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NORTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ADVISORY GROUP

DATE:  Monday, May 4th, 2026, 4:30 pm

PLACE: Kohala Senior Center (behind the statue)

AGENDA

CALL TO ORDER – Please put all cell phones on silent mode. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PUBLIC COMMENTs ON AGENDA ITEMS: Members of the public are welcome and are invited to speak to any items on the agenda. Public comments and input are welcome at designated periods at the beginning and end of each meeting. People may, however, speak during AG discussions, if the situation warrants. Please raise a hand to be recognized. Comments should be limited to three (3) minutes in length per agenda item, subject to the discretion of the chair. We typically have a lot of information to get through, so please respect everyone’s time. The chair may table lengthy discussions to be continued after the meeting officially closes. Recommendations for agenda additions for the next meeting should be made during the input session at the meeting end.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Affordable Housing 

KCLT received a $15,000 grant from Atherton Foundation to hold a series of workshops. One will provide a pathway to Buyer Readiness, and those who participate would also meet the criteria for getting on the HICDC list. The others will deal with issues of concern to existing homeowners for keeping their homes in the hands of those individuals and their families. 

The North Kohala HICDC self-help (Phase 3) project and the larger self-help project that is currently underway in Waimea have been delayed due to lender funding issues. 

Our affordable housing group would like to inform, educate, and assist Kohala families in qualifying for this successful housing program. We have prepared information on the qualifications for applying. The upcoming Kohala High School 100-year reunion event will most likely be the next available opportunity to poll North Kohala residents on their interest for the third phase of the HICDC project, and we are waiting for the confirmation for the rescheduled Ohana Fun Day in August. We will provide a sign-up sheet for information in qualifying for Phase 3 of the self-help project (HICDC). We also plan to encourage the public to complete our new survey either in writing or online, and query the attendees on their interest or need for a financial info seminar. 

Currently, there are no community spaces in the Kohala self-help phases developments, and the need for them is great as these homes are full of families with children. Jack Hoyt brought a parcel map of the planned Phase 3 self-help project to show the group, and proposed a neighborhood park area, a bus stop, covered pavilion, sidewalk along the perimeter of the lot for trikes, strollers, and wheelchairs, a basketball hoop, picnic tables, and a water spigot. Jack will reach out to his contact to suggest the community space and our ideas.

The developer for the Hawi Nani project, Mark Lester, updated Jack Hoyt on the project, explaining that a consultant had been hired to overcome some of the existing hurdles.  

The new group logo was passed around so everyone could see it, and we thank Annalene Williams and the North Kohala Community Resource Center for their assistance with it. This, together with our new post office box (number 1142) from the Kapa’au post office has made it possible to complete an official donation letter. It is ready to be sent out with personalized cover letters, and although fundraising goals were not discussed in detail, the need to have funding for some travel expenses to either Hilo or Oahu was mentioned. More specific funding needs will still be identified in future meetings. 

Jack Hoyt identified a 1.9-acre land lot owned by Hawaii County on Hospital Road, close to the highway, with the potential to be developed into rental units. The group will need to discuss the next steps for this idea at our next meeting.

The next meeting will be May 4th, 9 am at Pomaika’i Café.

Agriculture 

The Kohala Ditch Co-op was incorporated in 2019 as a for-profit Consumer Cooperative Association under Hawaii state law. It’s a member-owned business whose purpose is to provide reliable, low-cost, non-potable agricultural water from Kohala Ditch to its members.

The paln is for the system to be divided into manageable segments: Kohala Ditch operated and maintained by KD Co-op, while each transmission pipeline is under the control of its own Pipeline Association. Those Pipeline Associations are,to make up the membership of the Co-Op, and individual users make up the membership of the Pipeline Associations.

Proposed Water Infrastructure Solutions:

Pipeline Option: Peter Ivanovich, owner of approximately 7,000 acres above Makapala, purchased a container load of 6-inch pipe with the intention of creating a pipeline to replace the ditch. His plan involved using man-enhanced springs as water sources and running a pipeline down through his property, then through Iole, approximately 4 miles.

