NORTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ADVISORY GROUP
DATE: Monday, September 7th, 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 (Homes For Kohala)
Kohala Community Land Trust: KCLT will host four free educational workshops on Saturdays from 10-12 in September and October at the Senior Center. The workshops include: buyer readiness, property tax & home insurance, title issues & estate planning, and ‘ohana decision-making. They have also been working on board member capacitation.
Help for distressed homeowners: KCLT seeks to gather information at the workshops on how best to assist homeowners in need with property taxes, liens, and repairs. One model would be to provide funding in return for future affordability deed restrictions so a portion of the housing stock is permanently protected to help keep our community here.
Kumakua Self-help Phase 3 project work is stalled for now
Hawi Nani project is also on pause since they are unable to obtain water meters.
Homes for Kohala is also having ongoing conversations about using public land as a long-term asset to support the community’s vision.
The next meeting will be September 9th, 9 am at the Kohala Public Library.
Agriculture
Did not meet in August.
Next meeting September 24th, 5 pm at the Resource Center office.
Community Access (see maps on last page for locations)
Pololu Lookout
Na Ala Hele postponed Pololu trail restoration. Bidders too expensive or not qualified
Mule Station transfer moving along.
Hapu’u – Kapanaia
David Fuertes asked Kohala Lihikai to consider doing maintenance on PONC parcel adjacent to/accessible through his property
Toni plans to meet with the County to work out how to do a combined proposal for all the PONC parcels along the corridor
Upolu Point – Mayor reviewing and prioritizing all parcels with outstanding Council resolutions.
Mahukona – Hui Mamalahoa meeting concurrently with this meeting to discuss their access through HILT property
Kohala Coastal Network – Next meeting on September 28th at 11:00 on zoom.
Lamaloloa
Archeological inventory survey has been started on upper portion
Outreach with Culture and History Hui in August to engage community as with lower portion.
Took students out to participate and interest them in archeology careers
PONC – Bill 165 that would have increased maintenance fund failed to pass
Ben Schapiro left so they are again without an administrator.
Next meeting October 7th, 4:30pm Senior Center.
Culture & History Advisory Group (KCHAG).
Have had requests from others to use Front Porch set for Kohala Reunion, but need to have liability waiver for others to use.
Would like to find lineal descendants in various ahupua’a for meetings.
Any update on work to restart Civic Club?
Return Mahukona Stone to proper placement?
Ho’ola project at Upolu Point?
Reported on NKCDP-AG and Subcommittee issues.
Aric Arakaki (Ala Kahakai): – Role is as NGO supporting non-profit mission. Will contact Akoni Nelson for possible huaka’i. Doing archaeological survey at Lamalaloa (south of Lapakahi), want to have community involved in work; contact Aric if interested. Will set up KCHAG huaka’i to Lamalaloa for October. Have had students out to Mahukona to teach them how to find trails. Provided funding to Kohala Lihikai, hired La Crivello on project for GIS database & story maps.
Next meeting will be September 14th 10 am at Walker Hall (St. Augustine)
Growth Management
Pololu Lookout plan; port-a potties, design and planning approved. No new action on the valley rim subdivision, the road is considered a repair, so no need for a permit.
Hawi Nani subdivision. The current planning consultant Mark Fox, for Mark Lester reported to Affordable Housing that “water meters appear impossible”.
Old Coast Guard Road transfer still in a tangle. Toni continues to apply pressure on Tim Richards. Rascha wrote an appeal to him advocating for the State to repair the road so the County can manage it.
Upolu Point, 88 acres. The Mayor is not open to negotiations using the PONC funds. “Kohala has more than its share.” Toni will continue to chase this and report that the owner is willing to take a discount. The County Council has called on the administration to proceed.
General Plan passed by County Council June 26 – some amendments not yet seen.
Agricultural easements. Key points
- Feds will pay landowners a onetime price for keeping land (or a portion of a parcel) in agriculture or conservation in perpetuity.
