Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-Being – June 2, 2026
Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-Being – June 2, 2026
The Hawaii County Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-Being held its ninth session on June 2, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in the Hawaii County Building. The committee, chaired by Fresh Wanishi, considered Bill 157, which would establish a county disaster recovery program. Four members of the public testified in support, and the committee adopted an amendment before voting to recommend passage of the bill to the full council. The meeting adjourned at 3:18 p.m.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Deb Smith (Board President, Vacation Land Hawaii Community Association) testified in support of Bill 157, describing the ongoing struggles of her community since the 2018 lava eruption. She stated that requests for help were pushed aside, restoration plans kept changing, and delays continued due to administration changes and unresponsive departments. She supported a dedicated recovery team to avoid such missteps.
- Eileen O'Hara (former council member) testified in support of Bill 157, noting that Hawaii faces multiple disasters and that the 2018 response was poorly coordinated. She described being prohibited from attending civil defense briefings and highlighted communication failures. She urged an amendment requiring the recovery officer to coordinate with the elected official(s) in the affected district(s).
- Amadale Markov testified in support of Bill 157, stating that the need for a recovery officer is clear given the frequency of disasters on the Big Island.
- Shelley Huty (Hot Yo Hana) testified in support of Bill 157 and suggested additional areas for the recovery officer to address, including a ban on herbicides, compliance with Department of Defense UXO risks, universal tax assessment of Pacalos, aquifer exclusion rules, and an emergency evacuation plan for the Pune Geothermal Venture (PGV). She cited a May 2026 report confirming PGV is not a closed-loop system and that banned chemicals like sulfur hexafluoride are still used.
Discussion Items
- Bill 157 (Disaster Recovery Program) – Introduced by Councilmember Kerkowitz, the bill amends Chapter 7 of the Hawaii County Code to establish a county disaster recovery program. It would create a recovery officer appointed by the mayor responsible for recovery planning, interagency coordination, community engagement, funding management, and developing recovery and resilience plans.
- Amendment (Communication 888.2) – Councilmember Kerkowitz moved to amend Bill 157. The amendment: (1) added a disaster recovery definition aligned with FEMA; (2) shifted the function to the Office of the Mayor for executive-level coordination; (3) clarified that the recovery officer must work with council member(s) of the affected area; and (4) clarified that departments provide immediate support until a recovery team is established, then transition to support as needed. Councilmember Kimball expressed appreciation for the amendments, especially the inclusion of affected council members. The amendment was approved by a vote of 8 ayes, with one absent (Mr. Connelly Kleinfelder).
Key Outcomes
- Amendment Approved: The committee voted 8 ayes (0 opposed, 1 absent) to adopt Communication 888.2, amending Bill 157.
- Main Motion Passed: The committee voted 8 ayes (0 opposed, 1 absent) to recommend passage of Bill 157 on first reading to the full council.
- The meeting adjourned at 3:18 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Today is June 2nd is 3 p.m. We're at the Hawaii County Building. This is a policy committee on health safety and well-being. This is the ninth session. Mr. Clerk. Oh, sorry, if it's introducing the customer to my left, Ms. Kimball, Ms. Galimba, Ms. Viegas, Ms. Cheryl Inaba, to my right, Ms. Kagiwara, Mr. Houston, and Ms. Kirkowitz, and I'm Chair Fresh Wanishi. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Just want to note that we do. Oh, sorry, give me just a second. Sorry about that. I just wanted to note that we do have some testifiers at your remote site, specifically Pohoa. Uh we have one testifier here in the HELO chamber as well as via Zoom. What we'll do is we'll start with our Zoom testifier, Deb Smith, to be followed by our Pohoa testifier, and then we can close it out here in Hilo. Deb, if you'd like to provide testimony at this time, you can unmute yourself, introduce yourself, and then you'll have three minutes. Okay. All right. So my name is Deb Smith. I um board president for Vacation Land Hawaii Community Association. And I'm commenting on uh Bill 157. You got my video on. Okay. Um anyway. So I'm in support of Bill 157 for to form a formal disaster recovery program because our community um is still still waiting for recovery since the 2018 lava eruption. So I can attest to the many missteps that have happened over the past eight years. I cannot begin to tell you how many meetings I've attended, trying to get answers and help for our community. And uh the initial months after a disaster are critical for taking proper steps to aid in recovery. For us, our requests were pushed aside and we felt kind of ignored. And it began a continuous round of delay after delay. The the restoration plans kept changing, and that kept causing further delays. There were changes in administrations, which also caused more delays, and then some of the departments just didn't respond like they should. And in my mind, you know, a dedicated recovery team would help alleviate some of these issues. Um councilwoman Kirk Kirk was pushed when she could and helped us as much as possible. But here we are eight years later, still waiting on road access. I would be happy, more than happy to share some of the specifics of what we endured, have endured, but I won't take up the time here. Um I appreciate you allowing me to testify. And um I like I say, I do support that the dedicated recovery team be put in place. Mahallo. Thank you so much for your testimony at this time, Gloria. If you could introduce your Pohoa testifier, please. Thank you, everyone. Good afternoon.
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