Kaua‘i County Council Meeting - April 23, 2025
Kaua‘i County Council Meeting - April 23, 2025
The Kaua‘i County Council met on April 23, 2025, at 8:30 AM in the Council Chambers. The meeting began with a public hearing on Bill No. 2951, which would allow farmers and artisan markets in county parks. Following the hearing, the Council approved a consent calendar, several resolutions, and bills for second reading. The meeting concluded with an executive session on pending and denied claims.
Consent Calendar
- C 2025-94 – Confirmed the appointment of Clyde T. Kodani to the Board of Water Supply (Resolution 2025-22). Approved unanimously.
- C 2025-95 – Received the Quarterly Report on Settled Claims (Jan-Mar 2025).
- C 2025-96 – Amended Resolution 2024-11 to authorize a loan up to $10 million from the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund for the Wailua SPS #3 Rehabilitation project (Resolution 2025-23). Approved unanimously.
- C 2025-97 – Received the Third Quarter Statement of Equipment Purchases for FY 2024-2025.
- C 2025-98 – Established traffic lane modifications and a stop sign on Olohena Road, and removed a stop sign on Ka‘apuni Road (Resolution 2025-24). Approved unanimously.
- C 2025-99 – Opposed the proposed shipping cost increase by Young Brothers, LLC (Resolution 2025-25). Approved 6-1 (Councilmember Cowden voted no).
Public Comments & Testimony
Bill No. 2951 – Commercial Use of Parks Facilities (Public Hearing)
- Spencer Mack (farmer), Desiree Hirani (market organizer), Billy Carter (vendor), and over a dozen other vendors and residents spoke in strong support, describing the economic and community benefits of the Princeville Farmers and Artists Market. They noted income losses of 25–85% since the market was shut down.
- Anna Bilbo (resident) supported using parks for markets, noting the lack of alternative venues for local producers.
- Lonnie Cycos (resident) opposed the bill, arguing that parks should remain open spaces for recreation and that commercial activities would increase traffic and displace public use. He also criticized the lack of community input for over-the-counter permits.
- Carl Imperado (Hanalei Wainiha Community Association) supported the intent but proposed amendments: limit markets to one day per week, require use permits, and prohibit markets in beach parks.
- Michelle Young (resident) supported the bill, emphasizing food security and stable income for farmers.
- Testimony from Aaron Bizzini also raised concern about the Young Brothers rate increase, urging the Council to oppose it.
- The Council will discuss Bill 2951 at the Planning Committee meeting on May 7, 2025.
Resolution 2025-25 – Opposing Young Brothers Shipping Cost Increase
- Lana Bilbo (resident) opposed the increase, citing the 46% rate hike in 2020 and the impact on small businesses, nonprofits, and family budgets.
- Lonnie Cycos (resident) provided context on the Jones Act and empty containers, but did not clearly state a position on the resolution.
- Aaron Bizzini (resident) urged the Council to oppose the increase, noting Saltchuk (parent company) had $5 billion in revenue and that the proposed hike could total 73–81% over five years.
- No other public testimony was offered on this item.
Discussion Items
Resolution 2025-22 – Appointment to Board of Water Supply
- Councilmember Cowden praised the nominee, Clyde Kodani, and the board's work. Approved unanimously on roll call.
Resolution 2025-23 – Loan Amendment for Wailua SPS #3 Rehabilitation
- Councilmember Cowden asked the County Engineer about the project scope (replacing old components in a pump station) and timeline (construction expected 1.5–2 years). The loan ceiling was raised to $10 million to cover over-budget bids. Approved unanimously.
Resolution 2025-24 – Traffic Lane Modifications on Olohena Road
- Councilmembers Cowden and Kuali‘i discussed the dangerous intersection, noting that the change would square up the Y-intersection and eliminate a confusing curve. The County Engineer explained that public notification would be issued. Councilmember Kuali‘i requested consideration of rumble strips to alert drivers. Approved unanimously.
Resolution 2025-25 – Opposition to Young Brothers Rate Increase
- Sponsor Councilmember Holland argued the proposed 27–35% increase, on top of the 46% increase in 2020, would be unsustainable for residents and small businesses, especially given tariff uncertainties.
- Councilmember Cowden opposed the resolution, stating that Young Brothers is in financial distress due to empty containers and that opposing the increase could lead to the company ceasing operations, hurting interisland commerce. He advocated allowing the Public Utilities Commission to review the request.
