhou Regional Study.” At Vice Chair Bennett’s request, Director Kucharski provided some background on the study. In summary, the Heʻeia Wastewater Treatment Plant is owned by Kamehameha Schools and exists as a private wastewater treatment system. If Aliʻi Drive were to be sewered by the County, it is not known whether the Code would allow its public system to be added to the Heʻeia private system. The County would need a firm plan before talking to Kamehameha Schools, to include upgrading of the sewer lines, which are currently designed for a reasonably small input. The Heʻeia system is running at a very low usage percentage, and the water is being used for the golf course there. They cannot produce enough R-1 water because there is not enough inflow to the system. The commissioners discussed Vice Chair’s Bennett’s draft memo to the director, and Vice Chair Bennett said it is really a policy question at this point. The area appears to be a hodgepodge of individual systems and cesspits. Director Kucharski added that there is no mandate to connect to a private system—the only mandate now is to connect to a public system. They are looking at coming up with a format to be able to address a public-private partnership, to connect private investment with public ownership and oversight. This would help pay for improvements and help the County move forward without getting a massive tax burden. The Keauhou issue has been building for many years and will not be resolved in a couple of days. However, whatever solution they come to is not going to be reached if they don’t start addressing it. They’ve got to start somewhere. Vice Chair Bennett said they need to think outside the box. Alternatives need to be identified. Commissioner Osborne asked whether there is a study underway or one was being proposed. Director Kucharski said yes, there is a 604(c) Clean Water Act grant proposal the County submitted to DOH last year for funding to look at two things: alternatives available for cesspool closures and money to develop a process to prioritize closing the cesspools. The grant has been accepted, and the State will push forward with it. What Vice Chair Bennett has drafted is consistent with the grant application. Vice Chair Bennett ran through the points in his draft, and they were discussed by the commissioners. Commissioner Osborne said the draft was excellent. Director Kucharski said the scope and general outline of the study is in the proposal, but determining exactly what steps to take will be part of the RFP that will go out for the consultant. He said it would be fine to refer the memo to him. Motion and vote: Commissioner Olson moved to forward the memo to Director Kucharski for further consideration. Commissioner Osborne seconded the motion, and all members present voted aye. 2 Vice Chair Bennett stated that Sue Aronson had just walked in as a member of the public and asked her if she had any public comments to make. Ms. Aronson said she was waiting for an update on a court case involving the Lahaina sewage treatment decision. Maui County had appealed a federal court ruling on it. 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Site visit for January. As public attendance to the visit of the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant next month would be dangerous to the health and safety of the public and impracticable, it is recommended that the Commission approve a limited meeting for the site visit portion of next month’s meeting pursuant to Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 92-3.1(a)(1). Vice Chair Bennett asked if the site visit was to be of the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant and the disposal sump, and Director Kucharski said yes. Director Kucharski asked Ms. Wong whether the trip needed to be open to the public, and Ms. Wong said that it cannot be. She had spoken with Commissioner Olson earlier about what is required, since the treatment plant is closed to the public and is an active construction site. It would be impracticable to have the public there, so the visit would be limited to the Commission and staff. Motion and second: Commissioner Olson moved to recommend that a limited meeting be held for the site visit, due to the possible active construction dangers and because public attendance would be impracticable. Commissioner Osborne seconded the motion. Discussion: Mr. Fear asked if they would see where the wastewater comes out, and Director Kucharski said yes. Ms. Wong said she will need to submit a request to the State Office of Information Practices for the limited meeting. One requirement in having a limited meeting is that it be videotaped. However, they can ask for a waiver. A staff member will need to take general notes. Public notice of the meeting would also be needed. Vote: Vice Chair Bennett called for a vote, and all commissioners present voted aye. Director Kucharski said he recently gave Councilmember Ruggles a tour of the plant. They will go through the operating facilities where the dechlorination occurs, as well as the ponds, and he’ll give a breakdown of what the system is and how it operates. It is a full-on biological