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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/09/2018 Public hearing minutes on BILLS 2698, 2699 PUBLIC HEARING MAY 9, 2018 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 9, 2018, at 5:03 p.m., at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Historic County Building, Lihu`e, and the presence of the following was noted: Honorable Arthur Brun (not present at 5:38 p.m.) Honorable Mason K. Chock Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro Honorable Derek S.K. Kawakami (not present at 5:28 p.m.) Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura (present at 5:06 p.m.) Honorable Mel Rapozo Not Present: Honorable Ross Kagawa The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following: "Bill No. 2698 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE OPERATING BUDGET AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2018 TO JUNE 30, 2019 (Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Operating Budget);" and "Bill No. 2699 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2018 TO JUNE 30, 2019 (Fiscal Year 2018-2019 CIP Budget)," which were ordered to print by the Council of the County of Kauai on March 21, 2018, and published in The Garden Island newspaper on March 29, 2018. The following communications were received for the record: 1. Brodie, Sandy, Re: Bill No. 2698, dated May 7, 2018 2. De Vries, Diane, Re: Bill No. 2698, dated May 9, 2018 3. Ichien, Derek, Re: Bill No. 2698, dated May 8, 2018 4. Long, Beth, Re: Bill No. 2698, dated May 7, 2017 5. Matayoshi, Coralie, Chief Executive Director, and Padraic Gallagher, Kaua`i County Director, for the American Red Cross Hawai`i Re: Bill No. 2698, dated April 19, 2018 6. McCauley, Joan, Re: Bill No. 2698, dated May 8, 2018 7. Pap, Ruby, Re: Bill No. 2698, dated May 8, 2018 8. Sainte-Marie, Buffy, Re: Bill No. 2698, dated May 9, 2018 The hearing proceeded as follows: PUBLIC HEARING 2 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: The first registered speaker is Felicia Cowden, followed by Lee Gately. FELICIA COWDEN: I actually wanted to testify on the overall budget. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Yes, this is for the overall budget. Ms. Cowden: Okay. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: We are taking Operating and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) together so you can talk about anything. Ms. Cowden: Okay. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: I know you know the rules, but I will state the rules now. If anyone testifies, you will state your name for the record and then you will have three (3) minutes to talk. The green light will go on; when it turns yellow, that means that you have thirty (30) seconds left; and when it turns red, that means that your three (3) minutes are up. If you still have more to say on the budget after everyone has had a chance to talk on the first round, then you can have another three (3) minutes, and we will go through the same exercise. Felicia, you are a professional. Ms. Cowden: Felicia Cowden, for the record. I want to first thank you on the Real Property Tax, because there was no increase. I know that there will be an increase on property values if that happens, but I think that people need a break, so that is good. I do want to be promoting the buses. I know Councilmember Yukimura has been working on that and I think that is a really important issue and one that I run into regularly. Occasionally, I ride the bus, but I do consider the citizens basically as a community advocate, our customer. I have been picking people up hitchhiking for probably three (3) decades. I really get to see who is struggling and what people's needs are. It is usually on Saturday and Sunday evenings. That is when the restaurants are really busy and I pick up a number of teenage hitchhikers and people who I consider more vulnerable. Anybody matters, but people are out there in the rain and they are in a really hard time just trying to come home from work. I think in the industry that is big here, which is the visitor industry, usually Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights are a high-time to be doing business, particularly Saturday. I think the more that we do have the bus, the better off we will be. Another element that I have been working with a lot lately is the relief that has happened on the north shore since we have had this flood. The more we can encourage bus ridership and bus availability, I think the easier it is going to be on the island, especially in that region where the roads are not strong enough to take all of the heavy traffic that we get. We need to actually up that to where we can have visitors be excited to do it, too. That is what I am pushing most in this moment, to support the bus. Thank you. (Councilmember Yukimura was noted as present.) PUBLIC HEARING 3 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Lee Gately, followed by Sharon Geiken. LEE GATELY: Hi, I am Lee Gately. Felicia said all of the great things I was going to say. She read my mind. I do also take the bus occasionally. I drive more than I take the bus. Some of the times when I have thought about taking the bus on Saturdays and Sundays, it is not as accessible and so I take my car. I also do pick up a lot of hitchhikers and talk to them as well about why their thumbs are out rather than taking the bus. It is not accessible for them, either. But to think that the island shuts down on the weekends and that people who typically do take the bus, which are students, young people, or people who do not drive or do not have a car that they would just stay home on the weekends, but they need to get around. I am highly in favor of improving the bus services on weekends. I would also like to see them run more frequently even on weekdays—every half-an-hour instead of an hour down my street. I am a fan of the bus and I hope that you will consider using the budget to improve the services. Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Sharon Geiken, followed by Ruta Jordans. SHARON GEIKEN: Hi. I am Sharon Geiken. I live on Kaua`i in Kapa`a. I am here to talk about the need for a west side charging station for electric vehicles (EV). Kaua`i just experienced extreme rainfall and flooding. People say they never seen anything like it—fifty (50) inches of rain, one in a thousand year flood. Our climate is changing and man has increased the carbon dioxide at an unprecedented rate. Kaua`i is a leader in renewable energy and I am proud of that. Our next challenge is transportation. I read a survey yesterday that a lot of people think that their next vehicle is going to be electric. As far as I know, there is no charging station west of Koloa. If people want to go to the west side with some of the vehicles that are shorter-range, especially the older ones, they cannot do it. If you wanted to buy an older vehicle with a short-range, that would be more affordable and if you are on the west side, you cannot do it. Plus, visitors rent electric vehicles and I have heard them complain that they cannot go to Koke`e or whatever. It would be really great if we could get that. I know the Mayor has set a goal to make transportation one hundred percent (100%) renewable by 2045. We need it now. Look at what happened to Hanalei. I have an electric vehicle myself. I found it cheaper to drive. I figured it out to be fifty-nine (59) miles comparable to one (1) gallon of gasoline and I have rooftop solar, so it is even cheaper. I personally would enjoy going to Waimea and Koke`e. I have a longer-range car, but in case I have unexpected places to go, it would be reassuring to know I could charge it if I needed. I am asking if the County would consider putting in charger stations at the technology center in Waimea and I would ask for six (6) chargers. It will help us reach our goal for renewable transportation, it would benefit the businesses in Waimea, and it would help save the planet. Thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Ruta Jordans, followed by Aaron Chidester. PUBLIC HEARING 4 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 RUTA JORDANS: Hi, my name is Ruta Jordans. I live in Kapa`a. I am also here to ask you to put electric vehicle chargers in the budget for the coming year in west Kaua`i. I bought a Nissan Leaf in September and I have been all over the island except up to Waimea Canyon. I can get to Waimea and I can get home from there, but I cannot make any side trips. That is all it allows me until someday, I will get a—probably not. I cannot go there. The other day, I was charging at the Safeway parking lot in Kapa'a and there was a couple charging next to me so I started talking to them. They were tourists and they said, "How can we get to Waimea Canyon?" They cannot in their electric vehicles. As I understand it, you all have a goal to go completely alternative energy, I am not sure by when, but you have to start somewhere. Right now, we are very limited in getting to the western part of Kaua`i. I like Sharon's suggestion of six (6) chargers, because we have two (2) chargers in Kapa'a and often when I get there, they are both in use. The last time when I was at the hospital, I have been going there too much lately, there were two (2) chargers there and they were busy the whole time I was there, so I could not charge my car there. Please, if you really want to have alternative energy as opposed to fossil fuels, please get more chargers out there so that more people will feel that they can either rent, buy, or lease an electric vehicle. Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Aaron Chidester, followed by Sally Jo Manea. AARON CHIDESTER: Hello, my name is Aaron Chidester. I am a resident of Oma`o and also the Pastor at Kaua`i Bible Church. I am here to talk about the bus system, but I actually want to advocate very specifically for the bus system, and that would be for bus service to Oma`o. We currently do not have any bus service in Oma`o. I believe at Kaumuali`i Highway and Oma`o Road would be a great spot to put a mainline bus stop. The road is developed on both sides. On the eastbound side of the highway is a passing lane, so there is more than enough room and a shoulder for a bus stop on that side of the road. On the westbound side of the road, our Church has put in an acceleration lane there, so that is also developed and has a shoulder and room for a bus stop. I understand you would probably have to put in a crosswalk and maybe even slow the speed limit down a little bit right there to safely put a bus stop in. But for Kaua`i Bible Church, we have been serving the west side for the last nine (9) years serving the homeless and low-income families, and none of those families can come to church because there is no bus service to the community our Church is in. The nearest bus stop is at the Lawa`i Post Office and that three-quarters of the mile from the Lawa`i Post Office to the church, I would not ask anyone to walk down the highway. It