HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/11/2012 Regular Council MeetingCOUNCIL MEETING
JANUARY 11, 2012
The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to
order by the Council Chair at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Room 201,
Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday January 11, 2012 at 9:08 a.m., after which the
following members answered the call of the roll:
Honorable
Honorable
Honorable
Honorable
Honorable
Honorable
Honorable
Chair Furfaro: I'm going to ask for an approval of the
agenda but since I see several members of our Police Department here, after the
consent calendar I'm going to ask that we go to the police van item first and then to
the Cost Control Commission, so the officers can get back to their offices. With that
note, can I have an approval of the agenda?
APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
Tim Bynum
Dickie Chang
KipuKai Kuali`i
Nadine K. Nakamura
Mel Rapozo
JoAnn A. Yukimura
Jay Furfaro
Mr. Rapozo moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by
Mr. Bynum, and unanimously carried.
MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council:
Council Meeting of November 16, 2011
Council Meeting of December 1, 2011
Mr. Rapozo moved to approve the Minutes as circulated, seconded by
Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried.
Chair Furfaro: I'd like to now move to the consent calendar.
The consent calendar is made up of four (4) items. Item 2012 -01 through 2012 -04
and if there's anyone in the audience that wants to speak on this item... any of
these items now or any other agenda items now, please acknowledge yourself so I
can give you your three (3) minutes now. Seeing no one, I'd like a motion to receive
those items.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
C 2012 -01 Communication (12/02/2011) from the Chief, Building Division,
transmitting for Council information, the Monthly Report on Building Permit
Information for the Month of November 2011, which includes the following:
1) Building Permit Processing Report
2) Building Permit Estimated Value Summary
3) Building Permits Tracking Report
4) Building Permits Status
Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -01 for the record, seconded by Mr. Chang, and
unanimously carried.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
C 2012 -02 Communication (12/07/2011) from the Planning Director,
transmitting for Council consideration, proposed amendments to Chapter 8 of the
Kaua`i County Code 1987, to allow solar energy facilites as generally permitted uses
within the Agriculture Zoning District: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -02 for
the record, seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -03 Communication (12/30/2011) from Councilmember Chang,
providing written disclosure on the record of a possible conflict of interest relating
to EDR 2011 -5, relating to a post race update on the 2011 Kaua`i Marathon, due to
his position as the owner of Wala'au Productions, which tapes and airs footage of
the Kaua`i Marathon: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -03 for the record,
seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -04 Communication (01/05/2012) from the Council Chair, providing
written disclosure on the record of a possible conflict of interest relating to the
Mayoral Appointment of Jan Kimura to the Planning Commission, because Mr.
Kimura is a landscape contractor of the Princeville Community Association, of
which the Chair is a member: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -04 for the
record, seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried.
Chair Furfaro: Now I would like to say that we're going to
go to the police acquisition of their substantial need for this new evidence van, then
I'm going to go to the Cost Control Commission, then Asset Forfeitures and then
we'll go back to the regular agenda. Can we read the Police Department agenda
item?
COMMUNICATIONS:
C 2012 -10 Communication (12/09/2011) from the Chief of Police, requesting
Council consideration and approval to expend approximately $140,000.00 of asset
forfeiture funds, to purchase an Evidence Collection Vehicle, which will be delivered
fully equiped to meet current needs in evidence idenfication and collection, and
allow for future expansion, to replace the current 2002 Ford Explorer: Mr. Chang
moved to approve C 2012 -10, seconded by Mr. Rapozo.
Chair Furfaro: On that note, I'm going to suspend the rules
and ask the Chief if you'd like to come up with some of your staff to talk about this
item.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Chair Furfaro: Again Ricky, this is item C 2012 -10 right?
Mr. Watanabe: Correct.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you.
DAN S. MIYAMOTO, Lieutenant: Good morning Council, Lieutenant
Miyamoto, Kauai Police Department. I'm here to answer any questions you may
have. I know we do need one vehicle. The one we're currently using is kind of old
and outdated and needs to be replaced because it's kind of long overdue.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro:
restate your name again.
Mr. Watanabe: Just a voice vote.
He did state his name but you need to
Mr. Miyamoto: Oh okay, Lieutenant Miyamoto, Kaua`i
Police Department.
Chair Furfaro: Is the blue light on?
Mr. Miyamoto: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: Very good, thank you. Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: I didn't expect any questions, I did read the
supporting documentation and I know the hundred forty thousand seems quite high
and the public may look at it but I think the supporting documentation clearly
explains. It's really not just a vehicle, it's a vehicle that's going to take care of your
evidence collection needs, which is sorely needed here on Kaua`i. Especially with
the rise in... especially the violence crimes, I think when I deal with those cases
in -house and we can do that with this equipment and training. So thank you for the
documentation; it helps us when the supporting documentation is attached so thank
you very much.
Chair Furfaro: Members? You all have a lot of detail on this
in your packet. Thank you very much, no further questions.
Mr. Miyamoto: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Is there anyone in the audience that would
like to address this item C 2012 -10? Seeing none.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and
proceeded as follows:
Chair Furfaro: Any further discussion?
Mr. Rapozo: Mr. Chair, I just want to reiterate the fact
that the funds are coming from the asset forfeiture funds account, so this isn't out of
the general funds. These funds are made available compliments of the drug dealers
of the world and it's always nice to see their moneys being spent on law enforcement
and catching more bad guys. I don't have a problem with it and I fully support it
and I wish you well in its endeavor and looking forward to seeing that vehicle on
Kaua`i. Thank you Mr. Chair.
Chair Furfaro: You're welcome. Any further discussion?
Again this item, I'm looking for an approval on a hundred and forty thousand
dollars of asset forfeiture funds for the purpose of this vehicle for the collection of
evidence. This would be a roll call vote?
The motion to approve C 2010 -10 was then put, and unanimously carried.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Thank you gentlemen, thank you Chief,
we've done your business for today.
Mr. Watanabe: Chair next item under communication on
page three (3), C 2012 -11.
C 2012 -11 Communication (12/15/2011) from the Cost Control Commission,
transmitting for Council information the County Cost Control Commission 2011
Annual Report, in conformance with the requirements of Section 28.05, Kaua`i
County Charter: Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -11 for the record, seconded by
Mr. Chang.
Chair Furfaro: Members of the Cost Control Commission,
good morning. There's a blue light that you need to push down to turn on your
mike Commissioners, if you could introduce yourselves before I turn the floor over
to you and suspend the rules.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
SANDI STERKER, Former Chair, Cost Control Commission: Sandi Sterker,
former Chair of the Cost Control Commission, and this is Dirk Apao.
DIRK APAO, Chair, Cost Control Commission: Dirk Apao, current Chair.
Chair Furfaro: We have copies of a three (3) page double
sided report that has been submitted and signed off on December 12. Members all
have copies of this report from the Cost Control Commission?
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: Okay if you'd like to give us the overview,
you have the floor.
Ms. Sterker: Thank you very much Chairman. One of the
big things that we did this year of course was look at the number of county offices
that had personnel people working in the department and found that there was a
lot of problems with the fact that they were not trained the same. The county put
out a lot of money for sexual harassment suits, workplace violence suits because of
lack of training. We felt that if we changed the Personnel Department to a Human
Resources Department that we would see a much better training sessions that
would be for these things. That was the one impetus that we had to see what these
would be put together. It was a real eye opener for us to know that there were
people who had not been trained at all, that had been hired and not have any
training, and we feel like the county is moving in the right direction. We like where
it's moving at this point. We feel pretty good that we had started this process,
that's the first thing that we were really studying. We were also looking into all of
the energy saving and I have to say I've noticed that most of you have jackets on
and... because it's a little chilly in this room and one of the things we were looking
at is the fact that is there a reason when most of us do not live in houses where we
have air conditioning, most of us are outside a lot, is there a reason that so many of
the county buildings have to be so cold? And...
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: And before you go any further on that, that
is a very sore subject with this Council. I want to share something, this message
should be directed to our Building Department. Since we moved into this building
all we've gotten is responses that indicate that they are adjusting the Trane system.
And I want to let you know that I have enough knowledge about the Trane system
that I once went to the Court House to reset the computer because it's the same
system that I use in my hotels. But you should direct that directly to the
Engineering Department because we're... you see my hair standing up a little bit
today?
Ms. Sterker: I thought it was because it was goose bumps.
Chair Furfaro: It's actually combed differently than I
usually comb it, I combed it all the way up and back to make my point. My hair is
standing up on end that it takes since the day we moved in to have them
respond -it's two and a half months.
Ms. Sterker: We did have...
Chair Furfaro: At the break, I'll comb my hair.
Ms. Sterker: We did have them come and talk to us and
got the same response... oh they're studying it and they're doing this and that... and
I know that it is a sore spot with a number of us that we have to walk into
someplace and put on jackets and try to be warm. I mean we leave the house and
it's hot and so... so that was one of the things. We're looking forward to the fact
that we do have a sustainability engineer that is going to... County Manager for
energy and hopefully this is something that will be looked in to. We're quite proud
of the fact that we really pushed on this, this year too.
Chair Furfaro: Let me give you a clue on this one.
Ms. Sterker: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: The chill water can circulate in this building
at fifty -two (52) degrees, that's what it can be set at. It is currently circulating
through this building at forty -four (44) degrees, so the energy to drop the chill water
temperature to forty (40) is where the savings is because this then goes through the
vents, ducts and disperses the chill water against the cooling fans and it starts right
there. Just lower the chill water temperature, there's a clue for you. I'm fixing my
hair, thank you.
Ms. Sterker: I know I went to give blood when it was at
the Convention Hall and I shivered all the way through giving blood. So that's
just... it's not just this building, it's all of the buildings. I realize that we were
talking about the fact that they said oh we have to have this at such and such of
temperature for all of the documents and I know that it's not... I have documents at
home too. My documents are in whatever temperature it is so... Again we did this,
we also of course have been working on the tax exemptions and I'm sure that you
are all aware of that. We are looking at that, we have not come to any conclusions
at this point because we are still investigating on the things that are done. And so
that is an ongoing for us right now is the tax exemptions. I think that we're finding
out that there's a lot of things that we feel are unnecessary. At this point we don't
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
really know what the recommendations are going to be. So basically our
recommendations for this last year were with the Human Resources Department
and with the energy savings. Do you have anything else that you wanted to say?
Mr. Apao: The main thing would be that we were kind
of open, I mean this year our Board is kind of in transition. We were short a little
bit at a point in time and I think going forward we're open to looking at different
things. I know I read on the top section of this annual report that we produced that
there're areas where it says responsibility to review and scrutinize personnel cost,
real property taxes, travel budget, and contract procedures with the intent of
eliminating, consolidating or reducing overlapping or duplicating County services.
We didn't look at travel budgets and so maybe that is something we can look at this
year, contract procedures are another one, so I mean there are things that we can
and I think those are things that we will need to dialog amongst ourselves. We
would appreciate any input that you guys might have and give to us and give us
some direction.
Chair Furfaro: On the travel budgets, I want to say that
and I want to make sure you folks understand this that the Council is their own
procurement office and certain rules dealing with policies. I gave a presentation
although the Garden Island narrowly focused...
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: ...I covered our travel policy that includes a
summary trip report from members. Also the distribution allocation of our travel
budget, I believe you have that. Am I correct?
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: You'll find ours are pretty detailed.
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo has a question on travel
budgets?
Mr. Rapozo: No, not on the travel.
Chair Furfaro: Or any item that they just mentioned?
Mr. Rapozo: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: Go ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: Basically I was just going to touch on what
you just... I'm glad you brought that up that you guys did not look into the
personnel cost and travel and so forth but I think that the personnel cost, it is the
largest cost for the county and I think you know if you're looking for input from me,
I would ask that that be reviewed, personnel cost. I think the cost of personnel in
this county continues to rise and you would hope that that rise in cost would equate
to better services for the public and I think if we take an objective look at jobs,
responsibilities, duties... I think we would find some duplication of service. I think
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
that is the most important thing in my mind not that I'm advocating let's layoff a
ton of people but I think we need to identify if those duplications occur. I've been on
many budgets and it just doesn't end, we keep increasing the size of this county,
that's the job of the Cost Control Commission because again as we spoke yesterday
at your interview, the Commission supposed to take the politics out of it. So there
is no influence, it's looking at it with an unbiased pair of eyes and say wait a
minute, you know you have this position and this position and they're doing the
same thing. What's happening is you're paying people to do a certain job but
because there's no job to do, they're doing something else and that is I think the
Cost Control Commission really needs to look at is county wide including here at
Council Services. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be looked at but I'm thinking
that there needs to be a starting point. Yes I do appreciate the study on the energy
use but we have an energy coordinator that we pay... we pay him So that's a
duplication of service right there having the Cost Control Commission do something
that our person is supposed to be doing. I appreciate the study because it woke a
lot of us up and that in fact I agree with you, when you walk into some of these
buildings in the county and the state, it's freezing.
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Mr. Rapozo: I also don't like it when you walk into a room
like it was here last week at the Council meeting at seventy -eight (78) degrees. I
think that's ridiculous too.
Ms. Sterker: Yeah.
Mr. Rapozo: Because I think there should be some level of
comfort and you know I wear a jacket not because it's cold but it's helping me today
because it's a little cool. But I prefer it being cool, now I think at fifty -six (56), sixty
(60) degrees, sixty -five (65) degrees, it's a little too cold but I don't think seventy
(70) or seventy -two (72) degrees is a problem. When it's warmer inside the building
than it is outside in the sun, we've got a problem. You know it cost money to warm
up a room just as much it is to cool it so let's try to find that balance. The other one
I have Mr. Chair and that's all I have for now is...
Chair Furfaro: Go ahead, you have the floor.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you very much. The Human
Resources, I know it's been the push of the Administration for a long time but the
Mayor changing of a title is not going to change a department and I know that you
folks have...
Ms. Sterker: Well that's...
Mr. Rapozo: And I know your recommendation was to
create this Human Resources department which I support by the way, I do... I
support a Human Resource department. The problem I'm having is, when you put
something like this on the Charter, an amendment, more than likely it will pass. I
think the public can appreciate a Human Resources department versus Department
of Personnel Services. If we're going to include all of the training and the Risk
Management and all of these things in one (1) department and I think that's the
best thing we can do. But what we haven't seen and I don't know if we're ready and
we saw this with Parks, we saw this with the Auditor's Office... it goes on the ballot,
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
it passes and now the county is required by law to implement the Charter
amendment and we're not ready. This Council has asked the Administration to
come up with... what is your plan? What's going to happen to all those positions in
all the departments, we have personnel people assigned to all the different
individual departments. What are we going to do with those people? Are we going
to bring them all under one (1) department of Human Resources and find something
for them to do? I asked a simple question, I wanted to see an organizational chart
today and an organizational chart after the implementation of a Charter
amendment should that pass and we haven't seen that yet. But I think before we
put that on the ballot, this county has got to be ready to implement and not be
surprised like oops now we need another one point two (1.2) million dollars because
we need all this additional staff. I think that is what I'm more concerned about.
Definitely I support the Human Resource movement, I think we're long overdue. As
you found out...
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Mr. Rapozo: ...you were probably surprised, both of you
were probably shocked coming from private sector and thinking my gosh. But when
we go from that system to a more defined system, we should not with the amount of
personnel related positions in this county, we should not be moving from the old
system to the new system at an additional cost is what I'm saying.
Ms. Sterker: And we would certainly hope that it would
not be.
Mr. Rapozo: Yeah well like I said we hoped that with
Parks, we hoped that with the Auditor's Department. All of a sudden, now the
Council's back is against the wall because we're forced to implement the Charter
and yet we don't have the sufficient manpower so we got to create new positions,
very expensive. I think the way the current structure is and we have, I'll call it a
fragmented Human Resource department because they're all over the place...
Ms. Sterker: Yeah.
Mr. Rapozo: ...with no dotted lines connecting anybody to
any one (1) person, everybody does what they want but you have all these resources
throughout the county. How are we going to get all those resources back in one (1)
department with the direction that the Human Resource recommendation needs to
be carried out, I think that is my bigger concern because typically what happens is
we create a new department, people stay in place, we find new positions and we're
going to bring on all new additional staff to accomplish the mission. I cannot
support that but if it's a Charter amendment then we'll have no choice and I think
that is what the public needs to understand. Before you vote on the Charter
amendment you make sure you understand that this is the transition, this is what
the net effect will be because it could be worse if it's not thought up properly. This
is a typical case of the ends not always justify the needs. We got to make sure we
have all of that in place and I'm hoping Mr. Chair that we can follow up on that
request for that organizational chart because I haven't seen it and maybe others
have but I haven't seen it. I appreciate the report, looking forward to... and we will
be voting on your thing today so wish you luck.
Ms. Sterker: Thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING
Mr. Rapozo:
Mr. Chair.
Chair Furfaro:
before I go on?
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JANUARY 11, 2012
Thank you for being here today. Thank you
Sandi do you want to respond to Mr. Rapozo
Ms. Sterker: I would like to say one thing... we would
hope, we would certainly hope that by having everything done in one (1) place it
would lower the cost because people would have a much better idea of what was
going on and some of these departments, they have no idea what a Personnel
Department is. They're doing the job but they have no idea what's going on and
they have no training whatsoever and so for anybody new that's coming in, how you
train somebody when you don't know in the first place. This is what we're hoping
would stop all of that extra time that needs to be taken. One (1) other thing I do
want to say is that we as Commissioners do not have any idea what the collective
bargaining has been for these people who have been hired and can they be fired and
can they be replaced and so what we do is we give a recommendation but we really
don't have any idea where it is as far as hiring and firing.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Okay. I do want to summarize one (1) thing
before I turn it over to Mr. Bynum, did you folks look at the difference in hiring a
training manager so that the county can have a training business plan versus going
right to an HR Director?
Ms. Sterker: We did a little bit of that, yes. It was not a
real extensive study but we did look at the fact that it would take somebody that
would be a trainer.
Chair Furfaro: And all of the members got a copy of my
report to you at your Commission meeting but I do want to point out, at
Mr. Kuali`i's request we have the previous reports distributed so we can compare
where we were the last time and where we're at right now. I do want to point out
back in 2009, we had ninety -nine (99) vacant budgeted positions of which only
twenty -four (24) were in the Police Department. My audit that was presented to
you recently two (2) days ago basically shows that if you take the Police Department
out, we're down to forty -four (44) vacancies and there's a lot of money at that time...
the money on the table was three point nine (3.9) million. Now as I reported to you
folks, we've got budgeted but vacant three point one (3.1) million, so there has been
some progress made but you know this is the biggest single expense for the county
and we don't want to have moneys there from vacant position that can reclassified
without having them coming back to the Council. My last item as it relates to this,
to the best of my knowledge this Council has not seen the second quarter financial
reports for the county yet. Has the Cost Control Commission requested getting the
quarterly reports and has anyone showed you how to read them?
Ms. Sterker: No.
Chair Furfaro: Okay. Mr. Bynum, you have the floor.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum: Thank you Sandi and Dirk for being here
today and for your work on the Commission, that's very much appreciated. I
wanted to focus on your first item related to training and consolidation of personnel
(inaudible) as well but maybe more on the training. It says here that we did a
survey of (inaudible)... was that survey responded to by department heads or line
workers or by both?
Ms. Sterker: I think it was to be discussed in each
department before they actually sent the report back to the Cost Control
Commission. That was what we put out to them to discuss this.
Mr. Bynum: Is there a separate document that shows the
results of that survey?
Ms. Sterker: We did have a document that showed it. I
don't know that I have that document with me but we did have that document and
it had a list of about actually fifteen (15) or seventeen (17) different ones. Do you
remember what month that was?
Mr. Apao:
Mr. Bynum:
departments?
Ms. Sterker:
Mr. Bynum:
line staff?
Ms. Sterker:
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Ms. Sterker: Yes we do.
I think what we did was...
So the responses were from the
Yes.
Based on hopefully discussions with their
Yes.
Mr. Bynum: And this... you mentioned in your testimony
also that you were concerned as I know the Council is about high payouts for sexual
harassment and workplace violence.
Mr. Bynum: Were you provided any statistics of how
many dollars the county has paid...
Mr. Bynum: And do you recall any of that and is that in a
document that you can share?
Ms. Sterker: Yes it was in excess of seven hundred and
fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00).
Mr. Bynum: Well I can tell you it's in excess of that.
Ms. Sterker: Well that was the one that saw, that was...
Mr. Bynum: What timeframe did that cover?
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Sterker: And I can't tell you that for sure what that
timeframe was...
Mr. Bynum: So was that in correspondence from the
Administration and is that something you can share with us?
Ms. Sterker: The legal department.
Mr. Apao: I think what happened was prior to this year
when we were looking at outside counsel... I mean paid to outside counsel for
lawsuits as part of that process, we looked at the different suits that were
happening and it did... there was focus on sexual harassment and workplace
violence type cases. That's what kind of steered us towards looking at the training
issues, which brought us to the personnel/Human Resources piece that we were
looking at right now. It kind of evolved and that information was probably about a
year old maybe that we looked at, something maybe more than that.
Ms. Sterker: I think one (1) of the things that we were so
surprised about was that the people had no idea what the internet usage, the
computer usage... there was nobody that had any idea, they hadn't been trained on
that at all.
Mr. Bynum: So I just find it significant that the
employees say their first training is about misconduct in the workplace, you know
the first request. It's not like I want computer training, I want safety training,
their first request... the first two (2) items were about misconduct.
Ms. Sterker: It was down a ways but it's still the first
thing on every one of them almost every department was sexual harassment.
Mr. Bynum: Right and this Council have worked on that
and we revised the county policy because it was flawed and wasn't being followed
and there has been training countywide since last year. Prior to that there hadn't
been training, nobody knew when... and so I would still love to see an actual figure.
From my own figures I know it to be over two million dollars in just a few years and
that's just the cost of the actual settlements, that doesn't include the cost of those
attorneys that we hired to represent the county, while we repeatedly made the same
mistakes over...
Ms. Sterker:
Mr. Bynum:
That's right.
...and over again.
Ms. Sterker: It was only the settlement, it was not the
cost of the attorneys that went with that.
Ms. Yukimura: Excuse me. Chair Furfaro handed the gavel
over to me. So I just wanted to say as a completion maybe to your question on this
issue, I believe the Council could make a request for those figures.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum: Well I did and the response I got was, "it's in
the range of." Well I didn't want to know what's in the range of, I wanted to know
specifically... we should know that figure, what we paid out in settlement.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Well if it's a document that they have
it in but I think the information is important and I'd like to ask our staff to make a
request.
Mr. Bynum: And I would just add that that should be in
the cost of settlement as well as the cost of outside counsel?
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Mr. Bynum: For those cases.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, that's fine.
Mr. Bynum: So I really appreciate your work and you
know the surprise to me was that the employees also identified this as a... I mean
that's a really telling remark to me. Because it's not what I would expect if I polled
the employees, I would have expected computer training or safety or you know
things that would improve their productivity and their skills in the workplace not
providing a safe workplace. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Other questions? Councilmember Kuali`i.
Mr. Kuali`i: Aloha and mahalo for all your work. When I
was looking at the report I was curious as when you talk about that the copy of the
findings were provided to the Department of Personnel Services, is it anything more
than this because like Councilmember Bynum was talking about it seems like a lot
supporting documents is not included and then maybe it would end up being too
much of paper or whatever but maybe if it was available electronically in reference
then we can actually go look at it. I think I would want to see how you came to this
place and when you talked about the need for Human Resources Department
instead of a Department of Personnel Services, it only says as a result the
Commission feels that there may be a duplication of work effort. So I'm wondering
is there any information or evidence or was anything collected from the
departments that tell us one (1) way or the other. Also there's so many different
departments in the county and like Council Services and maybe the Office of the
Prosecuting Attorney is somewhat separate, I mean it is separate from the
Administration and so maybe they have unique needs where a dedicated person
working on personnel matters will be necessary and different from all the other
departments like say Finance or any of the other departments. So where anything
is more than a group of people came together and thought oh maybe this happened,
this exists so that may be a problem. Is it just meant to recommend that somebody
look into it further?
Ms. Sterker: We did have quite a bit of testimony from
people and that is available to you if you'd like to read them.
Mr. Kuali`i: Back on these trainings right?
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. Kuali`i: If it's discussion in a department meeting or
division meeting or testimony from individuals, it's not really the same as a survey
of a group of people that is somewhat measured and statistical, so then the results
are of a actual survey rather than some people providing input. I'm wondering if
you know the average employee would ask for leadership and supervisory
management or the average employee would ask for first aid and CPR because you
would think first aid and CPR is something that's automatic and that you know if...
especially in the departments where it's more of an issue because they're physically
dangers... potential dangers on the job.
Ms. Sterker: I would like to respond to the first aid and
CPR. A lot of things happen, like we talk about a Tsunami warning over here, and
all of a sudden people start thinking about what would happen if, and so that's the
kind of time that it brings that out. When we were talking about rating things, we
sent out after we got the initial list from all of the people and we said just give us a
list from your employees what they consider and then we put those down and then
we send it back. They were to rate it from there and that's why there's not a
specific percentage that is given to each one of these, it was just what came the
most often, so we didn't put in a percentage.
Mr. Kuali`i: So then in looking at the 2010 annual report
from the Cost Control Commission actually I think there were only three (3)
recommendations and two (2) of them had to do with training So one (1) of them
says, additional training for the County Attorney's Office and then the other one (1)
says relating to personnel and an industrial relations trainings for county
employees and in that recommendation from the year prior, it has pretty much the
same list... sexual harassment, workplace violence, computer skills, first aid, what
have you. One (1) interesting thought I had was since the County Cost Control
Commission does this annual report and make this different recommendations each
year, so in 2011 would you look back at 2010 and sort of give a status update on
were your recommendations taken, was there any action on it, how far are they?
Because in many ways when you list... when you show six (6) or seven different
training obviously they won't be able to do it, the Administration won't be able to do
it all but which ones did they do and how did... I know countywide there was a
training on the endangered species, right?
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Mr. Kuali`i: Was there also countywide training on
sexual harassment?
Ms. Sterker: No there was not.
Mr. Kuali`i: Not yet. But then you implied that it was
number one (1) and it had all these lawsuits and so now we have Risk Management
as a function. So clearly I would expect that you would come back next year and say
look we told you last year this was number one (1) and you still didn't even address
it and we still think it was vitally important.
Ms. Sterker: So if we put it in the second year?
Mr. Kuali`i: Yes.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Sterker: There are some other things that have been
put in more than once.
Mr. Kuali`i: Yes, okay, thank you very much.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Chang did you have questions?
