Hawai‘i County Council to hold special meeting about pick for Environmental Management director

The Hawaiʻi County Council confirmed eight of new Mayor Kimo Alameda’s selections to lead departments, but the appointment for director of Environmental Management was held up over concerns involving potential conflicts of interest.

The council scheduled a special meeting to further discuss the appointment of civil engineer Wesley Segawa, due to his lack of experience involving wastewater and because his consulting firm has one existing contract with the county.

Councilmembers Michelle Galimba, Heather Kimball, Jenn Kagiwada and Rebecca Villegas voted against Segawa’s appointment with councilmembers James Hustace, Holeka Inaba, Ashley Kierkiewicz and Dennis “Fresh” Onishi voting in favor. Councilmember Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder was absent.

Segawa, founder and president of the engineering consulting firm Wesley R. Segawa and Associates, told the council Wednesday he was unsure if had existing contracts with the county. He said he is not part of the firm’s day-to-day operations of these contracts but is involved with risk management.

Before Alameda took office, Segawa’s company was awarded a $4.4 million contract in June 2024 for construction management services for the reconstruction of lava-inundated road projects, county officials confirmed Thursday.

The county will ask the Board of Ethics to provide Segawa with guidance going forward regarding his private business activity through an informal opinion.

Segawa’s consulting firm has been involved with design and construction projects throughout the state ranging from roads to airports to bridges, according to Segawa’s company website.

The Department of Environmental Management is responsible for a myriad of services including management of transfer stations, recycling and wastewater. The department has been working to address issues with upgrading wastewater treatment plants and a state requirement to convert large-capacity cesspools to more environmentally friendly systems by 2050.

“I would think that a lot of the folks that are qualified for these director positions are also folks that have potentially either current or historical relationships with the county,” Kimball said.

But she expressed concern about the current contracts Segawa’s company has with the county and how to address potential conflicts of interest.

“This is to protect you and your integrity, and the administration’s integrity,” Kimball said.

She added this avoids the appearance of “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”

After Wednesday’s meeting, Alameda said he was unaware of contracts Segawa’s firm had with the county, adding if he did, it wasn’t with the Department of Environmental Management.

Kagiwada asked Segawa during the meeting: “Are you willing to follow any recommendations by our finance director and our corporation counsel on things that you would need to do to make sure that your interest, your company’s interests, are not in any conflict with the county’s interests as we go forward?”

Segawa said he was sure his business would be forthcoming with him about potential conflicts and would like to have the opportunity to decide.

“It’s like asking me to sign something without reading it,” Segawa said. “I personally don’t feel I have a conflict of interest.”

Alameda told Kagiwada that what she was putting Segawa through was “nonsense.”

“If there’s conflicts, he’ll address it,” Alameda said.

While Villegas appreciated Segawa’s history and legacy as a construction company, her challenge over supporting the appointment comes from the need for someone in that role to have expertise in waste management. Segawa’s experience is in construction management.

Kierkiewicz said she interned with the Department of Environmental Management in the early 2000s and has worked with the two previous directors of that department since joining the council in 2018.

“And I can tell you that the problems that we are facing today are the same ones that previous directors have faced,” she said.

While he didn’t have a lot of answers to the council’s questions during a committee meeting a couple of weeks ago, Kierkiewicz felt Segawa demonstrated that he had a grasp on the department and the challenges that lie ahead.

“These are very complex challenges that we are asking you to solve for, and I get it. You don’t have all the answers, and that’s OK,” Kierkiewicz said. “Sometimes we don’t always have the answers.”

Kierkiewicz told Segawa that he didn’t seem daunted by the challenges facing the county.

“If anything, you feel a bit energized to make our county proud, our community proud, and to solve them,” she said.

Alameda urged those opposing Segawa’s appointment to reconsider, saying it is possible for someone to learn the job but it’s the connection to employees that can’t be taught.

Alameda was committed to choosing directors who were raised in the state. The mayor said Segawa is culturally grounded with family going back generations on Hawai‘i Island when his Japanese ancestors immigrated here to work on a plantation.

“There are cultural nuances,” he said. “How you say hello, goodbye, how you compliment, how you reprimand – those nuances don’t show up on a resumé.”

As a former chief executive officer for a health care clinic, Alameda said he’s found what makes leaders successful isn’t the content knowledge but how they connect with their employees.

“It’s those intangibles and that’s what he has and that’s what this county council is missing out on,” Alameda said.

During the past administration, the Department of Environmental Management has struggled with staffing issues, including vacancies and too many employees calling out sick, forcing the county to shut down transfer stations.

Alameda said the department needs a director who understands the work and their employees. He said while some members of the council want him to cast the net wider for a new director, that would mean finding someone out of state.

“Integrity is hard to find,” he said. “I’m not going to pick someone who will fail.”

For the four council members who opposed Segawa’s appointment, Villegas said they weren’t satisfied with his answers or the effort put into the position over the last two months.

When Alameda took office in December, he announced his appointments for the director heads. While they have assumed these roles, the council must officially confirm the mayor’s appointments.

“The answers he gave underestimated the levity of this role,” the councilwoman said.

Villegas said she was disappointed that her colleagues decided to call Segawa’s appointment back to discussion in a special meeting.

Villegas said she wants answers from the county’s Finance Department and Corp Counsel regarding the possible contracts Segawa’s firm has with the county.

While it may not be illegal to have these contracts, Villegas said it’s ill-advised.

“I believe the role of director is to be a leader and an expert in that field,” Villegas said. “I respect the role of relationships and supporting our county staff, and I think for myself that’s a role for the deputy director.”

After failing to confirm Segawa, the council voted to further discuss his appointment during a special meeting on Jan. 31.

With the exception of Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder being absent, the council unanimously confirmed the following:

• William B. Brilhante Jr. as Managing Director
• Jeffrey Darrow as Director of Planning
• Clayton Honoma as Director of Parks and Recreation
• Benson P. Medina as Director of Research and Development
• Diane Nakagawa as Director of Finance
• Renee Schoen as Corporation Counsel
• Corey Stone as Director of Information and Technology

Hugh Y. Ono was confirmed as Director for Public Works with Villegas dissenting.

While Alameda was pleased with the confirmation process as a whole, he was disappointed with the council’s questioning of Segawa.

“It almost felt like an interrogation and I thought it was unnecessary,” he said.