HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/16/2020 Council minutes COUNCIL MEETING
JANUARY 16, 2020
The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kauai was called to order
by Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street,
Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kauai, on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 8:37 a.m., after which
the following Members answered the call of the roll:
Honorable Arthur Brun (present at 8.55 a.m.)
Honorable Mason K. Chock
Honorable Felicia Cowden (present at 8.42 a.m.)
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 Kagawa.
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
carried by a vote of 5:0:2 (Councilmembers Brun and Cowden were excused).
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Clerk, next item,
please.
MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council:
November 20, 2019 Council Meeting
December 4, 2019 Council Meeting
December 4, 2019 Public Hearing re: Bill No. 2762 and Bill No. 2763
December 11, 2019 Special Council Meeting
December 18, 2019 Council Meeting
December 18, 2019 Public Hearing re: Bill No. 2764 and Bill No. 2765
COUNCIL MEETING 2 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve the Minutes as circulated, seconded
by Councilmember Kagawa.
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 carried
by a vote of 5:0:2 (Councilmember Brun and Cowden were excused).
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried.
INTERVIEWS:
PLANNING COMMISSION:
• Melvin I. Chiba (Environmental)— Term ending 12/31/2022
ELLEN CHING, Boards & Commissions Administrator: Good morning,
Chair and Councilmembers. Happy New Year. I apologize I have a cold. I am happy
to introduce this morning, Melvin I. Chiba. Mr. Chiba grew up on the beaches of
Pakala and Makaweli, where he enjoyed swimming, fishing, diving, and hunting. He
is a graduate of Waimea High School and earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees
in Business Administration from Emporia Kansas State College. Mr. Chiba returned
to Kauai in 1974 and started his career at the Kauai Community Federal Credit
Union, which is now "Gather Federal Credit Union." Under his leadership, the credit
union became widely known for its philanthropic efforts funding over twenty (20)
nonprofit organizations every year. Mr. Chiba instituted the recycling program and
his crowning achievement was the construction of the new credit union in Llhu`e,
which is, I believe, only the second Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) gold certified commercial building on Kauai. LEED is a building certification
that is developed by the United States Green Building Council. It is a rating system
for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green building that aims
to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use
resources efficiently. Bottom line, this is not easy to do and it generally costs a lot
more to do. When asked, why did the credit union do this? He said, "We are part of
this community, we intend to stay here and we always want to give back." In his free
time, this retiree and proud grandpa of five (5), enjoys cooking—what he calls the old
plantation-style, eat whatever leftovers in the refrigerator, and add salt, pepper, and
shoyu. I am grateful that Mr. Chiba is still willing to give back to our community.
He has never served on any county board or commission and he is willing to
COUNCIL MEETING 3 JANUARY 16, 2020
contribute his time and effort to the Planning Commission in the Environmental
position.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you for that introduction. Mr. Chiba,
do you have anything to say?
MELVIN I. CHIBA: Good morning everyone. It has been a long
time since I have been here. It is nice to see everyone.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions for Mr. Chiba?
Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I do not have a question because your
introduction covered a lot. I just wanted to say mahalo nui loa for your willingness
to serve and I am excited you will be in that position with the County. We have
known you for a long time. You were one of my first boss' way back in the 80's when
I was a teller at the credit union. I am happy you are willing to serve.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? If not, thank you
Mr. Chiba.
Mr. Chiba: Thank you all.
(Councilmember Cowden was noted as present.)
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Next up, we have John.
BOARD OF ETHICS:
• John Latkiewicz —Term ending 12/31/2022
Ms. Ching: John Latkiewicz is perhaps best known as the
Kauai Center Director of the Hawaii Small Business Development Center, where for
the past ten (10) years he has helped entrepreneurs develop and grow their ideas into
the popular local businesses they are today, like the Kauai Juice Company,
Monkeypod Jam, and Ha Coffee. Mr. Latkiewicz has his Bachelor's and Master's
Degrees from Bowling Green State University, as well as a Doctorate of Philosophy
in Communication from the University of Utah. So we know he is a really smart
person, but what you also may not know is he is an avid golfer and gardener. Since
moving to Kauai eleven (11) years ago, his best gardening friend is the machete.
When asked what his favorite memory is, he talked about a three-day camping/hiking
trip into Haleakala and the unique and special volcanic landscape. Mr. Latkiewicz
has never served on a board or commission and we look forward to his fresh
perspectives and contributions on the Board of Ethics.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Mr. Latkiewicz, do you have
anything to say?
COUNCIL MEETING 4 JANUARY 16, 2020
JOHN LATKIEWICZ: I appreciate your consideration of me for this
position. I have been here for eleven (11)years now, and that certainly does not make
me a long-term resident, but my wife and I are very committed to being here on Kauai
and look forward to giving back to the community. I feel like this is one of those
opportunities to do that. Again, I appreciate your consideration.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions for Mr. Latkiewicz?
Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Again, I do not have a question, but I want to
say mahalo nui loa for your willingness to step-up and serve. I am excited to see that
you have found a couple of first timers. Hopefully, not the last. Also, I want to say
mahalo for what you have done with small business development—very important
here on Kauai.
Mr. Latkiewicz: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: I just want to echo Councilmember Kuali`i's
sentiments and thank Ms. Ching for these two (2) wonderful candidates that we have.
Again, I like to see new faces. I think it is time we move past the Carvalho and
Baptiste Administrations and start finding fresh blood. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? If not, thank you
Mr. Latkiewicz.
Mr. Latkiewicz: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Next up is the Consent Calendar.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
C 2020-01 Communication (11/29/2019) from the Mayor, transmitting for
Council consideration and confirmation, Mayoral appointee Lori J. Otsuka (Business)
to the Planning Commission—Term ending 12/31/2022.
C 2020-02 Communication (12/03/2019) from the Mayor, transmitting for
Council consideration and confirmation, Mayoral appointee Carolyn R.
Larson (History) to the Kauai Historic Preservation Review Commission — Term
ending 12/31/2022.
C 2020-03 Communication (12/04/2019) from the Mayor, transmitting for
Council consideration and confirmation, Mayoral appointee Patrick H. Ono to the
Salary Commission—Term ending 12/31/2022.
C 2020-04 Communication (12/05/2019) from the Mayor, transmitting for
Council consideration and confirmation, Mayoral appointee Randall T. Nishimura to
the Liquor Control Commission—Term ending 12/31/2022.
COUNCIL MEETING 5 JANUARY 16, 2020
C 2020-05 Communication (12/26/2019) from the Director of Finance,
transmitting for Council information, the County of Kauai Schedule of Fund
Balances as of June 30, 2019, pursuant to Kauai County Charter Section 19.14.
C 2020-06 Communication (12/31/2019) from the Director of Finance,
transmitting for Council information, the First Quarter Statement of Equipment
Purchases for Fiscal Year 2019-2020, pursuant to Section 17 of Ordinance
No. B-2019-856, relating to the Operating Budget of the County of Kauai for Fiscal
Year 2019-2020.
Councilmember Chock moved to receive C 2020-01, C 2020-02, C 2020-03,
C 2020-04, C 2020-05, and C 2020-06 for the record, seconded by
Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I have a quick question, process-wise.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Yes.
Councilmember Kuali`i: If I wanted to make a quick comment, do I
have to remove or ask to separate the item?
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is it a long comment?
Councilmember Kuali`i: No, quick comment.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Yes, we will have to remove it.
There being no objections, the meeting recessed at 8:46 a.m.
The meeting reconvened at 8:48 a.m., and proceeded as follows:
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: Seeing none, is there any discussion from the
members? Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Just a brief comment. I wanted to say mahalo
to the Administration for providing this report on the First Quarter Statement of
Equipment Purchases. I think it is important to have as we enter the Budget Session.
I have a few questions and will submit them in writing and ask that they respond
before the upcoming budget presentations; I will share my responses with
Councilmembers as well. Mahalo Chair Kaneshiro.
COUNCIL MEETING 6 JANUARY 16, 2020
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone else?
The motion to receive C 2020-01, C 2020-02, C 2020-03, C 2020-04, C 2020-05,
and C 2020-06 for the record was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1
(Councilmember Brun was excused).
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item.
COMMUNICATIONS:
C 2020-07 Communication (12/06/2019) from the Director of Economic
Development, requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, and expend.funds in
the amount of $70,000.00, and to indemnify the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)
Community Enrichment Program, for technical and non-substantive guidance for
Kauai and Niihau applicants wanting to respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
from the HTA, assistance in promotion of programs, identification and recruitment
of applicants for their RFPs, and providing a work plan for program evaluation:
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2020-07, seconded by Councilmember
Kagawa.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Do we have any questions from the members
on this item? Councilmember Chock.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Councilmember Chock: I did have a question. I wanted to get a
clearer understanding about what this program is. Truly just an overview of what
this program is, I think is important for everyone—what you are looking for with the
seventy thousand dollars ($70,000). Can you expand on it?
NALANI K. KAAUWAI BRUN, Office of Economic Development: Sure.
Nalani Brun, Office of Economic Development. Basically, the seventy thousand
dollars ($70,000) is what they pay us to spend the calendar year helping them with
their programs on Kauai. Some of those programs are their grant programs. That
is probably the biggest area where they put out money for Kukulu Ola, which is
Hawaiian cultural programs; Aloha Aina, which is natural resource programs; and
then there are community enrichment programs, where they fund a lot of festivals,
events, projects that are community based. So we not only work to help evaluate a
lot of the programs that come through here, but we also look for new applicants. We
are always "chumming the waters" looking for new people and ideas—that is what
they want. It also includes other things, like right now, they are at the beginnings of
wanting to do more sustainability, so they will be here more often for that. We help
them set up workshops, get the right people in the room—they pay us that. We use
the money to basically, help our accountant, and pay for festivals and events,
marketing program so people know where things are. We help our organizations
know when things are happening, so they do not jump on top of each other.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you. I am fully supportive and
thankful for us moving and supporting this. I am sure you have a more detailed
COUNCIL MEETING 7 JANUARY 16, 2020
programmatic description. If you want to share that in the future, I would be
interested in looking at it.
Ms. Brun: Yes, I will be glad to. We do have a full
timeline of what we are going to be doing every single month. I will be sure to turn
that in.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you.
Ms. Brun: Okay, thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
members? If not, thank you. Anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this?
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Seeing none. Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: I want to thank the Office of Economic
Development for all the hard work that you do and all the opportunities that come
out of your work. It is really great work. Also, I want to publicly acknowledge where
the money does come through to help our community and citizens, it is from the
tourism industry through the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)—that is our
Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) coming back to us. Mahalo for that.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Anyone else?
The motion to approve C 2020-07 was then put, carried by a vote of (6:0:1)
(Councilmember Brun was excused).
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item, please.
C 2020-08 Communication (12/11/2019) from the Acting Director of Human
Resources, requesting Council approval of the indemnification provisions contained
in the Department of Education Application for Use of School Building, Facilities, or
Grounds relating to: Elsie H. Wilcox Elementary School, Kauai High School, Chiefess
Kamakahelei Middle School, King Kaumuali`i Elementary School, Waimea High
School, and Kapa`a Elementary School, for testing purposes in calendar year 2020:
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2020-08, seconded by Councilmember
Chock.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa, do you have a
question?
Councilmember Kagawa: Yes, I have a question. My question is, is this
for job testing?
COUNCIL MEETING 8 JANUARY 16, 2020
(Councilmember Brun was noted as present.)
JILL NIITANI, Human Resources Manager: Yes. Jill Niitani, Human
Resources (HR) Manager. Yes, it is for written tests.
Councilmember Kagawa: For what kind of jobs?
Ms. Niitani: Usually, it is Police Services Officers. We try
to do that on the weekends to accommodate as many people as we can to take those
tests.
Councilmember Kagawa: Do we have that much more that we cannot
use our meeting rooms?
Ms. Niitani: Sometimes what happens is, if someone is
eligible, we place them on the eligible list and we will send out notices. A lot of times
applicants say they will be there, so we need the room.
Councilmember Kagawa: Sometimes they say they will come and they
do not come, but you need to be ready for larger groups than our own facilities can
handle.
Ms. Niitani: Yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: I know with Fire testing, I guarantee you that
you will need a big room.
Ms. Niitani: Yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: Because everyone wants to be a fireman.
Okay. My next question is, did we exhaust our County facilities first?
Ms. Niitani: Yes, we will always look towards using our
facilities first.
Councilmember Kagawa: These facilities—do we need to pay rent or
electricity?
Ms. Niitani: No.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
members? If not, thank you. Does anyone in the audience wish 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 MEETING 9 JANUARY 16, 2020
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Seeing none. Is there any final discussion
from the members?
The motion to approve C 2020-08 was then put, and unanimously carried.
C 2020-09 Communication (12/12/2019) from Ka`aina S. Hull, Clerk of the
Planning Commission, transmitting the Planning Commission's recommendation to
amend Section 8-3.4(e), Kauai County Code 1987, as amended, relating to
Residential Development Standards for Accesses and Driveways: Councilmember
Chock moved to receive C 2020-09 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Kuali`i.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: At this time, this is the Communication, but
if testifiers want to testify on it now, we will do that if they have time constraints and
need to get back to work. We will be hearing the Bill with a conversation with the
Administration a little later today, but if anyone has time constraints and wants to
testify on Bill No. 2768, they can do that now. Is there anyone in the audience wishing
to testify on this?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
LARRY LAU: Good morning, Chair Kaneshiro and
Councilmembers. I am not sure whether I have a time constraint, but I do have to
catch a plane later, so thank you for this. My name is Larry Lau. I am testifying on
my own behalf. I am in strong support of this Bill and also the later, Bill No. 2769. I
did submit written testimony so I will just give some high points. As a little bit of
background—I am a retiree, I worked for the State of Hawaii for thirty-six (36) years,
mostly in the Attorney General's Office and as the Deputy Director in the Health
Department. I live in Honolulu. I have been there since 1951, but I do own land on
Kaua`i...I owned land since 1992. I have lived on Kauai for a couple of years and I
care about the island. I want to thank you again for having this on the agenda and
having the chance to testify. Basically, these two (2) Bills together will relieve
homeowners who share common driveways in situations with fewer than twenty (20)
homes from very costly paving requirements. Right now, if a common driveway,
which would be for two (2) people, exceeds one hundred twenty (120) feet or there are
more than four (4) units, the road is supposed to be paved to twenty (20) feet wide
that meets the County's public street standards, there are also distance limits, which
these Bills will address. The one thing I would ask for is the definition of a "common
driveway" to include common driveways that run along the border of two (2) adjacent
lots, because they are functionally and practically similar and it would be fair to
include them. If there are any questions, I would be happy to answer them at a later
time. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to
testify? Former Councilmember and former Mayor of City and County of Honolulu.
JEREMY HARRIS: Thank you, Chair Kaneshiro and members of
the Council. I would like to testify as the President of the Nawiliwili Estates
Association Of Apartment Owners (AOAO). We have had a number of concerns with
this issue and we appreciate the efforts of the Fire Department and the Planning
COUNCIL MEETING 10 JANUARY 16, 2020
Department to try to fix some of these problems. I just had one (1) question today
and it may be my inability to understand the language here, but there seems to be a
discrepancy in the Fire Code Amendment. In Section 18-2.3.21, it says that the Fire
Department access road shall extend within fifty (50) feet of one (1) exterior door,
however, for one- and two-family dwellings, the distance shall be increased to three
hundred (300) feet. So for our members in our AOAO, that is reasonable. In other
words, the fire truck has to get within three hundred (300) feet of your house. That
would fit very well in that Nawiliwili community, but then on the other page—I may
be reading this wrong—Section 18-2.3.44, it says for one- or two-family dwellings, a
dead end fire apparatus road longer than three hundred (300) feet is required to
provide for turning around of the fire apparatus within one hundred fifty (150) feet
of the structure. So it seems to say, on one hand your home can be three
hundred (300) feet from where the fire truck is and the other says, but the fire truck
has to turn around one hundred fifty (150) feet from the house. Well, most of our
folks are going to be on the slope there in Nawiliwili Valley, so you cannot get a
turnaround on the slope of a fire truck. The three hundred (300) feet is great for us,
but the one hundred fifty (150) feet does not seem to make sense. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: For the record, that was Jeremy Harris.
Mr. Harris: Yes.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you for your testimony. Where is this
AOAO?
Mr. Harris: Kauai High School and Lala Road, down the
slope, the whole Nawiliwili Valley.
Councilmember Kagawa: Is that the AOAO you are talking about?
Mr. Harris: Yes.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else wishing to testify now?
DENNIS ESAKI: Good morning Chair Kaneshiro and
Councilmembers. Dennis Esaki, for the record. I would like to thank the Planning
Department and the Fire Department for working on this. The Comprehensive
Zoning Ordinance (CZO) was in effect since 1972 and the County was not consistent
in following it. They have allowed homes to be built not following this Code.
Subdivisions were allowed—not following this. This will resolve most of that, but
what about the existing non-conforming uses and proposed uses? Some of the
conditions cannot be matched such as the sixteen (16) feet clearance as some
subdivisions were approved with a fifteen (15) feet wide flag pole for the driveways.