Mr. Chang: Question is not really... it was pertaining to
yesterday when former Chair Sterker was saying that you might be losing a
Commissioner this time around? Did we confirm that? That we may be losing
someone from your Commission?
Ms. Sterker: I think that needs to be addressed to...
Mr. Chang: Okay, another question that Sandra had,
Chair Apao, she kind of suggested because of the workload or maybe she suggested
what would be the possibility of meeting which you can do more than once a month,
but she kind of suggested to us that she would really would like to meet at least
twice a month to get work done. I mean is that a possibility for your Commission
that you might be able to rally your people, I know it's hard for volunteers and
professional people but that was one of the things she brought up yesterday in her
interview.
Mr. Apao: I mean I think I would be open, I can't speak
for the other members on our Cost Control but I would be open to that. I think
maybe... I think in general, you know we have an agenda and we go through it and
I guess there may be need to be some dialog on some of those things. I guess
because of the Sun Shine Law being... we have to discuss everything there. You
know there's no way to really talk things out, it seems... anyway that's the way I
feel personally.
Mr. Chang: Okay.
Mr. Apao: But maybe, I don't know what kind of
meeting, you know I can't even call Sandi and talk to her about something that
maybe I have on my mind, I got to wait until I get to the meeting, that's what I feel
like I need to do. And so it's difficult because you come there and then we have
people that come up and give us information and then we ask questions and of
course you know Sandi and some of the other people are a lot more vocal but we all
have opinions and sometimes it's like... we like to kind of hash it out sometimes I
guess if we can. Maybe you guys do it here too, I don't know. Oh, you do a lot...
Chair Furfaro: I'm going to let Mr. Rapozo respond to your
OIP query because those rules for you (inaudible). Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: I guess I was going to ask a question if you
folks received any training in the Sun Shine Law.
Mr. Apao: We did.
Mr. Rapozo:
you couldn't call Sandi?
And is that what you were instructed that
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Sterker: They make you feel like if we see each other
on the street, we should not even acknowledge anything.
Mr. Rapozo: Well I think the Sun Shine Law...
Ms. Sterker: It really is...
Mr. Rapozo: I understand because we got to live with it
too and it's a had law...
Ms. Sterker: Yeah.
Mr. Rapozo: ...when it comes down to trying to get things
done but it is the law nonetheless we got to follow it but it's totally appropriate for
you to call Sandi and talk to her. The way the Sun Shine Law is written is that you
cannot have a discussion with more than what would constitute a quorum of your
Commission. So it's totally okay. The other thing you can do...
Ms. Yukimura: (inaudible)
Ms. Sterker: Three (3).
Mr. Rapozo: I'm sorry?
Ms. Sterker: Three (3), yeah three (3).
Ms. Yukimura: (inaudible)
Mr. Rapozo: No, that's not what the law says.
Ms. Sterker: You can't have three (3).
Mr. Rapozo: I'm telling you... what I recited is what was
the law says, you're reciting a perception of the law, I'm just telling you what the
law says. It says you cannot meet with more than what would constitute a quorum.
In our case, in a Committee we have five (5) right, our Committee is five (5) so our
quorum is three (3), so you cannot meet with three (3), you can only meet with two
(2). You don't have a Committee, you have a Commission. You have a Commission
of seven (7), your quorum is four (4). So you cannot meet with what would
constitute a quorum, so that would be three (3). But I'm not talking about meeting,
I'm not talking about calling a meeting. I'm talking about if you wanted to call
Sandi, it's perfectly within the rule. I think it's... we're different because we're set
up with Committees and if anybody questions me, call OIP because I have. A lot of
people have dwelled on rumors and all of this stress, call OIP if you have a question,
I'm talking to my colleagues not you. But I'm telling you what the law is, what the
law states and we can provide you a copy of that. You cannot have a meeting with
more than what would constitute a quorum for us is... anyway...
Chair Furfaro: Okay.
Mr. Rapozo: The other thing is you could have a Sub -
Committee. In other words you as the Chair could appoint a Sub - Committee on
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
personnel cost, that Committee can meet separate and apart from your... so there's
a lot of opportunities and options that I would hope that would be covered in your
trainings as it pertains to Sun Shine Law. But anyway if you have any questions...
Ms. Sterker: That was not covered.
Mr. Rapozo: I know, I can tell, and not just with your...
and that's why I'm frustrated because we have a Boards and Commissions Office
and the purpose of that was to train you folks. Nothing prevents you from calling
OIP, having OIP fly to Kaua`i and hold a training for your Commission. I would
highly suggest that and then you can ask the questions and not rely on
Councilmember Yukimura or Councilmember Rapozo or anybody else says, get it
from OIP who's tasked with enforcing and administering that law. I would highly
recommend that. Again, if you request that Council and the Mayor are obligated to
fund it, that's what the Charter says.
Chair Furfaro: And on that note Mr. Rapozo, I'm going to
reel us back in to the agenda item.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Councilmember Nakamura.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you Sandi and Dirk for your work on
this Commission and your leadership. I appreciate the methodical way that you've
approached this issue of creating a Human Resource Department from asking the
questions, doing some research, talking to the Audit, reviewing the Auditor's report,
then following up with the questions raised through the Auditor's report to the
County Attorney, and then getting the County Attorney's feedback that basically
says under Charter section 6.02 the Mayor is authorized to assign new related
functions to any administrative department such as the Department of Personnel
Services. So there is latitude to add this on but your other recommendation goes on
to say that you still believe a Charter amendment would be a good thing to do to be
in alignment with new responsibilities, is that...
Ms. Sterker: That is true because there is a difference in
what a Human Resources Department does. There's also a difference in who is
running the Human Resources Department.
Ms. Nakamura: Okay. So the recommendations that you lay
out is also very clear and I appreciate that, the first one (1) requesting the Mayor to
assign the responsibility of coordinating and conducting personnel related training
to the Department of Personnel Services and then you go on to explain the training
that's needed. Have you made this request to the Administration?
Ms. Sterker: Yes we have.
Ms. Nakamura: You have, okay. Then the second
recommendation requests that the Administration conduct an internal review to
determine the feasibility and cost implication of this switch.
Ms. Sterker: Yes we have.
COUNCIL MEETING
Ms. Nakamura:
administration as well?
Ms. Sterker:
17
JANUARY 11, 2012
Have you made that request to the
Yes we have.
Ms. Nakamura: And have you agreed on a mutual date upon
which that report will be done?
Ms. Sterker: I understand that it is in March.
Ms. Nakamura: March of this year?
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Ms. Nakamura: Okay March of 2012 you'll have that
conversation with the Administration about...
Ms. Sterker: And that will be under... with the Charter
Review.
Ms. Nakamura: Will that also include the analysis which
Councilmember Rapozo mentioned earlier so that we know what the current budget
and chart, organizational chart is now and what it would be under a future plan?
Ms. Sterker: We hope that that's what...
Ms. Nakamura: Okay. Maybe in anticipation of the March
meeting we should, probably based on today's meeting, outline some of what the
expectations are?
Mr. Apao: Okay.
Ms. Nakamura: And that would include the organizational
chart, the personnel issues, if there are civil service laws that we need to be aware
of ahead of time so that we can be clear about what the budget implications would
be. I think if we can ask staff to work with your Commission to clarify what should
be contained in that report.
Ms. Sterker: Okay.
Ms. Nakamura: Okay. Also I wanted to say that the
discussion that you're pursuing on the real property tax exemption is appreciated. I
think that having served on the Cost Control Commission, you do have the luxury of
focusing on very specific issues and I think this is one (1) that... I think it's time to
reexamine some of the exemptions and to ask some hard questions, so thank you for
pursuing that this year. Some of the other issues, if you're asking for
recommendations, you know suggestions... that we sort of took a brief look at was
the sick leave and overtime which we received a report and we're welcome to
forward that to you that showed the discrepancy in overtime and sick leave among
different departments. And it really goes to some of the culture within the
departments and trying to understand what is some of the issues leading to high
usage, so that would help to control some of our cost as well.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Sterker: Yes that would help. We did this a few years
back as you so nicely remember. It happens again and again.
Ms. Nakamura: And so I just wanted to say thank you for
your great work.
Ms. Sterker: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura, you have the floor.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you Chair and Ms. Sterker and
Mr. Apao, thank you very much for your work and to also your members. This is
one (1) of the most active Cost Control Commissions I've seen and I really
appreciate the way you've done your work as Councilmember Nakamura said very
methodically. Just to follow up immediately about the overtime and sick leave
issues, you know Councilmember Kuali`i, I think asked about why leadership and
supervisory management might be even mentioned by rank and file, I think this all
relates to the issues of overtime and sick leave. Because I think even rank and file
levels can feel the difference between good supervision and not good supervision and
management and so I think they have a (inaudible) in the leadership /supervisory
training as well. And then of course if they are promoted, they would also want it.
I really thank you for the focus on the Human Resources issue because I think that
is pretty pervasive in terms of its impacts on county operations. Recently the issue
of computerization, oh I know it was in the Auditor's report, it was about the
computerization of our Human Resources records was an issue. I think that's where
a separate department's doing different procedures at different speeds and all by
hand and paper is a real issue in terms of accuracy, cost control, service to our
employees and so I can see the dovetailing of the computerization and the Human
Resource Department could properly divide up the responsibilities. I mean each
department could have someone that is responsible for tracking their employee's
time and so forth and inputting it into a system that would be centralized and
standardized, you know? But I think you're talking about other issues as well, I
mean not just data but training...
forth.
Ms. Sterker:
Ms. Yukimura:
Ms. Sterker:
Ms. Yukimura:
Yes, yes.
...and proper disciplinary procedures and so
Yes, standardized.
You wanted to say something?
Ms. Sterker: Standardized is the main word that you use
because it's not standardized as it is today. It doesn't make sense that one (1)
department does one (1) thing and another department does another thing? That's
why it needs to be standardized.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes and you had mentioned that it also
affects the leadership and who is running the department, can you clarify that a
little bit?
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Sterker: I don't think it makes any difference who is
running the department, I think it makes a difference how that department has
functioned before...
Ms. Yukimura: I see.
Ms. Sterker: ...and it just keeps functioning the same...
this is how we do it, this is the same way and nobody has gone in there and changed
it. So it's not because of a person or a personnel in a department but it is the way
that has been done in that department.
Ms. Yukimura: In terms of organization and professional
development and performance.
Ms. Sterker: And training of any kind
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, alright. And I just want to second my
colleagues concerns about seeing an organizational chart.
Ms. Sterker: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: And also looking at the cost of reorganizing.
Ms. Sterker: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: But I'd also like to have some projection of
the saving cost from reorganization. Not only in terms of... I mean I don't even
know if it would be fewer people, it may not be in the Human Resources work but I
think for sure in terms of lawsuits...
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: ...payouts for improperly managed
situations. The savings could be tremendous and we need to see that as well. It
may well take more cost to reorganize in the short term but I think in the long term
savings will more than justify it. That's something that... all I'm asking is that
those areas be covered as well in the report out. Okay and then I really appreciate
your focus on energy savings and your particular point Mr. Apao is about the
temperature in government buildings. Councilmember Kuali`i and I just came back
from two (2) days of training in energy efficiency issues which was very revealing
and there's huge savings to be done there, so thank you for that. I just want to also
share with you that we recently had a report from the Department of Water and
they reported a drop... well when they started there was thirty percent (30 %)
wastage from leakage of the system because of old and aging pipes. That meant
that almost one third of the water that we were pumping and producing for
consumption was being wasted. That meant that thirty percent (30 %) of the cost of
that system was being wasted, it was being leaked out into the earth. They
reported a reduction in the waste from thirty percent (30 %) to ten percent (10 %)
which is a twenty percent (20 %) savings right and...
Chair Furfaro: Actually it's sixty -six percent (66 %) savings.
You start with the whole of being thirty percent (30 %), they reduced it by twenty
(20) which is two thirds of the total.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: Oh okay.
Chair Furfaro: So it's sixty -six percent (66 %) savings.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay but if the total cost which they showed
us was three million, twenty percent (20 %) of that would have been saved right? So
that's six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000.00) savings which is quite incredible
and it's just a demonstration of the savings and that also means that that water can
be made available to places where it's really needed. So your focus and in Water's
case because energy is so correlated... electricity use the pumping of water is so
correlated with the cost and the use of water. When you save water, you save
tremendously on electricity. I am thankful that you have met with both the
Sustainability Coordinator and the Energy Coordinator so that there'd be follow up
on that.
Ms. Sterker: Yes and I think that we're supposed to be
having him talk to us in April or May. We were giving him time to settle in and
then he's coming back and giving us more information.
Ms. Yukimura: So I just wanted to conclude by saying that I
really think your work has been very valuable and I appreciate all the time and
energy and focus that's gone into it. Thank you.
Ms. Sterker: Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I don't know if you have any reaction or I
don't... Okay, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Members?
Mr. Rapozo: One (1) more real quick.
Chair Furfaro: Go ahead Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo: Just a follow up on a comment that there are
some recommendations that go up to the Administration, you say are put in more
than once... and we've seen that over the years. What we haven't seen and I know I
talked about this at the interview yesterday, being that Mr. Apao is here, that you
folks have a unique authority to request that any of your recommendations be sent
to the Council in a form of an ordinance or bill. I'm not sure if all of your
Commissioners are aware of that, but it is quite a powerful, I see Dirk shaking his
head... the way the Charter reads is if you have a recommendation that goes to the
Administration, however if you want to... that recommendation to come to the
Council then the Administration is obligated to send it to us in a form of a bill.
Then it gets vetted out through this process, the public process, with the public
hearing, first reading, second reading and so forth, Committee meetings should we
call them but that's the power of the Cost Control Commission. So if you have a
recommendation that is going that nobody is listening to, a simple request by your
Commission to the Administration forwards that recommendation here in a form of
a bill which could become law. Whether it's cost savings, whether it's eliminating a
specific program and then at the end of the day it will be the Council and the people
to really decide to whether or not that recommendation should be implemented. I
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
have yet to see a recommendation come to this Council in all the years I've been on
the Council utilizing that authority. I guess what I'm saying is that I would like...
if you have a recommendation and there was some debate a few months ago, well
they didn't really ask for that to come to the Council... well I just I think the
Commissioners need to understand that that is and it's spelled out in the Charter
that you have that authority. So if in fact there's a cost cutting measure that you
wanted it to be vetted in this process, that you have that authority by a simple
request to the Administration. All the Mayor and the Administration can do is
apply their comments, they cannot say no we're not sending it across, it's going to
come here with the Administration's comments. If it's something they disagree
with, they can so state it here but nonetheless it will definitely get through the
process of the Council which I think needs to be utilized more often, if we want to be
successful, otherwise the same thing is going to happen, it's going to show up every
year in every report. That's why that provision was put in the Charter so that it
would come through the public process and not just the Administrative process.
days.
Ms. Sterker:
Mr. Rapozo:
Ms. Sterker:
Ms. Sterker: Yes.
I think it's within thirty (30) days.
Exactly. It has to be here within thirty (30)
Right.
Mr. Rapozo: So it doesn't have much time, it just needs to
get somebody on it, draft a bill, and get it to the Council. I would really appreciate
seeing some of those actions, recommendations come through this process. And at
the end of the day like I said, the Council may not support it.
Ms. Sterker: Right.
Mr. Rapozo: But it would be given the opportunity to go
through the public process. Again the most important part of that process is the
public hearings and the public's opportunity to come testify. So I would encourage
the Commission to really sincerely take that authority seriously and we will look
forward to seeing some recommendations come up in the near future. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Members any further questions before I
thank them for their report? Go right head.
Ms. Yukimura: I just wanted to say subject to your
consultation with the County Attorney, this idea of calling each other and talking to
each other is okay but there is this thing about serial communications where you
can't talk
Ms. Yukimura: You can't talk and then go and talk to
another one, so it's something that you need to know about. We do understand the
trials of operating under, I think at some times an unreasonable law, and we are
looking at ways to propose changes to this State Legislature because we believe in
transparency but sometimes the law has been used to squelch good and healthy
dialog and discussion and so that's the balance we need to find in how the laws are
worded. Thank you.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Sterker: I would just like to say I really appreciate
the Sub - Committee information because I think that is something that can really be
done, that we can really work on a Sub - Committee.
Mr. Apao: I agree with that as well.
Chair Furfaro: I want to thank you folks for your time, I
know I covered several subjects with you. I was kind of flabbergasted with your last
Commission Meeting and your comments today whereof the Hawaii Tax
Foundation talked about eliminating all exemptions. They even talked about taxing
non - profits, I found that very interesting so you have your future work cut out for
you...
Ms. Sterker: And taxing old people too.
Chair Furfaro: I'll leave it at that but I was quite
flabbergasted with the Honolulu plan and let me say to both of you, thank you for
allowing Councilmembers to have time at your Commission. I do suggest you follow
up on Vice Chair Yukimura's recommendation with some dialog with the County
Attorney and if I can be of any help please don't hesitate to call on me. I need to ask
the public if they got questions at this time. Thank you very much.
Ms. Sterker: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Is there anyone in the public that would now
like to speak on the agenda item and the report from the Cost Control Commission?
Mr. Mickens come right on up.
GLENN MICKENS: Thank you Jay. For the record Glenn
Mickens. I just wish to thank Sandi and the Cost Control Commissioners for all
their hard work. I believe this Commission is one of the most important
Commissions in our government. Since these people are only volunteers, it must be
extremely hard for them to address all the glaring problems that confront our
government. This Council has raised some outstanding points about duplicity that
Mel brought up and that you brought up, Jay, areas that definitely need looking
into. But again these people not being paid for their work will have a hard time
doing the research that's needed to correct so many of the problems that face us.
Even their informational training as you were asking and pointing out is time
consuming and again being a volunteer, there are certain limits and abilities to
comply with their duties. So any way I just really want to, as you were pointing
out, as Mel was pointing out, they are a powerful Commission, very powerful. I'm
not sure that they, as Mel say, I have never heard them come to the Council with a
bill or anything proposed in the past but they do have that right and again it's a
powerful tool and I'm not sure that they do understand that. Anyway I really I
appreciate what they do. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Okay Glenn, you don't want to answer any
questions, I'll let you go back. I might have had a question for you but if you want
to go back, that's fine with me.
Mr. Mickens: No, go ahead Jay, thank you.
23
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Are there any members that have questions
for Mr. Mickens? No. Glenn, I do want to thank you for indicating but I would use
a different word, I wouldn't say they're powerful but I would say that you're correct
this Commission has the opportunity to be very influential in the direction that they
want to you know give oversight to our operating expenses.
Mr. Mickens: Sure.
Chair Furfaro: One of the recent topics we had talked about
was the real approach to staffing and I want to make sure that you had brought it
up to Public Works and other areas but you know we only have one (1) opportunity
in the year for the year to determine our staffing potential but there is areas that
need to be cross referenced when they take teams off of roads and highways to do
other Public Works and waste management issues.
Mr. Mickens: True.
Chair Furfaro: You've always been a proponent for that
staffing level.
Mr. Mickens: By all means.
Chair Furfaro: I would encourage you to continue to take
that dialog to the Cost Control Commission since we mutually agree that they do
have influence. I think that is a good vehicle for you on the roads issues.
Mr. Mickens: Excellent point.
Chair Furfaro: Okay, thank you Glenn.
Mr. Mickens: Thank you Jay.
Chair Furfaro: Is there anyone else in the audience that
wishes to testify? Sandi, did you wish to come back up?
Ms. Sterker: Sandi Sterker from the Cost Control
Commission and I stand corrected, there was some sexual harassment training that
was done last year prior to the endangered species. I say that because I spent forty -
seven (47) days over on O`ahu when my husband had surgery.
Chair Furfaro: You're...
Ms. Sterker: So I think I was not here for that because if I
had gone to something for sexual harassment, I would remember.
Chair Furfaro: ...revisit to that is appropriate and Council
Vice Chair Yukimura and myself were looking at each other trying to remember the
date but we did know that it did occur.
Ms. Sterker: Okay. It was mandatory.
Chair Furfaro: We were down at the old session for the
members here at Council, we were down at the old Hale Kaua`i, it was mandatory
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
and I think both Councilwoman Yukimura and I can reflect on that that it did
occur. Thank you.
Ms. Sterker:
Chair Furfaro:
Ms. Sterker: I did not know about it. I think it was
during the time that I was not around.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much for coming up and
making that correction. I see a hand in the back there wanting to come up. Is that
Paula?
PAULA MORIKAMI, Office of the Boards and Commission: I'm Paula
Morikami, I'm with the Office of the Boards and Commissions, good morning. Just
to clarify a few things that I heard yesterday and today. That March date that
Ms. Sterker referred to what the Cost Control Commission did as far as my
recollection that goes is that they wrote a letter to the Charter Review Commission
requesting input and the Charter Review Commission then wrote a letter to the
County Council requesting input and because the Charter Review Commission has
not yet heard back from the County Council, they decided to just discuss it again in
the March meeting that would give the Council time to deliberate. The other thing
is...
Chair Furfaro: First I want to point out to you, we have a
Sub - Committee on Human Resources...
Ms. Morikami: Yes.
I'm sorry.
No, don't worry about it.
Chair Furfaro: ...that is addressing that but we still haven't
gotten briefed on what the goal is, so it's very hard to comment without knowing
what the intent and goal is.
Ms. Morikami: I understand.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you.
Ms. Morikami: Also in regards to the Cost Control
Commission, they also did request from the Administration their comments as well
and it is my understanding that the Administration has formed a Human Resources
Task Force. So that's already in place, it started last year and they're meeting
diligently. The other question that came up...
Chair Furfaro: And I just want to point out to that and no
one has invited a member of the Council to that Task Force.
Ms. Morikami: I believe they're under preliminary stages
and I believe that the County Council...
Chair Furfaro: We'd like to be on the ground floor, I'll take
advantage of that time because Mr. Bynum heads our HR Committee.
25
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Morikami: Okay. Yesterday there was mention that
there's one (1) vacancy on the Cost Control Commission. We are in the process of
filling that position. What happens is there is a full membership in the Cost
Control Commission but there has been one (1) member who is thinking of resigning
due to his workload and his business, so that is the reason why... until that is filled,
he is still there. So we're in the process of filling that position. I just wanted to
clarify that, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Paula, I just want to respond to you that it is
my understanding that up until this point, Mr. Bynum has not been invited as our
conduit but I understand that, it's either March 7 or March 17 Janine Rapozo is
going to make a presentation or at least it's a tentative (inaudible) in the agenda
that has been forwarded to me, for us to see the first comments on that. In all
fairness to the Cost Control Commission, we haven't had a presentation yet and it is
tentatively scheduled for March 7 I think
Ms. Morikami: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: You're welcome. Paula, we have a question
for you from Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum:
Ms. Morikami:
Ms. Morikami:
meeting.
Mr. Bynum:
Ms. Morikami:
Good morning Paula.
Good morning.
Mr. Bynum: Are you intending to be here later when we
vote on the nominees for the various Commissions?
I wasn't planning on, I have another
Well then, if I can ask some questions now?
That's fine.
Chair Furfaro: Well I'm going to be very careful because
that's not the agenda item right now. We can try to figure out if we can call that
item together as the next item Mr. Bynum and if she can stay but I don't want to
stray from the agenda. The agenda item was Cost Control, so. Okay. Mr. Kuali`i.
Mr. Kuali`i: Aloha and congratulations on your new
assignment.
Ms. Morikami: Thank you.
Mr. Kuali`i: One of the testifiers earlier talked about the
Cost Control Commission being made up by volunteers and that they don't
necessarily have the time to take their work to that next deeper level with
investigation of what have you. Can you tell us what your... is it a department or a
division? What kinds of... how many staff do you have in your department /division,
agency whatever it's called and what kinds of services and support do you provide to
the different Commissions?
26
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Morikami: We provide support staff which is secretarial
to ten (10) Boards and Commissions and Committees. So we have two (2) full time,
timers. There's also an administrative aide position which I vacated and that's to
oversee the Boards and Commissions that... the sixteen (16) Boards and
Commissions. My primary role was to do research on any research on any request
coming from members of the Commissions and then we have the Administrator.
Mr. Kuali`i: So there is that support there for our
Commissions to get the work done that they need to?
Ms. Morikami: Yes.
Mr. Kuali`i: Research, analysis, connecting with the
different departments, getting what they need from Finance, from Real Property
Tax?
Ms. Morikami: When any Commission requests information,
we seek to get that information for that Commission.
Mr. Kuali`i: Okay, thank you very much.
Ms. Morikami: Also just for your information we recently
took over Civil Service Commission and so that has been quite interesting in
learning all of their rules and regulations.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and
proceeded as follows:
Chair Furfaro: Thank you Paula, I'm going to check on a
rule item about skipping over with the agenda, if you can remain in audience. Is
there anyone in the audience that would want to testify on this item? No. Paula, if
you don't mind, I'm going to take a ten (10) minute recess with a caption break and
I'm going to do an agenda discussion with the County Clerk.
There being no objections, the Council recessed at 10:24 a.m.
The Council reconvened at 10:44 a.m., and proceeded as follows:
Chair Furfaro: We're back from our recess and having a
better understanding of the potential question dealing with the staffing levels for
various Commissions and if we stayed focused on the consideration of the
Salary Commission, the Cost Control Commission then in fact I will be able to allow
Mr. Bynum's question before we wrap this up, so Mr. Bynum, you have the floor.
Paula may we ask you to come back up.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Bynum:
restate your name for the record.
Ms. Morikami:
of Boards and Commissions.
Paula, thank you very much. Can you
I'm Paula Morikami and I work in the Office
27
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. Bynum: So you recently had a change in title, Paula,
is that correct?
Ms. Morikami: Correct.
Mr. Bynum: And you are now running the office?
Ms. Morikami: I'm trying to run the office, yes sir.
Mr. Bynum: I just wanted to acknowledge and let the
public know that John Isobe after years of service has retired from the County and I
wanted to take an opportunity to acknowledge that since I met John, he's always
been right on the money. He is a real capable administrator with ethics and I really
was sad to see him go because he put together a crack staff over there. Over the last
couple of years we've worked with Pua Borales and Mercedes Youn, Barbara Davis,
you came on, and in my own observation was the competence and the support the
Commissions needed. I heard that from various Commissioners how well they felt
support. I really wanted to thank that staff and I know there's some changes
happening and that John will really be missed, so as I understand it you currently
have one (1) opening.
Ms. Morikami: Correct.
Mr. Bynum: And Pua has moved and has been promoted
to a different department, congratulations Pua.
Ms. Morikami:
Department.
Mr. Bynum:
maybe haven't met yet?
Ms. Morikami:
Ms. Morikami: Yes.
