Hawaii County finance committee forwards 7-vehicle EV demo and 10-year lease to full council

The Hawaii County Council Committee on Finance voted Aug. 6 to forward Resolution 562-24 to the full council with a favorable recommendation, sending a proposed multi-year agreement with SP County of Hawaii LLC (Sustainability Partners) that would replace the county's shared-use fleet with battery-electric vehicles as a demonstration project.

The committee, chaired by Councilmember Michelle Galimba, took the action after a presentation by Doug Adams, director of Research and Development, and representatives from Sustainability Partners. The proposal would have the vendor procure and upfit the vehicles, provide telematics and routine maintenance, and lease the vehicles back to the county under a long-term service arrangement. Presenters said the pilot as amended covers seven crossover EVs (Ford Mach-E variants, Chevy Bolt EUV, Hyundai long-range models and the Kia EV6) and includes a monthly payment for those seven vehicles of about $7,200, which incorporates a $504 monthly reserve for maintenance.

The presentation emphasized operational criteria for island conditions: vehicle range for long East'West commutes (including Saddle Road), ground clearance to handle rough roads, local serviceability and warranty support. Sustainability Partners said it will monitor vehicle metrics and deliver monthly inspections and reporting; the county will operate the cars and collect employee feedback and usage data to inform future procurement decisions.

Councilmembers questioned procurement, maintenance and long-term workforce implications. Councilmember Kimball asked whether the arrangement was a sole-source deal; county staff and Sustainability Partners representatives clarified the project sits under a statewide master agreement established through a Hawai‘i Department of Transportation request for proposals (RFP) that Sustainability Partners won, and that specific addenda cover each project and service line.

Concerns about maintenance and collective-bargaining impacts were discussed. Staff noted the demo vehicles would be owned and maintained by the vendor under the proposed agreement, which the presenters said reduces immediate impacts on the county's automotive division and bargaining units. Presenters acknowledged the county's automotive shop is equipped for internal-combustion vehicles and said the pilot would help determine training and equipment needs as the county considers future fleet transitions. Committee members asked for an impact report and data collection (miles traveled, employee surveys and road-condition mapping) to be included in follow-up materials.

Councilmember Kimball moved and Councilmember Leroy seconded an amendment to correct the vehicle count and clarifying references; the amendment passed and the committee then voted to forward the amended resolution to the council with a favorable recommendation (7 in favor; two members excused). The committee did not finalize a procurement contract at the meeting; forwarding the resolution sends the authorization request to full council for final consideration.

If adopted by the council, the measure would authorize the mayor to enter the described agreement and lease terms subject to the contract details and any required addenda. The county will receive monthly performance reporting from the vendor as part of the pilot plan, which officials said will be used to evaluate whether and how to scale electrification across county fleets.