That is all they have to work with and there are some lots that have been approved
that have not been built on yet. They have some really long driveways that do not
follow this. With all due respect to the Fire Department and the firemen, I
understand that each truck has one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of hose on the
COUNCIL MEETING 11 JANUARY 16, 2020
truck. A Councilmember might know about fire trucks, by shortening this, it is
disregarding that. Overall, I think this is a good measure. Thank you all for working
on it.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone else in the
audience wishing to testify?
BRIAN O'BRIEN: Thank you Councilmembers. My name is
Brian O'Brien. I am just going to read my testimony if you do not mind. I might have
to do a second run, pardon me. My name is Brian O'Brien. My son Ron O'Brien and
I, have a three (3) acre dedicated Agricultural zoned farm in Wailua. He is a
University of Hawaii, Hilo graduate in agriculture. We have almost a half a mile
long driveway—we share the driveway and improvement expenses with our neighbor,
who is told he has to concrete the driveway. We are asking to use large crushed rock
up to four (4) inches. I brought a sample just so you know it is not gravel, it is really
large rock. So we are asking to use this four (4) inch size rock instead of concrete or
asphalt. We have already laid this rock over a road padding that goes underneath,
which is over the scrapped grass. We have a five (5) ton hydraulic dump trailer that
will carry the rock. We have already carried quite a bit of it already up there. We
have laid some of the rock before the last winter storm and the rock is holding well—
it is durable as any concrete driveway. This type of driveway requires only two (2)
men to lay the driveway, instead of six (6) men for concrete. We have spoken with
the Fire Department and they said they are able to drive their trucks on this type of
rock. In addition, garbage and mail trucks do not come up to our area. They leave
the mail or pick up the garbage about a mile away from us. I have twenty-two (22)
short sentences here, as to why rock is more favorable than concrete or asphalt. One,
no puddling as water percolates through the rock driveway. No puddling means no
mosquitos, no stagnant, dirty water, and the rock does not cut through the padding,
keeping the rocks stable. Should there be damage to the driveway, it only requires a
partial trailer load or just a couple of buckets of rock to repair. Rock lasts longer than
concrete and asphalt. Rock does not crumble or crack like concrete or asphalt or
breaks off like the pukas in our roads. When you drive over the rock everyday it
compacts the rock flatter and tighter until it gives you the appearance of a regular
asphalt concrete road. You do not have to drive any slower on rock than you would
on concrete. Rock in contrast to asphalt does not give off petroleum fumes which is
not good for children and our grandchildren. Rock is stronger than concrete and
asphalt. Rock was made on Kauai millions of years ago and it is still going strong.
There is no steal rebar screen to rust and break apart inside the concrete. You cannot
break the rocks by driving over them.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Brian, that is your first three (3) minutes.
Mr. O'Brien: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: I will call you back after everyone has had a
chance to testify. We also received your written testimony. Is there anyone else
wishing to testify for the first time? If not, is there anyone wishing to testify for a
second time? Mr. O'Brien, you can come back up. You can get a little exercise walking
back and forth.
COUNCIL MEETING 12 JANUARY 16, 2020
Mr. O'Brien: Yes, I need that. Thank you. Rock is easily
purchased at halfway bridge and trailered back up to the property in Wailua. Rock
does not suffocate the earth as concrete and asphalt does. The County discourages
gentleman farms and rock is more pertinent to a farm than concrete is. We are
estimating to a degree that our driveway would cost four hundred thousand
dollars ($400,000) in concrete, but only twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in rock,
and we would be installing it ourselves. Where we have already put the rock on our
driveway, there has been no subsequent negative effects, failure, or need to refill the
driveway. I have provided some pictures to all of you so that you are able to check
that out. Concrete and dump trucks have been up to our property for the neighbor's
building project, and they have had no issues going up or down. The rock could be
laid at any thickness—should any thickness issue come up. Our five hundred (500)
square foot guest house—which is going to be owner-built—the comparison of that
value to an almost four hundred thousand dollar ($400,000) driveway is kind of
unreasonable. We have ourselves and the experience of our friends who have used
this same rock and the rock holds up and qualifies as an all-weather road. Rock
driveways can be used immediately after the rock is spread, there is no wait or down
time. Thank you very much.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you for your testimony. Is there
anyone else wishing to testify?
MARGARET PHILLIPS: My name is Margaret Phillips. I am one of the
co-owners of some agricultural land in Kalaheo. I would like to commend the
Planning Department and the Fire Department for working together for a very long
time to get these liberalized requirements in place. I would just like to point out, no
matter how much you amend the CZO and Fire Code, every piece of land is unique
and has unique contours and features. So I would hope there is some allowance for
discretion by the Planning Department and/or the Fire Department to modify the
requirements that are laid out very specifically, in the event of difficulty in meeting
those requirements to the letter. Particularly, I would like to endorse the position
about having a three hundred (300) foot turnaround for a fire truck rather than the
one hundred fifty (150), because I agree that does appear to be a little bit of a
discrepancy. That is really all I wanted to say. Again, I would like to thank the
Planning Department and the Fire Department for working on this thorny question
and coming up with a much more workable solution than has been in the past. Thank
you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Mr. Lau, this is your second time.
Mr. Lau: Larry Lau, again. I, too, would like to thank
the Planning Department, Director Hull, Deputy Director Higuchi-Sayegusa, and the
Fire Department for their work on this Bill. It has been very encouraging and I
appreciate their receptiveness and help. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to
testify? Seeing none.
COUNCIL MEETING 13 JANUARY 16, 2020
There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and
proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Again, this is just the Communication. The
motion on the floor is to receive the Communication and the Bill will be coming up a
little later today where we will be able to ask questions of the Administration. Is
there any discussion from the members? Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: I want to thank the public for testifying and
saying what they like and do not like about it. It is complicated. These properties,
like the lady just said, a lot of them are different with different situations, but the
problem for the County is that we need to have one set of rules, because otherwise it
is chaos—the director can make all of these different decisions and everyone at the
end can do whatever they want. I think we need to, at some point, not everyone will
be happy, but I think if you continue to bring your concerns, hopefully, we can
massage it and come up with the best possible solution in the end. There will be a
public hearing and Committee Meetings. Even with the rock compared to concrete...I
have seen great rock driveways, but then I am also sure there are a lot of imperfect
ones, too, that turn into mud and is not done properly—like how we envision a nice
rock driveway. Not everyone does a good job like you, so it is kind of hard to say,
"Okay—rock or concrete are both good." At the end of the day, we will take all the
information, and hopefully the Council can make some kind of compromise so we can
at least be happy on both sides. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you.
The motion to receive C 2020-09 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item. Clerk, let us read
C 2020-14, which is the Fire.
There being no objections, C 2020-14 was taken out of order.
C 2020-14 Communication (01/08/2020) from Daryl Date, Fire Prevention
Captain, transmitting for Council consideration, A Bill For An Ordinance Amending
Chapter 15A, Kauai County Code 1987, As Amended, Relating To The Kauai County
Fire Code, to address fire access roadways and water supply for one- and two-family
dwellings: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2020-14 for the record,
seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to
testify on the Fire Code? Again, this is the Communication, but if anyone cannot stay
for the Bill later, now would be a good time to testify on it. We did hear some
testimony on it already.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
COUNCIL MEETING 14 JANUARY 16, 2020
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?
The motion to receive C 2020-14 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item.
C 2020-10 Communication (12/13/2019) from the Director of Economic
Development, requesting Council approval to apply for, receive, and expend funds
from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, in the amount of$61,220.00, and to indemnify
the State of Hawaii, to support funding for the continuation of the coordination of
cruise ship greetings at the Nawiliwili Harbor for Calendar Year 2020:
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2020-10, seconded by Councilmember
Brun.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions from the members on
this?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Good morning, Nalani and thank you for
being here.
Ms. Brun: Good morning.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I just had a quick question on the breakdown
of the sixty-one thousand two hundred twenty dollars ($61,220). I am curious because
I hear concerns from some of the participants on transportation. Is there any moneys
part of that sixty-one thousand two hundred twenty dollars ($61,220) to help with
transportation?
Ms. Brun: Yes. I brought copies just in case you wanted
copies of the grant application. Basically, there are two (2) pieces to what we do at
the harbor. One (1) is every Thursday, our kupuna program actually goes and has
their outing at the pier and because the Alu Like Kupuna Program has so many
former musicians and entertainers, they are fantastic down there. They love getting
out and seem to really like it—they do Thursdays. The other days, which are off and
on depending if it is cruise season or not—we have another group that goes and they
are wonderful, too. They are really good at interacting, but they are much smaller.
They are just a four (4) person group. We actually provide some moneys for flowers,
because during these months there are no flowers. The kupuna actually pick their
own flowers as part of their own activities and bring them down to make lei or flowers
for people to put in their hair. They give them to visitors coming off and it gives them
a chance to talk story with the different people, which they love to do. We also do
COUNCIL MEETING 15 JANUARY 16, 2020
provide about twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) or a little more than that to a bus
service to move the kupuna to the harbor. We need to move them in one chunk
because of all the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules—once you get
through the gate, it gets complicated, so we try to get them in together. We used to
use the Kauai Bus, but it was competitive, because there were other bus companies
that could do it. So instead we have gotten HTA to agree to give us some money to
hire a bus company to bring them in and out. That is not the top of the line dollar,
but it is a bus company that can get in and out. The way we do that, which is really
odd is the manager from the Alu Like Kupuna Program also has the ability to drive
bus. She actually goes and is the bus driver on the same day she is moving this group
down. This is really a coordinated effort. We also have funds we donate to the Alu
Like Kupuna Program, it helps pay for their lunches when they go down there on
Thursdays. We also have setup and break down funds that we use for the kupuna
because on their days we do not want them moving those heavy items. We also have
the money we use for the other group that goes down and gets paid by time they are
there. The other groups that are down there are for about two and a half (2.5) to
three (3) hours. The kupuna program is there from about 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and
includes lunch and sometimes other activities they do down there.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Thank you so much.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you Nalani. I love that we keep our
kupuna and utilize their talents and showcase them to the tourists on the cruise ship.
What is the return we are looking for? We provide the entertainment, the leis, and
what do we get in return?
Ms. Brun: HTAs goal is to...cruise ship visitors are very
different from typical visitors that Kauai gets. We are looking for the ones that might
come to do a longer stay. These ones come in overnight if it is a Thursday night or
just during the day, but they are looking for the ones that actually come here, look at
it and realize this is the kind of place they really want to visit. Then on the next trip,
we are hoping they will book a regular vacation and stay in a hotel room and be a
new visitor to us. The good thing about these is that it is not a big surprise when
they arrive, because they checked it out, they know what Kauai is all about, they
know we are very rural and how things work. They tend to be a happy visitor from
the get-go when they arrive. That is our cherry picking of visitors.
Councilmember Kagawa: The cruise ship stops on different islands, too,
right?
Ms. Brun: Yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: Do they have similar programs like this or
does Kauai have their own?
Ms. Brun: Yes, HTA has money going out to all the
different islands. We are the only ones that work with the County. The other islands
COUNCIL MEETING 16 JANUARY 16, 2020
have little business associations that are based at the harbor. We do not have that
set up, so instead we went with the County. Basically, it is similar in different places.
Some places have greeters, some places have music—they do what they can, some
places have crafters, because they are allowed to right within the areas. Ours is so
far away from where the businesses are. We cannot really do that—it is not allowed.
Every harbor works with what they have and what is nearby. It seems to work out,
but the gem of the State program is the Thursdays, because we have the kupuna
there and people love it. There are so many of them, there are thirty (30) or
sometimes forty (40) of them down there chattering away, making leis, making crafts,
doing all kinds of things. It is really fun. If you ever want to go down there on a
Thursday, it is a blast. I would be glad to bring you down with my car and let the
harbor folks know. It is fun.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you.
Ms. Brun: Sure.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
members? If not, thank you, Nalani. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to
testify?
Ms. Brun: Thank you.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Seeing none. I will call this meeting back to
order. Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: Again, I just want to thank the Office of
Economic Development for creating this and I have gone down there a few times. It
really is a beautiful event. You figure two thousand (2,000)people are getting off this
ship at one time and coming out into a nice, warm party that I think is an authentic
reflection of Kauai. I want to give a shout out to any of our kupuna that are in that
group that might be listening to this—thank you for doing such an amazing job and
they are down there with the best of energy. I see this as a real win-win, because it
is promoting money to HTA in a way to support the continuing relevance of some of
the best of our people. I am very supportive of it and I do recommend anyone who
has not done it, go check it out because it is nice. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I, too, just want to add what a beautiful way
of sharing our Hawaiian culture and at the same time promoting our island. HTA
and the Office of Economic Development, great job. I know some of the kupuna and
Shirley Medeiros and Julie Souza, mahalo to all of them. I have not been, but I can
image how beautiful and great it is. I have to go one Thursday. Mahalo.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else?
COUNCIL MEETING 17 JANUARY 16, 2020
The motion to approve C 2020-10 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item.
C 2020-11 Communication (12/16/2019) from the Executive on Aging,
requesting Council approval to receive and expend Federal funds, in the amount of
$3,274.00 for the Fiscal Year 2020, and to indemnify the State Executive Office on
Aging, for the Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP) provision of congregate
and home-delivered meals: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2020-11,
seconded by Councilmember Chock.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions from the members on
this item? Does 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: Seeing none. Is there any final discussion
from the members? Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: I want to make the comment that when I
attend these meetings with the executive group on aging is that for some of these
people this is a main meal they receive. We really want to make sure this continues
and happens. The more we can put a focus on the nutritional quality of this meal, is
really important. A little over three thousand dollars ($3,000) is a minimal amount
of money. In the next time, I would not mind making it a little bit more and making
it more and having stronger food there, because it is a critical meal for some of these
people. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? Councilmember
Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: I want to thank Kealoha for the job they do. It
is amazing and well-appreciated by a lot of families that have loved ones who cannot
cook or move around like they used to and these meals help to keep them happy. It
is really important. I wish the State, in all of their bright ideas, would try to address
the real issue of how do we get more intensive care for our kupuna as they get sick or
what have you, but instead they cannot afford to, so we end up keeping them at home
and families struggle to take care of them—the State or Federal do not have solutions.
Instead, what they say is you can move into these care homes, but we are going to
take your house. This is not a solution—it is ridiculous. You spend all your life
getting your house and when you get sick they will take it from you. There are a lot
of problems out there with Federal/State governments and we put band-aids like this
to try and take care of the problem—it does not work. Thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING 18 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Cowden: I just want to follow-up with what
Councilmember Kagawa said, he is spot on with that—this is a much larger issue and
very important. Thank you, Councilmember Kagawa for hitting that critical point.
The motion to approve C 2020-11 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item.
C 2020-12 Communication (12/19/2019) from Council Chair Kaneshiro,
requesting the presence of the Deputy County Engineer, to provide a briefing on the
new violations issued against the County by the State of Hawaii Department of
Health (HDOH) relating to the Kekaha Landfill, the status of prior transfer station
Notices of Violation (NOVOs) that were issued to the County in 2016 and 2017,
including whether the County is currently in compliance with the issues raised by
HDOH, what work has been performed, and who from the County is in charge of
ensuring that the County is in compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) and Notice of General Permit Coverage (NGPC)
permits for the transfer stations: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2020-12
for the record, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: This item is an update on some NOVOs we
received prior in the transfer stations and also to get an update on any transitional
issues we have or NOVOs that were happening prior to us taking over the landfill.
Lyle, I believe you have a presentation.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
LYLE TABATA, Deputy County Engineer: Good morning, Council Chair
Kaneshiro, Vice Chair Kagawa, and members of the Council. Lyle Tabata, Deputy
County Engineer. You have the PowerPoint presentation. The outline of the
presentation would be to discuss the NOVOs issued by the Department of Health in
2016 for NPDES violations at our refuse transfer stations in Princeville, Kapa`a,
Li1hu`e, and Hanap6p6, County actions that we have taken, as well as implementation
status of the various projects. To correct the agenda item, what we received from the
Department of Health was not an official violation, but a warning letter regarding
the Kekaha Landfill during the time when Waste Management of Hawaii,
Inc. (WMH) was the prime managing entity of the landfill. You will also find our
response to the warning letter.
(Councilmember Kagawa was noted as not present.)
Mr. Tabata: Why did the Department of Health send the
NOVOs in 2016? The County failed to develop or implement a Storm Water Pollution
Control Plan (SWPCP) strategy identifying pollutant sources as required by the
NPDES General Permit. The County failed to submit a discharge monitoring report
for the Hanalei recycling and transfer station for 2015, and failing to develop and
implement the SWPCP with a pollutant control strategy as required by the NPDES
Permit.
COUNCIL MEETING 19 JANUARY 16, 2020
(Councilmember Kagawa was noted as present.)