She's now the secretary for the Personnel
And you have a new staff member that I
Nicole Naumu has replaced Pualani.
Mr. Bynum: Right, and so you're searching for someone to
fill the research role that you were?
Mr. Bynum: I just wanted to thank you for the support
that you give to our Commissioners, that you understand the mission as a support
mission to provide services to our Commissioners, and if you're not hearing it from
them, I'm hearing it from them how much they appreciate that support. So I just
wanted to acknowledge John and thank him for his years of service to the County
and wish him the best in retirement or whatever endeavors he might take.
Ms. Morikami: He is sorely missed.
Mr. Bynum: I agree. That's really what I wanted to talk
about. Just to acknowledge these changes and say that they're moving quickly to
keep continuity. Thank you Paula and congratulations on your appointment as the
director.
COUNCIL MEETING
Ms. Morikami:
Chair Furfaro:
Chair Yukimura.
you.
28
Ms. Morikami: Yes.
Ms. Morikami: Yes.
Ms. Morikami:
Chair Furfaro:
JANUARY 11, 2012
Thank you.
Okay Paula if you can hold on a second, Vice
Ms. Yukimura: Yes I'd like to, while Paula is here and for
the record, really acknowledge the work of your office. When I was Mayor, there
was no Office of Boards and Commissions and you know the Boards and
Commissions are kind of like a third branch almost, even though you are technically
under the administrative and rightly so. But the amount of work that is done in
terms of decisions by Boards and Commissions is tremendous. The support from
the Boards and Commissions office is very critical, I know the difference between
having that support and not, so thank you Paula and all the members and also to
John Isobe who really started the office and established it and got it on its way...
Ms. Yukimura: ...very professionally and very well. Thank
Chair Furfaro: Other members? Paula, I used my
comments regarding Mr. Isobe's contributions yesterday during the Boards and
Commissions interviews. Again as Mr. Bynum spoke of you inheriting that role, I
guess we're really saying that John Isobe and Shaquille O'Neal wore the same shoe
size.
Chair Furfaro: So I think it's size eighteen (18) or was it
twenty -three (23) but anyway you have a big shoe space to fill and I know you're
quite up to it but from the Council congratulations as well as our thanks to John for
his long public service.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: I just wanted to follow up on some of the
things particularly regarding temperature in the buildings because I concur in
many County offices it's cold; however, in this building we're really getting our act
together. I now have an office where I can open the window, where I can control the
air conditioning, most days are pleasant enough to open the window and to not turn
on the air conditioning. This building has lights that turn themselves off when you
leave the office and restrooms that the lights don't turn on until you walk in. I
know a lot of consideration and energy and when we get the chill water set
correctly, maybe we'll have that in the larger buildings too. That is an important
consideration and I think we are all trying to do our part, I just wanted to say that.
Year.
29
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Okay. Any further discussion? I would like
to say to the Cost Control Commission, thank you for your work. I would like you to
try and have some integrated discussion with the Salary Commission against
payroll and benefits are seventy percent (70 %) of our whole operating budget. I
would also like to say that I am pleased that we're going to be able to have
Mr. Bynum comment and we're going to get a presentation on March 7 on this
proposed structure of an HR department and I also for the encouragement of the
Commissioners as well as a message for the Administration, we need to make sure
that the operating performance P &L for the county is shared quarterly with the
Cost Control Commission so that they can become more and more familiar with the
variances. I have to say that those reports need to come out in concurrence to what
is in the Charter. They have to be out quarterly and so you should be involved with
that. Again thank you very much for your participation and for the report we
received today.
The motion to receive C 2012 -11 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Chair Furfaro: We can move on to the next item Mr. Clerk.
Communications back to the top of the
Mr. Watanabe:
agenda on page two (2), C 2012 -05.
C 2012 -05 Communication (11/23/2011) from the Director of Parks and
Recreation, requesting agenda time to present to the Council a Quarterly Report
covering the period of July — September 2011 regarding the Multi -Use Path:
Mr. Rapozo moved to receive C 2012 -05 for the record, seconded by Ms. Yukimura.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo is here to give us a quarterly I believe he has distributed to us the county's quarterly report for
September 2011. Welcome and Happy New Year to you.
LEONARD A. RAPOZO, JR., Director, Parks and Recreation: Happy New
Chair Furfaro: You have the floor.
Mr. L Rapozo: For the record, Director of Parks and
Recreation, Lenny Rapozo. I prepared a brief PowerPoint... did we... I brought I cd
earlier.
Chair Furfaro: We have a cd?
Mr. L Rapozo: This presentation will cover the quarter of
July, August and September and I know we're into January but there was some
other things that we needed to get done during the last period and so I wasn't able
to make the presentation earlier. This is our first chance that we've had to do this.
This presentation is a way to update the County Council as to the progress of the
multi -use path, Ke Ala Hele Makalae.
Chair Furfaro: Can you give us a moment Lenny to... some
of us might want to relocate for the presentation.
30
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. L Rapozo: Sure. Again this is the quarterly report for
the Ke Ala Hele Makalae September 2011 and again this covers July, August and
September of 2011. The Bike Path Task Force consists again of myself the Director
of Parks and Recreation, the Deputy Director Ian Costa, Private Secretary that
takes all the notes and agendas, Lyle Tabata is the Deputy County Engineer, Doug
Haigh is the Chief of Building Division of Public Works, and he is the manager of
the project, construction manager or project manager. Wally Rezentes is the
Finance Director, Michael Dahilig, who is the Planning Director, Mauna Kea Trask
and Mona Clark who are Deputy County Attorneys, and Christina Pilkington who is
our County ADA Coordinator. What this Task Force again the players at the table
are the decision makers of the County, so if there's any problems or any questions
that come up, these people are on the table that can make these decisions or follow
up on matters to move this project forward.
In the case of the County Attorney, Mona Clark, her expertise is dealing with
land and what we need to do to either acquire land or get access to land to complete
the project. Mauna Kea is really good with Hawaiian issues and just everything
else in general. The current summary of the Bike Path Task Force, we continue to
work towards completing the Bike and Pedestrian Path. The following is a
summary by phase. Phase one (1) Lydgate Park construction again was completed
in 2004. The Kapa'a to Kealia construction was completed in 2010. Phase three (3)
which is the Lydgate Park to Kapa'a which is the current phase that we are in, the
Wailua Bridge section, the final construction on the path and the bridge was open
on May 31, 2011. Phase "a" the Lydgate Park north end of Papaloa Road and the
Kawaihau Spur is currently under construction. Phase "b" the construction funding
obligated that was completed in September of 2011, obligation of funds. Phase "c"
and "d" we're currently doing the supplemental environmental assessment and that
is in process. Phase four (4) Ahukini Landing to Lydgate Park is in the planning
and permitting stage. Kuna Bay to Anahola, the planning work has been postponed
during this time period. Nawiliwili to Ahukini Landing, we're in the planning and
permitting phase.
The work that was completed during this time period phase two (2) the
Kapa'a to Kealia, we closed out the construction contract so that section was from
beginning to end so contracts have been done. Phase three (3) the Lydgate to
Kapa`a, again the Wailua Bridge Section the construction was completed but phase
"a" we continue to finalize land acquisitions. The construction contract was
executed, the notice to proceed was given on November 1, 2011. The Mayor ordered
an additional archeological inventory survey done, which was done during this time
period which was not required but it was done to identify any possible properties in
the proposed pathway on the Wailua Beach section. No historical properties were
found after this AIS was completed during this time. Phase "b" we continue to
finalize land acquisitions and we secured the construction funds by having it
obligated. Phase "c" and "d" supplemental environmental assessment is ongoing.
And again phase four (4), five (5) and six (6) we continue to work with the 106
process and phase five (5) Kuna Bay to Anahola, that work again is put on hold for
other phases on environmental planning work. The work that needs to be complete,
the Kapa'a to Kealia, that's done. The phase three (3) Lydgate to Kapa`a, the
Wailua Bridge Section, we need to work with the State for their maintenance of the
bridge and the path along that corridor and we want to work with Aston Kauai
Beach Hotel to adopt that section of the path for their maintenance that's adjacent
to the hotel, that hasn't been finalized as of yet. The phase "a" portion, we are
managing the construction work that we are currently in. We continue the Wailua
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Beach section National Historic Preservation Act or the Section 106 Consultation.
And we need to obtain the Department of Defense Grant for the Kawaihau Spur for
the elevated boardwalk. This was a portion of the path where the cost for the
elevated boardwalk came in high, we felt, so we pulled that part out of the bid
proposal and we're looking for other ways to have that portion built. With the
Department of Defense and I guess we may remember them as what they was
known as the CB's they now have a different name. We would provide them the
material and they would do the project for us. Phase "b" we continue to finalize
land acquisition and we have advertised and the bidding of the construction work
has gone out. Phase "c" and "d" we need to publish the draft supplemental
environmental assessment that we're currently in process of completing. The
subsequent phases for four (4), five (5) and six (6) again this 106 process, it needs to
be continued and the final environmental assessment needs to be provided for phase
four (4) and phase six (6), and phase five (5), that work continues to be put on hold
until we have more dialog with the Anahola community.
The maintenance programs of the path continue to be or our park
maintenance crews continue to provide and maintain the safety barriers along the
path at the Pono Kai Seawall. The path maintenance program, crews conduct daily
maintenance of the path and all the facilities along the path which includes the
comfort stations, pavilions, rest stops, trash receptacles, and periodic checks and
lubrication of locks or changing of locks as seen fit. The Friends of the Path again,
an organized group of volunteers continue to help maintain and clean the path from
Kapa'a Lihi to Kealia every second Saturday of the month.
Signage, we continue to make daily checks of signage and replace signs as
needed. We also continue to provide quarterly report and annual signage report
that are sent to the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Enforcement, our Ranger continues to make periodic checks along the path or
respond to any possible issues on the path as they are needed.
This is the current funding for this project that has been brought to Kaua`i.
The federal funds is twenty -nine million, six hundred fourteen thousand, three
hundred and seven dollars ($29,614,307.00) and county funds to date was five
hundred sixty -nine thousand, one hundred eighty -three dollars ($569,183.00). The
total dollars of federal and county funds that have been spent or encumbered or
committed to this project to date is thirty million one hundred eighty -three
thousand, four hundred and ninety ($30,183,490). Again these dollars provide a
direct impact to Kaua`i families for jobs and goods that are bought for use in the
construction of the multi -use path. These are the dates of the task force meetings
that occurred during these time period and in the Council's handbook. We have the
copy of the breakdown of the different sources of funding that occurred during this
period for your review, the different funds including federal and county funds.
On the subsequent pages there is the project cost and the county share of the
in kind contributions and the balance that are remaining The very last page, we
have the Lydgate to Kapa'a phase "a" Kawaihau elevated boardwalk, the materials
and our in share contribution and what the balance remains for the project itself in
terms of what we have in the bank to use as our matching percent for this project.
That briefly is our presentation for this quarter. I am open for questions.
32
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much for the presentation,
Lenny, and I would like to really open this portion now up to some questions from
the members. Mr. Chang.
Mr. Chang: Thank you Chairman. Hi Lenny, good
morning. When you mentioned jobs on the multi -use path, what number of jobs,
what's the numbers like?
Mr. L Rapozo: In construction. I'm not sure what the
contractor is using or what the number of employees that they have but the next
phase on phase "a" that we're currently in (inaudible) construction. I'm not sure
how many employees they have on the job to get it done, that I'm not aware of but
you're talking consultants, design consultants, guys actually doing the work, as well
as engineers that are doing the work, so I don't have an actual number for that.
Mr. Chang: But that's all local Kaua`i workers?
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes.
Mr. Chang: Okay and then we can get that number?
Mr. L Rapozo: I'm sure we can.
Mr. Chang: And then also when you say that creates jobs
,you were talking about all sorts of goods, what kinds of materials are typical that
we're getting?
Mr. L Rapozo: Cement, rock, sand, railings, irrigation,
landscaping, plants, that sort of stuff.
Mr. Chang: A lot of stuff?
Mr. L Rapozo: A lot of stuff.
Mr. Chang: Thank you. Chairman, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Vice Chair Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, thank you very much. I appreciate
these quarterly reports. I do want to say though on page six (6), thanks for
numbering... your phase three (3) Lydgate to Kapa`a, Wailua Bridge section, you
actually mean Aloha Beach Hotel right?
Mr. L Rapozo:
Ms. Yukimura:
Mr. L Rapozo:
I'm sorry. You're right.
Okay. This is the second time you know.
Yeah, you're right. I don't know, I'm sorry.
Ms. Yukimura: And then on page eight (8) you mentioned
periodic checks along the path by park rangers, how is that going?
33
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. L Rapozo: As far as I know we haven't had any major
incidents. We've had the incidents where some bikes are going, they feel faster
than what they should be on the path. So most of the stuff deals with path
etiquette, how do people supposed to be using the path, and a lot of times it's the
bikes that are rented out to our tourist that are not aware of... and I'm not blaming
the bike companies because they do training video before they take them out. But
those are the types of incidents that we've been dealing with lately. As far as I
know there are no major incidents that has happened on the bike path.
Ms. Yukimura: They also regulate the issues of dogs and so
forth right?
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: And so to your knowledge there have not
been incidents of that too?
Mr. L Rapozo: No.
Ms. Yukimura: Your report about the path etiquette is
something I know that's an issue on every multi -use path around the Country I
think. I know that in Seattle, I think they actually have little signs about to your
right means you're passing... people say "to your right" there's certain practices that
evolve. I think in Seattle they actually try to sign it but I'm glad to hear that it's
nothing major and that you know things are evolving to a place where people kind
of know what to do. That's all I have, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo.
Mr. Rapozo:
it's actually on the last few pages
pullout tab, it's basically the two
2005.
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
It's obviously different.
Mr. L Rapozo:
will change. So for instance...
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
Lenny, I just wanted some clarification and
that aren't numbered but it's the one after the
(2) spreadsheets that are updated August 10,
Yes.
And I'm trying to figure out what is that?
Yes, as the project moves on, these numbers
Mr. Rapozo: I guess my question is, can we disregard the
two (2) that are updated on 2005 and just refer to the one (1) that's updated on
August 2011?
Yes you can.
Because that...
It gives you an update.
...that's the same thing right?
34
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
them. Thank you. That's all I have
Chair Furfaro:
ahead Mr. Kuali`i.
Mr. Kuali`i:
about the archeological survey?
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Yes.
Okay.
The 10/24/2011 is your current...
Mr. Rapozo: Okay good, thank you. That clarifies that.
Did we get any ARRA funds for this project at all?
Mr. L Rapozo: No.
Mr. Rapozo: Okay. My final question is the Pono Kai
Seawall area.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes.
Mr. Rapozo: I noticed we continued to do maintenance
but is there a remedy in sight, are we working on... is that something that we're
going to...
Mr. L Rapozo: I don't know what's the current status of the
Seawall, that's not a Parks project but what we're doing is just maintaining the
level of sand there. All of the sand that's being provided for that project was the
dredged sand from the previous dredging that the state did of the Lihi area. That
sand was moved to our nearby county baseyard and we use that material to do the
backfill for that. The Pono Kai seawall project, I know they're doing the permitting
and the studies and that stuff...
So that's coming out of Public Works?
That's a Public Works project.
Okay, that's fine. We'll get an update from
Mr. Chair.
Any other questions before I impose one? Go
Aloha Lenny, mahalo. I saw something
Yes.
Mr. Kuali`i: So the Mayor will order an additional
archeological inventory survey and it's been done already and it's not required but
he did it? And the findings were that no historical properties were found?
Correct.
Mr. Kuali`i: Can you say who did the survey and how did
they work with the Native Hawaiian organizations and the Office of Hawaiian
Affairs?
35
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. L Rapozo: All of that part is part of the (inaudible)
process and early on the path was supposed to have this boardwalk on Wailua
Beach. Through the various meetings, additional meetings because when our
Administration came on, it was already approved that we could go on the sand but
Mayor Carvalho continued to dialog with Native Hawaiian organizations and
Native Hawaiians in general and we took an extra year of dialog with the NHO's.
So the decision was made to take it off the sand and do it in the State right -of -way
and the State was willing to give us use of this right -of -way and the design was
done. Again they made mention of having possible historic properties there.
Because construction has already been done on that quarter in the right -of -way
area in terms of the four (4) lane, I mean the three (3) lane highway that we have
currently there today, it was believed with rather certainty that no historical
properties will be found there because the ground was disturbed already. But again
there was dialog from the NHOs and there was some questions... Mayor Carvalho
said you know what we're going to do additional archeological inventory survey to
ensure that when we do this project in the right -of -way that there are no historical
properties. Hal Hammock was the archeologist for this project, he worked with the
different groups and the different agencies and he was in charge of the EIS and that
was completed and nothing was found.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you. So my only other question is
about phase five (5) from Kuna Bay to Anahola, in addition to the bullet here that
says it's on hold, pending completion of other phases, you had said until you had
more dialog with the Anahola community so I wanted to have a sense of what did
you mean by that? What is the timeline and what further dialog is planned with
the Anahola community?
Mr. L Rapozo: In previous dialogs again it's been some
years since we've had another dialog with the Anahola community. There's some
concerns about the native fishing grounds, there's concerns about they're doing
development plan for a market place area over there and so with all of these
concerns we felt that... okay we going to just leave that section alone for now and
work on the other sections. During this time period that I'm reporting about, there
was no other dialog other than now after in our next... I understand that they have
had some talk and there's a possibility that they may want to reengage and talk
about the Kuna Bay to Anahola. But up until now it's believed that they may not be
ready for it, they may want to continue discussions within the communities and so
we moved to do other parts of the path, work on other parts of the path. But we are
always open if they're ready, we're ready.
Mr. Kuali`i: The part of me was understanding it as if it
was about funding and about timing but it did seem like at one (1) point it was
moving and then it just sort of stopped. I did say at the last quarterly report which
I think Ian Costa gave that report...
Mr. L Rapozo: No, I did it.
Mr. Kuali`i: Oh, you were here? About the Anahola Town
Plan and so that was completed in 09 and...
Mr. L Rapozo: And you sent a copy over, yes.
COUNCIL MEETING
Mr. Kuali`i:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Kuali`i:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Chair Furfaro:
here, I would read the project cost
thousand dollars ($53,256,000.00)
Mr. L Rapozo:
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. L Rapozo:
36
Yes.
I have it.
Mr. Kuali`i: And so there is community support and the
community is ready to go because it's sort of like all laid out and so... if it's not
about funding and not a timing issue with the other phases and if it's primarily
about ensuring that the community is open and willing and ready, I would say that
the community is and if we need help with the...
To pick it up again?
Yeah. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Do we have an appraisal for it?
Yes.
JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Lenny let me ask you a question I think I
brought this up last time, it is my understanding that the county would stand
behind twenty percent (20 %) of the project cost?
And as we have these accumulative totals
to date is fifty -three million, two hundred fifty -six
right?
Fifty -three million?
Fifty -three million, two...
Oh, with our twenty percent (20 %) involved?
Yes.
I would think it's close.
Chair Furfaro: And what we show is that contributions
in -kind from the County, whether it's cash or easements or you know whatever,
twenty percent (20 %) is ten million, six, fifty -one (10,651,000,00). You show our
in -kind contributions to date at eleven million, five... so we actually have a credit
balance of about eight hundred and eighty thousand dollars for matching How do
you reconcile this piece of balance of contributions remaining? You're showing
negative four million as an estimate. Is that because the timing of some of the total
project cost having come in, am I supposed to use this as a cash flow tool or what
am I supposed to use that last column for?
Mr. L Rapozo: The last column shows you exactly what you
mentioned... is our balance. What's not reflected in here and it's going to be timing
in terms of when we want to count it towards, you know we have the donation of the
hundred and six acres down by the airport.
37
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. L Rapozo: It's not in there yet and because we not in
that phase where we want it to count, so this is definitely going to go up. There are
some other lands that we haven't put in here yet, so those numbers will change.
Chair Furfaro: Lenny, you need to put some footnotes in
here, okay?
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: Okay because I'm looking at this, I'm trying
to reconcile contributions whether I'm looking at whom (inaudible) bridge or so... I
see nothing in here that shows the work that Council Vice Chair Yukimura did,
past Council Chair Asing did which shows the value of the Ahukini piece. So we're
looking at a number, I mean if you can't read a balance sheet, we're looking at a
number that says it's negative. I can reconcile the other part in my head.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah.
Chair Furfaro: Cost, we're at fifty- three, two, five, and six.
Mr. L Rapozo: And again Chair those additional assets that
come over to us, the timing and the way I've been understanding, the way this
project works, it's not ready yet.
Chair Furfaro: Yeah, I understand that.
Mr. L Rapozo: And I understand what you want.
Chair Furfaro: I can find myself around anybody's P &L.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah.
Chair Furfaro: But you give me something like this that
basically says it's negative and then I look for the notes on the bottom and I don't
see the notes on the bottom that express we haven't reconciled all the potential
assets that have not been directed to the bridge.
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: Because I don't want to go back three (3)
pages and look on how we progressed. I want to look at two (2) things, what's the
total cost of the project which I have and I appreciate that and what is our
contribution share that's left. I don't need to look at a negative balance.
Mr. L Rapozo: Alright.
Chair Furfaro: If you're not recognizing all of the potential
assets.
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: That's my point.
38
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. L Rapozo: I know, Mr. Chair, you're very good with the
numbers and everything and I'd like to point out that in our pullout sheet some of
the moneys change and I will... I'd like to point out because I look at these numbers
very closely as we move forward with the project. In the Lydgate to Kapa'a phase
"a" construction project, in the federal highway fund, that's this pullout sheet, page
eleven (11)... after page ten (10)...
Chair Furfaro: There it goes.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah and if you pullout the Lydgate to
Kapa`a phase "a" construction, the federal highways took back six hundred twenty -
four thousand out of a hundred and forty dollars. Part of it is because we... the
construction cost of this project came in thirteen percent (13 %) lower than what was
estimated and so they took it up and... but it's not to say that if we needed the
money, they would not put it back.
Chair Furfaro: Yes, I understand but there's a lot of moving
parts there.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah.
Chair Furfaro: And I've gone through the questions on that
piece, that's only a sub ledger as far as I'm concerned.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah.
Chair Furfaro: But I want to say that my comments are like
when I see something negative or something... I don't let a balance sheet scare me.
I ask do we have any other credits floating around, how are we going to react to that
and it would be wise in the future that we list the Ahukini piece...
Mr. L Rapozo: And some other potential lands.
Chair Furfaro: ...is currently being assessed and you
know...
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes, I totally understand. But I just want
full disclosure because I know you're a man of keen eyes with numbers, so I just
wanted to point that out if you look at (inaudible). Also if you go to the Nawiliwili...
Ahukini planning and permitting which we are doing now, they give us another
hundred and nine thousand dollars for that particular portion for additional work
for the design and the personnel cost of the County that we put in for that project.
Chair Furfaro:
cost and so forth.
Mr. L Rapozo:
the numbers do change.
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay.
Right, we take the credit for county staffing
Yes, so I just wanted to point that out that
Well let me share a secret with you.
39
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Don't give people something that reflects as
trying to look like a balance sheet or a statement of accounts if you're not taking all
your credits.
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: And you shouldn't be directing us to... oh flip
back to page nine (9) and you know... I just want to know the running cost.
Mr. L Rapozo:
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Chair Furfaro:
Lenny. Nadine
Ms
process?
Mr.
highways
price?
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes.
Ms.
Mr.
Ms.
. Nakamura:
L Rapozo:
approves it.
Nakamura:
L Rapozo:
Nakamura:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Ms. Nakamura:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Ms. Nakamura:
Sure.
And our running potential credit balance.
Sure.
Okay, terrific, good report. Thank you
Ms. Nakamura: Thanks Lenny for your presentation. This is
a follow up to the Chair's question because I had the same question about the four
million negative that's shown here... So once you've identified the possible land
donations, is it an automatic thing where you then appraised the land and then you
can start deducting the county share from that amount?
Do you have to go through an approval
There is an approval process; federal
I see.
Yeah.
And it's typically based on the appraisal
Yes.
Ms. Nakamura: Also I'm reading the pullout here and I
wanted to just clarify then for this upcoming fiscal year 2012 -13 budget, the amount
that you will be asking for... is that the one million?
I'm sorry?
Anticipated future funding.
Anticipated?
Or... I'm thinking in this upcoming budget.
40
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay.
Ms. Nakamura: What is the amount that you would be or are
you looking for any funds in this upcoming budget?
Mr. L Rapozo: These are estimated that we're looking at the
2010 was the five hundred thousand for the land acquisition.
Ms. Nakamura: Right.
Mr. L Rapozo: And for the design work for the Kuna Bay to
Anahola yeah.
Ms. Nakamura: Yes.
Mr. L Rapozo: Those are the funds that we think will be
slated to do the design work for that but currently in this fiscal year the cost of the
bid that was awarded is five point six million with the work that we're doing right
now, the phase "a" portion of the path. I hope I answered your question?
Ms. Nakamura: I guess what I was asking is in this
upcoming budget.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes.
Ms. Nakamura: Do we know what the amount? I am unable
to tell from this what you're asking for from the County side.
Mr. L Rapozo: Oh, nothing.
Ms. Nakamura: Okay. That's what I wanted to hear. Okay.
That's good. One (1) last comment because I try to walk on the path in the morning
when we don't have Council Meetings and one of the things that we often run into,
the monk seals hauled up on the Kapa'a shoreline and it's just the visitors and
residents, we all enjoy it. A lot of times the volunteers are out to explain to visitors
the history and information about the seals and one of the volunteers asked me
about... they're not always able to be there when the seals are hauled down, they
mark the territory and all of that to stay away from but one (1) of the things they
thought would be really helpful is interpretation signage. These are very familiar
seals that frequent the area, so they have history about each of them and just in
general. It's also a great whale watching area too and so I'm wondering while we're
doing all of this, these are kind of to add on to the value of what we already have in
place but are we thinking about a program or do we have a program in place to get
to that point?
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes we do.
Ms. Nakamura: And do we have some kind of timeframe for
implementing that?
Mr. L Rapozo: No, I don't have but I think we need to do it
and move forward with that.
41
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Nakamura: Okay, it's the natural resources, the physical
features and the history along the route because it's so valuable. I'm just wondering
that in this upcoming budget that that's something that we feel that's needed to
consider those improvements.
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay.
Ms. Nakamura: And what some of the volunteers and visitors
saw the seal on the beach, it's their highlight of their trip here.
Mr. L Rapozo: My son too.
Ms. Nakamura: It's just something for you to consider.
