Committee closes change-order report after questions about specialty-waste contract and parks projects

The Hawaii County Council Committee on Finance closed the file on Communication 24.2, a report from Finance Director Diane Nakagawa of change orders authorized in August 2025, after members sought clarification about a specialty-waste contract supplemental and multiple park project change orders.

Councilmember Kimball disclosed that Fleming and Associates is her husband's architecture firm and offered to abstain if members were concerned; she said she did not believe it posed a conflict because the committee was receiving a report rather than approving a contract.

Members pressed the Department of Environmental Management about a reported roughly 120% increase to a specialty-waste sanitation support services supplemental. Robin Baumann, business manager for the Department of Environmental Management, said "that supplemental is an extension of time and additional funds." She explained the contract is a task-order professional services agreement used to design and prepare bid packages for smaller projects, the initial term was one year and the extension was for six months, and the $300,000 supplemental amount provides authorization to commit up to that amount by task order but does not obligate the full sum at once.

On parks matters, Charmaine Felipe, business manager for Parks and Recreation, confirmed six change orders on the Mille Beach Park and Kahuku Park projects. She told the committee that the community provided input "and they've continued to provide input on the project," that input delayed the start of the project, and that the period for community input has since closed.

A motion to close file on Communication 24.2 was made by Councilmember Ynava and seconded by Councilmember Galimba. The clerk recorded seven ayes; Councilmembers Connolly Kleinfelder and Kurkowitz were absent.

The committee took no formal action to approve or modify contracts in this meeting; the record closed on the report.