Kaua'i County Council Meeting - March 12, 2025
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Kaua'i County Council Meeting - March 12, 2025
The Kaua'i County Council met on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Council Chambers, Historic County Building, Lihu'e. The meeting opened with an invocation, a moment of silence for longtime county employee Ricky Watanabe, and approval of the agenda and minutes. The Council then acted on a consent calendar, several communications, a claim, a committee report, a resolution, four bills on first reading, and one bill on final reading. All roll call votes were 7-0.
Consent Calendar
- Received Communication C 2025-62, transmitting Resolution No. 2025-20 authorizing the filing of the Kaua'i County 2025 Action Plan (Community Development Block Grant) with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Communications
- C 2025-63 (Police) — Approved indemnification provisions in Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments, Inc.'s Terms and Conditions of Sale, allowing continued use of the TruNarc and Thermo Fisher devices for drug identification. Councilmembers noted these tools assist investigations and help protect officers from dangerous drugs, especially amid the fentanyl crisis.
- C 2025-64 (Planning Commission) — Received the Planning Commission's recommendation to approve GPA-2025-01, A-2025-1, ZA-2025-1, and ZA-2025-2, which would rezone 14.999 acres in 'Ele'ele from agriculture to residential R-6, allowing up to 90 dwelling units. Planning Department staff explained the proposal was initiated to support Habitat for Humanity's affordable housing development on land immediately adjacent to the urban district. No public testimony was offered.
- C 2025-65 (Public Works / Solid Waste) — Approved indemnification provisions in an application to transport oversized/overweight vehicles and loads over state highways. Councilmember Cowden expressed strong concerns about road and slope stability on the North Shore, citing ongoing repairs and collapse-prone sections; she questioned whether lighter trucks could be used. Public Works staff stated the state reviews and grants the permits, and Councilmembers noted liability for damage to bridges rests with the county, while the state is responsible for road condition. The motion carried.
- C 2025-66 (Economic Development) — Approved receipt and expenditure of $905,000 in Congressional Directed Spending funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, $50,000 from the Hawai'i State Energy Office, and $25,000 from Ulupono Initiative for design and construction of the Kaua'i Level 3 Electric Vehicle Charging Network Project. The project will install three dual-port level 3 chargers at Bryan J. Baptiste Park, Līhu'e Civic Center, and Knutson Park in Kōloa. Discussion included concerns about high costs (a packet listed equipment, engineering, and design-build costs totaling more than $1.13 million), maintenance of existing chargers, and taxpayer subsidies for EV users. Councilmember Kanashiro noted the new chargers would charge a usage fee. Several councilmembers expressed support as a step toward renewable goals, while Council Chair and Councilmember Cowden raised fairness concerns about EV owners not paying fuel taxes. The motion carried.
- C 2025-67 (Police Commission) — Approved indemnification in the Group Sales Agreement with The Royal Sonesta Kaua'i Resort Lihu'e for the 2025 State of Hawai'i Police Commissioners Conference, scheduled June 5–6, 2025.
- C 2025-68 (Fire) — Approved receipt and expenditure of $529,600 in appropriated State Legislature funds for Ha'ena State Park (Ke'e Beach), including $496,800 for Water Safety Officer positions and $32,800 for equipment (vehicles and lifeguard towers), effective July 1, 2024. Councilmembers expressed support for state-funded lifeguard coverage.
- C 2025-69 (Housing) — Approved acquisition of a residential unit at 3920 Haoa Street #313, Lihu'e, for no more than $221,000 and resale for no more than $221,000, plus approximately $20,000 for unit rehab. An amended memo changed the funding source from CDBG to the Affordable Housing Fund/Housing Community Development Fund. The unit is a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the Kamamalu project; after rehab it will be sold to a qualified buyer from the homebuyer list.
Claim
- C 2025-70 (William Manantan Jr.) — Accepted the vehicle damage claim filed against the County, pursuant to Section 23.06 of the County Charter.
Committee Report
- CR-FED 2025-04 (Bill No. 2941) — Approved the Finance & Economic Development Committee's recommendation to approve Bill No. 2941 (HGEA Temporary Hazard Pay) on second and final reading.
