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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/31/2024 Council minutes COUNCIL MEETING JULY 31, 2024 The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by Council Chair Rapozo at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at 8:30 a.m., after which the following Members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Addison Bulosan (via remote technology) Honorable Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. Honorable Felicia Cowden Honorable Bill DeCosta Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable KipuKai Kuali`i Honorable Mel Rapozo (Note: No one from the public provided oral testimony via the Zoom remote technology platform on any agenda item.) Council Chair Rapozo: For the members of the public and those watching, Councilmember Bulosan is unexpectedly experiencing a disability that limits or impairs his ability to physically be here today, and he is participating in this meeting remotely from a location not accessible to the public. Councilmember Bulosan is connected to all other participating councilmembers and the public by both visual and audio means. Councilmember Bulosan is located at his home, and no one is present with him at this time. That is the legal disclosure. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the agenda, as circulated, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion for approval of the agenda, as circulated, was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council: July 10, 2024 Council Meeting July 10, 2024 Public Hearing re: Bill No. 2923 and Bill No. 2924 COUNCIL MEETING 2 JULY 31, 2024 Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve the Minutes, as circulated, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: There is one (1) member of the public wishing to testify. Council Chair Rapozo: With that, I will suspend the rules. We have one (1) registered speaker, Ms. Ana MoDes. Just to declare, the items on the agenda are the minutes, not the items that the minutes were about, so your testimony should reflect the minutes if there were some inconsistencies or inaccuracies. Go ahead. There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. ANA MODES: Mahalo, Council Chair. Good morning. My name is Ana MoDes, and I am speaking on the minutes of July 10, 2024 to address a matter that was spoken that is inconsistent with my testimony regarding the Housing Bill. I testified requesting there be an expert invited, Peter Savio, to speak on what the Bill is and the actual solutions that are possible regarding what the Bill was proposing. Following to that, there was a testifier that came forward and spoke the words that they would echo my testimony, and I just want to clearly state for the record and if we may be on the same page regarding the issues of the Bill, I am not presently on the same page with the developer that this testifier represents. My testimony is before this Council, not specifically this body, but the body previous regarding the emergency situation in Koloa when I came to speak on, and that still stands. I believe that the developer is detrimental to the community and that the Hawaiian people have the right to be very upset with what has happened with the disregard to protocol, the disregard to a proper cultural survey being alleged, and everything that this testifier represents within that developer representation is not something that I am aligned with, and I would like to state that for the record. Council Chair Rapozo: Got that. Thank you. Ms. MoDes: I appreciate the time. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none. There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to approve the Minutes, as circulated, was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carries. Clerk, our next item, please. COUNCIL MEETING 3 JULY 31, 2024 CONSENT CALENDAR: C 2024-140 Communication (07/01/2024) from the Director of Finance, transmitting for Council information, the Fourth Quarter Statement of Equipment Purchases for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024, pursuant to Section 22 of Ordinance No. B-2023-891, as amended, relating to the Operating Budget of the County of Kaua`i for FY 2023-2024. C 2024-141 Communication (07/05/2024) from the County Engineer, transmitting for Council information, the Second Quarter Statement of Building Division Permit Reports for 2024. C 2024-142 Communication (07/16/2024) from Chris Donahoe, Deputy County Attorney, transmitting for Council information, the Quarterly Report on Settled Claims filed against the County of Kaua`i from April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024. C 2024-143 Communication (07/17/2024) from the Director of Finance, transmitting for Council information, the Condition of the County Treasury Statement quarterly report as of August 7, 2023 and November 8, 2023. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2024-140, C 2024-141, C 2024-142, and C 2024-143 for the record, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify on the Consent Calendar? Is there any discussion? Councilmember Cowden. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: Councilmember Cowden: There is an awful lot on there, so I want to acknowledge that I looked through it and I see Managing Director Reiko Matsuyama just walked in, and maybe I will talk to you later about this, but I am just saying that there was a lot there. Council Chair Rapozo: There was. If there is no further discussion, the motion is to receive. The motion to receive C 2024-140, C 2024-141, C 2024-142, and C 2024-143 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please. COMMUNICATIONS: C 2024-144 Communication (07/02/2024) from Council Chair Rapozo, requesting the presence of the Emergency Management Administrator, to provide a briefing regarding the status of disaster preparedness entering hurricane season and to provide any updates relating to the Lahaina recovery efforts. COUNCIL MEETING 4 JULY 31, 2024 Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2024-144 for the record, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I have a process question. Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. Councilmember Kagawa: I would like to request the Council take the Boys Scouts item first. Council Chair Rapozo: If there are no objections, I do not have a problem with that. That would be the retroactive approval for volunteer hours, C 2024-153. There being no objections, C 2024-153 was taken out of order. C 2024-153 Communication (07/19/2024) from the Director of Finance, requesting Council approval to accept, after the fact, volunteer time of 160 hours for the Kapa'a Armory Memorial Restoration Project. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2024-153, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Chair Rapozo: Can we have the Director of Finance up? There being no objections, the rules were suspended. MICHELLE L. LIZAMA, Director of Finance: Good morning. Michelle Lizama, Director of Finance. Thank you for putting us to the top of the list. This is actually an acceptance of donation of volunteer work. A recent graduate of Kapa'a High School used his Boy Scouts project to restore a memorial at Kapa'a Armory. He and a group of his volunteers came in and worked a full 8-hour day at the Kapa'a Armory to restore the memorial. This memorial is actually honoring three (3) veterans of our island, state, and country. I wanted to bring up the father of Kamekona Thompson. Council Chair Rapozo: Bobby sent me some photos, I just did a slide show, so it will just be running, and you will see the same pictures. There are about fifty (50) photos that just show our kids out there doing the work. Thank you, Bobby. BOBBY THOMPSON: For the record, Bobby Thompson, citizen, at this time. I am a Boy Scout Scoutmaster for Troop 148G, which is the girls troop, Assistant Scoutmaster for the boys troop, which is where my son is. My son's name is Kamekona Thompson. He is an eleven-year scout member with the Boy Scouts of America program. He worked with Johnette Chun, Veterans Center (inaudible) in starting this project. The project was dedicated to veterans from the Vietnam War. It was interesting because before he did this project, about a week or two (2) before he COUNCIL MEETING 5 JULY 31, 2024 was on Moloka`i hunting. While talking with one of the uncles there, he discovered that he was a Vietnam veteran, and it just sparked him even more when he did this project. It took him months of planning, not only with verbal communication, but written. He worked both with the Boy Scouts and the County's Administration to make sure he had everything that he needed done and done correctly. With the many volunteer hours, the many volunteers, and the majority of the volunteers were from the Boy Scouts Troop 148. He had approximately eighty (80) administrative pages of paperwork that he needed to get done in order to do the project itself to get it approved. He is waiting for the final review with the Board to get his Eagle Scout Project approved and to officially receive his Eagle Scout, which is extraordinary. I do not know if anyone knows how hard it is, but going through the Boy Scouts, it is rigorous to get your Eagle Scout award. He is working on that. I apologize that he is not here. He graduated at the end of May and July 1st, he started at Wyo Tech in Wyoming. He is in a trade school taking up autobody, autobody repair, vinyl wrapping, etcetera. He has a lot of things going on, but he is there. My son is seventeen (17) years old, living on his own in a dorm, attending school, in addition to getting this project done, so very accomplished young man and I am very proud of him. He will be there for nine (9) to twelve (12) months. If it is okay, I wanted to invite up two (2) of the scouts who assisted, just to explain what they did. Council Chair Rapozo: Absolutely. Mr. Thompson: First is my daughter Ashlei Thompson. Council Chair Rapozo: I think I saw you, Bobby, in some of the pictures, too. Mr. Thompson: Everyone was working. ASHLEI THOMPSON: My name is Ashlei Thompson. I am Kamekona and Kekapuloa's sister. I cleaned both the plaques and helped with the grass, and I painted some of the parking lot. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. TALEN KOERTE: Hi, my name is Talen Koerte. I am a friend of Kamekona, and part of the Troop. I helped with repainting the parking lot and some of the yard work, we had to cut the grass, and used blowers to make sure that the grass did not go on the paint. That is what I helped out with. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Mr. Thompson: He is also an Eagle Scout. Council Chair Rapozo: You are an Eagle Scout? Mr. Koerte: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: Congratulations. COUNCIL MEETING 6 JULY 31, 2024 CHRIS LARUSSO: My name is Chris LaRusso. I am the Troop Leader for Troop 148 Boys. I took over this Troop from Lyle Tabata who gave twenty (20) years to this Troop, and I wanted to pay respect to him. What is great is that the scouting program and everything I have learned from him and other leaders, so for my short period, it helped me grow through the pack and all the way through the troop, with all three (3) of my boys now in the troop. I also found out that my wife's uncle was the troop leader in the 1950s for Troop 148 as well, so it is carrying a family tradition with the boys being a part of it. With this particular project, it is always great for any of our boys or girls when they do their Eagle Scout project, to find a project that benefits the community. In this particular way, to give back to the Kaua`i community, the veterans by restoring and beautifying a great, dedicated memorial, and paying tribute to Kaua`i by forming the rocks in a formation of Kaua`i itself. We worked with Talen on his project, we have a couple more projects in the works, and is something we would like to continue. We appreciate it when the County recognizes it and allows us to give back to the community through these children. I am open to any questions you may have for the program or for anything that we do as well. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you so much. Believe it or not, I was actually in Troop 148, Mr. Osakota was the scout leader, and that was a long time ago. I did not receive too many badges though. Mr. Thompson: To clarify, Ashlei has been an scout for about six (6) years. The Boy Scouts of America transitioned into family scouting and welcomed the girls in, which helped boost the numbers. It helped to bring a lot of these girls who were not interested in Girl Scouts into scouting and doing all these outdoor activities, which is a big deal. I just wanted to make sure you understood that scouting has changed. We have the girls separated, but they are a part of the same program, so they come out to help work on the projects also. It is a different program, so, if you have any kids that are interested, we are always open. Council Chair Rapozo: Are the girls eligible for Eagle Scout as well? Mr. Thompson: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: Perfect. Mr. Thompson: They have to go through the same process. It is challenging, but it is a big accomplishment. A lot of these kids are finally understanding that as they are getting out into the world and applying for jobs, people doing the interviews see that they are an Eagle Scout, it shows dedication. Council Chair Rapozo: Absolutely. Mr. Thompson: Are there any questions for me? Council Chair Rapozo: Are there any questions for the scouts or the Department of Finance? COUNCIL MEETING 7 JULY 31, 2024 Councilmember Cowden: Just gratitude. Council Chair Rapozo: Just for the public, any time that the County receives donations or volunteer hours, the Charter requires it to come through the Council, so that is why it is here. We also wanted to take the opportunity to recognize you as well, so, thank you. Can we have the last slide up? The last slide is the before and after of one (1) part of the project, because they did the parking lot, the plaques, and the curbs. The before and after of the actual...that is the before. There it is. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? Ana. Ms. MoDes: Aloha, Ana MoDes. I might as well speak. I was not expecting to, but this is just very proud for me as a mom, and I am sure all of us as members of our community see the efforts and the effect that leaders of the community step up to really show what it is. Being an Eagle Scout is huge. My son is a Sea Scout, he is not at that rank, but he is working to get the highest rank in his scouting. I am just so grateful for the leader that took over for Mr. Tabata, who is a legacy, and he continues to really have a huge impact on the community. Any girls and boys out there that want to do this, I strongly urge them to get involved. It is life transformation. My son...I was just telling Chris, one of the leaders that my son has repeatedly told me, "Mama, thank you so much for Sea Scouts," and all I can say is that it is God. I asked God to come in and provide the proper guidance for my son and for both of my children, to bring joy and fulfil their passions in a way that is beneficial to all of us around in this community that we are trying to build up together. I believe that my daughter might be heading in that direction. She was not interested in Girl Scouts, but Boy Scouts of America is a beautiful program. Thank you for bringing this to the agenda. Thank you to the Director of Finance for bringing this forward. Thank you for all of the effort that goes on in helping organizations like this succeed and expand, so that more members of the community can get involved and transform their lives. Mahalo. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Mr. Hart. BRUCE HART: For the record, Bruce Hart. It builds a sense of community, does it not?You can feel it. So many different agencies and people have benefited from this type of heart. I was a scout and I remember doing projects, and it brings back these good memories of how I became part of the community through work like this. I commend all scout leaders and the scouts themselves. I encourage them to keep on doing it. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else? There being no further public testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Councilmember Kagawa: I want to thank the scouts and the leaders for the project. At first, I did not figure out that was Kaua`i, but that adds so much adding the shape of the island. Look at the before and after. There is a lot of work that went in and just appreciate you folks taking on this project and making that place nicer and more respectful of what we are trying to accomplish there. For Bobby, COUNCIL MEETING 8 JULY 31, 2024 thank you for all you do. From refereeing with your sons and giving back to the community, you are a great police officer, you put in time even with scouting...I mean, you talk about something extracurricular that will help mold and shape these young adults into productive adults, scouting is awesome. I just did Cub Scouts, but my brother-in-law is so good outdoors because of scouting. Scouting taught them how to appreciate things up Koke`e. Scouting is so wonderful and now you said for six (6) years, your daughter got to do scouting, it fit her interests, and things that you do. I have three (3) granddaughters coming up, so I just thank you for sharing that and hopefully we can see that side grow. As far as for the volunteers, Talen and Ashlei, thank you so much, and to Kamekona, for taking on the project and showing the community what our young adults can do and the type of values you show. Volunteerism is amazing, it is unfortunate that it is not as strong as it used to be back in the 1970s when everyone was poor, but it is good to know that we still can do it with the leadership and the great young adults that we have out there that want to do it, they just need the guidance to do it and the projects to do. Keep it strong and thank you for leading the young adults and showing them what can be done. