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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/09/2019 Council minutes COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 9, 2019 The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 8:35 a.m., after which the following Members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Arthur Brun Honorable Mason K. Chock Honorable Felicia Cowden Honorable Luke A. Evslin Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable KipuKai Kuali`i Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the agenda, as circulated, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the public wishing to testify on this? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Seeing none, members, is there any discussion? The motion for approval of the agenda, as circulated, was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Clerk, next item, please. MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council: August 28, 2019 Council Meeting September 11, 2019 Council Meeting Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve the Minutes as circulated, seconded by Councilmember Chock. COUNCIL MEETING 2 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on the Minutes? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Seeing none, is there any discussion from the members? The motion to approve the Minutes, as circulated, was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Clerk, please read the next item. CONSENT CALENDAR: C 2019-218 Communication (09/23/2019) from the Hawai`i State Association of Counties (HSAC) President, transmitting for Council consideration, the nomination of Mason K. Chock, Kaua`i County Council, to the Western Interstate Region (WIR) Board for Fiscal Year 2019-2020, pursuant to the Bylaws of the Hawai`i State Association of Counties, Inc: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2019-218 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Chock. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on the Consent Calendar? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any discussion from the members on the Consent Calendar? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I just wanted to say how much I appreciate Councilmember Mason Chock for being our representative on the WIR Board of Directors. It makes a big difference when we work with the other Counties across the western United States and I just wanted to acknowledge the leadership and thank Councilmember Chock. Council Chair Kaneshiro: We have the resolution at the end of the agenda; this was just the communication for the Consent Calendar. The motion to receive C 2019-218 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. COUNCIL MEETING 3 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. For Communications, let us take the Fire item first. I believe they only have one (1) item. COMMUNICATIONS: There being no objections, C 2019-225 was taken out of order. C 2019-225 Communication (09/26/2019) from the Deputy Fire Chief, requesting Council approval to accept a donation from the Kaua`i Lifeguard Association (KLA) of two (2) 2020 Honda All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), valued at $16,205.22, which will be utilized by the Ocean Safety Bureau at the Kealia and Pinetrees Towers: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2019-225 with thank-you letter to follow, seconded by Councilmember Chock. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions on this donation? Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I just wanted to thank KLA and the participation of our Ocean Safety Bureau team for helping with that. I appreciate the strength that this brings to keeping our waters safe. I am curious, since you are right here Kilipaki, is the sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000) a piece or is that together? KILIPAKI K. F. VAUGHAN, Deputy Fire Chief: Thank you. Kilipaki Vaughan, Deputy Fire Chief, for the record. It is together. We are very thankful for this opportunity to acknowledge KLA and their efforts. Thank you to the Council for accepting this donation to empower us on the beach and in our operations as well. Councilmember Cowden: Where are these going to be located? Mr. Vaughan: We have asked for your approval to accept the donation so that these will benefit the lifeguard operations at the Kealia Tower and the Pinetrees Tower. Councilmember Cowden: Oh,yes. I am sorry,it says it right there. Thank you very much. Mr. Vaughan: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions? Councilmember Kagawa. COUNCIL MEETING 4 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Kagawa: Will we be able to catch a shark on that? No. Mr. Vaughan: The beach is open today. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? If not, thank you. The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion from the members? The motion to approve C 2019-225 with thank-you letter to follow was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Let us go back to C 2019-219. C 2019-219 Communication (09/11/2019) from the Executive on Transportation, requesting Council approval to purchase unbudgeted equipment of four (4) wheelchair lift-equipped passenger buses at a cost of $640,000.00 (80% Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) grant / 20% County matching funds), utilizing an FTA Grant allocation that was not available during the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget process: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2019-219, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kane shiro: Are there any questions on this item? Councilmember Cowden. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Councilmember Cowden: Thank you so much. Just to be clear on the six hundred forty thousand dollars ($640,000) for the four (4) buses—does that collectively cost that much? JEREMY "KALAWAI`A" LEE, Assistant Executive on Transportation: Good morning, for the record, Kalawai`a Lee from The Kaua`i Bus. That is correct. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Is the eighty percent (80%) from a federal grant? Mr. Lee: Yes, that is correct. From the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA). Councilmember Cowden: Twenty percent (20%) of that is County-matching funds and so can you just explain for a moment of why it was not allocated on the budget process? There is an administrative reason, correct? COUNCIL MEETING 5 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Mr. Lee: To get to the point of your question, which is why did we not have those buses allocated during the budgetary process is because the federal grant was not available to us at the time. We basically went with the funding mechanisms that we had at that point, which were the eight (8) vehicles. Councilmember Cowden: Okay, this is great. Are these replacing some existing paratransit buses or are these regular buses? Mr. Lee: This is going to be for our fixed-route fleet and it is all replacement vehicles; none is adding to our fleet. Councilmember Cowden: Okay, I bet that is great. Thank you so much for working on that grant. It really is helpful and I would like to acknowledge when this money is spent, that the different departments work hard to source funding, so I appreciate your grant writer and the efforts that is there. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmembers Kuali`i, Evslin, and then Chock. Councilmember Kuali`i: I have a quick question on the budget. In the supporting document, it states, "This request does not require any additional County funding," but you did say that it was not in the budget originally, you got the grant, it does say "eighty percent (80%) federal and twenty percent (20%) county matching funds. Is the one hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars ($128,000) per vehicle is federal and thirty-two thousand dollars ($32,000) per vehicle is county, and so four times that is one hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars ($128,000). You have that in your budget somewhere. Where do you have it? Mr. Lee: Thank you for the question. The money is coming out of the Highway Fund. It was the allocation that we were getting for our regular fleet replacement for the year, which is about twelve (12) to fifteen (15) vehicles of what we had in the budget to match with federal dollars. That allocation would only allow for eight (8) vehicles for the year. Councilmember Kuali`i: Okay. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin. Councilmember Evslin: I had that same question. