Board of Directors Zoom Meeting Minutes, Tuesday, February 9th, 2021
Conducted via Zoom:
Present: D. Young, M. Novack, J. Bean, J. Fernie, A. Richardson, S. Harding, L. Jenks, D. Medeiros, G. Colbert, C. Turner (Webmaster), and M. Spencer (Administrative Assistant).
Guest: Derek Esibill, Program Director, Watershed Investigations, Research Education, and Design, (WIRED), Pacific American Foundation
Absent: G. Gustavson, D. Kroll, R. Castanha, and M. Compton.
The meeting was called to order by D. Young at 7:03pm. A quorum was declared.
Following the call to order, D. Young introduced the Guest speaker, Derek Esibill, who provided a brief description of the efforts of WIRED to connect students to current, ongoing, leading edge science investigations in the bays, streams, wetlands, ponds, and ocean of their school’s ahupua`a.
D. Esibill, who has had long experience working in the Kaelepulu Estuary, then provided a briefing that included a history of the development of the Enchanted Lake and the many challenges involved in keeping the water of the lake clean. One of the most interesting slides showed the countless storm drains that funnel the rain water off the streets and hardscapes into the lake.
D. Young requested Esibill to provide ELRA a plan for sampling and testing lake water that would allow ELRA build a Lake Health data-base, to include possible testing locations, frequency, protocols, and properties tested for. The plan should include an implementation plan and costs.
2-1 TASK: Write TY Letter to Esibill, reiterate request for proposal for water quality testing for ELRA. ** D. Young. COMPLETE
Following his departure, the formal portion of the meeting began.
Minutes: Minutes for the January Meeting had been circulated via email. L. Jenks moved and S. Harding seconded the motion that the January 2021 Minutes be approved. They were approved unanimously.
Finance: Prior to the meeting, G. Gustavson had sent the monthly Financial Report to all Board members. He reported via email that there are no significant variances from the budget. The major variance is equipment depreciation, which is only because that was not included in our original budget.
The refurbishment of the security boat is near completion and may be complete by now. The refurbishment costs were capitalized in our finances. Mike Compton sold the old boat motor for $1200. That revenue was logged as Miscellaneous Revenue.
We paid the second quarter Federal and Hawaii estimated income tax of $240 and $325, respectively.
Thanks to Alan for his continued support of the ELRA financials.
J. Fernie moved and L. Jenks seconded the motion that the January 2021 Financial Report be approved. The motion was approved unanimously.
Administration:
Correspondence: D. Young has created a Communications Log to capture the letters and other communications originated and received by the President’s Office. He sent this to the Board via email, prior to the meeting. Several members thought this was a very good approach.
Report from the Kailua Neighborhood Board (KNB): J. Bean attended the remotely conducted Board. Her Report is at Att 1.
Goals and Objectives: D. Young drew attention to the current Goals and Objectives that are attached to the Agenda. He stated that the listing had been brought up to date and would stand for the present time.
Electronic File Storage: Consistent with Goal 4: Improve Association Administration, ELRA has been transitioning from the use of paper files to the use of electronic media. Over the past eleven months, M. Novack, Secretary, experimented with the program “Dropbox”. This experiment showed promise and Novack has requested to make a total transition. In order to do this, ELRA must buy a license in its own name. Prior to the Board Meeting, Novack sent a proposal to the Board for their review. Following discussion, M. Novack made the motion that the ELRA Board approve the purchase of a year’s license for the Professional Version of Dropbox, costing approximately $199.00 J. Bean seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
Board Vacancy: D. Young noted that the Board continues to have a vacancy.
Committee Reports:
Dredging Committee: S. Harding joined D. Young in describing a good initial meeting with Esther Kia’aina, City Council District 3 and her staff on February 5, 2021. Using a series of informational handouts, Harding informed the Councilwoman about the dredging project, to include issues involving the maintenance of the lake.
Looking toward the future, Harding said he is awaiting Oceanit’s completion of engineer drawings depicting the grading requirements. Once these are completed and approved by the HYCF at Olomana, he will submit them to Department of Human Services for final approval. When the Grading Permit is approved, Harding will coordinate with American Marine to determine the start time. Right now, it appears that a target date to start actual dredging is mid to late summer 2021.
S. Harding pointed to a Zoom Meeting that would take place on the evening of 11 Feb 2021, as part of a Kailua Neighborhood Board subcommittee meeting. Representatives from the Clean Water Branch will be discussing the Enchanted Lake TDML measurements. Board members were encouraged to sit-in.