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I want to echo what Councilmember Kagawa had to say. Certainly, thanking all of you and when I look at the difference there, the eye would move past this walking into the building and probably not be inspired to look at what that memorial is about. I think by doing this beautiful presentation, it draws the person to look at it. It draws a smile. We had another Eagle Scout project, Christian did something at the Veterans Center, also, really transforms that area. I appreciate, too, that we are honoring our people who have given their lives for our Country. Thank you very much for doing a beautiful job. I love art. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember DeCosta. Councilmember DeCosta: Very impressive. The thing that got me is your people who spoke referenced their friend, who is your son. He did not reference himself. I am impressed that you folks have a "we" attitude. A lot of us like to take the "I" approach, but you cannot get anything done as an "I" person. It is a "we" approach. Bobby, I have to tell you, you are a great leader outside of Boy Scouts and police. You were in a situation, I saw you at a soccer game or a football game, there was a rowdy young man, you talked to him, probably could have arrested him, but you did not. Minutes later, the young man came back to the stadium, and I was observing that situation and the person gave you a handshake and apologized. I thought how great it is to be a police officer, getting your message across without any arrest for being disorderly. We know who that person is, Bobby, thank you for that. Bless you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Carvalho. Councilmember Carvalho: Mahalo, Bobby, for your leadership in the home, first, and in the community. Just to see your children moving forward—this is awesome. That is the vision right here, Kaua`i, that just places it in the right COUNCIL MEETING 9 JULY 31, 2024 direction. I know there is a lot more to come and I know there is leadership within the household, but outside the household, so continue doing it and inspiring...it is all about leaderships, standing to the plate, and teaching our young people how to step up and take the leadership. Mahalo to our leadership and the bigger picture. Good job. Councilmember Kuali`i: Congratulations and mahalo nui loa to Kamekona and to all the volunteers for demonstrating an awesome example and for being role models to other youth and everyone by doing selfless, generous acts and giving back to our community. We absolutely need more servant leaders in our community and I considered all of them, in the Boy Scouts servant leaders, so the next generation will be in good hands. Often, too, it is the little things that mean the most. It is really beautiful and meaningful, especially because it is a memorial. The only other thing I wanted to do is mentioned the twenty (20) names. We did not have a compiled list, but we have these forms in our paperwork, where each member signed off: Masao Fontana, Ashley K. Oishi, Orion Ishino, Ashlei Thompson, Chris LaRusso, Kaidyn Yago, Talen Koerte, Isaiah Konishi, Teri Konishi, Hunter Corpus, Kaylee Langtad, Michael A. Yoshioka, Caleb Calderon, Roxanne Thompson, Kamekona Thompson, Joan Cummings, Kekapuloa Thompson, Hunter Langtad, Maddox LaRusso, and Pheonix LaRusso. Mahalo to all of them. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you for doing that, Councilmember Kuali`i, because there were many volunteers and as Bobby said, there were months of preparation, and tons of paperwork. I hope Kamekona gets to watch this at some point on a break in Wyoming. I did want to say thank you to Kamekona, because I have seen him grow up from a baby and he basically is following dad's footsteps by being on the field refereeing, he is doing all the things that are not easy for youngsters to do. When you have to go out there and referee your classmates or your friends, it is not easy to do. It is much easier when you are a cop or an adult, but when you are a kid, with your peers and you have to call penalties, that is leadership and amazing. I just think if the County were to take on this project, how much it would cost and how long it would take. We appreciate tremendously the scouts that participated and thank you again for reading the names. Kamekona could not have done it alone, no one could have done it alone, it is the team, and I appreciate you recognizing them all. Of course, also, the leadership. This does not happen without scout leadership, so thank the two (2) of you, especially the moms. I also like to give the credit to the spouses and the moms, because without them, you folks would not be scouting, you would not be leading, so I appreciate the families that support you as well. Thank you again and I appreciate the work. The motion to approve C 2024-153 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: With that, let us take a short five-minute recess for a short photo. There being no objections, the meeting recessed at 8:57 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:00 a.m., and proceeded as follows: COUNCIL MEETING 10 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: Let us go back to C 2024-144, please. C 2024-144 Communication (07/02/2024) from Council Chair Rapozo, requesting the presence of the Emergency Management Administrator, to provide a briefing regarding the status of disaster preparedness entering hurricane season and to provide any updates relating to the Lahaina recovery efforts. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2024-144 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Kagawa: I have a process question. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: On this item, we are not talking about the recent fires, correct? It is only about hurricane season. Council Chair Rapozo: We are talking about hazard mitigation and fire mitigation. Councilmember Kagawa: Oh, okay. Thank you. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. ELTON S. USHIO, Emergency Management Administrator: Aloha, and good morning. Elton Ushio, Emergency Management Administrator. Scouts already left, but I wanted to add, Eagle Scout Troop 1983,Aloha Council, 1985. SOLOMON KANOHO, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT(EM)Executive Officer: Aloha, Council. Solomon Kanoho, Kaua`i Emergency Management Agency (KEMA). Mr. Ushio: Thank you for inviting us to come today. I am going to give you a brief presentation, status of disaster preparedness, as we are in the hurricane season, and some post-Lahaina updates, primarily focusing on things that we implemented to improve ourselves here on Kaua`i. Mitigation Highlights. We started the procurement phase of our upcoming Multi-Hazard Mitigation and Resilience Plan update. It is due in 2026. Our staff is working with the Purchasing Division on getting that contract for a plan update. We have also been working with various partners on providing guidance and information relating to hazard mitigation grant program applications with the Notice of Intent, meaning their intent to apply, due tomorrow at the close of business, which is 4:30 p.m., and that is through the Hawai`i Emergency Management Agency. These are funds that are offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA), due to the Lahaina disaster, calculated based on the cost of that disaster. It is a seventy-five percent, twenty-five percent (75%/25%) split where the federal government pays seventy-five percent (75%), the applicant, hopeful, awardee has to pay the twenty-five percent (25%) match. We are continuing our work with RAIN18 mitigation sub-grants, on the mitigation side, so those are just some highlights. COUNCIL MEETING 11 JULY 31, 2024 Preparedness Highlights—lots going on.We have been rebuilding and expanding our team that helps us manage emergencies and large disasters. We had what you would call "300/400 ICS classes," and the 0-305, which is All-Hazards Incident Management Team Training, and that happened very recently. In fact, 0-305 partially overlapped with our helicopter incident.We had multiple outreach events at community events upon invitation. In fact, our staff went out and did a Disaster Awareness Training, preparedness training sessions for all the Kaua`i Island Utility Corporation (KIUC) employees. We worked that out in the past couple months. We participated in various exercises such as the Department of Energy Clear Path Exercise associated with post-hurricane, how do we recover in the energy sector. We have been participating in the FEMA national-level exercise, various components throughout this year, including (inaudible) hurricane tabletop, report restoration coming up, etcetera. We also had an annual exercise with military and public safety partners with the 93rd Civil Support Team, primarily hazmat/WNB type exercise. Our ongoing participation in the FEMA Planning for Dam Emergencies Collaborative Technical Assistance Program has brought all of our dam safety partners together. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) took the initiative to apply, DLNR Dam Safety, and they invited the County of Kauai, KEMA, the Department of Public Works (DPW), and others to participate, along with private dam owners, State partners, so many of us have been involved with ongoing educational seminars sessions with FEMA, subject matter experts from across the country helping us improve dam safety. We are going to have an exercise next week on that. That will culminate the program delivery. We are on our second year with the partnership with the Department of Defense, mainly the United States (U.S.) Air Force National Guard Bureau doing innovative readiness trainings or IRT missions, just like Tropic Care, same thing, that is IRT. They have come here and helped us update our plans and do what is called Best Available Refuge Area or BARA assessments to our various facilities that we use for hurricane, tropical cyclones shelters.The BARA standard...there is a FEMA standard and City and County of Honolulu provided us access to a tool that adapts it to Hawai`i, so we have been applying that. This year is the second year we have been hitting a few additional sites and some private facilities for potential use in the future as BARA shelters, and then we are going to be kicking off Emergency Operations Planning Phase 2 in a few weeks. Of course, there are many ongoing initiatives. We have various grants, but a lot of our focus has been on the FirstNet migration/Satellite packages.We have helped to enhance the alternate Emergency Operating Center (EOC) which is the Kaua`i Fire Department (KFD) headquarters; a lot more things are coming on. Response Highlights. We are having very active wet season with multiple flash flood warning events, culminating in our RAIN24 event, which is now a FEMA rated disaster, DR-4793-HI. Recent highlights—we had a very tragic North Shore helicopter crash, so KEMA activated the EOC and we helped coordinate multi-agency search and rescue efforts, all levels of government were in the room, a whole community team, both in the field and in EOC. We recently had the Koke`e Road/Waimea Canyon Drive fire in June, followed again by a large fire in Hanapepe/Kaumakani last month. A few days later, a larger multi-day in Koke`e Road/Waimea Canyon Drive fire. On the Recovery side, ongoing efforts relating to RAIN24, DR-4793-HI, and other prior disasters such as our RAIN18, DR-4365-HI. COUNCIL MEETING 12 JULY 31, 2024 Hurricane Season. Good news is that the National Weather Service predicted more likely fifty percent (50%) chance of a below normal season, thirty percent (30%) chance of a near normal season, and twenty percent (20%) chance of above normal season, so one (1) to four (4) tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific this year. If we look at Climate Prediction Center (CPC) El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) probabilities everyone fears El Nino. We are now in ENSO-neutral and the models are showing a strong trend to La Nina, so cooler sea surface temperatures, hopefully less active hurricane season, particularly in the peak months. If we look at the correlation between sea surface temperatures and the number of storms, that is what the historical average shows. Peak months, we are almost to August, so August and September are the peak months for us. Yes, our prediction for the Central Pacific is in the high number this year,but it takes one, that is why we have been focusing on preparedness starting with our people we serve to our partners, our internal procedures, so many different things, all aspects of preparedness and improvement, we try to continue this stride. 2024 Central Pacific Hurricane Season Outlook. I have this slide here, but I do not know how to use it. I wanted to just show you that if you click on the link, it will give you the current update that shows where the storms may form, or storms have formed within the last six (6) hours. It reminds us that Eastern Pacific is starting to wake up and there is some activity already, so if that can pop up just for a second. Yes. You can see three (3) have formed. There are two (2) areas of low pressure which could form into storms within the next few days. It is shaded based on percentage of likelihood. Post-Lahaina Updates. KEMA and our core partners, KFD, in the aftermath of Lahaina worked quickly to update our Red Flag Warning readiness posture, meaning in the past, we would not activate in a Red Flag Warning. We would activate when requested by the Battalion Chief or the Incident Commander, but after studying what happened and looking at some of the modeling here, how quickly fires can spread, we will stand up the EOC partially or even a Red Flag Warning and have it staffed twenty-four hours seven days a week (24/7). We are right there with systems warned, ready to issue a public issue if need be. We updated our procedural checklist as well. Now, KEMA staff get woken up for more reasons at all hours of the day or night—sorry, at night because we do not sleep in the day. We get the Spillman notifications thank you to KPD, Chief Ke back there. They added us to the notifications for any wildfire incident. Staff is notified. We get the email, we can sort of see if it is something that we need to pay attention to, even before we get a call from a Fire Caption, dispatch, or the Battalion Chief. We work, and collectively state- wide, updated a public alert and warning processes and reviewed all technologies in the aftermath of Lahaina. Practically with the scrutinizes regarding the systems that were used and what was functional and not functional. KFD wildlife prevention mitigation efforts in the County, KFD has taken a lead role in that. They did a contract hire. They have been working on Wildland/Urban Interface Code Assessment and enforcement. They identified trauma areas, even in the few days following the Lahaina Fire. All of us at home, holding down the shop while I was deployed to assist, and they started to work with KFD to engage with private landowners to fuel reduction, creating defensible space. We even sent Sol and Gary, both retired Chief-level officers for KFD will now work for KEMA training to help our COUNCIL MEETING 13 JULY 31, 2024 partners and the public, to make their homes more fire safe against wildlife fires. Problem areas were identified. We have done our best to address them. We thank the Administration and the Council for your support. I know additional equipment has been purchased with this current fiscal year or is being purchased so that they can do more clearing. All good things. The engagement of the large property owners, all our collaborative partnerships will continue. We already have had annual meetings on (inaudible) committee and KFD had a wildland fire mitigation group. Since Lahaina, we have been much more active with serval meetings taking place over the several months. Another area that I want to highlight, KEMA assisted KFD with a quick procurement of a new KFD apparatus. That came in a couple of weeks ago. That is going to be graphed and at the appropriate time, they will come up with a press release and have a dedication for that. I forgot what station it will go to, but you will see that out shortly. Finally, very humbling, we continue to strive to improve what I think are several recent incidents have tested our staff, our whole community team, and our efforts, particularly in this area of wildland fires. The Hanapepe and Kaumakani incident evolved very quickly to where homes were threatened, but collectively the team, the whole community, all levels of government, private sector partners, and community members all came together. I think collectively, they say the "speed of trust is fast." I think for us, it is the combination of the speed of`ohana, the sense that we all feel and the kuleana and trust. With those three (3) together, we outpaced the fire. Even with the best efforts, it came down to individual fire fighters holding the line within fifteen (15) feet of the hose, so that means that we can still improve, and we will continue to strive. That is my update. Mahalo. Council Chair Rapozo: I have a quick question. You just brought up the fire on the Westside and you mentioned working with landowners. Was that property that burned State land? I am referring to the one that got close. Mr. Ushio: My understanding is that the area where it started is an area of Department of the Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). Beyond that was Gay & Robinson's property. Council Chair Rapozo: Were those properties maintained? Mr. Ushio: A firebreak had previously been cut. You can see it in the photos. There was a firebreak, it was starting to regrow. They do have a break between the houses and the field. I do not know the degree of vegetation management. I would have to defer KFD on that. Council Chair Rapozo: Then is KFD responsible for the enforcement of that? As I am reading this right here, you have listed Wildland/Urban Interface Code Assessment and enforcement comes under the wildlife prevention mitigation by KFD. Mr. Ushio: KFD does assess and respond to complaints and can do enforcement, but that is an interface. That is why there are firebreaks created in certain areas. Council Chair Rapozo: Yes, but firebreaks work if you have reasonable management of the fuel source, right?My concern is not so much if the firebreaks work, COUNCIL MEETING 14 JULY 31, 2024 but if these properties are allowed to grow and create the fuel needed for a wildfire, then the firebreaks would help a little bit. We are lucky that it was not closer to structures or a subdivision. I appreciate everything that KFD did and all the volunteers, but I think now, especially after the Lahaina fires, need to focus on how to prevent fires to begin with and how they spread. Councilmember DeCosta. Councilmember DeCosta: Mr. Ushio, I have a comment on your Eagle Scout. In 1985, I was two (2) years older than you. I was more of the Venture Scout, I did not join Eagle Scouts, but I was proud of it. You gave a good presentation. I think your team, our KFD, the sense of`ohana and collectiveness work within our County and State, but the private sector has to be on board. They have to be held accountable. I am sorry to say this, but they are not accountable. The firebreaks will only work if they are freshly cut within sixty (60) days. What are we doing to work with the private sector members when they have fuel sources that are not being managed? How do we hold them accountable? Mr. Kanoho: That is a good question. Thank you for that. Through the wildland coordination group with KFD, they work with the private landowners to ensure that they maintain and keep up with the firebreaks. After following the second fire, and especially after the last fire in Koke`e, I reached outto KFD to schedule an upcoming meeting with that group to circle back with all the agencies to include the private landowners. I know that DLNR and Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) have been doing some additional work on the properties that they own further west of the area, to include cutting and maintaining roads and firebreaks on some of their properties. That is something that needs to be kept up. Councilmember DeCosta: Soloman, thank you for addressing that question, but firebreaks and the roads are not the problem. The problem is the fuel source beyond the firebreaks. Are you folks going to address that also? Mr. Kanoho: Correct. There has been talk about how to better mitigate that, either by putting some type of farming or cattle, animals to keep that down, other than maintaining through cutting and additional firebreaks. That will be the long-term solution that would need to happen. Councilmember DeCosta: That is the solution. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: First, I would like to say, excellent job. I was paying a lot of attention, particularly with the Hanapepe fire because Hanapepe Heights, as I have described it as a giant lollipop with one (1) road in and out, is very dangerous. Thank you to the environment that we had, an easterly wind, rather than one blowing westerly, which is the norm, but that would have been rough. The Department of Transportation (DOT) cut that firebreak right around the time we were shortly discussing the Lahaina fires. I asked about evacuation routes, and they said that they could cut along the danger points. Have we looked in to...it appeared to me that when we cut that firebreak, all that mulch was sort of left in place. Do we have some sort of guidelines or strategies of what to do? When we leave the mulch, that can COUNCIL MEETING 15 JULY 31, 2024 be a little problematic. Is that any part of what we are working on when we are looking at firebreaks? Mr. Kanoho: I am not aware. I know that to cut the tall grass,whether it is four(4)feet, six(6)feet, or higher, that does help.When it is a mulch and is on the ground, it tends to creep slower, so crews would be able to get a better handle on it. The only condition that would change is if there was a high gusty wind that would blow that around, but to even have it cut down and reduce the height of it to slow the spread does assist with breaking it down, preventing the fire from jumping a break. Councilmember Cowden: I want to acknowledge how both crews met with Gay & Robinson. I went to one of those meetings out there. It looked to be at capacity, so they did a great job. My follow-up is the irrigation systems and a building burned. How much was Gay & Robinson's team a part of fighting that fire?Did we have that private help in that fire? Mr. Kanoho: Yes, we did. They were actively involved, even from the onset of the fire and throughout the fire. That is one thing that has been beneficial and helpful. In all the fires, the private sector rallying around and helping, including the other agency partners. Councilmember Cowden: The other agency partners like Cushnie Construction Company, Inc? We honored a handful of those. With the Hawai`i Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO), I have been pushing hard for neighborhoods to identify their evacuation routes. Is there greater consideration of reincluding Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) because I think when we have our Community Emergency Response Team, that sort of has been put on hold since COVID, but I think we need to consider reencouraging that. If we have CERT be a part of our fire wise communities, in my mind, that would help us. We had a large landowner, Gay & Robinson, so they have this capacity. We would not have that in a small community, unless we had CERT or a fire wise community. Do you have thoughts on that and how can we move forward on that? Mr. Ushio: CERT is definitely a possibility as that program gets revitalized or expanded in the future. That provides us one use. There is also something called the Hawai`i Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program (HHARP). `Ele`ele and Hanapepe is a community that participated in HHARP in the course of over a year and developed the community plan and received the education in multiple aspects of various hazards and threats and emergency preparedness. That is another. Even if you are not a CERT community or not involved in HHARP, if there is a community organization, faith-based we will help you, and if you reach out the KEMA, we will do our best to provide that outreach and support and guidance, so that individuals, households, and `ohana can plan. Councilmember Cowden: If individuals want to reach out, will they call 1(808) 241-1800? COUNCIL MEETING 16 JULY 31, 2024 Mr. Ushio: 1(808) 241-1800 or kema@kauai.gov. Those are the best ways. Councilmember Cowden: I would say that we have one other possibility. I will come back to it. Hazard mitigation plan. When is that going to begin, so we can have communities? All our evacuation routes, not just fire, but waves, tsunamis, hurricanes...all of that matter. Is our hazard mitigation plan where community organizations can participate in giving ideas? Mr. Ushio: Yes. At any time, anyone can engage us with discussions or ideas regarding fire mitigation. With this next plan update, part of the process that is going out for procurement...once the contract is made, it will have a series of community meetings. At the last update, we did not have as much community participation because it was COVID. There were a lot of online meetings, but we hope to do the traveling road show again with the update that we will be working on. Councilmember Cowden: I see that we have at least one (1) board member of a community association in the room. When is that window of time that they will begin participating? Mr. Ushio: We are in the procurement phase now, so I would imagine in two (2) or three (3) months from now, we would be actively stating that process. Councilmember Cowden: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Were the Westside fires, especially the Hanapepe fire, was that intentionally set? What was the cause of the fire? Mr. Ushio: I cannot speak to that because the investigation is amongst KFD. Councilmember Kagawa: Do we suspect that it was intentionally set? Mr. Kanoho: Like Mr. Ushio said, we are not sure yet. It is under investigation. However, the last fire that we had, they suspect that it was intentional, but the investigation is still ongoing. Councilmember Kagawa: Is there a program, like with KPD, with a reward to catch the pyromaniac or pyromaniacs? Is there an investigation reward program or something? I am born and raised on the Westside. Without the plantation, we do not have adequate maintenance in a lot of the areas. You are speaking about DHHL,we cannot even get DHHL to build homes. They do not clean areas of theirs that are overgrown, so one (1) pyromaniac on a windy, like Lahaina, if we are not taking action to wet those areas that are unmaintained, like Council Chair mentioned, the firebreaks will not work. If the winds are strong, like it was that day, which is why everyone was worried, a pyromaniac could do billions of dollars worth of damages. COUNCIL MEETING 17 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: Hold on, Councilmember Kagawa. I see KPD heading up. Councilmember Kagawa: What is the status of trying to catch the pyromaniac or pyromaniacs? DARREN ROSE, Captain, Kaua`i Police Department: Captain Darren Rose, for the record. There are rewards through Crime Stoppers, and we have asked for information though our Public Information Officers (PIOs) within the County for tips that come through Crime Stoppers. Some tips have come through, but so far none of have been actionable. Councilmember Kagawa: Can you take back...based on what happened in Lahaina, and we have the Westside there, can we increase the program so that we have a special reward for the tips leading to the pyromaniacs that are starting these fires that are going to cause billions of dollars? Mr. Rose: There are rewards through Crime Stoppers, and we are asking the public... Councilmember Kagawa: Crime Stoppers can be related to stealing someone's wallet. Stealing someone's wallet will not lead to billions of dollars in damage to the community that will be unrecoverable in some cases. I am talking about a harsher program perhaps that could be looked at between all agencies. That is my suggestion. Thank you, Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember DeCosta. Councilmember DeCosta: I am going to switch back to the hurricanes and tsunamis. Mr. Ushio, I know that you do a good job, but have we looked at the evacuation roads in Kekaha, Hanalei, and Waimea, those three (3) areas. One-way in, one-way out. We have accessible areas to use mauka of Kekaha. Are we looking at that on DHHL or ADC? In Waimea, they have an old State road that we cleared when there was a flood. Are we looking in maintaining that road with the State or at least putting some asphalt down? The last one was in Hanalei. Can we work on an evacuation route for Hanalei because that is a one-way in and one-way out? Three (3) possibilities, three (3) solutions, and three (3) landowners that already have the roads there and we just have to maintain them or open them up. Have we looked at that for our 2026 land? Mr. Ushio: That would be a good project to list in that plan, although efforts are already starting. That is an excellent suggestion to add as far as alternative routes, identification, and maintenance. Right now, we are on the first phase. I am working with our Geographic Information System (GIS) team. They are trying to develop a super product for us with every layer that we want on that to help us with all hazards. One such area would be not only your primary existing roads, but also our older roads by looking at the archive satellite mapping. The challenge will be securing access and restoration repair and maintenance, and it is going to cost millions for some of that. We know that some of these roads have successfully been used in the recent fire responses where we would quickly get the keys so our responding units could COUNCIL MEETING 18 JULY 31, 2024 easily get into those areas and utilize those old roads to fight those fires. It is a multiphase, multiyear effort that could be listed in the Mitigation Plan update. Councilmember DeCosta: I have one (1) last question. That fire in Kekaha, I am talking about if there was a tsunami in Kekaha. The only evacuation route is the Koke`e road. It will be a funnel. Can we look at DHHL or ADC roads right next to the Koke`e Road? There are roads already up there. Could we look at that on our plan? Mr. Ushio: That would be part of the consideration. Councilmember DeCosta: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Carvalho. Councilmember Carvalho: I have a quick question on the HWMO. Can you explain that? Is it a solid organization where we have resources coming back and forth? Mr. Ushio: HWMO is a solid organization and partner, and they have assisted us in the past with our Community Wildfire Protection Plan(CWPP)and they continue to provide us with guidance and materials. They attend all our meetings, KFD meetings, and they have state-wide engagement. They are the non-governmental subject matter expert in the area of wildfire in Hawai`i. Councilmember Carvalho: Then is there constant back and forth information for us. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: Following up on that and on Councilmember DeCosta's line of questioning earlier, you play a leading role in collaborating together with DHHL and HWMO to do the maintenance and prevention work, correct? Like Councilmember Kagawa stated, it is not being addressed. Do you not have an inventory of the lands that are high priority as far as maintenance to prevent fires? I know that in Anahola,we have had so many fires that DHHL has made that a priority and working together with KFD and the Jeremie Makepa Aina Alliance, they put in firebreaks and obviously, they have to make a protecting the lands closest to the neighborhoods. Mr. Ushio: I would not say that we are the leading role,but we are part of the process. We try to bring appropriate parties together, but KFD is the subject matter expert. I would say that they do the bulk of leading and KEMA will provide inclusion of other partners if there is coordination or action event that KFD will be able to bring very extensive key players. Councilmember Kuali`i: Maybe the word was wrong, but I think that you would have to play a key role because you are there to make sure that they are doing what needs to be done and you can prioritize keeping our people safe. That is your job. COUNCIL MEETING 19 JULY 31, 2024 Mr. Ushio: Yes. Councilmember Kuali`i: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: In general, how long was the highway closed with the Hanapepe fire?Was it closed in the Kaumakani area?What time was it closed? Mr. Ushio: I would honestly have to look at our logs. Councilmember Kagawa: I mean, was it between 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.? Have we learned if we could set up something that could accommodate or encourage folks to go here?I heard that folks were on the highway and sat there for hours, waiting for the road to open, and it was not going to open soon. What does the County do to accommodate our residents who are stuck on either side? Maybe we could have the recreational centers open and offer food. Mr. Ushio: For that particular incident, we opened up shelters in coordination with the Department of Education (DOE) at Waimea High School and the Department of Parks & Recreation (DOPR) at the Hanapepe Neighborhood Center, and privately, Hanapepe Private Homelands allowed people to stay there. We tried to put information out there on the County run shelters through our press releases. We did not make arrangements to provide food and water, just, shelter. There were a lot of folks there. When we were going to reopen the highway, sometime in the middle of the night, there were already forty-three (43) people asleep in the high school. They stayed for the night. We do our best to support and in the 2004 rain and flooding event,we opened shelters in Koloa and Kapa`a,just for those evacuees. Councilmember Kagawa: I appreciate all that you do, but from the outside looking in, I just heard that folks were waiting four (4) or five (5) hours on the side of the road in their car. It was sad, not if these disasters happen, but having to stay in your car for that long and waiting for the highway to open, knowing that the roads would not open soon is sad. I was just wondering how we could make their lives better, even in a disaster. Mr. Ushio: That is something to note. Thank you very much. It will give us something to think about. We still have not done our After-Action Review (AAR) with our partners. We are scheduling that now, and we will do two (2) fires at once. That is something that we can address, because in our press release and things like that, unless it goes on broadcast media or radio, some people will not get that. Something to think about. Councilmember Kagawa: You folks do a great job worrying about disasters and saving lives. I just feel like that incident, when I heard about people sitting for hours, it made me think of DOPR neighborhood centers could help, rather than you folks. You folks are doing what you can to save lives. I am just sharing that. COUNCIL MEETING 20 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: I want to follow-up on what Councilmember Kagawa said regarding press releases. When we watched the Lahaina aftermath and they were posting as they were identifying bodies, a lot of them were kupuna, seventy (70), eighty (80), and ninety (90) year olds. I do not know this, but I would assume because they are not glued to their cell phones, that they do not get these technological alerts. On your slide 11, "Statewide updating of public alert and warning systems/processes/technologies." What are we doing in the County of Kaua`i, not just for fire incidents, but for everything to ensure that every one gets the message. I am more concerned with the kupuna that do not have laptops or cell phones. I think you know what I am asking. Mr. Ushio: When I have done interviews, I try to cover all the tools, and I highly recommend that people have multiple means of emergency notifications. I will give the example of the fire as it turned into Kaumakani. When it became apparent to us that the town might be threatened, we initially were going to go out with what is called "Ready, Set, Go." "Ready" means that you get ready because there is a fire in your area. You are not immediately at risk but prepare to evacuate. You may need to do so, at your own risk. Then, the winds gusted and so quickly, that changed to "Go." The message was fast and simple means, everything means are at disposal. I will go down the list, we sent out an Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Platform (IPAWSP)to send out a message that went to the Alert System, which was television (TV) and radio. The federal alert went through to the cellphones. We did County, both the level emergency notification tool that we call our WENS system. We sounded the sirens, which tells people to tune into your local media because we need your attention. Then, KPD, Gay & Robinson, and KFD, whoever was feasible, went door-to-door through the community to ensure that everyone in the community got out. We even had calls that came through 911-dispatch because of loved ones who had gotten the message by some other means, saying that an aunty lives alone or is homebound and will need help, or the Agency of Elderly Affairs would do some clients like that. DOT would move clients like that. Usually more than one means identifies or addresses those persons in need, it is important that all the technologies, but it does come down to door-to-door. Council Chair Rapozo: Right, that is where I am a little concerned. Like you stated, it went from "Ready" to "Go." There was not much opportunity. When it was time to "Go," which is sort of what happened in Lahaina and at that point, you are too late. Can you go through the steps for me? When we are at level one, "Ready," what happens then? Mr. Ushio: Basically, if there is a fire that does not threaten any homes and will not result in evacuations, generally we are not going to do a mass notification. Council Chair Rapozo: I am assuming that it is not just for fires. Mr. Ushio: The "Ready, Set, Go" is for fires. Council Chair Rapozo: What is "Ready?" COUNCIL MEETING 21 JULY 31, 2024 Mr. Ushio: "Ready" is be prepared to go at a moment's notice, just giving you a heads up that there is a fire in your area. You need to be aware and that there is possibility that you may need to evacuate. Council Chair Rapozo: How are the "Ready" notifications made? Mr. Ushio: Those are tiered. We are not going to sound the sirens for "Ready." Over here, we would use several of the tools that we mentioned. We would go through tv, radio, cellphones, local notifications, landline phones, and often cell phone messages and email. Council Chair Rapozo: At level one, does the banner come across the tv? Mr. Ushio: We would do that here. Level 2 is "Set." It is a little higher bar and that says "you need to be ready to go." Council Chair Rapozo: Is that the same bar notification across the tv, same radio notification, and we are not deploying anyone in the neighborhoods? Mr. Ushio: At that point, we would likely make that decision, and we would seek assistance from partner entities, like KPD, if there was...in a situation like Gay & Robinson, where they own and manage a camp, because by then it is a serious fire. Multiple assets are engaged, and we want to prevent too much damage. Council Chair Rapozo: I think that is the concern. In fires, unlike hurricanes, where one is brewing right now, we have a lot of time. With fires, like we saw with Lahaina, it is "Ready" then "Go." I just want to make sure that we have a way in place to get those people who do not have a cell phone or fancy technologies. That is my concern. Councilmember Cowden: I have a follow-up on sires. Since I have gotten elected, you have been hearing from me for different sirens. We do not have a siren in Princeville. The one in Hanalei broke a long time ago, same with Wailua. I believe that we need on in the back of Wainiha, in these areas where we have these high emergencies and we know that we do not have cell phone reception, whether by choice or whatever reason. I think that we need more sirens. I think that we need to do a little more training because some people think that it is for tsunami. I have never had that thought for forty (40) years, but I always thought that it is for anything. Even when we had the ballistic missile alert, remember that one?The first thing that went through my mind is, "I do not hear the sirens, this is probably false." I still went over to the neighborhood center even though that would not have made a difference. I am trained to listen to the siren, to listen to the radio, also, as a radio program, but it did not go on the radio either, so when it was not on the siren or radio, I thought someone made a mistake. I did not panic. Also, not everyone has their cell phone with them, a lot of people are out on the ocean or playing and when you hear that siren, your thought is to pay attention. I do want to really, again, say"sirens."Although the sirens did not work in my area either, I guess because they did not turn it on... COUNCIL MEETING 22 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: Do you have a question? Councilmember Cowden: I thought I did have one. He is nodding his head. My question is, what is your position on adding more sirens and fixing our broken ones? Thank you. Mr. Ushio: I strongly support repairing all sirens that are not operational. Councilmember Cowden: Possibly adding more? Mr. Ushio: Adding sirens or filling gaps in coverage. However, I will say that the siren program, the sirens are not owned or managed by the County. It is our State departments and Hawai`i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA), so while we can prioritize and advocate, it really is a state asset or State program. Councilmember Cowden: Thank you for telling me that. I am always "pinging" on you, and not the State, so I should be sending that to HI-EMA? Mr. Ushio: That is where the County generally directs those inquires, although like I said we are a close partner with them, and we do strongly advocate for sirens. We do have a say in prioritization for a location for whenever we get a new batch. Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Are there any further questions for KEMA? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Are those sirens tested monthly and does the KEMA office do the follow-up to different households or businesses in the areas to check whether they hear it or not? Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: This might be obvious but when you say, "Ready, Set, Go," is "Go" the part when you say to leave your home and evacuate? When you make the announcement to evacuate, do you tell people where to go or where the fire is, and where it is coming from, so which direction not to go in? Mr. Ushio: If you look back at the messaging that we did for Kaumakani, it was "brush fire in Kaumakani," "evacuate now," and "leave now." Short, simple. Part of the challenge is we have staff who is crafting it live under pressure, being told that they have to go now and, "come on staff." Wild land fires are very specific, so you will notice that the Kaumakani message, which was, "Go, leave now," very different from the Koke`e message where we clearly indicated that it was not an immediate threat, but people would be isolated if they do not leave at their earliest convenience. If you are not able to shelter in place, they should leave. We try COUNCIL MEETING 23 JULY 31, 2024 to provide enough information, but sometimes it is not going to include the direction of the fire, and what road or route to take, unless there are special circumstances where we know we should take that particular route. Councilmember Kuali`i: In a tsunami warning in Kekaha or Waimea, they all go up, right, because they are just trying to get away from the shore, so they go up to a blank area. I think Councilmember Kagawa mentioned it. Are you aware that the West Kaua`i Hawaiian Home Association is trying to work with DHHL to get some land, so they can create an evacuated center or at least an area with bathrooms, because people are parking on the side of the road? Mr. Ushio: We have been approached over the years several times, but most recently last month, we did meet with some beneficiary organization that was working on possible site selection acquisition for the development of two (2) locations. Councilmember Kuali`i: Yes. Mr. Ushio: DHHL out west. Councilmember Kuali`i: Obviously you have to have options of where people can go, because if it is a tsunami, they can go mauka, but if it is a fire, it might be that area that is on fire, so maybe the mauka area, that is an evacuation area could be done in such a way that it is clear or maybe it has facilities like the ones being talked about in Kilauea where there is "fire proof' where they would not burn, but that is all being planned, right? Mr. Ushio: I cannot comment on how they are planning and what their proposal is, I have not seen their drawings or plans. Councilmember Kuali`i: But they will engage you and you will help them... Mr. Ushio: If they engage us, we will do our best to give them... Councilmember Kuali`i: I will make sure they do. Councilmember Cowden: I have a follow-up on that. Council Chair Rapozo: Go ahead. Councilmember Cowden: Thank you for inviting me to the IRT, I am really bad with acronyms, I do not remember what that stands for, but that is where we were looking for the best available refuge areas study. I was very thankful to be there and listening. My interpretation was we do not have very good places, right? We have good places for a rainstorm, but we do not have good places for windstorm. Certainly, a cafeteria is good, and people will need to "hold up" while they are away from their home. Do we have a plan...Councilmember Kuali`i just mentioned the COUNCIL MEETING 24 JULY 31, 2024 resilience hub that is proposed for Kilauea, but do we have a plan for high wind sheltering, anywhere? Mr. Ushio: A plan as what we would do or building out in the future? Councilmember Cowden: The only shelter in the entire North Shore, I do not mean to keep bringing that up, but it is where I live, is right behind my house, which is now under reconstruction for a year or more. Where do people go? We need to really work on that. Do we have a strategy for wind and where people should go? Mr. Ushio: I do not want to take too much time, but the Statewide shelter program goes back decades. Shelters that our people went to during Hurricane Iwa and Hurricane Iniki had been selected by the State of Hawai`i via the State Civil Defense, which is now HI-EMA. Since then, the responsibility has been transferred to the Counties with the Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) 127A, the newer Emergency Management Law. We inherited these sites, unfortunately as it is obvious to everyone, they are not designed or built as hurricane shelters. However, sites and structures that were selected were generally those that were hardened and were feasible concrete construction and after-the-fact retrofitted, to be more hardened Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), they put shatter-proof lubricants, impasse screens, etcetera. That is what we inherited as far as what is available as shelter space or what we call, "best available refuge areas" or BARAs. That is why in our guidance to the public, we say that they are not necessarily rated for high winds. However, they may, as the BARA, they may provide enhanced protection compared to being outdoors or in a poorly constructed home, single-wall construction, non-hardened. Of course the newer buildings are built stronger, so Kauai High School gym, is quite a robust facility. As you know, the Administration and the Council have supported, we have been doing retrofits, we hardened Kalaheo Neighborhood Center and there is ongoing, in fact, as we speak right now, Kilauea Gym is being retrofitted and moved to Category (Cat) 3. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: Cat 3? Mr. Ushio: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: Why would we not go Cat 5? Mr. Ushio: I am not an engineer, but my understanding... Council Chair Rapozo: Who makes that decision? Is that DPW? Who determines? Who in the Administration approved to do it as a Cat 3 instead of a Cat 5? Mr. Ushio: I cannot say for sure who makes that final determination, but from our position, it is driven by a balance between cost benefit COUNCIL MEETING 25 JULY 31, 2024 risk. To retrofit a Cat 5, it is nearly impossible, you would have to reconstruct and fit concrete balls, polycarbonate windows, things of that nature. Even from what I recalled on the Kalaheo project... Council Chair Rapozo: Is the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center a Cat 3, too? Mr. Ushio: The Kalaheo Neighborhood Center was retrofitted to a Cat 2. Council Chair Rapozo: Cat 2? Mr. Ushio: Yes. If you wanted to acquire, it would be like the old ball sugar building. I have seen drawings by Nawiliwili, where you have huge steel pillars with concrete holding the walls up, but again, I am not an engineer. Council Chair Rapozo: I do not think you need to be an engineer to say, in the administrative level, "Make it a Cat 5." I do not think you need to be an engineer to do that. I guess we will take that up with the Administration. I am surprised to hear that we are spending money on rebuilding a building and bringing it up to only a Cat 2 or a Cat 3. We will take it up with the Administration. Are there any further questions? If not, thank you. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? Ms. Lowry. JILL LOWRY: Good morning, Council. I want to say a couple things. First, I want to give massive amounts of kudos to everyone who participated in the weeks' worth of fires, from the Humane Society, to our KFD, to landowners, and to underscore KEMA's organization. I recognize the fact that I am an "annoying speedo" when it comes to disaster preparedness, particularly not response, I think we do an excellent job with response, but the responses to the questions about hardening facilities and disaster shelters underlines my concern overall, and this really has nothing to do with KEMA, it has to do with the County's decisions on budget. At some point, if it is now the County's responsibility for this and not the State, the decision has to be made to spend the money to create disaster shelters in all of the areas most vulnerable. Otherwise, you are going to have a lot dead community members, that is just the reality. We have Cat 5 hurricanes frequently now. The first hurricane of the year, Cat 5. Last year, hurricane Cat 5 in every ocean basin and that never happened before, so Lahaina was particularly deadly because of winds and fire, limited choices, fast decisions, and terrible outcome. Again, some things are preventable, but other things are not because it is Mother Nature. I do think that the County and those who have an investment in their community need to start looking at budget alignments for these. They do not have to be fancy; you folks know I am the "Dome Lady," that is what apparently what everyone calls me now, and I am good with that, but they can be everything else that you need them to be. They can be a church, a community center, urgent care, until they are needed, and then they can be a disaster shelter. It is time for people to start rethinking construction and structural integrity when you build new County buildings, whatever the case may be. That is all I am asking today is to, as we move forward, KEMA has a lot on their plate, so not going to hold KEMA COUNCIL MEETING 26 JULY 31, 2024 responsible for this, I am holding the County responsible for future decisions. Thank you folks very much. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Ana, did you have your hand up? Ms. MoDes: Hello, Ana MoDes. Very valid testimony by Ms. Lowry. Council Chair Rapozo: I am going to ask you to speak up. Councilmember Cowden: Yes, it is hard to hear you. Council Chair Rapozo: Something is up with the microphone and the captioner is having a difficult time. Can you restart her time, please? Ms. MoDes: I will try my best. Ana MoDes, for the record. Very valid testimony by the previous testifier. Kudos to KEMA for all their efforts. It is no wonder that the head of the agency is an Eagle Scout, so maybe that should be a requirement. Excellent job in navigating all of it. Extra kudos to KFD that were direly tested. I know that you speak of the moms or fire wives, heart wrenching for that experience, so I am grateful that everyone worked in cooperation to have it be a successful fire disaster week, I would say. Very much tested and I know I came in after Lahaina and spoke about that...I do appreciate your patience with me that day and understanding where the community is coming from. It is really sad, tragic that we are learning from such a devastation, but there is also so much gratitude in the intelligence that has been brought here to those leading to ensure that Kaua`i does not experience a tragedy that way KPD knocked on every door, that is for sure, and I for one as a community member, I am very grateful that I received that, "Fire in Kaumakani, get out" message, because I called everyone around, "Are you evacuating, what are we doing; just pack a bag and be ready to go." It was not a joke or drill. There were sirens that were heard. I believe the way it was handled was really well, shelters on both sides, community coming forward providing food, but I understand the concern about having people in traffic for so many hours and how do you even predict how long it will take if people want to make the decision to turn around, come to Lihu`e, or whatever that is, so maybe there is a really good outcome that came from that situation. Just because of the tragedy of seeing the burnt cars on the road, but everyone was communicating with each other, and it was really nice to see how everyone came together, alert, and care about what was going on. Of course, the power of pray for KFD to keep going incessantly, and the cooperation with the private landowners as well. It was nice to hear how valuable it is to have that commitment before the community. I do have one more thing to say. Council Chair Rapozo: You can come back after. Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to testify? Mr. Hart. Mr. Hart: For the record, Bruce Hart. First, I am in agreement with Councilmember Cowden that we need, and just with everyone, we need to do all that we can to ensure that everyone on the path of destruction is alerted. I would like to speak specifically on something that Councilmember Kagawa brought COUNCIL MEETING 27 JULY 31. 