HomeMy WebLinkAbout04_20_2022 Council minutesCOUNCIL MEETING
APRIL 20, 2022
The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order
by Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street,
Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 8:32 a.m., after which the
following Members answered the call of the roll:
Honorable Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr.
Honorable Mason K. Chock
Honorable Felicia Cowden (via remote technology)
Honorable Bill DeCosta
Honorable Luke A. Evslin
Honorable KipuKai Kuali`i
Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro
APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the agenda, as circulated,
seconded by Councilmember DeCosta.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to
testify on the agenda? Ana, your testimony has to be on the items in the agenda. You
know the rules, you have three (3) minutes initially, state your name for the record,
the light is going to turn green when it starts, yellow when you have thirty (30)
seconds, red when your time is up, and if you need another three (3) minutes, we need
to ask if anyone else wants to testify first, then you can come back for your second
three (3) minutes.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
ANA MO DES: I appreciate it, Council Chair, and thank you
for the reminder, it has been a long time, but it is such a pleasure to see all of you in
person. I appreciate the work that you all do behind the scenes, and once we get here.
My name is Ana Mo Des. My testimony is on the approval of the agenda on this
specific item of the agenda, and I disapprove of the agenda. I feel it is incomplete for
matters of urgency. I submitted a request for an agenda item to be placed on the
agenda today. I submitted reasons for it, and I hope that my reasons were read
thoroughly. Council Chair, I speak to you with full integrity. I appreciate your
position as Council Chair, a man of integrity, a family man, and as parents we know
that what we want for our children, we want for all children. So, everything I say
COUNCIL MEETING 2 APRIL 20, 2022
here in this moment is with the utmost integrity, the utmost honesty, the utmost
truth I have witnessed myself, and feel it is an urgent emergency to discuss the
situation in Koloa. I have seen it with my own eyes that there is in fact many places
of significance worth exploring with a data recovery survey, the second part of a
three-part process of the cultural survey. I understand that the County is responding
by saying that the developer has completed all requirements, and with the utmost
respect and admiration for the work ethic of Scott, it is just not true. There needs to
be a data recovery portion of the cultural survey for there to be any peace with the
community because we have pictures, I have seen it with my own eyes, and we are
demanding due process take place. The data recovery portion is significant, it is when
a team goes in and explores each space worthy of investigation. We are not saying or
claiming that there is anything, but there is a possibility of it. For the response to be
that there is absolutely nothing is absurd by logic standards. It is a 26-acre property
in Koloa right next to Hapa Trail. There has been proven and historic significance of
all Koloa, so how could this particular 26-acre lot have absolutely nothing worth
exploring a little bit further, investigating to see what can be revealed, what can be
maintained in perpetuity. The people of Koloa deserve proper due process and for the
County to support our requests in asking for such and demanding for such, because
it is protocol. I understand the developer is saying that whatever gets revealed along
the way, they will stop, but that does not mean that they can bypass initial protocol,
and initial protocol has most definitely been bypassed. Either Cultural Surveys
Hawai`i is someone we cannot count on, to be honest, or there are other parties in
play to the same effect. I would like there to be a proper investigation. I am counting
on all of you as our representatives to please demand there be a data recovery survey
portion of the cultural survey. It is not complete. Anyone saying it is complete is
committing fraud. I am saying this here on the record. I would not be here if I did
not know it for certain that we most definitely need a data recovery portion for the
26-acrage in Koloa, Tax Map Key (TMK) that I have already submitted the reasons
why I am requesting this of you. I believe that all of you truly feel this as an
important aspect and that your call to duty aligns with my request. I really need to
understand that due process takes place and that the County supports the
community getting involved in such matters. We would not have to if the initial
protocols were already checked. You are our final frontier, so I am asking for you all
to get involved, please. It is a requirement of your position in representing us. We
would not come if there was not a big reason for it, so please step forward, stand up
for what is truly happening, and investigate further. Do not take what Cultural
Survey Hawai`i has presented for granted. Are there any questions?
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Council Vice Chair Chock.
Councilmember Chock: Mahalo, for the testimony. Chair, I know it is
not on the agenda, so I will not go further into it, I want to get clarity around the
actions that are being requested. I hear there was request for an agenda item. Part
of what I am understanding is this kuleana that potentially has oversight is within
COUNCIL MEETING 3 APRIL 20, 2022
the State jurisdiction, I want to know how far the group has gone in engaging with
Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) and the right organizations that
oversee this.
Ms. Mo Des:Most definitely have to no avail. That is why
I am here speaking on the record of it, asking for you folks to step in as representation
and make sure that SHPD is acknowledging the request for a true and proper survey.
That they do not just take Cultural Survey Hawai`i at their word, which is completely
untrue. So, if we have to go over SHPD, if they continue with this story, that I am
asking for you folks to step in to do that. Maybe, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)
has to get involved. There are also two (2) points that have never been...and I know
I have another three (3) minutes afterwards if there is more testimony. I can bring
that up now.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden has a question.
Councilmember Cowden: My question is for the County Attorney. Is it
okay for me to ask him a question?
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Mark is on.
MARK BRADBURY, Deputy County Attorney (via remote technology): Sure.
Councilmember Cowden: Can you give clarity on the Council's role? I
have followed this issue relatively closely for about a year. How do we step in, or
what is appropriate in terms of putting it on the agenda, or how do we have a role,
because it is very clear that when we have this piece of property directly across the
street from what is visibly an act of part of the Koloa field system, and they say there
is nothing to hear, and told us it is not the Council's role to step in on that. What is
the Council's role and what is the appropriate way to put it on the agenda?
Mr. Bradbury: I am not completely familiar with this piece of
property that the young lady was discussing; however, at some point in time, if there
were permits to be pulled, it should have probably come before the Council. If it has
not, obviously, the Council can direct the Planning Director to come before the
Council and explain it and open it up to public testimony then.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you. I will work on that.
Mr. Bradbury: You are welcome.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? If not, thank you. Next
up is Alison.
