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Hawaii County committee reviews quarterly affordable‑housing report, closes file after clarifying credits
Summary
Housing Administrator Susan Koons told the Communications Reports and Council Oversight Committee on July 9 that the Jan. 1–Mar. 31, 2024 report shows recent sales and 24 new rental units; the committee moved to close the file after Koons clarified that 47 credits were reclassified as bonus credits and that the project named in the transcript was not involved in a credit scandal.
On July 9, 2024, the Hawaii County Communications Reports and Council Oversight Committee met in the Hilo Chambers to review the county’s quarterly affordable‑housing report covering Jan. 1 through Mar. 31, 2024. Housing Administrator Susan Koons presented the report and answered council questions before the committee approved closing the file.
Koons told the committee the memo lists for-sale and rental activity during the quarter. She said a HICDC self‑help project in Ainaloa contributed sales units and that "We also added to this report 24 rental units constructed and being rented, that is being done by the DHHL Layopua Village 4 Phase 2," referring to an entry in Exhibit 2 of the report. At the committee’s request Koons pointed to Exhibit 1, which showed a revision to the listing for a project rendered in the transcript as "Bridal Inalia." Koons said an assessment of project files led staff to reclassify 47 items there as "bonus credits," on the basis that they had been awarded prior to the formation of chapter 11 by a county ordinance.
Council member Holeka Inaba asked for clarity about the 47 credits and whether they had been reported previously. Inaba said, "So the 47 credits were already provided for and listed in the previous report; your folks are just notating now that they're considered bonus credits." Koons confirmed the credits were recorded as bonus credits rather than excess credits and pointed the committee to the memo’s line items that report sale and rental counts.
Chair Rebecca Villegas asked whether the project mentioned in the memo was involved in an affordable‑housing credit scandal. Koons replied, "No," and the committee did not receive further allegations on that point during the meeting.
A motion to close the file on communication 3‑2‑2.4 (the quarterly affordable‑housing report) was moved by Council member Sue Liloy and seconded by Council member Holeka Inaba. Chair Villegas called for voices in favor; members voiced assent, the chair noted two members absent (Michelle Galimba and Cindy Evans), and the committee closed the item with no further business recorded.
The committee did not record a roll‑call vote tally in the transcript. The report was transmitted pursuant to Hawaii County Code section 11‑19, as noted in the staff memo, and will remain in the county record for this quarter.