Membership Committee: D. Medeiros brought before the Board the first application for Voluntary Membership, as delineated in the updated and approved ELRA Bylaws. This application was for the de Vries/Turner lot. Following discussion, D. Medeiros moved and L. Jenks seconded that the application be approved. The motion was approved unanimously.
D. Medeiros moved approval for the application form to be used for Associate Membership. This was seconded by S. Harding and was approved unanimously.
Operations Committee: There was no formal report from this committee, however Board Members commented that they had seen the Security Boat out on the lake and it appeared to be in excellent form.
Environment Committee: There was no formal report from this committee, however there was discussion about the Excel Sheet being used to capture lake-health characteristics. Some members were challenged in making entries. It was agreed that additional training on the use of Dropbox would benefit everyone.
Miscellaneous: D. Young indicated that he was very pleased with ELRA’s outreach to all of the newly elected state, city, and county officials. He hoped that this could continue.
Lastly, D. Young pointed back to the item on the agenda, noting the continued vacancy on the Board of Directors. He then reminded the Board that the newly approved Voluntary Member, current Webmaster and long-time volunteer on the Board, Cindy Turner, was now eligible for an official seat on the Board, if she was interested. This was warmly applauded by other members of the Board. D. Young then nominated C. Turner for membership on the ELRA Board of Directors, to fill the term vacated by George Lingle, until the next board election date. This was seconded by S. Harding and unanimously approved by the entire Board.
Next Meeting Date: The next Board meeting will take place by Zoom on Tuesday, March 9th, 2021 at 7pm. L. Jenks will be attending the March 4th Kailua Neighborhood Board.
The meeting adjourned at 9:05pm.
Respectfully submitted
M. Novack
Tasks from previous months still needing to be completed.
1-2 TASK: Write TY letter to KS (Todd Gray) for their willingness to work with us. ** D. Kroll.
1-3 TASK: Create a newsletter going to all ELRA households identifying what mangrove seeds and plants look like, and requesting they clean their waterfronts of the mangrove and floating coconuts. ** C. Turner
Attachment 1
Synopsis of February 4 , 2021 Kailua Neighborhood Board meeting
Quorum declared by President Hicks and meeting began at 7:01 pm. Announced NB Election for 2021-2023 term will be online April 23 and May 21 Register for candidacy by Feb 19th. Another farewell and thanks to departing member Theresa Parsons.
Kailua virtual Town Hall to take place online Thursday February 11, 6:30 – 8:00 pm. All elected officials represented.
HPD reported majority of crime stats down December to January. One exception is regularity of UAMV (‘smash and grabs’) into vehicles, particularly in Lanikai.
KNB member Weller asks HPD to monitor social media particularly complaints of loose/aggressive dogs.
HFD and Water board reported stats.
MCBHI reported that aviation activity has been lower than usual of late due to aircraft off-island. However activity will return to normal levels soon. Reported that base is continuing a predator capture program (mainly feral cats, rats and mongoose). Live capture with traps – Wants neighbors to know that adult cats that cannot be identified with owners are euthanized by Humane Society. Also partnering with NOAA to count Humpbacks from base, and working with others , particularly Fish and Wildlife on endangered water bird study.
Laura Thielan (Parks and Rec) spoke as Mayor Blangiardi’s rep. Regarding Kaelepulu Stream Berm – no change in status, working with Army Corp. Announced that Kailua Boat ramp will receive emergency repairs via Capitol Improvement $$ Dept of Design and Construction working it.
Gov Ige office rep from HI DOT went into long discussion of use of herbicides on state roads, why, how, when used. In Kailua , the Pali is sprayed every 2-3 years as is Kalanianaole from Castle Junction down to Kapaa Quarry then picks up again at Castle Hospital and continues on Kalanianaole towards Waimanalo. Kapaa Quarry to Castle will not be treated nor Castle down to Hamakua in 2021 due to proximity to populated areas and waterways. KNB member Parsons disputed oversight /supervision of this process and shared several photos of policy violations.
Numerous elected officials reported – due to new legislative session, all touted the numerous bills and projects they are working on. See elected officials websites for more info.
Hawaiian Electric representative provided presentation on Resilience of Community – Koolaupoko. Large multi-agency and community project to prepare for and react to disasters on Windward side.
Finally, meeting ended with motion from KNB to request C&C to establish a formal regular street sweeping schedule for sweeping major streets in Kailua to help to minimize the amount of debris entering storm drains and curb inlets. However, street sweeping machines are often unable to do an adequate job because of parked cars. One way to remedy this would be to have a partial parking ban for a few hours during a weekday. This would likely be around Keolu Drive and parts of downtown Kailua. KNB voted unanimously in favor of motion.
Meeting adjourned at 10:17 pm.