COUNCIL MEETING 4 APRIL 20, 2022
ALISON LEWIS:Aloha, I am here for the same reason. What I
am here to testify about is the actual agenda itself. I am backing up Ana, which is
that I think that the County Council...she indicated in her E-mail to you that this
was of time urgency and this issue did need to be included in today's agenda as
something to address, and begging the County for their immediate action and help in
any way possible in stopping what is going on Koloa, which is being done with a whole
lot of layers of irresponsibility. For example, yesterday a bulldozer went through a
heiau and the cultural practitioners that have been opposing all of this development
have worked through all the proper channels through SHPD begging the Department
of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), begging SHPD, begging the County, even
talkingto Kaua`i Police Department (KPD) who is there "moonlighting" hired bytheP
developer to keep people away. It is a critical, urgent, time-sensitive issue, and that
is what I am testifying about right now is that it should have been on the agenda
today—the ability to ask you folks to do whatever you can to help stop the desecration.
There is a significant population of Kaua`i that is being harmed by the development
and they are not being listened to. Thank you, that is all.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Ana, you have your last three (3) minutes.
Ms. Mo Des:I appreciate it, Council Chair. Thank you so
much. This is very true, what Alison just said, a bulldozer went through a large heiau
that we have pictures of. Again, comes the question, that there is nothing on the
property worth a data recovery survey, why is the developer taking these steps to
ensure destruction. It is confusion to say the least and to be the most respectful,
because I do respect all of you, I respect these Chambers, and I respect the work that
happens here. I believe in it and that is why I am here. I am asking you to please
step forward and do what is appropriate, do what aught to be done, full force to stop
the machine, all the machines on the property until there is a proper data recovery
survey. Two (2) questions that I had that were very unclear on protocol, the police
officers, which I back the blue one hundred percent (100%), the police officers on-duty,
and I appreciate KPD for all their work. There were officers in full uniform with their
gear and weapons making it seem as if they were on-duty; my question is later we
find out they were "moonlighting" as security. The police officer told me it was in
protection for the employees from us and to protect us from any machinery. I do not
understand the protocol here. Is KPD a centralized unit that is providing these
moonlighting" outside options? If so, is there an ordinance that we can look at to see
how this can be? Of course, you can understand the concern when there are
community members showing up knowing that there has been issues on this property
that the developer or those supporting the developer have not ensured proper protocol
took place, and we are just there to observe and record. Yesterday, one of the women
that have been consistently showing up was told that if she does again, she will be
arrested for trespassing, when we were initially told that we were allowed to be there
and observe, peacefully, which it has all been completely peaceful. That was one
question. Also, Hapa Trail, within the thirty-foot barrier, this is a State Highway
COUNCIL MEETING 5 APRIL 20, 2022
right to ponder, there should not be any obstruction on Hapa Trail, there should not
be any sort of digging or anything, so I do not understand who owns this property, if
it private, if it is State, if it is County, and the permit situation, the developer says
that they own it and they do not need to provide a permit. It is all very confusing.
Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you for your testimony. Are there any
questions from the Members? Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: Can I have an understanding of why we did
not put anything on the agenda? Did we get an agenda request on time?
Council Chair Kaneshiro: I never received an agenda request. Did you
request that agenda item?
Councilmember Cowden: I did not. I just did a search and I had read
this, but it was April 14th, I am not sure about the timing on that. I see an urgent
request for briefing on the agenda dated April 14th from Ana Mo Des regarding this.
I am seeing this was there on that date. Was that date problematic? Is that why it
did not make it on the agenda? Maybe that was too late.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Our agenda was already posted on that day.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: I still have not received any agenda requests.
Councilmember Cowden: The request is in our E-mail on April 14th, not
from me, but it looks like from her.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The requests usually come from a
Councilmember.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you. Just so they understand
in the room. Thursday, the 14th, the agenda is already set.
Ms. Mo Des:I was also requesting a Councilmember to
step forward and meet with Council Chair to request the agenda time. From what I
understood that was protocol when I had come to ask, so that was my intention in
sending the e-mail to councilmembers@kauai.gov to ask for Councilmembers to step
forward and make time with Council Chair, so I continue to ask that of each and
everyone of you. Thank you. But time is of the essence so please make the phone
calls to OHA, and SHPD. Thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING 6 APRIL 20, 2022
There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and
proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Thank you. Are there any questions or
discussion on the approval of the agenda?
The motion for approval of the agenda, as circulated, was then put, and
unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council:
April 6, 2022 Council Meeting
April 6, 2022 Public Hearing re: Bill No. 2850
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve the Minutes, as circulated, seconded
by Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience or on Zoom
wishing to testify?
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: None. Are there any questions or discussion
on this item from the Members?
The motion for approval of the Minutes, as circulated, was then put, and
unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
C 2022-78 Communication (04/05/2022) from Hugo D. Cabrera, Deputy
County Attorney, transmitting for Council information, the Quarterly Report on
Settled Claims filed against the County of Kaua`i from January 1, 2022 through
March 31, 2022.
C 2022-79 Communication (04/05/2022) from the Director of Finance,
transmitting for Council information, the Third Quarter Statement of Equipment
Purchases for Fiscal Year 2021-2022, pursuant to Section 17 of Ordinance
No. B-2021-877, relating to the Operating Budget of the County of Kaua`i for Fiscal
Year 2021-2022.
COUNCIL MEETING 7 APRIL 20, 2022
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2022-78 and C 2022-79 for the
record, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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. Are there any questions or is
there any discussion from the Members?
The motion to receive C 2022-78 and C 2022-79 for the record was then put,
and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
COMMUNICATIONS:
C 2022-80 Communication (03/22/2022) from Ka`aina S. Hull, Clerk of the
Planning Commission, transmitting the Planning Commission's recommendation to
amend Chapter 8, Kauai County Code 1987, as amended, relating to All-Hazard
Statewide Outdoor Warning Siren Systems.
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2022-80 for the record, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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. Are there any questions from
the Members on this item?