system with few moving parts other than pumps. Coots and stilts are there. One of the upgrades going on is the installation of new blowers, which are big energy users. The new blowers and new pumps will reduce their electrical use by about 40%. Vice Chair Bennett asked if photographs will be permitted, and Director Kucharski said yes. 3 b. Review, discuss and act on a letter requested by County Council Member Karen Eoff for policy recommendations on water reuse and conservation. Vice Chair Bennett explained that there had been a number of informal discussions among community leaders and some of the members of the Council about freshwater conservation. It came to a head when some of the well pumps failed. Councilmember Eoff felt it would be a good opportunity to talk about integrating the freshwater side of water resources and the reclaimed water side. The freshwater is managed independently by the Department of Water Supply (“DWS”). Councilmember Eoff had asked him to think about it and discuss it with the EMC. Vice Chair Bennett provided the commissioners with a draft he’d written of “Policy Proposal Suggestions” with water conservation and water reuse sections, and ran through what he’d written. The commissioners discussed the contents, and Commissioner Olson pointed out how the island’s districts were so different from one another in terms of water. Commissioner Olson asked what they were to do with the draft, and Vice Chair Bennett said it is basically a brainstorm of ideas that the Council or Councilmember Eoff can consider. Director Kucharski said it is his understanding that the R-1 water cannot be connected to a single spigot. It has to be for an institutional use, not a personal or private use. They would need to go to the DOH to ask for modifications or exemptions of that requirement. The issue came up because one of the great uses for the R-1 water would be at the harbor, to be able to wash down fishing boats. However, that can’t be done with individual spigots. It makes no sense to him. Discussions would also need to be had on who would be responsible for the R-1 water. DEM treats it, but they are not in the business of selling anything. The whole issue of how to manage R-1 water has to be addressed by the County. Most of this is outside DEM’s purview. Vice Chair Bennett said he acknowledged what Director Kucharski was saying, but it is in the scope of the Commission to advise the Council on policy. Commissioner Olson said that the matter is regarding environmental management. Director Kucharski said he understood, but it is a misnomer for his department in that DEM is not a regulatory agency but simply the operational arm of wastewater and solid waste facilities. Vice Chair Bennett said another suggestion, thought it wasn’t in his draft, is to propose a Charter amendment to move DWS to be under the mayor. Director Kucharski said DWS has been nothing but supportive of the R-1 water. Though the more R-1 you have the less you’ll be selling, there is no question about DWS’ support for the R-1 and the maximum production and use of it. DWS has been completely cooperative with DEM and DEM’s goals. Vice Chair Bennett asked Ms. Wong whether he misunderstood the Charter and Code that allows them to communicate with and respond to questions received from a Councilmember. Ms. Wong said if Councilmember Eoff verbally requested of him a policy type of study, it would be fine to send it to her since she asked for it. But as far as what the DEM does, she agreed with Director Kucharski that it goes beyond the purview of DEM and its responsibilities, and in turn would also go beyond what the EMC and its responsibilities were as far as advising the 4 department. If Councilmember Eoff was asking the EMC to specifically to look into policy, then it would be fine to send it to her. Motion and second: Commissioner Olson moved to provide Councilmember Eoff with the Policy Proposal Suggestions. Commissioner Fear seconded the motion. Motion amended: Commissioner Olson restated the motion and moved that the EMC provide Councilmember Eoff with the policy proposal suggestions drafted herein. Vice Chair Bennett wanted to amend the motion to include that the Council consider a Charter amendment that would integrate the DWS within the County government. Commissioner Olson said that was beyond their scope and not a job for the EMC. Ms. Wong said the draft could be amended to add that in, and Vice Chair Bennett said that’s what he was proposing. Motion seconded: Commissioner Fear seconded the motion. Vote: All members present voted aye. c. Brief presentation by Vice Chair Bennett on disinfection technology and terminology consistency recommendation. Vice Chair Bennett said he thought it would be useful to spend a little time and create some distinctions about what disinfection is. He had several handouts presented to the commissioners. Regarding water sanitation, drinking water is a huge and significant public health issue globally. The United States does a good job at it with effective disinfection regulations. He explained how water that is high in organic material is harder to disinfect. Organic material has to be removed, which