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Committee reviews timeline on Sustainable Molokai grant extension and funding; deliverables to be presented Thursday
Summary
Members examined why payment for a county grant to Sustainable Molokai (G5401) was delayed, heard that $300,000 has been paid and $200,000 remains encumbered with an additional $50,000 requested, and were told the group’s final deliverables will be presented to the committee later in the week.
The Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee reviewed the administrative history and payment status of grant G5401 awarded to Sustainable Molokai for work on a countywide climate‑change and sea‑level‑rise adaptation and resiliency master plan.
Committee staff presented a timeline showing the original grant was executed June 25, 2021, with an initial payment schedule that resulted in $300,000 paid to date. The original performance term ran through July 1, 2023. The grantee requested a term extension in writing on Oct. 2, 2023, and again reiterated the request on March 12, 2024. The council chair executed Amendment 1 to extend the grant on June 25, 2024, and the grantee later provided additional documentation to finance on Nov. 21, 2024. A request for payment submitted by council staff to the Department of Finance on March 20, 2025, was rejected; finance staff said rejections occur when required documentation or compliance items are missing or not current.
Committee members were told that $200,000 remains encumbered from the original appropriation and the grantee requested an additional $50,000. To reflect the chair’s amendment and to document the extension in the fiscal record, staff introduced a budget amendment (Bill 95) that was passed on first reading by the full council in August. Committee members asked for clearer documents and for the grantee’s deliverables, which committee staff said will be presented and posted in the committee file in Granicus at the Thursday meeting.
Members and administration staff discussed the reasons payment processing can be delayed, including the Hawaii Compliance Express (HCE) or other procurement and documentation requirements. Corporation Counsel said extensions after expiration are handled case‑by‑case, and the office is working to standardize grants processes across departments to reduce administrative hurdles. Finance said it will make payment if the terms and conditions of the grant are met and the documentation matches the amended performance period.
The committee did not vote on the grant in this session but requested the readable versions of the submitted documents and scheduled the Sustainable Molokai deliverables for presentation at the committee’s next meeting.