- In order to apply, easement has to be held by a non-profit
- HILT and Moku o Keawe are two NP able to apply
- PONC can be used to purchase easements
- The easement goes with the land
- This process is vulnerable to abuse
Next meeting is September 9th, 5pm, Senior Center.
Health and Wellness/WRK
Did not meet in August, however…
St. Aug. lreceived a grant so Kohala Food hub prepares a fresh produce bag. St. Augustine’s Food Pantry (former Kohala Cares) still have their regular canned goods bag so people have an option for 1 bag or 2.
Aloha kākou! In the wake of Lala the outpouring of civic engagement and community aloha has been incredible: distributing meals, cutting down trees, driving long distances to help another community, and spending hours sorting donations. People have been showing up in every way.
KōCreate: Civic Grants now open, funding meant for exactly this kind of kōkua! Awards of up to $1,000. The application is short and takes just a few minutes. Apply today: bit.ly/vh-civicgrant
The Kohala Resilience Hub wishes to host a community meeting after Hurricane Lala.
Dinner by Chaba. Have people sit at tables and each table with someone to facilitate. We have questions prepared. We come together. Second meeting would bring in other organizations like HELCO, Dept. of Water Supply, County and present info from our first meeting.
Next meeting September 18th, 4:00pm. Senior Center.
Parks, Roads, Erosion Control and View-planes (PREV)
The state plans to repave Akoni Pule Highway from Kawaihae to Hawi. Not sure when.
Mahukona Beach Park Group will meet with Parks and Recreation senior staff and our elected representatives regarding the stalled progress in replacing the pavilion. Probably Sept 189 in Hilo.
Next meeting is September 16th, 5:00pm Senior Center.
Utilities
Hurricane Lala discussion. Centered on the outage maps and how they could be improved to provide more specificity as to time and date of restoration. In addition, it would be helpful to have a map showing the main transmission lines and other crucial components of the grid. A letter will be drafted to provide feedback to HECO on the maps and other issues related to the storm related power failures and restoration. The effects of the outage helped to spotlight our dependency on the grid, its vulnerability, and the importance of conserving power usage and for resident having some sort of back-up power supply. Suggestion for better tree trimming.
Greenwaste Update– Years ago the County managed to sign a contract with Hawaiian Earth Recycling, who operates the West Hawaii landfill at Pu’uanahulu. There are tonnage requirements in that contract and if the County doesn’t meet them, they pay penalties. Now that they are trucking East Hawaii waste to the West Hawaii landfill, they may more readily satisfy the minimum requirements. These minima, if not met, would certainly affect the County’s participation in diverting Kohala greenwaste to our proposed local greenwaste facility. John Winter has volunteered to try to gain more specifics on the terms of the contract and if greenwaste could be diverted without triggering a penalty.
Water Utility Update-The power outage affected the ability of the pumps to send water to the reservoirs. Notices from the Department of Water Supply were sent in advance of the storm encouraging water conservation and essential use. We should encourage DWS to have back-up generators at all North Kohala wells.
Next meeting is September 16th, 3:30pm Senior Center.
NEW BUSINESS:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Kohala Resilience Fair – postponed due to Hurricane lala. New time TBD..
- Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience (OSCER) and Hawaii public health is sponsoring county-wide workshop to focus on the climate crisis and heat resilience. September 17th. 4:30-700pm, Kohala Intergenerational Center.
Report From Our Council Representative, James Hustace.
Committee — September 15
- Bill 147; consideration of proposed updates to transient accommodation enforcement
- Bill 183; review of proposed sewer rate increases and a new hotel service class
- Bills 186 and 187; consideration of the Waikōloa Green housing proposal, including conditions addressing wildfire resilience and mauka drainage and flood mitigation
Council — September 16
- Bill 169; improvements to PONC acquisition timelines and reassessment requirements
- Bill 176; establishes General Plan review process and timelines
- Bill 184; native plant requirements in County landscaping
PUBLIC INPUT AND AGENDA SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT MEETING
The Next Advisory Group Meeting will be held on Monday, October 5th,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