Hawaiʻi County committee approves leases with Hawaiian Homes and FAA, punts new building department; advances change to environmental director qualifications

HONOLULU — The Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs voted Aug. 19 to send several intergovernmental agreements to full council with favorable recommendations and took separate action on two charter-related items.

The panel voted to forward three intergovernmental agreements with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) that would formalize the county’s operation and maintenance responsibilities at Panaeʻewa Park, Lehiyah (Lehiya) Beach Park and Hualani Park, and it approved sending a lease allowing the Federal Aviation Administration to replace weather instruments and install a platform at the Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area for further council consideration.

The committee postponed Bill 68, a proposed charter amendment to establish a standalone Department of Building, to its Oct. 7 meeting so members can obtain fiscal analysis and more detail on how county code and staffing would be adjusted. Separately, the committee amended and forwarded Bill 72 to full council; that measure broadens the qualifications for the director of Environmental Management beyond an engineering degree and was sent to council with a 6-2 vote.

The park agreements are 30-year leases that the administration said are retroactive to 2016 and therefore would run through 2046. “This is a 30 year lease,” Director Honma told the committee when introducing the Panaeʻewa agreement. Honma said the county has been operating month-to-month after the prior lease expired in February 2016 and that the new agreements are intended to clear the title for planned improvements and long-term oversight.

Honma told members the state does not provide maintenance funding to the county under these agreements. “No. No funds is provided back to the county by the state at all,” Honma said in response to a council member’s question. James Komata, the county park planner, said negotiations between the county and DHHL had been intermittent in past years but that both sides worked to expedite the current batch of agreements.

Members described practical reasons for the leases. Council Member Onishi said the county needs formal agreements before proceeding with capital improvements, and noted planned repair and renovation partnerships for Kawananakoa and other facilities. On Lehiya Beach Park, Honma said DHHL staff will install and maintain a gate and signage on the homestead side; the county will maintain the park entrance and unimproved vehicular trail up to the DHHL-managed gate. Honma and council members also said DHHL intends to add cameras and beef up gates to reduce illegal activity behind the park.

The FAA agreement covers replacement of weather instruments and a platform mounted on an existing water tower at the Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area; the administration said the work supports weather monitoring for higher-elevation sites (committee members referenced Mauna Kea during discussion).

Votes at a glance

- Resolution 262-25 (Panaeʻewa Park intergovernmental agreement with DHHL): motion by Council Member Kanieli Kleinfelder; second by Council Member Onishi. Outcome: forwarded to full council with a favorable recommendation; tally: 8 ayes, 0 no, 0 abstain; Council Member Kimball excused.

- Resolution 263-25 (Lehiyah/Lehiya Beach Park intergovernmental agreement with DHHL): outcome: forwarded to full council with a favorable recommendation; tally: 7 ayes, 0 no, 0 abstain; Council Members Inaba and Kimball excused/absent.

- Resolution 264-25 (Hualani Park intergovernmental agreement with DHHL): outcome: forwarded to full council with a favorable recommendation; tally: 8 ayes, 0 no, 0 abstain; Council Member Kimball excused.

- Resolution 265-25 (FAA lease at Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area): outcome: forwarded to full council with a favorable recommendation; tally: 8 ayes, 0 no, 0 abstain; Council Member Kimball excused.

- Bill 68 (charter amendment to establish Department of Building): motion to postpone to Oct. 7, 2025 (mover: Council Member Kerkowitz; seconder: Council Member Eustace). Outcome: postponed; tally: 8 ayes, 0 no; Council Member Kimball excused. Committee members said they want a fiscal analysis and code cleanup plan before sending the amendment on to full council.

- Bill 72 (charter amendment amending qualifications for the director of Environmental Management): committee amended the bill (communication 400.1) to list acceptable experience areas and require at least two of five years in an administrative capacity; outcome: forwarded to full council with a favorable recommendation on first reading; roll-call tally: 6 ayes, 2 no (Chair Jen Kaguada and Council Member Onishi), 1 absent (Council Member Kimball). The committee record shows the measure removes an explicit engineering-degree requirement and replaces it with specified fields of experience (for example, engineering, solid-waste management, wastewater treatment, environmental policy, regulatory compliance, business administration).

Why it matters

The DHHL agreements formalize long-running county operation of parks that serve homestead communities and wider neighborhoods and are prerequisites for planned capital work; by sending them to full council with favorable recommendations, the administration can proceed toward formal execution and project planning. The FAA lease enables the agency to maintain and upgrade weather monitoring hardware that county officials say supports planning for higher-elevation operations.

Postponing the Department of Building charter amendment gives committee members time to obtain a fiscal impact estimate and to plan code changes to move permitting, inspection and related functions from Public Works if voters approve the charter change. Supporters said the measure would create a dedicated permitting and inspections authority; skeptics urged clarity on cost, staffing, space and how existing code would be updated.

The committee’s action on Bill 72 loosens a narrow degree requirement for the Environmental Management director and replaces it with a set of acceptable professional backgrounds and an administrative experience threshold; proponents said the change expands the pool of qualified candidates, while some members said pay levels and recruitment remain central obstacles to filling senior roles.

Who said what (selected)

- Director Honma, Parks and Recreation (Hawaiʻi County): “This is a 30 year lease,” and “No. No funds is provided back to the county by the state at all.”

- James Komata, Park Planner (Hawaiʻi County): described prior intermittent negotiations with DHHL and said both sides expedited the current agreements.

- Council Member Kerkowitz (author/sponsor, Bill 68): said amended language addresses prior committee concerns and that the committee should obtain a fiscal analysis from the finance department once the bill language is finalized.

- Council Member Onishi: voiced concern about unknown costs for a new Department of Building, saying the council needs clearer numbers on staffing and space before supporting the charter change.

What’s next

All forwarded resolutions and bills will appear on upcoming full-council agendas for further consideration. The committee will revisit Bill 68 at its Oct. 7 meeting; the administration and council staff will pursue a fiscal analysis and additional code-cleanup proposals before that date.

(Reporting by the Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs from the Aug. 19, 2025 meeting.)