is what the water treatment process does. After it is disinfected, it should have no detectable coliform bacteria and zero E. coli. Agencies achieve the disinfection by chlorinating the drinking water. However, chlorine is a known carcinogen and also has health consequences as it reacts with organics. Large municipal water agencies have moved away from chlorine and use peroxide and ozone, which don’t have the chlorine effects. Vice Chair Bennett went on to explain the definitions of “sterile” and “to disinfect” in terms of water and wastewater, and what “R-1,” “R-2,” and “R-3” water is. The information will be helpful as they move into the issue of water reclamation. Microbial safety will keep coming up. It is important that the EMC and any agency working with this, as well as consultants, be real clear on what disinfection is. One proposal that comes out of this work is that all municipal wastewater be disinfected to the R-1 level. Individual waste systems do not do that. Significant amounts of potentially disease causing organisms are being discharged into the environment. Hawaiʻi is unique in that we have an ocean where people spend a lot of time. Contact time in the ocean is a risk factor that does not get put into the equation when microbial water standards are set. He’s been hearing reports about surfers, who swallow ocean water, for 30 years. The policy proposal that the County of Hawaiʻi disinfect all wastewater to the R-1 level is a big step. 5 Vice Chair Bennett said he recommends that the EMC adopt the distinctions of R-1, R-2, and R-3 and use them. The other recommendation is that all County municipal wastewater be disinfected to the R-1 level. Director Kucharski pointed out that there are two issues: the discharge standards and control of TSS (total suspended solids). The suspended solids are going to be the food source for organisms. By removing the solids, you remove the food source and growth mechanism for the organisms. If they were to do the R-1 level, it would be power and energy intensive. Chlorination will kill the bacteria but not the viruses. Ultraviolet (UV) will kill the viruses as well, and he much prefers using UV. All their systems would need to be moved to a UV treatment system, and that is his goal. There are ramifications: the cost to upgrade, the maintenance, the power use, and also needing to have a stable power supply. Chlorine, if you’re not careful, will kill whatever it touches, including coral and other things that are necessary for the ocean’s lifecycle. On the drinking water side, there are also issues. Ozone is effective but not long-lasting. Chlorine lasts a long time and you can see the disinfection at the end point. In sum, to go to a UV system would require a lot of money, but it would be money well spent. However, if there is a power failure, the whole disinfection system would shut down; and that is a major implication on operations, maintenance, and safety. There is no quick and easy answer, but he would like to see it happen. Motion and second: Vice Chair Bennett said he would entertain a motion to recommend they adopt the terminology of the State. Commissioner Osborne so moved, and Commissioner Olson seconded the motion. Motion and second: Vice Chair Bennett asked whether they wanted to include in the recommendation that all municipal wastewater be disinfected to the R-1 level as feasible. Commissioner Fear so moved, and Commissioned Olson seconded the motion. Vote: All members present voted aye. d. Proposed bill to amend Hawaiʻi County Code Chapter 20, relating to fee schedule. Director Kucharski said there is a proposed bill to increase solid waste tipping fees that will come before the Council’s Finance Committee on December 4, 2017. The fees were last increased in 2007. He looked at a 2% CPI from 2007 to 2018, and that gave him a number of about $115-117 per ton. They are currently charging $85 per ton. He proposed to the Mayor that starting July 1, 2018, they charge $101 per ton and then increase it by $3 per ton over the next several years, bringing the charge to $115 per ton in 2022. This would bring in approximately $1.8 million to the Solid Waste Division. He put it before the Council now so that it will be known whether it passes or not, before their budgets for next year are finalized. He said he has already spoken with most of the Councilmembers to explain the bill. He pointed out that the County of Hawaiʻi is the most generous government entity he has ever seen as far as dealing with solid waste. There are numerous transfer stations, and approximately 42% of all the waste deposited in the landfill is subsidized 100% by the County. 