The motion to receive C 2022-80 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
C 2022-81 Communication (03/22/2022) from Ka`aina S. Hull, Clerk of the
Planning Commission, transmitting the Planning Commission's recommendation to
COUNCIL MEETING 8 APRIL 20, 2022
amend Chapter 8, Kaua`i County Code 1987, as amended, relating to Commercial
General Zoning District Table of Uses.
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2022-81 for the record, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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. Are there any questions or
discussion from the Members?
The motion to receive C 2022-81 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
C 2022-82 Communication (04/04/2022) from the Executive on Aging,
requesting Council approval to receive and expend State funds, in the amount
of$53,543.00, and to indemnify the State Executive Office on Aging, to be used by the
County of Kaua`i, Agency on Elderly Affairs to support the functions of the Aging and
Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and be used for staff development, outreach,
awareness, education, and collaboration with the No Wrong Door (NWD) Network,
for the period June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2022.
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2022-82, seconded by
Councilmember DeCosta.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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: None. Are there any questions from the
Members? Is there any final discussion from the Members? Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: Again, I just want to thank the Agency on
Elderly Affairs for their diligent work at getting grants and continuing the great work
COUNCIL MEETING 9 APRIL 20, 2022
that they do for both this one and the Kupuna Care piece that comes next. You folks
have been so good at getting everything done and taking care of our seniors, so just
mahalo. I do not want to let that opportunity pass.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else?
The motion to approve C 2022-82 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
C 2022-83 Communication (04/04/2022) from the Executive on Aging,
requesting Council approval to receive and expend State funds, in the amount of
183,554.00, and to indemnify the State Executive Office on Aging, to be used for the
provision of Kupuna Care, which includes case management, adult day care, assisted
transportation, attendant care, Kupuna Care transportation, personal care, and
home-delivered meals, for the period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2025.
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2022-83, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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: None. Are there any questions from the
Members? Is there any final discussion from the Members?
The motion to approve C 2022-83 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
C 2022-84 Communication (04/07/2022) from the Director of Finance,
requesting Council approval to receive and expend funds in the amount of$50,000.00,
from the State of Hawai`i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), and
indemnification provisions contained in the HI-WiFi Program Memorandum of
Understanding, to upgrade or install Wi-Fi connectivity at various parks or other public
locations within the county for the purpose of increasing access to internet and
broadband services.
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2022-84, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
COUNCIL MEETING 10 APRIL 20, 2022
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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: None. Are there any questions from the
Members? Councilmember Evslin.
Councilmember Evslin: Reiko or Del, I am just wondering, one, it
sounds like a great program, I fully support it, but the memorandum mentions
program locations, but it does not specifically say what those locations are; do you
have that information here?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
REIKO MATSUYAMA, Director of Finance (via remote technology): I am
going to defer to Del.
DEL SHERMAN, Information Technology (IT) Manager (via remote
technology): We have a list of park locations. We are
targeting seven (7) locations of parks. If you give me just a second, I will pull up the
information I have. Vidinha, Lydgate, Kilauea Park, Isenberg, Waimea Athletic, and
a couple of locations in Hanapepe, and Kekaha initially, we will expand from there if
we can, but the agreement with the State on this was, we would try to fit at least
seven (7) locations, so those were the primary ones that we selected. They would be
reachable with existing infrastructure.
Councilmember Evslin: Great. Will this be twenty-four (24)
hours/seven (7) days a week public WiFi at these locations?
Mr. Sherman: That is correct.
Councilmember Evslin: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Follow-up, Vice Chair Chock, then
Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you, Chair. This is great. I am
completely supportive, and I appreciate it. I just noticed that there is a big gap in the
Wainiha area for connectivity; has there been any discussion about a location there
that we might be able to support in the future along with this?
Mr. Sherman: Yes, we have been in discussions with the
State and internally in how far we can expand. The issue here is, we are limited with
being able to go as far as we would like in that we do not have fiber optic connectivity
COUNCIL MEETING 11 APRIL 20, 2022
to some of these desired locations, and that fiber optic backhaul is needed to give us
the kinds of WiFi broadband internet speeds that make these locations functional for
our residents. We are trying to extend our fiber optic network coverage as well, we
are moving forward with that under a separate project, and as that expands, then
some of these "more-out-of-the-way" locations might become reachable, perhaps with
some kind of point-to-point radio system. So, absolutely, we want to take those into
consideration as soon as they become reachable with our network infrastructure.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden, then
Councilmember DeCosta.
Councilmember Cowden: This is basically a router being placed in
different parks to be able to offer public access to internet. Particularly vulnerable
people have a hard time finding internet access, is that correct?
Mr. Sherman: Yes, they are referred to as a WiFi access
point and it would be a commercial grade of access point to withstand the harsh
conditions that exist in these locations, and each location requires more than one (1),
so there would be multiple little electronic boxes and their associated antennas that
would be required to be deployed.
Councilmember Cowden: What is the frequency that will be used on this
equipment? Do you know offhand?
Mr. Sherman: As far as the...
Councilmember Cowden: Hertz.
Mr. Sherman: These will support the old 2.4 and will also
support WiFi 6 and newer standards of 5 gigahertz (GHz).
Councilmember Cowden: It does have 5 GHz.
Mr. Sherman: Yes.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Sherman: You are welcome.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember DeCosta.
Councilmember DeCosta: I wanted to piggyback on what Vice Chair
Chock said about Ha`ena, but my location would be Waimea Valley. We cannot forget
about Waimea Valley with the internet. I did the math quickly on the seven (7)
possible locations that we are going to put the router. You mentioned three (3) to
four (4) in the Lihu`e and east area, you mentioned one (1) at Waimea Park, so that
gives us five (5) areas, you said a couple in Hanapepe, a couple to me is two (2), so
COUNCIL MEETING 12 APRIL 20, 2022
that is seven (7), then you mentioned one (1) in Kekaha, so if you are going to do
seven (7), I think one (1) of those spots will have to go. I think Kekaha, Waimea
Valley, and Ha`ena should be a priority focus. I am not sure if we need to lobby money
to get the fiber optic line there, but it is important because a lot of the kids, with the
weather conditions cannot get to school, and they need the WiFi to do their
curriculum.