Resolution
- Resolution No. 2025-20 — Approved 7-0 by roll call. The 2025 Action Plan for the Community Development Block Grant program has a total grant of $767,159, plus $100,000 in CDBG program income. The plan funds five projects, including a photovoltaic system at Limaola supportive housing, a group home renovation in Wailua by Mental Health Kokua for homeless adults with serious mental illness, a youth mentorship camp by Kala Foundation, a tankless hot water heater replacement project by Kaua'i Housing Development Corporation, and an alternate public services project. Councilmembers expressed support and noted the limited number of applications (five); Councilmember Cowden offered to direct organizations to housing staff for application assistance.
Bills for First Reading
- Proposed Draft Bill No. 2945 (GPA-2025-01) — Approved on first reading, with public hearing scheduled for April 9, 2025, and referral to the Planning Committee.
- Proposed Draft Bill No. 2946 (A-2025-1) — Approved on first reading, with public hearing scheduled for April 9, 2025, and referral to the Planning Committee.
- Proposed Draft Bill No. 2947 (ZA-2025-1) — Approved as amended (typo correction adding an 'H') on first reading, with public hearing scheduled for April 9, 2025, and referral to the Planning Committee.
- Proposed Draft Bill No. 2948 (ZA-2025-2) — Approved on first reading, with public hearing scheduled for April 9, 2025, and referral to the Planning Committee.
Bill for Second Reading
- Bill No. 2941 (HGEA Temporary Hazard Pay) — Approved 7-0 on second and final reading, amending the FY 2024-2025 operating budget by revising amounts estimated in the General Fund, Highway Fund, G.E. Tax Fund, Solid Waste Fund, Sewer Fund, and Golf Fund.
Key Outcomes
- All agenda items were approved; every recorded roll call vote was 7-0.
- Proposed Draft Bills Nos. 2945–2948 advanced to a public hearing on April 9, 2025.
- Resolution No. 2025-20 was adopted, authorizing the CDBG 2025 Action Plan filing.
- Bill No. 2941 passed final reading.
- No public oral testimony was offered on any agenda item, though opportunities were provided throughout the meeting.
- The meeting was adjourned after all business was completed.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning everyone and welcome to today's council meeting. Today's March 12. Before we get started, as we do on the first council meeting of every month, we have some words of wisdom from our local community. And today we have Pastor Kino Shita. Sir, if you could come up, please. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Brad Kinochita. I'm a pastor at Honor Paper Church at the Nazarene. It's good to be with you all this morning. Just wanted to remind us of some things we probably already know, but you know, it's good to be reminded. In the book of Exodus, there's a story about a man named Moses. And Moses, he finds himself as a leader of the Israelite people. And all day, every day, all Moses does listen to all the people who come to him. And they bring whatever complaints they may have, disputes with their neighbors, and he tries to help them settle all these disputes. And he does this all day, every day. And one day, his father-in-law, this is a man named Jethro, he comes to visit Moses and his daughter. So Jethro shows up, and Moses and him are good friends, and they have a big party that night and they go to sleep and they wake up the next day, and Moses does what he does every day. Except today, Jethro's there. And at the end of it all, Jethro asked him, is this what you do every day? And Moses is like, yeah, what else am I supposed to do? People come and they need help, and so I'm gonna help them. And Jethro tells him, uh, pretty forthright, what you're doing is not good. He said, What you should be doing is find people in your community that you trust. The language he uses is people who are honest, people who uh hate dishonest game, people you can trust. Put them in charge of thousands, of hundreds, of tens. And they can handle all the little disputes and the bigger disputes you can then handle, and this will do two things. One, it'll alleviate the stress on you, and it'll help the people overall. If you read on to the story, right? We know Moses must have respected Jethro because he does what Jethro says, and it doesn't go very perfectly, it doesn't go very smoothly. In fact, very often the people complain. The people argue against Moses. The people decide maybe they could be better leaders. When I think about this story and how Moses must have felt. I have young children. And one day, he's trying to turn on the water hose. And I'm watching him try to do this, and he's struggling. What he's doing is never going to work. So I go over there and I just try to help him. I try to explain to him that what you're doing is not going to work, it's gonna go this way. And he argues with me. He tells me, no, dad, no, this, this, and I get upset because he's five. And uh eventually, sometimes I'll just tell him, fine. Go ahead. And I walk away. And he'll struggle for a while, and eventually he'll give up. But in my better moments, I'll be patient with him. I'll say, son, stop, stop. Just watch. Watch.
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