Aloha, good afternoon.

Welcome to the 15th session of the Policy Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit.

I am your chair and presiding officer for today's committee, James Eustace.

We are in the Hilo chambers.

It is 2 p.m.

in the afternoon.

I am joined by Councilmembers Kimball, Golimba, Viegas, Inaba, Onishi, Kirkowitz, and Kagiwata.

With that, and we're uh absent, we have Councilmember Coniley Kleinfeld there.

Mr.

Clerk, do we have any testimony this afternoon?

Thank you so much, Chair.

Again, noting that we do not have testifiers at your remote sites for this committee.

We do have one testifier here in the Hilo chamber, Shelley Huty.

Shelly, when you're ready to begin, you can hit that green button at the base of the mic, introduce yourself again, and you'll have three minutes.

Hi, aloha.

My name is Shelley Makala Nicole, the third Mahi of the Hayohana.

I'm here to testify.

I just would like to make a few comments under the public works in mass transit.

Um on Bill 162, the ordinance for public customer protections in parking lots and the signage.

Um first of all, I wanted to request if the signage could be in Olelo, Hawaii, the um Hawaiian language, um, you know, along with English and whatnot.

Um, also that there will be signs to say um that it's a no-spray zone because of the effect of herbicides and cancer um on our maintenance crews in general public.

Um also um one of the issues I wanted to bring up was under the mass transit, is that um we're in desperate need of a bus that runs up to the Gilo um hospital on holidays and um Sundays because right now there is no bus and no way for the public to get up to the hospital in an emergency situation other than an ambulance.

So um that is something that I would like to you know just put on the record as something being very important um to the general public.

And under the um mass transit um and parking lots, I just want to give an example of an overlapping situation where at uh Macy's um bus stop there, which is on Hawaiian homelands.

Um the in the year 2020, uh Cedric Dwarted issued a no-spray zone for all Hawaiian homelands.

So none of the vendors are supposed to be spraying herbicides in any which way on any Hawaiian homelands.

Problem is um we have uh contractors through the mall, um, Kuhil Mall, who are using other herbicides.

And when I looked into what they were, there if it's possible worse even than Roundup.

So the issue is to um you know look at an updated compliance on the no spray zone on Hawaiian homelands where it overlaps with our mass transit, because we have people sitting there with towels over their heads trying to breathe, elderly people, you know, kopooing us children running around with the wind blowing, and they're spraying these herbicides that are not even supposed to be on Hawaiian homelands where our county mass translates.

Um so just to summarize, um, just to reiterate about the signage, no spray zones, and especially for the Olelo Hawaii, Hawaiian language.

Mahalo.

With that, Chair, those are all the testifiers you have at this time.

Thank you, Mr.

Arcelli.

Mr.

Klerk, if you could read us in.

Certainly.

Last chance for anybody who'd like to testify in Bill 162.

Please speak up now.

Hearing and seeing none Bill 162 amends chapter 3 of the Hawaii County Code 1983, 2016 edition as amended relating to paid parking facilities.

As a new article to establish signage requirements for paid parking facilities to include a schedule of rates, notice of any additional fees, hours of operation, and information on tolling procedures.

Introduced by council member Viegas.

Um motion to approve Bill 162 and forward to council with a positive recommendation.

We have a motion and a second to afford Bill 162 to council with a favorable recommendation.

Motion made by Councilmember Viegas.

Second, Councilmember Inaba.

Councilmember Viegas, floor is yours.

Thank you.

Um this is a much abbreviated piece of legislation based on um the parameters of county authority.

And I have been assured that this is within our county authority to it essentially this is a pretty short piece of legislation, but it requires that paid parking lots post their rates.

Which I think is a very simple and straightforward and common sense requirement when you drive into a parking lot and you don't know the rates, you can't make a decision.

And right now, with the QR codes and everything being so digital, you have to put in all your information and everything's moving forward, and you don't know the rates until after sometimes.

And we have experienced in Kailua village uh surge pricing and rate gouging and constant changes in prices.

And I think this will hold the paid parking operators more accountable to our community on what the rates are and ideally keep them more reasonable so that people will return to the village and uh continue to support uh the economic vitality of that space.

But I ask for my colleagues' support on this piece of legislation uh moving forward and um this small victory for our community and um and their desire for more equitable uh pricing.

With that I yield.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Any other questions, consideration?

Very good.

Thank you, Councilmember Viegas.