North Kohala Community Development Plan Advisory Group
Meeting of 08 04 2025 , Old Court House.
Minutes by Annalene Williams
Call to order at (4:30) pm
Approx 11 in attendance from the community. In attendance from AG committee:
Boyd Bond, Jack Hoyt, Kathy Matsuda, Annalene Williams, John Winter, Sadie Young
JULY Meeting minutes approved
SubGroup meeting reports:
Affordable Housing:
HICDC (Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation) Self-Help allows for 40-year mortgages, meaning lower payments than bank-financed mortgages. Amendments still need to be made with the Planning Department in order for them to apply for grants. Applications are not yet available. However, our group is preparing to help people gather the necessary materials for their applications. Waimea: Still waiting on an answer to the question
Suceeded to get past the hurdles
Project at planning commission is the one in Kawaihae
How does self-help housing work: Once self-help housing is approved, and designated, each family has to put in 40hours per week towards building. They do it in phases. Purchase price house & land. Can’t move in until all houses are built. Caveat: the owner has to contribute hours building, which lowers the cost. Can keep the home for 10 years, after that you can sell it. Takes forever to start self-help housing lots. Offer 40-year mortgages
Can KCLT buy self-help housing land and further reduce the cost? HICDC is not a non-profit
Some law at the state level allows HICDC to create Self-Help Lots
Qualification: lower income, 40 hours, can’t restrict to North Kohala residents,
What is the self-help housing price under the county’s affordable definition?
CDP objective, Keep Existing Housing Stock Local: when distressed homeowners are unable to maintain their houses, it can lead to reverse mortgages or foreclosures, and loss of local ownership. Homes must be restored or fixed up before they can be insured. This group’s Vacant Home Inventory is intended to refer empty homes in disrepair to the KCLT. Kohala Community Land Trust (KCLT) is able to raise money to purchase and/or improve houses. Since the land in Kohala is valued higher than many buildings, the Trust can hold title to the land, while allowing the transfer of titles to people from Kohala to own just the house, therefore making homes more affordable. Technically, the median income in Kohala is defined based on the median income of the whole County, and for this reason does not necessarily reflect affordability for people from our district. KCLT decided not to apply for the (NARIT)
Grant application process from the County of Hawaii or Request for Proposals (RFP) by Hawaii County this year, as they are a newly established entity and were not yet prepared with agreements from homeowners. Needed three properties to apply – refurbishment. Have to wait until 2026
Agricultural Lots and Housing- no new updates on this month.
ADU: State law on affordable units on Ag lots
The next meeting will be August 13th, 9 am at Pomaika’I Café.
Agriculture:
North Kohala Citrus Festival. Inspired by the large amount of citrus fruit that goes unused in the community and a story about the first citrus fruit being brought to the Kohala region. The purpose is to celebrate citrus, support local farmers, and provide educational opportunities for the community.
Timeline: The group decided to postpone the festival until January 2027 to allow for a full year of planning, ensuring it is well-organized and has a lasting impact. January is the peak orange season. A small committee has already been formed, but the organizers are seeking more community involvement to share the workload. Those wishing to join the committee are asked to please email: nkcfhawaii@gmail.com The organizers are confident they can secure funding through community donations and grants, with a goal of raising $30,000. A portion to be used to create small grants for local farmers. Ideas for the festival include showcasing recipes for citrus, creating a “blessed fest” atmosphere, and having an “Orange Blossom Lounge” with spa treatments and showcasing products made from citrus.
Just One Organics: In attendance was the founder, David Rose, who used to work for Taro Dreams. His company uses a special low-temperature dehydration process that quickly dries pureed food, preserving its flavor and nutrients using less energy than traditional methods. He wants to bring this technology to Kohala by building a large facility to buy surplus and “imperfect” produce from local farmers at fair prices. This would provide farmers with a reliable market for their crops and reduce food waste. David’s goal is to reinvest any profits back into the community, such as by offering low-interest loans to farmers. He hopes to secure funding and launch the project within a year, ultimately supporting local agriculture and strengthening food security in the region. More info available on www.justoneorganics.com
Next meeting, August 28th, 5–6:30 pm,. HUB BARN
Community Access:
Did not meet in July.
Next meeting August 6th, 4:40 pm Senior Center.
Kohala Culutre & History Advisory Group:
Attention was at Reunion, Debrief, and inherited documents from the class of ’85
Presentation on cemeteries/grave sites. Houses gone, cemetaries still there
Suzie discovered 25 places that are listed but not located
Trying to locate. Kohala Mountain News article
Inventory – not for public, advisory group to developments. Plugged into burial comission
Did not have Kohala rep on burial council, has been solved, person will be invited to next meeting
Any info about buriel sites please email Suzie Davis or email kohalaculturehui@gmail.com
Mahukona discussion: Malama regular meetings – KCHAG part of discussions
Ala ka ha kai National history trail park service – superintendent – Erik Arakaki
Visited the Kohala Culture & History Group
All NKCDP decisions must be evaluated by a culture & history group. The General Plan does have a Biocultural Stewardship section
Sept 8 next meeting
Growth Management.:
Pololu Lookout DLNR plan + valley rim subdivision.
Townscape Planning got OK with their plan.
State has appropriated money for project.
EA is done.
Owner of the old mule station has donated land to use land for parking, cultural appreciation and comfort station.
A way to fund improvement , permits rules and regulations, still in the initial phase.
Pololu Subdivision plan from Surety has preliminary approval.
Must meet certain conditions to get full approval.
Asked for a variance in the road from 20′ to 12′. Dept raised to 14 feet
Want to appeal the variance
This committee wrote to Director of Planning for more time to respond to that request. Was granted more time.
CDP Cultural Group says no archaeological assessment was made so far
Access to ditch, trail system, blocking access with locked gate?