Mr. Sherman: Yes, we are happy to entertain any
suggestions when it comes to locations we can add, anyone who is inclined, feel free
to throw those our way and we will analyze whether they are reachable or not with
our infrastructure. If not, we are happy to invest some time in looking into what it
would take to get out there with the network connectivity that would be required.
Our locations being targeted, we agreed that if we accept these funds from the State,
that we would do at least seven (7). Nothing prevents us from adding some if we can
reach them. I think with the funding the State is providing, there is enough there
where we can add additional pieces of equipment and not exceed our budget, so
always open to suggestions. I think this is really important. I am happy to pull our
thought processes on this and where we think these would be best suited and move
forward accordingly.
Councilmember DeCosta: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: From the top when you were talking about the
seven (7) locations, do you have a plan to do all of the County parks and public
facilities?
Mr. Sherman: At present, not all the parks would be
reachable. We do plan to add WiFi to any one of them that would be within reach of
our fiber. In some cases, what that means is we would have to shoot a point-to-point
radio from a fiber node to a park, and the distance may be as much as a mile, beyond
that, we would have to look at other alternatives to getting connectivity to that park.
Does that answer your question?
Councilmember Kuali`i: Sort of. For the ones that are not reachable,
you said we would have to look into other options, and obviously that would probably
cost a lot more money, but right now there are a lot of Federal dollars out there,
infrastructure dollars, and it would probably be available for a few years to come. I
know that they are making connectivity a priority, especially for outlying rural areas,
disadvantaged areas, so I am just wondering if we have a plan to take advantage of
that, and make the sky the limit, even to try and reach those hard to reach areas,
because it is probably the areas that need it the most, potentially.
Mr. Sherman: Agreed. If I can comment on that, I know that
some of the infrastructure vendors, such as Spectrum and Hawaiian Telcom, are
taking advantage of some of those funds to extend their fiber to some of these
presently unserved locations. I think as these companies extend their fiber, we can
leverage their infrastructure to add more public WiFi along their routes. We will see
COUNCIL MEETING 13 APRIL 20, 2022
where it goes. I have tapped into all of the funding that I am aware of, but if anything
else becomes available, this is something that really has my interest and clearly the
support of you and others in the County, so we would be totally open to going as far
as we can with this.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I will just tell you that several of us have been
participating with the National Association of Counties (NACo), and I will get some
information on funding and send that all to you. Thank you.
Mr. Sherman: Much appreciated.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: With this amount here of fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000), which is not a lot of money, so that is a little bit of hardware pieces
for these routers. I also want to call attention like in Wainiha, a lot of times you
cannot use your cell phone, they do not have the towers, so the convenience of just
adding a signal out there is incredibly costly and significant, it is not just putting in
the small box, is that accurate with your understanding, Del?
Mr. Sherman: To deliver cellular service to these locations is
a whole other ballgame, but the one thing that this does open up, when we can reach
some of these limited cellular coverage areas with WiFi, generally, all of the new
smartphones have the ability to make phone calls over WiFi, so being that these
networks are public, someone can connect up to County WiFi now and make calls
with their phone over the WiFi network. It opens phone coverage a little bit, but we
are mostly concerned about data, and especially for families that do not have internet
or students that need internet for schooling and do not have any means to access that
from their homes, so we have been cooperating with the college and others in making
them aware of these locations so that they can get to them. Cellular service would be
a whole other discussion.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Is there an inquiry into the
environmental hazards or the health hazards with 5 GHz. I am just asking, I am not
sure if that hits what is considered the term of 5G or not, is it 5G or not?
Mr. Sherman: No, it is not 5G. There has been a lot of
studies done on that, it is an interesting thing to look into. There are opinions on
both sides of that equation, but we would not even be getting into that at all, so it is
a non-issue in this particular case.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you. I just wanted to clarify that,
because there are a lot of concerns on that, and I know at the NACo meeting in Las
Vegas two (2) years ago on this broadband, it was an overfull crowd and in that
overfull crowd in that room there was a concern about not visiting 5G everywhere,
anywhere, and so much so that it went on the priority list to allow counties the choice,
and to not bring that top down. It was a very big issue to allow counties their own
health choices, and it is complicated, but I want to people to hear that might be
listening that this is not 5G. This is simply what we are used to for internet access,
COUNCIL MEETING 14 APRIL 20, 2022
and I think that it is important for people to hear and understand. Is that in
alignment with your awareness as well, Del?
Mr. Sherman: We are in total agreement on that. This is not
5G, even though they both have the number five (5) in them, 5G actually runs in the
24 GHz up to 54 GHz range. We are in the bandwidth that just overlaps with
consumer WiFi, the same thing that people have had in their homes for decades. We
have no plans as a County to do any kind of 5G system deployment—this is not that
definitely.
Councilmember Cowden: Thank you so much for that clarification. It is
important that people are not afraid to go to the parks, that they understand that
going to the partks will help disadvantaged people. Often, we have people who do not
have access to the internet, so they can go to the park and sign up for programs or
other things of that nature. Also, funerals and things like that happen at the parks
and a lot of times they try to Zoom or broadcast over these past couple of years, so I
am supportive of these choices. Thank you so much.
Mr. Sherman: Thank you all.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Carvalho.
Councilmember Carvalho: I want to say how totally supportive I am of
broadband and of course WiFi for our whole island—all parts of our island. To pick
up where Councilmember Kuali`i was going as to the NACo conference, there was
major discussion on broadband and opportunities for funding, there is connecting
there that has already happened, so you will want to take that to the next level if
possible, because to me, the sooner the better for the people, especially going through
what we have gone through for our island in the past. We need to get this connectivity
happening sooner than later. I think we had this discussion in the budget sessions,
but I just wanted to bring that up and say how important it is for us to get there
sooner than later, and I know there are resources available, and we can connect that,
and I feel strongly about that. Thank you for taking this to the next level.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any further questions from the
Members? Is there any final discussion?