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Lenny just a follow up on that, you know the
process where people bid as teams, engineering firms, design firms, planners right
and then a team won the overall didn't necessarily got the contract but they won on
their presentation. The winning presenter for the east Kaua`i path did in fact
identify graphics and signage and legions and I would just encourage to follow up on
that.
bid.
that.
Mr. L Rapozo:
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. Bynum:
Chair Furfaro:
Oh, okay.
It had place names and everything in the
Can I follow up on that?
Sure. It didn't seem like he was aware of
Mr. Bynum: Yeah we have a whole interpret sign... I
mean that was worked on since the beginning of this. In fact there are new ones in
place at the end of the bridge right now.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah but my take was that we needed more.
Mr. Bynum: Right.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah so that's what my take is.
Mr. Bynum: And my understanding is, that's in the
works.
Mr. L Rapozo: Yeah.
Mr. Bynum: But maybe we can follow up. Just for the
public's information some of those interpret signs, there were some temporary ones
and now they're permanent. They are at the end of the bridge in that area and that
was after a couple of years of planning. There have been Committees with getting
42
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
input about the content of the signs and maybe you can do follow on that but from
my understanding is that's in the works.
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Bynum:
Yeah.
Some of it is in place, others will be...
Mr. L Rapozo: My take from Councilmember Nakamura
was where the seals, you wanted something there? Where the whale watching is
best, where the volunteers are able to explain that, right?
Ms. Nakamura: I think I'm... if you don't mind?
Chair Furfaro: No, go ahead.
Ms. Nakamura: The comprehensive signage and that's one
(1) piece of it and you know if there is a program in place, I'd be interested in
knowing the timeframe and where they have resources to implement it.
Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura and then Mr. Rapozo.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, thank you. I just wanted to say that
this is a really fabulous project, a long term one. In the context of looking at your
overall plan, thank you so much for showing us all the finances and the different
phases. We're looking at a nineteen (19) to twenty (20) miles path when
everything's completed?
Mr. L Rapozo: I think it's more like twenty -six (26).
Ms. Yukimura: Twenty -six (26)? Okay, I was adding it up...
on your 8- 10 -05...
Mr. L Rapozo: Okay, alright.
Ms. Yukimura: It showed twenty -one point three (21.3).
Mr. L Rapozo: Alright.
Ms. Yukimura: But then it shows a nineteen point three
(19.3) on your twelve, zero, one, five, one and then it shows nothing on your ten,
twenty -four, two thousand eleven chart, so I was just trying to figure it out. I mean
for me, the longer the better. What it means is it's connecting more places. This
path if the Anahola community moves to work with the County as I think
Councilmember Kuali`i says they're ready to and it runs from Anahola down to
Nawiliwili, along the whole east coast of the island is quite an extraordinary multi-
use path. If the approximate total length is about twenty (20) to twenty -six (6)
miles, whatever... and we've done six point eight (6.8) that's actually constructed
and has been in use and is in use now, we're approximately one third or one fourth
complete and you folks are carrying the vision in day to day and week to week,
month to month work on this. But that's what is unfolding in these pages here and
so I just wanted to explain to the public which don't have this report that that's the
big picture, right? And it's an incredible vision and you folks have done really fine
work not without challenges but in the long run it's going to be an amazing facility
43
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
and I think not just something that promotes health and fitness but the economy. I
think the businesses in Kapa'a know that and it promotes transportation linkages.
Thank you for your work Lenny, I appreciate it.
Mr. L Rapozo: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo then Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Rapozo: Follow up to the balance of contribution
remaining. The chart shows the negative four million or a little over four million
but in our... I guess the donations if you will and what we received thus far, how
close are we to that number?
Mr. L Rapozo: The yellow highlight, the Lydgate-Kapa'a
phase "a" Kawaihau elevated boardwalk materials, that would be our balance right
now.
Mr. Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo: Based on this chart and I know we haven't
included a lot of the contributions that we can use for incline but if we follow this
estimates that are listed here, we are showing a little over four million dollars...
Mr. L Rapozo: Negative?
Mr. Rapozo: ...short. So do we have that so far because
I'm not aware of what we have that's and (inaudible) Mr. Chair asks for the
breakdown of those contributions that we can utilize but how far...
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
close.
Mr. L Rapozo: I'm fairly confident we're going to have more
than that because there are really other big pieces of land that we're still talking
that we haven't...
Mr. Rapozo:
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo: I mean I think what Mr. Chair is saying that
the public will see this and will automatically say you know we got to get four
million dollars and I realize that this is only based on that one (1) Kealia land
contribution of almost seven and a half billion and so do you feel comfortable that
we'll have no problem as far as meeting that in -kind contribution?
Mr. L Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo:
No, I'm looking at the final one.
Okay.
We haven't even done the appraisals for...
I mean are we close? We should be pretty
That should be (inaudible).
Yes.
I believe so, yes.
Okay. That's all I have.
44
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Thank you Mr. Rapozo for that follow up and
I think for my knowledge of the pieces here, Lenny, it is something we want to get
in the footnotes and...
Mr. L Rapozo: Yes, point taken.
Chair Furfaro: At first blush if you take the eight hundred
and eighty thousand that's over at the twenty -one point eight percent of what
contributions you're showing and what I think the appraisal was presented to us on
the Council after Councilmember Asing and Vice Chair Yukimura pursued that
donation. I think total we have collectively about four point nine and I hope that
answers, Mr. Rapozo's questions because I got my fingers crossed where the
appraisals going to come in, so I think you need to be very aware that that leaves us
a balance in the in -kind line of just under a million bucks. But we have to wait for
the appraisals and so that we don't get into this much detail. It would be nice to
show the footnote what it doesn't include right now.
Mr. L Rapozo:
Chair Furfaro:
Alright, sure.
Mr. Bynum, go ahead.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you Lenny for this report. I
understand how this goes that we rather you identify the hundred and twenty -eight
acres in Nawiliwili, there's also the bridge that was built at the Safeway and there's
other potential land donations and in -kind You know the first in -kind for this
project was sweat equity on the Kamalani Kai Bridge of over six hundred thousand
that made that a zero dollar project in Lydgate Park. So this is very creative use of
funding, in fact if you do the math currently funds expended of twenty -nine million.
The county contribution of five hundred thousand, you know we had to do a twenty
percent match but in dollars, that's two percent. Three hundred and seventy -five
thousand of that five hundred thousand was because of a delay in construction
penalty that we had to pay. And so in terms of actually constructing the project,
there's only a hundred and ninety -four thousand of county dollars in as a match and
that's less than point six percent. This is quite amazing to bring that much federal
dollars and the construction activity and the jobs and then the economic benefits for
so little county dollars. In looking at your chart, the next Ahukini to Lydgate, we
have enough to match, already to move that project to completion but as we move
forward with the other projects, you know I heard your answer, I felt confident that
we will have other in -kind matches to potentially build out the rest of this project
with zero more county dollars. I'm glad we got to the answer for Councilmember
Nakamura. There's no intention to ask for any county money next year.
Mr. L Rapozo: Correct.
Mr. Bynum: It's going on existing match and in the future
potential match and also I believe in terms of the economic benefit for the
community, when we're actually linked from Lydgate all the way to Kuna Bay more
than six (6) or seven (7) miles, it's really going to be a shot in the arms particularly
for the Coconut Market place area and Kapa`a, as visitors can get to all of those
businesses safely on an identified path. I appreciate this report, I also appreciate
the comments from the Chair about kind of estimating those in the future so we
don't have this kind of back and forth to come to a conclusion that we're getting a
45
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
lot of bang for the buck with federal dollars for at this point no additional county
expenditures.
Mr. L Rapozo: Correct.
Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura did you have a
question? Councilmember Kuali`i did you have a question? Okay, I'm going to give
you the floor then.
Mr. Kuali`i: Just one (1) quick thing, Councilmember
Bynum talked about the shot in the arm and the economic benefit but not just to
Kuna Bay, to Anahola. There isn't a neighborhood in Kuna Bay of four, five
hundred families that could take the path to get to Kapa'a businesses, so the sooner
we get Anahola done, it's more advantageous to add that as well because now you're
connecting the entire population there and not just an empty bay with beaches.
Kuna Bay is more of a destination than the place of people going to Kapa'a town.
Chair Furfaro: Good point. Anyone else? Lenny, I would
really appreciate it if you could look into the graphics and the signage and how we
progressed. I have my own built in radar system on that, you see, my daughter who
is with Kamehameha Schools as a land asset manager, was on Wilson Okamoto's
winning team and was responsible for the definition and signage. So every time she
comes home she's checking on it... dad, I don't see signage, and so I have my own
built in controls.
Mr. L Rapozo: It shall be on the next agenda of the Task
Force meeting.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you.
Mr. L Rapozo: Can I ask a question?
Chair Furfaro: Surely.
Mr. L Rapozo: Do you find these quarterly reports helpful
or do we want to move this out to six (6) months?
Chair Furfaro: I'm open to consider it a six (6) month basis
but (inaudible) and we'll do that when we get back as a group.
Mr. Rapozo: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much, Lenny. Is there
anyone in the public wanting to testify? Glenn, please come right up.
GLENN MICKENS: Thank you Jay. For the record Glenn
Mickens. You have a copy of just a short list I have here and some of the questions
may have been answered. I want an update on the path obviously, the total
amount of the path, federal amount and Kauai amount (inaudible) the breakdown
of design cost of construction. On the figures that Lenny gave us fifty -three million
two hundred fifty -six thousand nine hundred and ninety -one dollars, do I
understand that that includes the county's in share cost? The other eleven million
over here the county share, is that included in the fifty -three million? In other
46
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
words if you take the eleven million away from the fifty -three and that's what the
projected cost would be?
Chair Furfaro: The projected cost, Glenn, and as I read this
sheet and I think I got clarified, to date expenditures are fifty- three, two, five, six.
Mr. Mickens: Right.
Chair Furfaro: Of which that is not all cash.
Mr. Mickens: Right.
Chair Furfaro: There is this amount of eleven million which
is the in kind portion that we match with the federal government and I think as you
followed Mr. Bynum's commentary, unfortunately at this point actual cash is less
than one point zero six percent of the total.
Mr. Mickens: Right, right. So the eleven million then, is
that included in the fifty -three million?
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Mr. Mickens: It was my question there.
Chair Furfaro: That's not plus, that's inclusive.
Mr. Mickens: Right. However if you go over to the far side
of remarks one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... eight of those things are
estimated cost, that doesn't mean it's what it's going to be. When they go down and
find out from Nawiliwili up to this south end of Lydgate Park, I've heard so much
discussion about that of what land has to be acquired, where it's going to go
through, how we're going to get to that point, so we don't really know, do we know
what's that going to be?
Chair Furfaro: No, I was thinking as the report indicates,
it's their best estimate at this time.
Mr. Mickens: Alright. That's their estimate but again with
the... I've got figures here from the Department of Highways, federal government,
DOT, they show their estimate as you see farther down on my list here on "d" the
last DOT meeting, the breakdown of cost to the path from Nawiliwili to the south
end of Lydgate park showed a projected cost of sixty million dollars but... and then
a revised list came from Mr. McCormick, it showed fifty -seven million of that total
was deferred or eliminated due to the lack of funding. Well what's the update on
that?
Chair Furfaro: Well you should actually ask that question
as an invitation I've extended to Senator Kouchi a visit to me at 1:30 where we're
going to talk about a little bit about some of those State pieces.
Mr. Mickens: Right.
47
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: I understand he will be here for a short time,
catching a plane back, so we can certainly pose some of those State questions to
him
Mr. Mickens:
Chair Furfaro:
Okay.
I hope you feel that's fair?
Mr. Mickens: Yes, sure. Whoever can answer the question.
I just want answers to these questions. And is there a Sunset date that the fed
funds have to be used to finish the path, I didn't hear a comment about that? Or
are all the funds...
Chair Furfaro:
through.
Mr. Mickens:
Mr. Mickens: Good.
Let me try to answer your questions as we go
Oh okay Jay.
Chair Furfaro: I think that's a fair question, we should raise
it but we're being exposed now to federal issues like with HUD. We're hearing
(inaudible) that HUD money might be reduced by as much as fifteen percent, so
that's a question we're going to have to follow up on. It's a good question but I don't
have an answer for you.
Mr. Mickens: Who should I ask that question to, Jay?
Chair Furfaro: Well we should pose it to Mr. Heu. If he can
do the appropriate follow up within the division, I'm sure he'll get Mr. Dill involved
in it.
Mr. Mickens: Okay, good. Are all the funds available fed
and local, to finish the path from Nawiliwili to Anahola? If not, what's the cost for
unfinished phases, land acquisitions, and what is the finish date for it?
Chair Furfaro: I don't want to (inaudible) that question but
if you give me that question, I'll be certain to put it in our next quarterly update.
Chair Furfaro: That's your three (3) minutes but I've
interrupted. Keep going Glenn.
Mr. Mickens: This is a question I've asked continually on
this but have never gotten an answer to it. We talked about the park rangers.
What will be the total maintenance cost to this path if ever completed and where
will the money come from since we cannot properly, as Mel has pointed out a
hundred times, we can't properly maintain the parks we have at this stage of the
game. So if you're talking about, they keep on talking about the length of that
thing, it went from twenty -six miles I heard JoAnn just say now, to eighteen miles
and I keep on reading the Garden Island, it keeps on coming up with different
distances. We never heard an exact figure on what it's going to be but if you talk
about the maintenance of that total path, where is that money going to come from?
48
COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
How many more people are we going to hire, doesn't that have to be factored into
the equation?
Chair Furfaro: I would like to say at first, Glenn, I will try
to incorporate those into our next quarterly questions.
Mr. Mickens: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: And you be just like me, I don't necessarily
believe everything that I read in the Garden Island but I don't necessarily always
believe everything that I get testimony on either.
Mr. Mickens: Okay Jay, I understand. What's the update
on the Pono Kai seawall? I heard it briefly mentioned here, the Pono Kai seawall
and the path in front of the ocean that said had to be addressed. What's happening
to the Fuji Beach, Moana Kai area that was undermined by the ocean, it had to be
replaced before the path could go along the section?
Chair Furfaro: Glenn, you have more freedoms than I have
to discuss the items because Fuji Beach and the Seawall is not on today's agenda.
But I can tell you that that is a future CIP item that is coming up in Mr. Bynum's
Committee. We cannot discuss items that we haven't fully disclosed but I will ask
Mr. Bynum to pursue it relatively soon in his CIP summary.
Mr. Mickens: I'd appreciate that. Well if the answers that
weren't in this PowerPoint by Lenny, if I can get answers to these things, I would
really appreciate it.
Chair Furfaro: I'll put those two (2) burning questions in the
next report.
Mr. Mickens: And did we hear the answer then to the
Hawaiian thing? I mean they have blocked off saying they don't want that path
going along Kuhn Highway in front of that seawall there, they've got signs out
there and everything else. Has that been finalized? What are they going to do with
it?
Chair Furfaro: I think the answer we hear on that is that
the Mayor is deeply involved and there is dialog going on.
Mr. Mickens: Right because I know they were trying to put
the thing back behind the Coco Palms and use that other path and the Hawaiians
were more favorable to that than they were having it go along Kuhi`o Highway,
getting up there. And then the whole issue that Mel has continually brought up
about the four hundred fifty thousand dollars for that piece of land there on Papaloa
Road, what's the outcome of that?
Chair Furfaro: I don't have an answer for you. That is
clearly something a third item I can put on the next quarterly report.
Mr. Mickens: Good, I would appreciate it.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: I don't want to over promise and under
deliver.
Mr. Mickens: Right. Because I read this thing and page
after page of statistics and stuff and you know so many of these questions to me
have never been finalized, they've never been completely answered. Is the Sands
Hotel be beneficial to this thing and what are they going to charge, etc., and so
anyway if I can get answers to those, I'll appreciate it.
Chair Furfaro: I'll put those three (3) questions, staff please
make note of that and I think your six (6) minutes are up.
Mr. Mickens: Okay, thank you Jay.
Chair Furfaro: Lenny, I hope in the back there you made
notes of those three (3) questions possibly for the next quarterly meeting? For the
next quarterly meeting, I'll send them over. Ken please come right up.
KEN TAYLOR: Chair, members of the Council, my name is
Ken Taylor. First I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year.
Chair Furfaro: Same to you.
Mr. Taylor: This is the first time I've been in front of you
this year. I'd like to say thank you to Lenny for this good report. I really appreciate
it because I've been a supporter from the very beginning and I think it's a real asset
to the community. I think the community is really enjoying it. I think this is one of
the best reports in detailing where we are and the cost and so on and I'm really
looking forward to the completion all the way down to the harbor. I'd just like to be
encouraging to Lenny and his staff and to the county in general to... let's get on
with it. It's just a wonderful, wonderful thing and I just see every time I'm down
there people really enjoying it and it's from young families with children to older
folks walking their dogs to wheelchairs and it's really a pleasure to see that kind of
appreciation and usage of the facility. I can't say enough about it. Anyway, so
thank you Lenny and staff and the Council for the good questions that you asked
today and I'm looking forward to the completion of the project.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much Ken. Are there any
questions for Ken? No. Thank you very much. Is there anyone else in the
audience that would like to speak on this item? Seeing no one, I'm going to call the
meeting back to order.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order.
Chair Furfaro: Members any further discussion?
Councilmember Chang.
Mr. Chang: I just wanted to thank Councilmember
Kauli`i for keeping us apprised of the Anahola community and the community buy -
in to get the path completed as soon as possible because a lot of the local people
remember going to Anahola Beach or at least I do and going on the right side of the
beach where there used to be a picnic table, there was a small pond. Before the
multi -use path even anywhere it gave you a nice opportunity to ride a bike from
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Anahola to Kealia and you know just ride down those hills and everything and it
was just a real beautiful area to go walk in and around. I'm just happy that the
community wants this completed. I also want to say that you know when you use
the path and you see the potential of the path, there's so much wilderness out there
and we mentioned the wildlife and the mammals and birds and you know plants
and native species, I think it would be just a therapeutic and a very cool place to go
and I'm excited about that and I just wanted to make a little comment about the
maintenance. I think we mentioned this many of times that those who use the path,
you know, it's one of the cleanest parts of Kaua`i because I just think the people
have so much pride that it's not in any visitor or local resident's job description, I
just think they like keeping that place clean. Outside of the general maintenance
about maintaining shrubbery or trees, I just want to thank the local people for
having pride in the path because it's a very clean and spectacular place that we all
can enjoy. I wanted to mention that and Councilmember Kuali`i thank you very
much for working with the Anahola community because it's going to be a real key
important part. I like the fact that local residents and native Hawaiians that use
the path and when our visitors intermingle, they get a free Hawaiian 101 lesson
intermingling with the people and I think a lot of the people have pride sharing
their aloha about their home to our visitors. Thank you Mr. Chair.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Mr. Kuali`i.
Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you Chair and thank you
Councilmember Chang. I just wanted to say I don't speak for the Anahola
community but I'm part of the community and I participate and I'm on the Anahola
Hawaiian Homes Association Board. I just wanted to represent that years ago now
it seems like three (3) or more years now that it's 2012 when the prospect first came
to the community, it was just the County and the Department of Hawaiian
Homelands and they didn't really seek the community's input. The initial reaction
was overwhelming against it but it took awhile of meeting and the community
stepping forward with the Department of Hawaiian Homelands and telling them no,
and saying no you don't say for us, we say it's our community. The real way of
getting to it was to figure out why no and in the end how do we get to yes and so
the community being involved and formulating this entire Anahola Town Plan
meant designating how the path would come to Anahola and what kind of future
development we want to see in Anahola, commercial development, community
development... and so there's this entire plan that's very well done and they won
awards and it incorporates how the plan comes into Anahola. There's
overwhelming support in that sense because the community made the plan, they
own it. There's never a hundred percent, they'd still be some objections so be clear
on that too and the concern about fishing is always a concern and Lydgate and so
now there's access points for fishermen. The one concern that may not have been
really addressed yet regarding fishing was that some of the concern wasn't just
about getting directly to the fishing grounds but being able to... you know from
mauka to makai but also having some lateral access. I would think the lateral
access could be the actual path but that's not for vehicles. There may be some
kupuna fishermen who would like to see lateral access along the coast and as far as
I can tell that was the only one outstanding matter that may not really be
addressed yet and that maybe Parks and Recreation is working on. And you can
check out the Anahola Town Plan on the Department of Hawaiian Homeland site
which is just www.dhhl.gov. Thank you.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. Bynum.
Thank you. Any other commentary?
Mr. Bynum: Lenny posed a question earlier about
whether we needed quarterly or six (6) month reports. I just wanted to say that six
(6) months is fine because this is not a shy Council. If issues arise, you know we can
ask in between in the terms of regularly scheduling and I really appreciate the
comments that Mr. Kuali`i just made because that's exactly my experience of what
happened a few years ago was that the Administration of Hawaiian Homelands who
was people in O`ahu who had an agenda related to this path that was different than
the county's agenda. This path for the county is about increasing access, not
decreasing it. I want to thank (inaudible) Pa at the time for assertively saying hey
Hawaiian Homelands you made these representations to these consultants and you
didn't even talk to us about it and so that I think was the initial reason for like hey
let's take a step back on this planning and make sure that we're engaging the
community properly and that was a wise decision. I hear Mr. Kuali`i saying okay
we got passed that, you don't need to leave it on hold much longer, and I would
concur because the history of this path has been about engagement. He mentioned
that Lydgate, we had this really good meetings with fishermen who said this is
where I need to go, this is where I need vehicle access, this is for pedestrian access,
and we have accommodated that in the phases that we completed so far at Kealia
and Lydgate by listening to the community and saying you know what is the
appropriate access. I know from former Mayor Baptiste who was a big supporter of
this program, for him it was all about access, lateral shoreline access for local
people forever. Not just a ten foot easement between two (2) hotels to get plopped
on the sand but lateral access mauka of the shoreline in order to see that you can
not only get to the ocean but you can traverse it laterally. So that's why I feel like
this project is such a win, win, win. It gives local people ensured access forever,
Councilmember Chang points out that it creates opportunities for neighbors to meet
each other, see each other, talk, also engage with our visitors, you know it is an
asset to the hotels on the eastside and making that a destination. We're already
seeing mainland kind of biking groups who are organizing to come to Kaua`i and
stay on the eastside just for the four (4) miles that we have completed in Kealia and
we're under construction now to connect to Lydgate with Kealia. Now we're going to
have eight (8) miles of contiguous path and then as we move towards Anahola in
one (1) direction towards LIhu`e and another... there's just all of these benefits.
Right now if you want to bike from Lihu`e to Kapa`a, you got to be pretty
courageous, imagine that there's a safe place for even kids can make that traverse
in the future. There is a transportation aspect to this, a very big one in my mind.
That transportation is when a human being moves from point "a" to point "b" and if
they walk or ride a bike, they're not getting in their cars, particularly right in
Coconut Marketplace. We have visitors going back and forth to Safeway, they get
into their cars, navigate those intersections that we know are all congested just to
get their groceries, and the physical distance is a few hundred yards sometimes.
Once we identify a safe way for them to get there, I see the hotels giving them little
carts so they can make that trip walking, they can be staying at the Coconut
Marketplace and walk into Kapa'a town. I think this is the most significant
economic development project that the county is involved with at this time. It's not
secret that I'm a big supporter; I am also in tuned with our friend Ken that says
let's get on with it. I believe we have been responsible and sensitive. Where there
were issues and concerns addressed on Wailua Beach, we delayed for a year and a
half or more, moving forward, made changes in the plan, you know it's not going to
make everybody happy. People say, well what about the Hawaiians? Well it
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
depends on which Hawaiians you speak to. They don't speak with one (1) voice,
they're a diverse community that have varied opinions, but I believe their concerns
have been appropriately addressed and the plan changed because of that. Those
delays were frustrating but are also necessary to make sure that we do it with
sensitivity and it's something that our community celebrates. The institution of
these quarterly reports and having a Task Force really, really helped because prior
to that there was lots of issues and maybe the right hand didn't know what the left
hand was doing. I think the Administration has adopted that model in other
projects as well that get complex and so I want to thank Lenny for his presentation
and his leadership on that Task Force which I think has really been... it cut
through a lot of the intricacies. My last comment honest...
Chair Furfaro: Honest?
Mr. Bynum: Honest. You know I appreciate Glenn's very
contiguous questions about this but in the STIP process, he knows, and STIP is the
state (inaudible) where these federal funds are coming through, and they come from
federal and they go through the state and all of the counties compete for that. So
round one (1) is that you put all of your wishes out there and it's this huge fund
number like five hundred million, but when your project gets ready to go and is
permitted then you come into this period where a final decision is made and they
say okay these funds are available and they have to be expended in a timely matter.
And so you have this wish out here, you have this desire, but then at some point it
becomes a commitment from the state. Yes Kaua`i you can spend these money for
this project and we don't come to that until we're actually ready to expend the funds
and so it's a very complex financial formula but the bottom line we heard today, less
than two percent (2 %) of the cost is actually being born by the tax payers of Kaua`i
and we're getting all of this economic stimulus. And so thanks again for the report
and then I don't have to make a speech... if we go six (6) months, I don't have to say
this every six (6) months.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo:
Mr. Rapozo: Yes and this will be real brief and because I
wasn't going to say anything, but in defense of Glenn Mickens and I think Debra
who's sitting in the audience here as well that you know there's also a very large
outcry from the community about alternate traffic routes, vehicular traffic routes. I
think it's excellent what's happening with the bikepath but I think what Glenn and
Debra and a lot of the other people in the community are saying is hey county can
you put as much energy and resources into trying to resolve the traffic issue as well.
I think that is the outcry that I hear. Yes everybody loves the bikepath but I think
when you talk about the STIP funds and STIP funds don't just happen, you got to
plan and you got to... and we've done a good job. The Administration has done from
Mayor Baptiste time on getting this bikepath project in the forefront so we could get
these federal funds, great thing. I think the leverage of money that Mr. Bynum
explained is probably one of the best in the country, I think, but I think what we're
hearing from the community as well is hey what about us, what about us that drive
every day, what about us that we got to get through this traffic, how come we're not
putting any influence, and I'm going to bring that up with Mr. Kouchi at 1:30 and I
was going to reserve my comments but I wanted to backup the reasons why Glenn
asked the questions he asked. I think those are valid questions and I think Debra,
I've heard your concerns loud and clear and so that's all I wanted to say. Great
project, let's utilize some of our energy and resources to help the people that are
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
begging for years for some alternative traffic routes as well. That's all, Mr. Chair,
thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Anymore comments before I
make mine? First of all, I'd like to have some discussion about the next report so I
can tie it to the current agenda item. The next report would be in six (6) months,
would be in July, is that acceptable to everyone? Okay. So Lenny, you hear that
we're fine with the July report rather than looking at an April report, so let's make
special note of that. Again I want to make sure we all understand over the... almost
the last eight (8) years that we've had these discussions the wish list for the path
has been hashed out, the history of the path has been hashed out, the value that it
adds has been hashed out, the amenities that we need whether it's signage or other
assets has been hashed out. We have a great Task Force I think that works closely
with the Parks Department but Lenny, my comment is that this Council really
needs to make sure we're getting good information about managing that capital
cost, and so if you can make that change on your report, I certainly would
appreciate it. On that note... oh, did you want to speak?