is just not safe. I would love to see that happen, as well as that property there that Kaua`i Bible Church owns, our plan in the next few years is to develop that property with a food pantry, a community outreach building, after-school programs for children and youth, and we would love to have bus service to Oma`o for families to be able to access those services as we develop those services. This would also create an opportunity to expand the Koloa shuttle to serve Oma`o Road, which is another road. I drive down it every day and there is nowhere to walk on that road. When there is pedestrian on that road, I go way to the other side of the road to make sure that I do not hit them. That is not a safe street to be walking on and I see people walking on it every day. I would love it see bus service serving all the way down Oma`o Road and again, I am really advocating for that bus PUBLIC HEARING 5 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 stop right there at Kaumuali`i Highway and Oma`o Road. Thank you very much for letting me share. Councilmember Yukimura: May I just say something? Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Pastor? Mr. Chidester: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: I just want to acknowledge you and your Church for the help you gave to the Anahola flood area. Mr. Chidester: Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you very much. Mr. Chidester: Absolutely. SALLY JO MANEA: Aloha. My name is Sally Jo Manea and I am from Kapa`a. I support increased funding for the Kaua`i Transportation Agency. I must say that I was disappointed that the Transportation Agency has been allocated less than one percent (1%) of the potential revenue from the increased excise tax. It is my understanding from Councilmember Yukimura, that one hundred sixty-five thousand dollars ($165,000) is the item that has been allocated in this budget. Over the last couple of years, I carefully constructed a short-range transit plan that has been compended. There are very specific goals set out in this plan, the first of which is later weekend service, the second is hourly weekend service, and then third, less out of service time for later weekday service, et cetera. There are also paratransit goals, goals related to fares, and goals related to shuttle services. The public often complains that these plans are paid for by taxpayers' money, and they are beautiful, but go on the shelf and are not funded and implemented. It takes courage and boldness to fund a plan like this. It is great. It is time for the Mayor and the Council to have the courage to better fund this plan. You have heard the desires of the public, read it in the paper, and hear about it all the time. Less than one percent (1%) of the projected revenue of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) is not bold and courageous. Every person riding the bus is not driving a car, so this is one of the solutions to the traffic problem that everyone is talking about. That is what I wanted to say. Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura: Committee Chair Kaneshiro. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: I just want to clarify for Jo and others, and I apologize if I had not been clear, but the less than one percent (1%) or the one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) was the only amount used for improving bus PUBLIC HEARING 6 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 services. There is some money that is displacing General Fund money, three million dollars ($3,000,000), that is being used, but it is not an improvement. It is just keeping the bus going. Ms. Manea: Right, operations. Councilmember Yukimura: Right. Ms. Manea: The millions that it takes to pay the mechanics, keep the buses running, and get new buses when the old ones have millions of miles on them. Councilmember Yukimura: That is right. Ms. Manea: That is operational. Councilmember Yukimura: It is status quo. Ms. Manea: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: So there is no money for improvements. Ms. Manea: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Except the one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000). Ms. Manea: It takes courage, boldness, and money to implement plans like this. Please, this is our County Transportation Agency. They do a fabulous job with what they have. Give them the opportunity to do better. Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Andy Kass, followed by Goran Rad. ANDY KASS: Aloha Members of the Council. My name is Andy Kass. I am from Kapa`a. I am also here in support of the budget item for electric vehicle chargers at the West Kaua`i Technology Center in Waimea. I am an electric vehicle driver. We are a small family of three (3). We have two (2) electric cars, no gasoline cars. Like Ruta said, we can get all over the island except up into Koke`e, so it is a little bit limiting. What is the benefit of electric vehicles? I think for people, they are cheaper to operate, and less maintenance than gasoline cars. Looking at the big-picture, they help the County reach State renewable transportation goals and we are less dependable as an island on fossil fuels. We generate a lot of solar energy here. I have solar panels on my own roof. I can just charge up. If you do not have those, Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) generates a lot of solar electricity during the day, so you can just plug in and you are running on solar power. The problem with the electric