2024 up. There is an investigation going on as to the purposeful and wicked setting of fires. These people that do these types of things are usually known. It is unusual that someone starts this, they usually have done it before of some capacity. I think KPD and members of the community probably know some of the people. There may be someone new that was prompted from the Lahaina fire, and I want to say a short prayer, because all the responsibility for this cannot fall on KPD. They are doing all they can, I am sure. They have family members and extended family members that care. Heavenly Father, I just ask that you intercede on behalf of this community. That whoever it is, you know, Lord, and that you would bring these people out into the open, you would expose them for what is, this wickedness that they are doing. That members of the community would fill a conviction if they know or suspect who these people might be, and that you would help them to send them forward. In Jesus Christ's name, thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to testify for the first time? If not, second time, Ana. Ms. MoDes: Mahalo, Ana MoDes. Kaua`i is the only island to my knowledge that has neighborhood centers, so it is really convenient to invest in that, as the testifier before suggested. I agree. It seems like common sense. It does not seem like we are going to be evacuating for a Cat 2 or a Cat 3, but just concrete structures and from where I am from, everyone has metal panels that they put on their door, it needs to be standard for the home to have a homeowner's insurance, you are required to have that. Hurricanes come up, everyone puts their panels, it is like shutter-effect, there can be ways around, you do not have to demolish and rebuild, just enforce. The other aspect I wanted to say is that I am really grateful to Elton and KEMA for showing up at Koloa Community Association. The cooperation with different neighborhood associations, he did explain that on the North Shore, they are very active and have funds to provide the help for KEMA to not have to be like, for floods, for instance, there is no way to get there to provide what it needs to happen, so having people in different areas across the island that are prepared, Koloa is organized enough to have one of those large commercial flood pumps, but if there is other neighborhoods that are not as active, it is really worth getting involved, organizing, and reaching out to the County, so that we do not have the issues where you are running around at the last minute, the roads are closed, that you have captains in each spot that can get activated to step up for the community and provide that solution. That was wonderful to hear. I am grateful for you folks to have this on the agenda, do the investigation and do the "deep dive" of what is going on to avoid any future tragedies. I know it is not a clear solution right now, but it seems like there is progress and information and cooperation. I am grateful for that. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to testify? If not, calling the meeting back to order for final discussions? Councilmember Kagawa. There being no further public testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: COUNCIL MEETING 28 JULY 31, 2024 Councilmember Kagawa: When we have these incidents like the Hanapepe fire, we take the proactive route, try to see how we can learn from what happened and improve every time—that is all. KEMA, of all the islands, is awesome. They dealt with so many disasters, floods, and hurricanes, their office is well-run, and I can attest to that.As far as the pyromaniacs starting, it might be just"humbug" kids, but the thing is I think money reward can maybe help and hopefully KFD can work with KPD because it came really close to "wiping out" Kaumakani. Those are people that would be homeless without having Kaumakani housing. We were just talking about budget priorities, but what is the priority? Should we harden the entire structure, build affordable housing? It has to come from the Administration. If the Council funds it and it does not come from the Administration, then who knows whether they are going to do it. All these priorities have to come in partnership, but it has to come from the Administration. We have the largest budget by far in the history of Kaua`i, and how much was funded to hardened any facility for a hurricane shelter? Zero (0). If we cannot budget in the largest budget in history, then I guess we need to make it a priority. We need to get the State to provide the money, since they are the ones who pass the responsibilities. The one structure that I can think of that can fit a large number of people is the new Kaua`i High School gym that they just built. I am pretty sure that is close to Cat 5, if anything, and the State should let the County use it, they use all the County's stadiums for games. They are not like O`ahu where they have lighted football fields, they use all of the County's resources. In this case, let us not ask, but make it mandate that we can use that gym. Let us see what we can do to harden other structures that are already used, and we could expand, like the Kilauea gym. There are points of areas, but it has to come from the State as far as helping us to fund it, because it is a responsibility that they passed down because of their past mistakes and they do not want to get "too much drama" on the neighbor islands. It is just knowing how to deal with the disasters and having the proper people run it, because you do not want to have a situation where the person pressed the wrong button and people panicked, all because one person pressed the wrong button. Let us make sure that we are always "on it," and I am glad Kaua`i is, but we can do what we can to address that. The wind shelter would be great, because definitely a lot of homes, especially talking about Kaumakani and Pakala, in a Cat 5 hurricane, those homes will be wiped out flat. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember DeCosta. Councilmember DeCosta: I am very impressed with this document. Thank you, Elton. I am not impressed that we know time and time again, if you go all the way back to the 1983 hurricane, when I was a senior and Councilmember Kagawa was a junior in high school, 1992 hurricane, we had multiple evacuations. Folks, it does not take rocket scientists, you start from Kekaha, Kekaha is funneled to Koke`e, one-way up and one-way down. If something happens, there is no way we can get Kekaha out of there. There are DHHL lands and ADC lands, let us create a road...roads are already created, let us maintain it. If we cannot as a County, then we hold the State or the landowner accountable to have that road maintained. They want a tax break on their agricultural land, they need to maintain their road. Waimea has only one (1) bridge in and out. If there is a tsunami, those folks are stuck. There is an evacuation route from the plantation days up the valley, across Waimea Swinging Bridge, that comes out on to Robinson. Let us have that available. There is COUNCIL MEETING 29 JULY 31, 2024 no need to be a rocket scientist. I am telling you folks right now to put it in your 2026 budget. Hanapepe—the fire, you can ride the road from Hanapepe to Pakala along the beach, that is an evacuation route. Why were people on the side of the road? Why did they not traverse from Hanapepe all along the beach, all the way through Kaumakani to Pakala, and come and go home?There is a road. Koloa—the old tunnel, Koloa to Puhi. Why are we are not using that road? Kahili to Lihu`e, there is a back road that you can bypass Puhi and Lihu`e Town. Hanalei, you can come out of Hanalei through Princeville, there is an alternative route. Put it on a plan, let us move forward. Let us not just "talk the story," let us have things in place, common sense, common "Ready, Set, Go." Ready, in my mind, because KEMA is ready, the landowners are not ready. They let the fuel source get out of control. They better be ready by either mowing the grass, livestock graze the grass, keep their firebreaks open and not wait until a fire happens or a natural disaster and then ohana come together. Their `ohana better be coming together every day, every month, every year, so our people are not at risk when the firefighters, DLNR, and DOFAW are all risking their lives to fight a fire. I know all of this because my dad and my grandfather worked the at plantation on the Westside. We know every road available. It is there, let us start using it. Thank you for your time. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: I want to reiterate the gratitude to the excellent work that you folks have done pretty much relentlessly emergencies one after another for years. Good job on that. I also want to say thank you to the KEMA people who are waking up in the middle of the night, now, even more than they were before. I want to acknowledge that. I have a few points to make. One is regarding arson, especially on the Eastside, we see a pattern of set fires that are pretty evident that with movement of the sweeps and displaced people, unhoused people, those fires move with a few key individuals. That is a real problem. I would say anger and despair feeds those fires and when we do not have enough mental health programs or housing or safety zones, the fires follow that. We can punish people, and we can give rewards, but the reality is that people live in so much despair that they act out. I just want to acknowledge that big problem. I have stated that we need emergency shelters for all hazards. I appreciate what Councilmember Kagawa said when we are tight on money, and yes, we had the biggest budget ever, but all our expenses, the revenues have come up and so have the expenses, so we are pushed, we are still struggling on how to be able to create these solutions, but I agree with what was said. We might not be able to get things up to a Cat 5 but getting them up to the strongest capacity is important. Where I have some alignment with Councilmember DeCosta is when we look at our post-sugar plantation time, we lost all these inward and upward routes in many of the areas that were the cane haul roads and as well as the ability to do the land management, they had the economic ability to do that. We have to work with these landowners. They have a preservation plan for the cane haul roads. We cannot lay it all on them, but it needs to be cooperative that we keep those cane haul roads at a level that they can be driven on, at least in an emergency. A few of them, I would like to see, as I said many times, we want to put a fourth lane from Wailua to Hanama`ulu, why can we not use that cane haul road that goes up to the right? We would not have all the road construction, it is really important to come out COUNCIL MEETING 30 JULY 31, 2024 of Puhi, to me, that is a road that needs to be there permanently. Getting our roads in place is important. We got all types of opportunities to get more sirens, more gauges. I want to be thankful for the new gauges that have gone in and the weather and smoke sniffers. There are a lot of good plans underway. I am eager as the Committee Chair of the Public Safety & Human Services Committee to help bring communities in to being a bigger part of the plan. I thank KEMA, KFD, DOFAW, private organizations that have helped, and I believe even the National Guard has gotten involved. We have done some great work in our firefighting, the base, everyone—good job, all-hazards, you have to be on it with this next hazard mitigation plan and make it very robust. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else? Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: Mahalo nui loa to KEMA for this briefing, and of course mahalo nui loa to everyone who is keeping us safe: the leaders, the workers, and the volunteers. As far as our role is concerned, we need to hear from you, you are the experts, you tell us what the best way forward is. You tell us what you need from us, what types of resources, what kind of budget. It sounds to me that we have to make a priority out for safe evacuation routes and safe evacuation centers. If it is going to take a lot of investment, then we need to plan for that. Now is a good time, because there are infrastructure dollars out there. I am sure we can package funding with the State, County, Federal, sources and maybe also private sources. Let us not, not do it because it cost too much. It costs too much to lose even one (1) life and I think it is very clear that Mother Nature has changed in such severe ways, so we cannot expect that the disasters will be like how they were in the past. It is getting worse, which means we have to step up our efforts. It is going to be a long-time investment, but we have to get it going. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Carvalho. Councilmember Carvalho: KEMA, mahalo for the work. I know you have gone through numerous disasters in the past and how we managed to get through that, and now it is all about now. From the experiences from the past, in the present, we understand what we need to reach out for and the resources we need to bring home. From the Federal, State, And County levels, that is the big one for me, to see how we can really be prepared. At the same time, I know "grassroots style," KEMA and all the team members really reaching out and doing what you need to do and we, as leaders, trying to provide whatever resources we can in different levels. With that in place, and the mindset of how to keep our island safe and what resources we need to bring in today and not tomorrow, is a big part for me, so I look forward to more opportunities to bring more resources home and into the operational part—that is the big part overall. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else? If not, thank you, KEMA, for being here today. I stated this many times, our KEMA and our response is completely with the first responders and the community support is second to none, no doubt about it. Communication is always an issue, and I am really concerned about the notifications, as I stated earlier in my questions to Elton. I think we need to make sure that we leave no one out, because that is what happened, I think, in Lahaina COUNCIL MEETING 31 JULY 31, 2024 and gosh, I do not know how you sleep after that because we did not get the word out in time. "Ready" for me is now, not when the fire starts. "Ready" should be now. When the fire starts, it is too late to get everyone ready. There is an old saying, "Be ready, so you do not have to get ready." We should be ready. All the things that were talked about today with the alternate routes and roads, all of that needs to be in place in the manual, that is being ready. "Set"—when the fire starts, or the hurricane is approaching, now we "Set" and put things in motion. Now, we are opening shelters, alternate routes, I have been bringing up alternate routes for a very long time and we keep finding reasons why we cannot do it. Councilmember DeCosta made a good case about all the existing roads. If the landowners do not want to give the County rights-of-entry, then we take them, condemn them, eminent domain. Someone said that the fire came fifteen (15) feet from the homes, is that accurate? Councilmember Cowden: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: Imagine if that fire was started closer to the homes. You folks did a great job in response, but you had fifteen (15) feet of give, so let us say the fire started closer to the subdivision, that fifteen (15) feet would have been eaten up...once homes start burning, it will be in the line...so, we had help from up above. I think God was there to blow back, but we were very close to having a very bad situation. We have to prepare for that. I am very upset at landowners that are not taking care of their properties, and that includes the State. I have a pasture by my house that I worry, but as you drive across the island and you see pastures with...and there is no enforcement, which is the reason I asked, "who is responsible for it?" Is it KPD, the Planning Department, KFD?We will process that, because that needs to happen. We could have the best crew...what bothers me is when we are successful, we have amazing firefighters, helicopter pilots, community partners, but every minute that they are out there fighting a fire, their lives are at risk. Just because we are good at what we do, does not mean we should be doing it all the time, because every time we do it, we are putting someone at risk. Some families have a risk of losing a member of their family. Why are we not going after these people that are neglecting their properties?I really do not care who it is and fine them. Give them legal notice. This is a health and safety, very dangerous situation and I know Councilmember DeCosta has talked about the grazing program with ADC and this is really for ADC, my next comment, because they are "hardhead." They do not want to open those farms or pastures for grazing, for whatever reason, and I do not understand why we have a lot of ranchers and farmers that could be on those lands managing those properties. For whatever reason, ADC does not want to cooperate. Other landowners as well, and we as County, because we are responsible, we have to go out and make sure that those folks are taking care of those parcels and keeping them clean, including residential areas as well. Some of the larger lots in subdivisions, if you are talking about fuel, fire source...the last thing is the shelters, I am quite disturbed about the Cat 2 and Cat 3 shelters, because if you have a Cat 2 hurricane coming, most people will stay in their homes. Why go to a Cat 2 shelter to another Cat 2 shelter and not be at home?I have to agree with Councilmember Kuali`i that you folks have to let us know what this island needs, what is the preferred solution to this problem, and it is not a Cat 2 shelter. Between the Council and the Administration has to figure out how to pay for that. The "dome lady" came up, and yes, she is right, those things are not pretty. In fact, they look "blah," but I tell you COUNCIL MEETING 32 JULY 31, 2024 what, I would rather go into a "blah" building and be safe then staying in my single-wall home in Wailua Houselots that actually survived two (2) hurricanes, not well, but it did, but why would we not be striving to make sure we have safe access to residents across the island including our houseless community? They have nowhere to go. They have absolutely nowhere to go. They do not have a Cat 5 shelter; they need to hang on and pray. Why would we not strive for that? If it is a dome, it is a dome. If it is a cube, it is a cube. I do not think people will care what it looks like when they go in for shelter. Many of us have forgotten about Iniki, but we need to remember it is our duty and obligation to take care of our residents in the event of a natural disaster.As long as I am on this Council, I can tell you I will support whatever is needed to make sure we protect our people, and I think I speak for all seven (7) of us. No one is going to say no, and if we have to maybe ease up on the nice amenities around the island to make sure we have safe shelters, then to me the amenities wait, the shelters get priority. That is common sense. Thank you all for being here. The motion to receive C 2024-144 for the record was then put and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: Let us take a caption break. We have an Executive Session that we need to get done. Are we going to do it in here? Let us do this, we will take our caption break now, that will be a ten-minute caption break. How long is the briefing? Let us do this, caption break until 10:40 a.m., and then let us say we will reconvene at 11:30 a.m., but unfortunately the Executive Session has to be held in here, because they need the resources, so you folks will have to vacate the room. We will reconvene at 11:45 a.m. There being no objections, the Council recessed at 10:30 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 12:06 p.m., and proceeded as follows: C 2024-145 Communication (07/03/2024) from the Director of Finance, requesting Council approval to accept, after the fact, travel-related reimbursed expenses from the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) to attend the 2024 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference and Exposition. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2024-145, seconded by Councilmember Kagawa. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Seeing none. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to approve C 2024-145 was then put, and unanimously carried (Councilmember DeCosta was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an affirmative for the motion). COUNCIL MEETING 33 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. C 2024-146 Communication (07/04/2024) from Elliott K. Ke, Assistant Chief of Police, Police Operations Bureau, requesting Council approval to accept funding from the Enhanced 911 (E-911) Board, in the amount of$933,070.00, for annual recurring and non-recurring expenditures to operate 911 services as part of the Kaua`i Police Department's (KPD's) Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and the Alternate Dispatch Center (ADC). Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2024-146, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Councilmember Cowden: I have a question. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. ELLIOTT K. KE, Assistant Chief of Police, Police Operations: Good afternoon, Council Chair and Councilmembers. (Councilmember DeCosta was noted as present.) Councilmember Cowden: Hello. Thank you for always doing an excellent job. Nine hundred thirty-three thousand dollars ($933,000) is a good amount of money to be receiving, so I am thankful that you make that effort.Are there any improvements or differences? Is this expanding the services that you already provide or is this continuing to fund what you already provide? Mr. Ke: Elliott Ke for the record, KPD. That is a good question. These funds will primarily be used for maintaining the current services that we provide, including our technologies and our 911 VIPER and Intrado emergency warning systems. Councilmember Cowden: Is this a payroll for the dispatch? Mr. Ke: It is not. These funds cannot be used for funding positions, overtime, or those types of expenses. Councilmember Cowden: When it says, "Alternate Dispatch Center," where is the County's Alternate Dispatch Center? Mr. Ke: Our backup dispatch center is located at the Pi`ikoi building. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Thank you. Those are my questions. COUNCIL MEETING 34 JULY 31, 2024 Mr. Ke: You are welcome. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Are there any more questions? If not, thank you. Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any further discussion? The motion to approve C 2024-146 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. C 2024-147 Communication (07/07/2024) from the Deputy Director of Planning, requesting Council approval to accept and expend additional funds from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Hawai`i State Department of Transportation (HDOT) in the amount of $6,650.00, for a total project budget of $551,098.00, to establish a County Safe Routes to School Program and an Administrator. The initial specified amount approved during the March 13, 2024 Council Meeting was $544,448.00. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2024-147, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Councilmember Cowden: I have a question, but they are not here, right? Councilmember Kagawa: The Planning Department is here. Council Chair Rapozo: This is just to increase the original request by six thousand dollars ($6,000). Councilmember Cowden: By six thousand dollars ($6,000)? Council Chair Rapozo: We already approved... Councilmember Cowden: Okay, there it is. I have no questions. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to approve C 2024-147 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. COUNCIL MEETING 35 JULY 31, 2024 C 2024-148 Communication (07/09/2024) from Council Chair Rapozo, transmitting for Council consideration, A Bill For An Ordinance Amending Chapter 5A, Kaua`i County Code 1987, As Amended, Relating To Property Tax, allowing lessees of a state-owned property used for residential purposes to qualify for a beneficial tax rate and the assessment cap. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2024-148 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Chair Rapozo: This is just the Communication; the Bill will come up later. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? We will take the testimony now. If not, is there any further discussion? Seeing none. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to receive C 2024-148 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. C 2024-149 Communication (07/16/2024) from Elliott K. Ke, Assistant Chief of Police, Police Operations Bureau, requesting Council approval to receive and expend Fiscal Year 2023 STOP Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) formula grant, in the amount of $31,000.00, and to indemnify the State of Hawai`i, Department of the Attorney General, project award No. 15JOVW-23-GG-00569-STOP, to continue to provide program support for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) program related to training and equipment needs, for the anticipated period of June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve C 2024-149, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. Council Chair Rapozo: Do you have questions? Does anyone have questions? Councilmember Cowden: I do not have any questions. I was just going to appreciate that it is continuing, and thank you very much, Lieutenant Morita. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Is there any other discussion? Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none. Is there any further discussion? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to approve C 2024-149 was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. COUNCIL MEETING 36 JULY 31, 2024 C 2024-150 Communication (07/17/2024) from the County Engineer, transmitting for Council consideration, A Bill For An Ordinance Amending Chapter 12, Kaua`i County Code 1987, As Amended, Relating To The Building Code. Councilmember Carvalho moved to receive C 2024-150 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Kuali`i. Council Chair Rapozo: Again, this is the Communication. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? We will take your testimony up front. Seeing none, is there any discussion on the Communication? Seeing none. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to receive C 2024-150 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. C 2024-151 Communication (07/17/2024) from the Director of Finance, transmitting for Council consideration, A Bill For An Ordinance Authorizing The Issuance Of Tax-Exempt General Obligation Bonds To Refund The Outstanding Taxable General Obligation Bonds, Series 2010A Of The County Of Kaua`i. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2024-151 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Chair Rapozo: Again, this is the Communication, the Bill will come up later. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none, is there any further discussion on the Communication? Seeing none. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to receive C 2024-151 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. C 2024-152 Communication (07/19/2024) from Council Chair Rapozo and Councilmember Kagawa, transmitting for Council consideration, A Bill For An Ordinance Amending Chapter 5A, Kaua`i County Code 1987, As Amended, Relating To Real Property Tax, and A Bill For An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. B-2024-896, As Amended, Relating To The Operating Budget Of The County Of Kaua`i, State Of Hawai`i, For The Fiscal Year July 1, 2024 Through June 30, 2025, By Revising The Amounts Estimated In The General Fund. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive C 2024-152 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. COUNCIL MEETING 37 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: This is just the Communication, but I will let you know that I will be asking for a motion to receive this Bill when it comes up. The Department of Finance is here. If they have any objections, they can come up, but I did have meetings with the Department of Finance and the Tax Manager. The bottom line is, logistically, it will be very difficult to implement this year, so I am asking that we receive it at this point, when we get to the Bill, and redo it and resubmit it in the next several months. You were a co-introducer, Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I concur. Thank you, Chair, for your explanation. They are having difficulty hiring. They are short staffed to even do their current job right now. The Department of Human Resources (HR) is having difficulty helping the tax office to get their positions filled. To give them more tasks when they are having difficulty doing their current job is us asking for trouble, so we need to make sure that HR will work with this department to find unique ways of trying to fill the vacancies, otherwise even the current jobs will be in trouble. Thank you, Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: Since they are in the room, I have put out word, too, and I think we need to push even harder with our State delegation to change how the Bureau of Conveyances handles this, because I think if the Bureau of Conveyances can handle it, it would be less of a problem for the County's real property tax, and when this really needs to be able to change the usage of the land and the tax thing is when it is sold, because when something goes from a transient vacation rental (TVR) into ownership, especially to an owner-occupant home, that is when we need it changed, so that they can get the mortgage. It seems like the State has constrained the hands of the Department of Finance that exhausts our staff and our residents, so when we are working on it in the next few months, I would really like to work it at a State level, too. If the Department of Finance can, at least help me understand in a separate meeting, where they see a pathway, because that is where I see the problem really is and it is crazy. It is crazy that we do not have an ability to change the tax class when a property is sold. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Is there any other discussion? Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify?Again, this is the Communication. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to receive C 2024-152 for the record was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. COUNCIL MEETING 38 JULY 31, 2024 CLAIMS: C 2024-154 Communication (07/03/2024) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Gregory T. Dominique, for personal property, property damage, and loss of revenue pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2024-155 Communication (07/08/2024) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Michal Nakashima, for damage to her vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kaua`i. C 2024-156 Communication (07/15/2024) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Petrina S. Blakely, for vehicle damage, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai. C 2024-157 Communication (07/15/2024) from the County Clerk, transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kauai by Yetunde A. Ogunsanya-Thompson, for vehicle damage, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to refer C 2024-154, C 2024-155, C 2024-156, and C 2024-157 to the Office of the County Attorney for disposition and/o report back to the Council, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Seeing none. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to refer C 2024-154, C 2024-155, C 2024-156, and C 2024-157 to the Office of the County Attorney for disposition and/or report back to the Council was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. COMMITTEE REPORTS: COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: A report (No. CR-COW 2024-17) submitted by the Committee of the Whole, recommending that the following be Approved on second and final reading: "Bill No. 2923 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. B-2024-896 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2024 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2025, BY REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND," COUNCIL MEETING 39 JULY 31, 2024 A report (No. CR-COW 2024-18) submitted by the Committee of the Whole, recommending that the following be Approved on second and final reading: "Bill No. 2924 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. B-2024-897 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE CAPITAL BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAI`I, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2024 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2025, BY REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND—CIP," Councilmember Kuali`i moved for approval of the reports, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Seeing none. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion for approval of the reports was then put, and unanimously carried. Council Chair Rapozo: The motion is carried. Next item, please. BILLS FOR FIRST READING: Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2925) —A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 5A, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY TAX (Residential Leases of State-Owned Property) Councilmember Kuali`i moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2925) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for August 28, 2024, and that it thereafter be referred to the Committee of the Whole, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. Council Chair Rapozo: As the introducer, let me say this. Our Owner-Occupant tax class does not allow month-to-month leases. That is just the law. That is how we set it up. Unfortunately, for our local residents, and there are just a few who are long-term lessees of State-owned property, the DLNR property, they are not able to benefit from the homeowner exemption simply because of the way our statue is written. This just allows the owner-occupants of State-owned property who are owner-occupants who are on month-to-month leases to be able to quality for owner-occupancy. Councilmember Cowden: I have a question. Council Chair Rapozo: Go ahead. COUNCIL MEETING 40 JULY 31, 2024 Councilmember Cowden: I do not know how you can be an owner-occupant if you do not own the land. Is that the DHHL? I thought we do not tax them. Is this because they are on long-term, low-income leases? Council Chair Rapozo: Yes, but they are owners of the lease which includes the land and the property. This is not like Hawaiian Homes. Councilmember Cowden: Is this like at Koke`e? Council Chair Rapozo: No. Councilmember Cowden: Where would it be? Council Chair Rapozo: In Kapa`a. The properties are in Kapa`a. They are pretty much along Old Kapa`a Town, on the inside streets. It is behind Pono Kai Resort, in that area. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Do they own their house? Council Chair Rapozo: No. They are leasing from the State. Councilmember Cowden: When the County taxes the State properties, are they not taxed almost nothing? Council Chair Rapozo: No. They were getting the owner-occupant rate because they were owner-occupants, but because the County's Code does not allow the owner-occupant exemption for month-to-month leases, we had a County Attorney's opinion that said the County cannot give them the owner-occupant. They are in a unique class because the State does not give leases for more than month-to-month. Councilmember Cowden: I know it has been said a number of times on the floor that they do not want to do something for a small group of people. I am not among them. Are we going to make a change that will benefit a small group of people, and it sounds like it is consistent with what our policies would be otherwise? Council Chair Rapozo: That is correct. It is not about helping a small group of people. It is that these people are owner-occupants, they have been in their properties for several decades, and they have been in that class. It was just a recent County Attorney's opinion that took them out of the owner-occupant because of the language in the statute. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: It is not as though we are giving a new benefit to them. We are restoring the benefit that was there. Councilmember Cowden: What was the norm. COUNCIL MEETING 41 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: The increase in taxes was tremendous because it bumped them out of the owner-occupant. Councilmember Cowden: This is going to restore it back to the...go back to the rate that they were? I mean, the assessment value. Council Chair Rapozo: This will put them back in the owner-occupant, so they will be assessed, it will be subject to the cap and the lower tax rate. Councilmember Cowden: But if they jumped in their assessment, are they going to go back to where they were? Council Chair Rapozo: This has a three-year retroactive clause in it, so it will go back three (3) years. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I am in total support of the idea to...because of language, to take away this large tax burden that they have now because of a technicality. It is the same thing as those young, first-time homebuyers who have a piece of land in a Residential area and are getting "whacked on the taxes" until they build a house and live in it. How is that fair when people live in their houses that have the cheapest rate there is, but is still sort of expensive in today's world, but if you have a piece of land, it is your first-time building a home, and you are getting taxed double or triple? I think something needs to be done. We keep saying it is because we do not want the Zuckerberg's or whomever to get these tax rates, but it does not mean you make people who cannot afford it or are trying to build their first house to remain living on Kaua`i rather than move to the Mainland, and we are going to tax them double or triple of the residents who have people living in it and burdening the area? I am just saying that this makes sense because it gets them to pay what taxes they should pay. It is not a tax above what they should pay. Councilmember Cowden: When you are talking about vacant Residential land, is that a different bill that you are speaking of, even though that would be a good thing? Councilmember Kagawa: I am just talking about the same inequalities that apply, because we are saying it is because we do not want the large landowners to get away. No. It is wrong, and we should find a way to help our young local residents, not hurt them...not affordable housing residents. Councilmember Cowden: Or any age? Councilmember Kagawa: Any age. Local residents. Council Chair Rapozo: I think the solution to this is just having the State do long-term leases. I do not know why it is this month-to-month nonsense. Just think about the paperwork and manpower to do month-to-month renewals. What the heck? Come on, State. I am trying to get in someone's ear up there, but it is crazy. They are doing month-to-month for people who have been living there for thirty (30) COUNCIL MEETING 42 JULY 31, 2024 years. For thirty (30) years, it has been the same people. It is grandma, mom, and now it is me, and all of a sudden you are telling me I am not an owner-occupant because the State is saying I am on a month-to-month lease. The solution is to get the State to extend the lease. The bandage is this, so we need to try to work cooperatively with our State and get them to extend the lease. To me, that is the way we do it. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? If not, is there any further discussion? There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2925) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for August 28, 2024, and that it thereafter be referred to the Committee of the Whole was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR PASSAGE: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— O. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Next item, please. Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2926) —A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 12, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE BUILDING CODE Councilmember Kuali`i moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2926) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for August 28, 2024, and that it thereafter be referred to the Public Works &Veterans Services Committee, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Chair Rapozo: Yes, could I have someone come up to give us an overview? There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Council Chair Rapozo: I do not want any presentations today. I just want the overview, so the public can understand this Building Code, what we are trying to accomplish with it, and have the discussion and work done in the committee meeting. TROY K. TANIGAWA, County Engineer: Troy Tanigawa, for the record. This draft Bill essentially does two (2) things. The first is, that it adopts a set of International Building Code, the 2018 version. This brings the code, the County's adoptions formally of this code, to match what the State has adopted, and it has been COUNCIL MEETING 43 JULY 31, 2024 in effect since its mandatory adoption per the HRS. The second thing that this Bill does is that it removes the administrative provisions from sort of being combined in old fashion as it is now in the current code into separate article, so essentially, this helps clarify things for this administrative provisions that separates it from the rest of the code that could be subject to future adoptions, but it gives its own section, so that it survives other versions of the code that changed and eventually, get adopted by the County. It will only change when the Administration decides to submit a bill to revise the Administrative provision. For example, permit fees and other such things. Another thing that this Bill does is, it adopts local amendments and aligns and is consistent with what is being enforced Council Chair Rapozo: Are there any questions? Councilmember Cowden. Councilmember Cowden: This was a question that came from a well-informed person in an email. Is there currently an existing appeal board on this building permit process or building code? If so, will it continue with this shift? Mr. Tanigawa: We are in the process of reviving the appeal board. Right now, there is not an appeal board. I believe that there has not been an appeal board since 2014 or 2016. Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember DeCosta. Councilmember DeCosta: Thank you for the tremendous work on this Bill. When you speak about the State ordinance that is going to be in compliance, do we have a section of provisions specifically for Kaua`i? I want to make sure those are in this Bill. Mr. Tanigawa: Yes. Councilmember DeCosta: Thank you for that, Mr. Tanigawa. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you, Troy, Boyd and Leo, for joining me in a meeting and briefing me on this Bill. My past years as Chair of Public Works, I supported and opposed many of the ideas coming out of the Building Division over the years. Not to say that I have agreed with some of the changes, but sometimes, it comes down to what we hear from the local contractors and residents who know the code and impact. One of the questions I received is that there is concern about passage of this new Building Code Bill that will affect the cost of building to residential homeowners. Has that question been determined and by how much do we project the adoption of this to affect the building cost of a typical residential home? Mr. Tanigawa: I do not know of any provision that has been raised in particular or a specific thing. This code that we are proposing for adoption COUNCIL MEETING 44 JULY 31, 2024 is basically what is being enforced now. What is in place now is what the State Building Code Council adopted. The only thing that is not there are the specific local amendments, Kaua`i amendments. This Bill includes those Kaua`i amendments that I think best aligns the code to what Kaua`i needs and what residents pay for. There are some provisions in here that make certain code requirements that are in place now, optional. That actually reduces construction costs for those that feel they need certain things that other homes typically do need for energy conservation and things like that. Councilmember Kagawa: For those concerned that will have to deal with a lot of those changes, like the Contractors Association of Kaua`i, they are going through these pages with a fine-tooth comb. Can you please ask Leo to work with them as we go through and answer some of those questions as we move forward? Mr. Tanigawa: Yes. Councilmember Kagawa: It is better for us when it hits public hearing or a committee meeting and these types of questions are being answered rather than the Council being told that it is going to affect costs in the end and when it hits committee or second reading, it is difficult to support when we have people that we trust out in the community, in the industry, telling us to be careful because it is going to increase the cost of homes. We already know how outrageous those costs are. Mr. Tanigawa: Will do. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Are there any other questions for Mr. Tanigawa. If not, thank you. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none, calling the meeting back to order. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: I will just say that the Public Hearing is set for one (1) month from today, August 28, 2024 and the committee meeting following that will have the discussion, so I would encourage all the members, and you mentioned the contractors, speak to the people, and try to get as much information as we can, so we can have the discussion with the Administration, DPW, and the Building Division before we get to the committee. If there are any revisions that we need to make, I know there are some proposals that are coming across for this draft, that obviously I will support because if it does significantly reduce the cost for our local builders, but there may be other things out there that they are aware of and we are not, so try to get as much as you can from stakeholders. Councilmember DeCosta. Councilmember DeCosta: Thank you, Councilmember Kagawa, for being cognitive of that. I have been in contact with numerous small contractors and homeowners are concerned about the energy efficient cost that we are moving toward, going green, so I have some Kaua`i provisions and language that we will be inserting COUNCIL MEETING 45 JULY 31, 2024 and discussing, and it will significantly reduce the cost of how of these will be optional. I want to ensure the Council that when we have the committee meeting, that discussion will take place. Council Chair Rapozo: It will reflect. Councilmember DeCosta: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: I think that is where the concerns are coming from. I think having Leo contact some that have concerns and I think they have been talking, but even after those conversations, some of them are still concerned. We are still receiving the calls to be very careful with this Bill. Again, I just want to reiterate that I tend to lean on leaving things the same if there are concerns being brought up. I would not vote for increasing cost or regulations if I can prevent it. Councilmember Cowden: My comment might require Mr. Tanigawa to give an answer. First of all, thank you to the Building Division and DPW for spending an hour on the phone with me, and meeting with me, and helping me to understand because this is complicated. My understanding was that this was a State action that is causing us to have to move it into the County Code. Is that correct? Council Chair Rapozo: Well, we have to adopt the code. Councilmember Cowden: Then it is not like it is a choice. Council Chair Rapozo: The local amendments are the opportunity for us to implement local changes...I will suspend the rules. Go ahead. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Mr. Tanigawa: Correct, Council Chair Rapozo. The statute requires that the County formally adopt the code two (2) years after the State Building Code Council adopts a code. That is a given and I believe that there is another section that requires the State to enforce certain building codes after a certain period. The agency responsible for promulgating the codes, publishes them. Either way, the State of Hawai`i would have to enforce updated versions of the building code, from what I understand. Councilmember Cowden: For my understanding, there is a building code change that I would like to see happen, but right now is not the time for me to create that. It is better to let this come through and then when special things happen, they should happen separately. We discussed that. Mr. Tanigawa: Yes. Councilmember Cowden: Then it would not even be in this Bill, or could it? COUNCIL MEETING 46 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: I think if we are going to make changes to this Building Code, would this not be the time? I am asking, I do not know. I heard you say that it is okay, but it is not like we could pass this Building Code and then three (3) months from now, change it. My recommendation is to work on any potential amendments at the committee level, that we do not rush things, get all the concerns in, and then act on the concerns through the amendments. If it passes, it passes, but I do not suggest that we pass this Bill and come back later with make amendments. This is a building code. It is a little different because are mandated to adopt the State code. This is not a County-made bill, like the leasehold bill. We created that amendment to the County Code. Basically, we are mandated to adopt the State code that happens every...how often does that happen? Mr. Tanigawa: It all depends on when the Building Code Council reviews it and adopts, but it goes even further to the Federal, where the International Building Code Council's publishing of the codes. I believe, after a certain time, that the State needs to adopt that. Council Chair Rapozo: If there is anything in this Building Code that needs to be amended or added, now would be the time to do it. If something pops up afterwards, then we do what we need to do. Councilmember Cowden: Okay, thank you. Mr. Tanigawa: We are prepared to do the work, before or at the committee meeting. Council Chair Rapozo: I would suggest that if anyone has ideas, please work with Leo and Mr. Tanigawa because this is it. We want to make sure that they understand and work with them to come up with these amendments. I am not saying to get their acceptance but work with them to ensure that it is not covered in one of those sections in those several hundred pages. Mr. Tanigawa: Another thing to point out is that the Governor's proclamation regarding the affected Building Code Council caused the Code Council to not adopt further code amendments. When the Code Council reviews the International Code, they adopt State amendments that are consistent with what Hawai`i needs. Without our County adoption, we do not have the amendments that we need to be able to do construction that the local conditions require. It is important for us to get through this process in a fairly timely basis so that we have our local amendments that we can use and enforce legally. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Are there any other questions for Mr. Tanigawa? If not, thank you. Mr. Hart Mr. Hart: For the record, Bruce Hart. I understood. I looked at it. It is two hundred eighty-seven (287) pages. It is a book, and my understanding is that the International Building Code is based in America. It is a group of individuals that recommend a certain building code and there is the option of each local community or county to amend to meet their needs. Like Councilmember COUNCIL MEETING 47 JULY 31, 2024 Kagawa stated, this is Hawaii, so not all of the International Building Codes apply to a tropical climate. It is my understanding that this is the time to have all the Councilmembers understand this code because, and this is a question that I have maybe for Mr. Tanigawa, if we do not amend certain parts of the International Building Code, do we have to comply with those by default? Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else in the audience wishing to testify? Seeing none, I will call the meeting back to order. There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any further discussion? Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Again, I do not think that it is the DPW, Engineering and Building Superintendent's responsibility to educate us on the building code because we need to stop thinking that we can micromanage things. We cannot. The majority of us do not know much about the Building Code. It is their job to work with the contractors, Contractors' Association of Kaua`i, and all these folks that have concerns and are worried. Any time that they see "new," they are worried that they are going to be building houses for more. We can talk about the International Building Code, but the mainland is far different from us. They can build a big, custom-made, three-bedroom house for one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000). Here, the same house would cost four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000). It is totally different. When folks on the mainland say that they adopted these changes, they can adopt stronger, more energy efficient, cooler houses, but the cost of them implementing those changes is minute compared to how these changes will affect someone building a house in Hawai`i. When contractors say that they are worried about building houses and charging clients more, they are worried about their own families who need to build, too. These are experts who build houses daily in Pikake and anywhere. We need to let the Building Division speak to the local contractors. Karen from the Contractors' Association of Kaua`i can give them names of folks who know the code and effect of changes to settle their minds, so that our job becomes easier. It is not for us to understand the Building Code, we do not build houses. We work here. Thank you, Chair. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Is there anything else? Councilmember Carvalho. Councilmember Carvalho: For Karen folks, it is important. I want to re-enforce that communication happens because we can talk about it over and over, but you folks need to make the connection and ensure that the contractors have a say and have their mana`o on the table. I have gotten numerous calls; I am sure all of us have. That is an important part, and we will find out. We will come back, and make sure that it happens. Council Chair Rapozo: They did meet. I can tell you that the Administration has met. In fact, I was supposed to be at that meeting, but I could not COUNCIL MEETING 48 JULY 31, 2024 make it because I had another engagement, but they did meet yesterday with the Contractors'Association of Kaua`i, Leo, Mr. Tanigawa and everyone, but that was my point. We need to find out from the stakeholders because I agree with you one hundred percent (100%), Councilmember Kagawa. If we do not need it and it raises the cost of construction of a house, let us take it out. It is that simple. The prices when the International Building Code folks put their heads together and came up with these things, they did not have be worried about that cost because it is doable up there. It is not here. The motion for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2926) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for August 28, 2024, and that it thereafter be referred to the Public Works & Veterans Services Committee was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR PASSAGE: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— O. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please. Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2927) — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION REFUNDING BONDS OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI FOR THE PURPOSE OF REFUNDING CERTAIN OUTSTANDING GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS; FIXING OR AUTHORIZING THE FIXING OF THE FORM, DENOMINATIONS,AND CERTAIN OTHER DETAILS OF SUCH REFUNDING BONDS AND PROVIDING FOR THE SALE OF SUCH BONDS TO THE PUBLIC; PROVIDING FOR THE RETIREMENT OF THE BONDS TO BE REFUNDED; AND AUTHORIZING THE TAKING OF OTHER ACTIONS RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF THE REFUNDING BONDS AND THE RETIREMENT OF THE BONDS TO BE REFUNDED Councilmember Kuali`i moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2927) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for August 28, 2024, and that it thereafter be referred to the Committee of the Whole, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Chair Rapozo: Can someone come up and give us a briefing? It is a large title for the public. Broad overview, this is basically a refinance. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Ms. Lizama: Good afternoon. Michelle Lizama, Director of Finance. General overview of this Bill authorizes the Director of Finance and the Department of Finance to refinance a current Bond. We are not going out for a new COUNCIL MEETING 49 JULY 31, 2024 bond; we are just refinancing. This Bill allows us to get ready, so we are set and ready to go when the market is. Council Chair Rapozo: Saving money? Ms. Lizama: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: Are we getting new money? Ms. Lizama: No. Council Chair Rapozo: Is this a benefit to the taxpayer? Ms. Lizama: Sure, we are saving money, yes. Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Cowden, did you have a question? Councilmember Cowden: No, I appreciated the conversation. We spoke yesterday, it was a very excellent conversation. I would like to shout out our relatively new Treasurer. A lot of excellent background. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. You met with all the Councilmembers individually. I think that helped a lot. The public does not have that benefit, so I want to...honestly, if you read this, you do not understand it. I just wanted the people to understand what this was before we moved it to public hearing. Are there any other questions for the Department of Finance? If not, thank you. Seeing none, calling the meeting back to order. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2927) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for August 28, 2024, and that it thereafter be referred to the Committee of the Whole was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR PASSAGE: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — O. Ms. Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Next item, please. COUNCIL MEETING 50 JULY 31, 2024 Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2928) —A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 5A, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY TAX (RPT Mid-Year Adjustments Tax Credit) Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2928) for the record, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Seeing none, roll call. There being no one preset to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2928) for the record was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR RECEIPT: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST RECEIPT: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— O. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2929) —A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. B-2024-896, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2024 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2025, BY REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE GENERAL FUND Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2929) for the record, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Councilmember Cowden: Yes. Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Councilmember Cowden: I just want to make sure that I really understand what this is. I am just pulling it in front of me, again, for a second. Council Chair Rapozo: This is the companion Bill to the Proposed Draft Bill that we just received. Councilmember Cowden: Okay. Council Chair Rapozo: This is the funding Bill and the positions Bill. COUNCIL MEETING 51 JULY 31, 2024 Councilmember Cowden: Alright. Council Chair Rapozo: Go ahead. Councilmember Kagawa: Again, these were great intentions, but I guess the tax office will let us know when they are ready, and we can entertain it at that time, but right now, they are not ready, right? Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. Maybe with the new Tax Manager...I should bring him up here, but anyway. Should I bring him up here? There being no objections, the rules were suspended. Council Chair Rapozo: Scott Teruya is the new Tax Manager. We had some discussions, and he was very open and honest about the capabilities. There are some problems with just hiring and finding people to even apply. I do not want to get into that whole discussion, but that is something that we, as a Council, need to look into as far as HR is concerned, because we need to start giving the Departments the ability to hire. Scott did share with me that he is willing to take the next year and look at the data. To collect and analyze the data of what the impacts would be. Scott, maybe this is a good time for you to introduce yourself. SCOTT TERUYA, County Real Property Tax Manager: Good afternoon, Chair Rapozo, Vice Chair Kuali`i. Scott Teruya, Real Property Tax Manager, six (6) weeks on the job. The first thing that I did when I came in is I met with the entire staff and the individual sections just to go over the things that they were doing, who is doing what, etcetera. Just because you have a position that I believe is doing something, every county does it a little different. I had an opportunity to talk with the staff, I identified who does what, where they are at, what they are behind on, etcetera. I also read the IAAO audit that was provided to the County, I believe two (2)years ago or so. I looked at that. There are significant flaws within the Division that we are trying to work on regarding reorganization of positions to where they need to be, revised position descriptions (PDs)...some PDs went back to '80s. We no longer use typewriters, etcetera, so just updating some of the things that we have and trying to"future-proof' the Division in making moves that will be more proactive than reactive. One of the things is to address is vacancies, which is some of the problems, but there are also not enough personnel to begin with. Even though we had filled...even this Bill, it would be difficult for the staff to process. A midyear tax bill is manual. This is not automated by the system. This is a really big manual effort on the Collections Division side and the clerical side, so there are two (2) different sections. Even if we had filled the two (2) vacancies—one (1) in each section—they are still behind, so by creating this midyear, when we normally do not process applications, just cripples it, because come May and June, you are actually doing all your ownership updates and your rushes, so that you can send out the tax bills to the right people. Even though it seems good on paper, and it is nice for the taxpayer, it is not nice for the staff. That is sort of the situation we are in right now. As Councilmember Kagawa mentioned, it is just difficult to get applicants, to be honest with you. We have two (2) vacancies at the lower level. It is a clerk, and there are no applications. It is not like we are doing anything wrong. We just cannot find anyone COUNCIL MEETING 52 JULY 31, 2024 to fill the position. That is the struggle we are having right now. There are a lot of position descriptions that we are changing. Because we are a smaller county, there are few positions that need to be experts in everything. We are trying to revise the PDs so that this is a little bit more overlap, so that we can process when someone is not in. Those are the things that we are experiencing in the office. Thank you, Chair. Councilmember Cowden: I have a question. What does PD stand for? Mr. Teruya: Position description. My apologies. Councilmember Cowden: Alright. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you, Scott. I appreciate that. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Are there any other questions for Scott? Thank you. Is there any further discussion? Let us do roll call. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2929) for the record was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR RECEIPT: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST RECEIPT: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— O. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please. BILLS FOR SECOND READING: Bill No. 2923 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. B-2024-896 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2024 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2025, BY REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND Councilmember Kuali`i moved for adoption of Bill No. 2923 on second and final reading, and that it be transmitted to the Mayor for his approval, seconded by Councilmember Carvalho. COUNCIL MEETING 53 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Go ahead. Councilmember Cowden: I am just going to say I am really excited about this park in Hanapepe. I think it is a really good move, and I am happy to be honoring the start of the unions and our history as well as our Filipino community, even though it is not limited to honoring the Filipino community. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Councilmember Kagawa. Councilmember Kagawa: Thank you. When I talk to some of the folks on the Westside, especially those life-long Hanapepe and `Ele`ele residents, I make it a point now...that this thing is coming true. A lot of them ask, "What?" They did not even know, so I explained to them what the parcels are, especially the old ones..."Do you remember where Kuni's was? On the way going up, leading up to the Heights." They are all supportive and happy. Some of them do not even know what it is for. I say it is "the Filipino massacre thing." The older folks know a little bit, but it is really positive. It is more positive than I had even thought. There is one hundred percent (100%) support. I think even Penny Holmes is sending out a testimony today. She has been a wise voice for us over the years. To have her say that she is so glad that we are acquiring the parcels and memorializing what happened for history and cultural purposes and keeping it open for others to enjoy and see the history there. I appreciate the Planning Department for doing that and purchasing a piece of the Westside. I know there have been acquisitions in the past, North Shore, Po`ipu, so I am just happy for the Westside community. Thank you to the Planning Department for their efforts. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Would anyone else like to share? Councilmember Kuali`i. Councilmember Kuali`i: Yes, this is a big deal. Big mahalo nui loa to the Planning Department, Open Space Commission, even to the voters in the first place for establishing the fund that puts Public Access Open Space Natural Resources Preservation Fund that puts the moneys aside, so we can do important things like this. We will have a small part in the middle of Hanapepe town that will have a memorial to the Hanapepe Massacre, which was a big part of the labor movement here on Kaua`i, in the state of Hawai`i, and actually in our county. I am very happy and proud to support this. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any further discussion? Seeing none, the motion is to approve. Roll call. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to approve Bill No. 2923 on second and final reading, and that it be transmittal to the Mayor for his approval was then put, and carried by the following vote: COUNCIL MEETING 54 JULY 31, 2024 FOR ADOPTION: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL — 7, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— O. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. We have one (1) more bill. Bill No. 2924 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. B-2024-897 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE CAPITAL BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2024 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2025, BY REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND—CIP Councilmember Kuali`i moved for adoption of Bill No. 2924 on second and final reading, and that it be transmitted to the Mayor for his approval, seconded by Councilmember DeCosta. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Seeing none, the motion is to approve. Roll call. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to approve Bill No. 2924 on second and final reading, and that it be transmittal to the Mayor for his approval was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — O. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. Council Chair Rapozo: That is the last item on the agenda. We have one (1) more Executive Session item. Before we start that meeting, I read a statement about Councilmember Bulosan and that he was experiencing a disability. After I thought about it, I said, "Right now, social media is probably going crazy and thinking that something has happened to Councilmember Bulosan," so I asked him if he wanted to take a moment of personal privilege to share with the public what is going on to just calm the rumors. With that, Councilmember Bulosan. Councilmember Bulosan: Thank you, Council Chair. I appreciate the opportunity to speak. I acknowledge Chair and my thanks to the staff for allowing me to phone in. Just to share a brief description of what happened and what I am experiencing that is a disability...approximately two (2) weeks ago, I had emergency COUNCIL MEETING 55 JULY 31, 2024 major back surgery to remove a benign tumor on my spine that was pressing on my spinal cord that was sort of life-threatening at that moment, but with the successful surgery and the full recovery ahead of me, I am happy to report that I am feeling much better, and with the help of all of you, God, and everything that has proven to be positive in my life, I am on the mend, but with the process of healing, it takes time. Certain functions have to come back, and part of that is my ability to stand, lie down, and do certain things that normally we will do at our meetings here, so being able to appear remotely in just two (2) weeks from a surgery, it feels really great to be back with you folks, and you folks with me, so thank you so much for allowing me to be back and forth with you folks. Councilmember Cowden: We are glad that you are fine and that it is benign. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you, sir. Get well. Councilmember Carvalho: Take care. Council Chair Rapozo: With that, can you read us into the last Executive Session item, please? ES-1131 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. The briefing and consultation involves 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 Kagawa moved to convene in Executive Session for ES-1131, seconded by Councilmember Cowden. Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony? Seeing none, roll call. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting proceeded as follows: The motion to convene in Executive Session for ES-1131 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION: Bulosan, Carvalho, Cowden, DeCosta, Kagawa, Kuali`i, Rapozo TOTAL— 7, AGAINST EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0, RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— O. Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes. COUNCIL MEETING 56 JULY 31, 2024 Council Chair Rapozo: With that, we will need to take a break for lunch for our staff, so let us take a lunch break. We will come back to do the Executive Session. I am not sure how long that will take. If it is the claims and you know how long that goes, so let us report back to the Executive Session Chambers at 1:45 p.m. There being no objections, the meeting recessed at 1:00 p.m. to convene in Executive Session. The meeting reconvened at 2:25 p.m., and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: This meeting is called back to order. Mr. Bracken. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. MATTHEW M. BRACKEN, County Attorney: Two (2) Executive Sessions were held. ES-1131 had to do with pending claims. When claims are approved, they are put on the Open Session agenda, so nothing needs to be disclosed at this time. ES-1132 was a briefing from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding foreign influence operations and the impact on national security, so nothing needs to be disclosed with that one either. There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you, sir. With that, this meeting is adjourned. ADJOURNMENT. There being no further business, the Council Meeting adjourned at 2:26 p.m. 1 submitted, JADE K.` UNTAIN-TANIGAWA County Clerk :slr