Ms. Yukimura: Just to piggyback on your point and to
incorporate what Mr. Mickens has said, I think it's time now to start also projecting
maintenance cost.
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: And security issues, long range you know
because this will be a facility that we will want to maintain and sustain in a well
functioning way and so I know that was one of the questions you were going to
append to the next report and it doesn't have to be total specific but I think we need
to start making some projections.
Chair Furfaro: Well I think it's actually and excuse me... I
think the repair and maintenance, the R &M issue, is a very big item and since we're
now talking about the path's next report in July, I would remind Lenny that the
R &M piece is actually a budget piece which will be in full gear in March. Please
understand the comments that I have made, the enhancements made by Council
Vice Chair Yukimura, we'd certainly be looking at that in budget time.
Ms. Yukimura:
Chair Furfaro:
Chair may I?
Go right ahead.
Ms. Yukimura: Your comment also triggered another
thought in my mind, the design issue also comes up, it's my understanding that
concrete is becoming about as comparable in cost as asphalt which is why the DOT
is putting in concrete roads now and the maintenance cost of that is far less than
asphalt. In the planning and design of future phases of the bikepath, we might at
least have alternatives. I know things change over time but I don't know because if
oil keeps going up, asphalt will keep going up too. Anyway that just needs to be
factored in somehow.
Chair Furfaro: So on those comments, Lenny, I want to
thank you for a good report. I think you heard the underlying piece here is it would
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
be nice for us to see some of the initial possibilities on forecasting as we continue to
expend.
The motion to receive C 2012 -05 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
C 2012 -06 Communication (12/02/2011) from the Council Chair, requesting
the presence of Ed Renaud, Roads Administrator, to provide the Council with an
update on the status of Island wide Road Resurfacing Projects: Ms. Yukimura
moved to receive C 2012 -06 for the record, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Chair Furfaro: I see Larry Dill in the crowd, so I would also
like to ask Mr. Dill to make himself available with Ed Renaud. This was a request
that I'm following up on, so please gentlemen come right up. Mr. Dill, Mr. Renaud
thank you very much for being here, obviously we would like to get some update on
our islandwide resurfacing project, especially since we had merged the current
budget with two (2) previous years, and to find out if you got more to share with us
and certainly subject to some of the ongoing questions. We only have twenty (20)
minutes to do this so it's obvious I'm not going to rush through it and you may be
coming back after lunch but we could do this... we could take some questions from
the audience if there is any so that you could actually maybe help them have a
better understanding of what we're looking for in the islandwide resurfacing update
on their specifics rather than direct the questions to me after your testimony.
Would you have a problem if I tried to use that time now?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
LARRY DILL, COUNTY ENGINEER: For the record, Larry Dill, County
Engineer. Chair, we're open to that. We came today anticipating responding to the
communication that was on the agenda. I did receive from Mr. Mickens a number
of questions this past Monday which I believe are perhaps the same or similar to a
set of questions which he and I had discussed at some length in the past. We
haven't had an opportunity since Monday to get into those questions, so I'm happy
to respond on the agenda item today but we may not be prepared to respond in
detail to some of those questions.
Chair Furfaro: Well I'm not annointing him to have the
same weight as a Councilmember.
Mr. Dill: Sure.
Chair Furfaro: But I am allowing him to pose the questions
because if he wants to be a Councilmember, he has to put a sign up saying he's up
for election. He's not done that but I would like to extend him his six (6) minutes
upfront, if you don't mind and if we touch on those, fine... if not we'll cover some
future CIP issues if I could since we only have twenty (20) minutes before lunch.
Mr. Mickens, the gentlemen are yielding their presentation to you for your
questions.
Mr. Mickens: I appreciate Ed and Larry's convenience to
me, thank you very much.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
There's some good news and some bad news. Oh, sorry about that, for the
record, Glenn Mickens. In reviewing the original Islandwide road resurfacing list of
May 3, 2011, I have some comments.
First, I note that after many years of testifying about Public Works using one
(1) ton of AC to pave 90 to 95 square feet of roadway and that's varied over the
years, whereas all other contractors use 1 ton of AC to pave 108 square feet to get a
final overlay of one and a half inch, the amount the bid contract asks for and the
amount the asphalt paving job calculator indicates, the revised resurfacing list now
indicates the use of 1 ton per 108 square feet and until I went over this revised list,
I didn't really realize it, it was given to me some time ago but I started looking at
the numbers on this thing and now I see this. This corrected method will save the
taxpayers about $34,750 per mile of road being paved.
Since I have proved in the past that our county roads were not even getting a
consistent one and a half inch final lift alone the more than one and a half inches,
that one (1) ton per 95 square feet should have been giving and Jay, you were a
witness many, many years ago when I took you to Kainahola Road and showed you
that there wasn't 1 1/4 inches on that road. This Council, I hope this Council is as
happy as I am that Larry has now put the change in there.
It's truly refreshing to see Larry Dill abiding by the correct paving standards
that my contractor friend Greg Schleper has passed along to me, and I and the
public, certainly thank him. I also note that the revised list shows cold planning,
subgrading work, and leveling courses to be done. All HAPI or ASSSHTO
standards and again I believe that Larry has taken a huge step forward in getting
our roads properly paved so that they will last many more years in than they have
in the past. I congratulate him and his subordinate Ed. On the flipside of the coin,
I have serious questions that need answering. The original paving list that you
guys all have copies of has eighty (80) roads to be resurfaced, whereas the revised
list has fifty -five (55). Does this mean that twenty -five (25) roads will not be
resurfaced?
And again how are these roads chosen to be repaved? The original list had
six (6) for Hanalei and now two (2); Kawaihau, the most populated area on Kaua`i
has thirty -two (32) and now has only thirteen (13), and Olohena, an artery used by
thousands of vehicles, is not even on that list and sections of it are in horrible shape
and have not been paved in over twenty (20) years. Lihu`e had twenty -five (25) and
now has twenty -four (24); Koloa had nine (9) and now has ten (10), the only district
with an increase. Waimea had eight (8) and now had six (6).
I know that politics has played a major role in past resurfacing and due to
Olohena not being on the list, I have wondered if this is still the case. But again I
am trusting that Larry will get on top of any of these past wrongdoings and prove
that my eighteen (18) years of crusading to improve our island's roads was not in
vain.
Another question, why have we accumulated eight point eight (8.8) million
dollars in our resurfacing budget over three (3) years and not been repaving? And
edges of road shoulders have not been leveled with the road creating hazards for
accidents to happen. I fully realize that all these things take time, money and
manpower, but I believe that this council will allocate those funds when properly
shown they're necessary.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
As you pointed out before, Jay, we get about one point eight (1.8) to two
million dollars per year that you guys have okayed for repaving. So now that we
haven't been repaving, I talked to the roads paving engineer at Glover and he said
they haven't done any work for the county since 2009, so it's probably true that...
Chair Furfaro: I would move on to your questions because
this issue about Glover having the contract, nobody has an exclusive rights...
Mr. Mickens: You're right but there's only two (2)
contractors on Kaua`i that...
Chair Furfaro: Move on to your questions.
Mr. Mickens: ...pave our road right?
Chair Furfaro: Okay.
Mr. Mickens: Grace Pacific and Glover.
Chair Furfaro: I'm just saying I can't tell you who was
chosen.
Mr. Mickens: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: Move on with your testimony.
Mr. Mickens: I got you. And the edges of our road
shoulders have not been leveled with the road creating hazards for accidents to
happen and I can show you many, many roads that were paved... Olohena, I can
show you sections of it where they haven't graded to the level of the road and cars
can go off. A friend of mine was on his bike and went off the edge of the thing and
he cut his eye and had to go to the emergency room, etc... I fully realize all these
things take time, money and manpower but I believe that this Council will allocate
this funds when properly showing their necessity. Again for me, we are definitely
going in the right direction for doing this and I complement Larry for making this
happen. I hope these other questions that we can find out what it is particularly
the choosing of the roads to be paved. I think that's extremely important, I think
Jimmy Tokioka sat there one time and I asked him and he says somebody calls me
and says the road needs to be repaved and so on. Larry has got it itemized and the
answers to some of your questions I believe before Jay and if they were picked by
that by usage, by condition of the road, there's nothing wrong with that.
Chair Furfaro: We'll see when Larry gives us that
explanation.
Mr. Mickens: Great, I appreciate it.
Chair Furfaro: Let me see if there's anyone that wants to
ask you questions. JoAnn.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Yukimura: Glenn, how wonderful to hear you say that
there's response after years of your raising these issues and now there's vindication
of some of your positions.
Mr. Mickens: Which I appreciate.
Ms. Yukimura: So congratulations and thank you for your
perseverance and thank you to Public Works for their positive response. But don't
you think that maybe one of the reasons the list has been diminished or the number
of roads to be paved has decreased is because you're increasing the ton of AC needed
for square feet right?
Mr. Mickens: No, I think it's the other way around. You're
increasing the amount of road that you're paving with less tonnage. Before we were
taking 95 square feet per ton and now we're using... according to Larry's figures
now, the bid contract shows a hundred a eight (108) square feet per ton. So you're
taking less... you're taking I think a thousand nineteen tons to pave it as opposed to
1,185 tons I believe it was before.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, I see. Okay...
Mr. Mickens: But I see what you're... I see the questions
you're asking and...
Ms. Yukimura: Well if you change the process, you might get
less or more roads right?
Ms. Yukimura: So maybe I should just leave the question for
Public Works when they come up.
Mr. Mickens: Yes because I would speculate and Larry
hopefully can answer this thing that now it's going to cost more, you know... Jimmy
kept correcting me saying, Glenn, if we did it by HAPI standards, it's going to cost
us far more. I said yes upfront, Jimmy, but not in the long run.
Chair Furfaro: You can't pose any more questions, Glenn.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you very much.
Chair Furfaro: And I do have to remember as an extension
of our questions... when we come back from lunch, we're going to have dialog with
some of your questions.
now.
Mr. Mickens: Yeah.
Mr. Mickens:
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. Mickens:
Good.
Okay. I'm going to let you have a seat for
Thank you very much, Jay.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Thank you Larry, and I have to share with
you that I can almost ask for specific time for your return because we have a update
from Senator Kouchi at 1:30. If it's possible I could excuse you now and ask you to
plan to be back by 2:00 so we're not tied up. That's the nature of our business and I
wanted you to hear Glenn's opportunity. I also want to say, Larry, I think you
made a great difference in Glenn's opinion on how we apply work in the
Engineering Department, your approach, and may I comment how very appreciative
I am that you've taken the time to spend quality responses with him on his
particular parts. I think I need to say to you it's best we start again at 2:00.
Mr. Dill: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: And I hope that works and that's the best
that I can do for a specific time.
Mr. Rapozo: Can I have a moment of personal privilege?
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Mr. Rapozo: I just had the constituent call me on Monday
I guess it was regarding a huge hole in the road in Po`ipu and I called Larry on his
cell number, I called Gary Heu on his cell number, both were busy. I left a message
but I got a call back later in the day that the messages were returned and in fact
that hole was filled. I just wanted to publicly say thank you because that has got to
be the quickest response I've ever received. I tried my best to make it a little safer
than what it was, I still don't know what that was but I just wanted to publicly
thank you and Ed for your very, very, very rapid response to a constituent request,
it wasn't my request, it came from a Po`ipu resident. I'm assuming that she's very
happy that it was repaired. So I just wanted to take that personal opportunity to
thank you folks and feel free to comment if you want but I just wanted to do that
publicly because I think it's well deserved, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Well Mr. Dill it is nice to actually hear
positive comments about you know the direction and the leadership you have in the
department but again my apologies there are no firm times but I'm going to try to
make things as firm as possible for 2:00. That gives you some time to catch up and
have some nourishment yourselves. Members before we adjourn today I would like
to take some time... please members our session isn't finished... I want to ask for
some personal privilege for myself if I may? Thank you. I do want to say that I was
remiss in not congratulating all of your efforts on the selection of our new County
Clerk. I should have done that this morning before we began. I also want to take
the time to make some things public as well which I did have a press release
prepared, with the input from other Councilmembers. Unfortunately, in the future
I would appreciate the Garden Island not to impose their own opinions in an
editorial that comes from myself and the staff. A professional courtesy is you
should not have a blemished commentary on a press release, you should extend the
courtesy to print the press release as such. I can make myself available to the
media as I have with Honolulu Star Advertiser and I can make myself available to
the Garden Island on the same. I do want to make note that next week Thursday
we will open our meeting with the Resolution that will appoint the new County
Clerk. There was a long process that we all participated in with over twenty (20)
candidates. There were five (5) phases to the process I could share with you, which
included a group of Councilmembers preparing fourteen (14) poignant questions,
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
other groups of Councilmembers qualifying some essay comments, and we had five
(5) finalists of which one (1) had dropped out rather early. It is also public record
that the County Clerk has accepted the position at one hundred seven thousand,
two hundred thirty -five dollars that is only ninety -three percent (93 %) of the salary
allowance submitted tows by the Salary Commission and that's again public record.
But I will say to the media here if you would like to spend some time and have some
dialog about the process, I'd be glad to share what I can with you, but I hope I've
answered any pending questions you might have. We did have the five (5) finalists,
we have reached as a body a decision although this is a position in other counties
that's looked at as having political influence, but everyone on the Council
participated and also we're very pleased with being able to identify Rick in some
upward mobility. Other decisions about staff and organizations now come under
the Clerk, but I do want to say that in the beginning as it was mentioned or
inputted into my press release that you know there was a change of heart by Rick;
originally he decided not to pursue the Clerk's position, but after we advertised
across the state in both Hilo, the Kona news, the Maui press, the Honolulu
Advertiser, he did submit a resume as an applicant. So I would confirm that the
initial time he did change his mind and he did pursue an application. Vice Chair
Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes Chair, thank you for that description of
the process that we went through. Congratulations Rick for coming up at the top
and I just wanted to thank the Chair for his leadership and all my colleagues
around this table. It was an open and fair process, we advertised, we went through
what I felt was a very professional selection process, and this was to my memory
anyway was an historic event that we actually went through this kind of process. I
think it reflects the kind of commitment of this Council to a really high quality of
service to the people of Kaua`i, and so thank you Chair and fellow Councilmembers.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: I concur the process was good. We were able
to interview candidates, several of which were qualified, and I would have been
happy as the Clerk. It was a very competitive process and I just wanted to say on a
personal part since I've been on the Council, Rick has been somebody that's acted
with integrity, works his butt off, and has really kept me sane, and I want to
congratulate him and say that he interviewed so strongly. He really showed his
stuff, so thanks Rick.
Chair Furfaro: Congratulations but again my apologies, I
should have made this announcement at the beginning of today's meeting but the
Resolution will be prepared for January 19 which is a Thursday, as myself and
Mr. Rapozo will be going over on the 18th for the opening of the State Legislature.
So next week's meeting will be on Thursday. On that note, we are going to break
for lunch and we'll see Senator Kouchi when we come back.
There being no objections, the Council recessed at 12:32 p.m.
The Council reconvened at 1:37 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Chair Furfaro: Aloha, we have returned back from lunch. I
would hope that there is no objections if I move for the time allocated for a
communication from myself requesting agenda time for Senator Kouchi and
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Representative Kawakami to give us an update on State funding, in particulars it
relates to the Wailua emergency by -pass so that we can get an update before the
Legislative session starts. If there's no objections, we'll come back to the roads piece
for the County Engineer after this item.
C 2012 -13 Communication (12/30/2011) from the Council Chair, requesting
agenda time for Senator Kouchi and Representative Tokioka to brief the Council on
the status of State funding in the amount of $950,000.00 for the Wailua Emergency
Bypass Improvements: Mr. Kuali`i moved to receive C 2012 -13 for the record, and
seconded by Mr. Chang.
Chair Furfaro: I would like to welcome Senator Kouchi and
Representative Kawakami, and gentlemen, I want to thank you for your time. We
obviously wanted to get an update as recent as we can before the Legislative session
starts, but more importantly I want to thank Senator Kouchi for your
responsiveness to my communication, and certainly Representative Kawakami.
Gentlemen, Happy New Year and the floor is yours.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
RON KOUCHI, SENATOR: Happy New Year, for the record Ron Kouchi.
DEREK S. K. KAWAKAMI, REPRESENTATIVE: And I am Derek
Kawakami.
Mr. Kouchi: I think I would begin by saying you know I
had the opportunity to attend the initial blessing but it wasn't all completely set up
and it's very nice. I sat that morning and realized that I spent at least half of my
life in this room and you know you have taken very good care of it and I commend
you and the staff for a job well done. I also remember in about the summer of 1983
reviewing a resume of a fiery young man wanting to return to Kaua`i and hiring
Rick Watanabe as an analyst at Council Services, and so you know it's great timing
to be able to extend congratulations to Rick as being selected as your County Clerk
and the County Clerk for the people of Kaua`i. Congratulations to you Ricky.
Mr. Kawakami: Congratulations Ricky, good man.
Mr. Kouchi: With that we had the discussion about the
nine hundred fifty thousand for the temporary emergency bypass road in Kapa`a,
and what we determined is that the funds that they used, and they have different
codes, so the e -funds that were used was supposed to be only for state highway
projects. When we have had a chance to meet with the Governor's Office and the
Department of Transportation, between a third to half of a highway or emergency
bypass is under the control of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands who had not
been consulted when the money was put in and the other portion was controlled by
Grove Farm. The first thing we decided to do after we got the communication was
we talked to the Chair on the phone is to find out all of the background in the
meeting and this came up. I was tasked to meet with Chair Alapaki from the
DHHL and we've had several discussions and we met as recently as yesterday
afternoon to discuss this matter, and while they have a formal process that we
would have to go through to get all of the approvals for right -of -entry or whatever
form of ownership or joint agreement we would need, he did say that it is currently
favorably considered by DHHL. The first thing that we would need to do is to have
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the county and state highways people talk with DHHL. I think if we clear that
hurdle, then we should invest the time to meet with Grove Farm, and also put the
necessary agreements into place then move forward. And so as all of these things
are continuing to go forward, it's turned out to be a little more complicated than we
had anticipated, but between Representative Tokioka, Representative Kawakami,
and myself, because the road falls in our districts, we have decided the best thing
we can do is make sure we have the correct funds in place so that when we get to
the end of the process of whatever legally needs to be done that we have the money
to make sure we can have that emergency bypass in place.
The other thing for whatever the confusion is, initially the Governor was not
in favor of releasing the money, but on visits to Kaua`i, the people of Kaua`i who
have talked to him did a good job in convincing him about why this is important,
how important it is, and like any responsible person, he said well now that I have
received this new information, I have a different view of the matter and in fact will
be happy to support it if we get the correct funding in place and I understand why
this is needed. For whoever thought that the Governor was not in favor of making
the project work, that's not his current position, and the meeting with Marvin Wong
and Kate Stanley of his office, Glenn Okamoto the Director of Transportation, and
Jodine Murasaki who executes the CIP was held in my office last week.
Chair Furfaro: Representative Kawakami did you want to
add any dialog to that update?
Mr. Kawakami: No, and I'd just like to note that I'm very
familiar with the project because I think during our first term that was one of the
first CIP projects we lobbied the state for. We've very supportive and I can just tell
by looking at your name plates, I think five (5) of you have to drive that route at
least twice a day if Councilmember KiipuKai Kuali`i is in Anahola as well as I do
and so... I know Rep Tokioka is not here but I just want to acknowledge that that
highway has been a priority of his. He worked hard to lower the speed limit to forty
(40) miles per hour as well as the safety rumble strips going up and down which
creates a safer environment. I think it's important to note that at the end result if
we're not using that emergency bypass, that's a good thing because that means
there's no major accident on Kiihi`o highway. It's a great project, it's something of a
priority but highway safety and prevention is our number one (1) goal.
Chair Furfaro: Just to bring you gentlemen up to date and
again I want to thank you both for being here, I know you have Legislative session
happening very soon and we want to earmark some specific time for you. Our
approach, you know we have a million dollars in our CIP of which fifty thousand is
earmarked for some planning on the types of improvements that we need. Perhaps
that the message that we sent to the Administration, they can move ahead with
some of that and then planning the phasing, whether it's guardrails or road patches
or so forth until the scope is further refined and we can really have solid rationale
on getting that information to the appropriate people... Grove Farm for the use, the
easement, and Department of Hawaiian Homes. On that note, let me see if we have
specific questions here from the group. Go right ahead Vice Chair.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes. Senator and Representative, thank you
for being here today and for all your efforts to help resolve this dilemma that we
have. I guess my question is... I think it was seen as a county project though I'm
not sure. Who or how do you see this money being delivered to home -as the DOT or
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county, and who would basically implement the project if the funds become
available?
Mr. Kouchi: Well it's viewed as supporting the county's
effort in what they're trying to do. The state doesn't give parallel state highways, so
with Kuhi`o highway that's viewed as the State's responsibility but obviously this
emergency bypass helps to alleviate a problem that would occur if an accident
happens on a State Highway. We were able to have the justification to have the
support forth in the budget.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay so putting it in the appropriate place in
the State budget would mean that it would be money that comes to the county to
administer?
Mr. Kouchi: If that's what's negotiated out, yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay but that's not been settled yet. But
it... what I think I hear you're saying is it's not logical that the DOT would be the
implementer of it.
Mr. Kouchi: Yes but we want to be sure that that's fine
with the County Administration and then certainly we would see a very vital role
for us as taking the lead in trying to work to a positive outcome with DHHL which
is a State agency.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes. No, all the groundwork that you're
laying is very important and in fact if it is a County project, the County could have
been doing that too but to have your leadership in helping to get all of the State
agencies on board is very, very good.
Mr. Kouchi: The other thing that we joke about at the
capital is we are the only one hundred percent (100 %) formerly county legislative
delegation in the State of Hawaii. Maui has some that have served at the County,
Big Island has some...
Ms. Yukimura: Oh, I see what you're saying.
Mr. Kouchi: There are a few Councilmembers, but you
have three (3) former Councilmembers and a thirty (30) plus year County employee
who are now serving at the State Legislature. Clearly we're a lot more passionate,
more understanding of the County's issues than many of our colleagues who have
never been involved in the County level.
Ms. Yukimura: Clearly and that's really lucky for us at the
County level that you do understand the problems when we look at it and deal with
it at our level. Thank you very much.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Mr. Rapozo did you want to
have the floor?
Mr. Rapozo: Why not... I guess for me, this project is old,
it's like I think 2002 is when it was my first term and Cyndi Ayonon who was our
analyst came up and said you know, Councilmember, because I was Chair of Public
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Safety, said you know that we're required to open up that road in event of an
accident, and that started the ball moving. The Administration under Mayor
Baptiste came up and we improved and opened it up, big ribbon cutting ceremony
and it's been ten (10) years and... the road is functional, I just used it a couple of
months ago in an unfortunate accident. I was heading out to the Westside and I
used the road and of course it's an emergency bypass road, we're talking about a
road that is used maybe a half dozen times a year, and we're talking about two (2)
million dollars, and now we find out that the money is in the wrong account and we
cannot even access. I guess I just question do we really need to have that money,
the State money, and if we shouldn't as a county improve the road. We already put
nine, fifty in an account. We got nine hundred fifty thousand there. I'm just
hearing for the first time all these obstacles to get a very short length of road and
I'm not blaming the Legislatures obviously and I appreciate your efforts but I'm just
wondering is that effort... is the time that it will take to get all these legal stuff out
of the way worth it or should we just as a County say... what do we need? I know
Mr. Chair was very frustrated because when we allocated the county money, in that
county money there was an expectation that a study was going to be done or an
analysis I should say, not so much a study, and nothing has been done by the
County, not the State. We don't know if we need guardrails, we're not trying to
create a road that has a traffic level of Kuhi`o Highway and a forty (40) mile an
hour... we're not. We're talking about a road that can get resident travel from
point "a" to point "b," and we have that now, it's not the best. I mean nine, fifty I
would guess even with the nine, fifty if we went out there and graded it, put up a
few safety barriers, I think it would be sufficient. The whole idea in partnering
with the State and getting this road nice and all up to the county standard and you
know of course it would be nice but is that really practical. My question to you folks
is what... because you know that State system a lot better than us, what kind of
timeframe or obstacles are we looking at? Practical, reasonable, I mean should we
look at least starting a process at the County level, maybe seek some kind of State
reimbursement later, I'm just trying to get that road done. I didn't feel really
comfortable when Gary Heu was up here at the last meeting because it didn't seem
like it was a priority. Going forward, what problems do you envision at the State
level? Do we need to go lobby or is it an Administration thing where we can just
transfer the funds to another type account, and I ask because I have no clue?
Mr. Kouchi: No, this is in the capital budget so my
response to a well dressed Councilmember Rapozo would be that the money would
not be available until July 1 at the earliest because it needs to be in the new budget.
Because we have not done that analysis of what would be the appropriate way to go
forward, it doesn't appear you could spend the money before July 1 anyway.
Mr. Rapozo: Correct.
Mr. Kouchi: And so I do think that your thoughts, as well
as the Chair's, about if the Administration is serious about wanting to have this
project done, then maybe we should expend the fifty thousand dollars to pay out
what they envision to be there. That would be helpful in your discussions with a
private landowner like Grove Farm, if we're entering into an agreement with you on
our property, what is going to happen to our property and it would be helpful to
DHHL. As far as DHHL that's merely once you can get the elements of an
agreement put together, getting on to their agenda and having their Commission
give it final approval. I believe that is where we're at today; you know we can get a
lot of these things into place by July 1 but as far as simply transferring it, I think
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it's more of the matter of there are a list of priorities that DOT has for a variety of
highway projects here on Kaua`i. They were here last month, I believe at King
Kaumuali'i to talk about those projects and they range from the stabilization of the
road by the Lumaha`i lookout, you know keeping the money in when they resolve
the burial issue. The Kapa'a side of the Wailua Bridge, redoing the bridge here at
the Lihu`e Mill, increasing the lanes between Koloa and Lihu`e, putting a
permanent highway in from the Kalalau lookout and you know where do you see it
as being most important. As your Legislators, we are just trying to work with you
the best way we can on some of the priorities, and again I feel as Derek and Jimmy
that there's good justification about why the State could partner with the County on
this one. If you think there's a better way to go, I defer to your judgment.