See article in June Kohala Mountain News for a full explanation.
Kohala Shoreline entry of OHA into the picture.
Public access report triggered a site visit, which could not find some historical sites because of damage from bulldozers during a fire. Original survey found 40 sites, only & preserved. Access group found trial blocked by downed trees. Public access has not been properly addressed. Waiting on damage report
Laulima Survey workshop: By invitation only, primarily for local reaction to vacation rentals. Put on by the Hawaii County Research & Development office. Contact that office.
Had a meeting in July. Survey, please complete hawaiicounty.gov/laulima
Extended to Aug 31st. Please represent North Kohala.
General Plan goes to County Council hearings: County council will be holding public meetings starting July 29th. Discussion in our group about aspects of the county plan that are controversial. Planning 3 meetings, looking for more comments.
Very difficult to ammend but still open for comment
Next meeting is August 13th, 5pm, Senior Center.
Health and Wellness:
Guest speaker Brian Alejandro RN, Kohala hospital. Brian is the newly created Community Outreach and Wellness representative. Much of his mission is to educate the community and referring hospitals about the services offered at Kohala hospital.
Kohala and Kona community hospital have been rebranded as West Hawaii regional giving more cohesion of care between facilities. Kohala hospital has undergone significant improvements and a CT scanner is scheduled for future implementation.
Hospital needs a Kidney Dialysis machine for people with diabetes
Community health and wellness events:
Grief Share support group offered by Overflow church in Hawi.
Community work-day to support local food security and community resilience.
Social services Navigator available to support individuals in North Kohala to connect with social services. Kohala Resilience Hub (Paula Fuertes: Snap, EBT housing….)
Next meeting August 15th, 4pm. NKCRC.
Parks, Roads Erosion Control and View-planes (PREV):
2 projects they are working one
Proposal to public works about drop off at school, merge land – still waiting
Give finalized plan to department of education
Get kids away from cars & intersection
Mahukona: Kohala provided input – now sitting with Parks & Rec
Can stay there for a very long time. Parks & Rec met monthly has not happened since we got a new mayor so trying to remind them of the importance of Mahukona
Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, 5pm, KIC.
Utilities:
Civil Beat article describing new law that permits small power-sharing grids. Starting in 2027, HECO will be required to let independent electricity producers use its grid to deliver electricity directly to customers for a fee. Today, developers build big wind and solar farms and sell the power to HECO, which pays as little as 8 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity from them and sells at much higher prices. Law enables customers to pay closer to what the renewable electricity costs HECO to buy and to encourage smaller players to get in the game. The wheeling provision does this by letting independent electricity producers pay a set fee to use HECO’s grid to deliver power to customers. https://www.civilbeat.org/?p=1720086
Small microgrids was forbidden in the past, Can pick a different supplier
Electric redundancy and the battery project. The group continued its discussion. Battery location still set to be at the Hawi substation. Wind farm cannot recharge it there during an outage.
Advocating for battery to be at the windfarm to supply more power during an outage
Grid needs to be synchronized. Wind farm produces asynchronized power.
The utilities meeting was arranged by Carter Collins at the wind farm – it was very educational.
Hamakua Coast Pepe’ekeo Biofuel plant. Hū Honua Bioenergy and HELCO have resumed talks to revive the 30 Mw plant. Previous power agreement was terminated due to missed construction deadlines and the PUC denied the proposal in 2022 citing cost concerns and failure to address greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass energy is officially classified as renewable under Hawaiʻi law, but the facility could produce over 8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over the course of a multi-decade contract. Environmental watchdog Life of the Land, whose challenge led to the project’s prior rejection, is closely watching the latest developments.
60 Mw Hamakua plant sold to a subsidiary of Harbert Management Corp.
Next meeting is August 20th at the Senior Center. 3:30pm
Will not make 2050 dealine for septic systems
Only one well in operation, please limit water usage by 10%
Loss of pressure up Kohala Mountain Road
East end well is still working (Makapala)
Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, 3:30pm, KIC.
New Business
Announcements:
- The 2025 Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU) annual convention is scheduled for October 24-26, 2025, in Kailua-Kona. Hosted by Kamehameha Schools, it will be held at Kahalu’u Ma Kai. A gathering for small family farmers, ranchers, and food enthusiasts from across the state.
- Little Fire Ant Talk Story: Sustainable Kohala is sponsoring a Little Fire Ant Talk Story Session around mid-August, still waiting to confirm the venue
STOP LFA – test stations up around town
Report From Our Council Representative, James Hustace.
General Plan: The Council is actively reviewing the Hawaiʻi County General Plan 2045. We will be holding Special Committee meetings over the next few months as we go through each chapter. Council Members raised several questions about the current draft and feel that we have a good deal of work to do to improve the document. Many plethora are laid out, but there seems to be a lack of connectivity to the action steps.
Legislative Highlights:
- I will be introducing a bill requiring bars to carry a supply of Naloxone/Narcan (Bill 71).
- Ongoing conversations about possible charter amendments as they relate to the Department of Public Works and the Department of Environmental Management (Bill 64, Bill 68, Bill 72).
- Last reading of the feral animal feeding ban bill on Wednesday (Bill 51 Draft 3).
District Contingency Support:
- Resolution 247-25: $10K grant to Kohala Food Hub for the North Kohala Farm to Family Project
- Resolution 248-25: $5K grant to North Kohala Community Resource Center for Kohala Cares
Initiatives to encourage development – Keep Kohala, Kohala
Discussed the lack of a merchant’s association
Adjourned at 6:03 pm
Next meeting: 4:30pm, (Date) Kohala Judiciary Building MONDAY SEPT 1 ST, 4:30pm, OLD COURT HOUSE