6 58% comes from the commercial haulers. Adding to the costs is the mixed waste management. It costs the County $170 per ton to manage recycled material. All of this comes from their Solid Waste budget. They are as generous and as far-reaching as they can possibly be in this County in taking care of this issue, though they are always being accused of not doing enough. If they get this money, they will try to do more. The Mayor has said that none of the money needs to go back to the General Fund—the department can keep it. With the money from the increase, they are looking at three major items: The first is upgrading and standardizing all of the transfer stations. They also want to do more greenwaste collecting, such as in Hawi, and have chippers to do more. The second thing is that starting in January 2018, the polystyrene plan will be implemented, and they will need someone to manage that. They will also be bringing before the Council a full anti-litter campaign, and they will be asking for the same person to manage both the polystyrene plan and anti-litter campaign. The third thing is they are looking for another project manager to oversee the contract with Waste Management, which will be up for re-negotiation in April. Director Kucharski explained that the bill before them will come before the Council on December 4, 2017. If it passes, it will modify Chapter 20 of the Code. He needs the EMC to review the bill prior to the Council meeting, as there is a requirement for them to provide a recommendation to the Council on whether or not they are in support of it. The December 4 meeting is before the Finance Committee, not the Environmental Management Committee, as the bill deals with fees. If the Council were to review the bill before the EMC did, it would refer the bill to the EMC for a recommendation as to its approval or non-approval, and there would be only 45 days from the Council meeting to submit the EMC’s input. He did not want to miss that deadline. Vice Chair Bennett asked whether the bill would impact only the commercial haulers, and Director Kucharski said yes. Vice Chair Bennett wondered whether the bill, if passed, would have the unintended consequence or more trash thrown along the road. Director Kucharski said he expects the increase to be passed through from the haulers to the customers. However, it has to be done. They are continually asked to do more with less. Waste Management has increased its tipping fees to the County, there are salaries that are increased every year, and there is the CPI increase on the composting. Motion and vote: Vice Chair Bennett said he would entertain a motion in support of the bill. Commissioner Olson so moved, Commissioner Vidgen seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. Director Kucharski asked the commissioners to send a letter to the Council, showing their support of the bill. Vice Chair Bennett said he would work with the EMC’s secretary on getting the letter out. e. Election of 2018 Commission Chair and Vice Chair. 7 Motion and vote: Commissioner Fear nominated Vice Chair Bennett to be chair and Commissioner Olson to be vice chair. Commissioner Osborne seconded the motion, and all members present voted aye. f. Tentative 2018 meeting schedule. The tentative 2018 schedule was passed out to the commissioners. Vice Chair Bennett asked if there were any comments on the schedule. Commissioner Fear said his term was ending in December, and Ms. Wong told him and Commissioner Vidgen that though their terms were to end in December, they could stay on for another 90 days or until someone else is appointed in their districts. Deputy Director Noda said a press release would be going out, asking County-wide for people to apply for positions on boards and commissions. The application form is also on the Mayor’s website. Vice Chair Bennett asked if DEM could put out a press release regarding the EMC’s vacancies and seeking interested people by district. Director Kucharski said yes, and the release would indicate which districts are open. Vice Chair Bennett said it would be good if the release says there is no technical or previous experience required to be a commissioner, just a commitment to help the County and to show up. Director Kucharski said they would get it out. He also had spoken to several people and asked them to apply, but so far there has been no success. (1) Director’s request for a meeting date before January 19, 2018. Ms. Wong said that the request was being withdrawn. They would have the regular January meeting, then the limited meeting for the site visit, and then adjourn. They could do the site visit meeting after the regular meeting. 6. REPORTS/CORRESPONDENCE a. Director’s Report. Director Kucharski summarized the letter from Dr. Pressler of the Department of Health, dated November 15, 2017, which was part of their packet. Her letter was in response to the EMC’s letter to the DOH on its concerns about wastewater discharge in Kealakehe. To summarize, it was a “thank you very much, but this is well out of our area of ability to modify” letter, and it would take a full EPA movement to make it happen, but we’re with you and will work with you. Vice Chair Bennett said that was a good summation of the letter. Director Kucharski said he agrees that getting a national standard changed would take full action from the EPA—it is a headquarters issue. There would need to be studies done to show the necessity, efficacy, and basis for the rule change. There would need to be a scientific basis for the modifications needed. 