cars is the new ones that have the big range or the fancy PUBLIC HEARING 7 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 Tesla models are expensive, but there are older used cars that are very affordable from five thousand dollars ($5,000) to ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Anyone could probably get an electric vehicle, but those are again, the older, limited range cars. So, that is where people need help getting around and that is where, I think, the County can step in and help build up the infrastructure. It is a "chicken or the egg" problem. If there are no chargers and you are really worried about range with your older car, you are not going to go somewhere and you are not going to buy one. If there is infrastructure around, people can get the cars, use them more, and then we are on our way to more electric transportation and more sustainability. I think it is a win-win all around to develop the charger network. Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Goran Rad, followed by Alice Parker. GORAN RAD: Alright. Members of the Council, hi. I am Goran. I have lived on Kaua`i now for sixteen (16) years. I am super proud to be a member of the community here. I work for Haleakala Solar. One of the most incredible things about Kaua`i is that we generate a lot of our own power here, meaning that KIUC has been investing a lot of infrastructure and money into developing solar farms and sourcing our electricity from the sun. It is a sustainable fuel. Well, I am also an electric vehicle owner and one of the things about owning an electric car is that you are using a fuel that has been sourced right here on Kauai. It has not been imported. We are not sending our dollars to Saudi Arabia. We are actually supporting Kaua`i by driving an electric car. It is one of the coolest things. If you can think about it, if you drive all of those miles every month to work, play, Koke`e, and everywhere, you are driving with the sun that has been sourced right here on Kaua`i. It is awesome. Using some of the budget to put a charging station on the west side is such an important first step, because first of all, where are we going in 2045? We are going to try to get the island fully sustainable, right? We are heading in that direction. Well, let us put our money with our mouth is, right? Put our infrastructure and budget to work. It is a small but important first step. A lot of places on the west side do not have charging. People can buy an affordable electric car. Sometimes you can get a Nissan Leaf for less than seven thousand dollars ($7,000), they are reliable, they do not require a lot of maintenance, and you can drive all around the island. But if there is a way for people to affordably drive on the island and be independent with an electric car, let us get that charging station on the west side. It is a really cool thing to be able to use locally sourced fuel right here on Kaua`i, solar power. Alright, thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Alice Parker, followed by Jacquelyn Winzer-Ramos. ALICE PARKER: Alice Parker for the record. Electric buses. A lot of us cannot even afford an old car, much less an electric car. Electric buses would be divine. Let me read my testimony, if I may. Also, thank you, Councilmember Yukimura, for alerting me about this meeting because there was nothing in the newspaper. I am in the dark ages with computer. I do not use them, so I would not have none known about it if I was not at the Older Americans deal. Dear County Council, one, bus. We desperately need later buses available on weekends for: a) PUBLIC HEARING 8 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 workers to come back home, and b) to attend community, social events, lectures, concerts, religious and/or cultural occasions, et cetera. Two, bus. More stop on Rice Street (see attached sheet) at the crosswalk to Lihu`e Court Townhomes, Kalapaki, and Rice Camp Senior Housing. It is too far for them to walk down to Midpac Auto Center or up to Midas. At `Eiwa Street when#70 is incoming from Kukui Grove, have the bus stop there to facilitate easy transfers to the other routes, otherwise, you have to stay on the bus and go to Lihu`e Gardens Elderly. I am always glad to see people pass by. Okay three, Pahee Street bus stop. I have been fighting for that for fourteen (14) years, for veterans to ably get to the Veterans Affairs (VA) center, patients to Urgent Care, lessening drivers and paying drivers to the clinic, Dynasty Court, social security services, and medical practitioners. I am still waiting it to hear about that. I keep hearing, "It is in progress," but I think it has a gray beard by now. Four, bus stop near Lydgate Beach Park, which I detailed to the Council some years ago. I showed how you could get in and out, and I would love to go to Lydgate. There is no way am I dealing with that. Bus service for Puhi. Now, a paratransit bus driver pointed out to me that there is no bus service there, and they could certainly use it. We were heading from Lihu`e to Hanapepe for Obon festivities. Many families and elderly would be well-served. My neighbor wants to remain unanimous, but she is very active socially. She said, "more bus stops between Rice Shopping Center and Ace Hardware and need more bus shelters at Rice Shopping Center, Ace Hardware, to Kukui Grove. At Kuhio Motors to Lihu`e and Midas to Lihu`e, there is no place to sit or when it is raining, there is no shelter." I have her announcement anonymously, but my neighbor at Lihu`e Gardens Elderly. Thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. I do want to state that the meeting was posted on March 29th, so we did follow proper protocol. Ms. Parker: Did you? Great. (Councilmember Kawakami was noted as not present.) Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Jacquelyn Winzer-Ramos, followed by Eileen Kechloian. JACQUELYN WINZER-RAMOS: Jacquelyn Winzer-Ramos, for the record. I am just here to say that I would love to see extended bus service on Saturday and Sunday because I do not drive anymore, I do not have a car anymore, and I depend on bus service, people, or friends who drive, but most of them have stopped driving these days as soon as it starts to get dark. We are all getting older and I have to schedule weekends, Saturdays and Sundays, very closely, so that I am not stuck somewhere trying to walk home because I live right on Rice Street in Lihu`e. I do like the bus service. It takes me many places during the week, but I would like to see the extended service on Saturday and Sunday, especially during bon season because I take the bus to the bon dances and I have to leave early because the bus does not go after about the mid-time of our bon dance services. I would like to thank Councilmember Yukimura for suggesting we have weekend service a little longer from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Thank you very much. PUBLIC HEARING 9 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Eileen Kechloian, followed by Vera Benedek. EILEEN KECHLOIAN: Hi, my name is Eileen Kechloian. I am from KOloa. I have come to talk a little bit about how we can help with more affordable housing. If the bus service is available to people every day and on holidays, they do not need a car. If they do not need to make car payments, they do not need insurance and they do not need gasoline. All this money can go towards housing for them. What I am actually trying to say is this is a web, and bus service is very intricately involved in affordable housing, food, community, culture, and all of these things, so we do need more buses. Now, I personally was in an extremely bad car accident back in the 1990s and because of it, I was a single mom with children all in school. I was lucky I did not live here at the time because I then became dependent on the bus for my kids to get to school, to get home, and anything that they wanted to do, they needed do it by bus. I had to go to medical appointments. I had many medical appointments and I had to use the bus because I could not drive for three (3) years. There are a lot of disabled and older people on the island and they need the bus service. I want you to step up to bat and fund it for weekends, evenings, and holidays. Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Vera Benedek, followed by Russ Josephson. VERA BENEDEK: Hi. I am Vera Benedek, for the record. I did not make any notes, so I hope I do not ramble too much. When I started my job in Kalaheo, I really wanted to take the bus, but I was living in Kalihiwai. I figured that first of all, it would have been a couple of miles to get to the main highway. I did a lot of research to try to be able to do it. I would have had to take the bus from Kilauea town to the college, then switch at the college, and get to Kalaheo. I figured it would take me, two (2) to two-and-a-half(2.5) hours do that. There was just no way that I could really see myself doing that. At the time, I had a four-wheel drive vehicle because we lived on a property that required that. I started driving that, but it was very expensive, as you might guess, to drive that all that distance. I had to sell that car and we bought a hybrid, but then, I also still needed a four-wheel drive to be able to get to my property, so we had to get a smaller, less expensive four-wheel drive to get there. I am telling you my story because it was very frustrating. On the weekends, I usually pick up the same person because I do not feel very safe picking up people that I do not know, but I know this gentleman who hitchhikes a lot. I see people hitchhiking more than I would like to see, especially younger people. I think if they had buses available, they would take advantage of it on the weekends or any time. Longer hours would be great. I am hoping that if we do this on the weekends, then maybe we could have more riders and you will feel more encouraged to have longer hours at other times. This is an island that could very well—I mean, I think it would be useful for people to have good bus service. The roads are really deteriorating. When I go out to Ke`e, the tourists have no place to park when they go out there. A lot of people want to go out there, but they have to take their cars because there is no bus that goes out there. Anyway, that is pretty much it and I just wanted to encourage you to give the buses a lot of thought. I like the idea of the electric buses. Thank you. PUBLIC HEARING 10 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Russ Josephson, followed by Bridget Hammerquist. RUSS JOSEPHSON: Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Russ Josephson. I live in Kapa`a. I am not even remotely an expert on mass transit kind of issues, but I do remember doing research about this years ago. One of the points that sticks with me, a couple of real basic things about mass transit that always has to be considered; one is accessibility and the other is cost. Under accessibility, I would put thing like routes and frequency of bus service. Subdividing