Upolu Airport Well: A large tank has been installed, but no pipeline infrastructure is in place to distribute the water. Energy costs for pumping are high. If managed by DOA, water could potentially be provided at 50 cents per 1,000 gallons

Pipe-in-the-Ditch Concept: Strong consensus around the idea of placing a 6-12 inch pipeline inside the existing ditch channel as a backbone transmission system. Key advantages: eliminates the 3+ million gallons/day loss. Pipeline Associations (Huis) would negotiate rates with the central system and organize water distribution to members. Could start small — even a 2-inch pipe provides a starting point — and scale over time. Major participants are already willing to cooperate.

Catchment Reservoirs: 5-acre catchment with reservoir estimated at $3-5 million; holds approximately 4.9 million gallons (just under the 5-million gallon regulatory threshold). One inch of rain on 5 acres yields approximately 135,000 gallons

Maui Wells (Horizontal Wells): Horizontal wells drilled into hillsides tap into the water table without pumping energy costs

HB1800: The Senate included $3 million for the Halaula parcels acquisition (TMKs (3) 5-3-7:16 and (3) 5-3-7: 15) and $9 million for Kohala Ditch restoration in their CIP budget. The Senate conferees all voted in favor. We are waiting for House conferees to be appointed.

Farmers’ Market Update. Surety blocked return to Banyans. Market continues at Village Inn. Under new management. Rebranding as “North Kohala Community Market.” Schedule: 1st Wednesday (night market) + every Saturday. Farmers Union Foundation covering insurance/overhead.

Next meeting Group would like to schedule a larger discussion with Senator Tim Richards and David Tarnas. The meeting dates might be moved to an earlier date in the month and possibly to another day. – TBD

Community Access (see maps on last page for locations)

Pololu Lookout. The State Senate is reviewing a $1 million funding bill for planning and land transfer of the parking area.

Hapu’u – Kapanaia. A scheduled PONC site visit regarding the trash has been postponed due to the Kona low storm.

Upolu Point. The culture & historical group wrote a letter to the mayor supporting the PONC purchase.

Pali Akamoa. Group should follow up with state Na Ala Hele about the homeowner’s association regarding the trail access.

Lamaloloa. The NPS is working on getting an archeological inventory and are working with students and the state parks division.

Kohala Shoreline. A wildfire group is trying to get in touch with the landowners to access their properties to get a wildfire survey.

Kohala Waterfront. The NPS is working with the homeowner’s association on the trail erosion problem.

New Items/Announcements

Pahoa Beach property (former Mohamadi house) is on the market

County council reps Ashley Kierkiewicz and James Hustace hosted a PONC summit and will be introducing a package of proposed changes to both the County Charter and Code. Community invited to give feedback on process

Next meeting May 6th, 4:30pm Senior Center.

Growth Management

Meeting spent exploring three basic ways to access County information in order to further our knowledge of planning issues. Toni navigated us through three sites: 

  1. COH Real Property Tax  https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?AppID=1048&LayerID=23618&PageTypeID=2&PageID=9876 
  2. EPIC https://hawaiicountyhi-energovpub.tylerhost.net/Apps/SelfService#/home 
  3. COH ATLAS ( Hawaii Coastal Zone Management ) https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4bf2aae3b12c4f30943097b191c014b5 

Next meeting is May 13th, 5pm, Senior Center.

Culture & History Advisory Group (KCHAG).

Did not meet in March due to weather.

Next meeting will probably be May 11th.

Health and Wellness/WRK

Oral health presentation at the senior center by Dr. Coleman from the Health Center. He noted that carbohydrates can be bad for your teeth (they convert to sugars and sugars to acid). He advised having proteins with carbohydrates to reduce tooth decay. He also said that frequency can be more damaging than quantity. Frequent snacking creates more decay than a large meal because your teeth are continually exposed to damaging substances. Diluting something acidic like lemon juice in water and sipping on it all day does more damage than drinking a glass of lemonade at stronger concentration. Only Water is best for sipping. It’s important to wait 20 minutes after eating or drinking (anything but water) before brushing to avoid damaging the teeth when they’re more fragile. Calculus and tartar buildup where the saliva glands are and create inflammation and bleeding gums, which is called periodontitis and causes gum recession. This is worsened with stress. Regular brushing, flossing and antimicrobial mouthwash help reduce this build-up.

It’s important to have your teeth, cleaned professionally at least twice a year unless there are problems (then 4 to 5 times). Use a water pick and mineralizing toothpaste if you don’t use fluoride. Swallowing bacteria is damaging to organs.

Next meeting May 15th, 4:30pm. Senior Center.