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
Council Chair Kaneshiro: I will say it is a great thing. Del, check with
our Washington, D.C. consultants, they have a great plug in with our legislators. We
have been through a bunch of presentations at NACo and with our individual
legislators where the Federal has a big push for broadband connectivity. I know our
D.C. consultants have a great working relationship with our legislators and they can
probably put some type of package together specific for whatever our needs are to try
to get some of the Federal government money. Just putting that out there. Is there
any further discussion from the Members? Councilmember DeCosta.
COUNCIL MEETING 15 APRIL 20, 2022
Councilmember DeCosta: I just wanted to say how important it is when
we go to those conferences like we just did with our group and get akamai about the
funding that is available through the government, so thank you, Council Chair
Kaneshiro and Councilmember Kuali`i, for mentioning that.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else?
The motion to approve C 2022-84 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
LEGAL DOCUMENTS:
C 2022-85 Communication (03/31/2022) from the Acting County Engineer,
recommending Council approval of the Property Adjustment Agreements with
William Hyde Rice Ltd. and Cumberland and Western Resources LLC, respectively,
for the K`ipu Bridge Rehabilitation Project, to repair Kiipu Bridge, install new
guardrails, and resurface the asphalt pavement on the bridge and bridge approaches
to the properties situated at Tax Map Key (TMK) Nos. 3-1-002:001
and (4) 3-3-018:002, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, Hawai`i.
Property Adjustment Agreement by and between William Hyde Rice
Ltd. and the County of Kaua`i related to TMK 3-1-002:001, and
Property Adjustment Agreement by and between Cumberland and
Western Resources LLC and the County of Kaua`i related to
TMK (4) 3-3-018:002
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2022-85, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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: None. Are there any questions from the
Members? Council Vice Chair Chock.
Councilmember Chock: I just wanted to hear more about this
particular TMK and the jurisdiction that it falls under.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
COUNCIL MEETING 16 APRIL 20, 2022
MICHAEL MOULE, Chief of Engineering Division(via remote technology): The
situation here is that Kipu Bridge, on Kipu Road over Huleia Stream, that has been
a County bridge for a long time. It is a Federal aid bridge that we inspect every
two (2) years. The road right-of-way for K`ipu Road is on easements through private
parcels. The County owns and maintains the portion of Kipu Road to the bridge, after
the bridge is actually considered a road-in-limbo, we have a response that discusses
that road amongst others that I understand is currently in legal review, talking about
roads-in-limbo, and you will find out more about that piece of K`ipu Road past the
bridge, but because the bridge and the adjacent road are on easements, there are
actually two (2) different parcels that we are asking for Property Adjustment
Agreements for, two (2) parcels that we sent to you. I think one (1) on each side of
the bridge or actually each side of the stream, and we are getting the Property
Adjustment Agreement because we will be working on those properties mostly within
our easement, but potentially, especially on the other side of the bridge off of the
easement a little bit in order to do the work, that includes on the north side of the
bridge, the nearside if you are coming from the highway there is a way down area on
that side that is shown on the maps with the Property Adjustment Agreement, and
the area off to the side of the road fully on private property, for us to have our
contractor stage their equipment and materials for them to do the work. But these
are very large agricultural parcels, and we are just trying to get easements to do the
work on the bridge. Does that answer your question?
Councilmember Chock: Yes, thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember DeCosta.
Councilmember DeCosta: I wanted to know, Mike, is the Kipu Bridge
right past the old K`ipu Falls parking area where people would go to the waterfall?
Mr. Moule: Yes, it is that bridge.
Councilmember DeCosta: You informed us that the bridge is on our
County road, but the road passing the bridge is a road-in-limbo, then that
road-in-limbo, where does it lead? Does it lead to a public place? Does it lead only to
a private Rice estate? Could you educate us on where that road leads to?
Mr. Moule: As I have mentioned, the road is considered a
County road to the bridge and on the bridge. On the other side of the bridge, there is
about another half a mile or so of, paved might be a stretch, but it used to be paved,
it has some pretty big potholes now, it leads to several private parcels, some of which
are own by Rice, some of which are owned by Grove Farm, and there are other
landowners. There is the K`ipu All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Tours and the Kipu Zipline
Tours that use that road. Also of note, this is the road amongst other roads through
other private parcels that would access the KipuKai land on the other side of the
COUNCIL MEETING 17 APRIL 20, 2022
mountain range that is currently privately owned, but I think most people are aware
it is supposed to be turned over to the State as State land after heirs pass on, as I
understand it.
Councilmember DeCosta: I just want to make sure that when we spend
our funding like that, we are not just...if this is a public area where the public can
drive and visit, that is great, but if it is not, and we are entertaining specific
landowners, you have mentioned Kiipu ATV Tours and Kipu Zipline Tours, but those
are still companies that operate on private property, so I just want to make sure our
funding is being well spent and that it benefits the public.
Councilmember Kuali`i: There are homes back there.
Councilmember DeCosta: Again, where are the homes? Does it sit on
the Rice land or is it private landowners? That is what I want to find out.
Councilmember Kuali`i: Probably a mix.
Councilmember DeCosta: Can you get us that information, Mike? Those
homes that are there, are they on the Rice property lands or are they private
landowners that own small parcels of land that is landlock within the Rice Estate?
Mr. Moule: Give me a second here.
Councilmember DeCosta: You can get back to us.
Mr. Moule: I can tell you how many homes there are by
that road, just give me a second. I have a spreadsheet that counted those. There are
eleven (11) dwelling units on the parcels that are there. They are, generally speaking,
within the large parcels of land that are back there, but it is multiple parcels, it is not
just a single parcel of land where those homes are, I believe. Also to note, although
it is a road-in-limbo pass there, we understand it is an easement over the land up
until you get to the end of the paved road where it splits off into separate smaller
driveways to go to each of the private parcels at the end—that is a public easement.