8 Vice Chair Bennett said that Dr. Pressler did not even address the second paragraph of their letter, which asked her to justify the discharge of non-disinfected wastewater. Director Kucharski said she did say that based on the sampling results, there is no indication beaches are being polluted. Vice Chair Bennett said Dr. Pressler looked at a little measurement at Hapuna Beach, which is almost a quarter mile away from the harbor outfall. She skirted the answer. The State has the position that these discharges, like at Kealakehe, do not impact the coastal waters. The previous director, Larry Lau, said the discharge does not enter waters of the United States. Dr. Pressler’s letter said it does happen. Her suggestion that Pine Trees Beach is representative of what is coming out of Honokohau is disingenuous. She is also inaccurate in her statements about staph. Contrary to what Dr. Pressler says, there is technology to measure very precisely. He said he was frustrated, to say the least. Commissioner Olson asked if Vice Chair Bennett could respond to the letter, and he said he can, as an individual. When they wrote the letter to Dr. Pressler, he knew DOH was going to sidestep the issue. There are so many R-3 discharges, from households to the military to communities. The EMC is recommending that all discharges go to R-1, and that recommendation needs to come from the Council. Director Kucharski said that R-1 discharges for non-point sources, or home systems, would be very difficult to deal with. Vice Chair Bennett said the issue is about municipal discharges. Director Kucharski said if they can control the outflow, they can control the treatment. They are working on the issue in Puakō, where they need to get out of cesspools and septic systems, and will be meeting with them soon. Puakō is a test case—they’re too wealthy to get grants but not wealthy enough to afford the solution. He will continue to work with Coral Alliance. Everything that will constrain a cost effective impact exists in Puakō. It is the perfect place for a public-private partnership. Director Kucharski said he should point out that as soon as the solid waste fee increase is passed or failed, he will be proceeding with a sewer rate study to increase the sewer fees. The EPA requires that the wastewater system be sustainable and pay for itself. They’ve been taking money out of the General Fund every year to support their wastewater operations. If the sewer fees are doubled, they would still be the lowest in the state. In Lono Kona, there are about 183 houses or units that will need to connect to the sewer, and it is about a $6 million fix. It costs that much for just a minor sewering connection into the system. Commissioner Olson asked if there is a bond float to help the people who have to connect, and Director Kucharski said that of the $6 million, $4 million will be paid by a grant from the Department of Agriculture and $2.1 will be paid by the residents as a hook-up fee. It will be on their property tax and expended over the years. They will also have sewer fees to pre- pay. There will also be equipment costs for the Wastewater Division. Director Kucharski continued with his report. They are going forward on a condemnation of a property in Pāhala for the wastewater treatment plant. Bishop Estate (correction, ought to have stated Kamehameha Schools) said they are not allowed to sell the property, but if it is condemned they can release it. It is a friendly condemnation. Public 9 outreach is starting in Pāhala. There will be focus groups and meetings starting in mid- December. The schedule is tight and there can’t be a lot of hiccups, or they’ll run into trouble with the EPA and their compliance schedule. They also had focus group meetings on the R-1 system in Kona. They had environmental groups, local Hawaiian groups, and business and recreational people. They discussed the system and what can and cannot be done. The meetings went well. They are proceeding on the aeration upgrade and sludge removal in Kealakehe. It should be finished in mid-January or February. The contractor went bankrupt, so DEM is dealing with the performance bond, which pays all the costs. Therefore, it does not cost the County additional money except for the oversight needed. Meetings have been held on the closure of the Hilo Landfill, which will be happening within the next year. The first phase is to stop taking waste, and the second phase is the actual closure. The closure involves capping the landfill. Public meetings were held in both Hilo and Kona. They are in reasonably good shape on this. Commissioner Olson asked about whether the methane could be captured when the landfill closes. Director Kucharski said that they’ve never been able to capture enough to have a recovery system. The landfill has passive venting which is not expected to increase once it is closed. There is no economical way to capture the small amounts of methane. In addition, the limited value and disruption to the community and area would not warrant it. It is a strange landfill that does not act like any other. The methane is just not there. Commissioner Fear asked about the compost facility in Hilo. Director Kucharski said a location had been picked, but it was rejected because the EA was not done appropriately. So they