Mr. Rapozo: I guess and I may be a little confused
because I am under the impression that the agreements between Grove Farm,
DHHL and the County are already in place. I mean obviously we're using the road
now, so I don't... I believe and I could be wrong but we have some type of agreement
in place.
Mr. Kouchi: And if it's limiting and you're fine with that
then we're okay. If you think something needed to be added you know we had the
conversation with DHHL but if nothing else it would be I think very fruitful at some
point for some of the County people to revisit with them. There is a new director
who wasn't involved when the agreements were in place, a new Commission and I
would certainly want them to be up to speed, because they do have plans, albeit
long range plans, but eventually with the surrounding property they envision some
level of development occurring. I think it would be good for them to know that this
road is here, this is the agreement, this is how it functions, and also so that they
don't maybe decide that you know maybe we should cancel this agreement. At least
educate them as to why it serves as an important function and also if it isn't there
and they build a subdivision, you know their residents are going to be adversely
affected more than anybody else.
Mr. Rapozo: Well it's unfortunate that nobody from the
Administration is here because I do have some questions for them; maybe we can
get somebody on the phone to get them over here. I am interested in what have we
done as far as the County? Have we been in communication, when was the last
time we had any type of communication with DHHL or Grove Farm for that matter.
I mean has anything been done since we allocated that funds in the budget. I think
if we can get somebody here, I would appreciate it. Thank you for your insight.
Mr. Kawakami: To that note, Councilmember Rapozo, just to
add to it and you know as well as I do, as far as the priorities that's discussion that
maybe the Council and the Administration should have if you want to reprioritize,
but whenever you can find a nexus between a State project and a County project, it
makes it a lot easier for us to go and lobby our colleagues because they're going to
ask what is the benefit to the State as well. Because it's a State highway, it
provides some relief when we do have a horrible accident on that stretch of road.
Mr. Kouchi: And I'm not sure if any of the
Councilmembers or a large amount of the Councilmembers were coming up, of
course acknowledging the difficult financial times that we are all going through
there's not going to be any entertainment or ceremony at opening day next week
Wednesday. There won't be any family members or friends of Legislators on the
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
floor, so we think that the opening day on the Senate floor will be about fifteen (15)
or twenty (20) minutes, and it's time to go back and do the people's business. Ways
and Means has a hearing scheduled for the counties budgets on next week
Wednesday, and so perhaps you know if you have people you can get together
between now and then with the Administration and we'll be available to meet with
you next week back at the capitol in Honolulu. Perhaps you can better strategize or
if you would like us to try and get someone from DOT or someone from DHHL
there, we'll make every effort to try and coordinate that. If you'd like to give the
money back, you know, and undertake it all by yourself, the only other thing I
would add for now at the risk of violating the Sunshine Law and what was posted,
but I have not heard any talk about any deviation from the current TAT
arrangement.
Mr. Rapozo: I just want to...I think... I hope you heard
my caveat that it was... we can spend the money upfront and await a
reimbursement from the State; I never mentioned giving the money back. It
was...we'll go ahead if we can do the job and then we'll seek reimbursement later.
That was the...
Mr. Kouchi: Well maybe we can put something together
next week in Honolulu; if you have enough representatives, that may be productive.
Mr. Rapozo: I will be there and I think the Chair, I know
the Chair will be there as well.
Chair Furfaro: Yes a follow up on that comment that Mr.
Rapozo as the President of NACo (sic) will be there and I will be there as well,
especially being very in attentive to the Ways and Means hearing at 2:00, and so
we'll be calling on you. My request to have the two (2) of you here visiting with us
today is number one (1), I had a couple item that made my hair standup earlier
today and this is another one (1) of those items where we need to be approaching
this from a standpoint when we allocated that money, in my opinion, as if we were
the tenants of a home owned by others, owned by Grove Farm and owned by
Department of Hawaiian Homes, and we're willing as long term tenants to use this
road as an emergency. We're willing to take our fifty thousand dollars that we got
from our million to actually highlight some opportunities that we have to put up
some guardrails, patch some roads here, grade a little bit here for the purpose of
making the emergency bypass a better asset for everybody in our community. The
question is if we've been able to identify that, we can then have something to show
Department of Hawaiian Homes and get better as you pointed out, Senator, get
better feedback from them on the rationale behind having the easements. If we set
up priorities, since we've allocated our portion of the money, we could spend our
portion if we get agreement from them while we wait the outcome of July 1 of the
State's portion. So I think it can be a real win -win situation. I think Mr. Rapozo
reflected on the fact that if we set that money aside for now but let's put our best
foot forward, show them what we can do by having some design scope that we would
implement. I appreciate the willingness to concur that that's probably a good
strategy for us to move forward with.
Mr. Kouchi: And the easy comment that I have used with
the Administrative Departments and my colleagues is that when it occurs and
especially later in the afternoon, you have local residents who are trying to get
home from work and get to their children.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Absolutely.
Mr. Kouchi: I mean if you can't get to your children, there
is nothing of greater anxiety for any parent, and then for our visitors who are trying
to get to the airport to catch a flight and are unable to do it, with the smart phones
of today, they'll start to text, tweet, hit on Facebook, hit on their email, and all of a
sudden for the good that we've done in trying to promote our area as a great
destination, in an instant you have how many of these people sending messages out
that totally devastate the entire... I mean when we joking a little bit about the TAT
but that's a significant portion of the County budget. Certainly a big part of the
State budget and it's an important thing to be sensitive that we're trying to do the
best we can to take care of our residents and the guests that we invite to come here.
Chair Furfaro: Well it certainly sounds like we have the
potential of a mutually agreed upon strategy to move forward with this
improvement. We will certainly count on your Kokua, and Mr. Rapozo and I will be
there with the Mayor at the Ways and Means. Council Vice Chair did you have
something?
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. I do plan to be there too.
Chair Furfaro: Oh I'm sorry... terrific.
Ms. Yukimura: I just want to take the long view for a minute
especially tagging on to what you said, Senator Kouchi, about how a dysfunctional
road system affects our visitor industry as well as our residents. Because all of this
is coming up as band aid issues because we don't have a really good long term plan
about how to provide an island wide transportation, land transportation system. If
we did, we would be already putting in on a permanent basis what the island needs.
Right now we're just doing at increment by increment, you know, I don't know...
thirty thousand... no thirty million dollars to double the lanes for one (1) mile
including the Wailua Bridge and hopefully it won't just move the congestion point
down. Do we have to spend another fifty million dollars to just move the congestion
point to then have to spend another fifty million or whatever it is? Where does it
end and what is the big plan? I would like to solicit your help in getting the DOT
which is embarking on a long range transportation plan for this island to help guide
them so that they are really looking at real time solutions rather than just business
as usual. All these huge plans that we don't even know how we're going to fund or
sustain into the future. If we can do that well, we won't have these constant
piecemeal problems that we are all in a crisis mode of addressing. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: We can have that in a future discussion and
we seek the k6kua but today's agenda is of course the emergency bypass
improvements. Are there anymore questions for our Legislative team and I do see
that Mr. Heu is here and I might call him up. Senator, since you and
Representative Kawakami are here and we can't engage in any dialog with you, but
would you like a moment to kind of just give us an update on other things that
maybe we should be aware of? You can breach the parameters of this posting; I
can't.
Mr. Kawakami: I still feel like I'm a Councilmember so I'm
nervous to breach that. I think just a few things that we've worked hard on as a
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team, because it takes more than just one, is Kapa'a Elementary will be getting
money for a new Library so the elementary students no longer have to share a
library with the High School students, which is not a good mix, and it begun work
and I think completed. Some of that Lumaha`i slopes stabilization was a concern
out on the North Shore. Did you have more?
Mr. Kouchi: Well we're also looking at resurfacing the
Mana drag strip and it's a small portion of money but for those who may have not
gone out to witness the drags, it's a very family driven activity now and they have a
portion of the race time that's committed for the students, and obviously you have
the children having to work together with parents and uncles and friends to get the
cars up and running and working. It is a DLNR permit, it is drug free, and so there
is no alcohol there, and I have never witnessed anybody trying to bend the rules in
the times that I've gone out to see the drag racing. I know that the association is
trying to work towards doing Friday night races and getting the high school kids in
and allowing them if they feel like they need to drive fast, where they could
hopefully do it in a safe environment. I know each and every one of us
unfortunately have attended too many funerals over the last ten (10) years and so
again I think their mission is great and what they're trying to achieve so we're
happy to support them in that. Eventually we'll move up the DOE priority list, a
new gymnasium is scheduled for Kauai High School, when we get that done, we're
looking at both Kapa'a High School and Waimea, all three (3) gymnasiums are
about the same age and will need to be replaced. We're also hopeful that this
gymnasium would be of a larger capacity so it would allow us to host other kinds of
events here on Kaua`i that has been a challenge for us to do. You just need to look
at what Maui has done with the facility in Lahaina or even at Baldwin High School
and having the most recently the University of Hawaii men basketball game held
there and so on. That will be coming up and... but I think the most important thing
is being discussed right now and the Senate President has been a big advocate Shan
Tsutsui is trying to get between three hundred million to half a billion in repair and
maintenance money. And while some of these other projects are good and needed
for our community, when you think of the Kapa'a Elementary School Library, they'll
have to get the architects to design it, then you have to get the building permits be
approved to construct it, and so we're a ways down before some people are actually
going to get back to work. But relative to the R &M, this building is a great
example, it looked old and run down, difficult for employee morale, and you put
some money in, you repaint the building and the useful life of this building has been
extended tremendously, and rather than try to come up with money to get a brand
new Council Chambers that have been debated back and forth, you now have a
great place where everybody's happy to come to work. I mean I just look at the
faces of your employees on that blessing and even they, I think were surprised at
how nice this grand old building could look if you just put a touchup on it. I'd like to
see us put the five million dollars, you know... to the old Court House and move
state agencies out of paying lease rent and you know utilizing facilities that we own,
fixing up our schools so that our kids have a great place to go get their education
and those don't take a lot of permitting and would put a lot of our people back to
work. I think that would be tremendous benefit to the whole State and would
extend the life of our buildings we already have and in the long run would be very
cost effective.
Chair Furfaro: Well Senator and Representative, I really
appreciate you being here today and giving us an update on CIP with the State but
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it is certainly to our benefit that we have a Legislative team there that is so familiar
with county issues and I thank you for your...
Mr. Kouchi:
Chair Furfaro:
Mr. Kouchi: Doctor Downs, before you think that you've
got to call me up now, we have received the emails from Doctor Downs, we have
been in discussion with the Councilmembers already, as well as the Administration,
about the sunset of the beach liability and about how important that is and also
about the potential of the lifeguards as a separate collective barraging unit. And so
for non -CIP related issues, those are the two (2) that popped up from the County.
So far I know Councilmember Yukimura was in my office trying to draft a bill
yesterday and she's still working on it and so there are other issues that will be
coming up and I'm sure you'll be highlighting on your legislative reports here, but
we do have the Doctor Downs information already. So I just wanted to note that.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Vice Chair, I want to remind
you what they gave us as an update is not on the agenda.
Ms. Yukimura: Correct. I'm not going to discuss anything,
just to clarify that the bill I was working on due to suggestions from Harrison
Kawate, Senator Kouchi's legal and staff person, was the bill that the Council as a
whole has endorsed on the solar water heating amendment.
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
One (1) last favor.
Go right ahead.
Ms. Yukimura: So just that it was a bill... I wasn't acting...
Mr. Rapozo: (inaudible).
Chair Furfaro: It is something that this body had already
put on our previous Legislative package and we'll leave it at that. Gentlemen, I
want to extend a big mahalo, thank you for the courtesies, and we have Mr. Heu
here who's come over at our request. Again thank you very much. Myself, Vice
Chair Yukimura and Councilmember Rapozo will see you in Honolulu on the
opening session on the 18th.
Mr. Kouchi: Thank you for your time.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. Mr. Heu, can I ask
you to come over, we had a query from a Councilmember.
GARY HEU, MANAGING DIRECTOR: Council Chair, members of the
Council. For the record Gary Heu. First of all just for some clarification I apologize
but I didn't see the beginning portion of the presentation made by our Legislative
team, I was in a meeting. When I turned it on, I think they were deep into it so I'm
not exactly sure what kind of information they said to you.
Chair Furfaro: I'll give you a little bit of a recap. The
request to have you over here came from Councilmember Rapozo, the agenda item
today dealt with CIP in particulars as it relates to the Wailua bypass project and as
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we had this as a past agenda item, I expressed to you that I was going to make a
request of our Legislative team to give us an update because the way we left it, we
would like to move forward with some plan design concepts using fifty thousand of
the money that we had approved. See if it wouldn't help us leverage getting
approval from the State Legislature for matching funds. That being said the
discussion led to the status of the existing easements and some questions associated
with that and that came from Councilmember Rapozo and so I will turn the floor
over to him Gary that's that rationale that we have for requesting more
information. Mr. Rapozo, you have the floor.
Mr. Rapozo: Thank you. The only question I really had
was if we have any existing agreements with the landowners for existing use. We're
using it now in cases of emergencies, I believe the Police Department has a key to
unlock the gate in times of emergency and I'm assuming and I know at one point we
did and I'm assuming those agreements are intact, is that accurate?
Mr. Heu: Yes. In fact I just spoke with Michael
Tresler the other day. There's one portion of the roadway that is within the... that
sits on property owned by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands and then the
remainder of the roadway situated on property owned by Visionary LLC, it's a sister
company to Grove Farm who manages those lands for Visionary. We do have
existing agreements; however, I believe that the specified uses is for emergency
purposes only, so I think for a number of years now and more recently there's been
additional discussion about the possibility of using that roadway, the old cane haul
road, for purposes other than emergency use. As an example, you know you hear it
in the community, I've heard it actually in Honolulu also in terms of the potential
use of that roadway for other types of transportation, pedestrian transportation
and/or bike transportation, so in other words not turn it into an official bike path or
multi -use path per say, but inquiring whether that would be a possibility. We
haven't gone anywhere with those types of suggestions because I think people... I
think maybe what people are thinking is that if we use... let's just round it off and
say two million dollars to make roadway improvements that you know they're
envisioning this nicely paved roadway from Wailua to Hanamd'ulu which is not
what the two million dollars will accomplish.
Chair Furfaro: Gary, on that note I want to say that we
have stretched that... the money that we're talking about is for planning, some
guardrails, patching holes, and so forth. Nothing has come from this Council
indicating what you just described.
Mr. Heu: You're talking about paving, actual paving?
Chair Furfaro: I think we're sensitive to that.
Mr. Heu: Yeah.
Chair Furfaro: I just wanted to add that in right now.
Mr. Heu: Right, right. And you know some people
might question why the cost would be so high for some of those improvements,
there's also some culvert work that we'll probably have to do. So again what's being
envisioned in terms of use of two million dollars does not contemplate a nicely paved
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road from Wailua to Hanamd'ulu. As much as we'd like that that would be cost
prohibitive for emergency use roadway.
Mr. Rapozo: Okay I guess the one thing... I know you said
some people have the vision of pedestrian or bicycle roadway, what was that?
Mr. Heu: Just talk in the community.
Mr. Rapozo: Oh, okay.
Mr. Heu: Because people they see this road, they see
the potential of the road being improved and the thought is why would we only use
it for emergency purposes? Are there other means by which to use that roadway
that can benefit the community on a full time basis?
Mr. Rapozo: I think that's a good vision. In fact I think
those people deserve that alternate route. I think you could in fact envision it being
another lane of the (inaudible), that's a possibility. But I think and I don't know if
you heard my testimony or discussion with the Legislators, but I guess for me the
question is do we wait for the State to figure out how to fix this problem where the
funds went to the wrong account? Do we move forward on our own? Try to get that
into a somewhat comfortable passage in an event of emergencies? Like I said the
last time you were here, I was on it, and I really commend Public Works for keeping
that in a somewhat comfortable... you're going to drive slow, it's better than not
driving at all, in a case of an emergency. I just question do we wait to see what the
State can do, and of course I don't want to give that money back, but is the nine
hundred fifty thousand enough to get started? I guess that's more of the question
and that's for you folks. The other question was since the moneys were allocated
and approved at this Council, really what has been done to move that project along
or did we just... have we been just waiting for the matching funds from the State?
Mr. Heu: I spoke about it a little last time I was here
and first of all, like I said I didn't catch a lot of what the Senator and
Representative shared so if I'm repeating anything that they have said then go
ahead and stop me. I didn't hear a lot about what you said other than you said that
you didn't think the Administration thought that this was a priority and I just
wanted to say, we certainly believe this is a priority and although we're not here on
a weekly basis updating the Council, there are many things that we're doing and
continue to do to try to move this project along. I think the last time I was here I
said that we were looking at working with State DOT to see if we could partner and
maybe we would take care of the non -state lands which is the Visionary portion,
and then possibly, there might be the possibility that the state could do work on the
state land which would be DHHL. Those discussions continue and we've got our
Legislative team involved with those discussions and I'm not sure if some of that
was shared with you but there was a meeting in Honolulu with our Legislative
delegation as well as the leadership of the Department of Transportation. These
things are still being looked at, and coming away from those discussions, I'm very
hopeful that we won't lose the nine, fifty that we can't access right now. I think
there's even a potential, there's been discussions about the potential about
extending the life of that funding because I think the last time I was here we were
talking about there being an expiration date of June 30. I am more hopeful today
than I was three (3) weeks ago or so when I was here last in speaking with the
council. So work continues in terms of discussions with our Legislative delegation as
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well as the DOT to see if there's some way that we can't continue to push forward
with this project. Now to the issue of could we use the county funds and just start
doing some of the work, again...
Chair Furfaro: Excuse me, Gary, I want to correct you on
something because my patience is running out on this one. Our message was, can
you use some of the county funds to start getting some concept of what
improvements could we make so that we have a list. What I made mention was
before you were here was let's approach this as if we were the tenants of a house
and as a tenant there's certain things we want to improve on but we've had that
money sitting there almost seven and a half (7 %2) years and we're saying let's spend
some idea so that the Administration with the Council's... can go to the Department
of Hawaiian Homes and say hey these are some of the improvements we'd like to
make on your land. We can go to Grove Farm and say hey these are some of the
things we'd like to... knowing that it's a temporary easement for emergencies, that's
what the discussion was. I'm sorry to use the term patience but you know this has
been something that's been on the radar screen since Mayor Baptiste.
Mr. Heu: I agree, Chair, and we are no less frustrated
that we cannot get our hands on that state money. With all due respect it hasn't
been seven and a half (7 %2) years, we as a County did not allocate that money seven
and a half (7 %2) years ago and again like I explained last time, it was not a matter
of... I mean it was a matter of we felt that those moneys were going to be released to
the County. We were going to take the County funds and the State funds and have
one (1) project. It wasn't until very recently like I discussed last time that we came
to understand that we were not going to be able to get our hands on those funds and
that changed the whole game in terms of how we might want to approach this. If
that is true and we're not going to be able to get our hands on that nine, fifty in a
reasonable period of time then I think it is appropriate for us to start taking a look
at what we can do simply with County funds. In fact at our last meeting I had a
discussion with our County Engineer, Larry Dill and we believe that we can
actually come up with some of the cost for those components that we previously
talked about without hiring a consultant. We have the expertise in -house to be able
to make those determinations. Again I don't want to give you or the public the
impression that we're not concerned about this and we aren't taking any sort of
action. We are taking the action which is within currently our ability to move on
anything and we're doing what we can and engaging in our State Legislatures now
has been very helpful in starting to move this forward.
Chair Furfaro: Well we too on the Council have engaged in
and I'm going to actually have the time that's been looked up because this goes back
to Mayor Baptiste our possibilities of having this done. I'm glad Larry Dill is in the
audience because requires a sales and marketing approach. We have to sell the
idea and market the idea for the money to the Legislatures and we have to sell the
idea to the Department of Hawaiian Homes and Grove Farm on the value that this
has for the emergencies to our community. That's the piece I want to make sure
we're grabbing here. We don't start any salesmanship or design efforts because
we're waiting for the State money. I'm saying, to me, that's something I think we
should sit back and wait. Let's start putting together that wish list and you can use
some of that money. Vice Chair Yukimura.
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Ms. Yukimura: Following up on what the Chair just said, do
we have a plan for that road if it's to serve as an emergency bypass and do we know
how we would spend the money if we got it?
Chair Furfaro: Before you answer... I've been reminded
again they have to change the tape.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: Okay, you have five (5) minutes to give the
answer.
Mr. Heu: Just so that I'm clear... if we were to receive
the "ifs" for reason... State release the nine, fifty tomorrow?
Ms. Yukimura: No they're not going to release the nine, fifty
because even if they released it, we couldn't use it, it's not legal. What we heard
from Senator Kouchi today was they would do whatever it takes to make some
money available to us.
Mr. Heu:
Ms. Yukimura:
Okay.
But it won't be available to...
Chair Furfaro: July 1.
Ms. Yukimura: July 1. But whether the money is available
or not, we should have a plan of what needs to be done and how much it's going to
cost in order to even ask them for the money. So my question is do we have a plan
and do we have a cost estimate for how we would implement our plan to create a
safe emergency bypass?
Mr. Heu: There was a cost estimate developed a
number of years ago when we first...
Ms. Yukimura: Is it current? I mean do we have a plan?
Mr. Heu: Well that's... after discussion with the Chair
the last time we were here like I said, I went back to meet with the County
Engineer and asked that they begin to take a look at those cost that have been
previously developed to provide estimates of the components of the work that needs
to be done currently. So the answer to your question, Vice Chair, is yes we are
working on a plan right now to get a more solid numbers for the various components
of the repair work.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay so how long will it take for you to get
that in place?
Mr. Heu: I don't have an answer for you right now.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Because if we have a plan and an
idea... I mean we're hearing things from repaving the whole thing... or not repaving
but paving the whole thing to guardrails in appropriate places, etc... that's a huge
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divide between one (1) and another, so what is our plan for a safe emergency
bypass, how much will it cost? Once we have those figures, we can market it or sell
it and be ready for the money that our delegation is working very hard to make
available.
Mr. Heu:
conceptual plan...
Ms. Yukimura:
conceptual plan.
Mr. Heu:
pave that roadway...
to do?
Ms. Yukimura:
Yes so when you're talking about a
I'm talking a little bit more than a
Okay but to be clear there is no intent to
That's very good but then what are we going
Mr. Heu: The intent is to install guardrails, to install
signage, to grade and level the roadway to the extent that is possible, to do some
infilling of some potholes and that sort of thing, and to shore out culverts and other
roadway structures that need to be improved.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay that's sound very reasonable. So how
long will it take for you folks to get some reasonable cost estimates so we know what
it will take?
Mr. Heu: I mean I can turn around and ask Mr. Dill
but I'm not going to put him on the spot right now because...
Ms. Yukimura: That's fine. Then tell us when you will get
back to us?
Mr. Heu: I would say that we could provide you some
kind of timeframe for coming up with that estimate within a week or two (2).
Chair Furfaro: So if I post a new item on the agenda in two
(2) weeks, would you be prepared to discuss this?
Mr. Heu: Well in two (2) weeks, we could tell you when
we would be able to deliver those cost estimates.
Ms. Yukimura: And how much will it cost? I mean if it will
cost thirty thousand, fifty thousand dollars to actually get drawings done, I don't
know how you actually do this but I mean that's the way to show that we're
committed to this project and to move it along. To do whatever we can, I mean we
saw the Water Department's projects and explanation of the... when they had the
designs ready to go, they didn't know where the money was going to come from but
ARRA money came forward.
Chair Furfaro: Okay let me hold on now, now they're waving
at me about the time limit.
Ms. Yukimura: Oh.
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Chair Furfaro: Just so I was very clear, Gary, if we put
something back on the schedule in two (2) weeks, at that meeting you could tell us
how long it would take to develop the plan? The plan scope, wish list and those
cost.
Mr. Heu: Cost estimates.
Chair Furfaro: Okay, we're going to take a break right now.
Would you mind, we're going into Roads after this, we're actually going to take a
caption break now too, it's been an hour. So ten (10) minutes please.
There being no objections, the Council recessed at 2:32 p.m.
The Council reconvened at 2:42 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Chair Furfaro: We're back from that break and I think we
have an agreement from Mr. Heu that in two (2) weeks we're going to put a new
item on if I can point that out with the staff referencing some evaluations about cost
priority in a design package. In fact that would only help us lead into another
discussion when the pencil is sharpened on those. I also want to turn over to our
analyst and I pulled this from Records, we have the original land court system
right -of -entry 344, 2004 Hawaiian homes as well as another right -of -entry for the
Grove Farm parcels going back to June 23, 2004. On the money allocation I do owe
Mr. Heu somewhat of an apology, early on in 2004 we had money allocated for
bypass roads but more a connector type on at the time it was described as Pouli
Road. I believe that was the connecting road that goes to the road behind Wailua by
Foodland. We also have a document from our CIP plan that showed in 2008 the
million dollars was added to the CIP projects passed in ordinance two, zero, one,
one, zero dash six, ninety- eight... so I may have gotten the seven (7) year term
commingled with the bond float, but that has the million dollars in it. So that's four
(4) years old. So on that note, if it's agreed about with everyone, I'd like to move to
receive knowing that this item will come up in two (2) weeks. Further discussion?
Mr. Kuali`i moved to receive C 2012 -13 for the record, seconded by Ms. Yukimura.
Mr. Rapozo: We have people to testify.
Chair Furfaro: Oh we do, I'm sorry. The item that's
available for testimony is the agenda item referencing emergency bypass. I don't
see any hands up. Oh! Way over there behind the camera, please come right up.
My apologies. I'm sorry.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
DEBRA KEKAUALUA: My name is Debra Kekaualua. Thank you
for letting me stand before you or sit here and I'll try to get through this because I'm
really frustrated. This is just above and beyond anything I could even imagine
would come to play. In my mind I'm very unacceptable, I'm very frustrated, very
disappointed... Sorry... this is Debra Kekaualua, in case you guys don't know me. I
came to this meeting specifically to find out why and I know Mr. Furfaro asked why
the funds are being withheld for this particular movement in the forever road that
I'd like to see happen. My idea of the forever road would be that all of the little
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townships between Wailua after you cross the bridge heading south, could be all the
way past the tunnel of trees we could have... if it was a one -way road, we could have
access to all the backsides of these little townships past the tunnel of trees. I don't
know the reality of making it just a one -way road from the... you know heading
south and then those people who are going to the tunnel of trees or any other
community in between, that they would go off and take that road and leave the bulk
of the people heading towards Lihu`e or back to use the existing with those bumper
things they've got put in there. Also not excuses but excuse me but Mr... who just
sat up here?