So people do drive, bike, or walk to the end of that road as a public access location, in
addition to the fact that they access the eleven (11) homes that are on those parcels,
as well as the businesses that we just discussed that are accessed by that road.
Councilmember DeCosta: Are those eleven (11) homes privately owned
by residents throughout Kaua`i or are they homes owned by the Rice family that are
rented?
Mr. Moule: I do not have that information.
COUNCIL MEETING 18 APRIL 20, 2022
Councilmember DeCosta: Remember I spoke to you folks about a
road-in-limbo in Lawa`i and there are a bunch of community residents who live back
there, and I wanted to make sure we are being fair when we do work near
road-in-limbo, that we do not just pick and choose the areas that we work on.
Mr. Moule: I understand that, and as I have mentioned
earlier, we do have a road-in-limbo report coming to you all. Vague way due to the
amount of research that it took to do it, it is being reviewed by the Office of the County
Attorney right now, that is going to look at all the roads-in-limbo and prioritize them
for possible acceptance by the County to take over those roads and start paving and
maintaining them. In this case, this portion is already County owned, the bridge is
already County owned, and we think it is important, regardless of whether the
County decided to take over the road-in-limbo in the future, and this road is on the
list, compared to other roads-in-limbo, we think it is important that we maintain the
existing infrastructure that we do own, so that it is safe for the travelling public
whether it is for the overall public or for these private landowners and the businesses
there, we think it is important that we maintain this bridge. Really, this is a project
fully to repair, so that we are fixing the small concrete, making sure the
reinforcement is not exposed to the weather and that sort of thing.
Councilmember DeCosta: Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: I want to backup Councilmember DeCosta's
questions, because I think they are very important. There are many roads-in-limbo.
There are bridges that need to be fixed. We see problems like Aliomanu where you
start to wonder if on the far end, those houses will even be reachable, although, that
could be something like a community, finance, monetary development fund like we
saw for Kukui`ula. Am I remembering correctly, Michael, that at one point when we
had car accidents, that road was used as a bypass, or does it not go anywhere? Am I
remembering the wrong spot? You could never use that for a public purpose, that
road-in-limbo. What was it? Could you go around there? It seems like they stopped
the use of a road back there, because private landowners do not want it utilized, and
that is what I see happening with these government roads in limbo that are allowed
to decay. There are many places where they are allowed to decay to privatize areas.
What is happening with that there?
Mr. Moule: I will answer that by sharing my screen, if
that is okay, and sharing a map of the area, so you understand where this bridge is.
Councilmember Cowden: Please, that would help.
COUNCIL MEETING 19 APRIL 20, 2022
Mr. Moule: If you can see the screen here, this is just a
Google Map image of this general area. I will zoom in as much as I can. Generally
speaking, this is the greater Lihu`e area, Rice Street here, the County offices are here
in the upper right hand corner. This area here is Costco, Kukui Grove Shopping
Center. This is the neighborhoods in Puhi. Here is the harbor down here, Nawiliwili.
This road here is labeled incorrectly in Google, but this road from here to here is
called Kipu Road, officially. The continuation of what was and still is a bypass is
called Ulumalu Road, that follows this alignment here. It connects to Puhi Road here,
and you can get into Puhi this way on Puhi Road. It continues this way, connects to
Haleaka Road, or you can go to the Pua Kea subdivision, and the Pua Kea Golf
Course, and then continues down pass the Menehune Fishpond overlooking down in
to Niumalu and ultimately to that Nawiliwili Harbor area in Kalapaki. Kipu Road
as I have mentioned, is this first little leg of that bypass, is Kipu Road as it is officially
named. Kipu Road then turns right, and it was never part of the bypass. It would
have been presumably access to the tunnel that was used for sugar cane hauling and
is currently used for some of the ATV tours, as I have understood it, although I have
never done that, but I will zoom in here a little bit. Again, this is the highway, Kipu
Road, Ulumalu Road, then Kipu Road turns to the right, comes down here where it
crosses the stream here is where the bridge is. The County owns this portion of Kipu
Road that owns and maintains it from all the records that we could find, and this
piece is what is considered a road-in-limbo. This last little piece that goes to here. At
this intersection here, the pavement ends, and the easement ends, so it really is just
this last half or quarter mile that is the road-in-limbo, and the County has and does
maintain this portion of Kipu Road and the bridge here, but this bridge was never
part of the bypass that could be used for the bypass. Before the highway was widened
through Puhi, or when there is a crash, people cannot use this to get around traffic,
it does not go anywhere except to these private parcels, and the tunnel of course,
which is not open to the public to use as a passing, it is not safe for that purpose.
Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you so much. I really look
forward to this report on all of our roads-in-limbo. I think it is very important for us
to be looking at those and holding on to the roads that are valuable for our people. I
am respecting what was said, that we are investing a lot for a small group of people,
so it is important to see that we do not pick winners and losers unfairly, but I also get
that once these bridges are gone, they are effectively gone. I appreciate the
clarification.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any further questions from the
Members? Is there any final discussion from the Members?
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
The motion to approve C 2022-85 was then put, and unanimously carried.
COUNCIL MEETING 20 APRIL 20, 2022
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
C 2022-86 Communication (04/05/2022) from the Director of Parks &
Recreation, recommending Council approval, of a Right-of-Entry Agreement and
associated terms between the County of Kaua`i and the State of Hawai`i Department
of Transportation for the Wailua Beach emergency project, situated at Tax Map
Key (TMK) Nos. (4) 4-1-004:001 and (4) 4-1-005:004 (por.), for a public purpose, to
wit: the construction, preservation, and protection of the highway project known as
the Kuhio Highway Emergency Shoreline Mitigation, Federal Aid Project
No. ER-24 (004).
Right-of-Entry Agreement
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2022-86, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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. Are there any questions?
Council Vice Chair Chock has a question.