Mr. Tabata: Also, we failed to submit the Discharge
Monitoring Report (DMR) for various Recycling and Transfer Station (RTS), failure
to measure all pollutant parameters in accordance with the permit, and failure to
conduct personnel training as required by the NPDES General Permit. Finally, these
were exceedances in effluent limitations. What has been done by the County to
address the NOVO? We hired a consultant, Jacobs/CH2M, to develop the SWPCP.
We are regularly submitting a DMR prepared by the consultant, and Jacobs is in the
process of completing our transfer station upgrades. We are at the point of sixty
percent (60%) design. The one hundred percent (100%) design should be issued to us
shortly for final review by HDOH and the County, and then we hope to begin
construction. AECOM updates the NPDES monitoring plan and our County staff
submits DMR to HDOH within twenty-four (24) hours of an occurrence. AECOM is
updating our monitoring parameters as needed. The County is working with
Jacobs/CH2M to update SWPCP. The County regularly reviews and updates the
NPDES permit monitoring and inspection strategies. Finally, the County is planning
to start the Hanalei RTS upgrades this year. As soon as the drawings are completed
and the design is agreed on with HDOH we will put the construction out to bid. We
hope to be out to bid in two (2) to three (3) months and begin construction by the end
of the summer. We will do these stations in sequence, so the next phase will follow;
one after another for the three (3) other stations. Some of the improvement strategies
for each of these stations are to construct a new leachate management system.
Basically, installing a ten thousand (10,000) gallon double wall underground storage
tank that will isolate leachate from the storm water runoff. Construct covered
collection areas for used tires, propane tanks, scrap metals, white goods, and green
waste, which would drain to the leachate collection tank. Construct a new used-oil
collection area with a bermed concrete containment slab and roof. Performing site
operation improvements, including covering the collection and tipping floor area.
Basically, every time rain touches the waste stream, it becomes illegal for us to allow
that rain runoff into any stream or navigable river, so we need to cover everything.
When it rains, if it hits the roof, goes down rain gutters, does not touch the refuse or
any of the recycle materials we are good, it can then travel down to...it can exit the
property as another person's property. The ten thousand (10,000) gallon tanks are
what is being calculated that what we do need when and if rain does touch any of
these materials—it will collect and allow us to dispose of properly.
Some of the construction strategies is to develop construction contract
packages for all of our four (4) stations; start construction as I mentioned in Hanalei
first, then Lihu`e; Utilize the bid additive clause to initiate construction of Kapa`a and
Hanapepe; and construction will be staggered to minimize transfer station closures
and interruptions to the community.
(Councilmember Chock was noted as not present.)
Mr. Tabata: As I mentioned, we hope to complete the
design shortly, hire construction management consultants, advertise the bid, and
start construction first in Hanalei, then continuing on to Lihu`e, then back to Kapa`a,
and then finally finishing in Hanapepe.
COUNCIL MEETING 20 JANUARY 16, 2020
(Councilmember Chock was noted as present.)
Mr. Tabata: All told, construction we expect to be
completed by summer of 2022. Moving on, the Kekaha Landfill warning letter. I
believe the big question...and we have shared with you our response to HDOH. Why
were we issued the warning letter for the Kekaha Landfill? They found deficiencies
in the landfill leachate system operations and monitoring system. The monitoring
system had not been functioning properly for a long time. Our landfill employees
kept reporting it and WMH were not responding. Improper operational practices by
WMH; litter not confined to the working face area, unacceptable waste logs not
maintained, and then leachate logs done improperly. As far as what is unacceptable
waste logs...basically, we have waste that we are supposed to pull out from going into
the landfill and that is why we have the spotter's right there when the loads are
unloaded, so the logs to identify the unacceptable waste pulled was not
maintained just to clarify. These were findings during the September 30, 2019 visit.
Since December 1st, as you all know, the County assumed the operations of the
landfill. We hired professional service providers to support the regulatory
functions—these are the subject matter experts in the field. The County has rented
short-term equipment to fill the landfill equipment needs and the County is preparing
a Money Bill to request funding for the long-term equipment needs and other
operational needs that was performed by WMH to help us transition. When we
responded to the warning letter, as you were copied, majority of the non-compliances
has been corrected or is in the process of being corrected. We sent the response on
December 27, 2019 and the plan was provided to HDOH to mitigate the following: the
County has procured and replaced a storage container for recycled tires. What
happened here was the tires were exposed and as you know when it rains—and it has
been a rainy winter—tires collect water, so they wanted us to be able to cover the
tires and not allow water to get trapped in the tires and be a mosquito hazard. We
have completed that. The County plans to modify the solid waste permit to allow the
acceptance of scrap metal at the site. Future compliance monitoring...proactive
monitoring of operations by our supervisors. Our County hired our own supervisors,
implement "train the trainer" programs for frequent NPDES in-house trainings,
improve communications with our operations, priority implementation of RTS,
unannounced operations audits, and continuous improvement. As you can see there
in the picture, we are stepping up meeting with employees and providing training as
we see we need to continue. Mahalo for your support. I am open to questions.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Okay, thank you. Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you, Council Chair Kaneshiro. Thank
you, Lyle, for the presentation. I have a couple of questions. I will start with, I guess
the monitoring aspects that we were initially cited on with NOVO. You mentioned
the discharge monitoring report and I wanted to get a little bit deeper in terms of
understanding the aspects of that report and what it is actually measuring. One of
my concerns is particularly for Hanalei. We have talked about the drainage issues
associated with that little valley and the stream that is in the vicinity. What have
we done in terms of monitoring those impacts from the drainage? I know you are
talking about not letting the rain catch, but it is inevitable for that location in terms
COUNCIL MEETING 21 JANUARY 16, 2020
of what comes through on the ground there and what ends up into the stream. I know
we tried to capture it. Just to be clear, have we monitored or has the State or County
monitored anything as it relates to the impact on the stream as it relates to this?
Mr. Tabata: We are bound by our permit when we have a
significant rain event to go out, take samples and test the samples and send them to
HDOH. We have sent many reports this winter from all of our stations that have
significant rain events. We have met the criteria of timeliness. Basically, that was
what the original violation was—the timeliness of taking the samples and
credentialing the reports that gets sent in.
Councilmember Chock: The second part of that was really about the
drainage. How do we, specifically for Hanalei, intend to try to mitigate the drainage
issues?
Mr. Tabata: As I have showed, we will be covering
everything with a roof, so it does not touch the product. Then the rain runoff can
leave the property as any other rain event. The collected leachate, which is a product
of if it gets wet, will be collected in these ten thousand (10,000) gallon storage tanks,
and then we will have to dispose of them properly.
Councilmember Chock: Okay. What happens in terms of the garbage
that is not on the ground so the water that is runoff does not come into contact with
that?
Mr. Tabata: If it does not. The model we are looking at to
start with is somewhat like Lihu`e—we will have a tipping floor and everything will
be covered and contained.
Councilmember Chock: I few other questions, but I will give you the
floor, Council Chair Kaneshiro.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. I have a follow-up on that. As far
as the roofing and putting in concrete floors, is that a new standard that HDOH is
looking at now, because some of these transfer stations have been operating for years
and now to give us a warning letter is...
Mr. Tabata: HDOH will not tell you what you have to do
to improve because these improvements, believe me, are very costly. It is up to us
and our consultant to look at what is acceptable to prevent the rain from touching the
product and then containing whatever does get wet and whatever leaches off the
product in a way that will not violate any of the conditions of the permit. As you said
our designers helped come up with acceptable plans. We have been meeting with the
department on a regular basis every step of the way from the planning, the
conceptual, we do a conceptual layout of what we want to do, and they said it is
acceptable, it meets the needs. The best way we could figure out is to do something
like in Lihu`e—cover it all, but in Lihu`e it is only the refuse, the recycling needs to
be covered, too, controlled and whatever leachate does result needs to be contained.
Even the green waste will have to put a roof.
COUNCIL MEETING 22 JANUARY 16, 2020
Council Chair Kaneshiro: I am wondering when it, would come up.
When we built the facility to begin with, I would have thought they would have said
you need to cover your green waste, you have to cover your metal area, and none of
the rubbish can be on the ground.
Mr. Tabata: I can say that under my tenure we can say,
"Things caught up with us and we are addressing it." We are meeting the needs of
the standards that are presented to us. I believe that with each permit renewal, some
new standards had to be implemented. When they come to inspect our operation,
they see what our operation is like, and then they make recommendations. It is up
to us to follow-up, and if we do not follow-up timely, we get into trouble.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: So it was more like we did it, everything was
fine at the time, then as we renew a permit, they say, "Now you should cover your
green waste, because that is a better management practice than having rain hit it."
Mr. Tabata: Exactly, yes.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Then the next year you renew they say, "You
still have not done that, you need to have a concrete floor," is that how it went?
Mr. Tabata: The bottom line is we need to have been able
to contain whatever got wet or got mixed with rain that would emanate a leachate. I
believe that we have been working towards that end now. It has been a long journey.
I know everyone is asking when we are going to complete it—we are really close. It
is because we got hit with violations at all four (4) stations, so we have to address all
four (4).
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Brun.
Councilmember Brun: Lyle, did the violations come in 2016?
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Councilmember Brun: This is 2020, why only now?
Mr. Tabata: Not only now. We have been working ever
since then to develop...work with HDOH like I mentioned, we developed the
conceptual and then we had to hire another consultant to complete the final designs,
which we have over the last two (2) years been working on and communicating with
HDOH, and securing the SRF funding to build this. We are at the end, right now.
Councilmember Brun: How long will it take to fix?
Mr. Tabata: If you can put the slide back up. Our
timeline—this is our schedule. Complete all four (4) stations design by March, put
the construction drawings out for bid, get a contractor hired, and then do each station
one at a time. Over the next two (2) years, the plan is to complete all four (4) stations.
COUNCIL MEETING 23 JANUARY 16, 2020
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you, Lyle. I hate to back track, but I
will. When we had those NOVO violations, we reported a full-blown update on the
plans for the Department of Public Works, I believe it was Keith Suga, who was
moved by Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. from the CIP Manager, to help the Solid
Waste Division address the NOVO. He had a plan that was going to be expensive
that was going to fix the problems.
Mr. Tabata: This is it.
Councilmember Kagawa: Then Mr. Suga left, so from the time Mr. Suga
left, how much delay was it before we implemented the things Mr. Suga said he was
going to do?
Mr. Tabata: This is it. It was just back and forth with
HDOH getting to a solution that they determined is acceptable to meet the permit
requirements took this long to get to this point where we are at the final design.
Councilmember Kagawa: My recollection tells me that what Mr. Suga
said back then was that we had a quicker plan than this.
Mr. Tabata: Well, we did address the immediate
day-to-day needs. We took care of that right away. We retrained our employees,
implement annual training, made sure everyone is there, implement a monitoring
system that was spot on that did not have any delays, we did some improvements at
the plants to berm, install the (inaudible) to prevent petroleum products from leaving
the facility—all of those things were implemented right away. Then, we had to go
out and find a consultant that we could hire to do the preliminary design—we did
that. We went through that, completed those for all four (4) stations, met with the
department, they looked at the conceptual and agreed that those are acceptable, then
to do the final designs, we wanted to look at putting that out to bid and had a new
consultant to come in to take the conceptual, and help us with the final designs.
Councilmember Kagawa: So the consultant that was helping us back
when Mr. Suga was there has changed?
Mr. Tabata: Before he left we hired Jacobs/CH2M.
Councilmember Kagawa: Are they fairly new?
Mr. Tabata: They are a very reputable long time...
Councilmember Kagawa: Are they fairly new working with us?
Mr. Tabata: With us, yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: Who were we working with before that?
COUNCIL MEETING 24 JANUARY 16, 2020
Mr. Tabata: AECOM.
Councilmember Kagawa: AECOM. My last question is, the four (4)
transfer stations, we knew there were NOVO violations and we knew basically some
of the problems associated, so why did we not take more preventative measures at
the landfill knowing that we had similar issues going on at all the transfer stations?
Mr. Tabata: I believe the landfill is different.
Councilmember Kagawa: The landfill is different.
Mr. Tabata: The issues there are different. They are more
operational under...we have moved on from WMH. We have taken full responsibility
now. We addressed all the needs.
Councilmember Kagawa: At the landfill there are no NOVO violations.
Mr. Tabata: No, it was a warning letter. I want to make
that clear—it was a warning letter, no violations, and we addressed all of the
concerns.
Councilmember Kagawa: Now, we believe the warning is...
Mr. Tabata: We need to keep maintaining them and keep
on the operations. We need to keep ourselves on the path to meet the needs of our
permit.
Councilmember Kagawa: Alright.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: Thank you so much. I have a couple of
questions relative to the NPDES, not just at Hanalei, but also at Kapa`a and a couple
of them I see those logs, it looks like they are intentionally opened up—so when the
rain is coming, that leachate goes out solid and fast. I wonder if there is something
we can be doing that is temporary in nature like putting a subpump and putting it
into a container we call haul off or is it too much water to consider?
Mr. Tabata: We take samples and we turn the samples in.
They are on the understanding that we can only do so much with the vast amounts
of rain. There is no container large enough to control and capture everything.
Councilmember Cowden: So I am hearing that we turn the samples in,
but I am not hearing what the samples read.
Mr. Tabata: Some of them are in violation and the
department receives them and are working with us to help us get to construction.
COUNCIL MEETING 25 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Cowden: Do you know if`Anini stream is toxic for the
people snorkeling down on the far edge?
Mr. Tabata: Not that I am aware.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Then, I see on our finance page there
is a backhoe purchased for Solid Waste.
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Councilmember Cowden: Where is that backhoe going to go? Is that
going to Kekaha where it seems that has been perpetually broken?
Mr. Tabata: I will have to get back to you on that.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay. We have talked a little bit, but if we
can put just a little energy into fixing the broken fences there, it seems like we would
be able to protect the equipment a little bit or something because I keep checking up
and that backhoe stays broken. I do not know how they can do their work and I see
the site is closed a lot. So I appreciate all the hard work that is going on here and I
am trying to see what we can do. You can get back to me on that. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: Thank you, Lyle, for your presentation. Just
to follow-up on the runoff tests, if there is a test that comes back positive or above
certain thresholds, does that then trigger further tests, as far as where that is
entering a stream or where it is entering an ocean so we can have confidence about
being in the ocean?
Mr. Tabata: At this point, no.
Councilmember Evslin: There is no HDOH protocol for a positive test
follow-up?
Mr. Tabata: They have not asked us to do anything more.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay. Do you know if there is something
above threshold, is there a difference between slightly above threshold and way above
threshold or is it just...
Mr. Tabata: Yes, there are standards. What we have been
turning in some are above, but not at that point where it is, I assume, that critical
that they are asking us to cease and desist.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay. When the construction begins at each
of these places, based on your timeline it looks like ten (10) or eleven (11) months for
two (2) transfer stations at a time, will that result in complete closure of the transfer
COUNCIL MEETING 26 JANUARY 16, 2020
station while they are doing construction or will it be partial closure of different
areas? How does that work?
Mr. Tabata: I believe in Princeville, we will do a complete
shutdown, but we will make space available to collect bag trash, which we normally
do when our stations go down right now, but even that has limits. We need to let the
contractor we hire explain to us how they will do the construction, then we will do
coordination with the contractor.
Councilmember Evslin: For the ten thousand (10,000) gallon storage
tanks, does that get pumped periodically?
Mr. Tabata: Yes, it will be.
Councilmember Evslin: Do you have an estimate of how often it gets
pumped? Also, whether we have the capacity in house or do we contract that out and
if there is ongoing costs?
Mr. Tabata: I do not have that information, because it will
depend on...everything will be on the roof. I expect virtually nothing to go in there,
but that is there in case something does get in there.
Councilmember Evslin: Alright, thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you, Council Chair Kaneshiro. Lyle, I
know you are in design phase for this project, but with a two (2) year timeline, you
must have some kind of indication of what that costs or budget.
Mr. Tabata: Yes. The Council has already approved our
first stage. We asked for approval to apply for, receive, and expend SRF funding.
That was, I believe, set eight million dollars ($8,000,000) and that will take care of
Princeville and Li1hu`e. Then, we will be coming back for more funds to finish once
we get more firm prices for Hanapepe and Kapa`a, but the estimate is looking closer
to thirteen million dollars ($13,000,000).
Councilmember Chock: SRF funds are...
Mr. Tabata: Are available. Not for all of the work.
Councilmember Chock: Okay.
Mr. Tabata: Some of the work we need to do—the County
has to fund, but most of the work will be SRF funded. It is a very low interest loan.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you. Council Chair Kaneshiro talked
about sort of being subjected to these changing regulations. I am curious, I think we
need to look before looking in how it is we plan for these renovations and certainly
COUNCIL MEETING 27 JANUARY 16, 2020
not do the minimum, but anticipate how it is a moving target. Obviously, what they
want is an enclosed system and I just want to make sure what we are investing in
meets that direction of how it is we will adapt to what the future changes and
regulations will be. Are we considering that in this design process?
Mr. Tabata: Exactly. That is why I said, the work we are
doing to design is in step with HDOH.