that and going deeper in the routes issue, I would say that we clearly need more routes. I could think of a lot of us who might even have a short commute who would prefer to jump on a bus, but it would be so circuitous and time-consuming that a ten (10) minute drive would turn into an hours' commute. So, more routes, stops, and shelters. People need shelters. We get a lot of rainy blessings here, so for people that are actually going that way and trying to do something environmentally positive by taking the bus, it would be really cool if they would not get drenched all of the time. The cost issue, again, I have not looked into this issue for a long time, but I would be willing to bet that there is probably not a really serious mass transit system in this Country that is not operating at a serious loss. When I did research on this probably thirty (30) or forty (40) years ago, that was something that people were coming to terms with. I think that perhaps, we have all come to terms with that by now. It is the cost of doing business. It is the cost of keeping other vehicles off of the road and improving the environment. I think it is a good investment. Clearly, there are a lot of times that I would prefer to jump on a bus where I could zone out and just go where I have to go, but because of routing, because of having to make multiple stops, or whatever it is, it is not real convenient. The last thing I wanted to say is probably sixteen (16) to twenty (20) years ago, whatever the math is when I first stepped foot on this island in the 1980s, I immediately thought that the buses here theoretically, could have solar panels on the roof. So, the technology may have gotten to the point now where we could actually do that. I would encourage you to explore that type of option and see if we can get the buses off of the fuels and to solar. Thank you. (Councilmember Brun was noted as not present.) Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Bridget Hammerquist, followed by Nadya Penoff. BRIDGET HAMMERQUIST: Good afternoon, good evening. I am getting blinder by the day. I am sorry. This is Bridget Hammerquist and I have asked Eileen to help me. My grandchildren live with me and they have all of their lives. They experienced great difficulties trying to take the bus before and after they could drive. Last week, my granddaughter and I sat down at the computer and put together a petition to just get a sense of how many people on the island really do care about this issue. I presented copies of the petition printout today, but I have asked Eileen to help me since I am limited in my sight, and read the wording of the petition for you. Then, I will go on and comment. About one hundred fifty (150) people signed in a PUBLIC HEARING 11 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 little less than a week, which I think, was significant and most of them are right here, residents on Kaua`i. Go ahead. Ms. Kechloian: "Petition to Increase Bus Service on Kaua`i. We need better bus service on Kaua`i. By my signature below, I request that the Kauai County Council do everything in its power to expand bus service and allocate more than the proposed one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) from the new twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) in revenue for land transportation generated by the General Excise Tax. Riders need bus service to be the same on weekends and holidays as it is now on weekdays. We also need more buses to come more often. Sharing more of the twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) will help workers with weekend jobs increasing their family income. It will also help kupuna, young people, visitors, and many others attend sports activities, experience cultural and artistic events, get to the beach, and much more, reducing traffic congestion. Mahalo." Ms. Hammerquist: So that is what the petition said. As you can see, it made for kind of a long page. When we printed it out, we thought what you needed was mostly the signatures and where they are from, but if you need a copy of this printed, I can leave this as well. There were people that signed from our hospital as well. We stopped by there to see. Many of them said that they absolutely rely on the bus, but they have a hard time working weekends in the support service staff. It is really important. I had grandchildren that had to call home and go, "Grandma, I did not know Admissions Day was a holiday. I am stuck in Kilauea. I was doing math with Maile." I said, "Okay," and then we would have to drive out late in the evening, late afternoon, or early evening and pick them up. This is really critical. There is a lot of need for the bus. It is twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) in this next year, but it will be double that the following year and allocating one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) for improvements to the service is really way too little. Thank you very much for allowing us to participate and comment on this. If you need more on the survey, please feel free to let me know. It was a lot of people in just one (1) week. Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Nadya Penoff, followed by Justin Carvalho. NADYA PENOFF: Good afternoon. How are you all? I am glad to be here. My name is Nadya Penoff. I came to speak about electric vehicle charging stations, but I am going to throw in my"two cents" about bus service on the weekends because I have had friends visit who are younger than twenty-six (26) years old, so they are not able to rent a car and they have nothing to do except to hitchhike or take the bus. I will not let them hitchhike because I think for the girls, it is too dangerous. It is really a problem because on Saturdays and Sundays, bus service is very limited and that is a big problem. What I am talking about is—do any of you have electric vehicles? Okay. Here is how it works for me. I bought a used one, thinking "okay, I am going to do a good thing for the environment." I found out that I save a lot of money because with my old car, I used about thirty dollars ($30) a week on gas, which was one hundred twenty dollars ($120) a month, and with my electric vehicle, I use about sixty dollars ($60) of electricity every month. So, the cost has been cut in half PUBLIC HEARING 12 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 for transportation. It has plenty of power, but it cannot go where I want to go. I cannot go to Koke`e. Like this morning, I had a meeting to go to in Princeville and I went to the one (1) charging station in Princeville and someone else was plugged in there. It takes a couple of hours for the car to charge, at least an hour to get enough for me to get back home to Kapahi. I had to go home, risking that I had this nervousness that I could run out or if it was at night, I probably would run out because I would be using my lights and if it was raining, I would be using my windshield wipers. Even though it says that you have eighty-five (85) miles, there are all these other things that suck up your electricity. We need more than one (1) in the Princeville area. Then on the west side, I can go to Waimea, but I cannot get home and that is distressing. Actually, one (1) night, I had to sleep in my car because I could not get home. I just got in the car and did not realize that the miles meant exact—I thought it meant exactly miles. It does not mean exactly miles. It means your capability if you are going on level ground and not using your air conditioning, lights, or windshield wipers. I still love my electric car, but I would really love to go to Koke`e. Thank you. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Justin Carvalho. JUSTIN CARVALHO: Aloha. My name is Justin Carvalho. I am from Lihu`e. I am an electric car driver and I also own and operate an electric vehicle rental company on the island of Kaua`i, which I believe is one of the first in the State. At the end of the next month, we will be in business for about a year now and it is very popular for the island. People love Kaua`i. They love the nature, all of the wonderful things that we have to offer, and want to help to continue to preserve it. One way to do that is to continue to utilize our renewable energy systems that we have on the island. Kaua`i's pushing fifty percent (50%) or more, depending on the day and sun. It is just such a great opportunity that we have available now. Hawai`i spends approximately five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000) every year on oil. Now, if we could take just even a small percentage of that five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000) and shift it, capture that money, and keep it here on Kaua`i, we have a major opportunity happening here. If you have driven an electric vehicle around the island, the charging infrastructure in Lihu`e is about the best it gets on the island; the eastside is okay; the south side is marginal; Princeville is the last stop basically, with one (1) station and you have to fight to get it; and there is nothing on the west side. I am here to support putting in a station on the west side. I am also happy to address the elephant in the room, some people are concerned that EV drivers are out to get a free charge. They are not opposed to paying for it. That is not a problem, but to have something available is the most important thing. Have any of us been around and there is no gas station? That is the same thing and it is a major issue. Thank you for your time. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: There are no further registered speakers. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Okay. Is there anyone that has not spoken yet that would like to speak for the first time? PUBLIC HEARING 13 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 CAROL ANN DAVIS: Hi. Carol Ann Davis. I have already turned in my testimony and I am going to make this really short. I think everyone on this island is aware of the nightmare we have been going through with too much traffic here. The traffic is terrible. I never come to Lihu`e on Friday afternoon. We used to be able to get to Koloa and Po`ipu with no problem, but not anymore. It is almost as bad as Kapa`a. One thing I would like to really talk about is the fact that if we had a better bus system that would serve our island better, I am sure our traffic would improve and more people would ride the bus. I have a vacation rental. I have had so many tourist ask me, "How come you do not have a good bus service? We do not want to rent a car." It would really help to have a better bus system. I live in Po`ipu. To get to Lihu`e, I have to go to Kalaheo. That is ridiculous. If we had a better bus system with more frequent buses and buses in the evening as well as the weekends, I am sure our transportation on this island and our traffic problems would be improved. That is all I wanted to say and that is not what my letter says. Basically, I can say the main thing for having a good bus system is getting