- Councilmember Kuali‘i supported the resolution, calling the increase “gouging” and noting that Young Brothers invested $120 million without sufficient cash flow. He stressed that the cost of living crisis makes additional shipping costs untenable.
- Councilmember Bulosan echoed concerns about the cumulative impact. The resolution passed 6-1.
Bills 2945, 2946, 2947, 2948 – Second Reading (Ele‘ele Land Use Changes)
- All four bills amend the General Plan, State Land Use District Boundary, Zoning, and West Kaua‘i Community Plan for a parcel in ‘Ele‘ele. The Planning Committee had recommended approval. Each bill was approved unanimously on roll call.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- Resolution 2025-22: Approved (7-0).
- Resolution 2025-23: Approved (7-0).
- Resolution 2025-24: Approved (7-0).
- Resolution 2025-25: Approved (6-1; Councilmember Cowden dissented).
- Bills 2945-2948: All approved (7-0 each) on second and final reading.
- Executive Session ES-1144: Approved (7-0) to discuss pending and denied claims.
- Bill 2951: Public hearing held; discussion deferred to the Planning Committee meeting on May 7, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Morning everyone and welcome to the council meeting of April 23rd. Excuse me, I'm gonna have to keep the gala really quiet because of our mics and our captioner needs to be able to hear so she can caption our broadcast property. So I really appreciate if you got a chat, feel free to walk outside because it's become very difficult for the people watching at home. We'll start off before we get to the agenda. We do have a public hearing again. The public hearing, as I mentioned, for those that are of you that came in late, um you'll have three minutes to testify on the first round. Uh your testimony once you're done. Once we get through the entire list of speakers, we'll open it up for a second run if anyone needs it. And um, and just so that you know the council members are not allowed to ask questions or have a discussion at a public hearing. This is for us to listen to each and every one of you. So uh with that, clerk. Can we can you read the notice for the public hearing, please? Notices hereby given that the Khoi County Council will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at 8 30 a.m. or soon thereafter in the Historic County Building 4396 Rice Street on bill number 2951, a bill for an ordinance amending chapter 8. Koweit County Code 1987 as amended relating to commercial use of park facilities. This bill proposes to amend chapter 8, Coe County Code 1987 as amended, including KCC sections 8 1.5, 8 2.4, 8 29.5, and 8 6.3 to allow farmers and artisan markets within state and county park areas and community use facilities, two to allow commercial concessions associated with park events such as athletic games or meets, fairs and concerts within state and county park areas, and three make corresponding technical alphabetization and cross-reference amendments. This bill also states the requirements of chapter 20, Article 5, and Chapter 23, Article 3 apply to new uses established by this bill. Chair, we do have um many people registered to speak. Members we did um 13 written testimonies. Is there any uh Zoom or remote testimony? Okay, we don't let's start with the first. The first speaker is Steve Farley, followed by Billy Carter. So if you could just start by stating your name for the record for our captioner and then you can proceed. Okay. There it is. Okay. My name is Steve Fraley, and uh aloha. Many of you have met before over the years. Um I'm here today on behalf and support of Bill 2951. Um I'm a certified organic farmer from Ola. Uh my wife and I moved here in 1982. Have three kids are all born on our farm. Uh we have for 70 acre certified organic farm now. We do about 18 acres of Noni. And over the years we developed different value-added products that we process, we grow, pick, and process Noni on our farm under Sunrise Organic Farms. And oops, I forgot. There's a bad little bit. Thank you. And uh, so we developed value added products that we grow, pick, and process, and make uh products out of Noni that we uh do locally through stores, or we do it online. We have about 15,000 15,000 mics online that we do our Noni we do lotions that we develop. Um we used to go to many mini trade shows in the mainland, but we found the farmers' markets are actually the best way of meeting new clients that purchase later on from our website. The Hawaii Visitors Bureau many years ago did a survey that showed that uh 80% of the tourists visiting Hawaii are looking to purchase products made in Hawaii. So it's a very good venue for us to meet clients from the future. They can meet our family, they can sample the products, they can purchase there. They go home and then they can purchase in the future from our website. So that's what we've been doing for many, many years. Um of our best long-term clients are people that we met at the farmers' markets that purchased for 15-20 years from our website. So uh pre-COVID, uh we attended nine farmers' markets island wide. During COVID, they closed. And that's when it became very apparent to us the value of the farmers markets to our website.
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