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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/19/2012 Special Council MeetingSPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING January 19, 2012 The Special 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, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 10:14 a.m., and the following members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Tim Bynum Honorable Dickie Chang Honorable KipuKai Kuali`i Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura Honorable Mel Rapozo Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Jay Furfaro, Council Chair APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Mr. Kuali`i moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by Mr. Chang, and unanimously carried. COMMUNICATION. C 2012 -17 Communication (1/13/2012) from Council Chair, transmitting for Council review and consideration Resolution Appointing Ricky Watanabe the County Clerk. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to receive Communication C 2012 -17 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura, and unanimously carried. RESOLUTION. Resolution No. 2012 -14, RESOLUTION APPOINTING THE COUNTY CLERK OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI. Councilmember Kuali`i moved to approve Resolution No. 2012 -14, seconded by Councilmember Yukimura. Chair Furfaro: I'm wanting to read the resolution. EDDIE TOPENIO, JR., ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, COUNCIL SERVICES DIVISION: This is the resolution appointing the County Clerk. Be it resolved by the Council of the County of Kaua`i State of Hawai`i, Section 1, Appointment of the County Clerk. Ricky Watanabe is hereby appointed the County Clerk of the County of Kaua`i for the term that commenced on December 1, 2010. Section 2, this resolution shall take effect upon its approval. Chair Furfaro: Okay, members, is there anyone that would like to add any discussion? Ms. Yukimura: Yes. Special Council Meeting 2 January 19, 2012 Chair Furfaro: Vice Chair Yukimura. Ms. Yukimura: Mr. Chair, I'm happy to support this resolution and want to congratulate Rick Watanabe. As I mentioned before, the process THAT the Council followed was historic. It was a systematic, deliberate, open process and Rick Watanabe should be really proud to have come out on top through that process. He's served with such dedication for so many years, it's really wonderful to see him in this position and I know that with his leadership and the support of the outstanding staff that we have, that the Council will be able to really serve the community of Kaua`i well. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Any further dialog? Mr. Bynum. Mr. Bynum: I'm just very happy to support this resolution. I've been on the Council for five (5) years and I think it's fair to say it's the most unusual job I've ever had. But the real constant throughout my time here has been Ricky. He's had integrity, he's dealt and put up with me, educated me, taught me, and I don't know what I would've done without him So I think we're entering today an era of leadership that's just perfect for this Council. Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Any further discussion? Mr_ Rapozo. Mr. Rapozo: Well I just want to say congratulations to Ricky. He doesn't look like a County Clerk. Chair Furfaro: Wait a minute, he took his earring off. Mr. Rapozo: Yes he did take his earring off. But I will say, the Clerk's position gets appointed every two (2) years with the new Council and so typically it's no secret that the County Clerk is a political appointee, that's what it is. The County Clerk is appointed by the Council every two (2) years. This year we did go through a formal process; we published the opening statewide. We got some really, really, good applicants. I was impressed with the applicants, over twenty (20) that came in initially It was narrowed down to five (5) and then we did a very intensive interview process. I have to be honest, before Ricky's testimony, I mean his interview, we had already interviewed three (3) others. One (1) of the others was the front runner in my mind, and in fact I was thinking — how am I going to tell Ricky that I couldn't support him, because he's a good friend and he's an excellent employee. And then Ricky came in and did the interview and I have to tell you, the knowledge, the vast knowledge in that man's head, the ability to answer the questions and it was quite clear that he was the right guy for the job. I graded based on the scoring system that Mr. Furfaro provided, I objectively graded it, and Ricky did come out number one (1). I was very impressed with his...the answers, and more importantly was his willingness to make some change for the Council Services Office, which is a very tough thing to do in a political appointment because typically we see it all the time, they do what they're told. But in this case, Ricky, in my opinion, has the courage to do what needs to be done to make this office a better office. So, he's already made a change, I'm not going to say anything and I'm sure he's going to make the announcement, but I'm happy, I'm comfortable with the process, and I look forward to working with Ricky as the new County Clerk. I just want to say congratulations. I see he's got a lot of support here. It's a thankless, tireless, frustrating...you know he serves seven (7) Councilmembers. Can you imagine serving the seven (7) of us? I cannot But he has taken on the task and we Special Council Meeting 3 January 19, 2012 look forward to a very productive... how long is his term? Eight (8) months? Nine (9) months? Nine months, and then hopefully he gets reappointed with the new Council. Thank you Mr. Chair. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Any further discussion before I speak? Mr. Chang. Mr. Chang: Thank you Chairman. I want to also just say thank you for everybody to come and show your support for Ricky Watanabe. He nailed it. As Councilmember Rapozo said, in my opinion also, I think it was his to make or break and he impressed, obviously all of us. And when you talk about seven (7) different Councilmembers, this is nothing that you're sitting in front of us not knowing what everybody is going to ask. Believe me, everybody asked some really really tough questions, and he nailed it. I mean, I was totally impressed, and obviously that's the reason that he came up on top. But he is a very very smart man. I call him my sensei, I believe that he is the Mr. Miyagi of Council Services and the County itself. He's very well spoken and very helpful when we ask for help he's always there, so want to just say congratulations to Ricky Watanabe. Thank you Chairman. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Mr. Kuali`i. Mr. Kuali`i: Thank you Mr. Chair. I too wanted to congratulate our County Clerk Ricky Watanabe. Thank him for his many many years of service and also thank him for changing his mind and stepping forward and applying before the deadline so that we had the opportunity to interview him and consider him along with the other candidates. I want to say too that I'm glad we have the process we did, because during the interviews I think we all learned a lot because two (2) of the candidates were in -house candidates with many years of service and their knowledge and their...the way they answered questions, it taught me a lot as a new Councilmember and I just really want to thank Ricky and congratulate him and let him know that I'm looking forward to working with him further and now as a County Clerk. Thank you Mr. Chair. Chair Furfaro: Anyone else before I speak last? Councilmember Nakamura. Ms. Nakamura: I just want to congratulate Ricky on...we all know that there are a lot of pressing deadlines, there's long meetings, and there's seven (7) of us, strong personalities. We know that 'it's a very thankless job and there's so much that goes behind the scenes to make our meetings run efficiently and to get the work done of this body. So, we just thank you Ricky for your willingness to step -up to this leadership role and during the interview process it was very enlightening because we were able to hear Ricky's ideas for how we could improve internal operations, to try to improve communications and services to the public, and to improve the budget process. I'm really looking forward to this new direction and new ideas. So again I'm very excited about your leadership. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Anyone else before...Vice Chair. Ms. Yukimura: I just wanted to point out about the process. That it involved all seven (7) of us. In the past you just got four (4) people and that was it. It really showed that...I mean I'm proud that this Council is showing that Special Council Meeting 4 January 19, 2012 it's one (1) team, and the process was both rigorous and educational. So I just wanted to point that out, that's part of its historic nature. Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Thank you, and I will touch on that for a moment. It is very important as you identify a new leader for the Council, Council Services, that there is participation at that level with everyone. We had some initial questions that were mailed out that met the criteria from Mr. Rapozo and Mr. Chang, those were sent out in advance as we shortened the field. Secondly, Councilmember Nakamura and Councilmember Kuali`i outlined our fourteen (14) key questions for their responses during the actual interview. Vice Chair Yukimura and Mr. Bynum formulated the essay questions that the candidates had to respond to at the interview, and they had to respond to that in a thirty (30) minute time assigned to a work station. So everybody was able to participate and what's so important about that is the Council has the decision on the County Clerk. The Clerk then has the authority, once he's sworn in, to restructure our organization and pick the Deputy, as well as identify other key needs and I'm sure we'll be hearing from Ricky on that once we swear him in. I do want him to know that he has my full support. I think members indicated that we set -up a very structured interview process that everyone got to participate in, the Clerk and now the duties of organizing... re- organizing the County's Office of Council Services is Ricky's choice. So on that note, may I ask... Ricky may I ask you to come up here please. This might be your opportunity to comment on anything, but we need to vote and I would like you to be...I want him to go into the chair before we swear him in. Mr. Watanabe we're in the moment going to be taking a vote to prepare your journey as the County Clerk, and I know Judge Valenciano is here to do the swearing in. But at this particular time before we actually take a roll call vote, do you have any comments. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. RICKY WATANABE: I'd just like to say that I'd like to thank the Council for this opportunity in serving our legislative body in providing service to the community. Hopefully we can create some changes to better our commitment to the public and our functions here at the legislative branch. I have a few more comments right after I get sworn in. Chair Furfaro: After this is fine. County Clerk: Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Again I just want to re- iterate my confidence Ricky, and on that note if there's no further discussion I'm going to ask for a roll call vote on the resolution as it was read. The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: The motion to approve Resolution No. 2012 -14 was then put, and carried by the following vote: FOR ADOPTION: Bynum, Chang, Kuali`i, Nakamura, Rapozo, Yukimura, Furfaro AGAINST ADOPTION: None EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 7, TOTAL — 0, TOTAL — 0. Special Council Meeting 5 January 19, 2012 /il Chair Furfaro: May I welcome you Ricky to a new duty. Judge may I ask you to come up, and thank you very much for being here. Maybe right here, you got a camera? Where's the best spot? There being no objections, the Chair recessed the meeting for the purpose of swearing in the County Clerk. The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Welcome Mr. Clerk, and before we do thank and relieve the judge of his duties, we understand you have a couple of statements and a statement regarding the organization of the Council. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. County Clerk: Yes, thank you. Council Chair Furfaro and Councilmembers, thank you for this opportunity. I just wanted to announce today that I have done some restructuring of our organization. The immediate restructuring that I have completed is I'm going to appoint...I'm appointing Jade Fountain - Tanigawa as my Deputy County Clerk. I think going forward I couldn't have selected a better person. Jade is such a backbone of this organization and I'm sure she's welcoming change also. In that process I'm also, I have restructured the position in our organization, and that position will be classified as an Administrative Assistant for the County Clerk's Office that would be Mr. Eddie Topenio, Jr. He brings such commitment to our organization, and he takes care of a lot of needs that we have, that I'm proud to have him on our team also. Going forward we'll be assessing our total organization and we've conceptually come up with a few possibilities of changes that we'll be looking at; however, the Deputy and myself will be looking at these items within the next week or so. We'll be coming up with a plan that we'll present to the Council. So with that, I'd like to thank the Council again and have my Deputy sworn in. The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Chair Furfaro: Yes, let's have your Deputy sworn in. Jade, may we ask you to come up front with the Judge. There being no objections, the Chair recessed the meeting for the purpose of swearing in the Deputy County Clerk. The meeting was called back to order, and there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:51 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Ricky Watanabe County Clerk