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Chock. COUNCIL MEETING 6 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Chock: These are replacements, but what have we been doing with our buses that term out? Are we keeping them or are we auctioning them off, and if so, where are they ending up? Mr. Lee: Thank you for the question. We regularly keep our vehicles well beyond the useful life. The federal standard is at one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) miles per vehicle. We regularly keep them to about two hundred fifty (250,000) miles per vehicles to three hundred thousand (300,000) miles just because of the shortfall that we have when it comes to capital replacement. We are mandated to have to put the vehicles out to auction. We also work with different governmental partners that might need those vehicles and we can do direct transfers to them as an asset from the County to those entities. We try to utilize the vehicles after our useful life has ended in the best way to support the County. If that is at the point of auction, then that is where the County can recoup the best cost for the vehicle. Councilmember Chock: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there further questions? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: We have eight (8) more buses that are in line to be replaced this year, is that correct? Mr. Lee: With our request today, Councilmember, we are asking for a total of twelve (12) vehicles to be replaced. Our budget allowed for eight (8). We are here for the additional four (4) vehicles to be allocated for us to purchase this year. Councilmember Cowden: Okay, so those will happen later on...those other ones? Mr. Lee: It is pending Council's approval today to put that out to bid. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you so much. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there further questions?If not, thank you. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion from the members? COUNCIL MEETING 7 OCTOBER 9, 2019 The motion to approve C 2019-219 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item, please. C 2019-220 Communication (09/11/2019) from the Director of Parks & Recreation, requesting Council approval to reprioritize unexpended funds in the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Operating Budget Account No. 503-3051-661.89-05 (Leased) of $50,800.00, for the purchase of an unbudgeted tractor via lease financing, to replace the Department's 2008 Massey-Ferguson Model 1560 Tractor: Councilmember Brun moved to approve C 2019-220, seconded by Councilmember Kuali`i. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions? Councilmember Kagawa. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you for being here. What are we going to do with that tractor? WALLACE G. REZENTES, JR., Deputy Director of Parks & Recreation: Once we receive the replacement, we would turn it in to the Purchasing Division for auction. Councilmember Kagawa: What will we do with the current one? Mr. Rezentes: That is the one we would basically turn in to the Purchasing Division for auction. We are requesting a replacement of a tractor that its useful life is pretty much up and we are at the stage of making a decision whether we are going to put significant investment in the tractor and overhaul it or request an additional tractor. Our request today is to replace an older tractor. We budgeted for a number of replacement pieces of equipment within the Golf Fund and we have determined that we have enough money in the Leased account to cover this additional piece of equipment under the lease program. We have fifty thousand eight hundred dollars ($50,800) allocated for our first year lease program and based on our numbers that we are getting from our estimates as far as replacement costs for the equipment, we were able to stay within that budget and add this replacement tractor piece. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I have -a follow-up question. What does the tractor do? I know it is at the golf course, but what is its job? Does it move dirt around? Mr. Rezentes: It is multi-purposed, yes. It could help move dirt, help clearing different locations, help with clearing shrubbery. In operation, we want to have two (2) at the same time going. We have one (1)that is on the replacement under the current program and this will be the second one. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you. COUNCIL MEETING 8 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Since we are talking about the golf course, I just wanted to know if you heard about the ducks dying. Someone told me and I saw the person on the 14th hole. He has two (2) dogs. I think he is probably the person who is killing the ducks; a homeless man. Caucasian and tattoos on his back. He has two (2) dogs. I heard the dogs barking where the ducks are, so I think that is your duck killer. It is not someone who is poisoning the ducks. The dogs are not on a leash either, so he is not a golfer. I know I am off task, but since it had publicity, which was blaming our County workers for poisoning the ducks. That was in The Garden Island and it is inaccurate publicity. I just want to clear the record that sometimes they are way off when reporting those types of things and blaming our workers, but I am pretty sure that is the homeless man who is there every day walking on the course with his two (2) dogs. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: I was just trying to understand that this is current year's moneys in the line item leased. Mr. Rezentes: Correct. Councilmember Kuali`i: You are coming to us not for the money, but to...it is unbudgeted that you would purchase this equipment. Mr. Rezentes: Exactly. Councilmember Kuali`i: I was trying to understand your equipment replacement chart on the second page of your documentation. Is this schedule saying that these are all of the equipment that you are trying to replace in this Fiscal Year (FY)? Mr. Rezentes: Correct, so basically everything on this list is what we were planning to acquire as part of our lease purchase with the addition of that 2008 Massey-Ferguson Model 1560 Tractor, so that would be the addition that we are requesting Council approval for today. Because we did not ask for that specific piece of equipment to be replaced, we need to come to Council and get that approved. Councilmember Kuali`i: You are showing us an updated list where the 2008 Massey-Ferguson Model 1560 Tractor was added. Mr. Rezentes: Correct. Councilmember Kuali`i: But it is still within the total line-item budget. Mr. Rezentes: Correct. COUNCIL MEETING 9 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Kuali`i: You are showing two hundred thirty-one thousand dollars ($231,000) here, but in that line-item, you have more than that? Mr. Rezentes: The two hundred thirty-one thousand dollars ($231,000) is the estimated price of the equipment. The fifty thousand four hundred twenty-eight dollars ($50,428) is what we were estimating as the annual lease payment costs, assuming a five-year lease and a three and a half percent (3.5%) interest. We think we will get lower than a three and a half percent (3.5%) interest, but it is just a budgetary number, so we believe we are comfortable that we have enough funds allocated in the first year lease program. Councilmember Kuali`i: The replacement of the other equipment listed on this chart is ongoing or will it be happening in the FY, correct? Mr. Rezentes: Yes. Councilmember Kuali`i: This is only coming before us because you are adding that one in? Mr. Rezentes: Correct. Councilmember Kuali`i: Okay. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there further questions from the members? If not, thank you. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion from the members? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: The golf course is one (1) area for Department of Parks & Recreation Director Porter and Deputy Director Rezentes and it is in fabulous condition. I am a regular golfer. I do not normally wear this hat when I am golfing,but the golf course is in fabulous shape. They have gone through some personnel things down there, but regardless when visitors come, they just rave about the Wailua Golf Course and about how lucky we are. We have a proposal coming up in July that may increase some of the fees that have not been increased for ten (10)years or so, and they are getting everyone involved; Kaua`i Golf Association (KGA) and others who are going to be supportive of some of the rate increases. I received a lot of complaints already from the local golfers who heard about the proposals. They say that, "We are the only sport that pays. People who play tennis do not pay. Why only golfers pay? Why do we need to pay more?" If we compare Kaua`i to Honolulu, Kaua`i is very cheap. Compared to Maui, Kaua`i is cheap. We have a better course, but it is both ways. We have a lot of people on fixed-income, retired veterans, disabled veterans that continue to play golf even though they are disabled after serving our Country. As we raise the rates, we need to think about them. The Council has the last say and at the end of the day we can even adjust the rates as we see fit, based on what they come up with. Wally and Pat are doing a good job and I am glad that the golf course is in fabulous shape, it has not gone down. I want to thank them for that. The tractor is needed. There are a COUNCIL MEETING 10 OCTOBER 9, 2019 lot of wild pigs doing damage there at the course and I would like to see us eradicate the chickens, too, in the future, because there are a lot of chicken holes. When the ball goes into the chicken holes, it is like a two-stroke penalty. When you are really not out of bounds or anything,but if you rake the chicken holes now, there are so many chickens that the holes will just reappear. There is something to be done there with the chickens and cats. The Kaua`i Humane Society takes one hundred (100) to neuter and then they bring them back to the course. That is not a cat sanctuary. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: Just on your last point, the Kaua`i Humane Society kills all the feral cats, so they do not return any of them—I just went and had a tour of that. On the golf course, I also want to say that it is really beautifully done. I am not a golfer, but have gone a few times with people who have asked me to go. What a beautiful place, what a beautiful opportunity, and for the non-golfers, it has a dual function. It is not just a place for people to golf, it helps us manage our treated water. It is not just an elite sport that is allowed to be there with the cost of everyone, it has a very real function and it is beautiful that people have the opportunity to be able to golf on it. It is quite nice and so I just wanted to thank the Parks team and the people who work there for doing a good job. The food is also great. It is a nice feature that we offer. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone else? The motion to approve C 2019-220 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item, please. C 2019-221 Communication (09/12/2019) from Roy Asher, Assistant Chief of Police, Administrative & Technical Bureau, requesting Council approval to accept and expend Federal funds, in the amount of$8,255.00, from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant funding program, for replacement of bulletproof vests to ensure officer safety. The grant program has a local match of fifty percent (50%) from the Kaua`i Police Department (Account No. 001-1003-551-65-00, Collective Bargaining) for the acquisition of the bulletproof(protective) vests and related accessories to be utilized by the officers of the Kaua`i Police Department: Councilmember Chock moved to approve C 2019-221, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions? Councilmember Cowden. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Councilmember Cowden: If I am reading the statements correctly that half the money...thank you so much for whomever is your grant writer to be getting half the money for the bulletproof vests and if I understood what I am reading correctly, is it on a five-year rotation? I am really asking to make sure that we keep our officers safe with good quality equipment, that is the core reason for my ask and when I look at this, that is my understanding; that it rotates every five (5) years everyone gets a new vest. Am I reading that right? COUNCIL MEETING 11 OCTOBER 9, 2019 ROY A. ASHER, Assistant Chief of Police, Administrative & Technical Bureau: Roy Asher, Assistant Chief, for the record. Yes, this buys us twenty-five (25) vests a year. The life expectancy for a vest is five (5) years, so we rotate it. You are correct, every five (5) years the officers have to be outfitted with a new vest. Councilmember Cowden: I am curious if those vests ever do have an impact, do they get a fresh vest? (Councilmember Kagawa was noted as not present.) Mr. Asher: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. It is important to me that the quality of the vests are good and everyone is safe. Therefore, eight thousand dollars ($8,000) is a really nominal amount for us to be matching into that as our match. Mr. Asher: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the members? If not, thank you. While the rules are still suspended, is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? Seeing none. There being no one present to testify, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion from the members? The motion to approve C 2019-221 was then put, and unanimously carried (Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai, Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an affirmative for the motion). C 2019-222 Communication (09/12/2019) from Mark Begley, Assistant Chief of Police, Patrol Services Bureau, requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, and expend Federal funds, in the amount of $511,913.00, from the recurring National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA)grant to be used towards the following traffic-related functions: data traffic records, distracted driver, occupant protection, road block, speed, youth deterrence, traffic services, purchase of equipment, supplies, training, travel expenses, media expenses, et cetera: Councilmember Brun moved to approve C 2019-222, seconded by Councilmember Kuali`i. (Councilmember Kagawa was noted as present.) Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions from the members? Councilmember Cowden. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. COUNCIL MEETING 12 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Cowden: Thank you again for getting outside funding, helping all the taxpayers on the island. This five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). I appreciate what you have written here,but I also like for the people who watch...there are many people who do pay attention for them to get a little bit better explanation. Does most of this go to overtime costs? VERNON J. SCRIBNER, Sergeant, Traffic Safety Section: Vernon J. Scribner, Sergeant, Kaua`i Police Department Traffic Unit. Most of it is for overtime, yes, but some of it is for equipment and some is also to attend meetings and trainings. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. This is largely going to cover the costs of keeping our specialized force. Mr. Scribner: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: I want to acknowledge and respect that and to share that so that in future conversations when we are talking about the cost of our department, that KPD has done a good job in finding the funding to help reach those extra needs. I really appreciate the traffic department. By having that, it really frees up a lot of our patrol officers to just be able to function on what they are doing, so thank you so much. Mr. Scribner: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions? Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: Being that this is a grant that you are applying for, if you were awarded the grant, when would you get it and for what period would it cover for you to spend it? Mr. Scribner: The grants are for the Federal FY, which began October 1st and ends September 30, 2020. Councilmember Kuali`i: So, you should be hearing shortly if you got it or not? Mr. Scribner: Yes. Councilmember Kuali`i: Okay. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: Have you received this before? Mr. Scribner: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: Is this a recurring one? COUNCIL MEETING 13 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Mr. Scribner: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: So it is very likely that we will get it. Mr. Scribner: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: That is what my understanding was, so this is perpetuating a practice that is already in place. Mr. Scribner: Yes. The first few grants started back in 1986. Councilmember Cowden: Yes, so thank you so much. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the members? If not, thank you. While the rules are still suspended, is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion? The motion to approve C 2019-222 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item. C 2019-223 Communication (09/19/2019) from Roy Asher, Assistant Chief of Police, Administrative & Technical Bureau, requesting Council approval to accept and expend State funds, in the amount of$10,000.00, from the State of Hawai`i, Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, as reimbursement for the enforcement of Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Section 709-908 prohibiting tobacco sales to minors via Memorandum of Agreement 2019-PB-002 effective September 3, 2019 through August 30, 2020: Councilmember Kagawa moved to approve C 2019-223, seconded by Councilmember Kuali`i. Council Chair Kaneshiro: I will suspend the rules. Councilmember Chock. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Councilmember Chock: I wanted to get a little more clarity on the program, because I understand you folks do these operations. I wanted to see the scope, because I know this vaping thing is an issue, just saw it in the news; Governor Ige and the Health Department has announced it is a hazard. Does this apply? I am curious as to the extent of what this program covers. MARK T. OZAKI, Captain, Administrative & Technical Bureau: Good morning, Chair Kaneshiro, Vice Chair Kagawa, and Honorable Councilmembers. For the record, Mark Ozaki, Captain of the Administrative & Technical Bureau. This is a recurring grant that has been going on for probably at least fifteen (15)years. It started off with cigars and cigarettes, but it now has an element of vaping, which is a very serious issue nationwide that we are trying to address. Yes, it does have a vaping element, too. COUNCIL MEETING 14 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Chock: I recall reading the statistics for underage vaping...they are all into vaping—is that what we are seeing in our schools as well? Mr. Ozaki: It has increased tremendously. Before the schools would be looking for people smoking cigarettes behind the gym or cafeteria, hiding out by their car, and now unfortunately you see a big puff of vape coming out of cars while they are driving to schools. It is unbelievable. Yes, it is the primary issue now. Councilmember Chock: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: Is this funding in addition to what funds the "808NoVape" effort or is this basically the same dollars that go into that program through the Department of Health? Mr. Ozaki: I do not know. I cannot answer that question. I just know that this is something that has been going on for quite a few years now and it really is for overtime expenses for officers doing projects. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. I appreciate that. I just want to share what I had heard recently at this cannabis convention is that for the first time ever with vaping, we are starting to see deaths related to smoking cannabis, because sometimes it is mixed with something like a Vitamin E. Just the mechanism of the vaping is creating the lung damage. So what has been touted as a non-lethal drug is now hitting some very strong health issues because of the aspect of vaping. I appreciate that and I am probably just taking this moment to share what I have learned, so if people are vaping cannabis, they might think about what goes into making it, too. That is another problem. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any further questions from the members? Councilmember Evslin. Councilmember Evslin: Thank you for coming here today. In the contract here it says that part of it is to do three (3) enforcement operations using plainclothes officers to observe tobacco sale using minor volunteers. Has that been an ongoing thing that you folks do every year? Mr. Asher: Yes, that is correct. This is a minimum of three (3). In the past, we have done sometimes a lot more than three (3). It just depends on how much funding is available and the availability of the people from O`ahu that can come down to Kaua`i. Three (3) is the minimum that they require and sometimes there is leftover money that gets put back into the pot of the grant since it is a recurring grant. Councilmember Evslin: Do you have an estimate on what percentage of those result in a citation to the retailer? COUNCIL MEETING 15 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Mr. Ozaki: I can get for you. After every project, we have an "After-Action Report," which lists every establishment or places we have done visits to and what the outcomes were, whether it is male or female offenders, I can get that to you if you want. We have the statistics going back ten (10) years. We have changed some of the establishments that we have been going to... Councilmember Evslin: Just from your general perspective, are we doing a good job as far as retailers not selling tobacco to minors? Mr. Ozaki: I do not want to say my opinion, but I think a lot of retailers are doing a good job and they are really consciously trying to do the right thing, but there is a handful, just like the alcohol compliance checks that are trying to circumvent the law and work around it. I would say that most of the people are really trying to do their best; they have the right signs up, they train their employees. Unfortunately, it is out there, it is a money-making thing, and the owners of the establishments cannot be there twenty-four hours seven days a week (24-7). People make mistakes and read the identification (ID) wrong, but I think most people are trying to do the right thing. Councilmember Evslin: Sorry to be going down this line,but for my own curiosity, do you do the same type of operations for alcohol sales? Mr. Ozaki: We have done it before, but we have not done it for a little while because the grant disappeared for a little while. Without giving it out too much information, we are probably going to start doing those real soon. Councilmember Evslin: Great, thank you. Mr. Ozaki: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Just to follow up on the random checks, are there some kind of fines? I know there must be something pretty strong because I got carded a couple times, but of course I had some type of hat on, not this hat. Mr. Ozaki: You look so young. Councilmember Kagawa: If I had my white hair showing I probably would not get checked, but I got checked a couple of times. Maybe not in the past year, but a couple years ago. I heard from one employee that said she happened to be caught on one of them and got immediately fired. I know that businesses are doing the right thing, but when employees mess up sometimes it is just human error. Mr. Ozaki: That is true. Councilmember Kagawa: Are there significant fines if they get caught? COUNCIL MEETING 16 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Mr. Ozaki: Tobacco is a five hundred dollar ($500) fine and the difference between tobacco and alcohol is that the tobacco one only the offender, the employee, is the one that gets the citation. Councilmember Kagawa: Okay. Mr. Ozaki: When it is an alcohol violation, the establishment and the employee both get cited and will have to go with the Liquor Investigators; it is a civil aspect, too, for that. Five hundred dollars ($500) is a pretty steep fine. Councilmember Kagawa: They probably would not want to get the first fine, because probably the second find is a lot heavier, right? Mr. Ozaki: I do not know. I believe it is five hundred dollars ($500) per offense. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? While the rules are still suspended, is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion from the members? The motion to approve C 2019-223 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item, please. C 2019-224 Communication(09/20/2019) from Bryson Ponce, Assistant Chief of Police, Investigative Services.Bureau, requesting Council approval to accept on-going Federal fund reimbursements from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, for the Kaua`i Police Department's roles and responsibilities when working through coordinated efforts with local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies via a Memorandum of Agreement: Councilmember Chock moved to approve C 2019-224, seconded by Councilmember Kuali`i. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions? I will suspend the rules. Councilmember Cowden. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Councilmember Cowden: I am hearing that this is a recurring grant or a financial arrangement. Can you give us the basics? How much money moves and what is it for? COUNCIL MEETING 17 OCTOBER 9, 2019 PAUL N.APPLEGATE, Captain, Investigative Services Bureau: For the record, Paul Applegate, Kauai Police Department (KPD), Captain of the Investigative Services Bureau. This MOU will create a mechanism to allow the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to reimburse the Kaua`i Police Department for certain overtime costs and other expenses incurred during joint firearms-related investigations. Currently, per the MOU, the fiscal year reimbursement cap per officers is set at a twenty-five percent (25%) of a GS-12 law enforcement salary for a federal officer. That comes out to eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) a year, per fiscal year. Councilmember Cowden: This is eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000)per officer to help cover the costs of overtime and these are enforcement of laws that have a federal element involved in them. Mr. Applegate: That is correct, under the jurisdiction of ATF. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the members? If not, thank you. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I want to thank KPD. This is a second one where we are trying to get some of the overtime costs reimbursed to the County or funded by the federal government. Currently at my regular job at Waimea High School, I do federal grants and the guidelines for federal moneys is very strict. You have to link it and show that it attaches to specific needs and it is perfect use of KPD in these tough times that our budget is calling for that we are getting on them for their overtime amounts and they are linking it with the federal government, because they have guidelines that they have to meet in order to meet those qualifications. For us, we get the benefit of having a safer Kaua`i by our KPD attacking these problematic areas and we are getting reimbursed and funded by those moneys. I really appreciate KPD's work and looking for outside sources to help them do their jobs for Kaua`i. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I also want to express my gratitude to the effort of finding this extra funding. I want to express my gratitude to how much overtime does get required of our staff and that we need more people. If people want to apply, please go in and apply because we need more officers. It is really a gift of our existing staff that they take the extra time to do the work and I appreciate the effort of the department to find a way to cover those costs. Thank you very much. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin. COUNCIL MEETING 18 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Evslin: Just to reiterate all that—we are looking at one million two hundred thousand dollars ($1,200,000) in federal funds, in total, on this budget between Housing, Transportation, and KPD. I just want to commend these organizations for doing the work and continuing to get outside funding. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? The motion to approve C 2019-224 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item, please. C 2019-226 Communication (09/27/2019) from the Housing Director, requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, and expend Federal funds, in the amount of $144,000.00, and approval to indemnify the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), for the continuation of the two (2) Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency (HCVFSS) Program Coordinator's salaries and fringe benefits: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2019-226, seconded by Councilmember Kagawa. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Can you give us a background on the federal funds that come in? I know it has to do with our Housing programs and housing is such a big issue right now. We constantly get questions about: what is the County doing for housing; how are we helping people get houses; and it is not only about building affordable houses, but it is about the types of programs we offer. I know this money helps with some programs that we offer, so if you can maybe just talk about the program. ADAM P. ROVERSI, Housing Director: Aloha, Council Chair, Adam Roversi, Housing Director. I will give a brief introduction and then Leialoha can answer more detailed questions, if you have any. This is the seventeenth (17th) year that the Housing Agency has applied for it and hopefully we will receive this grant. It funds two (2) positions in our Agency that provide financial self-sufficiency services to the people participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), which is more commonly known as Section 8. The general goal of the program is to help these people in the realm of financial literacy, help them improve their income, build their income while they are receiving the housing choice vouchers. One of the aspects of the program or when someone successfully completes the program during the process that they are in it, as their income hopefully grows, a portion of their HCV voucher goes into an escrow account. If they successfully graduate from the program, they get a lump sum payment from that escrow account based on the money they received. Leialoha and her staff puts out a quarterly newsletter and in one of the recent newsletters, one of the participants who graduated had built up an escrow account of over eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) that she received when she graduated. Those funds can be used for a house down payment, pay off student loans, or anything in someone's life that helps them take a big step forward in their financial situation. Leialoha is much more versed in the details, so if you had any more specific questions, I would ask her to address them. COUNCIL MEETING 19 OCTOBER 9, 2019 LEIALOHA SANCHEZ, Housing Self-Sufficiency Specialist II: Aloha kakahiaka, Leialoha Sanchez, Self-Sufficiency Program Coordinator. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you for being here. Ms. Sanchez: No problem. Council Chair Kaneshiro: As far as the program goes, is there a limited amount of people that can apply for the program and be in the program? Do we have space for more? What types of individuals would be the person who could apply and get into this type of program? Ms. Sanchez: Per the grant requirements, we quoted seventy-five (75) participants from the HCV, so you have to actually apply for the HCV from the waiting list, be pulled, and be in the program to actually enroll in the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program. We take those participants who are already receiving vouchers from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Moving forward we are actually looking to increase that number. Currently we are doing a pool of fifty-four (54)...currently we serve seventy-three (73) participants and seventy-five (75)is our cap under the previous grant requirements. We are pushing that up to include one hundred twenty-five (125), so we are doing a fifty-four (54) pool from our waiting list of one hundred twenty-five (125). We will have about seventy-four (74) families who are still eligible to receive services; however, depending on our program numbers in future years, we can then apply for the increase of staffing. That is our projection. Council Chair Kaneshiro: How long are the classes? Ms. Sanchez: It is a client-driven program. You actually set your goals and the year timespan is five (5)years; you have five (5)years to participate. We may have a participant the first two (2) years, kind of not pushing their self-sufficiency financial literacy goals, however they start to build their income, increase their income, seek employment, seek higher education, we have all different types of services that we can help assist those families with. Eventually, they increase their income therefore increase their escrow savings and earnings, and it accumulate up to...I think the highest payment we have seen in history was thirty-three thousand dollars ($33,000). Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Are there further questions from the members? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: Thank you so much for this program and I appreciate all the people who are watching. I am just going to break it down a little bit more simply—"HCV" means Housing Choice Voucher and "HCVFSS" means Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency. When you are saying "financial literacy," basically you are teaching people how to manage their money? COUNCIL MEETING 20 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Ms. Sanchez: Manage any aspect having to do with money, so it is not just managing your money and savings, it is understanding your credit, building your credit, rebuilding your credit, applying for financial assistance, whether it be for your child to attend a private school, higher education, secondary education, it can be all aspects. Councilmember Cowden: I did not know that. This is more than just "housing,"just being prepared for housing, it is looking at all aspects of your life. Is this open to anyone who wants to come in and figure out how to be able to purchase a home or to be able to find housing to rent? Ms. Sanchez: Anyone who is currently in the HCV Program. Councilmember Cowden: The Housing Choice Voucher Program. Ms. Sanchez: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: So the Housing Choice Voucher Program could be someone who has HUD to pay their rent? Ms. Sanchez: Yes, correct. Councilmember Cowden: So it is not necessary "buy or readiness" training, but it is inclusive of that? Ms. Sanchez: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: The one hundred forty-four thousand dollars ($144,000) is for the continuance of the two (2) HCVFSS Program Coordinator's—so it is two (2) positions to be handling that. Ms. Sanchez: Correct. Councilmember Cowden: Since this is seventeen (17) years, has it been basically a flat grant or does it go up reflecting the necessary cost of living increases for these salaries? Ms. Sanchez: We are actually starting to see an increase this year. This year is the first year that the grant no longer has a cap on it. It has been capped in the previous years. This is the first year that we are seeing it not having a funding limit on our asks. Councilmember Cowden: When I look at this amount, I am super grateful for that one hundred forty-four thousand dollars ($144,000), but when I cut that in half and I add in all the employment benefit costs, those are not actually well-paid jobs. They are okay, but...what I am learning is so many of our County staff typically have to work a second job. They get off work and they go to a second job. Do we supplement this amount? COUNCIL MEETING 21 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Ms. Sanchez: No, we do not. Councilmember Cowden: This is what it is in its completion? Ms. Sanchez: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: Are we able to hold on to those program coordinators? Ms. Sanchez: Hopefully, yes, that is the intention. Councilmember Cowden: We have been able to hold on to them. Ms. Sanchez: Correct. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you. I ask because what I am finding is that across the County we have so many really core important positions dropping out. If clients are in this program for five (5) years, it sounds like it is a very effective program, so I am thankful for it. If they are in there for five (5) years and if the program coordinator's switches three (3) times, that would probably disrupt the effectiveness of it...so we are holding on to those positions? Ms. Sanchez: Yes we are. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. If they are listening, I am thanking them. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: I am just curious because you mentioned the seventy-five (75)cap, but is that cap being raised now because you now say one hundred twenty-five (125) and you are pulling fifty (50) more? Ms. Sanchez: There is a small little loophole in the seventy-five (75) cap. We are talking about seventy-five (75) participants actually showing an increase in income therefore having earned escrow. If we have seventy-five (75) participants within the program, but we only have sixty-five (65) earning escrow, we still only report the sixty-five (65) who are earning the escrow. It is to make up the difference for that. While we are still providing services to the one hundred twenty-five (125)participants, we may only have seventy-five (75) participants earning escrow, but we are still helping families obtain higher employment. Councilmember Kuali`i: Do you how many HUD vouchers are out there? You are saying you get the seventy-five (75) from the population of HUD vouchers, so what is that population and does that change year to year? Is it a fixed-amount? Mr. Roversi: The number of HUD vouchers that are in people's hands on the street is forever fluctuating and I would have to check with staff about the exact number today, but I think we are around seven hundred eighty (780). COUNCIL MEETING 22 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Kuali`i: This program for teaching self-sufficiency and all that is only reaching a small piece of that...so the federal government require us to prove that we are helping more before they come in and fund more, because you talked about another position. Ms. Sanchez: Correct. Councilmember Kuali`i: I just want to put forward that if we can do something around budget time to support you to reach more so then ultimately get the federal government to fund more positions, I am all behind that. Ms. Sanchez: Thank you so much. Mr. Roversi: Could I add one (1) item? Councilmember Cowden mentioned homebuyer education, so just for your information, we have a separate Homebuyer Education Program, which is a different program from this. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I just had a couple more questions because all of this is so important. In the past when I have been an employer and people are on HUD for their rent support, sometimes people have to make sure they do not work more than a certain amount otherwise they will lose their HUD. When we are looking at this financial self-sufficiency, it does allow them to keep making more, so when they are pulling off the percentage, is that where they go over that amount? Ms. Sanchez: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: So if they could only earn two thousand dollars ($2,000) a month, but they earn three thousand dollars ($3,000) a month—I am just grabbing random numbers, that extra thousand dollars ($1,000) goes into that? Is that where the money comes from? Ms. Sanchez: Correct. It would be based on how much their voucher is, so that is the fixed amount. It would be how much they are eligible for and the difference of what they would have to pay towards their rent. That is what goes into the escrow savings. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. I am really happy to hear this. I was unaware of that because sometimes when we have grant compliance issues, I consider a HUD voucher a personal grant that if it puts a threshold that they cannot succeed beyond, that is a real problem. I like hearing that this allows people to climb out of that hole and then when they are out of it, they actually have a little nest egg to move forward with. Ms. Sanchez: Correct. Councilmember Cowden: Great. Thank you for that. COUNCIL MEETING 23 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the members? If not, thank you. I see a testifier on this one. Bruce. BRUCE HART: For the record, Bruce Hart. I am familiar with the Self-Sufficiency Program and it is a good program. I would like to echo some of what Councilmember Cowden has said. The people over at the HUD office work hard and they are really good people; the people that I have come to know. I also think that this is broader. I would like to mention that we are so concerned with housing and I believe that Section 8 Rental Assistance is one of the ways that we can help get people into housing. I am supportive of it. It is legitimate. It has been a program that has been around for a long time and it has proved itself. HUD is also involved in so many other, as you all know,but the public needs to know they are involved in so many other aspects of trying to provide housing. I think it is something that we should always consider and be supportive of, because there are people who are willing to work, they just cannot pay the rent on Kauai. With some assistance, they can provide themselves with other cost of living issues. They can live, they just need a little bit of help. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none. There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion from the members? Councilmember Evslin. Councilmember Evslin: Thank you for coming today and pushing this program. Just a plug for the HCVFSS Program—it has been so successful nationwide, especially when paired with mentorship type services like this. There has just been a recent study showing that families going through programs like this have lifetime earnings of thirty percent (30%) more. One public policy researcher called it the most successful public policy intervention ever, if it is paired with mentorship that is directing them to lower poverty neighborhood. This is national things...I do not think we have that same dynamic here—low poverty and high poverty neighborhoods, but it is just so important for families to get on their feet and really has been proven to change their lives. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: I, too, want to say thank you for the work that you have been doing. I see this program as really important and I know that the HUD vouchers do help a lot of families,but I also know that there are a lot of families waiting. I think if we expand and grow this Self-Sufficiency Program and then build more success stories of people growing their income and becoming homeowners, even going after Habitat or what have you...what opportunities that may be out there, then that releases that voucher, which then can go to someone who is waiting. I think you cannot necessarily count of the federal government to give us more and more vouchers, but if they are willing to help us with this Self-Sufficiency Program, then we should try to expand this as much as possible, so that we are reaching as many of those seven hundred eighty (780)families as possible. Right now at seventy-five (75) or one hundred (100), that is only ten percent (10%). We need to push that and just keep building on the successes that you already have with the families that you are working with and I think that will help our housing a lot, too. Keep up the good work. Thank you very much. COUNCIL MEETING 24 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I will very briefly say that I agree with what the last two (2) Councilmembers have said. My understanding from the past is that some of the challenges for having enough HUD vouchers is that we do not have enough HUD compliant housing available. If we are given one hundred fifty (150) or two hundred (200) HUD vouchers and we can only put seventy percent (70%) of them into housing, but we do not have that. I look forward to working with the Housing Agency. I know that you have received things that I have sent over where I want to be working on projects that create more HUD. I want to send gratitude to our brand new Housing Director Adam Roversi and I look forward to working with you to help create more affordable rental units that are HUD compliant and that is a core element of what creates those housing in the different communities. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: I just want to say thank you. As we are in this housing crisis, our housing costs are only going to go up, so the importance of financial literacy is huge. A lot of times people come to us and say, "What are you going to do for us to get a house," but it also has to be the responsibility of people that want to own a house to really set themselves up to own a house. They need to know what a house is going to cost, what the rent is going to be, and what steps they need to take to actually save up for that. I have heard of examples where people could have gotten into a house, but they do not want to give up a new car payment for a used car, which would make their ratio better. It is like, "Do you want to own a house or do you want to drive a new car." It is instances like that where financial literacy is very important. I cannot stress it enough, so I appreciate the programs that you offer. If people want to own a house, own land, rent, we are really going to have to step up our financial literacy because our cost of living is only going to go up. Learning how to budget, learning how to save our money, learning how to make those little tweaks to get the additional help from HUD or Section 8 are the things that we should use. We should use all the tools we have. I really appreciate all the information you provided and the programs we offer. I would love to see more people take advantage of it, so thank you. The motion to approve C 2019-226 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item. (Councilmember Chock was noted as not present.) COMMITTEE REPORTS: PUBLIC WORKS & VETERANS SERVICES COMMITTEE: A report (No. CR-PWVS 2019-06) submitted by the Public Works & Veterans Services Committee, recommending that the following be Received for the Record: "PWVS 2019-04 Communication (09/26/2019) from the Council Chair Kaneshiro, requesting the presence of the Deputy County Engineer and the Planning Director, to provide a briefing on the Lihu`e Town Core Mobility and Revitalization Project construction on Rice Street, to include the current status of construction, a description of the work that has been completed, and the future plans for the Project," COUNCIL MEETING 25 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any discussion? The motion for approval of the report was then put, and unanimously carried (Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai, Councilmember Chock was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an affirmative for the motion). Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item. PLANNING COMMITTEE: A report (No. CR-PL 2019-11) submitted by the Planning Committee, recommending that the following be Received for the Record: "PL 2019-03 Communication (09/25/2019) from Council Chair Kaneshiro, requesting the presence of the Planning Director, to provide a briefing on the West Kaua`i Community Plan," Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any discussion? The motion for approval of the report was then put, and unanimously carried (Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai, Councilmember Chock was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an affirmative for the motion). Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item. COUNCIL MEETING 26 OCTOBER 9, 2019 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: A report (No. CR-COW 2019-16) submitted by the Committee of the Whole, recommending that the following be Received for the Record: "COW 2019-02 Communication (09/25/2019) from Council Chair Kaneshiro, requesting the presence of the Managing Director, to provide a briefing on the acquisition of land in Waimea from Kikiaola Land Company, Ltd. and how the County is planning to utilize this parcel of land," Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any discussion? The motion for approval of the report was then put, and unanimously carried (Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai, Councilmember Chock was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an affirmative for the motion). Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item. RESOLUTION: Resolution No. 2019-51 — RESOLUTION APPROVING THE NOMINATION OF COUNCILMEMBER MASON K. CHOCK, COUNTY OF KAUAI, TO SERVE ON THE WESTERN INTERSTATE REGION BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019-2020: Councilmember Kuali`i moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2019-51, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Do we have any questions or comments on this? Councilmember Kagawa. COUNCIL MEETING 27 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Kagawa: This idea came up from the Hawai`i State Association of Counties (HSAC) and we joggled around and got Councilmember Kuali`i the National Association of Counties (NACo)position back and we took Councilmember Chock off, because Hawai`i Island had wanted one (1) of the positions. We ended up giving the WIR position to Tim Richards from Hawai`i Island and he got the presidential nomination for NACo. Now, Maui County Council Chair Kelly King suggested that it would be unfair for him to have two (2) positions; NACo and WIR. She suggested that our former WIR representative Mason Chock get it back. Unfortunately, Hawai`i Island is expressing some concern that what if they were to lose the NACo position and then we would be in the same position as the last time where we would have two (2). I think the presidential is only one year. Everything we do has to be unanimous, so it is a question mark as to...because Hawai`i Island has already presented their feelings that they are concerned about what will happen next year if he does not get the NACo position back. We would then be in the same spot and they would be asking something of us, but I am not concerned about approving this and we will see in one (1) year. If it happens next year, we will just adjust it, and decide where we go. For today, I will approving it. I think Councilmember Chock deserves it more than anyone else, but if Hawai`i Island does not approve then he would not be approved. We just have to not take this too deep. You cannot always predict what happens at HSAC. Sometimes they will agree and sometimes they will not. Just getting our fair share all the time...we gave up something willingly to make things fair, we did not look at a year from now and asked what if we are short—we just said, "Okay, if everyone wants a position, we will give up one." I just wanted to give you that bit of information of Hawai`i Island's feeling and at this point, to me, I think the fair thing is to do it now, but then a year from now, it might be unfair, but I do not have the crystal ball. I do not know what is happening next year. (Councilmember Chock was noted as present.) Council Chair Kaneshiro: Hawai`i Island did not get a chance to vote on this yet, they are going to vote on this next week. If they vote to vote it down, then it is done, because it is not going to be unanimous. I do not know if we want to vote on it now and send it to HSAC or if we wait and see what Hawai`i Island does...because if Hawai`i Island votes it down, then it is a moot issue. Councilmember Chock. Councilmember Chock: I appreciate the support from the Council to continue in order to do so, if it is the right fit. I think it is about the entire State and working as a team to represent it and we should all have representation from each council. My question was really about...tomorrow is the HSAC meeting, is there any indication of a discussion on this to get a feel from the board? Councilmember Kagawa: I think so. Councilmember Chock: Okay. COUNCIL MEETING 28 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Councilmember Kagawa: It is always on the agenda as an open item. Councilmember Chock: Maybe that will give us some indication about where Hawai`i Island stands. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Yes. I sat in a phone meeting a couple weeks ago and Hawai`i Island said they were adamantly against it. How the votes on Hawaii Island is going to shake out, I do not know, but I know you folks have an HSAC meeting tomorrow, too, to get another feel. However we want to proceed, I am open either way. If we vote on it now and tell HSAC that is how we voted or if we just wait until we see what Hawai`i Island does. If Hawai`i Island votes for it, we come back to vote on it. If Hawai`i Island votes against it, then we just receive the item. It has to be unanimous. Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: When I look at us doing a resolution to approve his nomination, what that says to me is that our Council as a collective has faith that Councilmember Chock will do a really good job representing Hawai`i for...I know it is bigger than Hawai`i, but he does a really good job representing the interest of Hawai`i at WIR. When we pass this Resolution, we are saying as Kaua`i Council, we believe in Councilmember Chock's ability to do a good job at this and that for HSAC, is that sort of separate, if they were to say, "We want Hawai`i Island to be our representative." It seems like when we are saying we are supporting him, we are saying, "We believe in him." If we send that over to HSAC, it is not like he does not have our support is being the right person from us. Do I have that right? Council Chair Kaneshiro: For us, we all have faith in Councilmember Chock, but Hawaii Island has already mentioned that they are going to take it harder and say, "Why do we not deserve to keep our WIR position because next year we are going to be in the same situation." Kaua`i has two (2), Hawai`i Island may not have a presidential nomination again, they will have zero, and then we will be flip-flopping around. Councilmember Cowden: I do not think you understood my question. Did you understand it? Council Chair Kaneshiro: I understood it, but I am just saying there is more to it than just our decision here. Councilmember Brun. Councilmember Brun: I think we should vote today. By putting this to next week, I think we are sending the wrong message. Let us vote on it today that we really support him and not wait for Hawai`i Island. We do not care what Hawai`i Island says because we support Councilmember Chock. Do you know what I mean? We should send that message today. COUNCIL MEETING 29 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kualii. Councilmember Kualii: I want to echo what Councilmember Brun had just said. I think we should vote. We do not know how Honolulu or Maui would vote, unless they have already voted...I do not know, I have not heard. Remember, too, historically that is what we have had. We have had the NACo and WIR positions for quite a while and next year, whatever happens, happens. It would be magnanimous of us then to give up one of the positions so that Hawaii Island had one if they did not. The part that does not make sense right now is that one person at Hawaii Island should not hold two (2)positions, so if Maui already supports us, then we should move forward. Councilmember Chock: I feel we could come into an agreement come next year we can definitely for flexibility and for equal and fairness—approach it from that direction. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I totally understand Council Chair Kaneshiro's point about the power of HSAC is when all of the islands can help each other, especially when we need it most. Do we want to create that animosity between us and Hawaii Island when they already stated that they strongly feel the way they do, but I do not think it is large enough to tear relationships. Hopefully, I can help, along with Aida, to present ourselves that we supported Councilmember Chock, however if Hawaii Island is thinking down the line, we understand their position as well and we will make that pretty clear. It is nothing personal against Hawaii Island thinking that we are better, but we just feel that Councilmember Chock has the experience, he has the connections, he knows the job, and we feel strongly that he can serve our entire State the best. On the other hand, looking into the future, that we understand Hawaii Island's concern because they only have a one-year NACo appointment. What Council Chair Kaneshiro is doing is looking two or three steps down the line ahead to make sure that we do think about the ramifications of our decisions. I think it is something that hopefully I can convey that it is nothing personal and that we believe in Councilmember Chock and we will be willing to make adjustments should the time come. Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I just want to be on the record that I like Councilmember Herbert M. "Tim" Richards III and that this is anything personal against him. He does a good job on Hawaii Island and so having the two (2) positions covered by two (2) different people, I think him and Councilmember Chock can work well together and support each other and strengthen each other. You have two (2) different votes, one is at NACo and two (2) different presences that...two (2) faces are better than one (1), really. This is nothing against the Hawaii Island candidate. COUNCIL MEETING 30 OCTOBER 9, 2019 Council Chair Kaneshiro: I am willing to vote on it today, but I am just saying that everything needs to be unanimous at HSAC. We need to be together. We cannot push an island out. It is not just a decision here, it has ramifications at HSAC, too. I will suspend the rules for public testimony. Bruce. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. Mr. Hart: For the record, Bruce Hart. The process is a vote and I do not think anyone has expressed animosity and may the best man win. It is not anything against Hawai`i Island, but I know Councilmember Chock. He has done a good job. I also like the fact that I live here and I have direct access to Councilmember Chock, so I would like to see him back in the position. I agree I think you should vote on it. It is as Councilmember Cowden says, it is to support him...someone we know, we care about, we love, and we think he has done a good job. If we did not think he has done a good job, we would say so. That is what this is all about. If Hawai`i Island is listening, they have the right to their opinion and there is no hard feelings. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none. There being no further public testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any final discussion from the members? Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: I think we should vote. We did get the letter from the HSAC President asking each of the Counties to vote. I think the only way we will get to unanimous is for each of the Counties voting. If we are the first to vote, we are the first to vote and it makes sense. We are Kaua`i and we are supporting the Kaua`i person. I am ready to vote. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? If not, roll call vote. The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2019-51 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Cowden, Evslin, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro, TOTAL— 7, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL—0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL—0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL—0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Next item, please. COUNCIL MEETING 31 OCTOBER 9, 2019 EXECUTIVE SESSION: ES-1007 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(2) and (4), and Kaua`i County Charter Section 3.07(E), the Office of the County Attorney, on behalf of the County Council, requests an Executive Session to discuss the evaluation and setting of salary for the County Clerk. This briefing and consultation involves consideration of the powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this agenda item. Furthermore, this agenda item pertains to matters affecting privacy; provided that if the individual concerned requests an open meeting, an open meeting shall be held: Councilmember Kagawa moved to convene in Executive Session for ES-1007, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this item? There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Kaneshiro: Roll call vote to go into Executive Session. The motion to convene into Executive Session for ES-1007 was then put, and carried the following vote: FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION: Brun, Chock, Cowden, Evslin, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro TOTAL— 7, AGAINST EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. Council Chair Kaneshiro: We will not be coming out on this Executive Session item, but we do have public hearing at 1:30 p.m. relating to County bus and paratransit code of conduct. We will be back at 1:30 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the Council Meeting adjourned at 10:08 a.m. Respectfully submitted, JAD K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA County Clerk :dmc