Councilmember Chock: Pat, I do not know if you are on or if anyone
else can answer. The map that we have here Exhibit "A," I just want to clarify; it
looks like this is part of the beach closer to the heiau as well as the pathway. I just
wanted to confirm that is what this is. I have a second legal question about what the
implications are if we are getting a right-of-entry with the kind of work that we are
going to do, and what we have seen in terms of the shoreline degradation. Can you
share with us a little bit about the work being proposed?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
PATRICK T. PORTER, Director of Parks & Recreation (via remote technology):
This right-of-entry is for the Department of Transportation, so the County will not be
doing any work in this area.
Councilmember Chock: Okay.
COUNCIL MEETING 21 APRIL 20, 2022
Mr. Porter: One hundred percent (100%) the Department
of Transportation. I do not really want to speak too much about what the project is,
because I do not know the full extent of it, but apparently in a nutshell, whatever
they are going to put in is a new technology that is supposed to enhance the beach
also. It is supposed to retain sand and it is some type of new technology for shorelines
that they are going to put there.
Councilmember Chock: Understood. So, it is the beach restoration
project that we were talking about that needs access?
Mr. Porter: It is part of it, also to protect the highway.
Councilmember Chock: The only right-of-entry that they need is the
area that you oversee, which is the bike path part.
Mr. Porter: The portion fronting Coco Palms, yes, that
stretch.
Councilmember Chock: Okay, thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any other questions from the
Members? Is there any final discussion from the Members?
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
The motion to approve C 2022-86 was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
CLAIMS:
C 2022-87 Communication (03/28/2022) from the County Clerk, transmitting
a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by James Brown, for damage to his vehicle,
pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i.
C 2022-88 Communication (03/31/2022) from the County Clerk, transmitting
a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Sashalis Catley-Kanei, for damage to her
vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to refer C 2022-87 and C 2022-88 to the Office
of the County Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the Council,
seconded by Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
COUNCIL MEETING 22 APRIL 20, 2022
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. Are there any questions or
discussion from the Members?
The motion to refer C 2022-87 and C 2022-88 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: The motion is carried. Next item.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE:
A report (No. CR-COW 2022-04) submitted by the Committee of the Whole,
recommending that the following be Approved on second and final reading:
Bill No. 2848 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. B-2021-877, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII,
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2021 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2022, BY
REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN
SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND (Kaumumene
Hideaways Beach) Operating Budget — $1,500,000.00),"
A report (No. CR-COW 2022-05) submitted by the Committee of the Whole,
recommending that the following be Approved on second and final reading:
Bill No. 2849 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. B-2021-878, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
CAPITAL BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII,
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2021 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2022, BY
REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN
SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND — CIP
Kaumumene (Hideaways Beach) CIP Budget— $1,500,000.00),"
Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the report, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is
there anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify on this item?
COUNCIL MEETING 23 APRIL 20, 2022
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, are there any questions or
discussion from the Members?
The motion for approval of the report was then put, and unanimously carried.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: The motion is carried. Next item.
BILLS FOR FIRST READING:
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2854) —A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 8, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
ALL-HAZARD STATEWIDE OUTDOOR WARNING SIREN SYSTEMS (County of
Kauai Planning Department, Applicant) (ZA-2022-2)
Councilmember Kuali`i moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2854) on
first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be
scheduled for May 18, 2022, and that it be referred to the Planning Committee,
seconded by Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember DeCosta was noted as not present.)
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We receive no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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, I will suspend the rules, Jodi, if
you want to give us a brief description on this item.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
JODI HIGUCHI-SAYEGUSA, Deputy Director of Planning (via remote
technology): This Bill is relatively simple, it is a Bill that
includes the Kaua`i Emergency Management Agency (KEMA) managed out their
warning signs system and infrastructure from, it exempts them basically from some of
the zoning requirements that would be imposed should they were to install warning
signs or signs of that nature to help warn the public of any hazards. Most of these are
going to be in the coastal areas, so it would not necessarily exempt the Special
Management Area (SMA) permits.
COUNCIL MEETING 24 APRIL 20, 2022
Councilmember DeCosta was noted as present.)
Ms. Higuchi-Sayegusa: There would likely be a measure of oversight,
it is just under the Shoreline Setback Ordinance, for instance, there would be years of
study requiring and to manage an assessment, shoreline certification survey, which
could cost thousands of dollars just to site sirens and to work towards installing these
critical infrastructures that is meant to warn the public. We wanted to make it a little
bit easier for them as far as taking out of some of the Shoreline Setback Ordinance
requirements and of course allow them to install these things in a little easier fashion,
but of course SMA permits may still be required.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions from the Members on
this while the rules are still suspended? Is there any final discussion from the
Members? If not, roll call vote.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
The motion for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2854) on first reading, that
it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for
May 18, 2022, and that it be referred to the Planning Committee was then put,
and carried by the following vote:
FOR PASSAGE: Carvalho, Chock, Cowden, DeCosta,
Evslin, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro TOTAL— 7,
AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL— 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0.
JADE K FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: Seven (7) ayes.
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2855) — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 8, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
WAREHOUSES IN THE COMMERCIAL GENERAL ZONING DISTRICT (County of
Kauai Planning Department, Applicant) (ZA-2022-3)
Councilmember Kuali`i moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2855) on
first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be
scheduled for May 18, 2022, and that it be referred to the Planning Committee,
seconded by Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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 MEETING 25 APRIL 20, 2022
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Are there any questions or discussion from the
Members? Jodi, if you want to give us a brief description on this item also.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Ms. Higuchi-Sayegusa:Sure. This Bill is meant to simply clarify
confusion that is already existing under the Commercial General Zoning District in the
Use Table. Warehouses are listed twice. First, it allows warehouses to be generally
permitted. In addition, later on down the table, it specifies that warehouses require a
Use Permit, so this is meant to just clean that up, and clarify that in the commercial
General District, warehouses should be outright permitted instead of requiring Use
Permits.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Okay,thank you. Are there any questions from
the Members? Is there any discussion from the Members? Roll call vote.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
The motion for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2855) on first reading, that
it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for
May 18, 2022, and that it be referred to the Planning Committee was then put,
and carried by the following vote:
FOR PASSAGE: Carvalho, Chock, Cowden, DeCosta,
Evslin, 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.
