BOARD OF WATER SUPPLY
COUNTY OF MAUI
PUBLIC MEETING

  

Held at Kahului Community Center, 275 Uhu Street, 
Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, commencing at 6:30 p.m. on 
October 23rd, 2000.

REPORTED BY:   LYNANN NICELY, RPR/RMR/CSR #354
IWADO COURT REPORTERS, INC.

A P P E A R A N C E S

BOARD MEMBERS:

Howard Nakamura, Acting Chairman
Clark Hashimoto
Mike Nobriga
Jonathan Starr
Orlando Tagorda

STAFF PRESENT:
                 
David Craddick, Director
George Tengan, Deputy Director 
Howard Fukushima, Corporation Counsel
Ellen Kraftsow
Fran Nago, Board Secretary         

IWADO COURT REPORTERS, INC.

MR. NAKAMURA:  According to my watch, it's 
6:30, so I would like to call this public meeting with 
the Board of Water Supply to order.  It's 6:30 p.m.  
We're meeting at the Kahului Community Center, 275 Uhu 
Street in Kahului.  It is Monday, October 23rd, 2000. 

In attendance are board members Orlando 
Tagorda, our vice chairman; members Mike Nobriga, 
Jonathan Starr, Clark Hashimoto, and myself, Howard 
Nakamura; Deputy Corporation Counsel Howard Fukushima; 
Water Director David Craddick; Deputy Director George 
Tengan; Board Secretary Fran Nago; and Elliott Krash 
from Kula Community Association and Peter Stolle are 
the two public persons present this evening.  At this 
time the minutes are being formally recorded. 

The purpose of the meeting is to receive 
testimony input from the public on the proposed 
strategic plan for the Department of Water Supply.  
This plan -- the preparation of the plan was initiated 
last year by the board.  We have received input from 
the staff, we have solicited written comments from the 
public sometime ago.  We convened a facilitated public 
workshop sometime ago and are now in the process of 
having a formal meeting to receive any additional comments. 

After the meeting is completed, at a 
subsequent date the committee on strategic plan will 
convene and will ultimately make a recommendation to 
the board on the potential adoption of a strategic 
plan.  So we appreciate the interest that has been 
received so far.  As I said, we have received quite a 
bit of comment in the past, both in writing and in 
person. 

So at this time I would like to call the 
meeting to order and ask if there is any testimony 
that is to be provided by members of the public.  
Before I do that, Fran, I understand there has been no 
written testimony received? 

MS. NAGO:  No, there hasn't.  For this go round.

MR. NAKAMURA:  Okay.  So in response to the 
notice of public meeting, there was no written 
testimony received.  Okay.  I would like to open the 
meeting to the public to see if anyone has any input 
that they would like to provide to the board regarding 
the proposed strategic plan. 

MS. KRASH:  Elliott Krash, Kula Community 
Association.  I don't have anything formal prepared. 

MR. NAKAMURA:  I might note that Ellen 
Kraftsow from the department is also in attendance.

MS. KRASH:  I'm Elliott Krash, Kula Community 
Association.  And our association reviewed the draft 
plan that was provided last February, I believe it 
was, and submitted some written comments.  So when I 
picked up my copy of this revised document today -- 
oh, also I might add we attended part of the meeting 
that you held in May to review the document and 
discuss the process.  And when I picked up this 
document today, I went over it, first of all, to see 
how it had incorporated the suggestions that we had 
submitted.  And then the next thing I looked at was to 
see how it incorporated the values, especially 5 and 6 
that are of particular interest for the Kula 
community, the value on stewarding the resources and 
the value related to protecting agriculture. 

And I guess overall I want to say thank you 
for all the hard work that you all have done on this 
because as your notes indicate, you've received mainly 
just little fixer uppers and word smithing and items 
to make it clearer so it reflects the hard work that 
you did initially and it reflects that you've gone 
through a long process to incorporate all of the 
thoughts of the public and your department and your 
board. 

I found that division was improved, it was 
clearer and strengthened, cutting out some of the 
wordings made it stronger, I thought.  And the focus, 
you added the focus on community plans that a number 
of people mentioned.  You included that in the vision 
statement which puts it right up front, so we were 
pleased to see that. 

One of the concerns that have been raised by 
our association was the need for prioritizing what 
your goals and values were and I see you've addressed 
that in your notes at the end here in your 
communication where it says subsequently the plan will 
include priorities. 

As I looked at it, I had a hard time trying to 
figure out how you would prioritize, frankly, because 
you're trying to balance so many interests and 
concerns. 