Councilmember Chock: Okay.
Mr. Tabata: Every turn we get to—decision to be made, we
work with them to gain acceptance before we move forward. That precipitates the
reason for taking so long.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Councilmember Brun.
Councilmember Brun: Lyle, so WMH, you said the employees were
complaining to them about...
Mr. Tabata: They reported discrepancies.
Councilmember Brun: You folks were aware of that?
Mr. Tabata: And I have sent...
Councilmember Brun: As management?
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Councilmember Brun: Did you folks correct WMH or talk to them?
Mr. Tabata: I think a lot of that was discussed in
Executive Session and the rationale and reason for the separation. I do not know if I
am at liberty to mention on the floor, if my attorney can advise me.
Councilmember Brun: My question is, what were we doing as
management?
Mr. Tabata: With all that I could do, yes. Thank you. The
contract did not have any means for me to penalize WMH for non-performance. There
was no criteria or language written in the contract for me to penalize them for
withholding payments or other...I sent E-mails and letters to them to no avail and it
became a very contentious relationship. There was no mechanism for me to hold
them accountable.
Councilmember Brun: Okay. Did we approve money for their repairs
for the NOVO violation?
COUNCIL MEETING 28 JANUARY 16, 2020
Mr. Tabata: Yes, the SRF. We have the loan for the first
phase. That is why we are moving forward as swift as we can to do Hanalei.
Councilmember Brun: Do we still have that money?
Mr. Tabata: Yes.
Councilmember Brun: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Tabata: We will be coming back for a second phase to
address Hanapepe and Kapa`a when they are at one hundred percent (100%) design
and I get a better estimate.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other question from the
members? Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: This one goes to the Kekaha warning. You
talked about...I want to get an understanding of what happened here, you are saying
basically the spotters were not doing their job at finding what...
Mr. Tabata: No, they would do their job and locate the
waste we cannot place. In the past, it was WMH's responsibility to log all of those
items and turn in the reports. We are doing that now, but they had not.
Undenounced to us, they were not doing the logging.
Councilmember Chock: Okay.
Mr. Tabata: When HDOH came to do inspection, they
asked for these logs—unacceptable waste logs and they could not produce them.
Councilmember Chock: Okay, so they were doing it they just were not
logging it.
Mr. Tabata: The employees were doing the work. WMH
were not doing the logs.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
members? If not, thank you, Lyle.
Mr. Tabata: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: While the rules are still suspended, is there
anyone in the audience wishing to testify on this?
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? Councilmember Kagawa.
COUNCIL MEETING 29 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Kagawa: I want to praise you, Councilmember Cowden.
You are so tough for being here. When I look at you, it reminds myself of when I am
not at the meetings, I am like you with a remote control in my hand. You are so brave
and I praise you for being here under those conditions, because I would probably be
home. It is difficult to talk about these situations. When I got on board in 2012, I
was told in seven (7) years or so we would be closing Kekaha and opening up Ma`alo.
Seven (7) years has passed, Ma`alo is nowhere near. We talk about all these other
issues and then told about the solutions we have in place—it is not easy, rubbish is a
dirty business. The whole world struggles with rubbish. There are countries that
incinerate a lot, like Japan, countries we praise allows incineration to reduce waste.
What does that do to the world environment? Not just Japan. Everyone is affected.
Japan is not even close to the worse places. There is China and Korea that you cannot
even imagine what they do with their rubbish. A lot of them ends up in the ocean.
We are talking about a world-wide problem, but in America, we expect to be the
leaders. When we have important issues before us like pollution into streams in the
north shore—there is no good place in the north shore. Congratulations to Public
Works for picking up rubbish all of these years there. There are a lot of people who
live there and a lot of opala that comes through that place. When it rains there are
problems, but when we sit in this chair and you do not know whether to believe we
are capable of handling violations and issues coming through—it is difficult.
Constituents want action, they want solutions; they do not want to hear false
promises, because they lose faith in government and our ability. I think that is what
is happening with Solid Waste. As you look, Solid Waste is tied into Public Works.
You say we cannot...the best we can do is in two (2) years, but when it comes to Rice
Street improvements, Transportation Investment Generating Economic
Recovery (TIGER) grants, all these improvements in front here, Hardy Street—we do
it like nothing. Thirteen million dollar ($13,000,000) projects, putting barriers and
sidewalks—we have no problem, boom. We get the job done when it comes to bikes
and walkways—we have no problem implementing action. When it comes to landfill,
transfer stations, health violations—frustrating. I will term out...I am done in
November. You are not going to hear me complain, but the thing is, I think that is
what I was elected for—to express the truth, address issues, and help improve our
quality of life. The taxpayers pay all of our salaries, including across the street. They
expect the truth, they expect action. I do not know...in Solid Waste, I think we have
an "F."
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? Councilmember
Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: Well, I am going to go on a different tone.
First of all, I want to thank Kekaha. The community of Kekaha particularly, has
taken on the opala of all the rest of the island. We need to work harder relative to
our solid waste. I have been putting some focus in on that for quite some time. I
know it is difficult. I am in somewhat of agreement with what he just said, that we
do need to step it up, but I am not as hard on Public Works as you are. I want to be
hard on all of us. We need to stop creating all this garbage that we cannot manage.
We have to stop doing that and I think if that happened in our own home communities
right next to us, we would be a lot more conscience when we throw trash away, you
COUNCIL MEETING 30 JANUARY 16, 2020
are not throwing it away, you are giving it to Kekaha. After that, I really want to
say, I think I have gotten proposals from three (3) different companies that want to
come in to help us with how we manage it. What would feel honest to me is what we
are having full conversations with our Administrative team on the viability or
non-viability. I understand that the County wants to take it over completely, but
maybe we need the help from someone else. There are innovated solutions that are
being suggested, offered, or proposed, and I want to have that conversation up here
with Solid Waste. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone else? For me, I
want to say it is promising that we are moving towards solutions. We all know we
want.to see things happen right away, but obviously it takes time and money. The
State changes standards on us. We were always constantly trying to improve the way
we are doing things. As long as I have known it, we have put green waste on the
ground uncovered, and to now say that it has to be covered or needs to be on
concrete—that is a big cost to the community. It is not something we can just snap
our fingers on and get it done right away. It is expensive. It takes planning. The
last thing we want to do is to say do it, we put up a structure and then HDOH comes
back and says, "That structure is not correct, tear it down and redo it." It does take
time to get things done. Obviously, we have a lot to clean up and improve on, but I
am glad we are moving in the direction to get this resolved. Hopefully, a lot of these
items will not ever come up again. I think Lyle said he is taking care of the daily
operations and reporting. Hopefully, we never have to hear about us not reporting
things correctly. I think we are taking in more of the responsibility to do it, also.
Ultimately, if we do not do it, then the finger is going to be pointing at us. We are
trying to improve what we are doing and also taking on more of the responsibility. It
is a double-edged sword. We are not going to be able to point at anyone if we are not
able to do the things we are doing anymore. I think it makes us more accountable to
it and also gives us more power in controlling our destiny. Thank you for continuing
this and keeping up with this work. I know it takes long, but ultimately, we want to
see things get done—it takes forever. A Councilmember can probably start their
Council term talking about this and finish their entire eight (8) years without even
having the building come up yet, which is frustrating, but it takes time. You see a
lot of these projects that way. You can allocate money for roads, but it takes three (3)
years for all of the engineering for the roads to get done. We might not even be on
Council by the time that money gets spent on a road that we put money for. It is a
good thing and a bad thing. It is a good thing it takes long, because at least you know
we are engineering it correctly and trying to get all our ducks in row, but it is a bad
thing that it takes a while to get there. With that, is there any further discussion?
The motion to receive C 2020-12 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Let us take our ten (10) minute caption break
now and then we will take Communication C 2020-13 regarding the Kauai Census.
There being no objections, the meeting recessed at 10:13 a.m. for a caption
break.
COUNCIL MEETING 31 JANUARY 16, 2020
The meeting reconvened at 10:28 a.m., and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Welcome back. Next item,we have C 2020-13.
C 2020-13 Communication (12/26/2019) from the Managing Director,
requesting agenda time for a briefing from Marie Williams and Nalani Brun, County
of Kauai Census Complete Count Committee, and Eric Anderson, Census 2020
Recruiter, on the upcoming Census 2020: Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive
C 2020-13 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
MARIE WILLIAMS, Program Manager: Aloha and good morning. Thank
you for having us, I am Marie Williams with the Planning Department, but we are
here today on behalf of the Kauai County Government Complete Count Committee
Group. Several of our committee members are here. We are also in the audience
holding the banner. We will be giving a presentation on not only the United
States (US) Census. Census day is April 18t of this year and of course the census is a
decennial census—it only occurs every ten (10) years. We are also fortunate to have
a Census Bureau staff here. Eric Anderson is leading the census recruiting efforts
here and will be speaking about that, as well. Before I turn over the presentation
over to Alex, I will just start off with talking a little bit about why the County is
involved with the US Census, of course we are not the employees of the Census
Bureau, but it is a very important event that occurs every ten (10) years. The
information that we get from the census, in the Planning Department, especially in
long-range and for planning purposes, is not only of the Planning Department, but
other agencies also. We basically base all of our assumptions on the data that occurs
and the State does its population estimates based on the Census year, as well. The
Census also plays a critical role in deciding which amount of funding we get. Also, it
describes the changing face of the US, as well as we grow as immigrants arrive, new
people, more births, so it is very important that everyone participates in the Census.
Alex will be presenting information about this. I also wanted to thank Alex Wong,
he is a Planner with the Planning Department. He has been with us for three (3)
years. He has brought such a great energy to this Census effort we are embarking
on and we are very grateful for everything he is doing with this group. So I will turn
it over to Alex Wong. Thank you.
ALEX WONG, Planner: Aloha mai kdkou. My name is Alex and I have
some information to share with you—some statistics on what we have been using to
educate the public about the importance of the 2020 Census. I want to say mahalo
to our Complete Count Committee team. We have been meeting for five (5) months
already and everyone has been coming to a meeting every second Thursday of the
month. What I would like to share with you is a little show and tell of what we have
accomplished so far and what is on our to-do list to accomplish this spring and
summer. It states in the US Constitution that there shall be a decennial census
conducted every ten (10) years in the United States of America. Basically, you have
to do a head count of all the residents living in the nation. One of key purposes of
this census is, in addition to the allocation of Federal funding and tax dollars, is the
portioning of US House of Representatives at the national-level. In terms of being a
COUNCIL MEETING 32 JANUARY 16, 2020
small island State, this is incredibly crucial, as well as in terms of our representation
in Congress. Let me share some quick facts on the Census 2020 that are on the
Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) website. They
were published May 8, 2019 and DBEDT has been the instrumental State agency
that I have been coordinating with in terms of launching our own community and
public outreach on this island. As Ms. Williams has mentioned, on top of the
population counts, census data also includes demographics, social economic, and
housing characteristics are a population. As many of you already know, one of the
controversial questions that has been discussed about the 2020 Census is the citizen
question and that went all the way up to the Supreme Court. It was actually decided
that it would be removed this census, despite being on previous census surveys. The
data is used for determining each State's political representation and also the amount
of money they receive from the Federal government—that is our Federal tax dollars.
As Ms. Williams' also mentioned, the data is used to forecast population and economic
growth, estimate in residential housing needs, utility demands, infrastructure
demands, and changes in our economy. Also, local governments, State governments,
and the Federal government uses the Census data statistics for policymakers and
government agencies to make decisions that affect all of us—residents and taxpayers.
Here is a couple of numbers I want to throw out there. Hawaii response rates have
historically been low in previous census. In 2000, Hawai`i's response rate was
sixty-six percent (66%), lower than the national average of seventy-four
percent (74%). In the 2010 Census, Hawai`i's response rate was sixty-eight
percent (68%), which was still lower than the national average of seventy-four
percent (74%). The neighbor island, as you would anticipate, was significantly lower
at about fifty-four percent (54%). That is kind of part of the culture and also part of
the fact that we are the final frontier out here—we are the last stop for many.
This is the statistic that myself and Eric Anderson have been putting out
there—this is on the DBEDT website—for every one percent (1%) of the population
undercounted in the State of Hawaii, the State will lose approximately thirty-seven
million dollars ($37,000,000) each year for the next ten (10) years. That is a
significant number. This is why we need to count as many people as possible who
live and reside on this island, whether they live under a house or on the beach. It is
important that we count everyone. This is just a quick list of challenges that we face
being a small state in the middle of the Pacific. I included this information here, just
to put things in perspective. Out of all fifty (50) states, twenty-six (26) states have
actually allocated their own State tax dollars towards their public outreach and
education. In order to get their residents to fill out their census surveys, the state of
California, I commonly site being that it is a large state, they have allocated about
one hundred eighty-seven million dollars ($187,000,000) for their census outreach
effort, which equates to about four dollars and seventy-three cents ($4.73) per
resident. Relative to that, the State of Hawaii has allocated just a little over seven
hundred thousand dollars ($700,000), which equates to approximately fifty-three
cents ($0.53) per resident in the State of Hawaii. So for us, it is much more of a
grassroots, ground up movement. We really have our own fate in our hands at this
point. It is all about effort, community, and how we can communicate the importance
of this movement and effort, not just for the State of Hawaii, but for our island of
Kauai. There you go right there. The George Washington University conducted a
study called, "Counting for Dollars." We have been sharing some of this data, I just
COUNCIL MEETING 33 JANUARY 16, 2020
wanted to show you the total program obligations for the State of Hawaii, also the
program names and departments—those are all of our state agencies that benefit
directly from the Federal tax dollars and how that affects our state specifically. As
you can see, programs in there are national school lunch programs, nutrition
programs for our students in our public and public charter schools, Section 8 Housing
assistance, Special Education Grants, also things related to healthcare and Medicare,
Child Care and Development, and Low-Income Home Energy Assistance. As a rural
island, a lot of these will affect us directly. Another number that I wanted to put out
there, in terms of a growing concern on this island with our residents is the traffic
concern and our infrastructure. Just so everyone knows, we have approximately one
hundred sixty-seven (167) miles of roadway and fifty-nine (59) bridges that are
Federal aid eligible that the State and County maintain on this island. In terms of
bettering our circumstances and situation with dealing with our transportation
networks, it is vital that we count everyone. Everyone who has a very passionate
concern about this issue—they participate in this survey. I have a little show and
tell—these are our tasks that we have completed so far. Number 1, we established a
working relationship with Eric Anderson and Nicole Pezario, who represent the US
Census Bureau as Kauai Census Taker Coordinators. We have begun the
#kauaicounts social media outreach campaign. I know some of you are on social
media, if you could please share and repost, retweet—there is a lot of good content
coming out made by the State of Hawaii, made by nonprofits, local artist, and
videographers that are now out there on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. They
are going for the sentimental approach that hits you on the heartstrings. Just keep
an eye out for those and all you need to do is repost it and it goes a long way. Just
getting the exposure and the education. Also, easing the public's fears, especially
those in the undercounted communities and immigrant communities, this is a way
for them to be represented. We all try to pay our fair share out here, we pay our
taxes—this is what we are entitled to under the US government. We have also
handed out DBEDT 2020 Census bags that were provided by the State initiative. We
were at the Waimea Christmas Parade and The Lights on Rice Parade. The Office of
the Mayor were giving them all away, along with Eric Anderson. Where ever you see
them, Eric will be there. That is one of the things the State has provided, which are
informational pamphlets and these fancy Census bags for the State. We also ordered
and received seventeen (17) custom Kauai 2020 Census banners, which we brought
here today—these are 10-foot by 3-foot banners. I want to send a special mahalo to
Tami Lam at DBEDT, she has been very responsive and communicative. Whenever
I ask her for more pamphlets and bags, she has sent them right away. DBEDT paid
for these banners. So these banners were paid for by State tax dollars. This is us
trying to reach out and educate ourselves. This is for our community paid for by us.
I also wanted to thank Deputy Director of Planning, Jodi A. Higuchi-Sayegusa. She
was instrumental on coordinating with the Department of Public Works and reaching
out to Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT). These banners will be going
up in the usual locations around the island in order to capture the attention and
curiosity of our residents as they cruise around and go about their daily life and get
to and from work and they sit in the traffic, so keep an eye out. I also wanted to put
it out there, if anyone did not get the memorandum, if they do take the banner down
because you were told to, please do not throw it away. Please hold on to it, call the
Planning Department and I will come and pick it up and resolve the issue. Like I
said, this is State tax dollars and we are graciously accepting these banners from
COUNCIL MEETING 34 JANUARY 16, 2020
DBEDT, which they paid for. They were also kind enough to allow me to customize
it, otherwise it would have just been a bunch of surfboards with some statistics under
it, but I wanted to make one that would reach our community and turn some heads—
that is where this one came from. The theme we are going with is "more money"
because that is what Kauai can use, right now. We also ordered two hundred (200)
custom Kauai 2020 Census bumper stickers and I want to say a special mahalo to
the Office of Economic Development (OED) and Nalani Brun for helping me
orchestrate that. This is our bumper sticker. We got approval from the Office of the
Mayor. These are going to go on our motor pool vehicles, our Kauai Bus vehicles, and
if we have leftovers I am hoping maybe Kauai Police Department (KPD) would also
be willing to display some of our census stickers as well, and any additional County
vehicles that are not in motor pool. I have plenty of stickers to go around as long as
we get all the okays. We have also drafted three (3) custom Kauai 2020 Census
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that we will work with Kaua`i's KONG radio
and Ho`ike Kauai Community Television, in terms of executing and getting out to the
public on social media and the Ho`ike channel on cable television.