rid of some of these nightmare traffic problems that we have on this island. By the way, I grew up in Honolulu where we had buses on the top of Wilhelmina Rise, Maunalani Circle, where I drew up, every fifteen (15) minutes and I rode the bus. Anyhow, transportation, traffic, and bus. Thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else wishing to speak for the first time? WENDY MCINTOSH: My name is Wendy McIntosh. I was a bit late because I was working, but I love The Kaua`i Bus. I think they are just wonderful. I highly commend The Kaua`i Bus service. I almost feel tearful because I am so grateful. I ditto everything everyone has said about the need for more buses. I do have a car. I am working and I do volunteer work. I am totally dependent on my bicycle and the bus. I totally ditto that we need regular bus service on weekends. We need to go later on weekends. Oh my gosh, the last bus at 4:00 p.m. It is such a panic. There are so many personal stories. There must be thousands and thousands of personal stories of people needing the bus service. I also agree about our severe traffic problems and this huge elephant in the room that there is so much—I think this is a huge issue that you are all aware of. There is so much building and development going on and the roads just cannot sustain it. The traffic is—what can I say? We are all aware. We just cannot sustain the population growth until we have a system with buses and roads. I cannot see the solution because of the nature of the island. I do not know what the answer is there, but that is a big one. I think if we promote The Kaua`i Bus, really encourage it, and make it really good and regular, people with cars will leave them at home and use the bus. I think increase the bus radically, put millions of dollars in, and also promote the bus so people who do have cars can leave them at home. I will take the bus. I will save the environment. Make it a sense of civic contribution to the environment and society. In a sense, I am really nervous on a very personal level. I do not know what to do, but I ride my bicycle and I am totally dependent on being able to put my bike on the bus because I take it to the north shore, PUBLIC HEARING 14 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 to Lihu`e, and then I commute all over the place. I am handicapped, so I cannot pull the little pulley. I am very nervous about promoting this wonderful service of the bicycle racks. I do not know what the answer is, because I want more people to use the bus, but I am saying please, not too many bicycles because there are so many times when—not so many times, but all the cycle riders get there and will the bike rack be full? It is a real problem. I do not know how to address that because I want to encourage people to ride the bus, but I want to keep it quiet that there is this wonderful facility of a bike rack. I do not know how to balance that on a personal note. Really, we need to support our Kaua`i bus for the sake that they are doing such a good job with the resources that they have. They deserve and the people of Kaua`i deserve to have a great bus service. That is my little statement. Councilmember Yukimura: Committee Chair Kaneshiro, can I just explain that the way to address the bus rack problem is to have more frequent buses so then you have more racks. Ms. Davis: Yes, it certainly would. Then if you miss it, in half-an-hour, you get another chance. Councilmember Yukimura: Right. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Anyone else for the first time? Going once, twice. Does anyone want to speak for a second time? You are up, Alice. Ms. Parker: Alice Parker, for the record. You know I am too winded. I wanted to say that park-and-ride really works well at Kapa`a. I had a problem at `Eiwa Street here and I talked to the Office of the Mayor, Alden Alayvilla, because I have a handicap card. He said that I could park in the employee section showing that card and I gave him my license plate number. It is tricky because I have a couple of friends like Stephanie Fraiser, who comes from Puhi and it is hard for her to find a spot. The other thing is that—oh, Rice Street in the middle at that crosswalk there in the middle, it would be great to have a stop there. Jacquelyn lives at Lihu`e Townhouse and if we stay out at Kukui Grove say on a Friday night dancing to the band, she then has to walk home from Midas up to her place. It is dark and kind of uncomfortable. As I said in my note and before, Rice Camp seniors could use that and stay at Kukui Grove and dance with us. Okay. Thank you. Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Anyone else for a second time? Okay. Ms. Benedek: Vera Benedek. I had two (2) thoughts that I forgot to mention, one is that I think it would add to the safety because we are all tied to our phones and I see people on their phones all the time texting. I think people would really—if we sold it as an opportunity to use your phone, listen to music, read a book, and maybe even mediate on the bus—who has time for that anymore? It is just another thought about how to promote it. PUBLIC HEARING 15 MAY 9, 2018 BILL NO. 2698 AND BILL NO. 2699 Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Anyone else for a second time? Seeing none, the public hearing for Bill No. 2698 and Bill No. 2699 is now adjourned. There being no further testimony, the public hearing adjourned at 5:56 p.m. Respectfully submitted, JADI FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA Cou ' Jerk :aa