Utilities

MicroGrid Update-Kevin Waltjen, Chief Engineer of Big Island HECO attended and distributed a handout that summarized the existing configuration of the grid from Waimea to North Kohala, the history of the microgrid project to date, funding efforts and the failure of the original RPF.

Next steps involve a feasibility study to evaluate alternatives to the original design of the project such as using a battery plus energy from the wind farm to power the microgrid. This change would add complexity involving protection systems, system balancing and transitions between grid-connected and local grid modes but may prove cheaper if a smaller battery can be utilized. Another aspect of the study will be to assess sources of funding. The feasibility study is expected to take at least a year. A new RFP would then be drafted and sent to the PUC, so the overall time frame is 2-3 years.

Kevin acknowledged that the North Kohala community with 2,300 users is the largest community with no redundancy. Peak-hour usage for the district runs between 3 and 4 megawatts. Between the wind farm and rooftop solar units, the community could provide for itself during an outage if the sources were consistently reliable. An additional factor that might affect the financing of the microgrid project is the status of Federal grant programs. Discussion also touched upon the pros and cons of smaller microgrid huis. Other sources of renewable power in HECO’s portfolio such as geothermal and hydropower were also discussed.

Future discussions with HECO will involve opportunities to ask why will it take 2-3 years for the RFP, how large a battery and how long might it last? and other technical issues that might arise.

It is recommended we monitor and schedule an update with HECO at 6-month intervals. A request should be made to review the HECO feasibility study prior to drafting the final RFP as Richard Horn’s feedback comments would add value.

Addendum-Emails were exchanged after the meeting. Below is an AI summary.

Key Themes:

Microgrid Development (John): HECO appears to be making progress on a microgrid project, with the battery likely to be located at the wind farm. However, the 2-3 year timeline for developing an RFP seems excessive. Open questions include battery sizing, lifespan (roughly 10-15 years), and how existing rooftop solar feeds into the system. John favors sticking with HECO rather than creating multiple smaller “hui” (community group) microgrids, citing maintenance and accountability concerns.

Karl advocates for household-level energy independence — rooftop solar with battery backup — as a practical near-term solution. He also sees solar installation as a career opportunity for local young people, and questions whether PUC regulations could be streamlined.

Members exchanged their own approaches to outage survival. They range from full coverage with expensive battery bank and generator to minimal: wait out an outage, which are generally <12 hrs.

Bottom Line: The group is weighing a HELCO-managed community microgrid against smaller hui-based systems against individual household independence — with cost, maintenance, accountability, and community equity all as major factors.

Next meeting is May 20th, 3:30pm Senior Center.

Parks, Roads, Erosion Control and View-planes (PREV)

The high- and elementary school drop-off and pick-up congestion proposal had been placed on hold with Public Works pending review and discussion among group members, the principals, and others. 

Next meeting is May 20th, 5:00pm Senior Center.

NEW BUSINESS:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Report From Our Council Representative, James Hustace.

  • Resolution 513 – Adopted (4/22); Authorizes negotiations for conservation easement for Kealoha Family Loʻi (PONC)
  • Bill 127 – Veto override failed (4/22); would have established a Construction Code Commission
  • Bill 147 – Under review with Planning Department and Planning Commissions; comprehensive overhaul of short-term rental system – clarifies rental categories, stronger STVR enforcement and establishes enforcement fund, zoning allowances, good neighbor policy
  • Resolution 548 – Committee (5/4); awards PONC stewardship grants
  • Bill 66 – Committee (5/4); ongoing General Plan review with multiple amendments pending
  • Bill 152 – Committee (5/4); initiates charter amendment regarding County Auditor staffing authority
  • Resolution – Council (5/5); grant funding for Big Island Invasive Species Committee
  • Bill 148 – Council (5/5); naming of future park space in Waimea as Laʻelaʻe Park

PUBLIC INPUT AND AGENDA SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT MEETING

The Next Advisory Group Meeting will be held on Monday, June 1st, 4:30pm, Senior Center.

Adjournment

NOTICE: The purpose of the public hearings is to afford all interested persons a reasonable opportunity to be heard on the above items. They may also bring up another item for consideration by the AG. A person wishing to submit written testimony may email winterj@whitman.edu. 

John Winter, Chair NORTH KOHALA CDP ADVISORY GROUP