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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/10/2018 Council minutes COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 10, 2018 The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by Council Chair Mel Rapozo at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 at 8:34 a.m., after which the following Members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Arthur Brun (present at 8:39 a.m.) Honorable Mason K. Chock Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable Derek S.K. Kawakami Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Mel Rapozo Excused: Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Councilmember Chock moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. The motion for approval of the agenda as circulated was then put, and carried by a vote of 5:0:2 (Councilmembers Brun and Kaneshiro were excused). Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. CONSENT CALENDAR: C 2018-217 Communication (09/20/2018) from the Director of Finance, transmitting for Council information, the following reports: 1. County of Kaua`i Bond Summary of General Long-Term Debt Amount Outstanding as of July 1, 2017; 2. County of Kaua`i Bond Supplemental Summary of General Long- Term Debt Amount Outstanding as of June 30, 2018; and Excluded County of Kauai Bond Supplemental Summary of Long-Term Debt Amount Outstanding as of June 30, 2017: CFD No. 2008-1 (Kukui`ula Development Project) Special Tax Bonds, Series 2012, sold April 25, 2012. COUNCIL MEETING 2 OCTOBER 10, 2018 C 2018-218 Communication (10/02/2018) from Councilmember Yukimura, transmitting for Council consideration, a Resolution Expressing The County Of Kaua`i's Commitment To The Paris Agreement Relating To Climate Change. Councilmember Chock moved to receive C 2018-217 and C 2018-218 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? 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 follow: The motion to receive C 2018-217 and C 2018-218 for the record was then put, and carried by a vote of 5:0:2 (Councilmembers Brun and Kaneshiro were excused). Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please. COMMUNICATION: C 2018-219 Communication (09/18/2018) from Dru Kanuha, Hawai`i State Association of Counties (HSAC) President, transmitting for the Kauai County Council's consideration, the following proposals to be included in the 2019 HSAC Legislative Package, which were approved by the HSAC Executive Committee on September 17, 2018: 2019 HSAC Legislative Package Proposals: 1. A Resolution Urging The State Legislature To Appropriate Funding For Lifeguards At Kua Bay (County of Hawai`i) 2. A Bill For An Act Relating To Motor Vehicle Driver's License And Civil Identification Cards (Honolulu City Council) 3. A Bill For An Act Relating to Tobacco Products (Honolulu City Council) 4. A Bill For An Act Relating To Tort Liability (County of Kauai) 5. A Bill For An Act Relating To Taxation, Disability Hire Tax Credit (County of Kaua`i) 6. A Bill For An Act Relating To Taxation, Elderly Individual Hire Tax Credit (County of Kauai) 7. A Bill For An Act Relating Zoning (County of Kauai) 8. A Bill For An Act Relating To Unadjudicated Traffic Fines (County of Kaua`i) COUNCIL MEETING 3 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Councilmember Chock moved to receive C 2018-219 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Kagawa. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion? Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Can we discuss the agenda item now or at the time of the Resolution? Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: I have one (1) question about the first proposal, A Resolution Urging The State Legislature To Appropriate Funding For Lifeguards At Kua Bay, on Hawai`i Island. It just seemed that it was not something of Statewide concern and focused just on one (1) County. I just wondered if we have some guidelines for what we put on the Hawai`i State Association of Counties (HSAC) Package, because otherwise we could all put our legislative packages in there and it does not quite make sense because they may even be competing against each other. Council Chair Rapozo: That is why we have the process we do. It starts at the councils, it is approved by the council, it goes to HSAC, and the County that is requesting the item will get to convince HSAC. It has to be unanimous at HSAC, so all four (4) representatives need to support it. In this case and I am assuming Councilmember Kawakami can explain the rationale for the State's approval of a matter that is going to be; this is almost like the one we did for the ambulances. We had an HSAC Package item that was only going to benefit Kaua`i and it was amended and evolved to including Hawai`i Island and Kaua`i. In some cases, HSAC will stand united to help a county with the understanding possibility that in another year, that will be reciprocated. That is why this process is here. Any individual County that does not support an item will not make the package. This would be our opportunity to ask any questions you have and Councilmember Kawakami or Councilmember Kagawa can answer. They are our representatives to HSAC. Councilmember Yukimura: Can someone explain the Statewide rationale? Councilmember Kawakami: Sure. There is no Statewide rationale. It is exactly as you read it. They came up and asked HSAC to please consider coming in collectively. They have been trying to get a lifeguard at the State beach park and to no avail, so this is their last-ditch effort. However, you are right, the discussion did come up what was the Statewide benefit, but really this is just in the spirit of collaboration. We are a State that is separated by ocean, but we are still collectively as one, Councilmember Yukimura. That really was the rationale. You may notice that COUNCIL MEETING 4 OCTOBER 10, 2018 no other proposal is targeted for any specific County expect for that one. You do have an opportunity to voice your opinion and vote no on that matter, if you would like to. Councilmember Yukimura: I just think that there is more power when we make a request as a group if our issues are really statewide and affect all counties. I would like us to take it up ad seriatim, because I would like to vote against it just as a matter of strategy in terms of how we can be effective and getting our HSAC Package passed, that we have some guidelines that makes sense. If it is an HSAC matter, I mean we all want to help each other, but by that theory, you just throw everything into the pot. If we are more focused as HSAC, we might have more credibility and effectiveness, and personally, myself, I would like to register that in a vote, then maybe we can take it ad seriatim. Council Chair Rapozo: We can do that. (Councilmember Brun was noted as present.) Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kawakami. Councilmember Kawakami: I would just like to say that I believe that public safety, water safety, ocean safety, and saving lives, despite if it is on Hawai`i County, Maui, Kaua`i, or O`ahu is a top priority. It makes an impact on the visitor industry. Anytime we lose someone to a drowning, it affects the entire State; it impacts families. I would say that this is not throwing everything into the pot. This is very specific, they are trying to get a lifeguard on a State beach and I happily support it. Thank you, Council Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: That is fine, but I can say that about affordable housing, traffic, and all of those things are really top priority in terms of funding and the lives of our families here on Kaua`i. It is not to say that it is not important, it is just that by that criterion everything goes in and it gets so big and there is no real focus. If we focused on something like collective bargaining or like we talked about recently divorcing overtime from pension payments, that affects all counties. If we focus on key priorities, I think we would get a lot more attention to our requests. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kawakami. Councilmember Kawakami: During the process, every single Councilmember had an opportunity; we sent out numerous memorandums to say that every Councilmember needs to turn in their proposals and you turned in one and I turned in some, so that is the reality; everyone had an opportunity to bring their top COUNCIL MEETING 5 OCTOBER 10, 2018 priorities and quite frankly that has not happened. This is the package. I respectfully disagree with the opinion of Councilmember Yukimura, but I did give the rationale. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: I would tell you that if we had the briefing that we had prior to the submission deadlines, the State of Hawai`i Employees' Retirement System (ERS) briefing, you would have had more from me regarding the system. I noticed this one was introduced by HSAC. Was that based on discussions you had at the meeting? Councilmember Kawakami: No, this must be a typographical error. This was introduced by Hawai`i County. Council Chair Rapozo: Let us make sure we make that correction. I have never seen that before, but in the Resolution itself, it looks like an HSAC resolution. My point is when we needed an ambulance for Kaua`i, when the County of Kaua`i needed an additional ambulance, this was coming from the emergency medical service (EMS) because of the issues we have with the demographics of this island and the number of ambulances. Of course, I lobbied for that bill and our sister counties definitely supported it with no hesitation and it did not benefit any other county except for Kaua`i. Like I said, it eventually evolved into a...I do not believe it passed, but it evolved into...when the State EMS people got together, they prioritized and they said Kaua`i and Hawai`i County definitely need an additional ambulance unit. My point is when we sat at HSAC, it was very clear that the sister counties would assist in the need, if the need arose, and that is what happened with the ambulance. I am going to reciprocate that support and support Hawai`i County with their request. This is a State park, a State beach, a State function, and the County is offering the service and they are asking Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to foot the bill, which I think benefits the State, it may even open the door and set a precedent that other counties could actually get State support for the State beaches as well. Anyone else? This is just the communication and we will get to the Resolution later today. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? If there is no objection, we could definitely take the Resolution right now because we are fresh on the discussion. Is there any other discussion? Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: I do not think we have seen these before, right? Council Chair Rapozo: We have seen all except the tobacco products. That is the only one that we did not discuss and that one simply gives the County the enabling legislation to enforce laws pertaining to smoking and tobacco use at a county-level. COUNCIL MEETING 6 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Councilmember Yukimura: With respect to the tobacco products, I fully support this. It is basically taking out a preemption clause, which if we recall our discussion and debate on Bill No. 2491, the entire issue was whether the State preempted us in an indirect or inferred preemption, and this one is a direct preemption, but by taking it out, it will allow each County to do what it feels is best with respect to regulation of tobacco products. I think that is good because it allows for trying of different approaches and it is more an issue of home rule, so I think it is a good bill. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there further discussion? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I disagree that home rule is good on an item like this. It is like saying, "Every County decide what you want to do with marijuana." We need a consistent State law that residents and visitors would not be confused as far as...because we do have frequent traveling to outer islands and even living on other islands during times. I disagree on that point because I feel that marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol usage are all similar and to have different home rules on various items ala carte is not reasonable. Just consistency as a State regarding those such as smoking, whether you can smoke in a car, whether you can smoke outside of a building, I would like to see consistent Hawai`i rule. Our legislature is actually fit to decide on those. They have representatives from each island deciding, rather than having counties micromanage. We have many county issues to deal with and for us to expand on issues such as these, to me, is not in the best interest of the people as a whole. We have big issues here to fix; I just want to reiterate my point on that. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any other questions or comments? I have not seen the tobacco products legislation. I see it now and I see what the intent is. I think the intent is a good intent. My fear is I do not know and I would really have to check with the State because the State controls the taxation; we get that special tobacco tax, they put the special seal or the stamp, and maybe we should take this a little later today. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am not ready to vote on that one because I do not know enough about that and maybe Councilmember Kawakami can help. Councilmember Kawakami: Thank you, Council Chair. Like I said before, the legislative process is an educational process. You need to have a bill hit the floor of the legislature to allow it to be vetted publicly and then you are going to have an Attorney General's opinion that is going to opine whether it is constitutional or not. Really, that is where we flush out a lot of these issues. I can tell you that I do support this because O`ahu and the Legislature are slow to move on things, they are. It is just quite frankly hard to pass a bill, especially when you have powerful lobbyist from tobacco companies lobbying up there very effectively. What is happening is we have electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) that are being sold on-line, it is very easy to get COUNCIL MEETING 7 OCTOBER 10, 2018 into the hands of minors, and so there are certain counties that do want to take proactive measures to make it more stringent and difficult for the online sales of e-cigarettes. For that matter, I am going to be supporting it. I do know logistically that every discussion that came up as far as the inconsistencies county-by-county is going to be a challenge. Whether or not it is legal or constitutional is going to be vetted, but I think the intent and the discussion needs to be had and it is going to be a very robust discussion if it gets introduced at the Legislature. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: I think one thing that is good about this bill is it says, "Provided that the ordinance is at least as protective of the rights of non-smokers as this chapter." Therefore, the State's law will set a minimum protection for non-smokers and counties cannot go below that, so you will have a diversity but there is a minimum standard. You would not be able to go lower than the State standards. I do not think this relates to taxes, that is a whole other section. I wish we had this for the solar water heating. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any other discussion? If not, the motion is to receive. This is the communication and we will take the Resolution right after. The motion to receive C 2018-219 for the record was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Kaneshiro was excused). Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Clerk, can we take Resolution No. 2018-36 out of order? There being no objections, Resolution No. 2018-36 was taken out of order. RESOLUTIONS: Resolution No. 2018-36 — RESOLUTION APPROVING PROPOSALS FOR INCLUSION IN THE 2019 HAWAII STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE Council Chair Rapozo: Can I get a motion to take each item ad seriatim, please? Councilmember Kagawa moved to take Resolution No. 2018-36 ad seriatim, seconded by Councilmember Chock, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Kaneshiro was excused). Council Chair Rapozo: With that, let us go down the list. COUNCIL MEETING 8 OCTOBER 10, 2018 JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: The first proposal is "A Resolution Urging The Legislature To Appropriate Funds To Employ Lifeguards And To Purchase A Lifeguard Tower And Rescue Equipment For Kua Bay At Kekaha Kai State Park," County of Hawaii. Councilmember Kagawa moved to approve "A Resolution Urging The Legislature To Appropriate Funds To Employ Lifeguards And To Purchase A Lifeguard Tower And Rescue Equipment For Kua Bay At Kekaha Kai State Park," seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Rapozo: Let us make it clear that this was introduced by Hawai`i County. Is there any further discussion on proposal number 1? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I am going to be voting to approve it. I know it seems to be for Hawai`i County, but every good measure needs the first step and we have Polihale Beach and other State beaches that could use lifeguards and they are becoming more heavily used as we get more tourists and visitors coming to the island. Many good things start with small steps and if this measure were to be approved by the Legislature, perhaps in the coming years, it will be Kaua`i's opportunity to have HSAC support. I have had this conversation on the day that I flew out for an HSAC meeting. I bumped into one of our representatives from our delegation and she asked, "Where are you going?" I responded, "HSAC." She said, "Can you folks please vet your requests a little better? A lot of your requests are meaningless," meaning I guess I had the implication that we are submitting things that we know what the answer is going to be, but to that, I would say that is what the Legislature says to ninety-nine percent (99%) of their bills, right? That is just the nature of the beast in that you cannot stop by eliminating something that is good for the counties as a whole just because the Legislature may have the idea that it will lose anyway and ask, "Why are you supporting it," but what it is, I think, is a package that we support together as a State of Counties. I look at this measure as not something that benefits only Hawai`i County, but something that in the future could benefit Kauai. We need the State to recognize that State beaches should be supported with State funding for protection of visitors and residents. I will support this measure at this time. Thank you, Council Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: If the Resolution or the item on the agenda were to be that concept of supporting lifeguards on State beaches, that would be another matter for me, anyway, because that affects all counties and is a policy statement that is worth supporting. I do not support this and it is not because there may not be merit in the request, it is just that I think if we are to be more effective in our legislative effort, HSAC needs to really focus on issues that have Statewide COUNCIL MEETING 9 OCTOBER 10, 2018 implication. If we say, "if we scratch Hawai`i County's back and they will scratch ours when we need it," that applies to every single legislative request that we have in our County package and it will become too big and unwieldy. As a matter of believing that focus would be better in our HSAC Package, I will be voting against it. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any further comments? With that, the motion is to approve. Roll call, please. The motion to approve "A Resolution Urging The Legislature To Appropriate Funds To Employ Lifeguards And To Purchase A Lifeguard Tower And Rescue Equipment For Kua Bay At Kekaha Kai State Park," was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR APPROVAL: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kawakami, Rapozo TOTAL — 5, AGAINST APPROVAL: Yukimura TOTAL— 1, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Kaneshiro TOTAL — 1, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Five (5) ayes and one (1) no. Council Chair Rapozo: Proposal number 2, "A Bill For An Act Relating to Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses and Civil Identification Cards." Councilmember Kagawa moved to approve "A Bill For An Act Relating to Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses and Civil Identification Cards," seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there further discussion? Councilmember Kagawa: I just wanted to find out a little bit about this a nutshell, if Councilmember Kawakami or Aida has any information on what this does. My hope is that it eases some of the hoops and tricks that you must go through to get a driver's licenses, but I have a feeling that it does not even touch on that. Council Chair Rapozo: I believe this was for the... Councilmember Kagawa: You live here your entire life, you need to show your birth certificate and social security card every time you renew...yes, we all have it, but who the heck knows where those things are? When you are fifty something years old or eighty years old, you get forgetful. It is crazy. Council Chair Rapozo: Earlier I said that we had gone over this and we had not gone over this one. I am sorry. I misunderstood. I thought this was the COUNCIL MEETING 10 OCTOBER 10, 2018 one that was up last year regarding putting your medical condition on the card in the event of an emergency. This one is to basically consolidate identification (ID) cards and driver's license into one process/one application, so you do not have to go get a driver's license application and a Hawai`i State ID application. Councilmember Kagawa: So it has nothing to do with what I am concerned about? Council Chair Rapozo: No. Councilmember Kagawa: Okay, thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kawakami. Councilmember Kawakami: You hit the nail on the head. It is to make government more efficient by consolidating an ID card with driver's license. Council Chair Rapozo: It makes it a lot easier. Councilmember Kawakami: Because they are processing both right now. Remember the State used to do the State ID, but now it is the counties. Councilmember Kagawa: That sounds like something that is needed. Council Chair Rapozo: It will also curtail the abuse of the kama'aina discounts because now you get only one (1) ID, which now you can come in and get a driver's license and be a part-time resident and hopefully that will curtail some of that. Is there any further questions or comments on that proposal? If not, the motion is to approve. Roll call. The motion to approve "A Bill For An Act Relating to Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses and Civil Identification Cards," was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR APPROVAL: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL— 6, AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Kaneshiro TOTAL — 1, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Six (6) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Proposal number 3, which is, "A Bill For An Act Relating to Tobacco Products." Roll call. COUNCIL MEETING 11 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Councilmember Chock moved to approve "A Bill For An Act Relating to Tobacco Products," seconded by Councilmember Kagawa. The motion to approve "A Bill For An Act Relating to Tobacco Products," was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR APPROVAL: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL— 6, AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Kaneshiro TOTAL— 1, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Six (6) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Proposal number 4, "A Bill For An Act Relating to Tort Liability." This was the lifeguard bill. I need a motion to approve. Councilmember Yukimura: Council Chair? Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: I think the rest are issues that we have already vetted and I do not have any objections to voting all of them together. Do I make a motion to approve Proposals 4-8? Councilmember Yukimura moved to approve "A Bill For An Act Relating to Tort Liability; A Bill For An Act Relating to Taxation, Disability Hire Tax Credit; A Bill For An Act Relating to Taxation, Elderly Individual Hire Tax Credit; A Bill For An Act Relating to Zoning; A Bill For An Act Relating to Unadjudicated Traffic Fines," seconded by Councilmember Chock. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Some of you may have been wondering, "Why did Councilmember Kagawa vote on the tobacco proposal," but it is like when I look at these proposals, although I may not be one hundred ten percent (110%) behind every single issue and all of the intangibles that are added to it, my support is in support of HSAC as a whole. That I, as "one vote" on the Kaua`i County Council, I am going to support the work of Councilmember Kawakami and the group, HSAC. In order to get things done at a large level like that, you need to have compromise and support of your colleagues that are doing the legwork. Yes, at times it is a matter of agreeing to disagree and moving forward as a team. I think if you had a body that needed one hundred percent (100%) on every single issue and every single intangible COUNCIL MEETING 12 OCTOBER 10, 2018 that is attached to it, HSAC would never get anything done. That is the nature of the beast and I understand the process. That is why I offer my one hundred percent (100%) support towards the work that HSAC has done and I hope that even though the Legislature may look at some of the items and say, "This is a ridiculous item to have again," it is okay, "Please again look at it. That is your job, Legislature. Look at it, we think it is important, and if you feel that it is not important, then you can tell me the same story next year." Thank you, Council Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Chock. Councilmember Chock: I, too, am supportive of the HSAC Package as a whole. In fact, this year, different from previous, I think that there are some good measures here that are different from what I have seen in the past. I do have ongoing concerns about when you talked about meeting with a representative and saying, "These are some things that keep coming back over and over again and you folks have no chance to get them passed," but I think for those like the tort liability proposal—I laughed when I saw it because that has been there as long as I have seen it on the Council. What can we do? I think as a body, we really need to sit back and start to think about how we can work around to get what it is we need to accomplish for the County because it is a big issue. If we are just being laughed at as well, then maybe there is another mechanism out there that we need to take in order to be successful. I urge that that is probably where we need to start to look as a collective body of HSAC to really be strategic and creative. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Any further comments? I will just say that the only real thing and that is when I was on the HSAC board and we were fighting the transient accommodations tax (TAT) measure, the only real way to change what is going on and to say, "Stop sending us meaningless bills," is pathetic when you are looking at a bill like the tort liability that protects our lifeguards. If you look at the way the HSAC process is set up, you have four (4) Counties, four (4) Councils, and you have to get unanimous support of the HSAC body to get these things even on the package. This is the request of the constituents through the representatives on the county councils. My proposal which we agreed on at HSAC regarding the TAT was, "Let us take out a full-page advertisement and let the voters know which representatives voted in opposition of the people." That is how you change the process. You have to change the legislators. The County has this process and that is the process that is in place. There is no way we can override what they say and to even suggest that our suggestions are meaningless is terrible and awful. All of these bills impact the State and while Councilmember Yukimura may disagree with the lifeguard at Kua Bay, I think that is a valid point, but at the end of the day, I think it does impact the State because it is public safety and we have State beaches as well. This is the mechanism we have, unfortunately. What she was really telling you, Councilmember Kagawa was, "Why do you not send us proposals that we support, then we can support it." That is what she was telling you and not, "Send us the COUNCIL MEETING 13 OCTOBER 10, 2018 important issues on Kaua`i and we will vet it out," because if it was meaningless then say it. Tell your constituents that, "I think that protecting our lifeguards is meaningless." Tell her come up publicly and say that. I get frustrated because I heard it. I was on HSAC for so long, I have lobbied so many times, and I heard, "Hey, stop sending us these things. It will never get passed." Well, you tell the public why because I will. That touched a nerve, Councilmember Kagawa, I am sorry because none of these things are meaningless. If it went through all the Councils and it got unanimous support of HSAC, it is not meaningless and they need to understand their role. Councilmember Kawakami. Councilmember Kawakami: I did bring it up that moving forward strategically I think HSAC would be more effective and more efficient if we are more discrete in the way that we push our bills. I say that because it almost seems that whenever that "HSAC label" or that "by request label" is put on, it is already dead on arrival. The way that we really work at the legislature is sometimes it matters whose name is on top of the bill and that requires much more legwork and I mentioned that to our HSAC members is building that relationship with your senator and representative and have them take the credit for these measures, because now they have a vested interest to push these bills from committee-to-committee and to conference. There is no vested interest if it says, "HSAC." I think moving forward and regrouping and re-strategizing, that is going to be the next evolution from HSAC is you will not see our names on these, but we will be working directly within the Legislature to move these bills down. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: I want to concur with Councilmember Kawakami. Over the forty plus (40+) years that I have lobbied before the Legislature, I think it is about developing a relationship with them and having them be comfortable in talking frankly with us. I think it is a good idea when we get the kind of reaction that Councilmember Kagawa has described from one of the legislators to further inquire, "Oh, why do you say that?What exactly do you mean by that?" I think we all know that if someone is advocating our removal from office, it does not make them really open to hearing our story and I think when we do have a really good plan for what we are proposing or a very substantive reason for why we are advocating for something, my experience is that they listen and they tell us what the issues and obstacles may be, which then helps us further craft the approach to get the votes to get our measures passed. The general excise (GE) tax surcharge where we had to go back three (3) times to get their authorization so that we could act on it, that was a major lobbying effort and it took a lot of actually going to the legislature and talking to them one-on-one and the leadership and finding out what their perceptions were and what our needs are and so forth. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any other discussion? In my response COUNCIL MEETING 14 OCTOBER 10, 2018 to that, Councilmember Yukimura is forty (40) years and I have fourteen (14) or so, but we have tried many different ways over the years and it is very clear to me that the Legislature has had an in-house process that they follow. What you said the legislator told you is very clear that there is that division. Yes, we can continue to be nice to them and expect the same results, but the GE tax that Councilmember Yukimura talked about was not a hard one to go fight for because they wanted us to take the GE. They did not want to give us TAT, so if I do not like cauliflower, but I love beets, and if they start cutting my beets source, then eventually, I am going to have to eat cauliflower. That is what has happened. I am a realist. I understand what is going on. They just keep cutting the TAT cap until eventually you look for another revenue source, you are limited now, you are pretty much forced to eat cauliflower, and that is kind of how it works. I understand that we need to build relationships, but that is a two-way street. That is not just the County needing to build these relationships, because it works both ways, and when you go up there and get criticized and get spoken down to, it works on you and takes its toll. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Just the difference of opinion if you look at the Constitutional Amendment (Con Am) issue. The Legislature, this County Council, the Governor, and the Mayor, everybody agrees that Hawai`i teachers are the worst paid in the nation. It is a clear fact. Everyone knows that teachers are the worst paid in the nation. How do we fix the problem? The simplest thing is more money. That is why the Legislature put it on the ballot in order to raise more money, let us give the voters the choice to say, "Hey, this is the opportunity to get more money so that our teachers can move up from the bottom up." As a Councilmember, we opposed Con Am because we feel that it is the Legislature's job to fund education. If the problem is the teachers not getting paid enough, "Legislature, you fund it and fix your problem. Why are you passing the problem to the voters?" That is a simple way that we both agree is a problem, but we have different ways of fixing it; we are vastly different in how we solve problems, how we analyze the problem, and that is the problem with us thinking that our HSAC Package is a sound package and the Legislature feeling that it is a ridiculous package. At this point, it is difficult to say there will be any agreement between the Legislature and HSAC in the coming future because the Con Am will really split us apart further. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kawakami. Councilmember Kawakami: That was true what was just said, but I also want to clarify that no amount of lobbying would have done anything to the GE tax surcharge because I was at the table in the Legislature. What happened was the Legislature did not want to offer the neighbor island counties the general excise tax surcharge because if we were to raise it, it makes it that much harder for them to raise the GE tax when they need to. What happened was they were not going to give it to the neighbor island counties unless the neighbor island counties would commit to actually taking it because they did not want to put their neck on the line. What COUNCIL MEETING 15 OCTOBER 10, 2018 happened was we had an Attorney General rule that it is unconstitutional to favor one county over the other and if you are going to give taxing authority or GE tax surcharge authority to the City & County of Honolulu, it had to be offered to the neighbor island counties. Therefore, every time that sunset comes up and if they decide to extend the sunset, every neighbor island county automatically is going to have that question at their council table, "Do they want to take the general excise tax surcharge for roads and public transportation?" Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Ironically, they were opposed to us, they did not want to do the GE tax because if we added GE tax cost to the public, it would be hard for them to raise GE tax later, but look at how that has changed today. They are going to hit our real property tax and affect our ability to control our destiny—that is just the double-talk up there in that square building. Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: Just to finish that issue of the constitutional amendment, in the case of the GE tax, the final decision lays with the Legislature and they decide whether to give it or not. With respect to the constitutional amendment proposed, neither side has control over the other. We do not have to authorize the other to take from it, so it is this wild free for all if the constitutional amendment passes that both sides will just keep drawing on it. The entity that gets hurt are our real property taxpayers. By the way, there is no assurance that the amendment if pass will go to funding teachers' salaries, too. There are a lot of issues tied up in that. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: My final point to that is if the teachers were not guaranteed higher pay through the Con Am, why would the Hawai`i State Teachers Association (HSTA) spend so much money and resources and basically fool their members by telling them to go and hold signs and spread the word? Why would they do that to the teachers if that was not an assurance? Yes, it will benefit the teachers, but how much? When you are at the bottom, you get one dollar ($1) per hour raise, you probably still going to be at forty something. Is that going to make more young people want to be teachers instead of nurses or firefighters?I do not think so. The teachers are significantly low in pay, it is going to take significant restructuring as well as funding to change that picture, so I think really how much more are teachers going to get if it passes, is really the question, because a quarter an hour raise compared to a five dollar ($5) per hour raise is really huge. It is apples and oranges. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. The motion is to approve proposals 4-8. Roll call. COUNCIL MEETING 16 OCTOBER 10, 2018 The motion to approve "A Bill For An Act Relating to Tort Liability; A Bill For An Act Relating to Taxation, Disability Hire Tax Credit; A Bill For An Act Relating to Taxation, Elderly Individual Hire Tax Credit; A Bill For An Act Relating to Zoning; A Bill For An Act Relating to Unadjudicated Traffic Fines," was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR APPROVAL: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 6, AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Kaneshiro TOTAL — 1, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Six (6) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please. LEGAL DOCUMENTS: C 2018-220 Communication (08/16/2018) from the Housing Director, recommending Council approval of a Waiver, Release and Indemnity Agreement for Tax Map Key (TMK) No. (4) 2-6-004:019 between the County of Kaua`i, Koa`e Workforce Housing, L.P. and Jafefe, LLC. The purpose of this agreement is to have the County of Kaua`i and Koa`e Workforce Housing, L.P. waive, release, and indemnify the Department of Water from any liability for injuries or damages that might arise during construction activities on the property as part of the permitting process, and to authorize the County Clerk to sign legal documents related to the Waiver, Release and Indemnity Agreement with the Department of Water. • Waiver, Release, and Indemnity Agreement Councilmember Chock moved to approve C 2018-220, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion? Councilmember Yukimura. Councilmember Yukimura: I have some questions for the Housing Agency. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. STEVE FRANCO, Housing Development Coordinator: Good morning. Steve Franco, for the record. COUNCIL MEETING 17 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Councilmember Yukimura: Good morning, Steve. Thank you for being here. Mr. Franco: No problem. Councilmember Yukimura: This Waiver, Release, and Indemnity Agreement with the Department of Water is basically the Department of Water asking the County, which is the County Housing Agency... Mr. Franco: That is correct. Councilmember Yukimura: ...to indemnify the Department of Water. Mr. Franco: Correct. Councilmember Yukimura: So the County of Kaua`i Koa`e Workforce Housing, L.P. and Jafefe, LLC, can you just explain who these people are? Mr. Franco: Koa`e Workforce Housing, L.P. is the developer that we selected to develop the Koa`e Makana Project. Jafefe, LLC is one of the syndicators that are providing the low-income housing tax credit to Koa`e Workforce Housing, L.P. Councilmember Yukimura: Koa`e Workforce Housing, L.P. is Mark Development. Mr. Franco: Correct. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. Under applicants understandings and representations, the applicant understands that the County of Kaua`i has not yet granted final construction approval. What does that mean? Oh, the construction approval of all the water improvements... Mr. Franco: That is correct. Councilmember Yukimura: ...that must be constructed. Mr. Franco: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, so who gives final construction approval to the Department of Water? Mr. Franco: That would be through the Building Division permits. COUNCIL MEETING 18 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Councilmember Yukimura: The Building Division. Mr. Franco: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, so the usual procedure is that all the water improvements are completed and then something else happens... Mr. Franco: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: ...but in this case you are going to have them done simultaneous? Mr. Franco: Correct. Councilmember Yukimura: So the Department of Water is saying if you come in before we are finished, you have to indemnify us for any damage or anything that might happen while this thing is going. Mr. Franco: That is correct. This is a standard form or document that the Department of Water requires for these types of permitting. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, so it is not an unusual process. Mr. Franco: No. Councilmember Yukimura: This happens all the time. Mr. Franco: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Does it allow simultaneous efforts from different entities? Mr. Franco: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, thank you very much. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone from the audience wishing to testify? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: COUNCIL MEETING 19 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Council Chair Rapozo: Is there further discussion? If not, the motion is to approve. The motion to approve C 2018-220 was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Kaneshiro was excused). Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. C 2018-221 Communication (09/04/2018) from the Housing Director, recommending Council approval of a Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions by the County of Kauai and Kalepa Village Partners, a Hawaii Limited Partnership by its General Partner Kauai Housing Development Corporation, LLC a Hawaii Limited Liability Company, by its Manager Kauai Housing Development Corporation, a Hawaii nonprofit Corporation, for Kalepa Village Phase 2B, Tax Map Key (TMK) No. (4) 3-8-002-023, Lihu`e, Kauai, Hawaii, and to authorize the County Clerk to sign legal documents related to the Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for Kalepa Village Phase 2B. • Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions Councilmember Brun moved to approve C 2018-221, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Councilmember Yukimura: Yes. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Councilmember Yukimura: If I may? Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Mr. Franco, can you explain what this is and which part of the project...oh, it says, "Kalepa Project Phase 2B." Mr. Franco: Yes, as part of the Home Investment Partnership Program, which were funds that were utilized for this particular phase of Kalepa Village, they require that we...any time HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds are being used, we have to record a Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions to ensure all of the HOME requirements are satisfied through a deed restriction by way of Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions. Councilmember Yukimura: When was this one finished? COUNCIL MEETING 20 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Mr. Franco: Yes, this is being done way after-the-fact and HHFDC who administers the HOME program through their monitoring of the projects; they found that some of the projects did not have these declarations of covenants and restrictions attached to it. They are asking that we do one even after-the-fact. Councilmember Yukimura: That is good. Mr. Franco: Yes. Councilmember Yukimura: Because otherwise we would have to give back HOME moneys, right? Mr. Franco: Yes, that is correct. Councilmember Yukimura: One million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) is no small amount. I love the HOME restrictions because they are ensuring that the housing is between eighty and one hundred twenty thousand...thirty- two of the forty...so these are forty (40) units in Phase 2B. Mr. Franco: Correct. Councilmember Yukimura: Is that the last phase that was done? Mr. Franco: Actually, no. That was the second phase. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. Those have been occupied for some time. Mr. Franco: Yes, about ten (10) years. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, so they are high home rentals units not for families earning not greater than eighty percent (80%) of median income and then eight (8) are to be for low home rentals for families earning not greater than fifty percent (50%) of the median income. Mr. Franco: Correct. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay, and that they are subject to affordable restrictions...how long are these covenants for? Oh, twenty (20) years. Mr. Franco: Yes. It is a twenty-year period of affordability as required by the HOME program. COUNCIL MEETING 21 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Councilmember Yukimura: Yes, but because it is on County land, we are not looking at these units going into market after twenty (20) years, right? Mr. Franco: No. Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: I will call the meeting back to order. The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any further discussion? Seeing none, the motion is to approve. The motion to approve C 2018-221 was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Kaneshiro was excused). Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. C 2018-222 Communication (09/18/2018)from the Fire Chief, requesting Council approval of the indemnification provisions contained in the Department of Education Application for Use of School Buildings, Facilities, or Grounds relating to: Hanalei, Kilauea, Koloa, Kalaheo, and`Ele`ele Elementary Schools; Kapa`a, Waimea, and Kaua`i High Schools; and Waimea Canyon and Kapa'a Middle Schools, to conduct the Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) program: Councilmember Chock moved to approve C 2018-222, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? 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: The motion to approve C 2018-222 was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Kaneshiro was excused). Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. CLAIMS: C 2018-223 Communication (09/17/2018) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Bob N. Vegas, Sr. and Angeline Vegas, for property damage, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. COUNCIL MEETING 22 OCTOBER 10, 2018 C 2018-224 Communication (09/17/2018) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Farmers Insurance Company of Washington, as subrogee of James Marino, for damages to their vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2018-225 Communication (09/19/2018) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by I. Scott Mattoch of the Law Offices of Ian Mattoch for Trevor Wright, for personal injury, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. Councilmember Yukimura moved to refer C 2018-223, C 2018-224, and C 2018-225 to the Office of the County Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the Council, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? 