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HomeMy WebLinkAbout 05/13/2015 Public hearing transcript on BILL#2582 PUBLIC HEARING MAY 13, 2015 A public hearing of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by Arryl Kaneshiro, Chair, Budget & Finance Committee, on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, at 5:05 p.m., at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 209, Lihu`e, Kauai, and the presence of the following was noted: Honorable Mason K. Chock Honorable Gary L. Hooser Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable KipuKai Kuali`i Honorable Mel Rapozo Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following: "Bill No. 2582 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE OPERATING BUDGET AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2015 TO JUNE 30, 2016 (Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Operating Budget)," which was passed on first reading and ordered to print by the Council of the County of Kaua`i on March 25, 2015, and published in The Garden Island newspaper on April 1, 2015. The following communications were received for the record: 1. Arakaki, William, dated April 30, 2015 2. Arume, Bridget, dated April 29, 2015 3. Anguay, Mahina, dated May 10, 2015 4. Bishop, LaVerne, dated April 29, 2015 5. Cox, Helen A., Ph.D., dated April 21, 2015 6. Dire, James, dated May 11, 2015 7. Essman, Barbara, dated April 18, 2015 8. Hubbard, Mark, dated April 20, 2015 9. Miura, Tad, dated May 6, 2015 10. Shelit, Dana, dated May 9, 2015 11. Smith, Susan, dated May 11, 2015 JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: Committee Chair, we have five (5) registered speakers. The first registered speak is Jean Flaherty, followed by Felicia Cowden. The hearing proceeded as follows: • JEAN FLAHERTY: I am honored for the opportunity to speak with you today. I come to represent two (2) different groups, but it is balance that I am seeking. I am addressing the issue of the North Shore Shuttle, and my particular interest rests first on those who have disabilities and though I never thought I would be one of those people, I stand before you today in the position of having people see PUBLIC HEARING 2 MAY 13, 2015 BILL NO. 2582 me as elderly, I hate that word, but because I fell from a ladder and surgery did not remedy the situation, I am now at the mercy of a number of people. The North Shore Shuttle has served me well, and therefore I would like to speak on behalf of it, because I am, but one of many. Whether the issue is of someone who has a knee replacement, a hip replacement, or an injured part of their body, they end up relying on others to provide transportation to get groceries, to get to church, the post office, or possibly even just to the dentist. In addition, there are the needs of people to get out and get the fresh air, and the original reason why I came to Kaua`i was that I felt this was one place where there was still pure air. I brought with me my adopted mother whose life extended seven (7) years because the asthma that she had and I now have, along with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), in fact, was cured for her. She found the right air, the right location, and we were blessed to have her among us for a longer period. I know you have many budget issues in front of you, and this may seem like a minor issue, but I would like to look at the long haul. When, in fact, you people may need to have a community where it is healthy, where, in fact, you have access to the fresh air, and you do not want to be homebound. I have benefited from the North Shore Shuttle, and I know there is a need for money to have that present. I think it benefits residents in three different main ways. First of all, safety. I know a number of young people because I came here first as an educator and they are walking the streets trying to get from place to place, because their parents are working two to three (2-3) jobs. They do not have the means necessarily to get up and down the hill to Hanalei, even for recreational purposes during the summer. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Sorry to interrupt you, but your three (3) minutes are up. Once we get through everyone, we can bring you back up here. Ms. Flaherty: Alright, I have another group that I would like to represent then. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: You still can talk on these three (3) points, and then your other group also, in your next three (3) minutes. Ms. Flaherty: I understand. Thank you very much. FELICIA COWDEN: I understand that you folks have a very difficult task in front of you. I spent quite a lot of time in this past year looking at the three-inch stack of the budget, which is this year's. I have a few recommendations. One is when I go through it I look at what our high line items are in departments and I think...I know auditing seems to raise a lot of big red flags, but I think if possible, it would be good to audit. One group that strikes me is the Police Department. Twenty-eight million dollars ($28,000,000) is intense. I am glad that they were honored today. This is not saying that they do not do a good job, but when I look at the twenty most wanted list and stuff, it is pretty nominal, often bench warrants. That is 1/7 of our overall budget, which is a lot. Other things are also important. One is the landfill. It seems that the scales and the things out there that I have looked at need a lot of attention and I am not sure they get enough of that. I believe also when we look at our safety and security, we have a cycle ofpoverty issues and a profound challenge with housing. I would love to be on a housing committee, if there is ever something like that, I do not know if there is, but I have some ideas I want to work on because it is a very big deal people do not have housing, which is the underlying fabric of society. It is almost illegal to sleep if you do not have a home. You cannot sleep in your car or camp. There are many problems like that. I think if we solve some of those or at least address that, we would have a whole lot less need for policing people or creating that kind of challenge. As you go down through this there are • PUBLIC HEARING 3 MAY 13, 2015 BILL NO. 2582 certain areas, I believe, the vehicles...there are a whole lot of vehicles. Most any though, pale in comparison to the line item of twenty-eight million dollars ($28,000,000) for one area. To pull it all apart, each piece is a big long discussion, longer than three (3) minutes, but auditing the big numbered pieces q,nd that one is the high one. I think what I see there is there is a lot of overtime. Seems like we need to look at some of those priorities. Thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. JAMES REIS: Hello. I am the owner of Experience Kaua`i and I am here to ask for your continued support with our North Shore Shuttle program. Since we started, we have had a lot of people ride. We were not sure how many people were going to ride and it ended up being a lot more, as well as residents. I drive the shuttle maybe two to three (2-3) times a month to help cover some of the employees that cannot make their shifts. The overwhelming support that we get from the residents who live out in Wainiha, Princeville, who use it very day to and from work, the visitors who get to go out to Ke`e and hike the Kalalau Trail, and they do not have to leave their cars there to get vandalized or towed, really appreciate our service. They appreciate the concierges who continue to tell us every time we go over there and give them new shuttle schedules, what a great asset this is for the community and allowing their visitors to be able to move around Hanalei and the Princeville areas with ease. I truly ask for your continued support to help our community alleviate the traffic that I believe our shuttle has put a little dent in. We are still working on that, but it allows a better quality of life for many of the residents who live out there and who do not have to hitchhike. They have a set time to get home, and they are not out at nighttime with their thumb in the air, possibly getting driven by very quickly because they cannot be seen. Just allowing people to move around the island efficiently and without clogging our parking lots with a bunch of unnecessary vehicles that could be left at the resorts. I am just asking for continued support to help alleviate our traffic on the North Shore. Committee Chair Chock: Thank you. I have a clarifying question from Councilmember Chock. Councilmember Chock: Thank you for the service. I understand and hear that it has made a big difference with people. From a business standpoint, do you have any plans, and how and when you can move this operation towards something that is more self-sustaining, because that is really I think the interest for any operation within our County? Mr. Reis: Right. Financially right now the ridership... we are still working on the numbers if we can adjust the cost of the rides. Right now, with asking the ridership and stuff, the riders and residents what they would be willing to pay...three dollars ($3) or five dollars ($5), and a lot of them are open to that idea. I am trying to inform them that the program needs to make some money to be able to cover more than just the fuel, because at this point in time we are covering the fuel and a little bit more. It will never be self-sustainable. Even with our new vehicle that we were able to purchase, it cut our field cost down substantially. It cost around fifty dollars ($50) a day to run this vehicle. It is an ecofriendly diesel and we are trying to see if there is another vehicle like that in a smaller compact size that could fit out at Ke`e, which would then eliminate some of those costs. We are looking at different ways to cut the budget down at the cost to run. At this point in time, it will never be able to sustain itself. PUBLIC HEARING 4 MAY 13, 2015 BILL NO. 2582 Councilmember Chock: Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura: Yes, I, too, appreciate your service very much. I know how important public transportation is. My question is, Ms. Flaherty gave some very