Here is the banner and like I said, this was all the support that DBEDT has
given our island. At this point in time, we actually have been...with the exception of
the bumper stickers that the County has paid for, the County has paid no money
towards all of these initiatives we are putting forth. We started with no budget, but
we have accomplished quite a bit. We plan on accomplishing a lot more, so this is
currently on our to-do list, to support Eric and Nicole's effort to hire more Kauai
census takers, and record and share the Mayor's address for the 2020 Census, which
I believe is happening tomorrow. I want to say a special mahalo to Alden for lending
a lot of his time and support for the CCC in this movement. Number 3, obtain
approval from HDOT, we are working on that one, we are aiming to get the banners
up and our campaign launched at the end of February/early March—that is the goal,
right now. Expand the #kauaicounts social media outreach campaign. That is the
easiest thing everyone can do—share information, educate, and encourage people to
participate in the census. It is very simple. It is a ten (10) question survey of very
basic questions. We also need to complete and air the three (3) PSAs on radio, cable
television, and social media. Number 6, there are also some grant money
opportunities that we are pursuing. One of them specifically is the Hawaii
Community Foundation RFP and that has to be related to events specifically. So we
have been discussing some opportunities to probably focus on three (3) specific
undercounted communities that would be Kekaha, Hanamd'ulu, and Anahola. Also,
participate in other events that are already going to be happening this year, including
the Rice Street Block Party, the Okinawan Festival, and some other possible events.
The goal there is to get to those communities that are hard to reach and hard to
accurately count. We were thinking of creating a welcoming environment, where we
would invite the community and let them know beforehand that they can come and
fill out the Census at the event. We will provide laptops with internet and they will
be able to fill out their ten (10) question Census at our event and we will provide food
for them. That is the dream, right now, if we can obtain this grant money. As I have
said, the County of Kauai Complete Count Committee was a County initiative formed
with no initial budget allocated for this public outreach event, but I am very proud of
what we have accomplished so far. I am very grateful for everyone in the CCC team
and everyone who has offered help and assistance along the way. Kaua`i's 2020
COUNCIL MEETING 35 JANUARY 16, 2020
Census effort is to count every single person currently living on this island. It is a
grassroots campaign. At this point, Kauai will not receive any monetary funds
directly from the Federal and State governments. Moving forward, the only other
cost that I am anticipating is to cover the costs of our radio PSAs that we have been
working on. We are currently searching for a minimum of five thousand
dollars ($5,000) in order to compensate our local radio airwaves and stations, in order
for them to air these PSAs we are working on. At this time, I would like to turn it
over to Eric Anderson. Mahalo.
ERIC ANDERSON: Aloha mai kdkou. My name is Eric Anderson.
As Alex said, I am one of the recruiters on the island for the 2020 Census. I came
onboard the 1st of October. A little background is, in 2010 I also worked here on
Kauai on the Census. Both times, I was a temporary employee of the Federal
government. In 2010, I worked the entire operations—that means I was onboard for
more than a year in my current stint with the US Census Bureau, it looks like I will
be onboard through the summer. My experiences in 2010 were primarily south
shore/west side. I was on the ground as a census taker visiting homes. So I have a
good understanding of what is involved. Before I start, I want to thank the County,
the Council, the Office of the Mayor, and everyone in the CCC team. Every day when
I am out there struggling to find people to apply for the census takers jobs, I
remember very quickly that I have all these people behind me that are supporting us
and I also want to let you know, I think it makes sense to you that I am in touch with
everyone across the State who is doing what I am doing. I can tell you for a fact that
our County has stepped up much more than all of the other counties in Hawaii, so I
think we are doing very well. I am looking forward to all the things that Alex was
talking about—every little thing that we can think of doing is going to make a
difference here. The first thing I wanted to take a look at here is give everyone a
sense of how much Hawaii has grown. I have done a lot of my own personal research,
because to me the story of the census is a fascinating look at the history of the US,
but I think everyone knows that before we became the territory of the US, the
Kingdom had also conducted census. Because of our limited amount of time, I am not
going to take us through all of that, but a couple of the things that I do want to point
out is that the first census that is in the archives over at the University of Hawaii at
Manoa takes us back to the 1830's. The one a lot of people refer back to, which was
the last census taken by the Kingdom was in 1890. The population then was about
ninety thousand (90,000). The other part of the story the census tells us is more or
less what we were thinking at the time, not only in the data that is produced, but if
you go back to the questions that were asked, it tells us about the attitudes, the mind
sets, the values, beliefs, that the government and maybe, in general, the overall arch
in what cultural beliefs were. Of course there were many challenging questions that
people have been confronted with. The most interesting thing is for us in Hawaii, I
think, in terms of race and ethnicity is that until 2000, people could not choose their
own race/identity. The census takers are the ones who would stand at the door, look
you in the eye or look at your face and decide what you were and thankfully that has
changed. We are now at a point where, I think everyone recalls, not only will you
pick a general category, but you can fill in the details of your background and people
can choose multiple race and ethnic origins. Today, I believe about fifty-four (54)
languages are going to be available to people when they fill out the census—both
online and we will also try to provide some local residents who can...who will get
COUNCIL MEETING 36 JANUARY 16, 2020
hired by the census and we will try to support people at the door with interpreters,
as well.
Here are the ways people are going to be able to respond. I think most of you
heard it will be online. We are also going to deliver packets of material personally at
the door where people do not have mail delivery. Later on in my presentation, I have
provided a map that identifies some of the areas on Kauai where they have general
delivery or everyone has post office boxes, so obviously, they are not going to get mail
and we will hang things on the door if they are not home, but we hope to hit every
house. The last thing that is my kuleana is the fact that we need a lot of census takers
and we will be visiting houses that do not respond to the census. To give you an idea
of the timeline, I will not go through all of this, but you can see there are a lot of
operations involved just in 2020. Obviously, you see the advertising campaign at the
top that Alex referred to, but even last summer there were a lot of numerator's in the
field working on the mapping we need. That all started in 2010, obviously Google has
come along and Google Maps has become part of the data set we use, but they still go
back and find new developments, new apartment structures, et cetera, that need to
be added to the map. People are going to have home delivery, as I said, where they
do not receive mail, but people are also going to receive a card in the mail and that
will describe to them how they can go online and answer the questions. Census day
is April 1st, then throughout the summer, we do non-response follow-up, the name
obviously tells you what it is about. Census data needs to be delivered to the
President the end of December, then we have the other two (2) aspects that are most
important, the redistricting and all the data products that are developed. Alex kind
of hit this—the self-response rates across the country, my sixty-five percent (65%) is
one percent (1%) higher than his for the national average. The undercount estimates
to the right are somewhat disputable. Some people go on the high-end, some people
look more on the low-end, but either way, as Alex said, even a one percent (1%)
undercount costs us millions of dollars. To give you an idea of the work load we are
going to face in the summer, if we see a seventy-five percent (75%) response rate here
on Kauai, which is optimistic, census takers have to count eighteen
thousand (18,000) people this summer—that is a lot of work.
I want to emphasize, too, undercounting affects Native Hawaiians, Pacific
Islanders, and Asians the most. It is simple to understand if people are invisible,
then funding may never come. It epsecially affects children. You can look at this on
your own. I have printed out a color copy, but this basically shows you that it is a
sophisticated approach here. The different colors in the map represent the different
ways that we hope to connect with people to get them information to ask them to
respond to the census. The yellow areas, because it is easiest for us to see folks in the
audience, as well, the yellow areas are where we are going to hand deliver census
packets rather than mailing them. There are a lot of folks who have post office boxes
or general delivery. The next slide where the cross hatches are represent places on
the island where so far we understand twenty percent (20%) or more of the residents
in these areas do not have internet subscriptions. At first glance, you are going to
say, well then there are at least twenty percent (20%) of these of folks that cannot do
their questionnaire, but I want to reassure you that it is possible to do it, if you have
a data subscription on your phone, to be able to go on your phone and do it, as well.
It still is a concern and does present some challenges, but everyone will have the
COUNCIL MEETING 37 JANUARY 16, 2020
opportunity to do it on paper, the old fashioned way. I do not want people to think
they are being forced to do it online. They will have the option to do the paper and
pencil version, in this case, sorry, pen. One of the things that we saw in mid-2019,
where these surveys done about these people's attitudes, so when we look at
non-response, we also have to think about what are some of the reasons why. I think
we all know that we do not always get the best civic education in school or we do not
understand the importance of the census. People just do not connect with the
Constitution, with taxes, with apportionment, and so on. You can see from this
survey that pure research did that. There are a lot of people who are in the middle—
they are neutral. Forty-eight percent (48%) do not think there is a benefit or there is
any harm. They do not have any understanding of the impact it has on funding. Then
the other important aspect—I have handed out something to the Council here about
data stewardship and I, again, want to point out that the Census Bureau is
disconnected from all other agencies in the government. There are a lot of Federal
privacy laws that govern how we handle data. Every employee is sworn, they have a
written affidavit they have to sign, and they are sworn for life they have to protect
this data, and there are very severe penalties. For all of the genealogy folks, they are
the ones who have taught me a lot about how they use census data and as you see,
after seventy-two (72) years, you can access names and addresses if you are
researching your family. The next release for 1950 is coming in 2022. Very quickly,
a visual census form pretty much looks like 2010. It is technically nine (9) questions,
it is really ten (10). It takes one (1) cup of coffee and you are done. Each person in
the house is identified by age, birthdate, race, and ethnicity. You are only being asked
to give your address and telephone number. Okay, are there any questions or
comments?
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: I just want to thank you folks first off for
coming here and all the work you are doing—this seems like such a grassroots effort
to help get Federal funding for Kauai, also for ten (10) years of data going forward,
this is so vital for us to understand demographic patterns and all kinds of vital
information, so thank you for the work you folks are doing and coming before us with
this presentation. One question off the bat just to be clear, are they still looking to
hire census takers?
Mr. Anderson: Yes.
Councilmember Evslin: If someone wants to apply they go the job.
When do you close that? I know you are looking at the end of that window, as far as
people applying. When would be the deadline for them to apply?
Mr. Anderson: We would like people to apply within the next
two (2) or three (3) weeks. I believe that we will be still looking for people until the
end of February.
Councilmember Evslin: A question for Alex, and you have already
given me the answer a while ago, but I forget—you said it is forty million
COUNCIL MEETING 38 JANUARY 16, 2020
dollars ($40,000,000) per year, per percentage undercounting that we would lose.
What does that work out per person counted?
Mr. Wong: I have been told that it is difficult to break
that down into a per person number, statistically speaking there would be some
inaccuracies throwing that number around. That one percent (1%) is for the State,
not just our island. That is the other thing too, it is a little higher level than what we
can get.
Councilmember Evslin: Regardless, it is a big number, though, per
person. Thank you, folks. However, we can support them I look forward to
helping...hopefully getting some people to apply for the job...however we can support
when the actually census is going on.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Just a quick follow-up as far as the part-time
job—what does that entail? If you folks want to say a little more, I know it is twenty
dollars ($20) per hour.
Mr. Anderson: Right, I moved on to those slides here real
quick. I wanted to make sure we had a chance to catch ourselves with some other
questions. The training will be in March and April. People can work through August.
Twenty dollars ($20) per hour. It is flexible, part-time. We are happy to have people
working just prime-time for us, which is when people are home—late afternoon or
early evening, and on weekends. So if someone can shave off six (6), eight (8), or
ten (10) hours a week from their schedule, even if they have another job or have keiki
or kupuna care, it is a great way to get out into the community. We think of it as
community service. You can work full-time if you want as well. There is no over-time
and it is a temporary Federal job, so it does require an online application through the
Federal government—there is a background check. Basically, people can work just a
few hours a week for us—they are really going to make a difference. The application
online is a really simple website. It is "2020census.gov" and you do not even need the
forward slash jobs, just go to 2020census.gov and you will see a button on top that
says, "Jobs." You are looking at folks that are going to be working throughout the
summer, but if something happens, the employment is temporary and some people
will only work a month for us or a month and a half. As we start knocking off these
addresses there will be less work, right. There is a general workload. Eighteen
thousand (18,000) people need to be counted, approximately. So by the time we get
to the end of the summer, we do have smaller crews out in the field.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I, too, want to say mahalo nui loa for all the
work you folks are doing. I think it is really important as you have shown. April 1st
is actually census day. If people are wanting to do it online, will it only be available
online starting April 180
Mr. Anderson: Everyone will get cards in March, or as I have
said, we will hand-deliver packets, probably by the beginning of March it may be
COUNCIL MEETING 39 JANUARY 16, 2020
available. Even before people receive a card it might be possible for them to check it
out.
Councilmember Kuali`i: When these cards come, it will tell you how
you can do it online?
Mr. Anderson: Exactly, yes. If people prefer a paper version,
they can call a number and request it and their request will come to us locally and
we will make sure we go to the house.
Councilmember Kuali`i: All that is coming to the house is this card, not
the actual...because you said everyone will have the opportunity to do on paper, but
if we just want to get it out of the way online, then you do not even need to...
Mr. Anderson: You will be able to do that, yes. The short
answer is, some people will be given both. They are still testing this out. So they are
going to try to give people both options in some cases and in other cases people will
get a card.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Basically, the job is after that, when people do
not do it, then people are following-up.
Mr. Anderson: Exactly.
Councilmember Kuali`i: You are saying too, even if you only have a few
hours a week, you could do it part-time.
Mr. Anderson: Yes, and we would like to hire people from
every part of the island so that we have crews that go out in their own neighborhoods
and they are walking around in places they grew up in. They are probably going to
know half the people that they talk to and it makes it easier for everyone.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Yes, I live in Anahola and I am sure our
community association will try to identify some people and make sure they work with
you and you can definitely put your banner up on our fence along the highway.
Mr. Anderson: Thank you.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Thank you so much for all your hard work.
Mr. Anderson: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: You folks thought about giving more pay to
those that need to walk in Kekaha and in Waimea Valley, because there are a lot of
dogs. The dog is only on a chain, the dog does not bark.
Mr. Anderson: I will bring the beef jerky.
COUNCIL MEETING 40 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Kagawa: You give the dog beef jerky?
Mr. Anderson: Oh, yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: They are going to bite you first.
Mr. Anderson: No.
Councilmember Kagawa: Kauai people...this is a unique place. You
need to incentivize them with food. You need to give them something. They are not
going to do something for nothing. Can you think about that if you want to hit the
improvement mark? I think that works. Like the free and reduced lunch for the
students—the parents fill it out because they want free lunch for their kids. It is big
bucks, if you need to pay it is five dollars ($5) a plate, but if you have free and reduced
lunch, it is zero dollars ($0). Even with the bus, they will fill out something if they
get some benefits—even if you make hot dogs. I can help you folks hibachi. Then the
signs—the banners, I am an expert in that. You have to put them where they will be
visible. I can help you put up those banners and make sure they do not take them
down. The bumper stickers—you are wasting your time. I gave out about two
hundred (200) and I only see about five (5).
Mr. Wong: Do not worry, we are not putting them on.
Councilmember Kagawa: You need to put the bumper sticker on
yourself. They all will tell you they want the bumper sticker, but they will not put it
on, because I have been there, done that. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: Thank you so much. How many census takers
have you hired so far? How many do you think you need?
Mr. Anderson: We are at about thirty-five percent (35%) of
our applicant pool. We should be at about ninety percent (90%), right now.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay, so we need them.
Mr. Anderson: A lot of them.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay. My mind goes to some of the people
who probably might need the services, at least the social services, we estimate about
twenty-five percent (25%) housing insecure—that means they are staying with some
friends or might be out at the end of the month, they might be in their car, who knows
where they are, but they do not know where they are going to be next week for sure.
So we have quite a lot of those and that particular population tends to be a bit nervous
and sometimes the people who are housing unsheltered people in their garage for a
few weeks do not want to claim them because they are afraid they might get a tax
increase—you never know what. People are afraid of the government at almost every
COUNCIL MEETING 41 JANUARY 16, 2020
level. I had a few ideas, but I still have question on that. Does every citizen have a
discrete number so we can be clear we are not double counting? How do we not double
count?
Mr. Anderson: First of all, I want to point out that it is not
just citizens that we are counting. That is maybe the most important thing I can
share with you based on what you are saying, is that we are in fact trying to count
everyone. The second part is that the Census Bureau, their job, they are the bean
counters, they are the data wizards. They do their absolute best to make sure we do
not double count people. In the end, it seems we always end up undercounting.