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Heu.
Ms. Kekaulua: No, no... the other.
Ms. Yukimura: Mr. Kouchi.
Ms. Kekaulua: Mr. Kouchi was the one that, you know he
didn't really give an answer as to where are those funds you know and I personally
blame Lingle for what has happened to the funds. She's skipping and now our
current person in Honolulu is also doing the same thing and to me it's because of
the education in furlough fiasco they had to do with the super ferry not being a
reliable entity and so now they're holding us hostage to this money that should...
what did you say it was 2002? That were thereabouts, there's movement for this
kind of funding and we're being held hostage basically and all I'm hearing is
excuses. The Mana strip? We're not talking Mn aa strip or any other
improvements, we were specifically talking about the forever road or this area in
Wailua. One of the things, I've been able to relinquish my CDL so I am no longer a
commercial driver, yah? But having driven the bus and you all know my stand on
being a bus driver and that fiasco, there's just people that's in charge over there
that do not know what they're doing when it comes to reliable, reasonable bus stops
or movement. What I heard when I was on the mainland they had quit going to
Walmart and dropping all these Walmart people off at the front of Wilcox hospital,
does that make sense, are you kidding me? It just seems like it goes backwards
before it goes forward motion.
Chair Furfaro: Debra, your first three (3) minutes are up
but I'm going to give you your second three (3) minutes right now.
Ms. Kekaulua: Okay. One (1) of my points too is on Kuhi`o
Highway there's weird linage coming... as you're coming down (inaudible) road and
you make a right hand turn and you cross the bridge, as I was coming home up
(inaudible) road, I'm making a left hand turn, this person moves over to the lane to
make a right hand turn going up (inaudible) road, has his blinker on, everything. I
make a turn to go up (inaudible) road and this guy comes straight across the
intersection. I don't know if he had forgotten to turn off his thing... but I saw his
blinker go on as if he was going to make a right hand turn up and when I crossed
over the intersection, he came right... and I almost wrecked my new truck and
that's not going to happen. But there's weird... because you cross the bridge and
then you got to get in the right hand lane so that you don't get the boompies to go
into the hotel. DOT is really busy trying now to put this Kaua`i multi -modal thing
down our throat and that's similar to me than what the super ferry is like. I think
they need to be more attentive the issues surround too much cars on our roads
already that we need to have a bypass road, a forever bypass road that's similar to
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that that Bette Midler let us have on her properties or whatever. Kouchi made
mention that DHHL is the one that's lagging, I think that's an excuse for whatever
reason but if this has been going on since 2002 to be able to get movement in that
particular road, we need to do that, guys, I mean how much cane field roads we
have as a whole and just a few of them will get the glut off of Kuhi`o highway and
moving in a positive without seeing anymore of my family eating it on that
highway. There's been two (2) in five (5) years that we lost from family that died
and it's like no biggie, oh well we'll just drag our feet some more and more people
are going to die regardless of the boompies that are in the middle of the road or
whatever has been already in place by DOT. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: I just want to summarize a few pieces here
for you first. Thank you for your testimony but first and foremost Senator Kouchi
was here at my request along with Representative Kawakami. We have these
leases right -of -entry which are on private property. They include Grove Farm; they
include Department of Hawaiian homes. These items were negotiated in 2004. The
Department of Hawaiian homes has a twenty (20) year lease on it which is required
every five (5) years to revisit the extensions of the lease and the next time it's up is
in 2014. What we're saying is the County had earmarked some concept of
improvements for that section and we floated in our bond money, our borrowed
money in 2008 a million dollars to take that step going forward. We, the Council
don't necessarily have the influence that we would like to have right now because
we haven't come up with the actual concept of what improvements are going to be
made whether they're guardrails or so forth and so that was part of the discussion
today. That million dollars is made up of fifty thousand for design and nine
hundred and fifty thousand of county bond money for those improvements. In the
bill it has been estimated which we haven't documented the total cost details, that it
would be best for us to have another nine hundred and fifty thousand for those
improvements which is money that we wanted to partner with the state because the
highway is a state thoroughfare and we're asking to do some teamwork here on this
piece. There is a need to continue to lobby for that nine hundred and fifty thousand
and that's what Senator Kouchi was here to give us an update on and help us
understand before the Legislative session opens next week of which Council Vice
Chair Yukimura, Mr. Rapozo and myself will be attending. Now on that note, I took
advantage and didn't let any Councilmembers ask questions, I gave an opportunity
for Senator Kouchi to give us an opportunity to update some of the other moneys, so
their comments on Mana had nothing to do with the agenda item but our rules
allow testimony to be for whatever items people want to drift to but not necessarily
could we respond to, so I wanted to clarify that. Your points are very well taken
and this Council feels it is something that we need to move incrementally on but we
cannot take the financial burden to do all of this scope that you... we're trying to
take some small steps right now. How we had left it with the Administration in two
(2) weeks we will have a new agenda item on the bypass and Mr. Heu and Mr. Dill
will give us an update on some preliminary cost estimates and sort of a wish list,
what we can move forward on in the million dollars we put in the bond to make
those improvements now still only to use it as an emergency bypass. The thinking
is if we have that list, we have a better chance of selling the idea or marketing the
idea to Grove Farm and the Department of Hawaiian Homes for a longer period of
time because they know that we're going to put some improvements in. I don't have
all the answers for your questions today but on your (inaudible) left turn, we had
the State here, Mr. Ray McCormick was here and we pointed out to them that
there's a lot of concern with those directional pieces going up to Kuamoku and he
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
told us next quarter he would give us an additional update as the highway engineer.
So we do have that on our radar screen.
Ms. Kekaulua: Oh okay. Great.
Chair Furfaro: Council Vice Chair Yukimura has a question
for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes Debra, thank you very much for your
testimony today. I just want to say that what you're talking about is not a
temporary emergency bypass, you're talking about a major permanent bypass to
Lihu`e, basically. Which is something that has been talked about in the past and
actually the appropriate forum for it would be the long range land transportation
plan that the DOT is doing. We asked Mr. McCormick to bring the planners in who
are doing it for the DOT to brief us on that planning process so I hope that you will
come when they come. Because that's a really appropriate suggestion in terms of a
long range highways plan, hopefully it's not only a highways plan, it's going to be
for all land transportation modes, bus, cars, bikes and pedestrians. And the only
other one I wanted to mention is you talked about a DOT multi -modal study?
Ms. Kekaulua: Well something I'm hearing...
Ms. Yukimura: Yeah. Actually the County is doing that.
Ms. Kekaulua: Oh okay.
Ms. Yukimura: And they're going to do workshops in
February so you know if you have some thoughts to share then, I hope you'll
participate there. Hopefully those two (2) plans, DOT's long range land
transportation plan and the County's multi -modal plan will be put together so that
we have some kind of a long range plan for how we're going to move around this
island.
Ms. Kekaulua: I just think that you need to get into the haul
cane road bypass sense of opening up and getting cars off the current Kuhi`o
Highway (inaudible) south, north, west and east...
Ms. Yukimura: Well.
Ms. Kekaulua: ...because it just needs to happen. It's thirty
(30) years ago.
Ms. Yukimura: Well that's true and that's what Honolulu
did and what happens is whenever you have cars coming back and merging, there's
all kinds of issues about that but that's something for discussion in the long range
planning process. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Chair Furfaro: Discussion?
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Mr. Rapozo: I just want to thank Debra. I know a lot of
her concerns is long range issues but I think it's issues that got to be addressed and
it's got to be addressed soon. I mentioned a little bit earlier in the bike path
segment but if you look at the analogy between the bike path project and this
project, they started around the same time, about 2002 or so. I remember Mayor
Baptiste, in fact a little further back but... really kicked into gear about the same
time and if you look as of 2012, the accomplishments of the bike path versus the
accomplishments of this emergency temporary bypass road, absolutely nothing has
been done with the bypass road. Yes we put some money in there but that's it. I
think that is the frustration from a lot of the constituents that are not here today,
they are at work but that I've heard is can we get some relief as well. It's a
relatively small project, very small and I don't know how long that bypass really is,
maybe two (2) miles at the most. What we heard today with the bike path, you
know almost seven (7) miles done so far, expended thirty million so far, and yet we
cannot seem to get this road done. It's frustrating and I share your frustration,
Debra, but I think it's a bandaid solution to a much bigger problem and one that I'm
hoping to get some dialog. Unfortunately we couldn't discuss it today because the
agenda's posting is limited to that road. But I am definitely will have some dialog
with our State delegation because it will be a joint effort, it's a huge project.
Councilmember Yukimura probably disagrees with me that in fact we need a new
highway but that's what we need. This island has outgrown Kuhi`o and Kaumualii
and we're not going to get any smaller as far as transportation is concerned. It's a
huge undertaking but it's one (1) that we got to acknowledge and not pretend that it
doesn't exist. These little roads here... this will help in a case of an accident but it's
not built or set up to be a alternate ongoing route, I mean it's one (1) lane. There's
not much you can do with that but I just want to make sure that we start moving
and I think the two (2) week agenda item may help get this moving along. At least
we can get on a pathway that's going to at least get some movement on that road. I
look forward to the posting in two (2) weeks, Mr. Chair.
Chair Furfaro: Any other commentary? If not, we have a
motion and a seconded.
The motion to receive C 2012 -13 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Chair Furfaro: Now I want to go back to our R &M item for
the Roads Department with Mr. Dill.
Mr. Dill: Good afternoon, for the record Larry Dill,
County Engineer. I am here to give you an update essentially on the status of this
year's County of Kauai islandwide road resurfacing project. Our project was, the
bid was (inaudible) December 9, so we are currently advertising right now. The
bids are due and will be open January 20, nine (9) days from now. Things are
moving according to plan, routing of a contract, execution of the contract, and
issuance of notice to proceed. We anticipate that construction should begin for that
work late March, early April and the project schedule is set for one (1) year, so that
portion of the project is moving forward. You may recall when we were last before
you speaking about this issue that we're working with the State Department of
Transportation in their pavement preservation program, taking advantage of
funding opportunities there to fund the collector roads portions of the islandwide
resurfacing list, so we took the roads off the list. Admittedly this is a new
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methodology we're pursuing to get these roads done and it's taken a little longer for
us but we're working with the State actually, I just received this week from the
(inaudible) Ray McCormick, State Highway Engineer some information to help put
together what we need to qualify for funding in that plan. That portion of work
admittedly is a little behind schedule, but still moving forward on that and we can
update you when we get further information on that. I think the last portion of the
request for update was about the micropaver software. We did acquire the
micropaver software and we have begun the process of learning the software. It's
been a little involved than we anticipated, the City and County of Honolulu is
actually is in the process of implementing the very same software, so we've been
working with them and they have actually contracted with the University of
Hawai`i to help them implement this program. We have also initiated discussions
with the University of Hawai`i to help us implement this program and make sure
we get it done right. Very quickly that's a quick update on the islandwide
resurfacing. I'd be happy to take any questions.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Dill, I do want to correct the record. In
earlier Mr. Mickens, and like any citizen looking at the CIP piece, referenced eight
point two (8.2) million dollars as the item. In reality that's the entire highway
department budget. The specific portion related to resurfacing is six point five (6.5)
so I want to make sure that... and I'd be glad to share that with you, Glenn, the
breakdown. But there's sub - categories in there but resurfacing is the six point five
(6.5) and then may I ask with your diligence on this bid, if there's something
significantly different, will you alert us after the bids are open so we can get a
current evaluation of how the bids came in?
Mr. Dill: Okay, we can do that.
Chair Furfaro: So you said that the bids are coming in nine
(9) days from now?
Mr. Dill: Correct.
Chair Furfaro: Okay, so we'll make a note of that but only if
there's something that you see as being a significant difference and I'm saying if the
numbers are more than fifteen percent (15 %), we'd certainly like to hear from you.
Mr. Dill: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: That fair?
Mr. Dill: Sure, will do.
Chair Furfaro: Members? Vice Chair.
Ms. Yukimura: Larry congratulations. Any day that Glenn
Mickens commends you for addressing a long standing complaint is a great day. So
thank you for listening and checking, you and Ed and addressing some of those
concerns that could be addressed. What I heard you saying was that one of the
reasons for the fewer roads that are covered now is that you found other moneys,
State money, to cover some of the other roads? Is that correct?
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Mr. Dill: Yes there's essentially two (2) reasons why
the roads are fewer. The collector roads we have taken out to pursue with State
funds and also I think you can kind of discussed earlier, our scope of work is
broader than what we were doing before. We're initiating a lot of repair work as
necessary, obviously that takes away from some of our budget.
Ms. Yukimura: Correct.
Mr. Dill: So we are focusing on the more needed roads
now and with the new fiscal year that's coming up shortly upon us, we will pick up
those roads with our next islandwide resurfacing.
Ms. Yukimura: So you're moving into a new system of
repaving that actually addresses a lot of the concerns that have been raised over the
years?
Mr. Dill: That's correct.
Ms. Yukimura: Does that include the issue of sloping the
edges of the road when there's repaving so you don't have that big drop off?
Mr. Dill: We're making sure that we address the edges
of the pavement to make sure we don't have an abrupt drop at the edge of pavement
after we repave.
Ms. Yukimura: That would be a huge change and I think one
that would be very welcomed by residents because there are many stories of people
either damaging their cars, their bikes or their selves. Okay, thank you very much.
Mr. Dill: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: Any more questions? Go right ahead
Councilmember Nakamura.
Ms. Nakamura: Thank you Larry and I almost didn't
recognize you between you and Councilmember Rapozo sporting new looks. Thank
you very much Ed too for the report. I had some questions following up on working
with UH to implement and what do you think it's going to involve?
Mr. Dill: Well it's pretty early for me to give a good
answer to that. There are many components to this software that as we uncover
and begin learning about it as to how the data is collected, how it's input, it's
connected with the GIS system to help us record and track all the information just
to make sure that the work is done appropriately and is easily retrievable and
usable is why we're going to get their help.
Ms. Nakamura: Would that be involving also like surveying
the existing conditions?
Mr. Dill: Yes and we've recently done some training
for that purpose, we have a GPS instrument so we recently trained some of our new
young engineers in the use of that equipment for that purpose.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Ms. Nakamura: And just because this question was raised by
someone in the public, is Olohena Road one of the roads that are... I know you sent
us the list earlier but is that on this list or one of the list that's collector roads?
Mr. Dill: It's one of the collector roads, so it's not on
the list that's off to bid right now, it's on the list that will do with the State of
Hawai`i.
Ms. Nakamura: With the State of Hawai`i?
Mr. Dill: Yes.
Ms. Nakamura: Because I would agree that the condition of
that road is very difficult since I drive it often to take my daughter to soccer.
Question about this upcoming... I know this bid was a consolidation of a couple of
years, so this fiscal year what is the amount... it would be a one (1) year allocation
of funds? What was the ballpark for the annual?
Mr. Dill: We don't have that number ready yet.
Ms. Nakamura: Oh okay.
Mr. Dill: But we'll see that in CIP.
Ms. Nakamura: Okay, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: I would take it from that answer, you are not
able to say that this carryover amount from the most recent year was one point five
(1.5) million dollars, you were talking about the next year that we'll see it in the
CIP?
Mr. Dill: The upcoming year, that's correct. That's
what I said, yes.
Chair Furfaro: Oh okay. Just wanted to make sure that's
clear. Larry, I have another piece for you, I think it's wonderful if we are able to tap
the State for the collector roads but give us an overview on how the roads are
selected?
Mr. Dill: Currently the way the roads are selected are
based on a number of things that the majority of it... the main part is a field
inspection by (inaudible) and our Chief. Ed has actually walked all of these roads
personally and inspected them to determine the condition of these roads and has
been doing so again recently with bidders to make sure they understand the scope
of work and we get it straight. The majority of the basis of that is an inspection by
our own staff. We do also consider complaints that we get from the public and also
vehicle miles traveled on the roads to help us determine priorities for which roads
get addressed.
Chair Furfaro: Ed do you want to add anything to that?
ED RENAUD, Chief of Field Operations & Maintenance: Ed Renaud, Roads
Division. The only thing I would like to add to this is I heard Mr. Mickens say that
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we took some roads off... okay... this list was out there, whoever made the list, it
was out there. I looked at the list, we discussed all this, I went to every road and
yes there were roads that we could have resurfaced but it wasn't called for now, so
you know we had to look where is the wisest and cost efficient to do and that's what
I did. That's how we determined and then like Larry said there were concerns from
the public and we looked at those roads also and that's how we came up with the
list.
Chair Furfaro: I wanted to hear that because one of the
things I believe is really important on Kaua`i is all of our Representatives on the
Council are elected At -Large and one of the things that is most difficult when I
watched the Big Island Council is that they're there by districts. The first thing
that suffers is the lobbying going on for roads and a certain Councilmember's
district for CIP funds. Here we are accountable for the whole island and so I
certainly would just take the time to make sure my colleagues realize that we all
have the same district, it's called the island of Kauai and Ni`ihau. So there should
not be any special lobby, certainly bringing to your attention comments and I also
would want to know if someone from the Engineering Department part of the
Mayor's town meetings for when issues comes up about roads you get...
Mr. Dill: Yes. Public Works is represented at the
Mayor's outreach meetings, yes.
Chair Furfaro: Members anymore questions? Again Larry,
I'm depending on you if the bid exceed fifteen percent (15 %) from what we have
budgeted, I'd like you to give us a red flag so that we can have a discussion update.
Mr. Dill: Okay.
Chair Furfaro: No other questions? Mr. Dill, you're a
gentleman and a scholar, you and Ed giving us time for the Legislative group, thank
you very much and I'll take public comment now. Ken?
Mr. Taylor: Chair, members of the Council, my name is
Ken Taylor. Back in November I had sent an article I had run across on the
internet and in this case it's a van with a ground penetrating radar, it's
nondestructive evaluation method is used in the transportation industry in such
areas as subsurface pavement evaluation, location of buried construction hazards,
bridge inspection, and quality control during initial pavement placement. I think
something like this because we do know that a lot of old roads on the island haven't
been well, the sub -base and so on are not in good condition and something like this
would be something worth looking into for future road evaluation for repaving and
everything and so maybe staff could make a copy of this and pass around and we
can give a copy to Larry too. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you Ken. If you don't mind, I'll ask
the staff to make nine (9) copies and will return it to you. Anyone else wanting to
comment on this agenda item? Seeing no one, I'll call the meeting back to order.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Chair Furfaro: Members? Mr. Chang.
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Mr. Chang: Thank you Chairman. Larry and Ed thank
you for coming. I'd like to say that I'm actually very excited because in nine (9)
short days we'll have the bids and hopefully the bids may be a lot more reasonable
than we would have had it in years past, but I'm excited to see that we're going to
see projects, if I heard correctly, onboard late March, early April. I think that's very
important that this island and we showed that there's work being done especially
for our County roads which have been neglected in most part for many, many years.
Larry, I'm glad that you mentioned...
Chair Furfaro: Excuse me, I want to... many, many years...
two (2) is dual, three (3) is a few but I don't know what many, many is because they
spent all the money we had during that time.
Mr. Chang:
Chair Furfaro:
Well few years.
Okay, perfect.
Mr. Chang: Thank you. But you know something that I
picked up, Larry, is I want to say thank you to Ed and I'm going to tell you why.
Because when you hear walk the walk and talk the talk and when you said he
walked the roads... that's very important because from a bidder to see what he's
bidding on through the eyes of the man in charge and the staff in charge, I think
that's very commendable and I hope that maybe you can take of course two (2) by
two (2) any of us that may be interested prior to the work being done, that we can
walk to see what you guys are actually looking at because I think it will be helpful
for us when we see the potential roads and the connector roads and what have you
that's being involved. So when we not only walk it prior to the work being done but
I guess more importantly when the work is finished, then I think it's a great
educational tool for all of us. I look forward for that opportunity but I want to
thank the both of you for your presentation and I'm just very excited because
something is going to get done and hopefully very soon. Thank you Chairman.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you Mr. Chang. Any further
comments? No? Okay I think on behalf of the entire Council, Mr. Dill this is
directed at you. I want to thank you very much in your oversight here and we look
forward to coming in on budget and covering the right amount of footage. I also
want to say by going to the State on their responsibilities on some of the collector
roads, I think it's very important as Mr. Mickens has shared with us, maybe we
need to monitor some of their quality standards as it relates to meeting the
expectations. Larry, Ed thank you very much.
The motion to receive C 2012 -06 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Clerk, I want to go to the next item
which is a deferral request I have from the Prosecutor's Office referencing item
C 2012 -08, as Prosecutor Iseri- Carvalho is unavailable today. She is out of her
office due to sickness and I would like to defer this for two (2) weeks. Council Vice
Chair.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes Mr. Chair, I believe a deferral is in order
but before we do that, I'd like to request that along with the Prosecuting Attorney,
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Diana Gauspohl -White be asked to be present as well. She's been with the division
for fifteen (15) years and I think would be very helpful in briefing us on the program
too.
Chair Furfaro: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: So if that can go out from our office for the
next meeting, our next Council meeting.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Clerk will you so note?
Mr. Watanabe: So noted.
Chair Furfaro: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: And then I just wondered if the Clerk can
tell us if any written testimony has been received?
Mr. Watanabe: Yes, we received a written testimony from
Erin Wilson.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: And I guess we have to see if there's public
testimony?
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: And then I'm just going to have a couple
comments before we defer.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Chair Furfaro: Sure. Is there anyone in the audience that
wishes to testify on this item since it was posted today? A reminder, it will be
deferred until the January 25 Council Meeting. Seeing no one, I'll call the meeting
back to order.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair, you have the floor.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes Mr. Chair. In reference to the written
testimony that we received, it's from a former Victim Witness Counselor and that
always raises some red flags in terms of personnel issues. The letter does seem to
stay on the issues that I think are appropriate for us to inquire about; mission of the
office that is serving victim and witness, workload allocation, use of public moneys,
and delivery of public services, so it is a letter to read and I know the Prosecutor
will also be able to enlighten us on this so I look forward and I hope she gets better
and we'll look forward to having her at the next Council Meeting.
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Chair Furfaro: Okay I will forward my copy of that letter to
the County Attorney, if I could. So if there's any concerns he can comment as such.
Anything more Vice Chair?
Ms. Yukimura: No, I'm ready to make a motion to defer.
Chair Furfaro: I think Mr. Bynum wants to speak.
Ms. Yukimura: Oh okay, sorry.
Chair Furfaro: Anything more from you Vice Chair?
Ms. Yukimura: No. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: I'm not going to go into the substance of this
issue about the Prosecutor here but I do want to make some statements about
process which is that Victim Witness program is important. I've attempted for more
than three (3) years to have dialog about the concerns that are expressed in this
letter. Concerns I've heard from constituents and concerns that I had for myself.
On May 6, 2009 the Prosecutor was here for VOCA funding for the Victim Witness
Program, the transcripts I have in front of me... she did an eight (8) page... you
know there's eight (8) pages of transcript presentation of the office about how the
whole office works including Victim Witness, the various source of funding for the
Victim program, funding comes from State, the County, from the Federal
government. This has been the topic of discussion on the Council for years. When
the current Prosecutor was a Councilmember, she was very meticulous about the
accountability of the former Prosecutor, asking many questions about the program.
When the Prosecutor came in and this is part of the public record, there were five
(5) employees providing Victim Witness services, two (2) of them were terminated at
the beginning of her term. The supervisor of the program was demoted and I
wanted to discuss all of those issues. On May 6, 2009 I started into a dialog after
listening to the Prosecutor for thirty (30) minutes or more and I was cut off by the
then Chair Kaipo Asing, I was not allowed to speak even though I objected.
Mr. Rapozo: Mr. Chair, point of order. I just want to
make sure we're on the agenda item. This is nothing to do with...
Mr. Bynum: We're on the agenda item and I believe...
Chair Furfaro: That's my interpretation...
Mr. Rapozo: You're talking about...
Chair Furfaro: Excuse me. He has asked for a point of
order, I will let him do his point of order and I will make a decision about... let's
keep with decorum. Mr. Rapozo, you have a point of order?
Mr. Rapozo: Well I do. The agenda item is very specific to
the Victim Witness program of the current Administration and I would ask that,
you know, any reference to the prior Chair, the prior Councils... it's not a place for
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that. It's irrelevant to what happened to Mr. Bynum by former Council Chair
Asing. The matter on the agenda is to discuss, we had a request to defer... I would
suggest that we get it deferred and if we're going to discuss the item, do it when a
representative from the Prosecuting Attorney... if we're going to continue, I would
suggest we call the First Deputy or somebody from that office to be here present.
It's not fair to bring up stuff from Council Chair Asing's time and no one is here to...
and I wasn't here. So I would just ask that we stick to the agenda item. If there's a
request to defer, I would support that but I think to constantly go back to Council
Chair Asing and what he did, I think it's not even relevant to the agenda item.
Chair Furfaro: Did you want to make a comment to his
point of order.
Mr. Bynum: Yes. I would have been done in about a
minute. I'm talking about process and you know the agenda item was about the
Victim Witness, I would just like to finish my statement and then we'll defer.
Chair Furfaro: Okay, I'm going to make a decision to allow
you another minute but I do also want to caution us and to the County Attorney and
our legal staff is here, you know the reality is this is an item that's going to be
deferred for the next two (2) weeks. You'll have an full opportunity to speak then
but if you can summarize right now in the next minute, I will allow that.
Mr. Bynum: And I've been attempting to have this dialog
about the Victim Witness program since about May 6, 2009. What happened then
was I wasn't allowed to continue, I filed an OIP complaint because I felt that it was
ironic that Sunshine Law was being used to keep transparency and discussion from
happening. It took OIP over a year to respond but they finally agreed that my line
of questioning was appropriate and until this day we have not been able to have a
discussion about the Victim Witness Program because of various maneuvers and
manipulation and hopefully that won't happen in two (2) weeks...
Mr. Rapozo: Mr. Chair, I'm going to call a point again .
Chair Furfaro: I'm going to call a point... your assumption
about manipulation and so forth, it reflects on me as Chair and I want to say, this
came to my attention as a posting and I had no problem posting it. Okay? You may
have had issues in the past but there has been no manipulation on the part here. I
understand your points and you will have the time. I have given you the time but
when you make bold statements like that... this is the first request I've had as
Chair to get it on and I will honor it. Okay?