are looking at three alternative sites and evaluating them. They will come up with a preferred site and have a detailed EA done. Commissioner Fear asked about the trucking of waste to Puʻuanahulu and whether a search would be done for an East Hawaiʻi landfill site. Director Kucharski said no. The Puʻuanahulu landfill has a conservative life span of 50 years. If they really work at it, they could get, at the current rates, somewhere from 100 to 150 years’ capacity. Commissioner Fear asked whether the cost in fuel and trucks would outweigh looking for a new Hilo site, and Director Kucharski said those costs are embedded in the projected costs. The development cost for a new landfill, getting a site, doing the surveying, and going through the whole EIS would cost more than making the truck trips to Puʻuanahulu. (Commissioner Vidgen left the meeting at 11:12 a.m.) Commissioner Olson said the commercial and residential waste should be gone through at a much higher rate to further reduce what goes into the landfill and the amount of trucking being done. With point-of-purchase fees, getting stuff off the island becomes possible—it came here and it goes out, and it doesn’t live here. He would prefer the rubbish leave the island rather than be buried here. 10 Director Kucharski said the Solid Waste Management Plan is coming up for a 10-year review, and these are questions and issues the Solid Waste Committee will take a look at and address. They are in the process of getting committee members. They will start in 2018 and the plan will be finalized in 2019. The plan will go to the State Department of Health. Vice Chair Bennett suggested they table this conversation, and he will make it his responsibility to make sure it gets agendized at the appropriate time. Director Kucharski asked if there were any questions on his report, and Commissioner Fear asked how the recycling of cars was going. Director Kucharski said they had an auction of the vehicles about two weeks, and he did not know the numbers yet. One issue they have is that they cannot pick up vehicles on non-County roads because of how the statutes are written. They will be seeking to modify the statute to allow them to go into communities which have non- County roads, such as Puna, and service the community the way it should be serviced. They are working continuously to upgrade the process, but reports still need to be made to the police so the tickets can be issued. They cannot tow vehicles without the police ticketing them. Vice Chair Bennett suggested moving on to the next agenda item. b. Commission Member District Update Reports. Commissioner Osborne said abandoned cars are the concern. Commissioner Olson said his district has the same concern. Also, some County signage is wrong: the sign in Keaʻau saying not to dump ohia into the greenwaste is on the driveway going out, not the roadway coming in. There has been improvement on the rubbish bins. Commissioner Fear said they want pollution signs, to warn residents and tourists of the staph and water so they wash themselves well after using the beaches. Also, he would like to raise the penalty for cigarette butt littering from $500 to $1,000. Ms. Wong said that the fine is at $1,000 currently, and Director Kucharski said that before someone can be ticketed, a police officer has to observe the offense. This will be an issue for the anti-litter campaign. Commissioner Fear said another concern is the need for water testing, due to all the sunscreen being used. People need to start using the sunscreens that don’t pollute the ocean and kill fish. Also, there is dolphin harassment occurring on the Kona tours and throughout the state. Vice Chair Bennett shared a concern relative to a transfer station and showed a picture of Highway 11 with caution sawhorses in the bike lane, which would force the bikes to ride in the roadway. Director Kucharski said he will communicate with staff that the sawhorses cannot be in the bike lane. 7. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Vice Chair Bennett questioned the need to have items 7a and 7b repeatedly on the agenda, and he suggested removing them from future agendas. Ms. Noda said the sewer rate 11 increase should be coming up soon (item 7b), and Vice Chair Bennett said that item could be left on future agendas. The additional funding item should be removed, as it can be put back as appropriate. Vice Chair Bennett told the commissioners if they want anything put on the agenda, just send him an email and he’ll work with the secretary on placing it. 8. MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS Vice Chair Bennett announced that there is no meeting in December, and the next meeting is scheduled for January 24, 2018, in the Community Hale at the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center. 9. ADJOURNMENT Motion and vote: Commissioner Olson moved to adjourn, Commissioner Osborne seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. Vice Chair Bennett thanked everyone and wished them a merry Christmas. 11:30 a.m.: The meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted: ___________________________________ Mary E. Fujio, Secretary