Again, I want to refocus you on that as the primary issue—undercounting, because
people do not want to be identified.
Councilmember Cowden: The reason why I ask is because I think if I
was trying to guide this, I would have consideration for a presence at the food bank
and I would have a computer right there for people to come in and fill it out while
they are waiting. People stand outside of the food bank for two (2) or three (3) hours
before they go in. So you have this captured population, many of whom would fit into
that category that we are discussing. Many of whom do not have access to the
internet at home. So if there was a little bank of computers that rolled up in a car or
something like that, it gives people something to do and you are able to
educate—that is an idea. Another idea would be, kind of what he said, an incentive.
Even the power company, Kauai Island Utility Company (KIUC) gives you a big bag
of rice and chili if you just show up to their meeting, right...if you were doing it in
places...if you go down to encampment areas and you do not want to totally bust the
encampment exactly, but if you come out there and you got the big hot dog cookout
and have that embankment of people who can come and count. Do you count inside
our correctional facility and holding cells?
Mr. Anderson: Just very quickly, if you look up at our
timeline again, I went back, so you see March and April, Group Quarters, Advance
Contact, Enumeration at Transitory Locations—we have special operations where we
in fact go to Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), we go to nursing homes, we work
on finding all the homeless encampments, we work with Kauai Economic
Opportunity, Inc (KEO), we work with Child and Family Services, et cetera. What
you are describing is probably the most challenging aspect of this and the Census
Bureau has been at it for a long time and there is still no clean solution here. We do
our best and we try to access people, but we also do not want to harm the community.
We have to understand that we are data stewards, so it is not like we are going to
force people to provide information.
Councilmember Cowden: Yes. I just want to incentivize. I liked what
Alex said about social media pieces. I have not seen those yet, so I will definitely try
to post those, but if there is a localized one where it assures people that they will not
be punished for having someone who has not yet got their green card or their housing
someone who is struggling, because even just to have a driver's license we have so
many challenges. No one wants their address claimed because they are afraid real
property tax is going to find some way to go after them. We have to have little social
COUNCIL MEETING 42 JANUARY 16, 2020
media things assuring people they are not going to get stung for kindness or for
compliance. Those are just suggestions.
Mr. Wong: If you follow the County of KauaTs social
media on Facebook, Marie and myself manage the Planning Department's Facebook
and Instagram. We will post the PSAs that have been produced by the US Census
Bureau, which do address privacy and data concerns. In one PSA that I downloaded
yesterday, they state very plainly that no County, local, or Federal agencies outside
of the Census Bureau are allowed to access that data. Only the Census Bureau is
allowed to access that data. I will be posting those PSAs that have been created by
the Census Bureau, as well as the PSAs that are being created at the State-level and
County-level.
Councilmember Cowden: There is no phone app? There is no Census
2020 phone app, yet so people can just click that.
Mr. Anderson: Click that for what purpose?
Councilmember Cowden: Everyone has an app for this or that or the
other thing, like if there was a Census 2020 phone app. Most people who do not have
housing have a phone.
Mr. Anderson: As I have said, people will be able to answer
the questionnaire with their phone.
Councilmember Cowden: Going to a website, not an app.
Mr. Anderson: I am not sure. I thought they were going to
create an app—a free app of course, but that would be something that would be
announced. I think it will be part of the whole package of PSAs. They are going to
come out to educate everyone about their ability to respond.
Councilmember Cowden: My final statement is that I want to thank you
all and really recognize the sensitive way you are approaching it and the way you
frame it and I appreciate how we are going after it. To the people out there, I really
hope you answer this, because it helps us get money for all of us and including the
roads.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
members? Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Just a quick follow-up. The online—say our
community association was planning a big event, maybe with hotdogs and we had all
our laptops and everyone who came we got them to go online and do it, we probably
should not do it on April 18t because...well, as I see too that is a Wednesday, so we
will be in Committee Meeting, but I mean you do not want everyone going online at
the same time, I would imagine, across the country.
COUNCIL MEETING 43 JANUARY 16, 2020
Mr. Anderson: Well, there are three hundred million
(300,000,000) plus people to count and I am sure on any given day the traffic at the
Census Bureau Website...
Councilmember Kuali`i: They all went on April 18t.
Mr. Anderson: It is only about jamming up Anahola's
airwaves more than anything that I would be worried about, but I do not see a
problem with it. Although, the way it works we could see things breakdown once in
a while. It is a new system, but I am pretty sure that we can get everyone in Anahola
online at the same time and we would be okay. It would be great.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions? If not, thank
you. Thank you for the presentation.
Mr. Anderson: Mahalo.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: 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: Seeing none. Is there any final discussion
from the members?
The motion to receive C 2020-13 for the record was them put, and unanimously
carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item.
LEGAL DOCUMENT:
C 2020-15 Communication (12/26/2019) from the Housing Director,
recommending Council approval of the following legal documents for the Pua Loke
Street `Ohana Zone Project located at Tax Map Key (TMK) No. (4) 3-8-005:003 (por.),
Lihu`e, Kauai, Hawaii:
• Memorandum of Understanding and the indemnification provision
contained therein, relating to State funding in the amount of$2,000,000
for the construction of the Pua Loke Street `Ghana Zone Project; and
• Contract for Health and Human Services by and between the State of
Hawaii Department of Human Services and the County of Kauai
Housing Agency, relating to State funding in the amount of$2,363,972
for the provision of services at the Pua Loke Street `Ghana Zone Project
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2020-15, seconded by
Councilmember Chock.
COUNCIL MEETING 44 JANUARY 16, 2020
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions from the members on
this item? 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: Seeing none. Is there any final discussion
from the members?
The motion to approve C 2020-15 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item.
CLAIMS:
C 2020-16 Communication (12/11/2019) from the County Clerk, transmitting
a claim filed against the County of Kauai by Janell L. Sablan, for damage to her vehicle,
pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai.
C 2020-17 Communication (12/23/2019) from the County Clerk, transmitting
a claim filed against the County of Kauai by Jenny Silva, for damage to her vehicle,
pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai.
C 2020-18 Communication (12/30/2019) from the County Clerk, transmitting
a claim filed against the County of Kauai by Jenalyn Constantino, for damage to her
vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to refer C 2020-16, C 2020-17, and C 2020-18 to
the Office of the County Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the
Council, seconded by Councilmember Chock.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to
testify on these items?
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? Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: I just have one comment. I saw in the news
that our County road folks patching K61oa Road or Lawa`i Road and members of the
public are yelling at our road crews about patching the pukas. For me, I think it is
cowardly to do that. The workers are trying to fix the road, it has been neglected for a
COUNCIL MEETING 45 JANUARY 16, 2020
long time and the second point is, if you know the road is busted up, why are you going
to go fast? If these cars are getting damaged from the road—yes, the road should be
better, it is inexcusable, but go slow, just go slow. I try to avoid the potholes...try to
make it in the middle of the car. Why are you going to drive fast through the pothole?
Of course your car might get damaged, then you will file a claim. Slow down. Your car
is not going to get busted up if you go slow. If the road is busted up, go slow.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else?
The motion to refer C 2020-16, C 2020-17, C 2020-18 to the Office of the County
Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the Council was then put, and
unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Motion carried. Next item.
RESOLUTIONS:
Resolution No. 2020-01 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION (Lori J. Otsuka - Business):
Councilmember Kuali`i moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2020-01, 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: Seeing none. Is there any discussion from the
members? Roll call vote.
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2020-01 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.
JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: Seven (7) ayes.
Resolution No. 2020-02 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE KAUA`I HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW
COMMISSION (Carolyn R. Larson - History): Councilmember Chock moved for
adoption of Resolution No. 2020-02, seconded by Councilmember Kuali`i.
COUNCIL MEETING 46 JANUARY 16, 2020
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: Seeing none. Is there any final discussion
from the members? Roll call vote.
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2020-02 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.
Resolution No. 2020-03 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE SALARY COMMISSION (Patrick H. Ono):
Councilmember Kagawa moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2020-03, 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: Seeing none. Is there any discussion from the
members? Roll call vote.
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2020-03 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 MEETING 47 JANUARY 16, 2020
Resolution No. 2020-04 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION
(Randall T. Nishimura): Councilmember Kuali`i moved for adoption of Resolution
No. 2020-04, 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: Seeing none. Is there any discussion from the
members? Roll call vote.
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2020-04 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.
BILLS FOR FIRST READING:
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2768) —A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 8, KAUA`I COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR ACCESSES AND
DRIVEWAYS (County of Kaua i, Applicant) (ZA-2020-4): Councilmember Kuali`i
moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2768) on first reading, that it be ordered
to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for February 5, 2020, and referred
to the Planning Committee, seconded by Councilmember Chock.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: With that, I will suspend the rules.
Ka`aina, if you want to give a brief overview of this Bill, please.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
KA`AINA S. HULL, Planning Director: Good morning, Chair Kaneshiro
and members of the Council. Ka`aina Hull on behalf of the Planning Department. It
is going to be brief. One hundred twenty (120) feet, five (5) homes. That is the trigger
for a county standard roadway in the CZO, right now. One hundred twenty (120)
feet, longer than one hundred twenty (120) feet, if you want to build a house, you need
put a county standard roadway in. You want to build more than five (5) homes, does
not matter the length, if you want to build a fifth home or more, you need to put a
COUNCIL MEETING 48 JANUARY 16, 2020
county standard roadway in. That has been in the books since 1972. I will be honest,
I do not know why. Requiring a county standard roadway in the Zoning Ordinance,
the Zoning Ordinance is primarily concerned with the form and character. We are
not sure and we are researching trying to figure out why it was put in there—we are
just not sure. The Planning Department is overall kind of the clearing house, but
generally in engineering type of standard, the county standard roadway would be in
the engineering section of the Code, not the Zoning Ordinance. Developers, property
owners, and contractors are all use to this standard—it is particularly onerous and
very costly for property owners and homeowners when they want to construct a home
that is either the fifth home or longer than one hundred twenty (120) feet away from
the public thoroughfare. In researching this out, in discussions with engineering,
they are saying what is the length of a driveway before we need to upgrade it? Is it
one hundred twenty (120) feet? From all of engineering's research and perspective,
they are saying there is no length, it is the intensity of a driveway that will need it to
possibly upgrade it to a county standard roadway. So I said, "That is where the
five (5) homes come in." Engineering's response on that was, "No, five (5) homes does
not necessitate a county standard roadway." The volume of traffic and trips from
five (5) dwelling units would not necessarily be a county standard roadway. So
engineering started going through an analysis of what density count would
necessitate a county standard roadway. They came up with a number twenty (20),
essentially, with twenty (20) dwelling units that would generate enough traffic that
would necessitate a county standard roadway. Anything less than that, they do not
have an issue with, really. That is where we came in with the proposal to say that
we are taking away this one hundred twenty (120) foot requirement and that is what
is being proposed on this piece of legislation, right now, and we are taking away the
five (5) unit count as the threshold and moving it up to twenty (20). That is the
threshold we are proposing for upgrading a common driveway to a county standard
roadway—twenty (20) or more units, not five (5). Now, in realizing that above and
beyond county standard roadway issues, there will still be some fire concerns and fire
accesses to these sites. So we have been working with the Fire Department and they
have essentially that partner Bill that is also up for First Reading today. As far as
the CZO draft before you folks, we are looking at taking away one hundred
twenty (120) feet requirement as a trigger and the five (5) homes that is a trigger for
a county standard roadway to say, twenty (20) or more homes is the trigger for a
county standard roadway. So it really frees up the ability for homeowners to now
begin construction on their homes without this very costly county standard roadway
requirement under the twenty (20) threshold.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: Mr. Hull, if you share a common driveway for
multiple homes is that the result of the condominium property regime (CPR) process?
Mr. Hull: CPRs do utilize common driveways, but you
also have properties that have three (3) or four (4) homes on it that are not a CPR. A
lot of times when you have families that own properties and build homes for their
sons or daughters and when they grow-up and what have you, they will not
necessarily CPR it. So you might have three (3) or four (4) homes on a lot of record
COUNCIL MEETING 49 JANUARY 16, 2020
without CPR that will have a common driveway. Indeed, CPRs do utilize common
driveways, as well.
Councilmember Kagawa: I have always been confused as how the CPR
process creates a lot of these issues. A normal property, you have your own driveway
to your house. These CPRs sometimes go through the CPR process, get the
entitlements to build, then it becomes all of the owners trying to figure out who will
pay for that common driveway. That kind of bugs me because you have the
entitlement by going outside of our normal process to rezone that land, now you have
the driveway, and no one wants to take responsibility. To me, it is created by the
private folks in the first place. It may not be the current owner, maybe the previous
owner bought it like that, but the CPR process is creating a lot of the headaches that
we see now that we are trying to address. My second question is...
Mr. Hull: I can make one point, Vice Chair Kagawa. On
that, indeed, what commonly has happened with CPR, and because it is a State
process that the County has very little say in it, with the exception of density, what
we often see is with the fifth home trigger, needing to go from a common driveway to
a county standard roadway, you have these CPR lots that have, often in cases because
you have agricultural land—you can have five (5) houses on that agricultural lot.
What the CPR owners will do is, they will each buy their own unit and they will race
to the gun to build their unit, once four (4) units go up, they stick the last fifth CPR
unit owner with the bill saying, "If you want to build that, you need to put in the full
blown county standard roadway." It is that fifth CPR owner that often does not get
built, because they cannot afford themselves to build a county standard roadway.
This Draft Bill will relieve that condition for the vast majority of those cases, because
it ups it to twenty (20). On those, say, agricultural lot CPRs, they can only build
five (5). So, that fifth owner, now will be able to build or access his home with a
regular common driveway.
Councilmember Kagawa: So, from five (5), the trigger will now be
twenty (20). If you have nineteen (19) or less, you do not need to have the county
standard roadway?
Mr. Hull: You do not have to have the county standard
roadway, but you still have to meet the fire access requirements.
Councilmember Kagawa: Why are we jumping so high?
Mr. Hull: That is what I was saying earlier.
Councilmember Kagawa: You can go five (5) to ten (10) or fifteen (15).
Why are we jumping all the way to twenty (20).
Mr. Hull: That is what I was saying earlier, Vice Chair
Kagawa, is that in researching with the Engineering Division and why the five (5)
was the threshold and if we should keep it, Engineering was pretty adamant in
saying, "Five (5) homes does not generate enough traffic to necessitate a county
standard roadway."
COUNCIL MEETING 50 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Kagawa: Okay.
Mr. Hull: That is why I asked, "Well, what is the
threshold?" In their analysis of trip generation and vehicle per residence, their
analysis came out to twenty (20) units. Twenty (20) units will create enough trips to
necessitate a county standard roadway.
Councilmember Kagawa: But still five (5) or more, you need to go
through the Fire Department to make sure you meet their accessibility.
Mr. Hull: With one (1), you technically need it.
Councilmember Kagawa: Even with one (1)they still need to make sure.
I do not know about one (1)...it should be a higher number than one (1), right? If it is
one (1), they can access from the road they are at, unless it is way in.
Mr. Hull: Unless it is back...I do not want to speak for
Daryl.
Councilmember Kagawa: They have human judgment to decide on
those cases.
Mr. Hull: I have to defer to Daryl folks.
Councilmember Kagawa: Okay, I can ask that later. The last question
is, this one hundred fifty (150) turnaround area was brought up by Jeremy Harris. I
think he was saying, why not allow the turnaround to be at the end? Is that what he
was asking for?
Mr. Hull: I am sorry, Vice Chair Kagawa, I hate to keep
pushing out, but that is also a Fire question.
Councilmember Kagawa: Okay, my last question...I have one more. My
man over here, the rock, if you use a good rock—I have seen nice rock solid...it costs
a lot of money to put that nice big rock. You can see it is laid out well, has barriers
to hold it in place whether it is the natural ground or some type of edging. I see what
he is saying, that in some cases because concrete seems overkill. I know it is
expensive to pave with concrete—a really long three hundred (300) foot driveway.
What do you have to his point that maybe we can get flexibility?
Mr. Hull: For the common driveway aspect from the
CZO, we do not care if it is paved or not, but again, there will be issues with the Fire
Department, as far as...
Councilmember Kagawa: Okay, we will ask the Fire Department when
they come on that question.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Chock.
COUNCIL MEETING 51 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Chock: There was one more that was the
non-conforming passed driveways. Is there a solution to that? Is that being
addressed?
Mr. Hull: I think what Dennis Esaki was referring to
was there were in the past, subdivisions approved that have...they are called "flag
lots." I think this is what Mr. Esaki was referring to. I know it is an issue, but I do
not want to put words in his mouth. Being that he is not here, I am assuming he is
talking about flag lots. A flag lot essentially looks like a flag, because it has a pole,
which is the driveway access and the flag portion is the actually the lot on record.
