HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-12-2011 PH re bill no 2391 PUBLIC HEARING
JANUARY 12, 2011
A public hearing of the Council of the County of Kauai was called to order by
Dickie Chang, Chair, Economic Development & Renewable Energy Strategies
Committee, on Wednesday, January 11, 2011, at 1:49 p.m. at the Council
Chambers, 3371-A Wilcox Road, Lihu`e, Kauai, and the presence of the following
was noted:
Honorable Tim Bynum
Honorable Dickie Chang
Honorable Nadine K. Kawamura
Honorable Mel Rapozo
Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura
Honorable Jay Furfaro, Council Chair
Excused: Honorable Derek S. K. Kawakami
The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following:
BILL NO. 2391 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. B-2010-705, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF
HAWAII, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2010 THROUGH JUNE 30,
2011, BY REVISING THE SURPLUS AND APPROPRIATIONS
ESTIMATED IN THE GENERAL FUND ($200,000.00 -- Kauai
Visitors Bureau),
which was passed on first reading and ordered to print by the Council of the County
of Kauai on December 15, 2010, and published in The Garden Island newspaper on
December 22, 2010.
The following communications were received for the record:
1. Brad Snyder, Kauai Area General Manager, Marriott Kauai Resort,
dated January 11, 2011.
2. Jody Kjeldsen, Executive Director, Po`ipu Beach Resort Association,
dated January 11, 2011.
3. Doug Sears, General Manager, Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa,
dated January 11, 2011.
4. Mark E. Stein, Market Manager, Island of Kauai, Enterprise
Holdings, email dated January 11, 2011.
5. Leesha Kawamura, Senior Sales Manager, Hawaiian Airlines, dated
January 12, 2011.
6. Randall Francisco, President/CEO, Kauai Chamber of Commerce,
dated January 12, 2011.
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The hearing proceeded as follows:
GLENN MICKENS: Thank you Dickie. For the record, Glenn Mickens.
I just want to say that I really appreciate...the Visitors Bureau had an informal
meeting the other day with Sue, George, and Dickie for a few members of the public,
and it enlightened the public, I think, very much to find out exactly... You know,
there's skepticism all the time when we...you're asked for money (two hundred
thousand, a million dollars) where it's going. They clarified where these funds were
going, and there's a lot more to it than I think the general public understands when
they just say they're going to go... I know you have to go out to wholesalers and
there's just... Sue explained this very well, as did you, Dickie, and did George. So I
just want to say I really think that it would be a good thing for any members of the
council to, on some of these agenda items like this, if there's something that the
public, they can get together. And Jay got together with this and they had some of
his expertise in numbers and things, which we appreciated too. So I just think it's
really beneficial to the public to be able to have people get the one-on-one like this
to be able to see what we're doing. But I appreciate much more now what the
Visitors Bureau is trying to do. I know you got their problems doing it, but I think
again, they're doing, with the funds they've got, and again as was explained, Oahu,
the Big Island thing, they have budgets...I think, Jay, you explained that, far more
than what Kauai has to be able to do what they're trying to do. So that's a real
limiting factor too. So anyway, I do appreciate what they're doing. Thank you.
KEN TAYLOR: Chair and members of the Council, my name is Ken
Taylor. I too appreciated having the opportunity to talk with Sue and George and
Dickie on this matter, and there was a lot of good clarification, and I think that for
the amount of money they have, they're doing a very good job. I think it's important
for the economy of the island, and so I highly recommend that you approve
the $200,000 that they're requesting. Thank you.
There being no further testimony on this matter, the public hearing
adjourned at 1:53 p.m.
Respectfully�submitted,
PETER A. NAKAMURA
County Clerk
/ao
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