The item on agriculture, protecting 
agriculture.  It's a value, the last value that's 
listed there, and I see that it's reflected in Goal 1.  
And then I looked for it elsewhere and I didn't find 
it.  It could be embedded in some of those objectives 
that I didn't realize.  I think it's in Goal 4, which 
talks about financial planning.  I think it's embedded 
there because if we're going to look at setting rates 
and different types of pricing, then we're going to 
look at the continuation of differential rates for 
agriculture.  I think that's what that means.  But I 
know that that was a concern that was submitted I 
believe by the Farm Bureau and of course it would be a 
concern of the Kula community that water continue to 
be affordable -- available also, which you're trying 
to address in Goal 1, but affordable. 
The other overall item that came to my mind as 
I read through this, all of these things are 
wonderful.  How do we determine when we've reached 
them?  And I went back to your notes at the end and 
said subsequently the plan will include action plan, 
strategies, priorities, mechanism for implementation.  
Doesn't say anything about mechanism for evaluation or 
assessment and that was a question that I had.  It may 
be here.  I may have missed it because I did just go 
through this quickly this afternoon. 

I think those were the main items I had.  All 
of my other notes on here are simply where you -- oh, 
one little typo confusion thing, Goal 5, the one on 
creating a satisfying and productive working 
environment.  Look at the first objective, the first 
bullet, maybe it should be two bullets there?  Provide 
training for employees on a regular basis; and then 
bullet:  Provide and maintain.  But all my other notes 
really pertain to little things like that where you've 
cleaned it up, targeted -- tightened the language, 
that kind of thing, combined things, deleted things.  
So thank you very much.

MR. NAKAMURA:  Thank you for your comments, 
Elliott.  Any questions from any of the board members 
present?  Jonathan? 

MR. STARR:  Just whether Elliott has any 
suggestions as far as mechanisms for prioritization. 

MS. KRASH:  No, you know, that's why I said 
when I sat here and I looked at these items and 
thought about well, the Kula community would focus on 
agriculture, but there are so many competing needs and 
I'm not sure how to arrive at that.  I guess that you 
all had talked about it because you mentioned it here.  
But how to stage the work and everything will have to 
be prioritized as you go, I guess.  You'll have to be 
prioritizing your goals and then you'll have to be 
prioritizing your objectives and your work plans and 
action plans.  Some of it is going to depend on  --

MR. STARR:  It's a difficult -- 

MS. KRASH:  Yeah, yeah. 

MR. TAGORDA:  Question for Ms. Elliott.  You 
mentioned water continually affordable and available 
Upcountry Kula.  Would you agree on a different rate 
structure up in Kula if we do have some funding on all 
this inadequate transmission lines and substandard 
lines upcountry to replace them?

MS. KRASH:  I'm not sure what you mean.  Right 
now for agriculture, water is cheaper, for ag. 

MR. TAGORDA:  What I mean is the totality of 
the problem upcountry is we have substandard lines up 
there, the transmission lines, the distribution lines 
needs replacement.  Since you live Kula upcountry, I 
knew you have some input from your members about those 
current problems.  So I don't know if it's okay for 
you folks to have a different rate structure if we do 
[inaudible] solving the problems upcountry.

MS. KRASH:  You mean like a surcharge to --

MR. TAGORDA:  Something like that.

MS. KRASH:  Boy, that is a real hot issue.  
And I served as an alternate member on the upcountry 
draft task force and that committee that Mr. Tengan 
chaired came out strongly against that.  And I don't 
begin to understand all the issues involved with rate 
pricing.  Mr. Craddick provided us with several 
chapters from a couple of textbooks, I believe it was, 
wasn't it, David, on pricing.  And I tried to 
understand it, but I'm not an economist, I'm not a 
systems analyst, and I think it seems to me the whole 
issue of rates is a tough one that you're going to 
have to come to the public on and really going to have 
to get the public to buy in. 

And I guess that was another issue maybe I was 
hoping to see louder and clearer in Goal 4.  Goal 4 
talks about financial management programs for the 
department and how to make it -- I guess what that 
means is how to make it more sound.  But to me I'm not 
sure if it's here or in another goal that we need to 
address how to get the public on board.  It's maybe 
embedded in this goal that I guess relates to the 
kinds of things that Jackie in the department does on 
the conservation and awareness and support for the 
department, but it's really not there.  It's this 
whole understanding that hey, it does cost money.  And 
so you need your lines replaced, do you want to pay 
extra for them or do we spread the cost across the 
whole county?  I don't know.

MR. NAKAMURA:  Any other questions from board 
members?  If not, is there any other member of the 
public who wishes to testify on the proposed rules and 
regulations?  

MR. FUKUSHIMA:  Just one correction.  It's 
your strategy plan, not proposed rules and 
regulations.

MR. NAKAMURA:  I'm sorry, thank you.  I knew 
there was a good reason why you were here.  Thank you 
very much, Mr. Fukushima.  On the proposed strategic 
plan.  Okay.  Hearing none, the meeting is adjourned.  
Thank you very much for attending.

(WHEREUPON, the hearing was concluded.)

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