Mr. Esaki was talking about earlier in that some of these poles were approved at
ten (10) feet wide, which on the common driveway from the Planning Department's
perspective, we are fine with, but again, Fire is going to come up here and say, this is
what we are going to need for fire access to the structure. How that can get resolved
in allowing a homeowner to build on a property that does not have the width that can
allow for a truck to access a site in the event of an emergency, I am not sure there is
anything we can do, quite honestly, Councilmember, aside from possibly the property
owners looking at gaining easement rights on the adjacent property to put in that
access easement that is the necessary width.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: A number of questions that have come to me
from constituents are for things that have been built quite some time ago. We heard
Jeremy Harris talk about that Nawiliwili Valley, there is quite a lot in Moloa`a that
is sort of unfolded. In Kalaheo, there are some older areas like in the Texeira Tract,
for example. I think of Akemama Road in Lawa`i, Kaumakani Camp—what about all
these existing places, because a lot of them are...I even want to say, when it comes
down to Kealia from Kapahi, I do not know how the garbage people get in there, but
they somehow do. So, what about those?
(Councilmember Chock was noted as not present.)
Mr. Hull: None of the proposals get placed retroactively
on an existing structure. The trigger is a dwelling unit. Any new dwelling unit that
is proposed under the code right now—if it is more than one hundred twenty (120)
feet from a public thoroughfare to build that new dwelling unit to get your building
permit, you are going to have to put in a county standard roadway, or if you are going
to build a fifth unit, before you build that structure, you are going to have to put in a
county standard roadway. While we were just saying, we are taking away those
requirements making it twenty (20), so when you build that new dwelling unit, you
can use a common driveway to access it unless it is the twentieth or more house.
(Councilmember Chock was noted as present.)
Mr. Hull: Above and beyond that, any
structure/property that is existing today, that has structures on it, it does not get
retroactively put upon them to decrease the standard.
COUNCIL MEETING 52 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Cowden: When people are specific with me—and these
tend to be well informed people—when there are properties up for sale on areas
behind that existing old development. If someone puts up three (3) houses behind
there, do they have to then develop all of the road through the people in the front or
because they are going to be through what is existing? How does that work?
Mr. Hull: Right now, today, if that lot behind the
existing development is longer than one hundred twenty (120) feet, then yes, they
have to put that county standard roadway and I am guessing in the situation you are
talking about they probably have an easement or pole section of their lot goes adjacent
to the front development. They have to put in the full county standard roadway.
Under this proposal, if the lot is behind an existing development, the only time under
this proposal they would have to put in a full-blown county standard roadway is if
they are going to build that twentieth or more unit.
Councilmember Cowden: So the people in front would not be held
accountable to put in a portion of that, because people have long-term renters for
forty (40) years with them and they are worried about having to build that. So they
would not be contributing to that?
Mr. Hull: On a separate lot on record, no, I can say. On
an existing lot of record, if it has gone through the CPR process—I cannot speak to
every single private AOAO that is established that may require them as a group to
pay into it. So in those scenarios where the CPR is setup that they have a shared
cost...like I said earlier, most CPRs are set up to dump that final cost on the last
person to build a house, but there are a few scenarios where they are set up to have
cost-sharing that everyone has to pay in to build that county standard roadway.
Councilmember Cowden: One last question, I thought I heard Larry
Lau's question correctly, if there is one (1) piece of property with its own TMK,
another piece of property with its own TMK, but maybe there is a one
thousand (1,000) foot driveway in between or more, can that fall under the same?
Mr. Hull: Yes, I was listening to that earlier, we would
have no problem, if any of the Councilmembers wanted to introduce that. We would
definitely welcome that as a friendly amendment.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: Thank you, Ka`aina. I have a number of
questions, I think are for Fire, so I will hold on to them. One concern I heard from a
constituent—and it is kind of a confusing situation—but as far as I understand, she
lives on an agriculture lot with entity for two (2) homes off of a county road. The
county road is not up to county standard, so she said she cannot get a zoning permit
for her second house, because they are already at the maximum number for that
roadway. I believe she was rejected by the Planning Department—and this is
anecdotal, so I am not totally sure. One, does that sound like it could be true and
COUNCIL MEETING 53 JANUARY 16, 2020
two, this Bill would not affect any of that because this is only referring to private,
right? It would not refer to a county roadway.
Mr. Hull: Yes, I do not see how this Bill would apply,
because it does not upgrade existing county roadways, but at the same time...I will
need to further look into it Councilmember, because there is no threshold on a county
standard roadway as far as that limiting the number of units that we will sign off on
the building permits.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay.
Mr. Hull: Unless, in this scenario, that home she is
trying to propose is more than one hundred twenty (120) feet. If that home is more
than one hundred twenty (120) feet from the county standard roadway, indeed our
front counter technicians would say, "We cannot sign this permit, because you need
to put in the county standard roadway." If that is the situation, I am not saying it is,
because I have to look further into the specifics. If that is the situation, this Bill
would allow her to construct that house without having to do that county standard
roadway.
Councilmember Evslin: That is interesting. Just so I am totally clear,
as long as you are within one hundred twenty (120) feet, you can be living right off of
a county road that is ten (10) feet or very narrow not up to county standards and
there should be no limitation on what you can build on that lot, because of the narrow
roadway.
Mr. Hull: From a Planning perspective.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay. It still could get rejected down the line.
Mr. Hull: If Fire or Engineering has some issues, then,
yes.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay, maybe I misunderstood. Maybe it was
not you folks rejecting the permit, it could have been Fire or someone else. Okay,
that helps and I will direct the rest of my questions to them.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any further questions from the
members on this Bill? If not, thank you.
Mr. Hull: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to
testify on this Bill?
FRED ATKINS: My name is Fred Atkins. I am representing
myself. I basically wanted to thank the Planning Director, the Planning Commission,
and the Fire Department for taking the time they have to bring it to you, because it
is an issue, I think it has been going on since 1972. For me, it is kind of a personal
COUNCIL MEETING 54 JANUARY 16, 2020
issue. In regards to a piece of property that has long driveways, I am trying to buy
the property so I can have some property for my children. I have three (3) children
who are born and raised here. They all went to school, they came home, and this
piece of property gives them a chance of getting property lines that will be adjacent
to each other, but it is right in the middle of ..these are longer driveways and in the
due diligence it looks like I can get this at a price where they can afford it. They are
all renting now, so if we are doing the homes it would free up three (3) rentals, but
this is a big stickler, because of the twenty (20) foot wide—and it is not really twenty
(20) feet wide. If you do it at the county standards and you have the sides, swales,
and drainage, it just makes it...some of these are four hundred (400) feet. In regards
to the Fire Department, I think it is negligent if you did not bring it up to where they
could have access, because your insurance would go so high on your homes—it would
not be feasible, unless you put in sprinkler systems. I understand how much concern
you have, pros and cons, but from a local perspective, it gives us a chance. This is not
a twenty (20) unit or fifteen (15) or sixteen (16), but it is right on the borderline. I am
going to follow this because it is something I do not think I can commit to—to buy the
property without you folks resolving this issue. I appreciate that you already have it
on an agenda for a public hearing. I guess it goes Committee after that? It goes to a
public hearing, then Committee, and then you folks decide what you want to bring
back. Okay. That helps me understand the timeline. I have not been here to testify
in a long time, and Councilmember Kagawa, I want to thank you for being lively and
entertaining for me, because sometimes these meetings are really boring, so I
appreciate that. Thank you very much.
(Councilmember Brun was noted as not present.)
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else 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 discussion from the members?
Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: Just to clarify Mr. Atkins, we go to public
hearing, then we go to Committee Meeting where we will massage it and make
whatever amendments we feel is necessary, if any, it just may stay like it is. This
may be the best alternative. The good thing about this, I feel, is that it went through
a lengthy process at Planning Commission. Personally, I like the Planning
Commission, I like the make-up. I think there is a solid group of diverse opinions.
Nothing is perfect, but I think Planning Commission-wise, we have a good
commission. I believe it is going to get better when Mr. Chiba gets on-board. Again,
I think we need to hear from the public any issues that seem unfair or unreasonable,
because this is a complex issue that affects many. This Council wants to help local
families, like you mentioned, get homes, but we want to make sure like you said also,
that they follow the Fire Department needs because it affects insurance and whatnot.
It is all about trying to make this Bill as best as we can, because once we pass it, we
do not want to regret it—oh, we should have done this or that, because then you will
COUNCIL MEETING 55 JANUARY 16, 2020
need to go through the process all over again. We want to keep hearing from the
public, especially those who have a stake involved and have concerns. We need to
hear it by the Committee Meeting so we can make those adjustments or amendments
at the Committee. When it is done at Committee, then it will probably pass the way
it is at Committee. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I just want to echo Vice Chair Kagawa's
comments and say mahalo to the Planning Department and Planning Commission. I
think this is a very important Bill and long overdue. I hope we can move it through
quickly.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: I second all that. I am still trying to wrap my
head around all that. There are so many moving parts here, but I really appreciate
it. I never would have thought driveways was a limiting factor for so many people.
We have been hearing that for months. Where is that Bill? A lot of people are affected
by this and I appreciate the Planning Department, the Fire Department, and the
Department of Public Works being proactive in trying to untangle some of the things
that are stopping people from building. I know that these are not simple things to
untangle, because you try to solve one thing and you create other problems. I
appreciate what we have here and as Councilmember Kagawa said, it is important to
hear from people because there are so many unique situations and we need to make
sure we are doing the right things here. For the most part, thank you, everyone.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: Well, I am pretty happy with it. When I am
looking at it, what really always matters to me is that we are allowing more people
to have safe housing at a price that they can afford. I know that there have been a
number of stranded properties over the years. It sounds like this is going to relieve
that. I am thankful for that and I am wanting to pay good attention to the fire
elements, too. When I glance at it, we will look at that and ask, but it seems that
much of that is making it simpler, not harder. That is the goal—to be able to help
people be able to afford a home and live on their property. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? If not, roll call vote.
The motion for approval for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2768) on first
reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for
February 5, 2020, and referred to the Planning Committee.
FOR PASSAGE: Brun, Chock, Cowden, Evslin,
Kagawa, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro TOTAL— 7*,
AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL— 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0.
COUNCIL MEETING 56 JANUARY 16, 2020
(*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai,
Councilmember Brun was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an
affirmative for the motion).
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes.
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2769) —A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 15A, KAUA`I COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
THE KAUA`I COUNTY FIRE CODE: Councilmember Kuali`i moved for passage of
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2769) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a
public hearing thereon be scheduled for February 5, 2020, and referred to the Public
Safety & Human Services Committee, seconded by Councilmember Chock.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: I will suspend the rules and will have Fire
come up and give a brief description of this Bill. I am sure there are a lot of questions
for you after hearing the last Bill.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
DARYL DATE, Fire Prevention Captain: Good morning, Councilmembers.
Daryl Date, Fire Prevention Captain. The reason we are here today is to propose
amendments to the current existing Fire Code to help relieve the restrictiveness that
this Fire Code puts upon businesses and homeowners. One of the amendments we
are asking is to reduce the width of a fire access road. In the Fire Code, a fire access
road is twenty (20)feet wide. What we are asking for, for one- or two-family dwellings
is a sixteen (16) foot clear with a twelve (12) foot drivable surface. The surface does
not need to be asphalt or concrete, but any sort of material that can withhold the
weight of a fire engine in rainy conditions, basically, all-weather surface. Another
amendment we are proposing is being able to get close enough to the dwelling. In the
Fire Code, it states, "If the most accessible door to the structure is more than fifty (50)
feet from a fire access road, the dwelling needs to have a sprinkler system in it." We
are proposing to increase this distance to three hundred (300) feet. If you look at the
diagram that is up there, the home on the top is three hundred fifty (350) feet from a
fire access roadway. A house of that nature would need a sprinkler system. The other
two (2) homes do not. Another amendment is about turnarounds, if your fire access
roadway is greater than three hundred (300) feet, a means of turning around should
be provided. In my amendment, I wrote it within three hundred fifty (350) feet of the
structure, but that is not always the case, because the fire access roadway may not
lead to someone's home as in this depiction of this diagram. I am proposing to change
the language to the end of the fire access road. I believe that will clear up Jeremy
Harris' question and concern. Also, in the diagram you see an example of a pullout.
The main reason for the pullout is just in case there is a need for vehicles to pass each
other. It will give an area where there is a lot more clearing to do it safely. This
diagram is just one example of many different scenarios that the topography of Kauai
will present. Hopefully this diagram will paint a better picture for people to
understand what we are asking for.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Anything else?
COUNCIL MEETING 57 JANUARY 16, 2020
Mr. Date: In my proposal there is also an amendment
where it states, "for one- and two-family dwellings, when a water supply to be used
for firefighting acceptable to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is farther than
six hundred (600) feet to the structure, an automatic sprinkler system shall be
installed." After having many discussions with the Fire Chief, the Battalion Chief,
and operations we were willing to change that "shall' to "may," because our greater
concern is being able to get to the home. Our fire engines do carry a water tank what
a limited supply of water on our fire engine that may be able to provide rescue
attempts in case someone was trapped in a building. It will probably not be enough
to extinguish the fire and save the building, but the main focus of the Fire
Department is life safety than property protection. Are there any questions?
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: I have a really simple one. In your drawing,
where is the closest fire hydrant? Is it on the black street with the dotted line or is it
on the blue line? Where is the fire hydrant?
Mr. Date: I am not depicting a fire hydrant.
Councilmember Cowden: The reason I am wondering is, say that
driveway is one thousand (1,000) feet or one thousand eight hundred (1,800) feet,
because those are real examples.
Mr. Date: Yes.
Councilmember Cowden: If the fire hydrant is on this black line and you
are all the way back, then they would have to have a sprinkler system, correct?
Mr. Date: Possibly. That is where I am going to change
the "shall' to "may." It all depends on the scenario and layout of the development.
Councilmember Cowden: It sounds like there is flexibility on this.
Mr. Date: As far as providing a fire hydrant, yes.
Councilmember Cowden: I am not saying they have to have a fire
hydrant. I went to one of these conferences and they were talking about the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and insurance moneys, and the
government and insurance companies are running out of moneys, because we have a
lot of housing burn up and float away. So it is getting harder to get insurance. Does
any of that feed this Bill amendment at all? Are we thinking in any way about...is
there any national standards? When we have AHJ, who is that and what influences
it? Does any of it influence property insurance?
Mr. Date: The term AHJ are the people who are
responsible for those particular concerns. So with this one, AHJ would be the Fire
COUNCIL MEETING 58 JANUARY 16, 2020
Department, the Fire Chief is the designee. To elaborate a little bit more about your
question...
Councilmember Cowden: It might really just affect whether people can
get a loan, right? You can get insurance maybe you cannot get a loan, but you could
still get a building permit.
Mr. Date: Yes, your insurance premiums is dictated by
how far away the nearest fire station is and how far away the closest fire hydrant is.
So those people who build far from these areas, their insurance is a lot higher. Okay.
What I have learned is if people do put sprinklers in their home, the insurance
companies will reduce their premiums by five percent (5%) to ten percent (10%).
There also is that bill created by Mayor Kawakami when he was in Council for the
Real Property Tax exemption of forty thousand dollars ($40,000), if you put a
sprinkler in your home. Those are two (2) incentives for people to consider.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else with questions?
Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: For me, with the code updates, we had the
Energy Code before us, we had the Plumbing Code, the Electrical Code—all these
unions, when they do not like something, who do you think they call? Because they
know if I see the local people not being looked after with these changes, then they
know I will speak up. I have been getting calls on this issue about the fire sprinkler.
The reason why they are saying is, if these folks are rich—some may be rich in here—
they can put it, why not?
(Councilmember Brun was noted as present.)
But for the local families that struggle, a lot of them are moving away to the
mainland—my relatives, friends, kids, all do not come back. We keep imposing
higher, more expensive things, how are they going to live here. I hear what you are
saying "incentives," but when you are building the house and add to the loan—they
either qualify or not. So, I like "may" rather than "shall' because of that reason. I
hope you can see where I am coming from. Again, I will let the people who have been
calling me, Contractors Association, General Contractors Association—those that
have brought concerns, I will make sure they see the changes and I hope they can call
you folks on the changes, because when they hear the answers from us it is
secondhand, but if they call you folks maybe they can figure out if they can take the
aggressive stance to oppose it or they will see that this is necessary to follow. I hope
we can agree that will be a good process.
Mr. Date: Yes, please refer them to call us.
Councilmember Kagawa: The other question I had was on the
turnaround area.
COUNCIL MEETING 59 JANUARY 16, 2020
Mr. Date: Yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: If I look at the picture, that turnaround area
is the stripped place, is that what we talked about?
Mr. Date: No. That is a pullout.
Councilmember Kagawa: Okay.
Mr. Date: A turnaround would be something like a
hammer head.
Councilmember Kagawa: The pullout is so you can make the turn.
Mr. Date: No. The pullout is so vehicles can pass each
other if it gets too tight.
Councilmember Kagawa: Okay.
Mr. Date: So you can have a two-way pullout.
Councilmember Kagawa: Where is the turnaround on that picture?