compelling testimony in favor of your shuttle. Do you do house-to-house service for those who are disabled? Mr. Reis: At this point in time, we are in communication with the Princeville kupuna group, and it is pretty much an on-call service. If a senior, needs to be moved and they are on our route, we cannot go too far off otherwise it throws the whole schedule off. If they are close to our route, we do pull over, and we have not had any requests yet, but the offer is out there to pick up seniors at their homes and take them to certain locations in which they are going. Councilmember Yukimura: I think if we ever become a formal service, that kind of service will be required by law. Right now as a pilot project, I guess there is some leeway, but that will be contrary to the goal of trying to make it more self-sustaining. That is the tension that we have to do even with our regular service. Thank you very much for your service. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Any further questions from the Members? DESIRAE REIS: Aloha. I am the wife of James Reis, the owner of the company, as well as his supporter and owner of the company. The company was actually started to relieve the stress. I have been a concierge on the island for ten (10) years. I would get a lot of people requesting from the resorts about Ke`e, and about how to get down into Hanalei. What do you mean there is no shuttle? What do you mean there is no transportation? The County does not go that far. Is it safe to leave my car? As a resident, I found ourselves not visiting Ke`e anymore. Visitors are very important to our island and so are the residents. We tried about four (4) years ago to do it on our own and get as much as we possibly could. I do want to say thank you so much for helping us to get this going for the community because it has been by far amazing. To see the difference in Jean and other kupuna groups and residents in Ha`ena, the support from Ha`ena and their residents saying, "Wow, I can go and get icecream at Big Save and bring it back and not have to eat it right then, before it melts." Simple things like that. We went out and got some signatures showing the support and we really did not have anyone saying, "No." It is more like, "Yes, let us do this." That is the feeling that I got three (3) years ago, and it is a continued support. I just also want to say for you to look into the future of it. I know, Councilmember Chock, you asked about sustainability. We wanted it to be sustainable. We wanted it to be easy and show that we could just run it and break even. I do not see that happening. I hope to see that maybe the State could also help with that in the fact that it is State land and parks. We need to definitely alleviate that traffic congestion down in Hanalei and Ke`e for sure. Thank you again and we hope for your support. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. DARSHAN WRIGHT: Hello, I am here on behalf of the North Shore Shuttle. I am a twenty (20) year North Shore resident, as well as a concierge in one of the biggest resorts in Princeville, Wyndham Resorts. As Desirae said, ever since the shuttle has come to be, one of the biggest factors and benefits of it is having these guests come that do not have vehicles be able to get around without having to rent another car adding traffic to our roads. It has been awesome and ever since then we PUBLIC HEARING 5 MAY 13, 2015 BILL NO. 2582 get the best feedback from it. To take it away, is the biggest disappointment that would ever happen. I am also a single working mom of two (2) and to always be at work and not be able to shuttle the kids where they need to go, I think that the shuttle has definitely played a big role in helping with that. I hope it stays. Thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you for your testimony. I am wondering if the tourists that stay at the Wyndham have the interest to go up to Koke`e and I am wondering how they get there. Is it that tourists that stay on that side, stay on that side? Ms. Wright: The people that want to go to those destinations, a lot of them use guided tours that offer transportation. Councilmember Kagawa: Roberts Hawaii Bus. Ms. Wright: They would come to pick them up. North Shore, we do not have anything like that so if they do not have a car, they are isolated to what tours offer pick up. Councilmember Kagawa: Okay. Thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Next speaker. AGENHART PUULEI: Aloha. I am a resident of Kauai and I am also a shuttle driver. I deal with a lot of the people that ride the shuttle, tourists and locals. I want to say that it is a bad idea to get rid of this program because it is a working program and people use it. When the program first started, it was started in an off-season. You have to think about this summer, there are going to be a lot more people and cars. I also live down there in Ha`ena, Wainiha. I see cars coming in and out all day long and this summer is going to be crazy. I have three (3) beautiful children and I just want to look out for their safety. With that being