BILLS FOR SECOND READING:
Bill No. 2848 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE
NO. B-2021-877, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE OPERATING BUDGET OF
THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
JULY 1, 2021 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2022, BY REVISING THE AMOUNTS
ESTIMATED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES
PRESERVATION FUND (Kaumumene (Hideaways Beach) Operating Budget —
1,500,000.00)
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve Bill No. 2848 on second and final
reading, and that is be transmitted to the Mayor for his approval, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
COUNCIL MEETING 26 APRIL 20, 2022
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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. Are there any questions or
discussion from the Members? I am happy to be approving this measure. I think we
always look at beach access and mountain access as an important issue for residents
and in this case, there was a difficult beach access here, someone was injured, it was
brought to our attention that a lot of our paperwork was not cleaned up, the
easements and all of that information, and in this case maybe it was a blessing that
it happened, because we are able to cleanup the easement. I have to commend
everyone for passing a Charter item on the Open Space a while ago that allows us to
do these kinds of one-type improvements, so in this case, we are allocating one million
five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) to improve that access that has all of the
legal documents in order, and we are basically perpetuating that access for the future
forever, so I think it is a great thing, and I will be voting in favor of it. Is there any
other discussion from the Members? Councilmember Cowden.
Councilmember Cowden: I also want to express gratitude. I hope that
is does not cost a whole one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000), but I
want to thank the Planning Department for working on this, the Open Space
Commission, the rest of the island for allowing this to be a priority. Hideaways or
Kaumumene has been an important piece for the North Shore and Princeville, it is
one of the remaining places that people can get down there. I want to thank Pu`u
Poa. I want to thank the volunteers, Michael Lyons was a really strong one, and
Surfrider. I think this is an excellent example of the range of the community coming
together to do the right things, and it is an honor to be part of Council when we are
protecting something this important to our community. Again, mahalo to the entire
island, because it takes a certain amount of sacrifice from each area to support an
open space strengthening on another part of the island, so mahalo all.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember DeCosta.
Councilmember DeCosta: I just want to echo what Councilmember
Cowden said, how all the people came together to make this open space beach access
available and to fruition. Actually, directly mauka from that there is land that is
land-locked that east and north shore people cannot get to. It is so funny how we can
get to the beach, but we cannot get to the mountain, but we always say mauka to
makai. Maybe we can send a message out to our constituents telling them this
COUNCIL MEETING 27 APRIL 20, 2022
happened and let us think big and maybe we can get mountain access someday on
the North Shore, unit "C" lot land area. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Councilmember Kuali`i.
Councilmember Kuali`i: I, too, want to say mahalo nui loa to everyone
mentioned. I will say that this is just one example of protecting, improving, and
continuing public access, and we have many other areas that also need attention and
perhaps funding as well. Thank you.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone else? If not, roll call vote.
The motion to approve Bill No. 2848 on second and final reading, and that it be
transmitted to the Mayor for his approval was then put, and carried by the
following vote:
FOR APPROVAL: Carvalho, Chock, Cowden, DeCosta,
Evslin, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro TOTAL— 7,
AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes.
Bill No. 2849 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE
NO. B-2021-878, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE CAPITAL BUDGET OF THE
COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2021
THROUGH JUNE 30, 2022, BY REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE
PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION
FUND — CIP (Kaumumene (Hideaways Beach) CIP Budget— $1,500,000.00)
Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve Bill No. 2849 on second and final
reading, and that is be transmitted to the Mayor for his approval, seconded by
Councilmember Carvalho.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
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 MEETING 28 APRIL 20, 2022
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Seeing none. Are there any questions from
the Members on this? If not, roll call vote.
The motion to approve Bill No. 2849 on second and final reading, and that it be
transmitted to the Mayor for his approval was then put, and carried by the
following vote:
FOR APPROVAL: Carvalho, Chock, Cowden, DeCosta,
Evslin, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro TOTAL— 7,
AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes.
Councilmember Kuali`i was noted as not present.)
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
ES-1072 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4 and
92-5(a)(4), and Kaua`i County Charter Section 3.07(E), on behalf of the Council, the
Office of the County Attorney requests an Executive Session with the Council to
provide the Council with a briefing, discussion, and consultation regarding the
Quarterly Report on Pending and Denied Claims. This briefing and consultation
involve the consideration of the powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and/or
liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this agenda item.
ES-1073 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4 and
92-5(a)(4), and Kaua`i County Charter Section 3.07(E), the Office of the County
Attorney requests an Executive Session with the Council to provide the Council with
a briefing and request for settlement authority in the matter of Dylan DePue, et al.
vs. County of Kaua`i, et al., Civil No. 5CCV-21-0000122 (Fifth Circuit Court). This
briefing and consultation involve the consideration of the powers, duties, privileges,
immunities, and/or liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this
agenda item.
Councilmember Carvalho moved to convene in Executive Session for ES-1072
and ES-1073, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: We received no written testimony. Is there
anyone in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify?
Councilmember Kuali`i was noted as present.)
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 MEETING 29 APRIL 20, 2022
Council Chair Kaneshiro: Seeing none. Is there any discussion from the
Members? We will take this item at the end of the day today.
The motion to convene in Executive Session for ES-1072 and ES-1073 was then
put, and carried by the following vote:
FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION: Carvalho, Chock, Cowden, DeCosta,
Evslin, Kuali`i, Kaneshiro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING:None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Council Chair Kaneshiro: That concludes the business on our Council
agenda. Not seeing or hearing any objections, this Council Meeting is now adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT.
There being no further business, the Council Meeting adjourned at 9:44 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
JADE OUNTAIN-TANIGAWA
County Clerk
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