Remarks by Andria Tupola
47 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 2
“I move that the session minutes as posted on the agenda be approved. Second.”
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“I move that first reading items listed on pages six and seven of the agenda pass first reading. Check. Bill 57, 2026, relating to outdoor play courts. Bill 58, 2026, relating to shared mobility vehicles. Bill 59, 2026, relating to public transit. Bill 60, 2026, relating to real property taxation.”
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“Thank you, Chair. In support, briefly, this bill has an attached map, and in the map there are a few small sections, I would say about four, but there's various TMKs associated with it. But they're pretty small. What they're trying to do is align the missing pieces into the TOD plan that was approved through the neighborhood TOD plan process. I'll make more comments on Bill 39, but definitely for this one, the rezoning of the small little parcels was to coincide with where the rail line is as well as where UH West O'ahu is, because it's in those areas. Thank you.”
“Thank you. Thank you, Ironworkers, for testifying in support. Briefly, Chair, I wanted to amend this bill, but I want to talk with DPP. They said it wasn't an appropriate place to put it, so I'm going to verbally say what I think should be in here. There is a section on page four and five where it's discussing the East Kapolei neighborhood TOD plan, saying that it should create a greenway corridor, configure buildings, establish a local misuse community, promote an active festival street, promote the vision of Ke'one'ai, the UH West O'ahu Station, create a greenway that includes a multi-use…”
“Thank you. And thank you to the members for your patience. These three bills are a huge change in my district. Bill 39 specifically with thousands of acres being changed into different zonings has stirred some emotion and concern. So let me just briefly say in public, there was a public meeting in April 2025 regarding this plan. There were about 70 to 80 community members there and many of their concerns were with the current developer who is doing , and they were able to meet and resolve. I did meet with DPP numerous times to discuss the availability of certain lands staying in ag, how we…”
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“For HPD. So in Waianae, we were waiting for a while for the live scan, and then we were borrowing it from the AG's office, so can you designate or tell us where this live scan is going? What station?”
“Yeah, and I just wanted to make clear that we needed this in order for us to process our STs, and why NYSO is pretty important. This is not something that is just, like, nice to have. It's actually need to have. So I hope that it helps in all the stations. Thank you, sir.”
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“I move that CR 260-2026 and Resolution 26-209 be adopted. Second.”
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“Yeah, thank you so much, Chair. I just wanna thank everyone for coming out to testify. We knew that this was gonna be a heavily debated and discussed bill today. I do also think that any time we move any large projects forward, especially when it deals with housing, that there's always gonna be a little bit of push and pull. I think in my district, because we have so much housing coming up, we go through this exercise regularly of what is enough? What is a community benefit? What does the community need? And so I think the back and forth and I can confirm I did ask both sides if, you know,…”
“Oh, Chair, could I ask a quick question?”
“Yeah, thank you. I was able to go to the UH West O'ahu 50th on Monday and there were many people talking to me about, you know, the progress of the project. So what interactions have or are you guys going to engage with the students? So there is issue, I guess, brought up that there hasn't been a lot of like student government or student body updates or support as far as their concerns on the project. Do you guys meet with them regularly or are there future meetings scheduled?”
“Okay, how frequently will you guys be meeting with them throughout the project or just?”
“Awesome. Well, I hope it goes well. I know the students are very, I guess, excited, but also wondering how it's going to benefit UH, how they can be more involved in it. So please continue to involve the student body. They're very active. They're excited. Anything new at UH West O'ahu is good for all of us. So thank you.”
“I move the balance of committee reports be adopted. Second.”
“Committee report 280-2026, request for authorization to settle a case against City and County of Honolulu entitled Tevita Tonga Kariente and Wako Kehekehe Mataele versus City and County of Honolulu et al.”
“Yeah, thank you so much, Chair. We do have a sister city relationship with Fuzhou, China. It started in 2021, and there also was an MOU signing between the mayor, their mayor, as well as Iolani Schools and another school for a sister school relationship. I have gone twice, and I do believe that The main goal in the visit was to learn how to learn from each other, whether it was that they haven't done landfills there since 2009, what technologies, so things that we could both benefit from and nothing to do with anything that was alluded to. And so I do think it'll be a good learning experience…”
“I move the meeting stand adjourned until Thursday, November 5th, 2026 at 10 a.m. Second.”
“Aloha, Director. Good morning. Good morning. A question about the retroactive 2025-2026. Is the reason because the duration of the collective bargaining lasted so long that we're now doing the two retroactive years?”
“I see. And off the top of your head, do you know how many contracts we still have for ocean safety? I know there's a small handful that we're still operating under contract that weren't necessarily FT. I'm not sure how many contracts we have yet.”
“Aloha, Director. For the salaries category of the transfer for the $33,000, is that for a staff member that's already on staff, or you guys are getting someone in to work with you on the local match?”