Mr. Date: On this one, I did not put it because there are
different types of turnarounds that are available. It is just somewhere where the fire
engine can turnaround so they do not have to reverse great distances.
Councilmember Kagawa: Okay, in this one like the one hundred
fifty (150), the fire engine could drive in the driveway and do a three-point turn and
come out, yes?
SOLOMON KANOHO, Assistant Chief: For the record, Solomon Kanoho.
I am assigned as temporary assignment as the Assistant Chief for the Kauai Fire
Department. Yes, correct, on that picture you actually would have three (3)
turnaround places in that picture for the apparatus to turnaround—at each of those
driveways.
Councilmember Kagawa: Each of those driveways?
Mr. Kanoho: For instance, if the apparatus was at that
second house there, they could pull forward, reverse back into the driveway, and then
come down and back out onto the main roadway.
Councilmember Kagawa: That situation Jeremy Harris is talking about
is...it was him or Dennis Esaki that were talking about it. I cannot see that picture
of where they are talking about. Why not make it three hundred (300) feet? Do you
have a picture that can show what they are talking about?
COUNCIL MEETING 60 JANUARY 16, 2020
RUSSELL VIERRA, Fire Fighter III: Russell Vierra, Fire Fighter III. I am
an operator at Kalaheo Fire Station and we run into a lot of..that is the most hardest
district on Kauai, I would think to be, personally, an apparatus operator. I believe
what Mr. Esaki was going funneled on a roadway where the bridge itself was less
than sixteen (16) feet, but the bridge itself is only twenty (20) feet long. So we can
possibly wait for the other engine to pull through and allow access. There are places
like where Mr. Harris was talking about where the road just because of the way it
was built back then—there are no turnarounds. That is where AHJ would have to
work with us. He may make a turnaround inside or sprinkler the house, if it comes
to a point where we will have a hard time to access.
Councilmember Kagawa: Or they could create a turnaround area where
you do not need a house, maybe halfway?
Mr. Vierra: Yes.
Mr. Kanoho: Correct. Just a space where the apparatus
could reverse and come out. I have also worked in Kalaheo for approximately nine (9)
years. There are sixteen (16) homes that are in difficult areas for us to respond. Of
that, there are at least eight (8) houses that are three thousand (3,000) feet from the
closest fire hydrant. That is going to require multiple engines to use what is called a
relay operation. From that, there were at least four (4) or six (6) homes where our
main engine—I am sure everyone seen the big fire truck, that is our type one (1)
pumper that we use—that engine could not even reach some of those properties or
homes. We would be forced to use our smaller brush truck, which was never designed
for structural firefighting.
Councilmember Kagawa: The second to the last question I have, the
rock. The one I am picturing, I have seen some really nice rock, solid and big.
Mr. Kanoho: Yes, he also showed us the photo, as well.
Councilmember Kagawa: I keep thinking in my mind where some folks
put rock and it just runs away and is muddy. It would be like you are driving on a
mud road, which you do not want to have if it is long.
Mr. Date: Yes. In those instances when people are
considering what type of material to use, they can come to us, submit their proposal,
and we can review it, either approve it or give recommendations of what they should
do.
Councilmember Kagawa: It is flexible.
Mr. Date: Yes.
Mr. Kanoho: Yes, very flexible. We rely on the Planning
Department for guidance on that, because we are not experts as far as road
construction is concerned.
COUNCIL MEETING 61 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Kagawa: Basically, if they have a plan that is an
alternative to concrete, as long as they do a good job in the eyes of whoever is
approving it, then it is okay?
Mr. Kanoho: Yes, there is flexibility for that.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you for that.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: I have a number of questions, but a quick
follow-up on the Jeremy Harris question. My understanding of what he was saying
was that Section 18.2.3.2.1, says that house can be a one- or two-family house can be
three hundred (300) feet from the fire access road, but on the next page it says, if a
driveway is longer than three hundred (300) feet, need to have a turnaround within
one hundred fifty (150) feet of the structure.
Mr. Date: Not the driveway, the fire access road. If the
fire access road is longer than three hundred (300) feet.
Councilmember Evslin: Yes, sorry. Then there needs to have a
turnaround within one hundred fifty (150) feet of the structure. I think your
amendment fixes that, right?
Mr. Date: Yes. Not to the structures, but to the end of
the fire access road.
Councilmember Evslin: That is perfect. Okay. I have some other
questions. A big picture question, do you folks currently do a plan review for every
permit that comes through?
Mr. Date: No, we do not.
Councilmember Evslin: This is a big shift, right?
Mr. Date: Yes.
Councilmember Evslin: Is this every plan that is off of a shared
driveway now will come to you folks for approval?
Mr. Date: The Engineering Division and the Planning
Department have agreed when they review these building permits that come through,
if they see any red flags, they will refer to the Fire Department. So we will not have
to look at every single family home building permit.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay, that is good to know. As far as
manpower expectations...
Mr. Date: No increase.
COUNCIL MEETING 62 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Evslin: Okay.
Mr. Date: For that reason.
Councilmember Evslin: Timeliness of the review, it will not hold up
building permits, hopefully.
Mr. Date: No.
Councilmember Evslin: You mentioned a couple of—what I
understand, are proposed amendments with the anticipation that you folks will get
that to us at Committee Meeting, which you will propose amendments and someone
will introduce them at Committee Meeting. You mentioned the "shall."
Mr. Date: Yes, those little changes will be made and
resubmitted.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay, at Committee Meeting. The flag lot
issue that Dennis Esaki mentioned. If there is a flag lot that is under fifteen (15) feet
of clearance, what happens?
Mr. Date: If the pole of the flag lot does not have a
sixteen (16) foot clear, if the home is farther than three hundred (300) feet from the
fire access road, then it would require a sprinkler in the home.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: "May" require or...
Mr. Date: Well, that one is "shall."
Councilmember Evslin: What happens on a flag lot, if you a house that
is more than six hundred (600) feet, then you cannot at all, not even with a sprinkler?
Mr. Date: If your home is farther than six hundred (600)
feet from the fire access road, you would have to make the sixteen (16) foot clear up
to six hundred (600) feet of the home. Say in this diagram, the home on the top,
rather than three hundred fifty (350) feet was six hundred fifty (650) feet, then the
fire access road would have to continue fifty (50) feet into their private driveway.
Councilmember Evslin: This is maybe getting too deep into the means,
but maybe this is a Ka`aina question for Committee, it could be a red flag on lots that
are further than six hundred (600) feet, where on a flag lot where it is going to be
almost impossible to extend that, but I think we can get to it later, unless you have
an answer right now.
Mr. Hull: The fact of the matter for those flag lots, it is
part of the Code right now that they have to put in a county standard roadway. Now
COUNCIL MEETING 63 JANUARY 16, 2020
those poles were created with not enough width for it, but I cannot legally sign a
permit right now without the county standard roadway. To be clear, what Daryl folks
are doing here just to put in a big picture—is they had is—I do not want to say it is
easy for them, but what we require for these county standard roadways they did not
have to do because county standard roadways are going to meet their requirements
to get their trucks there. We are saying, we are wiping the county standard roadway
requirements out. A big thanks to them, they started looking at how they can adjust
to shrink their standards so they can get their trucks on without the county standard
roadway. That is the big picture. It reduces the cost significantly, but when we are
talking, should this amendment pass with those ten (10) foot wide poles, if they
cannot secure the easement, I will be honest and this really is a question for the Office
of the County Attorney and whether or not those situations need to be litigatingly
solved.
Councilmember Evslin: Need to be resolved how?
Mr. Hull: Via litigation.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay. Do you know if this is a common
situation?
Mr. Hull: It is a handful.
Councilmember Evslin: Last question, just so I understand the math
correct. Right now, you show that three hundred fifty (350) feet needs a sprinkler.
Basically, for that three hundred fifty (350) foot one, anything between three
hundred (300) and six hundred (600) feet would need the sprinkler and anything over
six hundred (600) feet cannot, right? Anything under three hundred (300) feet would
need the sprinkler. Is that right? For the very top one, if the top one was at two
hundred fifty (250) feet.
Mr. Date: Does not need a sprinkler.
Councilmember Evslin: If the top one is at three hundred one (301)
feet you would need a sprinkler.
Mr. Date: Yes.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay. I am making sure I understand.
Mr. Date: Any home that is farther than three
hundred (300) feet from a fire access road will require a sprinkler.
Councilmember Evslin: Okay, perfect. Thank you folks very much.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: Daryl, I am curious in other jurisdictions if
you have seen the use of other external water sources in these really rural areas as
COUNCIL MEETING 64 JANUARY 16, 2020
alternatives—I know water catchment or there are many places we need to go where
we have to access the reservoir. I am curious, are those options part of solutions we
have looked at or continue to look at in making this determination of what is best for
that?
Mr. Date: I have looked at that and, yes, there are many
different alternatives for water supply, such as cisterns, reservoirs, and ponds besides
a fire hydrant. That is where the water supply amendment is taking affect to change
from "shall" to "may." This amendment, as far as the distance from the access
roadway, that is more for access not because there is no water or there is water
available. It is just so our fire trucks can get close to the home.
Councilmember Chock: Could it be either or as it relates to sprinkler
system in the long run?
Mr. Date: I would have to take a look at that, because
they may have a hydrant at their house, but if they have a ten (10) foot muddy
driveway that is a quarter mile deep, it will not do us any good.
Councilmember Chock: Okay, thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
members? Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: How long is the big fire truck?
Mr. Vierra: The fire engine is about one hundred (100)
inches wide—mirror to mirror. That is why we are keeping the twelve (12) foot
surface.
Mr. Kanoho: One hundred (100) inches is about eight (8)
feet.
Mr. Vierra: About eight (8) feet.
Councilmember Kagawa: About eight (8) feet wide. This turnaround
area driveway would need to be how much feet?
Mr. Vierra: The length of the engine is thirty (30) feet.
Thirty-four (34) feet is the average that we have now. Some ladders are longer and
Hanalei's is shorter.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thirty-four (34) feet and eight (8) feet wide,
about. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
members? If not, thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING 65 JANUARY 16, 2020
Mr. Date: I just want to add one more thing. As far as
the turnarounds on the diagram I showed, it would be possible solutions for
turnaround, but not necessarily guaranteed. It all depends on the width of the
personal driveways that they may use to reverse into. Again, with those proposals,
the clients can come in and discuss if it is acceptable to us on any sort of means as
they may propose as a turnaround. We can take a look at that and make a decision.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: When you look at your diagram, the road
going to the driveway is sixteen (16) feet clear and twelve (12) feet drivable. So if the
driveways were that, then obviously, it is okay.
Mr. Date: Yes, if the sixteen (16) foot is clear all the way
to the person's house, they are good.
Councilmember Kuali`i: If their driveway matched the road outside
the driveway.
Mr. Date: Yes.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: One last question, if you see the plans and
approve them, what do you have against the owner if you do not follow properly?
What means do you have for them to correct? Do you have a fine in place? What can
you folks do to make sure they follow it? The rules should not be made to be broken,
right?
Mr. Date: Yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: If you have a rule in place you need this done
in order to respond properly.
Mr. Date: It is maintained.
Councilmember Kagawa: A lot of times for the County's side, we lack on
the follow through.
Mr. Date: Yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: After they build, they do not build to what
they say they are going to build. What remedy do we have?
Mr. Hull: Under the Fire Code...you can correct me,
jump in if you can...under the Zoning Code, the drivable surface is part of the Zoning
Permit, as well. If it is not constructed as represented, it is a violation of the Zoning
Permit.
COUNCIL MEETING 66 JANUARY 16, 2020
Councilmember Kagawa: There are fines.
Mr. Hull: The department is not in the business of going
out and fining people.
Councilmember Kagawa: Fining people?
Mr. Hull: To correct them. We issue a notice that they
are in violation. It is brought to their attention to bring it into compliance. If they
do not, then we look at potential fines on them to compel them to put that into
conformance with what was presented on the zoning application.
Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: Just a follow-up while you are there and on
that subject. Fire is not actually signing off on these. It is you folks looking at it
making sure is complies with the Fire Code. If there is a red flag then you send it to
them, but if it does not conform, you would reject it at the Zoning Permit process; is
that right?
Mr. Hull: Fire will ultimately sign-off on the ones
that...Engineering will flag when there is no county standard roadway and there is a
common driveway that is going to need to meet fire access. Those ones will be referred
over to the Fire Department to sign-off on—and only those ones. They are not
reviewing every single building permit. Those will be reviewed by the Fire
Department. What I was just getting at was that, Fire, from what I am aware of has
a fine structure set in and a penalty clause that I am not aware of one in the due
process. The Planning Department does, is all I am saying. We have that process in
place and we utilize it. It has to be constructed as represented. If there is a violation
of that representation, then the Planning Department has the authority to correct it.
Councilmember Evslin: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone in the audience
wishing to testify on this item?
ANNY BRUCH: Anny Bruch and I am testifying here not only
as a small beginning farmer, but also I am the President of the Kauai Chapter of the
Hawaii Farmers Union. I really appreciate the discussion that we have had today.
I have learned quite a bit. I appreciate the changes that are being made. I am looking
forward to being part of the meetings that are coming up and looking at some of the
concerns that I have. A lot of our members are small farmers. They have flag
lots—a lot of the ones I am thinking about. They will be hoping to build homes on
those. I am concerned like you are, sir, about the added expenses. I am hoping some
of the water catchments or ponds are some of those things are going to be able to
replace, maybe some of the sprinklers. Some of the options and thoughts on these
changes, keep in mind the needs of small farmers. A lot of their homes are not close
COUNCIL MEETING 67 JANUARY 16, 2020
to the road, so often times you are going to be talking about, not six hundred (600)
feet, but one thousand (1,000) feet off. I look forward to establishing those
conversations and keeping in mind that population that is trying to make a living in
farming, producing our foods, but also be able to build homes they can afford. Thank
you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to
testify on this item?
JACK PHILLIPS: Jack Phillips. I am a property owner on
Kauai. I am very pleased this issue is being settled. I have been waiting for it for
the last eighteen (18) months. I have been sitting here listening and have two (2)
comments. One is sprinklers tend to be expensive, because in Hawaii, the only
person that can put them in is a licensed sprinkler contractor. If the Kauai County
Council decided that on Kauai any licensed plumber could do the work, which has
been designed by a sprinkler designer, you would find the price drop very quickly. I
highly recommend that. Secondly, I am pleased that the Fire Department has now
given some discretion, but I see that there is no incentive for a home builder to build
in a fire resistive manner. This is subject which is documented by many cities if you
listed various features—one-hour fire, two-hour fire on the outside, five-eighth (5/8)
inch sheetrock throughout the house, any skylight should be tempered glass, et
cetera. I list twelve (12) criteria, which are recognized to be fire resistive to a
homeowner, if your design incorporates two (2), four (4), or six (6) of these features,
then the Fire Department will give you some leniency. Have them some discretion,
but motivate the homeowner to think about fire resistive construction when they are
designing it, rather than how to put the fire out. Sprinklers are proven to prevent
people dying, but they do not prevent the house from finally burning down. If gives
people time to get out. The short, I think can create some incentive when people do
build to think about designing and it is not hard to quickly come up with various
criteria to recognize as less likely to burn down. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you for that. Is there anyone else
wishing to testify? Does anyone want to testify for a second time?
There being no further public testimony, the meeting was called back to order,
and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there any discussion from the members?
Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: I want to thank the Fire Department for their
work on this. What it sounds actually pretty quick work for the last few months to
try and make something that works here. I read all the time about Fire Code in other
places being inflexible and leading to really wide streets, big turn radiuses, sort of
degrading urban form because this strict interpretation of Fire Code. I think here is
an example of our own Fire Department being willing to try and look...obviously, you
do not want to go too far, because you want to make sure a place is safe and has access
for a fire truck, but really being willing to stretch those rules in order to ensure people
can build homes for them on Kauai. That is huge and I really appreciate your work
COUNCIL MEETING 68 JANUARY 16, 2020
here. I am excited to get it to Committee Meeting on this Bill and ultimately see it
pass in some form.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I, too, want to echo his comments and say my
mahalo to the Fire Department. Like the other Bill, I think this one is really
important and long overdue. I love that it is going to help with housing. Mahalo.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you to the departments for moving this
forward. I know it has been a long time coming. We have been working hard at it.
It sounds like in both committees, they are going to be some amendments being
introduced and my only encouragement is that we start that process early. We know
how amendments can transition over time, but if we work with our departments for
their clarity, we will be able to move this through fairly quickly. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. With that, roll call vote.
The motion for approval for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2769) on first
reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing there on be scheduled for
February 5, 2020, and referred to the Public Safety & Human Services Committee.
FOR PASSAGE: Brun, Chock, Cowden, Evslin,
Kagawa, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro TOTAL— 7,
AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL— 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: That concludes the business on our agenda.
We do have a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. Not seeing or hearing any objections, this
meeting is now adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT.
There being no further business, the Council Meeting adjourned at 12:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
4JADFOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA
County Clerk
Jy