Mr. Bynum: And I believe you're being a little
hypersensitive, I wouldn't direct anything at you. I'm almost done, I intend...
Chair Furfaro: But being done is going to be my decision,
have you heard what I shared? I don't want to reflect on items on talking about
manipulation and so forth based on what we're trying to do to post this on the new
agenda. And you know even though I am a big guy and have a baritone voice, yes
sometimes I'm sensitive. You have the floor sir.
Mr. Bynum: I had intended to distribute to the Council
colleagues, the OIP which is a public record and can be made available to the public
COUNCIL MEETING
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and I trust that we will finally have this discussion. It's a normal process for the
Council to ask for accountability from department heads and we haven't been able
to do that and any references I made, I backup by the public record weren't directed
at this Council Chair at all.
Chair Furfaro: On that note, I have a written request that I
shared with you on the deferral.
Ms. Yukimura moved to defer C 2012 -08, seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously
carried.
Chair Furfaro: This item will show up on the January 25
agenda. Next item Mr. Clerk.
C 2012 -07 Communication (12/06/2011) from the Anti -Drug Coordinator,
requesting Council approval to accept a $14,000.00 donation from proceeds of the
Mayor's Cup Halloween Golf Tournament to be used for underage drinking and
anti -drug projects: Mr. Kuali`i moved to approve C 2012 -07 with thank -you letter,
seconded by Ms. Yukimura.
Chair Furfaro: Any further discussion?
Mr. Rapozo: Yes, before Mr. Chang.
Chair Furfaro: Oh, go ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: And only because I wanted to talk about
Chang.
Mr. Chang: Please go ahead.
Mr. Rapozo: I appreciate the thank -you letter but I just
wanted to highlight all of the names of the people in the letter and it was Larry
Stevens, Randy Boyer, William Greg McKeown, Linda Stevens and Yvonne
McKeown... I don't know if I'm saying it right... Joe Bertucci, Tom Calgiuri, Frani
Ford, Julia Adolfo, Howard Uohara, Cheriss Manguchei and of course the world
famous Dickie Chang. According to the letter, the request from Theresa Koki, these
people are all part of the organization and so I would assume that we can save
forty -four cents and give him a verbal thank -you and just send one to everybody
else.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Mr. Chang.
Mr. Chang: Yeah I actually would like to speak on this
item and I just want to echo Councilmember Rapozo minus myself of course. I
really could use the forty -four cents by the way. I want to thank Linda and Larry
Stevens and the McKeowns and the Honsador Lumber and Akamai Choices, and
Greg's Roofing and I'll tell you why... these were and are regular citizens. They like
to play golf, never ran a golf tournament before, came up to the Mayor and they
went to the anti -drug, the seminars and the community projects that we had and
they were very, very floored. The reason that they were floored was they saw many
of the underage drinking pre -teens that were sober so when one of the teenagers or
the pre -teens was there and the counselor said he or she has been sober for over a
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year, they looked at them and said well how old is he or she and they were elevens
and twelves and everything etc., and so they were like visibly moved and touched
like what's going on in our community To be able to just say let's try to give
something back, let's go do a golf tournament, I don't know how many people
attempted to do a golf tournament or try to organize one, needless to say getting
prizes or players. But you don't just say you're going to do a golf tournament and
raise money. They actually called their friends and constituents and a lot of
different people that normally don't participate for a golf tournament and that
meant a lot of businesses donating prizes, donating hole sponsorships, etc., so there
were a lot of people that worked behind the scenes but I do have to say many of
whom were first time people getting involved in the community. I really want to
thank all of them because it was a message from the Administration, from our Anti -
Drug Coordinator, underage drinking that created awareness that our community,
that in this case these people decided to jump in and see what they could do instead
of just talking about it, they did it and they want to make this an annual event. Not
only to raise money but to create the awareness. Thank you Chairman.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Any further discussion?
The motion to approve C 2012 -07 with a thank -you letter, was then put, and
unanimously carried.
C 2012 -09 Communication (12/07/2011) from the Anti -Drug Coordinator,
requesting Council approval to receive and expend a donation from Steven
Kurokawa in the amount of $100.00 for the proposed Adolescent Treatment
Facility: Mr. Kuali`i moved to approve C 2012 -08 with a thank -you letter, seconded
by Ms. Yukimura.
Chair Furfaro: Discussion? Vice Chair.
Ms. Yukimura: Mr. Kurokawa has always been such a
community minded person so it's very kind of him to offer this amount and I think
it's showing his commitment to a adolescent drug treatment center.
Chair Furfaro: Very well said, thank you. Any further
discussion?
The motion to approve C 2012 -09 with a thank -you letter, was then put, and
unanimously carried.
C 2012 -12 Communication (12/15/2011) from the Mayor, transmitting for
Council consideration and confirmation the following Mayoral appointees to the
various Boards and Commissions for the County of Kaua`i.
(1) Charter Review Commission
Carol Suzawa — term ending 12/31/2014
(2) Civil Service Commission
Catherine Adams — term ending 12/31/2014
(3) Cost Control Commission
Arryl Kaneshiro — term ending 12/31/2014
Sandra Sterker — term ending 12/31/2014
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LEGAL DOCUMENTS:
(4) Fire Commission
Jesse Fukushima — term ending 12/31/2014
(5) Liquor Control Commission
Gary Pacheco — term ending 12/31/2014
Clifford Nakea — term ending 12/31/2014
(6) Planning Commission
Hartwell Blake — term ending 12/31/2014
(7) Salary Commission
Charles King — term ending 12/31/2014
Ms. Yukimura moved to receive C 2012 -12, seconded by Mr. Kuali`i.
Chair Furfaro: We have item one (1) and seven (7) I believe
we need to have a motion to schedule an interview?
Mr. Watanabe: Yes Chair and to receive the communication.
Mr. Chang moved to schedule interview for item number seven (7) Salary
Commission on the 19th and Charter Review Commission item number one (1) Carol
Suzawa for the 25th, both in January and receive C 2012 -12 for the record, seconded
by Ms. Yukimura.
Chair Furfaro: Any discussion? Mr. Chang.
Mr. Chang: Chairman, thank you. Yesterday we had the
opportunity to interview the candidates, many of whom will be reappointed but I
just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of them for in many
cases renewing their appointments but to also be available on a voluntary basis to
help out our County of Kaua`i in this very important Boards. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. I also want to take a
motion to thank BC for coming in an extra day to actually cover as we broadcasted
the interviews. Thank you BC.
The motion to receive C 2012 -12 for the record and schedule interviews for item
number one (1) and item number seven (7) was then put, and unanimously carried.
C 2012 -14 Communication (12/01/2011) from the Director of Parks and
Recreation, recommending Council approval to provide access to property owned by
Kapa'a Sands for construction of Lydgate Park to Kapa'a Bike /Pedestrian Path
along Papaloa Road. The current document executed in 2010 has expired.
• Right -of -Entry and License Agreement by the Assocation of Apartment
Owners of Kapa'a Sands for the Lydgate-Kapa'a Shared Use Path at Kapa'a
Sands (TMK 4 -4 -3- 02:02)
Mr. Kuali`i moved to approve C 2012 -14, seconded by Mr. Bynum.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: Any discussion? Anyone in the audience that
wishes to speak on this item? Mr. Mickens.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Mickens: Thank you again Jay. For the record Glenn
Mickens and I have a short testimony here regarding this communication C 2012-
14. I find it very interesting that on December 15, 2010 the Council approved
C 2011 -19 which ratified the purchase agreements to acquire property for the bike
path along Papaloa Road.
As usual, our policy of ready, fire, aim was implemented and now thanks to
Councilmember Rapozo, we are reviewing this action. And because of this review
we are finding issues that should have been considered before firing. On April 18,
2011 Mel wisely asked our County Engineer a series of questions. Eight (8)
questions that were related to the cost of this project, common sense questions that
should have been asked by all members before passage of this communication.
I believe that the original cost estimate was answered rather vaguely but I
think it was projected to be minimal. Now after getting a factual report from a
reputable construction company, we find that this minimal cost will be $339,762
which includes construction fees, tax and should include $100,000.00 more for land
acquisition. Total of a $439,762.00.
I do not believe that the people whose taxes (federal, state or local) pay for
this recreational project consider almost % a million dollars to be minimal. We
heard this same word used with the probable replacement of the path along Pono
Kai when the sea wall is repaired and that project will cost hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
And we heard some members of this Council justify this waste of money by
saying that five (5) years of use of the path was worth it but ask the taxpayers if
they think it will be worth it. Remember that there was already an asphalt path in
front of Pono Kai running all the way to Otsuka's that the State has built in
1977and was there for the citizens to use as a walking or jogging trail. I used it.
Please Councilmembers, I ask you to thoroughly look into every issue before
you vote on it. As you well know, I don't know what the latest decision is on this
thing. The figures skyrocketed and that's where I (inaudible) it went from a
hundred thousand dollars or whatever it was up to four hundred something
thousand. I'm just wondering, I haven't heard anything more on it.
Chair Furfaro: Well obviously we pursue the queries,
obviously you got the number three, thirty- nine... whatever it was.
Mr. Mickens: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: And that was based on the...
Mr. Mickens: Contractor.
Chair Furfaro: ...that was based on the Council pursuing
the questions.
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Mr. Mickens:
Chair Furfaro:
There being no objections,
follows:
Chair Furfaro:
we have a motion...
Right, right, right. Thank you.
Anyone else wishes to testify? No?
the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
Members do we have any discussion? If not,
Mr. Rapozo: I just wanted to... you know this is a third
year of an agreement and it does come with an eight thousand dollar a year rental
payment to the grantor, I mean it doesn't specify. If you read the agenda item, it
seems like it's a request for an easement and right -of -entry but this right -of -entry
does include two (2) things, an eight thousand a year payment, which isn't much. It
also has a mandate that the County will acquire the property within a year of the
contractor or within a year of the leasehold. I'm going to be supporting it, I just
want to let the public know that it does come with a eight thousand dollar a year
rental fee to the grantor.
Chair Furfaro: I want to thank Mr. Rapozo for bringing
those details and the concept of this piece to our attention but the negotiation as it
as such, there is a fee until the property is acquired and basically it's allowing us to
move forward with an understanding that we have access to that land. Any
further discussion? Thank you Mr. Rapozo for your research.
The motion to approve C 2012 -14 was then put, and unanimously carried.
CLAIMS:
C 2012 -15 Communication (12/16/2011) from the Interim County Clerk,
transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kauai by Enterprise Car Rental,
for damage to their vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of
Kaua`i: Mr. Rapozo moved to refer C 2012 -15 to the County Attorney's Office for
disuposition and/or report back to the Council, seconded by Mr. Chang, and
unanimously carried.
C 2012 -16 Communication (12/28/2011) from the Interim County Clerk,
transmitting a claim filed against the County of Kaua`i by Brenda Sherman for
damage to her vehicle, pursuant to Section 23.06, Charter of the County of Kauai:
Mr. Rapozo moved to refer C 2012 -16 to the County Attorney's Office for
disuposition and /or report back to the Council, seconded by Mr. Chang, and
unanimously carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
HOUSING / TRANSPORTATION / ENERGY CONSERVATION &
EFFICIENCY COMMITTEE REPORT:
A report (No. HTE 2012 -01) submitted by the Housing / Transportation /
Energy Conservation & Efficiency Committee, recommending that the following be
received for the record:
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and
"HTE 2011 -05 Communication (12/19/2011) from Committee Chair
Yukimura, requesting the presence of David Craddick, Manager & Chief
Engineer, Department of Water, to brief the Council on the Department's
accomplishments in terms of reducing water and energy consumption, plans
for the future, and an update of the $60 million Department of Water Bond
CIP projects,"
Ms. Yukimura moved for approval of the report, seconded by Mr. Chang, and
unanimously carried.
A report (No. HTE 2012 -02) submitted by the Housing / Transportation /
Energy Conservation & Efficiency Committee, recommending that the following be
received for the record:
"HTE 2011 -03 Communication (12/01/2011) from Committee Chair
Yukimura, requesting the presence of Ms. Stephanie Fernandes, Kaua`i
Economic Opportunity, Inc., to provide a presentation and update on the
state of homelessness on Kauai. A portion of the presentation will address
the following:
1. The nature and status of homelessness on Kaua`i;
2. Whether or not homelessness is a growing or decreasing
problem; and
3. What efforts are being done to prevent or decrease the
problem of homelessness.
"HTE 2011 -04 Communication (12/01/2011) from Committee
Chair Yukimura, requesting the presence of Eugene Jimenez, Housing
Director, to provide a presentation and update on the state of homelessness
on Kauai. A portion of the presentation will address the following:
1. The nature and status of homelessness on Kaua`i;
2. Whether or not homelessness is a growing or decreasing
problem; and
3. What efforts are being done to prevent or decrease the
problem of homelessness,"
Ms. Yukimura moved for approval of the report, seconded by Mr. Chang, and
unanimously carried.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & RENEWABLE ENERGY STRATEGIES
COMMITTEE REPORT:
A report (EDR 2012 -01) submitted by the Economic Development &
Renewable Energy Strategies Committee, recommending that the following by
received for the record:
"EDR 2011 -04 Communication (12/20/2011) from Committee Chair
Chang, requesting the presence of Ms. Sue Kanoho, Executive Director,
Kaua`i Visitors Bureau (KVB), to provide an update on KVB's efforts to
promote tourism on Kaua`i, relating to Ordinance B 2011 -724, and the
economic stimulus grant in the amount of $200,000.00,"
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Mr. Rapozo moved for approval of the report, seconded by Mr. Bynum, and
unanimously carried.
A report (EDR 2012 -01) submitted by the Economic Development &
Renewable Energy Strategies Committee, recommending that the following by
received for the record:
"EDR 2011 -05 Communication (12/20/2011) from Committee Chair
Chang, requesting the presence of Mr. Bob Craver, Executive Director, The
Kaua`i Marathon, to provide a post race report on the 2011 Kaua`i Marathon,"
Mr. Rapozo moved for approval of the report, seconded by Ms. Yukimura.
Chair Furfaro: Anyone wishes to speak on this Committee
Report? Mr. Mickens please come up.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Mickens: Thank you again Jay. Glenn Mickens for
the record. I'm sorry I wasn't here for the last Council Meeting, it wasn't posted... I
don't believe it was posted properly. It wasn't in the paper which is no big deal, it
wasn't on the website... no it wasn't on the website, Tim. It came on later and I'm
not sure why but that's the reason why I didn't come for that. I just wanted to read
my testimony regarding the Kauai Marathon.
In May of 2011 our Council, led by members Kuali`i and Rapozo, asked the
people who were putting on The Kaua`i Marathon a series of very important
questions. In fact, George Costa, who I have the utmost respect for, answered
follow up questions to Bill 2404 regarding the grant of $150,000.00 that our
taxpayers were being asked to fund.
One (1) of the major questions asked was why weren't the benefactors of the
visitors coming here for the marathon... the hotels, the restaurants, the car rentals,
the boat tours, the gift shops and the helicopters rides, asked to be the primary
backers of this event along with those promoting it? Why should the taxpayers who
gain nothing from it other than more traffic and roads being blocked be the ones to
pick up a huge part of the expenses?
Another question asked was how much funding does the neighbor island
counties provide to their marathons, i.e., Honolulu, Maui? The answers were that
the City and County of Honolulu does not provide funding for their marathon and
that Maui County provides up to twenty -five thousand dollars and that Hawai`i
County provides up to twenty thousand.
From 2009 to 2012 our County has provided this race with $232 thousand of
our money, so shouldn't the citizens be given the reason for this glaring difference of
what we fund over what the other islands provide?
Also, from the Kaua`i Marathon balance sheet it appears on page twenty -two
(22) that we have already committed ourselves to giving this race another $85
thousand for 2013... why?
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Remember too that if Councilman Kuali`i in 2011 hadn't have wisely
protested our gift to this race, the Council would have given them $150 thousand
instead of the $100 thousand that the Council finally gave them after they found
$50 thousand from another source.
And isn't it interesting that our KVB finds this event so beneficial to our
island that they gave the Marathon a grant of $25 thousand in 2009 and gave them
$51 thousand in 2010 but gave them nothing in 2011, 2012 and 2013?
Yet our citizens are giving grants to this race of $10 thousand in 2009, $100
thousand in 2011, $120 thousand in 2012 and $85 thousand in 2013 for a total of
$317 thousand... isn't there something wrong with this picture?
The race's balance sheet shows a 5 year loss of $326,072 but if our grant
money is removed from that equation the loss would be almost double that figure.
Kaua`i Marathon founder Jeff Sacchini is on record as saying that if this event is
not profitable in 3 years it would be shut down. We are now in its 4th year with
their balance sheet showing losses... what did you mean, Mr. Sacchini?
I do appreciate all the hard work and effort put into this event by George and
Bob Craver but since it is showing nothing but red ink isn't it time for Mr. Sacchini
to honor his words and close the book on the Marathon. I certainly have no
objections to Marathons but like most of them, they should be self supporting and
not be held at the taxpayers' expense.
Chair Furfaro: First of all, Glenn, the agenda item was
posted on the web December 21, I just checked.
Chair Furfaro: The second item is I want to let you know the
grant applications go through the Office of Economic Development. They scrutinize
and they then make a recommendation to the Council so they don't come directly to
the Council.
other.
Mr. Mickens: December 21St?
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Mr. Mickens: Oh.
Mr. Mickens: But the Council has got to okay it, right?
Chair Furfaro: Yes, it's called political will.
Mr. Mickens: Yeah.
Chair Furfaro: You support one (1), you don't support the
Mr. Mickens: Right.
Chair Furfaro: You suffer the consequences if it's something
that is not received favorably but if you would like I will give you my summary
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report, I'd be glad to go through it since you weren't here, I'll be glad to do that. But
the item was posted on the 21st of December.
Mr. Mickens: And say the Rotary or the Lions Club or one
of the clubs on the island comes to you for money, wouldn't you now be obligated to
honor that.
Chair Furfaro: Well I would actually recuse myself because
I'm a Charter member of the North Shore Lions and I'm also a member of Rotary.
Mr. Mickens: Rotary?
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Mr. Mickens: Well I highly respect that organization.
When I see what they've done and they stay in the black, whatever they done, no
matter scholarships or what... going to older people, needy people and cleaning
their house and stuff like that, I just have tremendous... they put that Taste of
Hawai`i, Kaua`i every year and I have friends that volunteer for that thing. I think
they just do a tremendous organization... when I talk to them I ask them... you
guys get any money? And no, no... we got to pay for the police, they don't do
anything volunteer for us, so we have to pay for it. Again they're in black and
they're not screaming but something like this to me opens the door for somebody
coming in here and saying you're setting the precedent now, hey you can't deny us.
Chair Furfaro: I don't disagree with you and I thank you
very much for the comments on the Lions Club who focuses on sight and blindness
and I certainly want to thank you for your complements for the Rotary Club who
provide a great number of scholarships in our community.
Mr. Mickens: My friend Ray Carpenter, do you know Ray
Carpenter?
Chair Furfaro: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: Ken.
Mr. Mickens: I think he's one of the best. Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Well I thank Ray Carpenter too but I'd be
glad to give you my marathon book.
Mr. Mickens: Thank you Jay.
Mr. Taylor: Chair, members of the Council, my name is
Ken Taylor. I also agree with a lot of what Glenn has said but I also have a
question. We see the three hundred plus thousand that was given over the years to
the marathon, does that include services that we're providing from Public Works,
Police, other activities going on. I mean is it three hundred thousand plus cash and
then County services? I know the first year I remember something about Public
Works going out and cleaning the road up of loose gravel and so forth and so did
they pay for that or was that a give me so that the real number is not three hundred
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plus thousand but four hundred, five hundred thousand... I just was wanting a
clarification on that.
Chair Furfaro: Ken the three hundred thousand was the
contribution that was spread over from the three years. It may require year to year
some internal work whether it's Public Works or other departments and such and
that was not included in that money.
Mr. Taylor: So the actual number is considerably higher
than or at least higher than the three hundred and fifty thousand?
Chair Furfaro: Yes, if you count what might have been
provided by the County in reference in terms of in -kind but we do that for a number
of organizations as well.
Mr. Taylor: Thank you.
Chair Furfaro: Anymore testimony on this? I only have one
(1) book, Ken, to share but I'm sure Mr. Mickens will share it with you. Lonnie
come up if you want to speak.
LONNIE SYKOS: For the record my name is Lonnie Sykos.
Happy New Year to all of you that I haven't expressed that yet. In regards to the
moneys we've been giving to the Kaua`i Marathon, I've been and I guess it's like
three (3) now... three years now this continually come up. What my question is for
you because you provide the money to Economic Development, is I never understood
ever in Economic Development's arguments how this was cost beneficial to us and
so I object to the principle that if someone comes to the County and says this will
promote tourism that the County should jump onboard. Or that this will create
diversified agriculture, this will support anything unless they can actually
demonstrate how that's going to be accomplished. My problem with the funding for
the marathon is in the figures that we've been given, there doesn't appear to be any
net profit to the public by bringing in a relatively small pool of people and then
generating all of these expenses. So just fiscal responsibility, I'm all for people
running and being in good health but it could be that we would be better off to wait
until we finished... is the marathon 27 miles?
(inaudible): 26 miles.
Mr. Sykos: When we have 26 miles of our coastal path
finished, then we should have a world class marathon on our coastal path. But
until then... hang on to our money and use it better. Thank you very much.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you for your comments. Is there
anymore discussion on the item? No?
The motion to approve Committee Report No. CR -EDR 2012 -02 was then put, and
unanimously carried.
RESOLUTIONS:
Resolution No. 2012 -01, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF ETHICS (Calvin Murashige): Mr. Rapozo
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -01, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and carried by
the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Chair Furfaro: May I ask that you defer until the very end
Resolution No. 2012 -04, so that I can leave the building for the vote.
Resolution No. 2012 -02, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE POLICE COMMISSION (Donald Okami, Sr.):
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -02, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Resolution No. 2012 -03, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF REVIEW (Russell Kyono): Mr. Rapozo
moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -03, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and carried by
the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Resolution No. 2012 -05, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION (Catherine Adams):
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -05, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Resolution No. 2012 -06, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE FIRE COMMISSION (Jesse Fukushima): Mr. Rapozo
moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -06, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and carried by
the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
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Resolution No. 2012 -07, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE COST CONTROL COMMISSION (Arryl Kaneshiro) :
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -07, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Resolution No. 2012 -08, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE COST CONTROL COMMISSION (Sandra Sterker):
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -08, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Resolution No. 2012 -09, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION (Gary Pacheco):
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -09, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Resolution No. 2012 -10, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION (Clifford Nakea):
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -10, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Resolution No. 2012 -11, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION (Hartwell Blake):
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -11, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
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COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2012
Chair Furfaro: I would like to go back to 2012 -04, I had
submitted a recusal letter myself, I am a property owner for my home site and there
is a commentary element for which this candidate has a contract for yard
maintenance. I will excuse myself.
Chair Furfaro was noted as recused from this item.
Resolution No. 2012 -04, RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
REAPPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION (Jan Kimura):
Mr. Rapozo moved to adopt Resolution No. 2012 -04, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura TOTAL — 6,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: Furfaro TOTAL — 1.
that.
Chair Furfaro was noted back in the Council Meeting.
Ms. Yukimura: Chair, we're on Bills for first reading.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much.
Mr. Chang: (inaudible).
Chair Furfaro: For Bills for first reading?
Mr. Chang: No, for the candidates...
Ms. Yukimura: Oh, for public testimony? Yes, we should do
Chair Furfaro: No. I had been along the line... is there any
commentary... and there was none.
Ms. Yukimura: Oh I guess I do.
Chair Furfaro: I can ask now. Is there anyone in the
audience that wants to comment on any of the nominations that were submitted for
Boards and Commissions? I'm sorry when I said any comments if it wasn't clear to
you folks, my apologies. Okay. I'm going to go to Bills for first reading.
BILLS FOR FIRST READING:
Proposed Draft Bill (No.2424) — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO ALLOW
SOLAR ENERGY FACILITIES IN THE AGRICULTURE DISTRICT: Mr. Chang
moved for passage of Proposed Draft Bill No. 2424 on first reading, that it be
ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for February 15, 2012,
and that it thereafter be referred to the Planning Committee, seconded by
Mr. Rapozo.
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Chair Furfaro: Anyone in the public that would like to
comment on this? Seeing no one. Members is there any further dialog on this first
reading item? Mr. Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Just a question... this doesn't go to
Planning?
Mr. Watanabe: It's to refer to the Planning Committee.
Mr. Bynum: Okay, great. Thanks for the clarification.
Chair Furfaro: Well I could have clarified it if all of you had
waited until I recognized you before you spoke but since we're all clear now I
withdraw my ability to give you any direction in this... thank you.
The motion for passage of Proposed Draft Bill No. 2424 was then put, and carried by
the following vote:
FOR PASSAGE: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo,
Yukimura, Furfaro TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Chair Furfaro: I just wanted to reconfirm that I was just
asked by another member if I asked for public testimony, I did and there was no one
right? Very good. Before we go to the next item, I believe we have an Executive
Session item, may I call the County Attorney up.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
ALFRED B. CASTILLO, County Attorney: Good afternoon Council Chair,
Councilmembers, Al Castillo, County Attorney. Council Chair, may I proceed?
Chair Furfaro: Yes please.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
ES -521 Pursuant to HRS sections 92 -4, 92- 5(a)(4), and Kauai County
Charter section 3.07(E), the purpose of this executive session is to provide Council
with a briefing on Contract No. 8475 between Lawai`a Kaua`i LLC and the County
of Kaua`i . The briefing and consultation involves consideration of the powers,
duties, privileges, immunities, and/or liabilities of the Council and the County as
they relate to this agenda item.
Chair Furfaro: Is there any questions for the County Attorney at this
point? If not, is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak for this
upcoming request for Executive Session?
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as
follows:
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\ds
Mr. Rapozo moved to convene in executive session for ES -521, seconded by
Ms. Yukimura.
Chair Furfaro: I wanted to say that I have two (2) members
leaving at 4:30; that still leaves us five (5) members for executive session. That will
meet the expectations right?
Mr. Castillo: Yes.
Chair Furfaro: Thank you.
The motion to convene in executive session for ES -521 was then put, and carried by
the following vote:
FOR CONVENING IN EXECUTIVE SESSION: Bynum, Chang, TOTAL — 7,
Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo, Yukimura, Furfaro
AGAINST CONVENING IN EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0.
ADJOURNMENT.
The meeting was called back to order, and there being no further business,
the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
RICKY WATANABE
County Clerk