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: The motion to refer C 2018-223, C 2018-224, and C 2018-225 to the Office of the County Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the Council was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Kaneshiro was excused). Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. Resolution No. 2018-35 — RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE COUNTY OF KAUAI'S COMMITMENT TO THE PARIS AGREEMENT RELATING TO CLIMATE CHANGE: Councilmember Chock moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2018-35, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Let us take the public testimony first. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. JAN TENBRUGGENCATE: Good morning, my name is Jan TenBruggencate. I want to speak in favor of this measure. It is time for the County of Kaua`i to get off of the receiving end of climate change and to get aggressive on doing something about it. As you know, our budget is being hit by tens of millions of dollars for responding to climate associated issues. At this moment, Hurricane Michael is hitting the Florida Keys with one hundred fifty-five miles per hour (155 MPH) sustained winds. In the eastern pacific, the nineteenth named storm of the year is currently spinning between Hawai`i and Mexico. This measure helps us begin COUNCIL MEETING 23 OCTOBER 10, 2018 to address that and I support it. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Next. ANNE WALTON: Good morning, Council Chair and Members of the Council. For the record, my name is Anne Walton. I fully support the proposed Resolution by Councilmember JoAnn Yukimura expressing the County's commitment to the Paris Agreement relating to climate change. I wholeheartedly believe we should join Governor Ige and the other Counties of the State of Hawai`i in emphatically expressing our commitment to achieving the goals articulated in the Paris Agreement. It should also be understood that by joining the other counties of Hawai`i in signing on to this Agreement, we are making a commitment to actively engage in identifying the necessary actions that the County of Kaua`i needs to undertake to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. These goals also happen to be consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adapted and scaled for purposes of relevancy to Kaua`i, and include: 1) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting a target specific to our County, consistent with the State's commitment; 2) to increase our ability to adapt and respond to the adverse impacts of climate change such as sea-level rise, change in precipitations levels, storm surges, and ocean acidification; while fostering climate resilience in areas such as food security; and 3) making financial investments that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, climate-resilient development and clean infrastructure. Signing on to the Paris Agreement and committing to specific actions to meet the goals of the Agreement is not unique to our State or County. For instance, eight (8) countries around the world have already set target dates for banning internal combustion engines; commitments have been made by countries like France to no longer use coal to generate electricity; and electric trains running on the Dutch National Rail Network are already entirely powered by wind energy. The Paris Agreement is unique by international treaty standards in that it has a "bottom-up" structure, allowing for voluntary and nationally, or in our case, locally determined targets. As such, the targets are politically encouraged, rather than legally binding— which is where you come into play. How can we, as a community, set our own targets that helps to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement? There is not an economy that is too big or too small to make this commitment. It is going to take a collective planetary effort to mitigate the human-induced contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, and working at our small scale should not be unduly demanding, but rather considered an obligation. With each new projection on climate change impacts coming out of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the news seems increasingly dire, but in fact, it has not really changed over the past decade. The only thing that COUNCIL MEETING 24 OCTOBER 10, 2018 has changed is that the science has become more certain, and if the science does not speak to you, then perhaps what is called "Two-Eyed Seeing" or Etuaptmumk, which refers to learning to see from one eye with the strengths of indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strength of Western knowledge— and learning to use both eyes together to recognize that climate change is in our face right now. Imagine what you will see if you start to use both eyes. So I implore you to consider both signing on to the Paris Agreement, with both eyes open, as the impacts of climate change are already knocking at our front door. Will we be prepared... Council Chair Rapozo: Anne, hang on. Is there anyone else wishing to testify? Okay. How much more do you have? Ms. Walton: Twenty-seconds. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay, continue. Ms. Walton: Will we be prepared or find ourselves fleeing out the back door, joining other pacific island communities like Kiribati and the Marshall Islands that are already preparing to become climate refugees. Today, we on Kaua`i still have a choice, and I ask you to make the right one while we still have that choice. Thank you for hearing my comments. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Go ahead. Councilmember Yukimura: Anne, can you submit your testimony to us? Ms. Walton: Yes, I have enough copies for all of you. Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Felicia. FELICIA COWDEN: Felicia Cowden, for the record. I support this effort as well. I really want to concur particularly with the final part of what Anne Walton was saying there and that is what is really important. It is "bottom-up," that it is locally based on how we hit these targets. Hawai`I, throughout the millennium before contact was one of the strongest places on the planet for resilience and self- sufficiency and pulling on our indigenous background blended with...as we were moving towards our renewability goals and empower. I think we have a lot that we can come together with both our traditional knowledge and technology that is out there and should absolutely be a priority that everywhere on the planet work in the right direction and I think it is achievable for us and so I support this with COUNCIL MEETING 25 OCTOBER 10, 2018 enthusiasm. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else wishing to testify? Seeing none, I will call the meeting back to order. Is there any further discussion? Councilmember Yukimura. The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you, Council Chair. Thank you to all who testified and sent in testimony. Earlier this year, Kaua`i experienced firsthand the terrible consequences and cost of climate change. Our island, particularly the communities of Koloa, Keapana, Kealia, Anahola, Kalihiwai, Hanalei, and Waipa to Ha`ena were hit by unprecedented flooding; flooding that in Hanalei broke national record. The flooding caused heartbreaking loss of property and animals and damaged to infrastructure and natural areas including beloved places like Black Pot Beach Park. We are grateful that miraculously no human life was lost, but repair and rebuilding drags on even as we continue to get new flood and hurricane warnings. It is hard to think that this might be the new normal where while we have not yet recovered from the previous disaster, another disaster is upon us. Around the world, including the mainland United States, communities are experiencing what we have experienced, unprecedented climate change resulting in wild fires, floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis, but in many of those places, there have also been extensive loss of life and a massive level of destruction of homes, businesses, infrastructure, and natural areas. So, what do to about all of this? On December 12, 2015, just about every country in the world agreed to unify action to address this unprecedented worldwide problem of climate crisis and they agreed to reduce the greenhouse gases that are causing the world to warm to dangerous levels. Even though progress has been uneven since then, we should not overlook the significance of a world coming together not to fight each other, but to address the common threat to humanity, to all of us, including our grandchildren. While President Trump has pulled back on the United States commitment, local and state governments have been stepping forward including Governor Ige, the Legislature, and all the Mayors of our State. If we approve this Resolution today, Kaua`i will be joining the people of the world in the effort to stem the climate change and climate crisis. Some people have said this is a meaningless resolution and it could be if after we pass this Resolution, we do nothing. But if we so choose, it could also be what President Kennedy's "Man on the Moon" speech turned out to be—"A call to action that galvanized an extraordinary effort that put a man on the moon at a time when it was thought to be impossible." I know that often times addressing climate change looks impossible, but we must do our part. Not only because that is what our parents and teachers told us makes the world work, that we all do our part, but because it will make a better future for our children and if we are strategic, thoughtful, and respectful, and inclusive in considering everyone, we will also save money. For example, Mr. TenBruggencate is here not as a representative, but he happens to be a board member of Kaua`i Island Utility COUNCIL MEETING 26 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Cooperative (KIUC), and KIUC in partnership with the County converted all our street lights to light-emitting diode (LED), which is a movement toward reducing greenhouse gases, but it will also save taxpayer money to the tune of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) a year. Many of these solutions will save money, not only the money that it takes to respond to natural disasters, but money that it takes to just operate ordinary daily life. It will make us more resilient. We will achieve our General Plan goals of a more sustainable island and it will make everything better. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else? Councilmember Kawakami. Councilmember Kawakami: Thank you, Council Chair. I will be supporting this Resolution. In all honesty, I thought that when the Mayor had sent his proclamation agreeing to the Paris Agreement, that it already automatically subscribed the County of Kaua`i and all of us, but this is a great measuring fact. I think this would have been a perfect measure to propose to HSAC. I do believe it has statewide importance and I wish we had gotten this earlier, but thank you, Council Chair, I will be supporting this. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Chock. Councilmember Chock: I, too, will be supporting this enthusiastically. Thank you, Councilmember Yukimura for putting this forward. I will be supporting this just because it is the call to action that I really believe in needing for us to move on. Regardless, it has been noticed and acknowledged by our County already. I think it is a good reminder, so I appreciate the effort in this Resolution. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I will be supporting it. If you look around, watch the news and look at the weird weather that we have had over the recent years. There are numerous flooding, hurricanes, and devastation that we have seen worldwide and just unprecedented in comparison to prior years. Yes, we are experiencing some tough times without change and what is going to need to happen, I said this before, is real change needs to happen globally and not just Kaua`i, not just Hawai`i, not just the United States. If the United States is the leader in this area while China and Russia or whatever other Countries double and triple their adverse- affects, what is going to be the difference? We need a global agreement to change and yes it starts with Kauai, it starts with small places, but really I think it is beyond this County Council's job unfortunately and some may differ. Kauai Coalition may think they can change everything on Kaua`i and I disagree, but we will address this— this is a no-brainer and you support something like this. This is all positive. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to support this type of resolution. It does not harm anything. Does it really change anything? No. I think what we do need is we need a COUNCIL MEETING 27 OCTOBER 10, 2018 global agreement and if you think things are adverse, then do not sell it, do not give the consumers a chance to buy something that is going to harm the environment, but it cannot only be done on Kaua`i. It cannot only be done in the United States. It has to be done globally because I can tell you, it just does not add up. You minus one and you add five, you still lose. We need significant change. It needs to happen and it needs to happen more than this document right here. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Is there any other discussion? Councilmember Yukimura: I just want to say that even when it is a law unless it is enforced nothing happens, so this is only the first step, but it is important that we take it and that we unify our efforts. I like the suggestion that it be an HSAC Package item. The problem will not be solved by next year, so perhaps that can be done, so that we can just increasingly get the discussion and awareness and then the follow-up action because whether it is a law or resolution, without the follow-up action, nothing will happen. As my friend said, "Minds need models," and if we could become a model, we can help to change the world. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any other discussion? I believe the Governor already signed on, the four (4) mayors signed on, the Legislature signed on, and the County of Kaua`i is here today...the HSAC Package in essence is done. This is the last entity that will be agreeing or committing to the Paris Agreement, so it would be nice to have it unified. I think this finishes that circle, but I could be wrong. Go ahead. Councilmember Yukimura: I do not know that the councils of each County has done this and you know how our Legislative Package does not become a County Package unless both the legislative body and the mayor together agree, that is why I think affirming this as the legislative body will help and if the others have not, it would be a good thing. I think really the main thing is us taking care of our kuleana and doing it, so thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Is there any other discussion? If not, the motion is to approve. The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2018-35 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 6, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Kaneshiro TOTAL — 1, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. COUNCIL MEETING 28 OCTOBER 10, 2018 Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Six (6) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. With no further business, this meeting is adjourned. ADJOURNMENT. There being no further business, the Council Meeting adjourned at 9:40 a.m. Respectfully submitted, JAD , . •UNTAIN-TANIGAWA County Clerk :dmc