said, all these cars flying by my house, I live right on the road and it is dangerous for my children. The drivers do not obey the speed limit. What I am trying to say is that I think it would be a great idea to keep the shuttle going. The shuttle eliminates the cars off the road. A lot of the locals use the shuttle as well. There is no bus service from Hanalei to Ha'ena, so a lot of the locals have to hitchhike. If it is raining, they miss their doctor's appointments or whatever they have to do. I just want to speak for all the people. It is a great program. I am the one that is dealing with all the people every day. I get the feedback. Ninety-five percent (95%) of the people love it. Whether it is tourists or the locals, and what Darshan was saying is that with the tourists who come here and do not rent a car, they do not know there is no shuttle service around there or any type of transportation. The Kauai Bus only runs from Hanalei back this way. There has been a lot of people riding and business has been picking up. I speak on behalf of the North Shore Shuttle and I would love to keep my job. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you very much for your testimony. Are you required to have a CDL (Commercial Driver's License) license? Mr. Puulei: I am going to get my CDL license regardless of whether I need it or not. I just want to get it to have it under my belt. PUBLIC HEARING 6 MAY 13, 2015 BILL NO. 2582 Councilmember Yukimura: But right now, it is not required? Mr. Puulei: No, it is not required because we are not running a...I know that CDL is all about airbrakes and all that kind of stuff, and weight, right? We are transporting people, not cargo. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, thank you. Mr. Puulei: You are welcome. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Next speaker. SUE KANOHO, Executive Director, Kaua`i Visitors Bureau: I am here to support the North Shore Shuttle. I have been very involved in it from the beginning as far as the concept goes. For those that know, my challenges with marketing on the North Shore, there are many complaints about traffic, too many people, and vehicles. I actually took Fred Atkins, the new HTA (Hawai`i Tourism Association) representative a few weeks ago. The lifeguard at Ke`e had an earful for Fred and myself. It would not hurt for one of you to go out and hear that as well, what happens out there. The parking was off the chart bad. I counted the cars. Hundred (100) on the lot, fifty (50) on the sides of the road, and another forty (40) down past the waterfall area. We keep doing this year after year and nothing changes. This is the first time that anybody has tried to do something. I applaud the County for doing it. To me, it is a critical thing and for those who do not know the Ha`ena Master Plan will have those limits for some point, for the future, and that needs to happen to keep that area sacred and appropriate. For me, this is something I have asked for a long time and I am glad that OED (Office of Economic Development), George, and the team took it on. It has been a lot of work. We have learned a lot and I think it is something that unfortunately the County often gets impacted by the lack of State facilities and this is one of those times where we cannot pretend. As you said, we are going into summer and it is going to be worse. I think it has been a great program. Go ahead, JoAnn. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Is Kaua`i Visitor Bureau / Hawai`i Visitor Bureau supporting the visitor transient accommodation tax increase to the Counties? Ms. Kanoho: I would have to ask my board of directors. We obviously have not taken on that subject. As you know, I am funded by the Hawaii Tourism Authority and we have restrictions on what we can and cannot do and say. Councilmember Yukimura: I know, but this is also a much needed visitor support that local government is being asked to support. You know it is not just for the North Shore. The Kaua`i Bus supports many visitors too. It is the kind of local support that... Council Chair Rapozo: Committee Chair, I am going to call a point because... Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Yukimura, you need to ask... Councilmember Yukimura: I asked a question. PUBLIC HEARING 7 MAY 13, 2015 BILL NO. 2582 Council Chair Rapozo: I raised the point. Let me make my point. The point of order is on Rule 12(e)(1) and let me read it because I do not want people to think I am rude, but that is the rule. It states, "Public hearings are held to receive testimony from the public. Councilmembers shall reserve their opinions, questions, and arguments for the appropriate Council or Committee meetings; except that Councilmembers may ask clarifying questions that enable the Council to better understand the point or position of the speaker." I would ask that we keep to that. Otherwise, we will have a full-blown debate, which is your prerogative Committee Chair, because I have a lot of questions and comments, but I will reserve that for tomorrow. Councilmember Yukimura: I am asking a clarifying question about the position of the speaker. Ms. Kanoho: I have not taken that position up with anybody and if you would like me to discuss it with the board of directors, I can do that, but nobody has come to me to do that. Councilmember Yukimura: I do ask you then to bring it up with the board. Ms. Kanoho: Shoot me an E-mail in what you would like me to specifically ask. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Further questions? Next speaker. BRIDGET ARUME: I am here for Keiki to Career. I am here to talk about KPAA (Kaua`i Planning & Action Alliance) receiving funds out of the Mayor's budget for the Keiki to Career Program. I am obviously in support of it. I have been on the Leadership Council for about three (3) years now. I have also been a part of some of the other committees as well. As you all know, possibly, I have never really come before you before, and me being here already speaks volumes about my passion in regards to this effort. In regards to Keiki to Career, its name sort of says exactly what it means, taking our children as early as possible and helping them be as advantageous to themselves, their families, and to the community as possible and providing an opportunity for everyone. I hope that as you look at where we put our resources, that all of us pay in to, that we look to our children and looking to those ways that we can help this effort because it is taking a group mentality of how do we all put our best foot forward to help that effort. Right now, the effort is in figuring out how we can do that. This money would help us as we try and figure out how to best manage and think about pulling together the efforts of our community individually, collectively, and that means families, as well as businesses, and community members in helping our children and their future. I am sure you have heard a lot individually about Keiki to Career, and so you do not probably have a lot of questions in regards to that, but I do not know if you have any specifically to me. I hope that you really consider it strongly. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Anyone else in the audience wishing to testify on this Bill? Jean, you have your second three (3) minutes. Ms. Flaherty: As a result of my research, it is two-fold. In regard to the North Shore Shuttle, I realize another need which is that people coming PUBLIC HEARING 8 MAY 13, 2015 BILL NO. 2582 from Europe, New Zealand, and Australia, come from a culture where they are expecting that they will not have to rent a car and in some instances, they will not have to make reservations for housing because they do not have to do that, generally speaking in their country. I do not want to generalize, but I know it to be true because over seven (7) years I have dealt with it at least three (3) times a week. I kept track. The second point I would like to raise is that when you are looking at where you spend your money, I managed millions of dollars in the university budget as senior staff person, and what looked to be a small amount of money, often times bred the greatest goodwill toward the public whether they were residents or visitors, students or teachers, and I know this to be true. I would end on this note. You may be able to spend what seems like a small amount of money, but spend it well and get in return, revenue from visitors who are now going elsewhere because of the congestion on the highways. I do not need to prove that to you because I am sure you see it exhibited by our visitors. I would end on the note that as they come to public places to say, "We are not coming here again," and you see it in the newspapers as well, I think this is one way in which we can do a marketing campaign which would speak to, not only the Kauai Bus system and that does well, but also with this Shuttle...getting rid of the emissions, resolving the congestion on the highway and when I went to Ke`e on the Shuttle this past weekend and saw the parking lot, I realized firsthand I had to come today to speak to what could be a series of accidents. I do not want us to have something that would be a problem because we did not deal with something good that we could grow. Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura: I have a question. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: A clarifying question? Councilmember Yukimura: Yes. You mention people coming from Europe, New Zealand, and where was the third? Ms. Flaherty: Australia. They were quite specific that they felt they were not welcomed here because there was not a shuttle even within the community of the North Shore. Regardless of whether there was a bus service on the main route. Councilmember Yukimura: I have also rode the bus with people from Japan. Ms. Flaherty: That may very well be true and I thank you for that information. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Anyone wishing to speak for a second time? Seeing none. There being no further testimony on this matter, the public hearing adjourned at 5:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, S TT K. SATO Deputy County Clerk :dmc